GUNS/BARMS

[ONEBGG]

Programs Give Boost To Female Shooters

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/19/06

BY LAUREN O. KIDD
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

JACKSON — Fifty percent more women are target-shooting now than were involved in the sport five years ago, according to surveys conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association.

The statistics from the Connecticut-based trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industries show that of the 22 million people who target-shoot more than once a year in the United States, about 5 million, or 23 percent, are women. The surveys were conducted from 2001 through 2005.

More than 1.2 million women in the United States target-shoot at least 20 times per year, the surveys show.

"More and more women are discovering that hunting and shooting sports are great family activities," said Doug Painter, National Shooting Sports Foundation president.

Painter said the boost in female participation was caused in part by "programs introducing females to these traditionally male sports" and an increase in "manufacturers who design products especially for, and retailers who cater to, women."

According to the NSSF, over the past five years, the numbers of women target shooting with air guns rose by 55 percent to 866,000; with rifles, up 53 percent to 2.7 million; with handguns, up 33 percent to 3 million; and with shotguns, up by 16 percent to 1.4 million.

Participation in the National Rifle Association's Women on Target events — which introduce women to target shooting — has grown with the sport.

The NRA started sponsoring the clinics in 2000. Thirteen events were held across the country that year, with about 500 women participating, said NRA spokeswoman Mary Sue Faulkner.

This year, more than 6,800 women took part in 229 Women on Target events, including the one held at the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club in Jackson in September.

Lauren O. Kidd: [e-mail] or [phone]

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