So, ladies, I wonder if you know that our gender is consistently out shooting the men? In class and after class, the ladies are scoring higher and shooting better groups than the fellows they are shooting along side. In a Saturday TN permit class, it is not uncommon for a lady to come in with no experience and out score her husband or significant other, a self-professed "expert" shooter. Have you ever wondered why this occurs?

If you consider the design of a man, he has more upper body strength than our gender. In the sport of shooting this can be a disadvantage. Many would agree that marksmanship is about 90 percent mental and only about 10 percent physical. Find an elementary school teacher and ask if little girls develop powers of concentration sooner than little boys. Pressing the trigger to the rear in a smooth and continuous manner is a fine art and a fine motor skill. Go ladies!! This is why I have coined the phrase "CARRESS the trigger to the rear" for the men in my classes. Carress is the only word I can think of that relates to men for what they need to do with their trigger.

Our superior skills extend beyond the trigger. Since our fingers are smaller, they are swift and sure! Compare them to the larger male sausage fingers and the ladies have the ability to be quicker than a man in many gun handling techniques.

Our lack of upper body strength and grip strength, as compared to a man, is also an advantage! Yes, I also instruct men to CRADLE their handgun with their dominant hand. Nine out of ten men who have not had formal firearms training tend to overgrip their gun. If a man is right handed and their shot group is going down and to the left they are likely overgripping with their dominant hand. If you think about it, men are trained in life to shake another person's hand with a strong, firm handshake, therefore; when they pick up their handgun they use that same strong grip and their strength is soon a disadvantage! Ladies, we generally pick up a handgun hold it with enough strength to keep it in our hand but we do not over do it. We cradle the handgun and carress the trigger naturally!

Do I need to mention the advantage the ladies have in the area of learning? This difference probably comes from cultural predispositioning. When men are learning masculine skills (guns, motorcycles, or similar) they tend to be hostile learners. Some men can view the student to teacher relationship like a child to parent relationship and stubbornly resist. Men revert to "I'll do it my way." Men like guns and want to hold it tight and shoot it fast (maybe it is the higher level of testosterone). In comparison, the ladies think "Cool. If I do it right every single time, every bullet goes in the same place!" Luckily, most the men who come to Range USA to learn are open to the improvements our instructors offer - even when learning from me - a girl.

For the men reading this please understand that the ladies still love you and you are welcome to shoot alongside us anytime. Just be open and accepting when we out shoot you, congratulate us, and maybe even learn from us. Being out shot by the lady in your life is not a relationship henderence - quite the opposite. Just think of it this way.....in a gunfight who is likely to storm out to the front line? The man. Those on the front line often get shot. So, who is left to protect you? None other then the lady in your life! That sharp shooting female whom you love and adore!

For the ladies reading this, do not delay your next trip to the range. Shooting practice is great to prepare for a possible self-defense situation, it is a lot of fun, and we are REALLY good at it! If you are new to shooting ladies, why delay? You are already predispositioned to out shoot the man in your life. What are you waiting on?

Kristen Bauer

Range USA Instructor