Women shooters

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txgunsuscg

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Is it just me, or is there a serious lack of female shooters out there? Every time I go to the range, it's all dudes. There is the occasional wife, girlfriend, or daughter there, but most of the ones I've seen (especially the girlfriends) look like they were dragged there under protest. I know it sounds random, but if we expect our sport to survive, we gotta get the women interested too. Am I totally off base with my observations?

P.S. I did meet one girl at the range in Norfolk that was packing a M&P9 JG, buying pink pepper spray, and looking for a knife to carry as well. That's what we need more of!;)
 
I've seen a lot of women on the line on the Appleseed trail. They are still outnumbered by men, but we probably get more of them per capita than any other shooting related organization that I know of. That is because we really try to encourage them to come, by giving free or drastically reduced admission prices and by making it a very family oriented event where the kids can come and shoot alonside the parents.

I will say it, and so will any other marksmanship instructors on here... women make better students. They actually listen to what you're teaching, and they actually try to do it like you're saying. Men may come into the class having better knowledge of firearm terminology and function, but I have never had a woman say anything like, "I don't need any marksmanship instruction... I kill my deer every year" or "This is how I've been doing it for 15 years, so leave me the hell alone and let me shoot!"

I have seen multiple instances of a husband and wife showing up to an Appleseed marksmanship clinic and the wife outshooting the husband, and scoring Expert on our Army Qualification Test when the husband can't crack Sharpshooter. One lady did this while 8 1/2 months pregnant! She couldn't get prone, but she could settle down into a really stable seated position! She was drilling raggedy holes from seated on a 25m AQT with a position transition, a forced reload, and significant time pressure. Not too shabby!

We had one pregnant lady who shot Expert with an M-1. You know that baby is not going to be afraid of firearms! Definitely have your woman shoot while she's pregnant... then you know the kid will end up being a shooter, because he/she will connect the sound of gunfire with the soothing surroundings of mother's womb! hehe.
 
No, you're not off base. To expand upon your point, not only do I rarely see women at the range, but many times there are no young people either. When I say young people, I mean people ages 15 to 35. I tend to see many middle-age and older people for the most part.

For example, I just attended a low light combat shoot last week at my LGS. Around 42 people attended. Out of those 42, I was one of 3 or 4 younger shooters (I am 23). All the rest were 40+ in age. And no women to boot. I learned a lot but it would have been nice to see a more diverse crowd - at least a little bit more, anyways. It's easier when there are people your own age around, although I will not hesitate to talk to someone older if I want to know something.

I agree with your last comment. I don't mind taking people to the range; however, firearms talk is rarely my go-to conversation topic with people I know, people I work with, etc.

I am not trying to hijack the thread, but to go along with your observations - what are good ways to bring up firearms in conversation with people who have minimal exposure to them? (I live in Cook County, enough said...)
 
I agree with your point about the age barrier, but I think here in Norfolk/Chesapeake, you see the younger crowd more because of the military. However, you still don't see the women. The woman I met at the range was probably around 21-23, which makes her a double rarity for me....
 
Maybe that's just the traditional "square range plinking" kind of stuff?

I attended and helped work an IDPA match this weekend where the competitors ranged from several about 13 to several over 70, and more than a handful were women, too.

And these are shooters I see regularly. And I could name about ten or a dozen other women shooters who I see very frequently at these big matches who didn't make this one due to the weather or other commitments.

So, whatever is ailing the more traditional shooting genres, it sure isn't affecting the action pistol sports.
 
At the indoor range that I frequent, there are almost always women there, although most seem to come with a male SO. On my last range trip, though, the lane next to me was two ladies in their fifties, with one of them teaching the other to shoot.

My recent CHL renewal class was about 25% women--4-5 out of 20 students total, about evenly split between new CHLs and renewals. That seems to be pretty typical; around 20% of TX CHLs are issued to women.

FWIW, there seem to be as many under-35 shooters (this includes me) at my range as there are older ones.
 
Definitely have your woman shoot while she's pregnant... then you know the kid will end up being a shooter, because he/she will connect the sound of gunfire with the soothing surroundings of mother's womb! hehe.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack, but this is a demonstrably BAD idea. It has been covered in other threads very well, but high-pressure sound waves travel VERY well through dense media like amniotic fluid. Late-term babies could suffer terribly from close-range gunfire, and there's no way to protect their hearing. Please don't do this, or allow it in any organizations you have influence in.
 
I compare the shooting hobby to my primary hobby, which is horses. From what I have seen of hobby riders, it's about 90% female, so the opposite of what we're talking about here. Maybe it's the case that, as a hobby, guns are more interesting to men like horses are more interesting to women (I realize I'm speaking in very broad generalities). At competitive levels that changes significantly, but at the hobby level it seems to hold.

I shoot weekly at an indoor range and the only other female who has ever been there at the same time is one of my good friends when we go together. I did see a dad with his son and daughter there once, and that brought a happy smile to my face (they were using these cute character paper plates from a birthday party as targets, I almost asked if I could have one).

