Your reason

[Glock Girl in CA]

The news sources are reporting fascinating stories of the rise of the female gun owner. Seems as though every day there is a new sound byte about a woman at a gun range placing great shots and chipping away at the stereotype that women are disinterested in firearms. And since women are (traditionally) unlikely gun enthusiasts, they usually have a need or reason that nudged them to get into shooting.

So, what brought you here?

I'll go first. I don't have any dark story about a shady character in an alley, or a thug in my home at 2 am, but I can tell you I have always been afraid that I would. A firearm seemed too drastic an answer to me, especially since my Dad never taught me a thing about guns and that would mean me learning about them with no patriarchal guidance. It seemed too great a responsibility to entrust to myself. So, I settled for a silly little can of pepper spray and hoped for the best. After New Year's a young, widowed mother of an infant had the nation talking about use of deadly force after two perps, armed with a hunting knife, forced their way into her home. She shot one attacker dead while on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. Cops arrived much too late for her to have had any other choice. I thought, "What would I have done?" I'm at home with my kids and my husband works long hours. You would laugh if I told you my flimsy plans to save our lives. I turned to the internet and found many stories about totally competent, modern, savvy women who had their own guns and knew how to use them. I'm intelligent and responsible, so I decided I could join these women in their seemingly elite club of pistol-packing' ladies.

Some classes, range time, and MUCH study later, here I am!

Your turn.

[cebuvfr]

Welcome aboard! Get yourself trained and like what you mentioned earlier, range time, range time, and more range time.

[MrsRazz]

And since women are (traditionally) unlikely gun enthusiasts, they usually have a need or reason that nudged them to get into shooting.

Actually, historically, women were taught to shoot.

Since the start of this country, most of it had been rural. That really only changed in the 1950s. Yes, there were big cities, but most of the country was pretty spread out. Women were taught to shoot to defend the homestead, some hunted to provide for the family when the man was gone.

I grew up in rural New England on a horse farm. I was taught to shoot a rifle and a shotgun from age 12. Pretty much all of my friends were taught, as well. We did not own a pistol.

In the early 90s, I bought a pistol to CCW because there had been muggings and rapes in the area where I worked. I bought a Colt .380 based on someone else's recommendation and I hated it. When I decided to move to CA, that was the first thing to get sold.

Last year, we had a friends night out at a local shooting range. I shot our friends 22 and his 9mm and discovered that I loved target shooting. It was something I wanted to continue doing, but it was placed on the back burner because of everything else going on.

We bought this house in December. It's U shaped with the front door at the bottom of the U. You cannot see the front door from the street. I work from home, so I'm here all day and a series of "knock-knock' burglaries are happening in the next town over during business hours. They knock on the door....if the homeowner answers they kick in the door and beat the crap out of the homeowner. If no one answers, they go around back and break in.

So, I bought the Makarov 9mmX18 for a combination of fun and home defense.

[tlcwrites]

As those who have followed my other threads know, I've not yet bought my first gun, so I have to interpret this question as "why am I going to" rather than "why did I". :-) That said, here goes...

I grew up in urban Canada, a place that makes California's gun laws look downright friendly, at least where handguns are concerned. In fact, prior to moving to the United States in 1992, the only guns I'd ever personally handled were a CO2-powered Crosman .177 air pistol and a .30-30 rifle that belonged to a friend. (And I didn't actually shoot that). I'm an avid reader of (and now writer of) mystery novels, so I wasn't unfamiliar with guns, at least in an abstract sense, but I'd never owned one.

As I mentioned in another thread, I was the victim of an armed sexual assault as a teenager, and have been the victim of physical assault and in one case an attempted sexual assault as a young adult (anti-gay harassment, that). When I lived in Chicago, I got the cr*p scared out of me one night - I walked to the market up the street from me, on a busy well-lit street, at 8:30pm one evening to buy more soda. I read in the newspaper the next day that another woman walking on the same block of the same street at 8:45pm had been attacked, dragged into an alley, and gang-raped. I probably would have bought a gun then, but, well, it was Chicago 20-ish years ago, so...yeah.

