Are women better shots than men?

K

kjm

New member
OK, this really upsets me. I've spent years practicing the fine art of shooting. I've honed my skills to what I thought was pretty darn good. I've invested lots of sweat (in the Texas heat), time and money into getting as good as I can with my "tools".
When I had perfected the 200 yard coffee can shots, my wife asked if she could try. I said sure... She missed once, but once she had her range down, it was ding, ding, ding, ding...
I was in the Army, and never scored less than Expert with the M16. I never shot a perfect score, but I usually got 36 or 38. My wife also in the Army, never once shot less than a perfect 40 out of 40. It isn't because the army teaches you good marksmanship because if I hadn't been taught before the Army by my dad, I would've never learned by the Army system.
My wife didn't have the benefit of learning from her mother either because she comes from a very anti-gun family. What is it with women anyway? My mom is a dead-on shot. My sister is a crack shot, and neither of them even like guns (my sister is a very liberal, newspaper editor). Is it just me or are women better shots than men? Why?
 
I remember years ago the first time I took my wife out to shoot my Mark II. After a few pointers and a couple shots on paper, she was deadly! She's not all that into shooting, but likes duck hunting occasionally. We went to a sporting clays fun shoot for women (sponsored by Women's Shooting Sports Foundation)a few years ago. As part of her registration fee, she got a few hours of free instruction from the local Isaac Walton range. Then came the big match. As a result of a grueling shoot-off amoung 3 women, which included report and straight doubles, she walked away with a spankin' new Remington 1100 Sporting Clays shotgun! No way I could have done so well (hell, and I'm a level I instructor). Go Figure. I've found that beginning women listen to and follow instruction much better than men when it comes to shotgunning - no doubt about it in my mind. And when they start breaking targets, look out! They're hooked. So much more reason to take a friend, girlfriend, or wife to the range. They're just naturally damn good at it.
 
As an instructor, I taught both men and women to shoot. As a loose rule, women were easier to teach.Better eye/hand co-ordination, more apt to listen, and less to unlearn.

Decades ago, a girl friend who was quite adept with a 22 High Standard wanted to try out a centerfire handgun for the first time.
So, she, I and various implements of destruction went to the range. She outshot me with everything, even my GM.
 
Women also tend to not over-muscle guns like a lot of guys do. Guys I've seen have a bad tendancy to really grip the forestock like it's something really important that they can't let go of. I think even very skilled guys do this to some degree. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more steady on it and they don't tend to grab it for all it's worth.

This is just my observation, I don't know a lot of women shooters, but the ones I do are beatable, but only if you learn from them.

Notice how thier handwriting tends to be better too? Because they don't grip so hard.

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
Took my GF out about a year ago so she could learn to shoot, and to understand guns a little. Started her with a .22 rifle. Range was about 10 yards. First shot missed, but from then on, she riddled an empty aluminum can! Gave her my MKII to use. Same deal.
We do not go very often, but since that first time she has shot .22s, .38spl., 9mm, .45 acp,12ga., and .50 cal. ML. She is very good with all the handguns, better than me most of the time, and is just learning with the shotgun and ML.
Yes, it seems natural to her, or I am one he** of an instructor!
What I like the most is that she no longer fears being around or handling firearms. Even offers to help me clean them!
We plan to take her 21 year old daughter this weekend if the weather is good. She shows interest in wanting to learn. Maybe we can convert another nonshooter.
Dennie NRA Life, GOA
 
I believe women are better shots then men. They "generally" more patience. Better hand to eye cordination. Easier to teach. Accept changes readily.
 
Guys,

I concur with all said....

My first wife (some 20 years ago) wanted to learn IHMSA silhouette and go to matches with me.... I taught her to shoot my Thompson Contender in 7mm TCU so she could shoot the production class. She shot in several matches that summer, getting better with each time she shot. At the IHMSA 1980 Missouri State Championships, she decided she did not want to shoot with the women anymore and entered in the men's class. Against a bunch of reallyl P/O'd & somewhat impressed men in AA Production class, she took home the 4th place trophy.

Twenty years later, by second wife is learning to shoot .22's. Off a bench, she shoots 1/2 inch 50 yard groups with my Winchester model 52 sporter. She is just now beginning training with a .22 handgun and is picking it up fast..... Won't be long before she is ready for centerfire rifles & a 9mm.

For my money, any guy who thinks women can't shoot as well as men may someday be in for a rude awakening......

Swampy
 
Among other factors, women are better than men at rote repetition. Men laugh at the differences in priorities, but when a woman gets focussed on something, she's really good at doing the reps until she gets it right.

When the biological differences about such stuff as upper body strength are out of the equation, women do indeed have some advantages...

FWIW, Art
 
Yep, I've seen it too. I used to be a skydiving jumpmaster, and women usually beat out the guys, at least for the first 50 jumps. Men have the advantage of having a more competitive nature, but women are much better at finesse type sports cause they:

1) don't try to muscle their way through
2) are much easier to train because they don't let their ego get in the way
3) don't mind admitting that the did something wrong

But women tend to lose their advantage the longer they are in a sport. The aggressive nature of men quickly makes up the difference...
 
But most women won't sit on a log in the woods in sub zero weather for 10 hours waiting for a deer to come along.


;)

dZ
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dZ:
But most women won't sit on a log in the woods in sub zero weather for 10 hours waiting for a deer to come along.[/quote]

OK. So they are smarter than we are, too. Don't rub it in.
 
I've had similar experience. My mother (when she was still shooting) was a deadly .22 rifle shot. She would make my dad grit his teeth. My wife isn't particularly good - yet, but she certainly has the potential. When she was taking a basic pistol shooting course at the local range, there were more women than men. One novice lady shooter (with a .357) kept putting the bullets throught the same hole to the point that the instructor finally told her that if she was going to shoot a BG, she needed to "spread the shots out a little and don't keep shooting him in the same spot."

Scary, huh? :eek:


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If "the people" in the 1st, 4th, 9th & 10th amendments, means "the people", why do some folks think "the people" in the 2nd amendment means "the state"?
 
i wonder though, how well women shoot under do or die stress? They maybe able to abstract themselves to master the mechanical system better at the range but what about combat?

Males may be less accurate due to testosterone poisoning but they certainly are more aggressive.

I kid my wife that women tend to be more conservative in nature, while men tend to jump off of cliffs just to see what happens.

IMNSHO, if it wasn't for male stupidity, we would all be living in well decorated caves.

;)

"stupid is as stupid does"

dZ
 
My wife has been shooting for two years. I've been shooting all my life. Her carry pistol is a Taurus Total Ti snub in .38 special. She can empty the cylinder into a fist size area in the center of the target at 75 feet.(!) There is no way I could ever do the same with a .38 snub. People have various opinions as to why she is such a good shot. She's a dental hygenist and thus, works with steady hands. Maybe that has something to do with it. Anyway, she is good! I'm very proud of her. She's even pretty good with my AR15. I've grown used to being outshot at the range by my wife. :)

Will
 
On top of their psychological capabilities concerning shooting, they also have a better frame for shooting than men. Their hips and lowe bodies are normally larger in size but shorter (stability) and their upper torso is short, allowing less room for things to move around. It's extremely common for womrn to be able to outshoot men, but they lack the interest.
 
Wow, I can't believe what I'm reading. The three women currently on my PD barely qualify. The women in years past who no longer work at the PD...barely qualified.

I have seen women who shoot well, but they have been few and far between.
 
Maybe the rule of thumb is that on average the ones that will outshoot you are the ones that show the least interest, God's way of poking fun at us enthusiasts...

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
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