Women & Guns Part 3: How a Woman Does Homework

Editor's Note: This article is part 3 of our series about the National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) report, "Women Gun Owners: Purchasing, Perceptions and Participation." We invite you to read part 1 here.

In Parts I and II of this series exploring the NSSF's study on Women Gun Owners, G&A established that the traditional stereotypes regarding women and firearms have proven to be largely misunderstood. So then how are women choosing a firearm to purchase? Are their decisions hasty or guided by a male's influence as so often portrayed? The NSSF report discusses this issue.

PART 3

Sixty-seven percent of women in the survey spent a few months thinking about buying a gun before they made their purchase and many considered the decision much longer.  Women are not impulsive gun buyers. Less than 5 percent of the women surveyed stated that they made the purchase without at least a few days' reflection.

During the time that women contemplated a gun purchase, they were doing homework '¦ to a greater extent than male counterparts. Of the women polled, 96 percent sought information from at least one source before purchasing a firearm. The most popular information was gained through a woman's family. At least half of all female gun buyers consulted a firearm manufacturer's website and/or discussed the information with friends. Half of the women conferred with personnel across a gun counter before making their final decision, and just over a third consulted online discussion forums. Only 25 percent of the women scanned print magazines or periodicals before making their purchase. By the numbers, it's also clear that most of the women surveyed considered multiple sources before making a choice.

After the NSSF's careful research, women primarily headed to local gun shops to make their purchase with 58 percent choosing small local businesses. Almost all of the remaining customers bought from big box stores such as Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's or Walmart. Less than 13 percent of women polled bought guns at a gun show and less than 1 percent purchased a firearm from a pawnshop.

It became clear to G&A from the data in this report that women are highly informed buyers when it comes to making a firearm purchase. Women are spending a great deal of time considering their purchase and are actively seeking out multiple information sources before joining the gun-owning fraternity.

To continue reading: click here for "Women & Guns Part 4: Why It's Important for Women to Own Guns"