I've been wanting to learn to shoot for a long time, but several things have made me really want to pursue gun ownership now. Some is that the rate of violent crime in my small suburban city has been going up lately (mainly Hispanic gangs, and there was a home invasion-robbery/rape a few blocks up the street from me). I know firsthand and with excruciating clarity what being a victim is like, and am absolutely resolved not to be one again if I can help it. And some of it has been a result of becoming an American citizen last October. I'd thought after 19 years here that becoming a citizen would be no big deal and I was a little surprised at how emotionally meaningful the experience was for me. After that, I started thinking about why I became an American, and the Constitution's freedoms are a big part of that. (Plus, I'm a paralegal by training and a bit of Constitutional Law geek...)

What really sealed the deal was when a friend took me to the range a few weeks ago, and I discovered that guns are not only a useful tool to secure my personal safety, but also a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. And then someone told me about IDPA (and invited me to watch a match), and...well, here I am, researching what's out there, shooting as much as I can manage, and navigating the minefield of a gun-averse spouse. One way or the other, I'll be entering the ranks of gun owners soon, though.

[beb]

Love the name, Glock Girl :P

LdyApxr, Your story gave me the heebies, glad they didnt come back after that...

As for my story, My biological father was an E8 Sargeant in the US Army so we had alot of weapons in the house. My baby pictures are of me driving my Barbie Hotwheels Corvette, with a Kevlar helmet on and ammo belts around my chest. rofl. I grew up shooting rifles... I wasnt able to shoot much between ages 14-21 but always retained my appreciation of firearms. I went to the range on and off, my step-dad gave me his Glock 23 and Sig P229 for a while; then when I returned them... I just went to the range again. I ended up purchasing my very own first gun a couple months back, Springfield XD9 Tactical. I like guns, shooting is very fun.... and if something happens where our family needs protection, I want to make sure its available. My mom used to shoot with my dad and my sister is a US Marine... guns are a part of our happy home.

[onequickshift]

Is that a Miata in your default? Just wondering beb.

Well for me I used to model a lot, and had a fairly large fan base, and many many weirdos. In anycase, after a few incidents, I started carrying. That was many a moon ago lol. I have big dogs, my l and r neighbors are officers, couple across the street directly are as well, their l and r neighbors are retired officers. We have a great community, block preparedness with supplies, and meet every other weekend, we have bbqs too.

I also belong to an off shoot of a main car group that is specifically all women, we all work on our cars, bikes, trucks, we train and shoot together, we also gym it 3-5 times a week. Exclusivity keeps opinions of guys and there interaction in our activities all pretty scarce. I along with another are the only in our group who are not MIL, or were. And most in our group are LE so I am happy.

Shooting and various weapons systems and tools like knives, or other gear for outdoors or survival, or for disaster preparedness is my thing. Happy having another property far far away from the beaten path, stores of food, water, and other supplies, wind/solar power, can just drive on up there in the superduty, cook a meal, relax, watch the dogs play, read a nice Douglas Preston book, and kick back.

Its all gravy.

LDY, its good you took the initiative! Protect yourself your kin, and your stead!

[beb]

Its my old s2000. It has Project Mu brakes like the ones in your avatar! :P

[movie zombie]

as a woman why do i have guns?
well, i was raised around them.
i was given a rifle when i was 8. and a pistol when i was 20.
however, i spent a lot of years as a pacifist.
birth of my daughter moved me out of being a pacifist but not necessarily a gungho gun owner.
no, that happened during 2000-2008. the far right scared the beegees out of me.....and still do. my renewed interest in weapons is more now than it ever was. yeah, the reverse 911 call 7 years ago re the felon who had a shootout with the sheriff just over the ridge and was on the loose in the area gave me the push to increase my arms capacity. but the reality is that it is the politics of the far right that scares me more than the rapist.

