According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), female engagement in target shooting grew 60% to 5.4 million participants between 2001 and 2013, and is apparently still growing.
The question is, what draws women to guns?
Especially if you are a woman, lets hear from you…
Natalie Foster, host of “Love at First Shot” on NRAwomen.tv, says that “Women are quickly becoming entrenched in every aspect of the shooting community – including some that might surprise you. And in doing so, they are greatly strengthening the Second Amendment.”
There is no ignoring it. Every major poll and survey acknowledges that women’s involvement in shooting is growing at an unprecedented rate for a decade.
The firearms market is even adapting to it from personalized firearm colors to luxury concealed-carry purses that rival high-end fashion labels.
Women are coming from different backgrounds and have various reasons for going to the range or purchasing a gun. They are soccer moms, college students, senior citizens, daughters, doctors, lawyers, and so much more.
Some women are drawn to guns for self-defense. Others for the comradery with other like-minded women. Some are competition shooters. And then there is the huntress…
According to the NSSF, 20 percent of shooting and hunting related sales were attributed to women, and of those women surveyed, 42 percent owned three or more guns.
So the question today is, What is it that you think is drawing more women to guns today than ever before? Let’s hear from you…
Source for stats and info: ‘America’s 1st Freedom’ magazine
I believe that some of this stems from the low rate of marriages staying together. In the past, more women relied upon their husbands to be the protectors. Now, women are finding that they are alone, and it is up to them to protect themselves and their children. This is definitely not the only reason, but I know first-hand of women that this is the case.
You summed up my take on it, Wendy. The gun is called the “great equalizer” for a reason!
I advise women to carry on their person, rather than in their purse. If you lose your purse, you have lost your weapon and now YOUR ASSAILANT has it.
Hugh you are absolutely right. It would also be a lot easier to get a hold of if it were on your person. In my case and surely lots of other women it would be almost impossible to find in a purse if your life literally depended on it. Now, gotta see what I can find as a way to carry.
I’m a man, so I know that whatever my opinion is, it will be wrong… 🙂 I think more people are becoming aware of how bad things are, and they are no longer buying the lies of the government and mainstream media. Couple this with a bunch of useless sperm donors who do not know the first thing about being a man, husband, or father, and you get a bunch of women who are realizing they need to know how to protect themselves and their children.
Guns are also a great investment. I don’t think this is why we have seen the increase in female gun owners. As my wife has become more aware of the situation with our currency, devaluing of the dollar, and how they are trying to hide inflation, she has been much more accepting of my gun, ammo, tool, and food purchases.
My wife took to shooting when I finally got across to her about how bad things are becoming and , also my daughter talked to her and told her about how she and her husband had started prepping , along with buying a few firearms , so now my wife is into the shooting and prepping lifestyle also , and it really makes it easy to buy some things now and then to put back . I have also found over the years that women can be a good bit more accurate shooting than men . I was a deputy for years and can tell you that a woman officer will shoot a perp male a lot quicker than another male officer will , when I have asked these female officers why this is so the most common answer I get is because they know their limitations of strength against a male perp , and make the first move . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .
it has taken years to get my wife to shoot, now she has 4 of her own guns
It is a shame that guns are considered by most as a “man’s tool.” Guns are the equalizer; most men can overpower most women. I think it is for that reason that women were oppressed for most of history. But as soon as American women started using guns on the frontier (to defend against predators, outlaws, enemy troops, and wild Indians) women started getting equal rights. The right to vote didn’t come until 1920, but women started getting other rights as soon as they got the gun — the right to choose who we will marry, the right to own property, the right to speak in public, the right to choose how our children will be educated, the right to get a divorce (and get custody of the children), the right to teach boys as well as girls. (It use to be that boys were only taught in the schools by male teachers.)
When I was about 10 or 12, my family were in the mountains having a picnic. My female cousin was my age, and our brothers were each 4 years younger than we were. So they were about 6 or 8. The boys were shooting my father’s 22 rifle at small paper plates. My cousin and I said we wanted to shoot, too. My father and uncle laughed and laughed, but we insisted. so Daddy got some BIG plates and set them up twice as close as the boy’s targets — still laughing. That was the only time I got to shoot as a child. But when I got married, my husband took us to the gun range almost every Sunday. I never hunted, but I loved target practice.
