Young ladies in shooting

We've always managed to attract more women than some of the other clubs I visited when I was looking, and have picked up a few more since the Women on Target we hosted in September. Being the sort of political person I am, I'm always looking to attract more women to shooting, knowing their voices carry more weight in the public debate than mine ever will.

Ken
 
Sunday @ Danvers Fish and Game , at the plate range a young lady showed up with a new permit and a new auto pistol - by herself. She looked like a woman I used to sort of know a long time ago who I thought was some kind of spacy hippy ...

Anyway she got plenty of help , friendly advice , tried a few other guns , learned a lot about her own and was so goddamn happy that it was infectious - everybody got noticeably cheerier the longer she was there.

Turned out it was the woman I thought it was. She's a happy person , I shouldn't lable people as spacy hippys.

And I hope she comes back a lot more.
 
Everytime i see that pic i have to laugh at JackO chatting it up with the ladies....

EddieCoyle said:
These three young women were at the 4th Shoot. They're not members here; they're family and/or friends of Club members.

After the shoot, two of them took my Basic Pistol class and applied for their LTCs.

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glockguy17 said:
Everytime i see that pic i have to laugh at JackO chatting it up with the ladies....
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We need more women shooters. Things are out of balance with out more women shooters.

The one thing that amazes me that many mothers come and bring their kids to the Juniors program at my club. Most of the ones that I have met seemed to demonstrate little interest in firearms. We need more women to keep this going. It looks painfully obvious to me.

The club just had 40 new members last night. Three were female. One was an older woman. One was a college student. The third was a junior. The rest of the applicants were men in the 20's through their 60's.

I definitely notice that the club attracts people of all ages, creeds, etc except for Democrats and women! Are women and democrats mutually inclusive?

bill
 
Dick Manley said:
But to no avail she still wont go, she keeps using the the excuse that she is "afraid" she will "like it".
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Hahah, this is funny on so many levels--political, cultural and the just plain inappropriate. Basically, Mass. public education and politics have managed to brainwash people who grew up here with the idea that interest in firearms is like a sick, twisted sexual fetish...oh wait, those are OK in Mass. Alright, back to the drawing board.
 
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I personally love exposing girls to shooting.. You can usually tell the ones who have the potential to take up the sport on their own vs the ones that had fun but wouldn't take to it seriously. I think the best way to get more girls into the sport is to have the girls already in, bring their like minded friends, and make it a thing they do together. Most girls I know have a hard time going to the bathroom by themselves, so bringing your girlfriends shooting shouldn't be that much of a stretch haha... I'd love to see more ladies on the firing line!
 
Shooter McGavin said:
I personally love exposing girls to shooting.. You can usually tell the ones who have the potential to take up the sport on their own vs the ones that had fun but wouldn't take to it seriously. I think the best way to get more girls into the sport is to have the girls already in, bring their like minded friends, and make it a thing they do together. Most girls I know have a hard time going to the bathroom by themselves, so bringing your girlfriends shooting shouldn't be that much of a stretch haha... I'd love to see more ladies on the firing line!
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I am lining up two girls that are very interested in sports for my club's event.

Be sure to mention that shooting is an Olympic sport with multiple sections.

Anyways, the women that I am courting already have lots of gear for their activities. They have clothes, equipment, etc. So they are already accustomed to planning, buying gear, and putting it, together.

The active women out of the ones that I know have been the most interested in the event, too. The others have shown very little interest.

Bill
 
My club had at least 30 ladies that appeared for the event. One of my friends went and she had a great time. I made an appearance just to make sure that she was ok.

I think that club got a lot of positive feedback from the event.

Bill
 
Nicole said:
Hi [wave] I AM a 20-something female pursuing the shooting sports on my own.

My club has a slew of female juniors and the Second Amendment Sisters chapter attracts a good crowd every month, but outside of those events the ladies are definitely in the minority. And most of the ladies that do shoot are not in the age bracket you mentioned.

That said, I've been involved in a number of women's events in the last few years and never had a problem filling them up. There's always a waiting list.

There are tons of ladies out there who want to TRY shooting. Getting them licensed, with their own guns, and shooting on a regular basis is where the breakdown is from my perspective.

