Guns: The Latest Women’s Accessory?

[spin]

Guns: The Latest Women’s Accessory?
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011



More and more women are purchasing firearms for hunting and personal defense, according to the National Rifle Association and other groups, and the numbers are increasing faster than you’d think. There has been a 28.5 percent increase in firearms bought for hunting, and the number of women buying guns for personal defense has increased by an incredible 83 percent. In addition to buying firearms, more and more women are purchasing accessories made specifically for them and going out with other female hunters.

At the NRA’s shooting clinics for women (called Women on Target) attendance has increased by 20 percent. In 2009, gun store owners in the U.S. reported a 73 percent increase in female customers. “Many of them find themselves alone for the first time in their lives. Some are widows, some are single mothers, some are just looking for a way to protect themselves, and this is why they’ve come to the program to learn to shoot,” Diane Danielson, coordinator of the shooting clinics, said.

As you can imagine, all this attention on women’s increasing interest in firearms has resulted in some pretty interesting product marketing. Kirstie Pike, founder of women’s hunting clothing company Prois, has had serious profit growth every year since she opened four years ago. Just this year, she enjoyed a 600 percent increase in sales from the same time last year. Among the more standard fare, you can find pink ammo rifles, pink shotguns and even purses specifically designed for women with conceal-carry permits. Other stores carry pink pistol cases and bedazzled camouflaged hats. Still more girly weapon accoutrement includes scopes decked out in Swarovski crystals.

***snip***

Perhaps the fact that a traditionally masculine industry is even thinking about marketing to women (however superficial or misguided the marketing may be) is a step in the right direction. Judy Rhodes, founder of DIVA…WOW, a shooting and hunting group for women, says her Texas-based group is the largest women’s-only outdoors organization in the world and that it empowers women by teaching them hunting and shooting skills. “For every one woman we introduce to the outdoors, she brings seven. And men will just stick with the same hunting partner for 70 years,” she said. “Women, we love the camaraderie, we love to cheer each other on. We love the success.”
http://www.thedailyfemme.com/femme/2011/03/guns-the-latest-womens-accessory/

[oneshooter]

1. My Loving Wife has had a Texas CHL for 10 years.

And has progressed from a 1910 General Officers .380 to a Colt LW Commander in 45cal. From a 22 single shot to a AR-15 Match grade rifle. She also likes to shoot a Remington Rolling Block in 38-55 for BPCR, and a M1 Garand just for fun.
Our first date was at the skeet range!

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[spin]

2. Women are just beginning to realize that a gun range is a great place to meet nice guys ...

far better than a bar.

It's easy for a woman to separate the assholes from the nice guys at a gun range. The assholes want to watch an inexperienced female shoot a .44 magnum. The nice guys offer the woman a .22 cal handgun and once she is confident move up to a .38 special. Eventually they ask her if she wants to try a .357 mag and then a .44 mag.

Women love shooting once they get over their initial apprehension. They are easier to train than men who believe they know everything there is to know about shooting since they have watched movies all their life. Often they end up to be very good at the sport/

[PavePusher]

5. "The nice guys offer the woman a .22 cal handgun..."

And the very best guys ask if they have any shooting experience first, and how much, and what their personal comfort level is, first, before accidently being patronizing.

Just sayin'...

:toast:

[ileus]

13. A friend of mine done that to my wife...with a 44 redhawk

He thought she'd enjoy shooting it so he handed it to her, she'd never shot a revolver before so she cupped her support hand around the cylinder. I was over to the side reloading 9m mags, and he didn't notice until she was about to shoot. She didn't get but a few powder burns but both of us should have been paying closer attention. She was already used to 22's and 9's but had never shot anything larger.

[spin]

14. Ouch!!! (n/t)

[DWC]

3. I met my wife dancing but

my first gift to her was a 20 ga. pump for dove / quail hunting.



Semper Fi,

[ileus]

4. My wife bought an AR last year then called and told me..I'd had no idea she wanted one.

At the time I had the upper at home and was waiting on my lower to come in. She buys a complete AR 4 days before I was able to assemble mine. I spent months deciding what components to buy, she spent minutes. :(

[PavePusher]

6. Don't you just hate that kind of decisiveness?

:toast:

[one-eyed fat man]

7. Whose credit card did she use?

Way back I remember being set down in the kitchen and enduring a long lecture about how my then wife was going to work and what all she was going to do with "...her paycheck, her money and her own bank account."

I naively asked about my paycheck, and was summarily dismissed with, "That's "OUR MONEY, it goes in the JOINT account."

[ileus]

9. She bought it off her Brother...LOL

[rl6214]

11. Did that for years, she had HER account and we had OUR account

[oneshooter]

8. Loving Wife was shooting one of my AR's, then informed me

that either I build her one, or build myself another one!

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[rl6214]

10. You just need to have more than one then

I've got a 20in A1, a 16in flattop m4 style, a 16in m4 style in camo, a 16in m4 style in black and an ar pistol. Couldn't decide which I liked best. I have a .22 conversion I can put into any of them so my wife or neices can shoot without the bang or the slight recoil.

[oneshooter]

12. Or you could learn to build them yourself, save some money too.

There are videos that will show you step by step how to do it. Only need a few specialty tools, barrel wrench, vice, action and barrel jaws, a few files.
You could learn as I did. Eight years in the Corp, retrain as an armorer after 4. They will pay you too!

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas