@NPRNews: Gun Makers Set Sights on Female Buyers

NPR's All Things Considered ran this story yesterday that talks about how females are an emerging market for firearms.  This is something VSSA has known for a number of years.  For instance, the Arlington-Fairfax IWLA club holds an NRA Women on Target(WOT) clinic every April and it is always a sell out.  Another VSSA affiliate, Rappahanock Pistol and Rifle Club, also holds WOT clinics and they too see huge crowds.  Women more and more are interested in self-defense so it is a natural market that gun shops and shooting ranges are reaching out to.

In one brand-new shooting range at Eagle Gun in Concord, N.C., shots from Sharon Skoff's handgun boom behind glass that separates the range from the rest of the shop.

"I just refuse to be a victim if I possibly can in life," Skoff says. "I actually went and got my concealed permit a couple months ago so I can carry."

Firarm manufactures are responding to the interest women are showing in firearms and self defense by making products that are easier for women to use.  NPR spoke with NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons:

The latest data from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows gun store owners reported a 73 percent increase in female customers in 2009 from the year before. Parsons says the trend is even being reflected by the number of guns made just for women.

"You see firearms being developed that have smaller grips to fit a woman's hand," Parson says. "Maybe they're pink, or maybe they have pearl grips. And they're a little bit less intimidating."

Kudos to NPR for run a story free from gun ban lobby talking points.  Hat tip to NRANews.