[OHOD]

I shut my furst hog when I wus 8. Daddy give me his 22 to hunt wit. We wuz down in the bayou huntin gaturs when Daddy saw a gud size hog on da bank. Had dat porky little bastud in me sites and pulled da triggur. Got it right butween da eyes I did. Sho nuff. We had poke loin for dinnuh that night.

[CA Cowboy]

as a woman why do i have guns?
well, i was raised around them.
i was given a rifle when i was 8. and a pistol when i was 20.
however, i spent a lot of years as a pacifist.
birth of my daughter moved me out of being a pacifist but not necessarily a gungho gun owner.
no, that happened during 2000-2008. the far right scared the beegees out of me.....and still do. my renewed interest in weapons is more now than it ever was. yeah, the reverse 911 call 7 years ago re the felon who had a shootout with the sheriff just over the ridge and was on the loose in the area gave me the push to increase my arms capacity. but the reality is that it is the politics of the far right that scares me more than the rapist.

Really for me the politics of the far left is the scariest thing ever.I would vote for a Pat Robertson/Sarah Palin ticket if it was farther right! Good luck with the far left looters!

[CA Cowboy]

I shut my furst hog when I wus 8. Daddy give me his 22 to hunt wit. We wuz down in the bayou huntin gaturs when Daddy saw a gud size hog on da bank. Had dat porky little bastud in me sites and pulled da triggur. Got it right butween da eyes I did. Sho nuff. We had poke loin for dinnuh that night.

I know yer lyin cause goin after hogs an gaters with a .22 will jus git u dead.

WHO DAT! Lousianna Coco awwwww son.

[Shellshocker66]

I have a family that was/are hunters/or police officers. My mother's second marriage produced me. Well she hated guns, but thankfully my older half brothers, and uncles decided I should not be treated any different then they had been treated. So someone stuck a .22 rifle with bird shot in my hands at 3 years of age and told me to aim for the birdies in his garden...

I finally got my own rifle when I was 12 (back in the day before CA became so gun law crazy and relatives could give you one) and by that time I already knew the safety and responsibility of owning a gun as I had been hunting most of my young life.

I moved to pistols at 18 when I enrolled in a college law enforcement ROP. It was a great program and we spent usually 2-3 days a week at the firing range using .357 with .38 wadcutters for target practice. I loved it and as soon as I was old enough to purchase my own pistol I did. I would of loved to have gone into law enforcement myself and always stayed sharp with going to the firing ranges or out into the country so I could do well in the academy but a few knee injuries changed that plan.

It's just something that I've always done and I've never considered it a male sport only. I've started several of my female friends on the path to loving the sport as well and they all have remained active.

[movie zombie]

i am female and answered a direct question to the women of calguns re the rise of female gun owners and why we the women of calguns have guns.
the thread was not started, imo, for political debate but thank you for sharing your ideal political ticket. i think you will find, CA Cowboy, that the women of calguns on the LADIES forum do not snipe at one another nor do we troll each others threads. calguns has OT for that.

[MrsRazz]

i am female and answered a direct question to the women of calguns re the rise of female gun owners and why we the women of calguns have guns.
the thread was not started, imo, for political debate but thank you for sharing your ideal political ticket.

I'm in this forum because I enjoy discussing guns and shooting with other women. If I want to read knee jerk political opinions, I'll go into OT.

[raddogz]

A friend turned me on to CalGuns to find out more info about gun ownership. A friend was going to gift me a gun. I've since been reading, watching, going to the range, and slowly adding to my growing collection

So far I've learned quite a bit more about guns and everything surrounding it. If you asked me a year ago about owning a gun I would have said no way - not for me. Not because I was afraid of guns by any means it just didn't appeal to me. Now...I go to the range just about every week - it's a stress reliever for sure. It's added a bit more of self confidence in knowing I could potentially defend myself and my family.