Are ladies by their nature instinctively better shooters?

wiscoaster said:

Oh c'mon, it's an opinion poll. There's no definitive data being generated. It's just for fun.

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The answer can go both ways when it comes to my second ex-wife. When we were married, no matter what I tried to show her what to do, she would do it different just to prove me wrong. I could never get he to shoot good.
After being divorced for a few years she asked me to help her shoot better. In 30 minutes she was shooting better then in the 14 years we were together.

WTH. Guys never take sides against the guys.......

While I wish I could say that women are better shooters (especially about my wife) as other folks have mentioned in the comments, it hasn't been the same in my experience.

The main factor that I have noticed is recoil sensitivity.

There are professional shooters that are better than men, but I don't agree that "females, by their very nature, are instinctively better shooters than men."

CH

My wife has shot anything but a bb gun a handful of times. So I bought her a Marlin model 60. Set up a 5 gallon bucket bam first shot. So I set up a coke can. Bam first try. Well shes better then I thought. So I out a empty 12ga hull up. Bam first round. Well dang shes a decent shot. So I put a quarter in the hull. Bing first shot. Man she's better then I thought. Put a dime in another empty hull. Ping went flying. So I put a empty 22 shell in a straw. 2nd shot went flying. This was at 25 feet. And I went back later and found the quarter she shot. Saved it for years. Drilled a hole in it and gave it to her for our 10th Christmas together.

Women generally have superior manual dexterity. Their ability to excel at needlepoint and folding origami, also promotes better trigger control.

I voted no, but only because "Sometimes" wasn't an option. My wife is better with most handguns than I am, and a shelf lined with trophies in the downstairs bedroom says she was better than most men with handguns in the IHMSA shoots back in the '80s. But she doesn't have anything on me when it comes to long guns - neither rifles nor shotguns.
Nevertheless, she keeps trying. Yesterday, "for her birthday" she bought herself one of those Ruger "American Rimfire" 22s with a modular stock. I know darned good and well she thinks she can put the right modules on that thing to make it fit her so perfectly that come next Spring, she'll be able to do better on ground squirrels than I will with my regular ol' Ruger 10-22. It ain't gonna happen!

I teach a LOT of new shooters. Kids, women, and men. I don’t find either sex INSTINCTUALLY better. However in our culture boys/men have a couple of issues that make them generally inferior students. Not every case, but enough that I see a trend. First, they often have bad habits from playing with toy guns and or pretending to shoot during play. Second, they have male egos that make them less likely to listen to correction or adhere to instructions.

I find female shooters generally to be better students and they generally progress more quickly than most males. However, men and boys who actually listen to instruction progress just as quickly.

I don't know if they are instinctively better, but they are easier to train. They take instruction a lot better than the male of the species. After teaching two daughters and a wife to shoot I can truthfully state that they were a lot more attentive than the young men that I have taught. I really think that it is the macho syndrome in the males. They have watched the crap in the movies and on tv and think that they know it all.

My younger daughter moved to Philly and was gone for almost 3 years before she came home for Christmas. The first thing that she wanted to eat was venison and the first thing to do was shoot a gun. This old man was about to pop his buttons. That's my girl.

Ladies are not, by nature better shooters. They are, however, better listeners, and they don't have ego invested in their 'womanhood' about their ability to handle a gun. They are by far better students of the shooting sports, as I have learned from over 30 years of teaching them in various settings, including the military.

wiscoaster said:

...then, as a result of being better students, they are better learners, and all other things being equal (eg same instruction, same amount of practice, etc, etc) ... they become better shooters?

(you can still change your vote)

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Yes, as many of us have noted. But it's not instinctive.

1KPerDay said:

I teach a LOT of new shooters. Kids, women, and men. I don’t find either sex INSTINCTUALLY better. However in our culture boys/men have a couple of issues that make them generally inferior students. Not every case, but enough that I see a trend. First, they often have bad habits from playing with toy guns and or pretending to shoot during play. Second, they have male egos that make them less likely to listen to correction or adhere to instructions.

I find female shooters generally to be better students and they generally progress more quickly than most males. However, men and boys who actually listen to instruction progress just as quickly.

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ok. So you say that generally they are better students. But are they better shooters?

entropy said:

Ladies are not, by nature better shooters. They are, however, better listeners, and they don't have ego invested in their 'womanhood' about their ability to handle a gun. They are by far better students of the shooting sports, as I have learned from over 30 years of teaching them in various settings, including the military.




Yes, as many of us have noted. But it's not instinctive.

