What type of handguns, holsters, and gear do female shooters prefer? That question was answered by a survey of lady shooters at SHINE 2024, the Annual Conference of the “A Girl & A Gun” organization. The SHINE 2024 event took place this past May at the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex near Grand Junction, Colorado. The 706 lady attendees ranged in age from 17 to 78 and hailed from 45 different states. The 700+ lady shooters included both novices and seasoned shooters — 28% of the attendees were relatively new shooters, 41% were intermediates, and 31% were advanced. The annual event sold out last September and had more than 500 women on the waiting list.
All the participants were required to go through a ‘Gear Check’ process where their handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches were all reviewed and function checked. In total, the 706 women brought 976 handguns for training. For today’s article, we reveal the favored handguns, holsters, sights/optics, and other accessories. Glock was the #1 gun choice with 22.75% with Walther a close second at 20.29%. CLICK HERE for complete gun/product survey results.
Handgun Choices by Lady Shooters
Leading Pistol Brands
GLOCK / 22.75%
SIG Sauer / 20.29%
Walther / 17.01%
Smith & Wesson / 9.63%
Heckler & Koch / 5.94%
CZ / 5.33%
Springfield / 4.51%
Canik / 4.41%
Staccato / 3.48%
Ruger / 0.82%
Beretta / 0.61%
Shadow Systems / 0.61%
Kimber / 0.51%
STI / 0.51%
Wilson Combat / 0.51%
Taurus / 0.41%
FN / 0.31%
Favorite Pistol Models
Walther PDP-F / 17.23%
GLOCK 19 / 11.56%
Sig Sauer P365XL / 5.44%
GLOCK 34 / 4.54%
GLOCK 43X / 4.31%
HK VP9 / 4.31%
Sig Sauer P320 / 4.31%
Sig Sauer P365 / 3.85%
GLOCK 17 / 3.40%
Walther PDP / 3.40%
GLOCK 48 / 2.49%
GLOCK 45 / 2.27%
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ / 2.27%
Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 / 1.81%
Shooting Gear and Accessories Choices
Holster Brands
Comp Tac / 17.16%
Haven Defense / 7.59%
BladeTech / 6.27%
We The People / 5.83%
Black Scorpion / 5.72%
Safariland / 4.40%
PHLster / 3.52%
Dara / 3.19%
Alien Gear / 2.42%
Blackhawk / 1.98%
Hearing Protection
Walker / 36.09%
Howard Leight / 13.00%
Axil / 11.62%
AKT1 Sport / 5.96%
Peltor / 4.28%
Iron Sights Vs. Pistol-Mounted Optics
While there are more pistol-mounted optics each year, they still have not yet surpassed iron sights among women. 54.4% of the ladies’ pistols had iron sights compared to 45.6% of the handguns which were fitted with Red Dot-type slide-mounted optics.
Training Sessions at AG & AG SHINE Conference
During this shine event, training sessions were run at the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex. With 28 live-fire bays, 25 field classrooms, a 5-Stand course, and 2,003-yard rifle range, 3D archery loops, and natural terrain for other training options, AG & AG was able to provide training classes on a wide variety of shooting and self-defense topics.
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The March 2023 issue of Shooting Industry Magazine was just released. This special 5th Annual Woman’s Edition focuses primarily on lady shooters and gun owners. There are some very interesting articles about products for women and increased female participation in the shooting sports. CLICK HERE to access the full March 2023 issue for FREE.
Women have become increasingly important in the shooting sports world. The NSSF notes that nearly 5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the very first time in 2020, and of that figure, 40% were women! If trends continue, nearly half of all gun sales will be to women. And the age span for lady shooters is significant — in Shoot Like A Girl’s Annual Report, of their 3,457 guests who participated in 2022, 67% were over 40 years old, and 17% were over 60 years old.
Gun shop owner and instructor Ava Flandell states: “In my experience, female-taught classes fill up much quicker than those taught by men, especially when it comes to entry-level classes.”
CLICK HERE for the four March 2023 Shooting Industry lead stories about women and the firearms trade. And CLICK HERE for dozens of other articles about firearms Products for Women.
In this NSSF video, Kay Miculek and Babes with Bullets camp director Deb Ferns explain eye dominance. First they explain how to identify one’s dominant eye. Then Kay — a cross-dominant-eye target shooter — explains how cross-dominant individuals can maintain a proper sight picture.
One notable female-centric shooting organization is A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League (AG&AG). This year’s major AG&AG event will be held April 27-30, 2023 in Grand Junction, Colorado. There will be workshops, live-fire training, fun matches, and other active.
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A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League (AG&AG), the firearm industry’s first large-scale chapter-based women’s organization, recently hosted its 9th Annual National Conference. The sold-out event took place at the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex near Palisade, Colorado, from April 27 through May 2, 2021. More than 600 AG&AG members, sponsors, staff, and friends were in attendance.