Now I am a widow and live alone in a semi-rural area. I keep guns for self-defense at home and while walking. We have several kinds of predators in the area. At least 4 times in the last 6 years there has been a mountain lion spotted in our small town. At least twice there has been a black bear in town. Lots of coyotes live nearby and sometimes come into the edge of town. I need to protect my dog when I walk him, and myself, too, of course.
I realize today’s post is about the reasons that might prompt a woman to get a gun, how they are different from men’s, and whether they have been intensifying over the last few years; you are totally free to discuss that.
I just want to point out, though, that more women may be buying guns simply because our society is becoming more and more equal. Some activities that were previously considered off-limits for women are now becoming increasingly acceptable.
We are more equal so we buy more guns, but we are more equal BECAUSE we have guns.
Security. Either two legged or four legged.
I grew up around guns but had no interest in them. Us girls knew not to touch Dad’s guns. And we NEVER did. Fast forward to my 40s . One day I was watching the neighborhood kids playing and thought: If someone drove in here tried to take or hurt one there is nothing I could do to try and stop them. Then I heard a man on the news , who had been tired up and rob say: If only I had a gun I could have stopped them. It still took me a few years to get my first gun, and yet another few years to get my CCH. I hope to God that I never have to draw on another human being, BUT I will not be one of those who say: if only I had a gun…….. I would much rather live knowing that law enforcement could be at my side in seconds then carry a gun, we know that can’t happen. And that’s why I carry a gun.
CCW permit=voluntary registration
I was fortunate to grow up in a gun friendly home. I was taught that guns were not toys, they were tools used to provide and protect. I am extremely independent and own guns because I know that when it comes down to brass tacks, I need to be the one to take care of me. I cannot depend on husband (works), neighbor (works), law enforcement (min. 30 mins away – if they can find my address), body strength (too close), or talk (cheap, must be backed up by firearm). I also carry my pocket knives, which surprises quite a few men — and they are not in my “purse”.
My wife grew up on a ranch here in Texas. Everyone in her home had guns including herself. Today she owns a 6mm and a 22 but just never shoots. She is just not interested in guns and I own quite a few. Now explain this for me. She gets very upset when one of these idiots starts talking about gun control or taking our guns away. She does not hunt but I do. When she talks about growing up on the ranch she is proud to say guns and boots are a natural part of life. I feel I am so lucky to have good woman that would not be afraid to use a gun if necessary.
I am husband to a woman, father to two, Father-in-law to one, grandpa to one. While I don’t pretend to “know” why women are attracted to firearms, I DO know that this Dad, Grandpa, FIL, did do all he can to ensure that the women in his family have the capabilities to defend themselves and hearth and home. DIL was raised by “former hippies” and wasn’t “into” firearms at all when she selected her husband. She has since become far more”into” firearms than our son, her husband and has her own CCW permit, as does my wife and our adult daughters, grand-daughter is too young at present.
I have had the privilege of introducing several adult females to the shooting sports and all of them are now in possession of their own CCW permit and their own means of self-defense. All of their motivations, were different from each other, and it doesn’t make a bit of difference to me. I’m thrilled that they wanted to assert their own independence in this area and NOT rely upon societal/governmental responders to “protect” them from biped predators and four legged ones in the wild. Each of our children when they became of legal age, were offered their choice of handguns in Dad’s safe to use as their own EDC, Dad paid for their permit classes and application fees as well. DIL had her husband pay for hers. While I hunted career criminals in my past career, I have hunted feral hogs and coyotes in my past. At present, we live in a state teeming with wild life that is available for those who wish to hunt. I have not availed myself of that privilege yet. Youngest daughter desires to do a “Daddy-Daughter Elk Hunt” as soon as we get lucky with the tag draw. Even more important I feel than “my girls” being able to and legally carrying is their situational awareness. It is dialed in tight and ready-to-go, and they manage to keep their personal perspectives at the same time. I could not be more proud of all of them. I did not answer the “question” posed by the author, just made a few comments on why (selfishly) I think it is vitally important that those females who desire to legally carry and use firearms be allowed to exercise their fundamental Constitutional Rights. Reactionary response after the fact is not “protection”, average 911 law enforcement response time in this country is between 9-11 minutes. Nobody can hold their breath for that long.(in many areas of the country is IS far longer for emergencies in progress, for help to arrive). Why is there an actual “war on women” exercising their Constitutional Rights by the Leftist-Prog-Marxist-Liberals in this country?
