Congrats to all, but most especially Jon and Barb! Too bad we couldn't have been there!
For folks that aren't excited about shooting, shooting "interactive" targets is absolutely the way to go! Seeing a pumpkin, soda can, plastic bottle of water explode might just push them over the edge. Putting small holes in a piece of paper is not likely to do it for those folks.
As for women in particular, here's some of my thoughts from personal experience and reading over the years. [PLEASE NOTE: I am speaking in "generalities", NOT all women are like this, just like not all men are the same. But these are issues that must be addressed for women and if they affect you or your SO, they must be dealt with to gain their confidence and comfort with firearms.]
- Women are usually brought up to be "nurturers", not "hunter/gatherers" (men) and thus "destroying things" or learning to "kill" are not things that fit (the majority of) women's comfort zone.
- Women usually have smaller hands and less muscular arms. Upper body strength is a physiological issue here. This makes many guns feel uncomfortable in their hands and they react negatively to the recoil a lot quicker than most men do.
- Women usually have longer hair than men and this can affect the seal that earmuffs give, leading to more noise exposure and more discomfort with being around shooting/shooters. No perfect solution here, but be aware and try to get as much hair out from under the earmuff cups as possible.
- Hot brass. Personal experience is that women are a lot more sensitive than men to being hit with hot brass, even if it is only on the arm. Clothing matters a lot here! Even with a high scoop neck top, my Wife ended up with a .22LR case down her shirt the last time we shot (a week ago, just before her hand surgery). The case bounced off the shooting bay partition at BR&P and "plop"! Personally I have a few scars from hot brass over the years as well, I've just never done St. Vita's Dance (sp?) when it happened.
- Everyone should wear a hat while shooting, all the time. Minimizes hot brass getting between glasses and cheek, and even can deflect brass that otherwise might go down a shirt.
First impressions count, A LOT, for first time shooters. My Wife still remembers how she HATED riflery as a kid at summer camp. According to her, they "made them" shoot these big rifles which were bigger than she was (her words) and very loud. Obviously .22LR DCM rifles given to the camps . . . we used them at Boy Scout Camp at Myles Standish (long gone). Back then nobody wore ear protection and my Wife's hearing (recently tested) is extremely sensitive (audiologist told her that she had the hearing of an 18 year old)!
So Deena started out immediately with "I hate it, it's too heavy, it's too loud" for a first impression. Although she had a LTC-A/ALP (or earlier equivalent) for ~28 years at my insistence, she only shot a handful of times over all those years until a few years ago she took an all women, full day familiarization class given by SAS at BR&P. She loved it, but due to carpal tunnel issues, she didn't follow it up. Suddenly one Sunday morning at BR&P as we were having breakfast, she decided to join the club, join SAS and asked about GOAL (I'm a Sustaining Member and GOAL Activist, but she never followed up on this). It was totally out of "left field" to me!
She did start going to the SAS practice sessions at BR&P, bought a couple of guns for herself and shot with me as well, but the carpal tunnel and tendinitis was a serious impediment. Since her first surgery, she's become dis-interested again and only with major coaxing has she shot the .22 pistol. Now that she had her second surgery last week, we'll have to see what happens.