Sixteen women at the shooting range at the Warner Robins Police Training Center and they aren't learning how to use a gun recreationally - these women are shooting for a target.

With more and more single women families, females like Debbie Green of Warner Robins are stepping up for protection. She and her sister have taken the firearm training class to stay safe.

"We're both single women and we just want to be able to use a firearm just for protection and safety," says Debbie Green, Participant.

The firearm training course consists of two classroom sessions and a shooting session at the range. The class is available to both men and women but captain clay says in the recent years he's seen an increase in women taking the class and interested in self defense.

"Women are taken for granted that when it comes to a sport of shooting or just any kind of safety that we really don't know how to handle guns and I think it's important that women get the knowledge so that they do know how to protect themselves and become empowered to do so," says Kimberly Green, Participant.

Participants are taught Georgia laws on guns, when you can carry a gun and use it for self-defense, and how to obtain a permit for different firearms. And of course the class also aims to teach marksmanship.

"When you're defending yourself with a firearm you're trying to stop somebody else's deadly force against you or another person," says Captain John Clay, Warner Robins Police Department.

And these women are a force on their own. Several of them count their marks for accuracy, so attackers beware, these women are packing heat.

Captain Clay says the department is not currently taking names for future classes, but will advertise the class when they create a new list.