Are ladies by their nature instinctively better shooters?

Are females by nature better shooters?

  • Yes

    Votes: 51 56.7%

  • No

    Votes: 39 43.3%
  • Total voters
    90
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wiscoaster said:
Maybe I should post another opinion poll: "Is wiscoaster guilty of gender bias?" :p


(I'm sure the results would be YES=100% and NO=0% --- statistically valid with 10E30 obserevations --- WHEN GENDER IS KNOWN AS AN OBSERVATION NONVARIABLE)
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I imagine we all are on some level, if we're completely honest. That's why the possibility of real data on the subject is fascinating.
 
Kleanbore said:
Rob Pincus knows more about cognitive processes, teaching, learning, and training than just about anyone I know. I'll accept what he says.
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It is difficult to get Rob to "talk shop" when I meet him at events that have nothing to do with shooting. A respectable professional trait.

Saying women are instinctively better shooters is painting too broad a picture. My experience is they are typically better students which can lead to better shooting. About 1/4 of my firearm students of the past 12 years have been women. Most of them were attentive students and turned into competent shooters. My big success story was an assertive, alpha type personality female who claimed to be a good shot couldn't get a shot on paper with three magazines at 7 yards. I worked with her 2 or more times a week for the majority of a year to get her better. She listened and rose to a respectable position on a SWAT team for a major police unit. By the same token, I had male students that have made it to the AMU and Scout Sniper platoons.
 
herrwalther said:
It is difficult to get Rob to "talk shop" when I meet him at events that have nothing to do with shooting. A respectable professional trait.

Saying women are instinctively better shooters is painting too broad a picture. My experience is they are typically better students which can lead to better shooting. About 1/4 of my firearm students of the past 12 years have been women. Most of them were attentive students and turned into competent shooters. My big success story was an assertive, alpha type personality female who claimed to be a good shot couldn't get a shot on paper with three magazines at 7 yards. I worked with her 2 or more times a week for the majority of a year to get her better. She listened and rose to a respectable position on a SWAT team for a major police unit. By the same token, I had male students that have made it to the AMU and Scout Sniper platoons.
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Twice a week for the majority of a year. Assuming she was already in law enforcement when you met her.....

Wow...... Having to take that long to train her makes me wonder if she was a "better" student. Of course I'm thinking it took you that long to get her to get a shot on paper with three magazines at 7 yards...... :rofl:

How long did it take your male student(s) for AMU and Scout Sniper Platoons? ;)

In all seriousness though, good on ya. Teaching is a special skill that many do, but few master. I'm what they call a southpaw that is cross eye dominant. I don't think I'd be able to hit a paper target at 7 yards if it weren't for good instructors.

CH
 
Crazy Horse said:
Twice a week for the majority of a year. Assuming she was already in law enforcement when you met her.....
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She wasn't. This was in college. Some of those days were just doing dime drills or showing breath diagrams for rifle shooting. It was not range days 8x a month.

Crazy Horse said:
Wow...... Having to take that long to train her makes me wonder if she was a "better" student. Of course I'm thinking it took you that long to get her to get a shot on paper with three magazines at 7 yards...... :rofl:
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The courses I taught in college had much better funding than I do now. It was not just taking a student to a static range to shoot at paper. We had shoot houses, stress shooting, tannerite on occasion for the fun stuff, and room clearing drills with live rounds using sub-caliber semi-auto MP5s in 22LR with "malfunctions" to have a pistol transition. The 7 yard drill was what all students did so their respective instructors knew where their student was in proficiency.

Crazy Horse said:
How long did it take your male student(s) for AMU and Scout Sniper Platoons? ;)
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My students took many different paths. I joined the military halfway through college and got the instructor bit shortly after my AIT graduation. Many of the students already had the passion to learn shooting but might not have the funds or tools to learn. That is what I provided in part. I think the students that joined the military or law enforcement took some of what I taught to heart.
 
wiscoaster said:
Just got back from the range and one new shooter I haven't seen there before reminded me of something I've observed: I think that females, by their very nature, are instinctively better shooters than men. This young woman was shooting an obviously new (and new to her) AR-15 pistol, sighting with a Sig Romeo 5 red dot, at a 100-yard target. And hitting all shots within about a 10-inch diameter.

