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-   -   The Rising Tide of Gun Ownership is Female (https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=700931)

BonnieB 02-10-2013 2:11 PM

The Rising Tide of Gun Ownership is Female
 
The New York Times published an article today that says The Rising Tide of Gun Ownership is Female.

"Though they may share a fierce belief in the Second Amendment with their male counterparts, female gun owners often learn to shoot for different reasons, their interest in and proficiency with firearms not just a hobby or a means for self-defense, but a statement of independence and personal power."

"Women’s participation in shooting sports has surged over the last decade, increasing 51.5 percent for target shooting from 2001 to 2011 — to just over 5 million women from 3.3 million women — and by 41.8 percent for hunting, according to the National Sporting Goods Association."

"Maybe 25 years ago, if you put on your power suit with your floppy bow and marched yourself into a gun club and said, ‘Where do I sign up, boys?’ you might have gotten a couple of funny looks,” Ms. Tartaro said. “But now they might say, ‘Hey, sit down, what are you interested in? "

Here's a link to this article, which is well worth reading and passing along. We often wonder if we're really welcome in the firearms world. It really doesn't matter. We don't need permission.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us...e.html?hp&_r=0

SickofSoCal 02-10-2013 2:16 PM

Thank the internet. The Dinosaur Media's misinformation war is harder to wage, esp. on a lot of politically-savvy younger people.

It's a new generation out there. I'd bet that 85% of them are 35 and down.

hartref 02-10-2013 3:37 PM

Excellent article thanks for posting!

Poms&Guns 02-10-2013 4:20 PM

Thanks Bonnie! I have never shot with gloves on, but it is worth a try because I have just found my next purchase when they are back in stock...LOL. :)

It's nice to see more and more women's groups getting together and shooting.

CessnaDriver 02-10-2013 4:36 PM

Right now I would say any woman showing up to any public meetings in support of the 2nd amendment is worth five times that of the presence of a male. The face of the gun owner is and has been changing and the antis are going to fight to keep that from coming to light as much as possible. So just stepping in to say... Get your faces seen by those in power.

VegasND 02-10-2013 4:50 PM

More women owning and carrying guns can only be helpful to our Rights.

Desdemmonna 02-10-2013 6:31 PM

I really wish shows would stop featuring tacky pink accessory garbage and bad made in China jewelry to women and husband and instead focus on carrying tactical equipment, firearms accessories etc for a smaller frame/curvier BBW types.
I don't want to look "cute" on the range, I want to BE comfortable and safe.

movie zombie 02-10-2013 9:10 PM

amen to that, Desde!

SFgiants105 03-03-2013 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CessnaDriver (Post 10490146)
Right now I would say any woman showing up to any public meetings in support of the 2nd amendment is worth five times that of the presence of a male. The face of the gun owner is and has been changing and the antis are going to fight to keep that from coming to light as much as possible. So just stepping in to say... Get your faces seen by those in power.


Agreed.

Quote:

Yet even some of the most ardent female gun enthusiasts said the industry had made a misstep in concluding that all women shooters like pink.
It's funny how the color of a gun makes it seem more or less menacing. My AR is woodland camo with a 24" barrel, and most non-gun people can't tell that it's an AR-15 (even after all the recent negative publicity). So imagine what one would think of one of these:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...hello-ar15.jpg

Veroskater 03-03-2013 12:35 PM

Agree with Desde. Better selection of guns that fit my tiny hands would be awesome.

glockgirl83 04-04-2013 7:50 PM

I'm excited to be a part of the Rise. More color options (other than pink) in handguns would be great!

M1A_Girl 04-05-2013 7:52 AM

I hear you glock girl, more color options would be nice. Pink is over rated.

Sunday 04-05-2013 1:41 PM

I see lots of women at the range now days! Plus they shoot great. The CCW classes I see have a good % of women in them as well. IMO is great.

CAL.BAR 04-05-2013 1:57 PM

While they may be shooting in "record" numbers (i.e. twice nearly zero isn't very impressive) but they almost never venture into rifles, shotguns or OLL's and military style rifles w/o significant help/pressure from men. I have yet to see a single, unmarried or unattached women show up at the range with her AR in tow.

