Zoey Britton · Firearms & Security Instructor
Private firearms instruction and practical safety training for individuals, security teams, and organizations in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area.
Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area
I am a U.S. Navy veteran, former Master at Arms, and NRA-certified instructor with nearly a decade of firearms and security instruction experience.
My military background shaped the way I teach: prepare carefully, communicate clearly, stay accountable, and make sound decisions under pressure. I connect every lesson to practical situations so students understand not only what to do, but why it matters.
I formerly owned Cinci Arms Training LLC and currently serve as an instructor for Armor Security Forces LLC. My experience includes private firearms coaching, armed and unarmed security officer training, refresher instruction, de-escalation, less-lethal options, and scenario-based practice.
Whether I am working with a first-time firearm owner, an experienced officer returning for retraining, or an organization responsible for public safety, I teach in plain language and create room for questions, repetition, and useful feedback. The goal is safe, confident performance that holds up beyond the classroom.
Looking for a private firearms instructor or a security instructor with field-tested experience?
Contact ZoeyPrivate lessons, women's defense training, and de-escalation for individuals — plus corporate, security officer, and active-shooter programs for organizations, in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. Each service below shows when it's held and where: all training is scheduled by appointment, at the student's location.
Build safe handling, strong fundamentals, and confidence in a focused session shaped around your experience and goals.
$150 / hour · 2-hour minimum
Book a LessonWomen-focused instruction that pairs firearm fundamentals with situational awareness and practical defensive skills, taught at a comfortable pace in a supportive setting.
$150 / hour
Book TrainingStrengthen communication, recognize escalation early, make sound decisions, and understand responsible OC spray safety and deployment.
$150 / hour · 2-hour minimum
Book TrainingBring practical, role-specific training to churches, schools, property managers, security companies, libraries, businesses, and community organizations.
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Request a QuotePrepare armed and unarmed officers with structured instruction for new-hire training, recurring refreshers, skills review, qualification support, and loss prevention. Programs can address safe procedures, de-escalation, use-of-force decisions, duty-belt skills, documentation, and realistic scenarios.
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Request a QuoteGive your organization clear response priorities, stronger communication, and practical steps for a violent emergency.
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Request a QuoteChoose private firearms instruction—including women-centered coaching—or structured, documented programs for individuals and teams in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. Corporate professionals, businesses, and organizations turn to me for workplace safety training, corporate training, and active-shooter preparedness for their teams.
Tell me who you need to train and what success should look like.
Discuss your trainingTraining helps people recognize hazards, follow safer procedures, and respond with better judgment.
Structured instruction helps organizations take preparation, employee readiness, and public safety seriously.
Programs can include clear objectives and documented training for internal records and professional accountability.
Lessons draw on my background as a Navy Master at Arms and my current work as a security instructor.
I teach in plain language and make room for questions, practice, and useful feedback.
Share whether you need private instruction or group training, the topics to cover, your group size, and preferred timing. I serve clients across Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area and will help you identify the right next step, rates, or a custom quote.
Tell me which training you want and when works best for you. I review every request personally and reply to confirm your date and time before anything is final — no payment is due until your training is confirmed.
Drills built for women — start close, build real skill, and walk taller.
These are the same drills I teach in my lessons, written out so you can practice on your own. Work them in order, take your time, and stop while it's still going well — short, clean practice beats long, sloppy practice every time. Start with Safety First, every time.
These four rules come before every drill on this page, at the range and at home. Say them out loud before you start until they're simply how you handle a gun.
Even if you just checked it. Even if you checked it a minute ago. Handle it like it's loaded, every single time.
The muzzle covers only your target or a safe direction — never a person, a pet, or anything you'd be heartbroken to put a hole in.
Finger straight and indexed along the frame until your sights are on the target and you have decided to fire. Not before.
You are responsible for every round. Know what your target is, what is around it, and what is behind it before you press.
For every at-home drill: unloaded gun, no live ammo in the room — ever. Take the magazine out, lock the slide back, and check the chamber by eye and by feel. Then check it again. Live ammunition stays in a different room for the whole practice session, no exceptions.
Eight drills with live ammunition, built to start close and build. Success first, distance second — move back only when the drill in front of you feels solid.
Start close on purpose — success first. Fire slow at the center rings, and between every shot, reset your grip and line your sights back up. There's no clock here. When you've done it at 3 yards, move to 5 yards and do it again.
What good looks like: All 5 rounds in the 9 ring — then the same again at 5 yards.
Use the four corner dots on your target. Fire 2 rounds at each dot, working one dot at a time. Small target, close distance — this is pure sight picture and a clean, steady press.
What good looks like: Both rounds touching or inside each dot.
This one is about your grip. Crush grip — firm, not shaky — then fire 2 rounds. Let the gun rise and settle, and fire the second shot only when your sights come back to the target. Don't chase the gun down; let it come back to you.
