Too much help?
Many women have discovered that even if they have a husband or friend ready and willing to do every last bit of the legwork or even purchase a gun for them, it really pays off to do your own shopping anyway.
“My husband bought me my first gun,” says Jennie van Tuyl, a gun shop owner in Washington. “He tried to research which guns had smaller grips for me. We learned the hard way that one needs to be involved in the shopping for her own gun. I decided I needed a gun that fit my hand better and was easier to conceal.”
Many women could sing along on that chorus. The well-meant gift gun that ends up gathering dust in a deserted drawer or (better) in the back of the safe is very nearly a clich’. Almost as trite is the gun purchased by a loved one while the woman comes along as a silent partner rather than an active participant.
The people behind the counter often share frustration with this turn of events. Tamara Keel, former sales manager at Coal Creek Armory in Knoxville, Tennessee, says, “You know it just annoys me so much to have to elbow the man out of the way to make the sale to her. She’s got to want the gun for herself and it’s got to be what she wants, or it’s just going to end up getting shoved into her nightstand drawer anyway.”
Larry Correia, formerly part owner of a gun store in Draper, Utah, agrees. “Sometimes couples will come in, and he’s just dragging her along. We are going to end up selling them the gun he wants her to have, rather than the gun she really wants or needs, and that just doesn’t do anyone any good. It is really better if she speaks up.”
What this boils down to is that no matter how tempting it might be to let someone else drive your handgun purchase, you are more likely to be happy with the end result if you actively drive the process yourself.