Steph 04-05-2013 2:00 PM

I'm just waiting on my barrel and then have it all painted, and I'll be showing up at the range with my AR. Granted I'm not unattached, but I did this myself. BF didn't give any significant help or pressure, but he did get me into this hobby. The wait is awful.

Sunday 04-05-2013 2:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR (Post 11011688)
While they may be shooting in "record" numbers (i.e. twice nearly zero isn't very impressive) but they almost never venture into rifles, shotguns or OLL's and military style rifles w/o significant help/pressure from men. I have yet to see a single, unmarried or unattached women show up at the range with her AR in tow.

I would guess that a hand gun is the best for self defense. I can't see me using an AR or shotgun to [in most cases] defend myself.

Sunday 04-05-2013 2:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steph (Post 11011712)
I'm just waiting on my barrel and then have it all painted, and I'll be showing up at the range with my AR. Granted I'm not unattached, but I did this myself. BF didn't give any significant help or pressure, but he did get me into this hobby. The wait is awful.

hard core shooter!!!

CAL.BAR 04-05-2013 2:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunday (Post 11011785)
I would guess that a hand gun is the best for self defense. I can't see me using an AR or shotgun to [in most cases] defend myself.

Well, according to MANY folks around here (and the NRA) an AR is an EXCELLENT HD weapon. (or so they say)

My point is, that women (in general) are only in it for the absolute most immediate personal or home protection and no more. So they fall exactly into what the states seem to want to role us back to. A pistol with no more than 10 rounds. In other words, they (in general) (and as a group) will NOT be poster children (or much help) in our battles with the states with regard to military style rifles, or hi-cap mags or most anything else under attack currently.

BadKitty 04-05-2013 5:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR (Post 11011829)
While they may be shooting in "record" numbers (i.e. twice nearly zero isn't very impressive) but they almost never venture into rifles, shotguns or OLL's and military style rifles w/o significant help/pressure from men. I have yet to see a single, unmarried or unattached women show up at the range with her AR in tow.


There are plenty of women who shoot rifles and shotguns.


Then again, you are talking to a single, unmarried and unattached woman who buys and shoots her own weapons.



Quote:

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR (Post 11011829)
My point is, that women (in general) are only in it for the absolute most immediate personal or home protection and no more.


Are you able to cite a report on this? I have been collecting studies and articles on statistics and demographics of female shooters. If you have one which speaks to this, I would be interested to add it to my collection.



Quote:

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR (Post 11011829)
So they fall exactly into what the states seem to want to role us back to. A pistol with no more than 10 rounds. In other words, they (in general) (and as a group) will NOT be poster children (or much help) in our battles with the states with regard to military style rifles, or hi-cap mags or most anything else under attack currently.


I understand that you have been speaking in generalizations, but I feel very uncomfortable with the statements you've made here. Tone is difficult to read over the internet; but, it sounds like you are trying to say that women shooters are useless to the 2A cause and may actually be hurting the cause. Perhaps you can clarify what you meant?


BK

BonnieB 04-05-2013 7:43 PM

Yes, please support your statements of fact with some supporting documents.

No support makes it an opinion, even if you read it somewhere but can't tell us where to find the article. This is how we get into the legislation situation that we are in, by people making random statements without a reliable source of data. IMNSHO

KLD83 04-05-2013 8:27 PM

As a woman, my firearms have been picked out and purchased by me, not my spouse. In fact until I started becoming more interested in making my own hand gun and shot gun purchases, we actually didn't even have any firearms in the home. My husband is a corrrectional officer and a navy veteran that was also ship force security.j We both grew up with guns in our homes and taught to shoot at young ages. I'm not sure what CAL.BAR is trying to say here. BUT it seems like maybe all the soccer moms suddenly just wanting a gun to jump on board isn't going to really do much for keeping the vice from tightening? I'm assuming that's what is meant. I do see some shooters (male and female) who are oblivious to any 2A issues. They feel nothing with change ever for them as a casual shooter/gun owner. They don't seem to see how a small restriction here or there matters if they aren't shooting more than 10 rounds now anyhow? I have to HOPE CAL.BAR wouldn't mean that BECAUSE we are women we could hold no value to the cause. I know for me personally my husband is exempt from most of the regulations and restrictions and those infer to me as his spouse, BUT that dosen't mean that I'm ok with what's going on. I actively keep up with the bills both in CA and nationally. I make ALL my own firearm choices and don't need a man do anything for me, but I CHOOSE to be a wife and mother.

