Gun Trade News Issue 82

WOMEN ON WAY UP

Gemma Payne takes a look at the rising phenomenon of women in shooting and asks where the opportunities are for us all

IN 1898 Annie Oakley penned a letter to President William McKinley in which she told the President that should war break out between the United States and Spain then she was “ready to place a company of fifty lady sharpshooters at your disposal”. It was an offer that was declined, as was a similar offer made during the First World War. However, as a result, the first band of lady shooters was born.

I don’t refer to myself as a lady shooter. That makes me uncomfortable. (Maybe I’m a rubbish feminist.) I’m a shooter. There is no lady about it. That said, without ladies’ shooting groups I wouldn’t have had the entry into shooting that I had. From my first tentative steps to game days and DSC training, women have been by my side throughout. I’ve met many gentlemen who have been fabulous, but the overarching temptation to launch into unprompted ‘mansplaining’ whilst on a clay ground seems to take hold of the opposite sex—something I can guarantee every woman reading this will have encountered.

My favourite comment whilst shooting was not directed at me, but to a fellow shooter: “You should stay in the kitchen love,” was his heckle. Another female shooter recounts a time when she was told: “I should put you over my knee and spank you for language like that,” when she dared to utter a curse whilst shooting. This idea of ‘banter’ is well intended, it just misses the mark so often and I can’t talk about ladies shooting without mentioning it.

Ladies' shooting clubs

The rise of ladies’ shooting clubs came onto my radar in about 2014. I was a bit late to the party. In that time it was Green Feathers, Femmes Fatales, Covert Girls and the incredible Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club.

Green Feathers was started at Holland & Holland in 1995. The new kids on the block are the Country Girls UK. Founded by Tania Coxon in 2018, the Country Girls UK focuses on the sense of community and events designed to make women feel relaxed and at ease. Offering beginners’ tuition days, sim days and game days, they hope to branch out into other field sports in the future and have just announced an introduction to fly fishing with Marina Gibson at her Northern Fishing School.

Home Office statistics stated on 31 March 2022 that 539,212 people held a firearm and or shotgun certificate, a decrease of 5% (-26,717) compared with the previous year, and the lowest number since comparable figures have been available (March 2016). 94% (505,398) of these were male. A staggering statistic.

The number of overall shotgun certificates on issue over the past ten years has shown small fluctuations (between 523,000 and 583,000), with decreases for the last three years. The number of firearm certificates on issue have also decreased over the last three years, following a steady increase prior to 2019.

When we focus primarily on female certificate holders (both shotgun and firearms) there have been similar fluctuations since 2015, but steady increases peaked in 2020, and a slight decline is now evident—though one far less statistically significant when compared to male certificate holders. One could surmise that the Covid effect has spread, coupled with the cost of living crisis.

Out of a small straw poll—not one that could be taken as a representative sample—I asked how much my female shooting friends spent on kit and clothing per year (excluding guns and cartridges). The average come back at around £1,200. When I asked the guys, it was considerably less, at around £300. I’m taking this as a huge hint towards growth in the market and also an indicator that the market is finally catching up with the demand for good technical clothing that actually fits a woman and allows them to move properly in the field or clay ground. Although, from doing further research, unfortunately it seems that the reason for the high spend is that ladies are trying clothing to see if it is fit for purpose, and finding that it isn’t. They are then forced to buy something else and the cycle continues.

The recent relaunch of the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club at the Game Fair, with the support of BASC Ladies Shooting, has reignited the organisation. The S&CBC is now under the new ownership of Georgina Roberts, the Olympic trap shooter who represents Wales and Great Britain, and the relaunch has been a pivotal moment for the club.

During the reception, Georgina demonstrated why ladies’ shooting is so important for the sport, “Double Trap was removed from the Olympic Games after Rio 2016 as a result of there only being a male discipline. The female discipline was removed after Athens 2004, due to the fact there wasn’t a high enough level of participation. It’s my goal to continue to increase levels of participation at all levels of the sport to ensure this doesn’t happen to any future disciplines, both international and domestic,” she explained.

Claire Sadler, Vice-Chair of BASC, has been involved with the S&CBC since the beginning. Claire leads the way for the shooting sport, as well as playing a vital role within the BASC Ladies Shooting campaign. “It’s fantastic that the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club has been relaunched in such safe and passionate hands as Georgina’s,” he said. “I look forward to seeing how the club grows and for all the exciting plans that Georgina has for the direction of the club. I think that all the ladies’ shooting groups, including the S&CBC, are doing a fantastic job at improving accessibility to our sport and encouraging more ladies to take up shooting. BASC will support the S&CBC, and the other ladies’ shooting groups, as much as we can.”

There is a common goal amongst ladies’ shooting groups and it is simple: increase participation and protect the future of our sport. “We are stronger together” is something I hear often.

Exceeding expectations

Lucy Cantwell, competitive shooter and ground manager at the Oxfordshire Shooting School, first stared shooting when she was 12. Born into it, her father Michael Cantwell was a finalist in the British Open in 1996, the year she was born. As a woman in the gunroom, in the field and when shooting competitively, she tells me stories about not being taken seriously and how she has enjoyed exceeding the expectations of her male counterparts. “It makes me more competitive,” she says. “I have more to prove as a woman and that drives me to be the best I can. I always want to improve. There are different challenges as a female shooter; overcoming other people’s attitude is by far the biggest!”

International shooting instructor and gunfit expert Adam Calvert has seen his female client base increase by 25% over the past five years. His current client base is 35% female. “Ladies have much more diverse body shapes than men,” he notes. “Even down to the length of their fingers. The advantages of specifically designed ladies’ shotguns are clear. However, it is like making a size 14 dress for a woman and hoping it fits all of them. I am seeing more and more women coming for gunfit as they appreciate its importance. I also find ladies easier to teach; they listen better and aren’t afraid to ask questions,” Adam jokes.

He goes on to tell me about another aspect of his work: in-field instruction. “There is a hilarious common misconception that all ladies in the field are looking for a new husband. I can assure you that most are not.” But that brings him on to clothing: “The majority is not fit for purpose or practical. There needs to be clothing that looks good but is also functional, and you can fit more than ten cartridges in the pocket and climb over a barbed wire fence with dignity.”

It’s safe to say there is a huge market for ladies’ shooting but it needs the attention it deserves. Surely a win-win for manufacturers and retailers. GTN