[dteed4094]

My wife is not an avid shooter but does go shooting with me about once a month. She seems to enjoy shooting and has her own 30/30 and an AK that she has never shot. Her LTC should be arriving in the mail within the next couple of days. After several months of prodding and an abduction, rape a couple of blocks from home at a laundromat, her intrest has become more of an obcession. We have looked at a few CC weapons but are having a bit of trouble finding one she likes. She has a hard time pulling the slide on the SAs she has looked at. Her Dad thinks a SA is the only way to go but I think a nice light, little wheel gun would be more appropriate. She probably wont wear it at this point but will purse carry. I'm pushing for an LCR. Daddy is always right so I've got an idea a wheel gun is out. I could buy her one and hope she doesn't like it, then I could replace the derringer I carry. My passion is for rifles but I think everyone should have a pocket pal and know how to use it.

[mesinge2]

Originally Posted by Bello

buy everything pink

I completely agree with Bello:

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[hcso617]

Lucky for me my wife is a retired Game Warden. She is a P.O.S.T. certified firearms instructor and taught the outdoor women class. She does a lot of work trying to bring women into the sport. We don't have any girls, blessed with two boy's aged 12 and 10, both avid shooters, the 12yo shoots scholastic sporting clays on the county team, the youngest will start when he turns 12.

[hogrider]

My wife got her concealed carry the same time I did. She renewed hers the same time I did. But as the months go by, she is shooting less and less. I actually have my doubts if she will renew again. When I asked what the problem was, she said nothing, just not that interested anymore. So even with the best intentions, maybe it's just a woman thing not to be interested in the shooting sports. I will just have to sit back and wait to see what happens. I think the worst thing a person could do is try to coerce someone. They must want to. And that's the title of this thread. Obviously I don't have the answer.

[dteed4094]

I would say there is a large percentage of men that have no interest and most are adament nonshooters

[corrinavatan]

Originally Posted by Bello

buy everything pink

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You just made my wife vomit.

My wife was open about my owning a gun, and purchased me a ruger 10/22 for my birthday this year, after doing research together on a good "beginner's gun" that would work well for both myself and for her. I intentionally chose a firearm that wouldn't have much recoil and wasn't high-maintenance, because I knew if she came home with bruises from her first day at the range, she'd be likely not to like it.

So, when we came home from buying the gun at cabela's, we sat down and took it apart together, referencing youtube videos to make sure we were disassembling it properly (we couldn't get the pins out to get the trigger assembly, we thought we were doing something wrong when it was just stiff).

Sitting down and learning about gun safety (which I was well versed in, my father and boy scouts having drilled that into me when I was very young) while also having the hands-on experience of working the gun made her feel confident about it.

When we eventually got to the range, she knew how to clean the rifle and field-strip it, and now is at the point that she is avidly excited about the scope she bought for the rifle, and can't wait to get it sighted in. She's gets pretty unhappy if we can't go to the range on a given week.

I think that, for the most part, women tend to be put off by guns due to the actions of men. I typically see the following behaviors that men do that pretty much get women off guns.

1. Handing a woman a high-power rifle, giving her little to no knowledge or warning that it is going to have a massive kick, causing them to injure themselves when they fire.
2. Insisting that it is a "man thing" and treating women with genuine interest with ridicule.
3. Not involving the significant other in the purchase, maintenance, and care of a firearm. I mean, if you constantly say "don't touch that!" when she picks up the trigger assembly while you're cleaning the gun, you're turing guns into a point of animosity. Besides, as long as no actual danger can come from the action, it's best to learn by experience (like when my wife pulled the trigger on while it was disassembled from the receiver to see how the thing worked mechanically, and sent the hammer spring flying across the living room. That was a bonding experience, because we had to learn to fix that problem, which leads to more confidence.

That's my experience, by the way. Now, my wife is looking at buying a M&P 15/22 (which, by the way, is that actually shorter than a 10/22? She's looking to buy a shorter/lighter gun than the ruger that also uses the .22 LR)

[chip102]

My girlfriend of almost a year was dead against it. Wouldn't even try to me open minded against it. Listen to every word that any anti-gun advocate fed her. She thought that owning a gun meant driving around blowing kids heads off. This along with other large differences finally led to us parting ways recently.

Oh well.

[mesinge2]

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[Jay]

Many ladies tend to like security in numbers.... they like to go to class, or shoot with other ladies. Ladies, like most folks, resent being talked down to. Especially when they've gone to a gun shop to learn, and look, only to be told that "ladies can't handle this or that", or "the controls on this gun are too complex for you". Many times, the guys unintentionally, or maybe intentionally, run the ladies off. One lady who brought her family to me for classes, told me that another instructor told her she couldn't shoot a 1911 because it was too complex, and too much gun for women. Now, she carries one daily, owns another, and is very proficient with both of 'em.

Help 'em, guys. Don't run 'em off.

[Laufer]

My wife is a bit petite and has really weak arms.
She is bored by any gun talk, and if she had any strength in her arms, the lightweight Savage .22 might be fun for here, maybe even the SKS or Mini 30.

It is a little ironic, because her elderly father was in Bastogne, Belgium with the Quartermasters (attached to the 101st) during the encirclement, and sometimes drove supplies in a jeep out to the frozen troops in the foxholes of both E and F Companies, right by the small road to Foy.