Lady Calgunners!!! I need your input!

[masameet]

My first thought when I read your question was female motorcyclists too. But I dunno. As a female rider, I've met a number of other female riders, in person and online, and I'd say I'd trust only a few of them with my handguns. And your posting as a non-rider on BARF and other online motorcycle forums might be looked on as unusual and strange. Still BARF has a thriving "BARF Militia" thread (in the Non-Moto Activities subforum), which has been running for years. I imagine that thread would be more appropriate to post in, if you want to do a community outreach on BARF.

Still to attract a wide spectrum of women to the sport of shooting, have you thought about posting fliers at churches, public libraries, and colleges? That's where a lot of women are when they're not working or at home.

[2Cute2Shoot]

So I'm needing your help! As both a woman and a C3 Leader, I am supposed to come up with creative, effective ways to reach out to the female community in CA to drum up interest in both firearms/RKBA and Calguns. What, from your uniquely female perspective would be effective ways to reach out to women who are NOT currently into firearms? Where would you go, what tools would you use, what activities would you invite women to, etc?
I am brainstorming my own ideas but would like the other women on here to share what they think!

Thanks ladies!

This one feels easy to me. I have wanted to shoot for so long, but didn't know how to get into it. Me and my GF's even went to a shooting range but were totally intimidated and left!

I totally think flyers on college campuses would do a lot. Hitting the 'self defense' angle would also get lots of girls interested. Maybe a flyer of a picture with regular girls - not the military type or the really masculine type (no hate intended), letting girls know there will be an 'intro to shooting' clinic at some range. I know lots of girls who would want to try - but most just wait for a guy or boyfriend to teach them.

[NorCalMama]

This one feels easy to me. I have wanted to shoot for so long, but didn't know how to get into it. Me and my GF's even went to a shooting range but were totally intimidated and left!

I totally think flyers on college campuses would do a lot. Hitting the 'self defense' angle would also get lots of girls interested. Maybe a flyer of a picture with regular girls - not the military type or the really masculine type (no hate intended), letting girls know there will be an 'intro to shooting' clinic at some range. I know lots of girls who would want to try - but most just wait for a guy or boyfriend to teach them.

That's definitely a good idea! It's all about empowerment and the ability to defend yourself. Women today need to realize that shooting is NOT just for men and that when you give it a shot, it's amazingly fun!

[Steyrlp10]

That's definitely a good idea! It's all about empowerment and the ability to defend yourself. Women today need to realize that shooting is NOT just for men and that when you give it a shot, it's amazingly fun!

Ditto... whoever said that women don't have "stuff" to protect too?? Just to add -- it's not only about shooting a firearm, but it's understanding the bigger picture and acquiring accurate knowledge. With politics the way it is presented, it would be easy to be misinformed by people who don't have our interests in mind (aka The Commie Conspiracy).

Chicks need to maintain independent thought.

[wildhawker]

This one feels easy to me. I have wanted to shoot for so long, but didn't know how to get into it. Me and my GF's even went to a shooting range but were totally intimidated and left!

I totally think flyers on college campuses would do a lot. Hitting the 'self defense' angle would also get lots of girls interested. Maybe a flyer of a picture with regular girls - not the military type or the really masculine type (no hate intended), letting girls know there will be an 'intro to shooting' clinic at some range. I know lots of girls who would want to try - but most just wait for a guy or boyfriend to teach them.

I think that a women's shooting clinic at sponsored shooting events would be a good fixture. At the larger facilities, we could even dedicate one range for this purpose.

[2Cute2Shoot]

I think that a women's shooting clinic at sponsored shooting events would be a good fixture. At the larger facilities, we could even dedicate one range for this purpose.

I think if you really want to get 'girls' involved, it might have to be separate from the sponsored shoots...or apart from them enough that girls don't get intimidated. I know a lot of girls who would feel empowered to learn to shoot, but are a little intimidated by some of the guys. Not me of course, daddy taught me to be intimidated by no man!! LOL

[Backinblack1234]

I think if you really want to get 'girls' involved, it might have to be separate from the sponsored shoots...or apart from them enough that girls don't get intimidated. I know a lot of girls who would feel empowered to learn to shoot, but are a little intimidated by some of the guys. Not me of course, daddy taught me to be intimidated by no man!! LOL

+1. At the range I am tired of seeing that creepy dude trying to help the young lady out. It seems like some guys egos causes the girls to loose interest etc.

[missiondude]

The NRA members councils in California sponsor Women On Target (WOT) clinics many times throughout the year. San Diego's council holds 4 a year that are always full. The ladies shoot 22lr rifle, shotgun and handgun up to 45 cal in groups of 10 with 1 on 1 coaching (30 women attend each clinic with 30 coaches plus range safety officers). I coach handgun and rifle. The events sell out months in advance and always have waiting lists. Contact your local members council for information on how they put on the events and attract the shooters.