So, what's your opinion? Given everything else being equal, are women, by their nature, instinctively or inherently, better shooters than men?

BTW, it was kind of pleasant to smell perfume mixed with gun smoke.
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yep, mostly due to superior hand-eye co-ordination...
learned that the hard way, when I bombed the test to be a circuit board assembler & never forgot it. :(
 
Great timing. A few days ago I watched a Shima video on youtube. According to him, most women do not have a dominant eye. Three students in the clip were having a hard time seeing lead until he put tape on their left lens. All three showed immediate improvement and had rave reviews.
 
i dunno, but here in my state, to qualify for a CCW, one has to take a shooting test at 25 yards. best score is 300. this one gal got a 279.

i managed to get a 250 on a practice test myself.

best possible low score to pass is 195
 
wiscoaster said:
Just got back from the range and one new shooter I haven't seen there before reminded me of something I've observed: I think that females, by their very nature, are instinctively better shooters than men. This young woman was shooting an obviously new (and new to her) AR-15 pistol, sighting with a Sig Romeo 5 red dot, at a 100-yard target. And hitting all shots within about a 10-inch diameter.

So, what's your opinion? Given everything else being equal, are women, by their nature, instinctively or inherently, better shooters than men?

BTW, it was kind of pleasant to smell perfume mixed with gun smoke.
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I voted “No”, but let me explain.

I don’t think women are “Naturally” better shooters than men.

I do believe women are better “listeners” at instructions on things than men, especially activities that are considered “male centric”.

Shooting is a hand-eye-coordinated activity. Some individuals are naturally better than others at these physical challenges.

Men can be “know it all's” and fail to listen to folks who know better.

I’ve had guys ask me to help their wives/kids learn to shoot. First few times, I would always get interrupted by the guy when I was making a point. Finally learned that I help on condition the guy sits back and shuts up and I stop at first interruption.

I find women and kids to be pretty good and learn quickly when you set them up for success beginning with dry fire and progressing to .22’s with double ear protection. But I also find guys who want to learn and will listen also pick up shooting quickly.
 
I voted yes. Women are inherently better shooters than men.


Ok, that was in the off chance my S.O. picks up my phone and reads through posts like she sometimes does.
I'm no trainer, but I have helped a few people who were new to shooting a couple of times. My experience has been:

The 15 year old kid that had never fired a handgun impressed me with how quickly he absorbed what I told and showed him in terms of safe handling and actual firing, and shot quite well.

The adult female, who was more worried about "kick" and getting hit by brass was marginal at best

The adult male with very little experience but some basic knowledge needed constant reminding to keep finger out of trigger guard and was insistent on shooting one handed. Couldn't hit an empty pizza box from 10 yards.
 
In general they have a lower center of gravity, no offense intended ! Makes for a steadier platform from whitch to shoot from. Then all the other attributes that have been mentioned. God bless'em !
 
My wife and daughter both grasped shooting fundamentals rather quickly. I certainly agree that women are better listeners and don't have testosterone driven egos that get in the way.
 
take any woman to shoot a shotgun at a silhouette. first one will be to center mass, 2nd will be to the family jewels.

Like clockwork
 
I think the reason women get the fundamentals faster ar 2 fold

1) they don't have to prove to anyone they already know how to shoot.
2) they don't have to unlearn all those mad skilz they learned watching movies and playing video games

IME, women generally become basic proficient much earlier than guys.
 
