Your Wife or Girlfriend Doesn't Want to Shoot?

As a woman who shoots, I’ve run into a lot of men who wish that their wives or girlfriends partook in what they consider to be a lifelong skill. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t happen all that much for husbands and boyfriends.

I hear this a lot, “I wish my wife (or girlfriend) liked to shoot.” For those men, whose significant other doesn’t appreciate shooting firearms, I have some advice. From one woman to a bunch of men, pay attention!

Your Partner Might Consider Shooting…If You Don’t Bother Her About It

The first thing to realize is that not everybody is into shooting a firearm. Sure, you are, but your significant other may not be. That’s okay. Not everybody is into personal hygiene the way that (hopefully!) your wife or girlfriend is. Not everybody is into Facebook or Twitter or sports, or cooking. Some people aren’t into anything.

That’s okay. Don’t push shooting onto your significant other if that person hasn’t shown any interest at all in it. All you will do is make her angry that you keep bringing it up. Just enjoy your hobby as you normally would. Who knows? By not pushing it onto her, she might come around and start asking you to take her to the shooting range.

Beware a Bad First Experience

As a shooting enthusiast, you are aware of which guns have the most recoil, which guns are best to start out with, and which guns only experienced shooters should consider ever firing. That’s why it’s important to prevent your significant other from having a bad first experience.

What’s the best way to do that? Try starting your significant other out with a 9mm. Anything, really, with a soft recoil might get your partner more interested in shooting different firearms in the future. Don’t hand her a .45, have her feel the recoil, and expect her to start bugging you to take her the next time you go to the range.

Allow Her to Choose Her Firearm

This is an important step. Once you’ve gotten her comfortable shooting a 9mm, or something with low recoil, take her to a gun shop and have her pick out her own gun. Here’s the thing that men don’t understand…the surprise wears off. Most women, as an example, would prefer to choose their own engagement ring than to be surprised.

Same thing with a firearm. Your wife or girlfriend must be comfortable with the firearm that she’s going to take with her to the range, or conceal carry with her after she’s gotten a license. Let her pick the gun of her choice.

Think Safety First, Start Slow…Stay Slow If She Wants To

It goes without saying that whenever you introduce anybody, it doesn’t matter who the person is, to shooting a firearm for the first time, that safety is the most important thing. Everybody who shoots knows this. I just thought it was important to write.

When it comes to your significant other, it’s important to start slow. Stay slow if that’s the way she wants it. For some people, not just women, but people in general, shooting a firearm is a different experience than anything that they’ve ever done before in their lives. It’s important to realize that.

If you’ve had trouble getting your significant other to pick up a firearm and participate in shooting rounds with you, don’t worry. Take the advice that I’ve laid out above. She may come around. She may not. The best that you can do is enjoy your hobby and continue to work on your firearm shooting skills.

About
Latest Posts

Sarah Carling

Sarah has an unbridled obsession for the shooting sports and is actively involved in her local shooting community. She is Vice President of her local gun club, leader of a Well Armed woman chapter and competitive USPSA shooter.

As a Brit living and working in the USA, her views on gun ownership and the second amendment have evolved over the years, allowing her to fully understand both sides of the gun control debate and she regularly speaks on the matter to help others understand why she feels the second amendment must be protected and why she chooses to be an advocate for the shooting sports.