Cheaper than Dirt's Shooter's Log blog
http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=22256
Do Not Underestimate the Woman Who Shoots
Recently, fellow gun bloggers Caleb Giddings and Shelley Rae have written blogs about laying off the hate.
As a female gun blogger and gun owner, I can relate to their statement. Just do an Internet search on “girls with guns” and you get a mixture of scantily clad women holding or firing guns and videos of girls shooting guns badly. It is rare, unless you know what you are specifically looking for to find a woman shooting a gun confidently and correctly. You just find women shooters to either objectify or ridicule. It confuses me when I read a bunch of hateful comments, because I feel like all of us in the shooting community should encourage each other. We actually have a few things in common—we all want to be safe, be better shooters, have fun, love guns, and want to preserve our right to own those guns. The media demonizes our favorite sport. I mean, where is the anti-baseball bat campaign? Should we not band together, at least for our love of shooting?
Shelley feels that there has been some backlash lately on women gun owners and calls for a stop to unnecessary criticism. In an NRA News interview with Julianna Crowder from A Girl and A Gun women’s shooting league, Julianna describes trigger therapy. Julianna says that going to the range relieves stress. The interviewer condescendingly asks Julianna, “Does the bitterness leave, too?” “Are you less clingy after?” Condescending attitudes such as these do not encourage women to join the shooting sports.
First, she might just be a better shot than you are. It is well-documented that most women tend to be initially better at shooting—they have better hand eye coordination and usually follow direction better the first time they pick up a gun.
The shooting sports do not discriminate. At the IPC Shooting World Cup in 2011, a woman ranked number one out of both men and women shooters. In 1992 in a coed Olympic skeet event, a woman, Shan Zhang from China, beat everyone with a world record score of 373 out of 375.
Next, do not underestimate the woman shooter because she has stepped outside the box. Perceived as a masculine hobby, a woman who decides to shoot is treading on unfamiliar territory. This takes guts. Respect the woman who shoots. She made a tough decision, one in which she might not have gotten any support. It takes thick skin to know you are about to walk into ridicule. Just because she can probably take it, doesn’t mean you should dish it.
Cheaper Than Dirt sponsored shooter Kay Miculek, head instructor for the Babes with Bullets, camps says:
In many instances, she made the decision to seek knowledge in an effort to overcome a fear born of ignorance. She has studied, and practiced, and applied this knowledge to an instrument that she was once afraid to touch. A woman that shoots has learned that she is in complete control of a machine that in the wrong hands can cause pain and suffering. Yet in the right hands, her hands, it can offer protection and security. A woman that shoots knows the satisfaction of setting, and then accomplishing goals. If she is a competitive shooter, she is learning to control her body and emotions. She is learning to make split second decisions when the stress levels are high. She has experienced the exuberant high of a peak performance, and picked herself up to try again after a devastating defeat. A woman that shoots is in control, determined, disciplined, confident, and not to be underestimated!
Just like you, every woman has her own reasons to buy and shoot a gun. It is not just for self-defense. I have the self-defense gun, the plinking gun, the just for grins gun, and the collector’s gun. My reasons for owning each and every one of them is just as varied as anyone else’s reasons for owning a gun. Women shooters are not scared, timid creatures. In fact, they are taking the first steps to be in charge of their own safety. Women gun owners are empowered. They can protect themselves and their family. They chose to join pistol leagues, take classes, and compete professionally.
When I first started shooting, I would get all kinds of help. No one seemed to let me work out jams on my own. Some guy was always coming to my rescue. Was it because they just assumed I didn’t know what I was doing? Sometimes I didn’t, but I wanted to learn. I can’t learn if someone was always doing it for me. We all appreciate help, but only when we ask for it. Men, just like women, do not have this innate ability to be an expert shooter. It is a learned skill. One we can all master.
In the United States, there is an estimated 20 million women gun owners. This power in numbers has started reflecting on the industry. More and more companies are catering to women shooters, such as Lisa Looper’s holsters designed by a woman, made for women, SHE Outdoor clothing, and Prois clothing for the women hunter. Women shooters know enough that they are demanding products made specifically for their body type. Do not underestimate them to make an informed decision on the gear they choose to use.
Just like you, she is exercising her 2nd Amendment rights. The woman shooter is fully enjoying her freedoms of citizenship. In Laura Browder’s book, Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America she writes, “The armed woman…must be patriotic while realizing that the state has no responsibility for her protection, and may even be hostile to her interests.” (p. 212-213)
You may not know her story. Maybe the woman you see shooting at the range is sighting in her deer rifle she has used for seven seasons, or maybe she is breaking in her very first handgun because she wants to feel safer. Either way, she has a valid reason to be there, just as you do.
Women who decide to take up shooting are walking into a sport and industry that is full of stereotypes and expectations, in which she probably fits none of them. Most women shooting organizations such as the DIVA Women Outdoors Worldwide focus on encouragement. In my experience, I get half encouragement and half discouragement. You might get the same thing. Therefore, guys, when you see a woman at the range, or in competition, encourage her, try not be condescending. In fact, she might be up to a friendly target practice challenge. Just whatever you do, don’t underestimate her. And yes, I am proud that I do in fact, shoot like a girl.