M1A_Girl 04-06-2013 10:03 AM

KLD83, you go girl :)
Not all women are pressured into doing things. We do have a mind of our own. I believe the rise in women shooters is coming up, because are speaking out more. We want our presence know, especially with the current 2a issues. Yes, some women are barely starting out, and some have been shooting for years. We can shoot more than handguns, personally my favorite gun is my m1a loaded. I also know how to shoot a shotgun, pistols, bolt actions and revolvers. We are more evolved than some men believe.

mosinnagantm9130 04-06-2013 12:56 PM

The more women shooters the better IMO.

Eldraque 04-06-2013 1:43 PM

Awesome

BonnieB 04-08-2013 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CessnaDriver (Post 10490146)
Right now I would say any woman showing up to any public meetings in support of the 2nd amendment is worth five times that of the presence of a male. The face of the gun owner is and has been changing and the antis are going to fight to keep that from coming to light as much as possible. So just stepping in to say... Get your faces seen by those in power.

Absolutely right, and suddenly I'm much more willing to go to 2A rallies and get in front, near the cameras....

Our presence in the shooting sports world carries a huge weight with the anti's. We 'normalize' the group, out-balancing the militia types, who, IMNSHO, do more harm than good in front of the media.

kaligaran 04-08-2013 11:44 AM

Don't tell this to the guys in the off-topic forums who think that woman swing along the pro/anti gun pendulum with our monthly periods.

Almost all of my friends are male. Many of which own guns and ALL are completely oblivious to the bills proposed no matter how much info I send to them and attempt to keep them in the loop. They just want to be 'left alone'.

It's not a gender based issue or problem for sure.

penguinofsleep 04-13-2013 2:20 PM

remember shooting in the early 2000's around here and the range looked like the typical archetypes/stereotypes of the shooting community plus a few randoms. now it looks much more reflective of society at large.

personally, it's all the same to me, but the article did make a good point i could never figure out - why pink and why do so many women's products seem more like a "dumbed down" or patronizing version of the standard counterpart? if anything, i would imagine the female version could actually have more features and less design limitations seeing as how most women have better fine motor control skills vs men.

BonnieB 04-14-2013 7:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinofsleep (Post 11080985)

personally, it's all the same to me, but the article did make a good point i could never figure out - why pink and why do so many women's products seem more like a "dumbed down" or patronizing version of the standard counterpart? if anything, i would imagine the female version could actually have more features and less design limitations seeing as how most women have better fine motor control skills vs men.

We wonder about this too. My best guess is some guys in marketing thought that Barbie-pink anything would sell to women. Well, it sure does to 10 year old girls. Hey, I like pink, got lots of it, which is tricky for a redhead. I particularly like to walk on the range with my pink camo Calguns hat on, and then pull out a big Glock or a .223 SA rifle. Watch the faces, it's amazing.

It's hard for women to shoot this sport, without becoming "one of the guys", which I do not care to do. So, more pink, teal (!), aqua, is showing up in my range bag, hats, bandannas, but I draw the line at guns.

And yet, I've seen women in gun stores, pushing for the pink guns. My guess is, they want to be certain to be able to use it, because hubby probably won't.

BHPFan 04-15-2013 5:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1A_Girl (Post 11018434)
KLD83, you go girl :)
Not all women are pressured into doing things. We do have a mind of our own. I believe the rise in women shooters is coming up, because are speaking out more. We want our presence know, especially with the current 2a issues. Yes, some women are barely starting out, and some have been shooting for years. We can shoot more than handguns, personally my favorite gun is my m1a loaded. I also know how to shoot a shotgun, pistols, bolt actions and revolvers.