[lumwilliam]

The NRA members councils in California sponsor Women On Target (WOT) clinics many times throughout the year. San Diego's council holds 4 a year that are always full. The ladies shoot 22lr rifle, shotgun and handgun up to 45 cal in groups of 10 with 1 on 1 coaching (30 women attend each clinic with 30 coaches plus range safety officers). I coach handgun and rifle. The events sell out months in advance and always have waiting lists. Contact your local members council for information on how they put on the events and attract the shooters.

It's true. I tried to sign my wife up for an NRA women's shoot. They get to run thru everything from a .22 thru shotgun...whatever they're comfortable with. What I found was that they are fully booked thru the year! I was thrilled to hear it...waiting lists for women to participate in NRA events. But why isn't this demand translating into more women at Calguns? More female NRA members? More women at ranges? Have we created an 'old boys' environment that's scaring women away? I'm not active enough to say for sure but an interesting thought.

[Steyrlp10]

It's true. I tried to sign my wife up for an NRA women's shoot. They get to run thru everything from a .22 thru shotgun...whatever they're comfortable with. What I found was that they are fully booked thru the year! I was thrilled to hear it...waiting lists for women to participate in NRA events. But why isn't this demand translating into more women at Calguns? More female NRA members? More women at ranges? Have we created an 'old boys' environment that's scaring women away? I'm not active enough to say for sure but an interesting thought.

That's exactly what we're working on here at Calguns. I think it's great that we get so much feedback from the male members, but when I asked about their GFs/wives of the Calgunners who aren't members and who don't visit the forums, well, I don't know. I think it's a mixture of other priorities and interest levels in those women's lives, but I could be wrong.

I've taken a Women On Target course with my GF and our two sons -- and yes, it was a lot of fun! I was very impressed that the average age of the women in the two classes that day was 50+. That was interesting.

I am happy to say though that Calguns is the first organization in my 20+ years of competing that has "actively" approached me about getting women to be proactive in 2A and competition. As I mentioned in other threads, I'm a Life Member of the NRA, CRPA, and USA Shooting. They're great organizations with a lot of clout, but I had to do the footwork to make things happen for myself. In the past, I felt like I was just a number and not much beyond being a cash cow to those entities.

[2Cute2Shoot]

+1. At the range I am tired of seeing that creepy dude trying to help the young lady out. It seems like some guys egos causes the girls to loose interest etc.

I KNOW!! I was going to create another thread about that. My mom and I went to test shoot an AR I was planning to buy on Friday. 5 or 6 guys came up to us to help 'teach' us about the gun. One guy just walked up behind my mom and put his hand up against her back to help her posture. She was creeped out by it. I was laughing at her and then the same thing happened to me.

Some of the guys were so sweet, but some just wanted to talk and talk, and we just wanted to shoot! My mom said that if we ever go again, we're going to have to bring a guy with us.

[wildhawker]

I think if you really want to get 'girls' involved, it might have to be separate from the sponsored shoots...or apart from them enough that girls don't get intimidated. I know a lot of girls who would feel empowered to learn to shoot, but are a little intimidated by some of the guys. Not me of course, daddy taught me to be intimidated by no man!! LOL

How about a separate range/area at one of our Shoot-n-Que/training events? It's important to remember that many female significant others attend with their CGN member counterparts (although I would LOVE to see the opposite become true, with female CGN members bringing their significant others along), so, to me, a very narrow marketing approach will likely return equally narrow results.

I cannot wait until the day when women are well-represented in our membership, shooting sports and leadership (although I can see this improving, with competitors like Jessie Abbate and leaders like sterylp10 and NorCalMama bringing the gun culture into the 21st century).

These are exciting times!

[Fireguy]

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) has a program called Women in the Outdoors (WITO). The MT Diablo Chapter is planning one in the Fall and might be interested in partnering with a group like yours.
The purpose of the event is to introduce Women to various outdoor skills from camp cooking, outdoor survival, who to choose equipment and gun safety and shooting etc. I think it would be great have women shooting instructors.
The Bakerfield Chapter has a WITO event that has over a hundred women attend their 2 day program.

[Steyrlp10]

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) has a program called Women in the Outdoors (WITO). The MT Diablo Chapter is planning one in the Fall and might be interested in partnering with a group like yours.
The purpose of the event is to introduce Women to various outdoor skills from camp cooking, outdoor survival, who to choose equipment and gun safety and shooting etc. I think it would be great have women shooting instructors.
The Bakerfield Chapter has a WITO event that has over a hundred women attend their 2 day program.

Thanks Fireguy Do you know any of the contact people of the NWTF/WITO?

[Fireguy]

Yes I do. Please PM me and I share that info with you.