Do Not Underestimate the Woman Who Shoots
Recently, fellow gun bloggers Caleb Giddings and Shelley Rae have written blogs about laying off the hate.
As a female gun blogger and gun owner, I can relate to their statement. Just do an Internet search on “girls with guns” and you get a mixture of scantily clad women holding or firing guns and videos of girls shooting guns badly. It is rare, unless you know what you are specifically looking for to find a woman shooting a gun confidently and correctly. You just find women shooters to either objectify or ridicule. It confuses me when I read a bunch of hateful comments, because I feel like all of us in the shooting community should encourage each other. We actually have a few things in common—we all want to be safe, be better shooters, have fun, love guns, and want to preserve our right to own those guns. The media demonizes our favorite sport. I mean, where is the anti-baseball bat campaign? Should we not band together, at least for our love of shooting?
Shelley feels that there has been some backlash lately on women gun owners and calls for a stop to unnecessary criticism. In an NRA News interview with Julianna Crowder from A Girl and A Gun women’s shooting league, Julianna describes trigger therapy. Julianna says that going to the range relieves stress. The interviewer condescendingly asks Julianna, “Does the bitterness leave, too?” “Are you less clingy after?” Condescending attitudes such as these do not encourage women to join the shooting sports.
First, she might just be a better shot than you are. It is well-documented that most women tend to be initially better at shooting—they have better hand eye coordination and usually follow direction better the first time they pick up a gun.
The shooting sports do not discriminate. At the IPC Shooting World Cup in 2011, a woman ranked number one out of both men and women shooters. In 1992 in a coed Olympic skeet event, a woman, Shan Zhang from China, beat everyone with a world record score of 373 out of 375.
Next, do not underestimate the woman shooter because she has stepped outside the box. Perceived as a masculine hobby, a woman who decides to shoot is treading on unfamiliar territory. This takes guts. Respect the woman who shoots. She made a tough decision, one in which she might not have gotten any support. It takes thick skin to know you are about to walk into ridicule. Just because she can probably take it, doesn’t mean you should dish it.
Cheaper Than Dirt sponsored shooter Kay Miculek, head instructor for the Babes with Bullets, camps says:
In many instances, she made the decision to seek knowledge in an effort to overcome a fear born of ignorance. She has studied, and practiced, and applied this knowledge to an instrument that she was once afraid to touch. A woman that shoots has learned that she is in complete control of a machine that in the wrong hands can cause pain and suffering. Yet in the right hands, her hands, it can offer protection and security. A woman that shoots knows the satisfaction of setting, and then accomplishing goals. If she is a competitive shooter, she is learning to control her body and emotions. She is learning to make split second decisions when the stress levels are high. She has experienced the exuberant high of a peak performance, and picked herself up to try again after a devastating defeat. A woman that shoots is in control, determined, disciplined, confident, and not to be underestimated!
Just like you, every woman has her own reasons to buy and shoot a gun. It is not just for self-defense. I have the self-defense gun, the plinking gun, the just for grins gun, and the collector’s gun. My reasons for owning each and every one of them is just as varied as anyone else’s reasons for owning a gun. Women shooters are not scared, timid creatures. In fact, they are taking the first steps to be in charge of their own safety. Women gun owners are empowered. They can protect themselves and their family. They chose to join pistol leagues, take classes, and compete professionally.
When I first started shooting, I would get all kinds of help. No one seemed to let me work out jams on my own. Some guy was always coming to my rescue. Was it because they just assumed I didn’t know what I was doing? Sometimes I didn’t, but I wanted to learn. I can’t learn if someone was always doing it for me. We all appreciate help, but only when we ask for it. Men, just like women, do not have this innate ability to be an expert shooter. It is a learned skill. One we can all master.
In the United States, there is an estimated 20 million women gun owners. This power in numbers has started reflecting on the industry. More and more companies are catering to women shooters, such as Lisa Looper’s holsters designed by a woman, made for women, SHE Outdoor clothing, and Prois clothing for the women hunter. Women shooters know enough that they are demanding products made specifically for their body type. Do not underestimate them to make an informed decision on the gear they choose to use.
Just like you, she is exercising her 2nd Amendment rights. The woman shooter is fully enjoying her freedoms of citizenship. In Laura Browder’s book, Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America she writes, “The armed woman…must be patriotic while realizing that the state has no responsibility for her protection, and may even be hostile to her interests.” (p. 212-213)
You may not know her story. Maybe the woman you see shooting at the range is sighting in her deer rifle she has used for seven seasons, or maybe she is breaking in her very first handgun because she wants to feel safer. Either way, she has a valid reason to be there, just as you do.
Women who decide to take up shooting are walking into a sport and industry that is full of stereotypes and expectations, in which she probably fits none of them. Most women shooting organizations such as the DIVA Women Outdoors Worldwide focus on encouragement. In my experience, I get half encouragement and half discouragement. You might get the same thing. Therefore, guys, when you see a woman at the range, or in competition, encourage her, try not be condescending. In fact, she might be up to a friendly target practice challenge. Just whatever you do, don’t underestimate her. And yes, I am proud that I do in fact, shoot like a girl.
