The Girls Gun Getaway featuring several female gun bloggers and pro shooters. (photo: Julie Golob)

Most women start writing blogs to inspire other women, or talk about themselves, or if we’re all honest a bit of both. But what is it we are trying to inspire other women to do? Protect themselves, to be sure, but there’s another element of our community we can’t overlook and that we, as a group, can do so much more with.

I get teased on a fairly regular basis about being a “tough independent woman,” and while the cliché is overdone there is something to be said for the label itself, the problem is that a lot of women seem to be interpreting it in a way that only harms them in the long run. Being tough and independent isn’t about being angry, it isn’t about rebelling against the status quo but rather about being confident in yourself and in your actions.

While shooting is a start towards confidence, it’s not an end. There are a lot of other things we can do to feel better about ourselves and our lives. Most of it’s mental, of course, positive thinking and feeling good about ourselves, but there are other things we can do, other activities we can partake in, to continue an upward climb towards true inner strength.

Shooting does several things for us, the first of us which is (for many) pushing the boundaries of our comfort zone. Having an explosion detonate in front of our face is not something we are conditioned to handle, which is why for many shooting can be perceived as “scary” before they have tried it. Participating in an activity we might not have expected to participate in, and then training to become good at it, requires a lot of self-confidence, which is why shooting pushes us in that direction every day.

Also, as has been pointed out many times, shooting gives us a sense of equality, a sense of safety, a sense of being in control of ourselves. That sense of control is empowering, and is something we should seek in other aspects of our life. This, along with the “tough woman” image of shooting guns, gives us a more positive self-image, which is a powerful thing.

Participating in fitness activities and other sports can have the same effects shooting does. Since I started shooting I’ve taken up weight-lifting and started studying nutrition and trying to eat right. It has made a huge difference in my self-esteem and helped me to realize the extent of control I have over myself, much as shooting does. I would encourage every woman shooter not to stop there, but to continue to step outside of her comfort zone and find other activities that energize and empower her to be the best she can.

When you start shooting, you adopt a lifestyle, and if you embrace that lifestyle there are no boundaries to what you can achieve.

Let us know what it is that you love about shooting below in the comments section.

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What would you say is the best way to entice someone to try something new — fear or fun? I think it’s pretty clear that fear is a poor motivator; in fact, fear can become paralyzing, whereas fun — I mean, who can say no to that?

It should be obvious that a woman who knows how to use a gun is in a better position to defend herself than one who has never touched a firearm. Whether she carries a gun or just has one in her home, the woman who has practiced and is more comfortable handling the gun will be better able to use it in a threatening situation.

But it is also a fact that, for most women who try it, shooting is really fun; and I would put forth the theory that the fun of shooting, and the social aspects of it could possibly get more women to the range than the need for self defense ever will.

As an example, I have been in the mindset of a (lite) prepper for several years now — meaning I’ve known that I needed to be prepared for various emergency situations and have over time built up a little stash in order to be better situated should something unforeseen occur. And if you asked, I think most folks would agree that emergency preps are necessary, important, and something we should all do.

However, how many have actually done something about it? Relatively few, I find. The concern is there at various levels, the knowledge is there that it should be done, the ability is there; but somehow many folks never get past that knowledge and move into action to accomplish their goal.

The same is true, I believe, for women and firearms. What woman out there doesn’t know that she might one day have to defend herself in a threatening situation? What woman isn’t aware that guns are much better able to level the playing field and even give that woman an advantage should she be attacked? What woman hasn’t heard by now that there are handgun classes for women popping up in every corner of the country?

Just having the concern and knowledge, though, has not been enough to move a good number of women to the point of standing at the range with their gun pointed toward a target.

My belief is that fear does not necessarily move us forward toward a goal. When you have a large or daunting task before you that is filled with the unknown and based in a negative emotion (fear) it can be extremely difficult to put one foot in front of the other, or to pick up the phone and begin the task. Take the prepping example. Anyone who looks into what we should all have stored in our homes in case of emergency (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, extended power outage, etc.) will be completely overwhelmed by everything that is required.

So now you have concern over the event, concern about not being prepared, concern about how to even get started, and concern that you might never do a thing. Just a lot of bad mojo going on, producing nothing.

But invite a woman to a shooting party with other women, throw in a little fun competition, add some prizes, awards (tiaras, anyone?), and maybe dinner and drinks later, and she is sooooo there! I mean, what woman isn’t up for some down time, especially if she can hang out with the girls and learn a new skill — one that she’s probably always wanted to learn anyway?

So I say we lighten things up a bit, have some fun, and get where we need to go. For one thing, many women who are initially too afraid to even pick up a gun, are amazed at how much more powerful and confident they feel after they learn to use it — two emotions that WILL move them forward to the next step.

There are many women’s shooting groups around the country that focus on the fun of shooting, and many women are drawn to these groups because they can see an easy entry point from which to accomplish their goals, and their fears become a bit less ominous. They are having so much fun, in fact, that they forget for a moment that they are doing something “scary,” and before you
know it you have a few new sisters in arms. From that point on, the concern gives way to confidence, the ability to defend themselves, and a passion for sharing their new love with other women — which were the intended goals to begin with.

So let’s get out there and let our sisters know how much fun we have at the range! Form those shooting leagues, https://www.agirlandagunclub.com/babes-with-bullets.html, sponsor a shoot- and-swim party, dress up like the DIVAs, https://www.divawow.org/, or the cowboy/girl shooters, https://www.sassnet.com/, and have a blast — because fun is always more attractive than fear.

Cathi Bray is a shooting enthusiast, but is passionate about pistols.   She and her husband, Tom, have six amazing children and three awesome grandchildren.  She is a homeschooling mom from Texas, who got into the sport late in life, when her youngest son learned to shoot in his local 4-H club.  Cathi realized if they were going to have guns in the house, she had better learn to use them.  Now she’s wondering where this love has been all her life.  She loves shooting with her husband and has enjoyed shooting with most of their children, except their Marine son, but she’s hoping to square off with him one day soon — mano v mom-o.

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Gun Makers Set Sights On Female Buyers

by Scott Graf

Pink and purple handguns are for sale at Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C. Gun store owners reported a 73 percent increase in female customers in 2009 from the year before — a trend reflected by the growing number of guns made just for women. For years, gun stores were predominantly patronized by men. But these days, shooting ranges and shops selling firearms are seeing more female customers than ever before, and that has them changing the way they do business. In one brand-new shooting range at Eagle Gun in Concord, N.C., shots from Sharon Skoff’s handgun boom behind glass that separates the range from the rest of the shop. “I just refuse to be a victim if I possibly can in life,” Skoff says. “I actually went and got my concealed permit a couple months ago so I can carry.” Skoff, a 47-year-old flight attendant, says she shoots because she’s scared. “If you listen to the news at night, all you hear are women in parking lots — someone coming up, or threatening them for their purse or threatening their life, or raping [them],” she says.

Read/listen to the entire post here:

https://www.npr.org/2011/08/18/139757899/gun-makers-set-sights-on-female-buyers

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