Meeks36 said:
I see you haven't met my daughter. Shes a beautiful redhead that I have been trying to teach to shoot for years. Shes 10 now been using mt bb gun for 2.5 years. Refuses to listen. Cant hit squat. My son is decent. Thinking about taking her to a class. Maybe someone else can get her to listen. I doubt it though from the phone calls I get from her school. I hope she will learn. A restraining order is just a piece of paper. A 9mm says um not a victim. More so then a piece of paper.
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Never teach your own children to shoot. (Plus she's a redhead. It took my redheaded son 10 years of shooting until he listened to me. Fortunately, he listened to my best friend's dad, and learned at least the basics from him.)
I had both of my sons in our 4-H Shooting Sports Program, and neither one would listen to me. Fortunately, I wasn't the only Leader.

1KPerDay said:
Hadn't heard that one! :scrutiny:

For those interested, start at 2:44 here
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Yes, there's been lots of observation of that by both professional coaches and hacks like myself. I'd usually advise them to pick a shoulder to shoot off of most the time, but learn to shoot off the other one also. (actually, I advise any student to learn to shoot off of both shoulders enough to be proficient. You never know when it will come in handy.)
 
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A man who admits he doesn’t know what he’s doing or needs educating, has admitted to his fellows that he has a weakness, and his leaders also might not reward him for boldness and initiative. So it’s our instinct to fake it till we make it, or to do it our own way. Doesn’t always work out so well in the modern world or when learning a high-stakes skill like shooting, but it’s how we’ve learned to show dominance, which often gets us the ladies.

A woman learns at an early age that she can bat her eyelashes and say “Teach me please, mister” and she’ll have the best and most comprehensive instruction from the most dominant and in-charge man.

So most women, if they’re halfway intelligent, are highly trainable. Men, not so much. But, when it comes to shooting, a typically masculine pursuit due to its ties to fighting, self defense, hunting and providing food, the men will probably as a rule be more apt to come back and practice on their own. In my experience many women who take up recreational shooting just do so because their husbands/boyfriends are into it.
 
entropy said:
Never teach your own children to shoot. (Plus she's a redhead. It took my redheaded son 10 years of shooting until he listened to me. Fortunately, he listened to my best friend's dad, and learned at least the basics from him.)
I had both of my sons in our 4-H Shooting Sports Program, and neither one would listen to me. Fortunately, I wasn't the only Leader.


Yes, there's been lots of observation of that by both professional coaches and hacks like myself. I'd usually advise them to pick a shoulder to shoot off of most the time, but learn to shoot off the other one also. (actually, I advise any student to learn to shoot off of both shoulders enough to be proficient. You never know when it will come in handy.)
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How does that help if they don’t have a dominant eye?
 
When neither eye is dominant, both can be used together, or individually. People with a very dominant eye are better off shooting from that shoulder, and one-eyed. People who's dominant eye is strongly dominant find it harder to shoot with both eyes open, leading to 'cross-firing'. (I am referring more to wing shooting, or clays games.) When I was a 4-H Shooting Sports Leader, no matter the discipline, the first thing we did at orientation was determine each kid's dominant eye, if they had one. More girls do not have one, but some guys didn't either, and some girls did have one. We'd then recommend to the parents a gun or bow in that hand. (we had some LH bows for the kids to try.) Some had already been shooting RH, but were left eye dominant. (In my case about 50 years now.) The sooner they'd switch, usually, the faster they'd improve. (I do shoot off of both shoulders, and could shoot a bow either hand, before my left arm had some nerve damage, though I am better right handed, even though I'm left eye dominant, simply because I've shot that way for over 50 years)

We'd advise the kids who didn't have a dominant eye, or only slight dominance, to choose whichever shoulder felt more comfortable to shoot off of, (or which hand for bow). As for advising all the kids to at least try to shoot off the other shoulder (or other handed bow) once in a while is as I mentioned, it comes in handy; either hunting, self defense, or in military or Law Enforcement service.
 