What good looks like: Each pair stays together in the center-mass zone.
Start at ready, gun up but not yet aimed in. On your own count, present to the target and fire 1 round. Lower back to ready, reset, and repeat. The first shot is the one that matters most — make each rep its own.
What good looks like: 5 of 5 rounds center-mass.
Fire 5 rounds into a 5-inch circle at 5 yards with no time pressure at all. Smooth and steady wins. Once this feels easy, you can add a timer — later, not today.
What good looks like: All 5 rounds inside the circle.
Fire 2 rounds at 3 yards, then step back to 5, then 7, then 10. Same grip, same sights, same press — only the distance changes. Pay attention to where your shots start to wander.
What good looks like: All rounds inside the 9 ring. The distance where they start leaving the ring is your current limit — that's the distance to practice at.
Fire all 5 rounds with your strong hand only, support hand down at your side or held at your chest. Real life doesn't always give you two hands — the other one may be holding your child's hand, your bag, or your phone. Slow down and let your grip and sights do the work.
What good looks like: All 5 rounds in the center-mass zone.
Now the other hand does all the work — support hand only, strong hand at your side or chest. It will feel awkward, and that's the point. Go slower than you think you need to, and rebuild your grip from scratch for this hand.
What good looks like: All 5 rounds inside the 9 ring.
Nine drills with an unloaded gun — no range trip, no ammunition, real skill. Read the dry-practice rule under Safety First before every session, and check the gun twice before you begin.
Stand facing a blank wall, close enough that the wall fills your sights — about an arm's length. Line your sights up on a plain spot and press the trigger slowly, 10 times. Nothing to aim at means nothing to hide behind: it's just you and the press.
What good looks like: Your sights stay dead still through every press — no dip, no wobble.
Balance a coin flat on top of your slide, near the front sight. (A partner can place it for you, or set it carefully yourself.) Press the trigger slowly, 10 times, without knocking the coin off. If it falls, no problem — set it back on and keep going.
What good looks like: The coin stays on through all 10 presses.
If you've ever been told your hands are "too small or weak" for the slide — this drill is the answer, and the answer is technique. Grip the top of the slide with your whole off hand, fingers over the top. Push the frame forward with your shooting hand while you pull the slide back, then let it snap forward on its own. Keep the muzzle pointed at a safe wall the whole time, and rack it 10 times.
What good looks like: The slide racks fully every time without fighting it — technique beats hand strength.
Pick a dot or small spot on the wall. From ready, raise the gun to that spot and stop the instant your sights line up. Don't press the trigger — just stop, see the sights, lower, and reset. Ten clean reps.
What good looks like: The sights arrive already lined up on the spot, with no extra hunting or adjusting.
Put four numbered dots or sticky notes on the wall. A partner calls a number — or call one out loud yourself — then present to that dot and make one dry press. Reset, and go again, 12 reps. Your eyes should find the dot before the gun starts moving.
What good looks like: Every presentation lands straight on the called dot, sights lined up, with a press that doesn't move them.
Wall Drill rules, one hand at a time. Do 5 slow presses with your strong hand only, then 5 with your support hand only. Notice which hand wobbles more — then give that hand a few extra reps. The weaker-feeling hand is the one that needs the work.
What good looks like: Sights stay still with each hand on its own — including the wobblier one, by the end.
Use empty magazines only — check them twice before you start. Press the trigger, drop the empty magazine, insert the second empty magazine, and come back onto your wall target without looking down at the gun. Slow is right: 10 deliberate reps builds the habit.
What good looks like: Smooth reloads with your eyes up and the gun finishing back on target every time.
Dummy rounds only — never live ammo. Set up a dry stoppage with a dummy round, then clear it the standard way: tap the magazine firmly to seat it, rack the slide, and come back onto your wall target in one smooth motion. Eight reps, no rushing.
What good looks like: Tap, rack, back on target — one smooth motion, every time, with no looking down.
Trained students only: only practice this if you have covered carry-bag work in a lesson with me. With the unloaded gun in your dedicated carry bag, practice a smooth draw to full presentation on a wall target. No trigger press — stop at presentation, check the draw, and reset. Ten slow reps.
What good looks like: A clean draw with nothing snagging, finishing at full presentation — and the muzzle never sweeping your own body.
Confidence is the best defense.
Drills build habits — coaching builds skill. Book a private lesson or a women's defense session with me, and we'll work these drills together with real feedback on your grip, your sights, and your pace.
🎄 Give the gift of confidence this year — a 2-hour private firearms lesson with Zoey Britton Training, $300. Perfect for the new gun owner on your list (or the one who's been saying 'someday'). Call or text (219) 800-0014 to gift one — gift certificates ready to print or email.