Or maybe they're all out there with their LTC's, paying GOAL dues, writing their Reps, and just are flying under my radar. I do chalk a lot of it up to the age demographic rather than the gender issue. 20&30-somethings of either gender aren't the backbone of any of my teams, the club, or other gun organizations & activities.
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Hi and welcome to NES!
 
Run a Women of Target at your Club:
http://www.nrahq.org/women/wot.asp

"You will receive hands-on shotgun, rifle, and pistol instructions in a safe, non-competitive atmosphere with competent instructors. All women are invited to participate, regardless of skill level. No previous experience is necessary; just the desire to learn and have fun."

The women will love it! - Maybe it's something about getting to shoot without obnoxious guys around ;)
 
I am a 30-something that just recently took up the shooting sport of USPSA. I can't speak for all women, but the only reason I now enjoy shooting is because of the competition. I personally don't think going to the range just to shoot at one target is fun at all. Maybe this is what turns other ladies off from shooting. I know that most men get excited about the power, the mechanics, and the awe of the machine. Me, not so much. I can imagine a lot of other women don't immediately have that draw to a gun either. Therefore, there is no iincentive to go back after the first experience with shooting.
 
Mrs Supermoto said:
I know that most men get excited about the power, the mechanics, and the awe of the machine. Me, not so much. I can imagine a lot of other women don't immediately have that draw to a gun either. Therefore, there is no iincentive to go back after the first experience with shooting.
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Mrs Supermoto,

I really think you've hit upon a fundamental difference in the reason for our attraction to the firearm culture. It is a major factor in the way, as a male, we approach the sport (though I think some would deny it). It may be something that we should consider, when trying to encourage females into the shooting sports, as well as the obvious advantages of being able to defend oneself.

Bill
 
Dick Manley said:
She is from CT, But her Family is very liberal and at first tried to condemn me for my love of firearms. I feel a little out of place sometimes around her parents.

-DM-
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Just to keep the peace, anytime the issue comes up, just admit that having an interest in firearms is a disease, and you can't do anything about it until Obama comes to the rescue and takes your guns away! Then they will have sympathy for you instead of hating you.
 
Mrs Supermoto said:
I am a 30-something that just recently took up the shooting sport of USPSA. I can't speak for all women, but the only reason I now enjoy shooting is because of the competition. I personally don't think going to the range just to shoot at one target is fun at all. Maybe this is what turns other ladies off from shooting. I know that most men get excited about the power, the mechanics, and the awe of the machine. Me, not so much. I can imagine a lot of other women don't immediately have that draw to a gun either. Therefore, there is no iincentive to go back after the first experience with shooting.
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I don't think that's necessarily a gender gap thing, though I could be wrong. Different people have different attractions to shooting. Getting people interested can be tricky sometimes because different people get different things out of shooting. The self defense aspect can be a big draw to some, while it turns others off. I think the same is true of competition, though for different reasons.
 
Mrs Supermoto said:
I am a 30-something that just recently took up the shooting sport of USPSA. I can't speak for all women, but the only reason I now enjoy shooting is because of the competition. I personally don't think going to the range just to shoot at one target is fun at all. Maybe this is what turns other ladies off from shooting. I know that most men get excited about the power, the mechanics, and the awe of the machine. Me, not so much. I can imagine a lot of other women don't immediately have that draw to a gun either. Therefore, there is no iincentive to go back after the first experience with shooting.
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I see a lot of bikers get into the technical side of biking. I rarely see any women in competition. In fact there is no WOMEN's PRO race calendar this year.

I think that is has to do with failed marketing, since similar things like Triathlons are 50/50.

Market your club to women. My club had a good turnout and several female officers and female members ran most of the program. The president was there to welcome everyone to the club.

bill
 
jar said:
I don't think that's necessarily a gender gap thing, though I could be wrong. Different people have different attractions to shooting.
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Right. I don't think it is the whole "Science, Math and Technical" gender gap thing that has gotten so much attention over the past few years. But I think there is something inherent about guns that appeal more to men than women. I don't know how to explain it, but when my husband gets to shoot a new gun, he's like a little kid in a candy store. I have never and will never have that immediate attraction to a gun, nor do I get giddy over shooting it.

