I think we're looking at women's participation in the shooting sports the wrong way - that is to say from a distinctly male perspective. Right now everybody is all excited about the growth of participation by women in such things as hunting, firearms ownership and CCW permitting. And to some extent the numbers do warrant a certain level of enthusiastic back slapping. However, considering where we started, not to mention how long we had been there, our view should probably be more along the lines of, that's great but what have we done for ourselves lately. The current numbers suggest that we are doing something right. But we are also doing something wrong. Our very approach to introducing women to the shooting sports seems to be based on a very old and outdated premise that women are the weaker sex. Go to any introductory course for women and you'll see lots of 22LR pistols, and that's because the big, bad 9mm - or, God forbid, the all-powerful 45ACP - is just too much for a "beginner."

Sometimes that "little lady" packs a powerful punch. Photo by P. Erhardt

We say "beginner" because even we know "little lady" is just a bit too condescending. But that's what "beginner" often means when reading between the lines. I think the reality isn't that women are the weaker sex, but instead men are the cheaper sex. The 22LR is far more cost effective, but rather than admit we're ridiculously cheap - not the most attractive of qualities one wants to showcase in front of a group or women - we rationalize the smaller caliber on the basis that it has less recoil and it's easier to shoot. Of course there is the argument that we want women to have a good time when shooting, thus the use of the 22LR. But that too suggests an unfair mischaracterization of women. While a man shoots 9mm, 40S&W or 45ACP and has fun, in order for the woman to enjoy shooting she has to shoot something smaller? There's a great joke about compensating buried in there somewhere but I'll leave you to come up with it on your own... There are plenty of valid reasons for using a 22LR with new shooters regardless of sex, but the 22LR should not be our default position with women.

There's Girl Power, then there's Derby Girl Power. Photo by P. Erhardt

This summer I spent a number of weekends photographing women's roller derby. The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the governing body of one of the fastest growing sports in the country. And as the name implies, it's made up mostly of, well, women. The league is infused with a DIY ethos that contributes to its popularity among women who see the sport as far more than recreational. They see it as empowering. Now imagine that 20 to 30 of these women showed up to your range, sans the fishnet stockings and the wild aliases, and wanted to learn to shoot.

Landing in 3, 2, 1... Photo by P. Erhardt

Would you start handing out boxes of 22LR ammo instead of 9mm to the same group of women who just the weekend before found themselves bounced off the cement floor of an off-season hockey rink? Would you speak in cautionary tones about the more powerful 9mm, 40S&W and 45ACP? Or would you speak enthusiastically about the thrill of shooting the other calibers? But perhaps you don't have a women's roller derby league in your area, so the women coming to your range aren't quite the same as that rough and tumble breed of skater. So this approach doesn't apply to your situation? Do you have women's soccer in your area? You know, the sport that has one of the highest rates of concussions, sometimes second only to men's football. Imagine telling a bunch of girls who idolize the members of Team USA's gold medal winning women's soccer team that 9mm is a little too powerful for them to start out on. Imagine having to tell them twice because you're not exactly sure the girls that have suffered concussions from heading the ball completely understood you the first time. Maybe the high school girls soccer team isn't coming out to shoot either. So you're 22LR approach is still the best way to introduce women to shooting. But ask yourself this question: Do any of the women coming today to learn to shoot have children? If the answer is 'yes' then your small caliber pitch is small minded. While working in retail I once sold a shotgun to a couple that was looking for one for the wife. The husband, being a shooter himself, and the man of the house and all, quickly declared she needed a 20ga due to the heavier recoil of the 12ga. Overlooking the fact that the resident gun expert of that particular household never bothered to teach his wife the proper stance or how to hold a shotgun, I asked her one simple question: Do you have any kids? She immediately forgot the intimidating issue of a new shotgun and proceeded to describe her two children. At this point I looked at her and said very matter-of-factly, "Ma'am, let me assure you that shooting a shotgun is infinitely less painful than giving birth." That seemed to put her misconceptions about shooting a shotgun into better alignment with reality. Plus it made her laugh (I'm hoping at her husband). Yes, more and more women are joining the ranks of gun owners, hunters and competition shooters. And that's a great thing, not just for the companies looking to sell more products, but also for all those single men in the shooting sports.

Yeah you're right, she probably can't handle anything more than a 22LR. Photo by P. Erhardt

But imagine for a moment how many more women might be shooting today if we introduced them to firearms as equals and let them find for themselves their own level of comfort, rather than prescribing it for them in the form of a 22LR. Of course, you're free to disagree and stick to that small caliber approach because there isn't any sense in rushing women into things they aren't equipped to handle. And who would know better, right? - Paul Erhardt, Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network Got shooting sports news? Send us an email at info@shootingwire.com.