Having lived in Alaska for near 40 years (where men are men and women win, the Iditarod), I can say that women are not only competent but often better than men in what is considered traditionally man stuff. I have woman friends who commercial fish, sport fish, hunt, build log cabins, chop wood, handle a chain saw, boat and gun, cuss, spit, drink and fart as well as any man. My wife is my hunting partner and we hunt deer and moose in brown bear country. That said, in the area of woman kicking ass perhaps backwoods Alaska may be a little ahead of the lower 48 for once, (Sarah Palin aside).
I wonder if it is not so much woman being drawn to guns more now as it is that woman feel free to peruse things that they always wanted to before but didn’t because it was taboo. Doors are opening that make it easier for women to do what they like, where as those doors were closed before. I might add that it is women themselves who are opening the doors, perhaps even breaking them down.
My “wrong” answer because I’m also a man. HAHAHAHA;
I believe that women are extremely smart, smarter than most of their male counterparts. Saying this I believe that the Ladies see what’s coming just as much or more than the male of the species. Call it woman’s intuition or whatever you want, I believe that the Lady’s are in self protection/preservation mode more than ever before. Hence they are arming themselves with an “equalizer”, firearms. 99% of the female of all species are the stronger, more aggressive and protective. I believe this is starting to show more and more in the Human species also (about time). Please don’t get me wrong, I have GRAET respect for women and totally agree with them being armed with anything/everything they deem necessary for their protection and the protection of their families.
Lastly, thank God for the Ladies, without their love and compassion we men would be/have nothing.
NRP
My wife made the mistake of opening the door to what she thought was a UPS delivery driver when she was 14. She was raped.
She has carried concealed in every state that we’ve lived in, and owns Glocks, Smith J frames, and shotguns.
She also was active in the martial arts when I met her 36 years ago.
Sadly, her rape also illustrated the need for a REAL door chain. The trash you get at Home Despot is useless.
I think it is because shooting is FUN! Sure, it might start with self-protection,but it grows into a hobby too. There is great satisfaction hitting the bulls eye on a target.
So right! Its absolutely fun.
I played Davey Crocket and Roy Rogers when I was a kid with a cap gun. I loved the feel of a leather holster as it creeked when I put my cap gun in it after taking out the neighborhood boys. I loved the smell of the sulfur after I shot the cap. The boys wouldn’t drop for a girl, so I called them ghosts.
When I grew up I went to hunting when I found friends who would join me. I really liked the 22 rifle and was a dead shot. I also entered shoots with a smooth bore flintlock and a percussion Hawken rifle portraying living history events. It was challenging. I did this because it was fun, like being rocked violently in a canoe (to portray a rapids) while aiming at targets with my forge wrapped smooth bore that shot one foot to the right at 100 feet, so I had to adjust my aim.
I liked the rifles better than handguns because they were more accurate, but as a kid, I nailed every boy with my cap gun and rode off on my stick pony into the sunset singing “Happy Trails to You”.
Hmm, after reading some of the comments above, I wonder where I went wrong. I married a Iowa democrat many, many yrs ago. She has no interest in firearms in any way shape or form, but really likes the wild game that I bring home in the fall by use of firearms (shotgun, rifle, etc.). but beyond that, everything must be locked up, no excuses, period. I’ve tried through the yrs to get her interested, but to no avail (and the few times that I did get her out shooting, she beat me soundly ).
My husband starting pushing me to get my license when his health started to decline. He knows that he can’t protect me. I think it gave him peace of mind when I finally did get my license. I went out and bought my first hand gun. So now I protect the both of us.