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Until you marry one

I voted NO but Annie Oakley was pretty good. I think women do not have testosterone inhibiting their brain function. A woman would never say something like "I am not be as good as I used to be but I can be as good as I used to be once" but in point of fact most men not only cannot be as good as they used to be once, they never were that good to begin with. And they do not say things like "watch this" either, reference the testosterone inhibition or lack thereof.

It's not "nature," it's physiology and a couple of other issues. First, their lungs generally are not as big as a male's lungs, and therefore females tend to move less. If you have ever taken shooting lessons, you've probably heard the suggestion to hold your breath during firing. Well, because female lungs are smaller, they tend to move less even if they don't hold their breath. Second, the female muscle system generally has a larger percentage of slow twitch muscles than most men, which means they generally burn oxygen at a slower rate, etc. There are a couple of other physical differences with females that give them a "natural" advantage, but they're generally related to chemisty and way beyond me. However, there is an exception that is sort of chemistry and understandable and that is the female menstruation. Menstruation impacts the female body in many ways including water retention, bowel issues, cramping, and headaches, all of which make for problems while trying to be as steady as possible for shooting. Now, let's move on to another really important issue and that is "experience." When I was trying to teach grunts to shoot, it was always impossible to teach the "guys" who said they had lots of "experience" and/or were "great shots." I even had guys tell me they were great shots and then closed their right eye and shot right handed!!! I still don't know how they hit anything. Most females, on the other hand, were teachable. They didn't have a lifetime of bad experience and habits and/or a macho-know-it-all attitude. I always liked to bet the other instructors that they could pick any five females from my class to shoot against the five males I'd pick from their classes because I'd always win. Hope this helps.

I voted "NO".

The reason why is because I believe that people are inherently better shooters when they come with an open mind and no preconceived notions that need to be fought against in training.

This goes for men and women.

Women are better listeners. So they pay attention to their instructors. Guys on the other hand think they know how to shoot instinctively and they don't need anybody to tell them.

Since I'm a fishing guide part of my daily routine is teaching newbies when necessary... The toughest to teach are those that already "know how to do it" (generally the male of the species..). The easiest to teach and the ones that pick it up the quickest are ladies (of every age) who just want to learn and don't come with any bad habits. All of this is with folks I've never met before and may not ever see again... When it's friends or family involved I have less success and figure that the personal gets in the way...

Doubt it's any different for the shooting sports - but what do I know?

I think that any generalities about any human group will tend to be just that, generalities. My wife is a very smart lady, she listens much better than I do and does certain things much better than I - in those categories, I would be a fool not to accept her guidance. In turn, I bring other talents to the table that add value to the marriage - we function very well as a team.
As it comes to firearms, I can shoot circles around her. I practice much more, have shot many more years than she and have more interest in the shooting sports. When at the range, she listens well and she does well but I have the grand advantage of much more interest and experience. If she had my experience and my interest, she would be a great shot I’m sure but she may never outshoot me as it is just not that important to her - she has other more intense interests.
In my 66 years, I have learned that people are a Bell Curve; 10% are always great, 10% are always terrible and 80% are not great or terrible - some women great, some terrible, some men great, some terrible (etc - plug in any group or category comparison you wish). The key to me is to keep a realistic perspective, an open mind - if you do not, you will always encounter that example that will prove you wrong.

I voted yes but would also add a bunch of the caveats mentioned already.

I’ve found it stems usually a lack of machismo/ego and better attention to detail.

Wether we think we do or not most men approach things as if they already know something about it. Most women do not. The latter makes for a more teachable person.

As someone that was a competitive runner all my life and coached competitive runners both female and male, it is just pure prejudice to say one sex is better than the other. NO, it all depends on the individual. IMO it is BS to say women are better listeners just like it is pure nonsense to say that women are not competitive.

There have been intensive studies of the cognitive abilities of males vs. females. The best answer is that individual variation swamps any gender difference when looking at individual performance when it comes to inherent ability. Males being less likely to take instruction is usually reported by instructors. I don't know how many 'warriors' I've seen been told to **** in classes.

I voted yes, even though I agree it's not instinctive, but more a case of their ability to listen and apply lessons better. For example: when I got my girlfriend a Sub 2000, she was all ears on the range and ended up thoroughly embarrassing me by shooting out the ten ring on her first target. And using a weapon she wasn't comfortable with to boot. Swapped the KT out for a Marlin 795 and she got even better because it wasn't as loud or moved around as much.
The guys at my club always ask when she's coming with me, because she routinely shoots out the bullseyes without really trying.
One factor no one has mentioned is musculoskeletal factors in that their arms and upper body is better designed for nursing infants and somehow those muscle groups permit them to hold weapons steadier.

Can not speak to women in general but my two, wife and granddaughter are diamonds in the rough in that respect. Both showed real ability.