I suspect the time demands of marriage and children (often in addition to work) affect the frequency with which female shooters get to the range. I'm the only one in my social circle who isn't married with a young child, so my time outside of work is my own. For my shooting friend, her husband either has to be available or she has to arrange for a sitter in order to go to the range with me (or do anything without her daughter). Maybe for her upcoming birthday I'll give her an afternoon of child watching so she and her husband can go shooting together.

I bet if range trips were more of a "family affair" this could change, but the demographics are working against you to get females in their late 20s-30s-early 40s. Kids, husband (or not), house, job, friends... Range time would be pretty far down on the list and may not be the top priority for whatever little "me time" there is. Luckily, my shooting friend works at the same company as me so she can combine range time with "friend time", and we can talk about work things, too. Always multi-tasking...
 
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Every time I go to the range, it's all dudes.
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1. Somes ranges have an ambience like a Target store -- clean, well-lit, females on staff, etc. Others are like a "man cave" with no clue. What category does your range fall into?

2. Typically what women-vs-men choose to do with discretionery time and money vastly differs and does not discriminate only against shooting sports.

3. On the flip-side, women may perceive that there is a serious lack of men at the salons.

4. In the home, the role of protector/provider falls predominantly on men. The tools used in fulfilling those roles are less frequently sought after by women.

5. Women don't neeed to go to the range, because they outshoot men without having to practice as much. They show up at IDPA and IPSC ready to roll. (By contrast, I have repeatedly invited a group of over 50 male handgun owners over the past year to shoot IDPA and have had 2 accept. Most will plink and target shoot, but have a strange phobia about demonstrating a scored level of competence with a hangun.)
 
1. I would have to say it's more of a man cave, although the range is well-maintained and well-lit, I haven't seen any women on staff.

2. Very valid point, similar to TrakHack's.

3. Don't know what you're talking about, I like to visit the salon at least once a week....

4. Not where I live. There are plenty of women home alone while their men are deployed to all corners of the earth due to the six or so military bases.

5. Yes, women pick up shooting faster, especially with a good teacher, but I've seen guys with funny green hats that still feel it necessary to go to the range and practice... Just because you are a good shot doesn't mean you don't need practice, although I will refer back to point 2.
 
I see a few every time I go. Definitely more guys though. Maybe it's one of those things stereotyped as a "guy hobby". As an unscientific observation, I am running into more and more women interested in CCW.
 
I actually see women nearly everytime I go the the indoor ranges. Mostly with male companions- sometimes learning, sometimes "giving lessons" to their quieted partners. Saturday morning as I was leaving, there were 5 women came in, at least 4 of them were together. Middle aged I would say and having a great time.
 
The wife always goes with me to shoot and usually beats me. You by any chance shooting at Bob's Gun shop in downtown Norfolk?
 
I went shooting with my family on Christmas day. There were actually a number of couples there. Maybe because it was Christmas and they were all trying out new toys together, but it was nice to see the women shooting.
 
I do shoot at Bob's. While their range is somewhat short (33'), it is more than adequate for personal defense style practice. Their waiting list gets a bit crazy on the weekends, so I'm looking for another (preferably outdoor) range to shoot at.

Sounds like I'm just hitting the range at all the wrong times. Honestly though, I'm kind of glad to hear that. Sounds like while the men still outnumber the women, the women are putting in a solid showing (and making the men look like amateurs in some cases). ;)
 
i've been trying pretty hard to get my wife to go shooting with me, she doesn't dislike guns or shooting but she really has no interest as of now
 
We live in the country , where the range is in the back yard. My wife is a great shot bow, and gun too. She was raised in a hunting falmily and the entire family shoots except her Mom. She would rather cook the veni.
Wisconsin has a lot of women hunters and shooters it is kind of a tradition which I wish were promoted in some other states. I left NJ a long time ago :)
It sure is nice to have a sport which the entire family can do together and shooting , hunting and motorcycling are some of our things to do.
I enjoy it a lot and it sure makes working a greater pleasure when the rewards are time in the woods or on the roads.
 
I am a woman and I am just getting into shooting. I'm very excited to learn anything and everything I can! I would appreciate any advice!
 
The indoor range I use here in Ft Collins, Co is usually about 60/40 to 50/50. Lots of lady shooters.
 
No shortage at my club. There are lots of women that shoot with thier husbands and families. My wife is one of them. She loves to shoot the large caliber and magnum handguns.
 
Up until the spring of 2010, my bride of 47 years never took an interest in my shooting hobby. She only shot a gun once that I know of many years ago and it was a bad experience. She shot a double barrel 12 ga and it doubled on her.

She was watching while I was practicing with my new 9 MM auto and out of the blue said, "May I try that? I said "Sure!" and a couple of magazines later, she said, "Hey, this is fun!"

My proudest moment in years was in November, 2010, while watching her qualify for her concealed carry permit with her own Ruger Stainless Mark III .22. Her other new weapon for CC is a Stainless Ruger SP101 .357. She's worked her way up to .38 Special +P's for her carry round. Man, she now has better guns than I do.

She still won't touch my 12 ga S x S Coach Shotgun. Oh well, it's at the gunsmith right now having a nice recoil pad put on it. Maybe later?
 
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