“Last year we hosted a very successful Virtual Conference, but we were unable to meet face to face, give hugs, and cheer for success,” says Julianna Crowder, AG&AG’s Founder. “This year, with RISE 2021, we welcomed diverse and enthusiastic women, aged 12 to 77, who each have unique goals for self defense and recreational shooting sports. It is an honor … to share in their journeys and guide them along the way.”
Conference attendees included roughly 450 members from 96 AG&AG chapters in 35 different states. Participants were able to choose from 250 training classes run by 54 of the nation’s top firearms educators. Training classes ran for 3 days, with an additional 2 days of lectures and leadership workshops. The event also included a Vendor Day with 49 brands, including GLOCK, CZ-USA, Walther, USCCA, XS Sights, Primary Arms, Stag Arms, Heckler & Koch, U.S. Law Shield, and others. “The firearms industry is not only providing superior products for women, but also providing opportunities for training and helping our members grow in skill and confidence,” says Robyn Sandoval, AG&AG’s Executive Director.
U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert was also on site to welcome the attendees to her home state of Colorado. This was the first AG&AG National Conference to be hosted outside of Texas.
Cameo Shooting and Education Complex was the ideal location for the event. With 20 live-fire bays, numerous field classrooms, a sporting clays course, and a 2003-yard rifle range, AG&AG was able to provide a wide variety of training classes. AG&AG even brought Heligunner to the Cameo Complex, so attendees enjoyed aerial gunnery adventures. Registration for AG&AG’s 2022 National Conference, entitled CELEBRATE 2022 opens September 1, 2021. The 2020 Conference will also be held at the Cameo Complex in Colorado. Learn more at AGirlandAGun.org/conference/.
About A Girl & A Gun
A Girl & A Gun (AG&AG) is a membership organization whose events are successful stepping stones for thousands of women entering the shooting community by fostering their love of shooting with qualified instructors/coaches. AG & AG breaks barriers for women and girls in self-defense, and in pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting sports by welcoming beginners to learn the basics of safe and accurate shooting and providing experienced shooters with advanced-level opportunities. The club has members in all 50 states and hosts recurring Girl’s Nights Out at more than 200 ranges throughout the USA.
A Girl & A Gun (AG&AG) is a club by women shooters for women shooters. With a network of instructors and affiliated ranges, AG&AG operates training clinics and competition events throughout the country. For more information, or to learn how to join the group, visit AGirlandAGun.org. Follow AG&AG on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
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Range photo from Athena Gun Club in Houston, TX. Athena has 26-lane indoor shooting range.
A Girl & A Gun (AG&AG) is a club by women shooters for women shooters. With a network of instructors and affiliated ranges, AG&AG operates training clinics and competition events throughout the country. AG&AG recently sponsored a nationwide survey of 6000 club members. This survey revealed interesting trends in gun purchases by females. By way of background, a previous survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimated that about 40% of 2020 gun sales are to first-time buyers, and that roughly 40% of those first-time gun buyers were women.
AG&AG did a follow-up survey of club members who were first-time gun buyers. This showed that the leading motivator in gun acquisition were concerns over riots and civil unrest. This was followed by worries over the upcoming election and possible future gun bans.
There were some very interesting comments by AG&AG members, who expressed their personal reasons for buying guns and seeking firearms training:
Kathryn in Texas: “I’m a trauma surgeon and have treated a fair share of gunshot victims in Chicago and Houston. I have been pretty ‘anti-gun’ as a result up until COVID. At that point, I figured I might as well get comfortable with at least handling firearms in case I had to use one.”
Theresa in Nevada: “I’ve never felt the need to own a gun or want a one. However, with the extreme levels of crime, every individual should learn to protect themselves. With our political leaders allowing the police to be torn apart, this made me feel the need to step up and take measures for my protection.”
Jan in Michigan: “As a history teacher with 35 years of teaching experience I know that the first thing revolutionaries and tyrants do upon seizing power is to take away the public’s guns. As a child my family lived in inner city Detroit in the heart of the 1967 riots….More recently, the rioters came down my street after their burning and looting rampage downtown in my city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. I decided that I have to defend myself and not allow myself to be a sitting duck. “
Anonymous in Connecticut: “I [was] interested in joining A Girl & A Gun Club for a while and in the wake of the protests and defunding of police I thought this was extremely important. Being from the Northeast it is difficult to find others with the same ideals so I thought this would be the best place to start.”
About A Girl & A Gun
AG&AG is now moving into its 10th year of educating women on the safe use and storage of firearms, and promoting women’s interest and participation in training and competitive and recreational shooting sports. The club’s mission is especially relevant today and the organization is stronger than ever.
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