Mosin77 said:
So most women, if they’re halfway intelligent, are highly trainable. Men, not so much. But, when it comes to shooting, a typically masculine pursuit due to its ties to fighting, self defense, hunting and providing food, the men will probably as a rule be more apt to come back and practice on their own. In my experience many women who take up recreational shooting just do so because their husbands/boyfriends are into it.
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My wife is very intelligent and I can’t train her for nothing. And if I could, there’s a whole list of things that would come before shooting.


True fact:
I pay lesser shooters than myself to train my wife.

I suppose I could save a few bucks and just insist she does everything the wrong way and she will do it all the right way just to prove me wrong. LOL

Paying an instructor to train my wife is money well spent.
 
entropy said:
When neither eye is dominant, both can be used together, or individually. People with a very dominant eye are better off shooting from that shoulder, and one-eyed. People who's dominant eye is strongly dominant find it harder to shoot with both eyes open, leading to 'cross-firing'. (I am referring more to wing shooting, or clays games.) When I was a 4-H Shooting Sports Leader, no matter the discipline, the first thing we did at orientation was determine each kid's dominant eye, if they had one. More girls do not have one, but some guys didn't either, and some girls did have one. We'd then recommend to the parents a gun or bow in that hand. (we had some LH bows for the kids to try.) Some had already been shooting RH, but were left eye dominant. (In my case about 50 years now.) The sooner they'd switch, usually, the faster they'd improve. (I do shoot off of both shoulders, and could shoot a bow either hand, before my left arm had some nerve damage, though I am better right handed, even though I'm left eye dominant, simply because I've shot that way for over 50 years)

We'd advise the kids who didn't have a dominant eye, or only slight dominance, to choose whichever shoulder felt more comfortable to shoot off of, (or which hand for bow). As for advising all the kids to at least try to shoot off the other shoulder (or other handed bow) once in a while is as I mentioned, it comes in handy; either hunting, self defense, or in military or Law Enforcement service.
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Shima is talking about them having no dominant eye. I still don’t see how your method of switching shoulders would help them with that.
 
Seems like it would allow the eyes to naturally switch to whichever side the sights align with, since neither eye is trying to be dominant.
If you're shooting with both eyes open, then switch sides, your dominant eye will still naturally try to focus on whatever sighting apparatus you're using.
 
It doesn't help with the eyes, it helps with capability. The deer doesn't always show up to the left half of the stand for a right hander, and vice versa. Half the corners in the world are to the left, half to the right; for a soldier or a cop, or a hunter, the ability to shoot a long gun or a handgun from either side is an asset. Is this plain enough for you?

For rifle and pistol shooting at static targets, it is as Howland937 says; the eyes can work with a sight picture off either shoulder (rifle) or one can, if needed or desired, fire a pistol right handed and use the left eye. (or vice versa) Though I've found it looks kind of weird watching someone do it. See 1:37 in this clip from Breaking Bad:



I have done it myself, and it works, though for me, only at close range.

As for shotgunning, neither eye being dominant is both a blessing and a curse. It makes it easier wingshooting with both eyes open, and stereoscopic vision is retained, but the brain has to work a bit harder to combine the images it receives. Not because they are separate, but because more 'computing power' is required. It's in the end a wash, because unlike most brain mechanisms, the optic nerves are not hemisphere dependent; signals first pass through the chiasm, where they are ran both through several areas of the cortex as well as to the limbic system, in addition to partially going straight to the occipital lobe.
 
Howland937 said:
Seems like it would allow the eyes to naturally switch to whichever side the sights align with, since neither eye is trying to be dominant.
If you're shooting with both eyes open, then switch sides, your dominant eye will still naturally try to focus on whatever sighting apparatus you're using.
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There is no dominant eye in these specific cases (the ladies in Shima’s video). As far as sighting apparatus, we are talking about skeet shooting.
 
I don't like going to the pistol range with my wife. It's embarssing for me to get out shot like that. She makes me look like I'm shooting with broken hands.
 
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