Things that I need for an enjoyable day at the range include:
1. Warmth. I need to shoot on a nice day
2. Good ear protection. I don't like the ear muffs because they give me a headache.
3. Some sort of challenging shooting.
4. Having safety enforced (an RO available). Nothing is worse than being a new shooter and crying because you are scared to death of the people there. I have done this. I left and sat in the car.
5. A gun and ammo that works.
6. Seeing improvement.

This was the exact day at the range that I got hooked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4McLrhqadXY
 
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I agree with "challenging shooting" thing. Don't know if it is the proliferaton of video gaming, or what, but while I, as a kid, was perfectly happy plinking thumbtacks out of a target....today that will not cut it. Need something a little more challengeing for today's youth or newbie adults. At the least, some metal targets that move/ring when hit. Trap/skeet are a good choice to start out, since the target is moving (fast) and it is relatively safe (bird shot does not travel far).

I do not know how to make things more fun on the pistol rifle range, though. I have seen bowling pin matches, but they have to be pretty heavily controlled due to richochete. Shooting lanes have to be maintained for safety, so that stray bullets never leave the range--and this severely limits any sort of shooting, like mutiple targets, more of a tactical shoot scenario.
And with all the recent bad press, stray bullets leaving the range are 100% not allowed!

Maybe the answer is more gun club events--supervised bowling pin shoots, cowboy events, turkey shoots, interclub competitions, all with the emphasis on new shooters. Anything other than just shooting the bullseye on a piece of paper.
 
Mrs Supermoto said:
Things that I need for an enjoyable day at the range include:
1. Warmth. I need to shoot on a nice day
2. Good ear protection. I don't like the ear muffs because they give me a headache.
3. Some sort of challenging shooting.
4. Having safety enforced (an RO available). Nothing is worse than being a new shooter and crying because you are scared to death of the people there. I have done this. I left and sat in the car.
5. A gun and ammo that works.
6. Seeing improvement.
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biff44 said:
I agree with "challenging shooting" thing.
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You guys want challenging shooting? (and a warm day, for Mrs Supermoto). Boy, have I got a shoot for you guys.

Can you hit a 1" square at 25 meters with a rifle? 10 times out of 10? If not, then come to the Patriots Day Appleseed Shoot on April 18-19th. We'll be having at least FIVE others in New England that weekend, so don't panic if you don't want to go to Harvard, MA.
Warmth? Check - nice and warm this year.
Challenging? Check - It took me a year and a half to earn my Rifleman patch.
Safety enforced? Check - EVERYONE is an RSO and can call a Cease Fire if you see an unsafe condition!
See Improvement? Check - I've never NOT seen someone's groups shrink over the course of a weekend.

Hope I see you there!

biff44 said:
Maybe the answer is more gun club events--supervised bowling pin shoots, cowboy events, turkey shoots, interclub competitions, all with the emphasis on new shooters. Anything other than just shooting the bullseye on a piece of paper.
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You just missed two - Franklin Lodge AF&AM held one on Saturday at the North Grafton Fish, Game & Bird Club and Shirley Rod & Gun held one on Sunday.

Both were announced on NES, too. Maybe we need a new forum for shoot announcements...[thinking]
 
dwarven1 said:
You
Both were announced on NES, too. Maybe we need a new forum for shoot announcements...[thinking]
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I think it would be a pretty safe bet that young adult women do not read this website, so "announcing" it here will get you absolutely NOWHERE!

How about getting into the Friday scene pullout section of the boston herald? ie. something they might actually see.
 
biff44 said:
I think it would be a pretty safe bet that young adult women do not read this website, so "announcing" it here will get you absolutely NOWHERE!
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Actually, I went to the Turkey shoot that was in Grafton and I only knew about the shoot from NES.

If its something you would like to change, find some ladies and introduce them to the sport and tell them to join the board.....and not to forget to join GOAL[smile]
 
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Cape Ann Sportsmans Club in Gloucester held a Ladies Day in October. It was free to all ladies. The turnout was around 75. Started out with some classroom time then off to the indoor and outdoor pistol range, rifle range and trap and skeet. They were then treated to a catered lunch. Many of them have already taken the safety course, applied for licenses, and filled out applications to join the club.
 

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