SeeCalifornia.com

San Francisco born Il Ling New, a Yale graduate with an MBA, took the road less traveled. She could have been a top notch marketing pro but instead, she followed her passion for empowering others, and that has made her America’s No. 1 female firearms instructor, No. 1 female freelance guide, and California Outdoors Hall of Fame recipient 2012.

A student who used her training to fend off a would-be attacker breaking into her hotel room, Marines, police, househusbands and housewives all have studied under the best in the U.S., a woman who can take a handgun small enough to fit in her tiny palm and put 3 shots in a pie plate in 5 seconds. Il Ling New began using guns to hunt ducks when she was 10 and today, her skills are world renown. She says that people need to think of guns as just another appliance–do not be afraid.   “Remember (ladies especially) that firearms are a part of our heritage. In the pioneer days, women treated guns like just another household tool. Pesky bear in the garden? Grab that rifle and take care of the problem. Cupboard bare and men off in the fields? That shotgun leaned up in the corner ought to bring a bird or two for supper.”  Il Ling New is an instructor at Gunsite Academy (gunsite.com) near Prescott, AZ, where she teaches both men and women self-defense skills with handguns, rifles and shotguns.  Here are her tips for getting started.