Oleg -
I can say for certain that more women are buying guns and shooting them, at least in my area. I work parttime at a store/range. I have seen an enormous increase in the numbers of women coming into the shop, both to investigate buying, buying and shooting. Although many of them are wives of male shooters, a surprising number of them are single. One thing I can say is that two of our biggest referrers are women, one lady always (as in every time) comes in with a new friend to shoot.
Several things I believe influence this. We are in Northern Virginia, and crime is really filtering over from the Maryland/DC side since the light rail systems have been expanded. So the women who work late, or take the light rail, work in the malls, or just enjoy going out in the evening, are taking responsibility for their safety.
Also the local IPSC, SASS, and IDPA are reporting higher participation by women. ESPECIALLY the SASS folks, must have something to do with the dressing up (
).
I do not have any hard numbers, although as in many states the CCH lists are public record, one could do the research to see how many women are getting them.
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