:notworthy: :punk: you really rock.

To all the ladies owning guns, YOU GO GIRLS!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1A_Girl (Post 11018434)
We are more evolved than some men believe.

True.

From my observations, women tend to be much more disciplined when shooting and dare I say it, a lot of them can even put guys to shame when using firearms.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosinnagantm9130 (Post 11019616)
The more women shooters the better IMO.

+1

Yes and more power to them.

diverwcw 04-15-2013 5:52 AM

Excellent article and excellent thread. I've take five courses at Front Sight and have seen an increasing number of women at the course.

I've seen a lot at the indoor range I go to.

BonnieB 05-04-2013 5:44 PM

Bumping this to the top of the forum, for further readers.

Can'thavenuthingood 05-05-2013 12:06 PM

Pink is just another color.
Some actually like pink.
Some people actually like green.
Some people actually like blue.
Some people like the 9mm
Some people like the .45

In manufacturing it takes a fair amount of investment, study, research & experimentation (development) to come up with just the right color, texture, metal, plastic etc before bringing a product to market.
Then how many of those items to mfg, stock and ship.
Before shipping the item must first be sold to the dealer/vendor, they have to be convinced someone will buy it.
Then once sold we need market feedback which the market is hesitant or neglectful to provide.

Look around and you'll see many grown women walking around in many pink items. No one is making them buy and wear pink Leopard skin.
Mary Kay cosmetics gives away pink Cadillac's, a successful marketing gimmick.

Pink is just another color.

Vick


Quote:

Originally Posted by BonnieB (Post 11090149)
We wonder about this too. My best guess is some guys in marketing thought that Barbie-pink anything would sell to women. Well, it sure does to 10 year old girls. Hey, I like pink, got lots of it, which is tricky for a redhead. I particularly like to walk on the range with my pink camo Calguns hat on, and then pull out a big Glock or a .223 SA rifle. Watch the faces, it's amazing.

It's hard for women to shoot this sport, without becoming "one of the guys", which I do not care to do. So, more pink, teal (!), aqua, is showing up in my range bag, hats, bandannas, but I draw the line at guns.

And yet, I've seen women in gun stores, pushing for the pink guns. My guess is, they want to be certain to be able to use it, because hubby probably won't.


BonnieB 05-05-2013 3:56 PM

Even though I commented on it myself, THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT PINK !

This thread is about the increasing number of women entering shooting sports, their motives and interests. Please let's not get side-tracked.

LittleOldLady 06-23-2013 7:56 AM

As an over 60 woman with over 50 years shooting experience, I grew up on a ranch miles away from help, we had bears and other critters.
My Father wanted all us kids to know how to defend ourselves from 'predators' of either the two legged or four legged variety.
There was firearms everywhere, from the kitchen to the living room to our bedrooms and our horses and cars.
I have never been without them and I consider them another tool.

I cannot say that I am used to the incredulous looks when little 'ol tiny me breaks out my pre-63 Model 70 or my AR or my 9mm or my .357 mag or my .44 cal cap and ball or my .50 cal muzzle load cap and ball rifle and shoots tight groupings(not as tight as they used to be due to my eyesight).
But, hey, I do what I do because I like shooting firearms.

Side note: I would never buy a pink/green/other color weapon. I like them just fine the color they are!

BonnieB 07-14-2013 2:43 PM

The tide of women shooters is still rising.

Olav 07-14-2013 3:04 PM

My wife didn't want to get an AR because when she looked at mine she said it looked mean. The black color wasn't for her. She was adamant even thought she enjoyed shooting mine at the range.

The following week, while I was taking a tour of Sun Devil Manufacturing in AZ. I sent her a photo of an anodized purple AR the they made.

She said she liked it and now she's been shooting her purple AR with me going on 4 years.

She loves shooting her AR and it's nice and light at about 6 lbs unloaded.

Thank G for some color.

BTW she has Kimbers for handguns. Stainless steel. Great shot too.


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