I rant about this once in awhile and it's time again...
I don't know how many women have been permanently dissuaded from taking up shooting as a hobby, or even from occasionally practicing by a well meaning guy who buys them a gun.
I run into them now and then and it's very frustrating for me because the damage has usually already been done and is pretty hard if not impossible to undo.
Instead of just running to the gun shop and buying her a gun DO THIS!
1. Take her to shoot FIRST.
2. Let her shoot something that is FUN for a beginner to shoot. This does not include magnum handguns, large automatics with heavy springs, or ultralight guns with heavy loads. It does NOT include small revolvers in anything bigger than 22WMR.
3. Don't push her past her ability. A capably wielded .22LR pistol is much more use in a defensive encounter than a .357 snubbie that the shooter is afraid of.
4. Don't buy her anything that she doesn't like. Even "non-shooters" may have very firm ideas about what they want in a gun. My wife, for example, does not like stainless steel guns and hates revolvers. I want her to practice and to like shooting, so I don't buy her stainless guns or revolvers. She carries a single action .380. It's not what I would have bought her if it were left up to me, but she really LIKES the gun and so she has put forth the effort to get good with it.
5. Do your BEST to see that she gets a chance to shoot a similar gun before buying it for her. Recoil and shootability are VERY subjective--just because you like it and it's easy for you to shoot and operate is NOT a guarantee that it's a good choice for her.
6. Don't skimp when the TWO OF YOU finally decide on something. I've had several instructors mention to me that it's not unusual to have a husband and a wife in the same class. A lot of the time, the guy is shooting some tricked out high-dollar gun while the wife has some bottom of the barrel "bargain gun". You will almost certainly pay (in many different possible ways) if you buy her a piece of crap.
IF you follow this simple plan...
There are payoffs.
1. My wife goes shooting with me when I ask. She even asks to go some times on her own initiative.
2. My wife doesn't get too wound up when I buy a new gun. She has gone with me while we shop for guns for her and she knows what they cost and why sometimes you can't buy the cheap ones that look like they SHOULD work.
3. She never complains about the money I spend on gun clubs and range memberships--that's spent on US since she comes shooting with me occasionally.
4. We've won the company gun club Couples Match every time we've entered.
But most of all, I don't worry much when I have to travel or have to work late or when she has to drive downtown. She's a good shot and very capable with the guns she carries.
I don't know how many women have been permanently dissuaded from taking up shooting as a hobby, or even from occasionally practicing by a well meaning guy who buys them a gun.
I run into them now and then and it's very frustrating for me because the damage has usually already been done and is pretty hard if not impossible to undo.
Instead of just running to the gun shop and buying her a gun DO THIS!
1. Take her to shoot FIRST.
2. Let her shoot something that is FUN for a beginner to shoot. This does not include magnum handguns, large automatics with heavy springs, or ultralight guns with heavy loads. It does NOT include small revolvers in anything bigger than 22WMR.
3. Don't push her past her ability. A capably wielded .22LR pistol is much more use in a defensive encounter than a .357 snubbie that the shooter is afraid of.
4. Don't buy her anything that she doesn't like. Even "non-shooters" may have very firm ideas about what they want in a gun. My wife, for example, does not like stainless steel guns and hates revolvers. I want her to practice and to like shooting, so I don't buy her stainless guns or revolvers. She carries a single action .380. It's not what I would have bought her if it were left up to me, but she really LIKES the gun and so she has put forth the effort to get good with it.
5. Do your BEST to see that she gets a chance to shoot a similar gun before buying it for her. Recoil and shootability are VERY subjective--just because you like it and it's easy for you to shoot and operate is NOT a guarantee that it's a good choice for her.
6. Don't skimp when the TWO OF YOU finally decide on something. I've had several instructors mention to me that it's not unusual to have a husband and a wife in the same class. A lot of the time, the guy is shooting some tricked out high-dollar gun while the wife has some bottom of the barrel "bargain gun". You will almost certainly pay (in many different possible ways) if you buy her a piece of crap.
IF you follow this simple plan...
There are payoffs.
1. My wife goes shooting with me when I ask. She even asks to go some times on her own initiative.
2. My wife doesn't get too wound up when I buy a new gun. She has gone with me while we shop for guns for her and she knows what they cost and why sometimes you can't buy the cheap ones that look like they SHOULD work.
3. She never complains about the money I spend on gun clubs and range memberships--that's spent on US since she comes shooting with me occasionally.
4. We've won the company gun club Couples Match every time we've entered.
But most of all, I don't worry much when I have to travel or have to work late or when she has to drive downtown. She's a good shot and very capable with the guns she carries.
