Myth – “Shooting is a man’s game.”
Fact – Gender has no factor on marksmanship skill.
Marksmanship is a technical skill requiring little strength. The physical component of shooting has more to do with the endurance and coordination of specific muscle groups and reflexes unique to marksmanship and raw muscle provides almost no benefit.
Anyone that is able bodied enough to lift a firearm will, in time, with sufficient correct practice, develop these consistent reflexes and endurance. “Holding Hard” is an oft heard expression regarding shooting well, but crude force isn’t the answer. Holding with consistency is.
aangel99
Jul 09, 2008 @ 23:44:27
I’ve just started visiting my local shooting range and I’ve heard several times that women tend to be better shots than men, at least right off the bat.
Any truth to this? My friend brought his girlfriend and she actually was pretty good. Mind you, this is only one data point.
John Buol
Aug 23, 2008 @ 15:41:28
Gender plays no special role in marksmanship skills.
Women tend to learn shooting quicker only because they usually have no preconceived notion as to how well they are or should be shooting.
Roy Riley
Sep 21, 2009 @ 17:40:41
Actually women who are trained at a young age can progress farther in marksmanship than men. This is because the visual cortex in women, as well as other areas of the brain, matures at a younger age. Since at a younger age neurons form new connections more easily this leads to enhanced aptitude as compared with men. The phenomena is supported by annecdotal evidence, such as Annie Oakly and other women who traveled with early wild west shows and consistently outshot male competitors with a rifle. In all such examples, as one would expect, the women were trained at a very young age < 10 yrs.