Yep, I just recommended Kathy's website and book to a new (returning) woman shooter. As a much younger person she'd done a lot of shooting rimfire rifles with her dad and brother. Now mid-aged, she just recently got interested in handguns and went out and got her CHP.
She had her choice between a Beretta in .32 and a Colt Government (from her father). We took the Beretta to the range and it was FTF city. That shook her confidence. I had along a S&W M60 (.357) and a 686. She fired the 686 with full-house loads and the M60 with .38s. At the end of the day, she announced she was going to go out and get a 686. I explained that mine had had an action job, bobbed hammer, and was DAO (at some substantial cost). She was undeterred. She also tried a P226 in 9 and a Colt Commander. Still preferred the 686.
After the earlier discussion, I went back to my FOIA'd CHP data from Virginia Firearms Transaction Center (2010 data, before the bulk of the "big boom"). The breakdown was 15% women and 85% men. Closer to the older numbers and not as high as the current estimates of 26%. It's be cool if we really picked up an additional 11% women owners.
She had her choice between a Beretta in .32 and a Colt Government (from her father). We took the Beretta to the range and it was FTF city. That shook her confidence. I had along a S&W M60 (.357) and a 686. She fired the 686 with full-house loads and the M60 with .38s. At the end of the day, she announced she was going to go out and get a 686. I explained that mine had had an action job, bobbed hammer, and was DAO (at some substantial cost). She was undeterred. She also tried a P226 in 9 and a Colt Commander. Still preferred the 686.
After the earlier discussion, I went back to my FOIA'd CHP data from Virginia Firearms Transaction Center (2010 data, before the bulk of the "big boom"). The breakdown was 15% women and 85% men. Closer to the older numbers and not as high as the current estimates of 26%. It's be cool if we really picked up an additional 11% women owners.