There has been a recent influx of new threads that run along the lines of "I'm buying my [female relation] a gun. What should I get her?"
This is disturbing to me for several reasons, but these are the top two:
1) Maybe in the effort to be brief it was left out, but it appears to me that the woman doesn't really have much of a choice in her firearm.
2) If she does have a choice, she appears to be making it based solely on appearance.
There are a few things in my life that my husband will not buy for me even if he knows I'd really like it. Clothes are one of them. I am so incredibly picky about the fit, the comfort, the color, the style, everything, that he won't even consider purchasing a new shirt for me without bringing me to the store to get my opinion and trying it on myself. Shoes are the same way. So are my firearms.
My husband is not built like I am. His body shape is different. His hands are bigger. His arm strength is stronger. His mindset is definitely better. His instincts and mechanical inclinations are much more honed than mine are. Therefore, what works for him does not necessarily work for me.
So, if you are considering purchasing a firearm for your mom, your sister, your girlfriend, your wife, your aunt, your cousin, your neighbor, your co-worker or any other woman in your life... please take these into consideration:
a) Appearance does matter to women at least initially, but don't let her be swayed by how the gun looks in a magazine or on a website. If it's strictly a color thing (pink seems to be a popular theme here), kindly inform her that the color of the gun can always be changed. It doesn't matter how pretty it is if once she gets it she won't shoot it because the slide bites her every time she shoots.
b) She has to be able to operate it herself, so make sure she knows how to load and unload it. If it's a semi-auto, can she rack the slide by herself in a safe manner? While it's true that new shooters would do better with a gun that has less buttons and levers, please don't start out with the sentence "Women should start with a revolver because there are less things to learn about it." Some women see that as an insult to their intelligence, and it's something they will have to learn on their own. Feel free to point out that this gun is easier to operate than that gun because of the lack of extra controls on it, but please don't say it's specifically because women can't learn to work with all those extra controls. Demonstrate that in the heat of the moment there are areas that she might fumble over the extra buttons and how much extra time it takes to operate.
c) If possible, have her actually shoot the gun she thinks she might be interested in in the caliber she's looking at. There are two schools of thought on how to proceed: one is to start with a .22 and work up to the .45 so she gets used to the recoil and firearm operation, and another is to start with the larger calibers and work down so she can recognize the difference. I'm torn on which way to go. Personally, I started with a .22 and forced myself to shoot the 9mm and .45 firearms that my husband had. Once I became more comfortable with the higher calibers, I shot those first when we went to the range to practice and then went back to the .22 when my hands and arms started getting tired. I barely acknowledged any recoil in the .22 then. It was the same way when moving from the .45 to the 9mm.
The most important thing to remember here is that SHE NEEDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. She needs to choose. You need to support her and help her make an informed decision. Don't push her into something you like to shoot because it's what all the cool kids are shooting these days. Even if she decides to go with a .22, at least she's making the effort to learn to shoot and to carry it. A .22 in the pocket is better than a .45 in the safe. Eventually she may move into a larger caliber handgun, but it's important that she be the one that makes that choice.
This is disturbing to me for several reasons, but these are the top two:
1) Maybe in the effort to be brief it was left out, but it appears to me that the woman doesn't really have much of a choice in her firearm.
2) If she does have a choice, she appears to be making it based solely on appearance.
There are a few things in my life that my husband will not buy for me even if he knows I'd really like it. Clothes are one of them. I am so incredibly picky about the fit, the comfort, the color, the style, everything, that he won't even consider purchasing a new shirt for me without bringing me to the store to get my opinion and trying it on myself. Shoes are the same way. So are my firearms.
My husband is not built like I am. His body shape is different. His hands are bigger. His arm strength is stronger. His mindset is definitely better. His instincts and mechanical inclinations are much more honed than mine are. Therefore, what works for him does not necessarily work for me.
So, if you are considering purchasing a firearm for your mom, your sister, your girlfriend, your wife, your aunt, your cousin, your neighbor, your co-worker or any other woman in your life... please take these into consideration:
a) Appearance does matter to women at least initially, but don't let her be swayed by how the gun looks in a magazine or on a website. If it's strictly a color thing (pink seems to be a popular theme here), kindly inform her that the color of the gun can always be changed. It doesn't matter how pretty it is if once she gets it she won't shoot it because the slide bites her every time she shoots.
b) She has to be able to operate it herself, so make sure she knows how to load and unload it. If it's a semi-auto, can she rack the slide by herself in a safe manner? While it's true that new shooters would do better with a gun that has less buttons and levers, please don't start out with the sentence "Women should start with a revolver because there are less things to learn about it." Some women see that as an insult to their intelligence, and it's something they will have to learn on their own. Feel free to point out that this gun is easier to operate than that gun because of the lack of extra controls on it, but please don't say it's specifically because women can't learn to work with all those extra controls. Demonstrate that in the heat of the moment there are areas that she might fumble over the extra buttons and how much extra time it takes to operate.
c) If possible, have her actually shoot the gun she thinks she might be interested in in the caliber she's looking at. There are two schools of thought on how to proceed: one is to start with a .22 and work up to the .45 so she gets used to the recoil and firearm operation, and another is to start with the larger calibers and work down so she can recognize the difference. I'm torn on which way to go. Personally, I started with a .22 and forced myself to shoot the 9mm and .45 firearms that my husband had. Once I became more comfortable with the higher calibers, I shot those first when we went to the range to practice and then went back to the .22 when my hands and arms started getting tired. I barely acknowledged any recoil in the .22 then. It was the same way when moving from the .45 to the 9mm.
The most important thing to remember here is that SHE NEEDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. She needs to choose. You need to support her and help her make an informed decision. Don't push her into something you like to shoot because it's what all the cool kids are shooting these days. Even if she decides to go with a .22, at least she's making the effort to learn to shoot and to carry it. A .22 in the pocket is better than a .45 in the safe. Eventually she may move into a larger caliber handgun, but it's important that she be the one that makes that choice.