My girlfriend and I hunted as some of our dates together years ago. She was married before and hubby #1 kept the guns away from her. The first marriage broke up in less than 10 years. Teaching her to shoot handguns was one of our first dates. Shooting trap was a second or third date. Teaching her to shoot rifle was the final date prior to going hunting together. She has some arthritis so she prefers to avoid the massive recoil weapons but she has a fine selection of 38 specials, 9 mm pistols, Custom 1911 45 ACP using target loads, 20 gauge pump shotguns and 223 rifles to keep most intruders at bay. Her big game gun is a custom rebuilt 270 Winchester that I had made to her physical dimensions.
In her own words, she finds shooting to be not only fun but empowering as well. Shooting is an activity that one can do well despite physical limitations and advancing age. Hunting has put meat on our table and having the weapons around has given her some peace of mind when I am at work and weird things happen outside our front door.
She is my partner in life and we dated for 5 years prior to being married. We are coming up on our 15 year wedding anniversary this October. My point to this is that the family that slays together stays together. and when I die, she wants to inherit all my weapons and will pawn off my plaques and trophies from my prior competitions.
Joined my husband in long distance competitive shooting (100, 200, 300 yds). He was raised in a hunting family, had a gun by the age of 10 and began hunting then. He began reloading as a teenager and taught me to reload. He began building guns about 20 years ago and now only builds specialty long distance rifles. He also makes his own bullets now, a craft he’s been learning for 4 years. Gunsmithing and competitive shooting have been his hobby for decades and so I got involved.
As a kid, I loved playing gun-based games (cowboys and indians or ‘playing army’) and really got a kick out of my cap gun. Also got a real thrill exploding a roll of caps with a rock or using my fingernail to ignite a cap.
Still love the smell of gunpowder. And then there’s Hoppes….lol
Gentlemen, your opinions are not wrong just because you are men! Things have changed, women are “out in the world” more than our grand and great grandmothers, and women carry guns for the same reason men do, for protection.
That aside, the truth is men have so many fun activities! Car shows, air shows, racing in all forms, RC planes, boats and vehicle events and clubs, bike (motorcyle) clubs and runs, sporting events in all forms and shooting.
I very much prefer participating in those fun activities rather than participating in some “girl” activity like “shopping”.
My husband and I both shoot competitively and defensively….I am a Front Sight enthusiast and quite frankly bought memberships for all seven of my daughters, their spouses AND their children. All of my daughters love to shoot, and handle their weapons with grace and dignity. Go Gals! @ Lynn, yes, the smell of gunpowder is invigorating!
Growing up my Dad had “a” gun,but never went hunting or shooting. Us kids never learned how to shoot. I was 18 (many years ago) when I learned how to shoot with a friend’s help. I was hooked! Loved target shooting and was good at it.
It would be 10yrs before I met my wonderful husband and his family was a “gun family”. Now I have a CCP and own several other guns. My brother is into hunting and I hope to have someone in the family take me hunting – not afraid to do the dirty work either, want to learn it all (I bait my own hook, take fish off, clean & cook them)!
My reasons are because “it’s fun” to target shoot, for protection (crazy world out there) and I hope to learn to hunt so as to help put meat on the table when “it” hits the fan.
With my wife being raised in the city and knowing nothing about guns per say, I have tried to give her some experience and teach her what she needs to know. But that is not an easy thing to do because she has not made the determination in her mind to do so. The subject came up the other night and I asked her how do you remove the magazine in the .22 pistol? She could not tell me. I told her if you cannot operate that firearm in total darkness, then you need to step up to the plate and practice a whole lot more. She just’s wants to go shoot. Not practice reloading mags, exchanging mags, clearing jams etc. She can only handle the .22 so it is only one gun to master. I have my work cut out for me.
For self defense, as a deterrent to tyranny (now somewhat questionable), and because a gun sure beats the hell out killing a possum or other varmints with a shovel.
Divorced female.
I have two children, and no husband.
Seems like a given, to me.
I’m not one who believes anyone needs an arsenal, one gun and one bullet will do.
If it becomes an extension of your arm..you can stop most attacks just by that alone. Confidence speaks volumes.
Most women are viewed as “sitting ducks”.
I also carry a nice Amphibian/blade with me at all times.
I have a large dog, and pepper spray..lol, which is probley out-dated at this point.
Even married women should have a firearm and know how to use it..very well.
My opinion.
Peace