Lisa Roux qualified, “It’s the hospitality factor. We try and eliminate as many barriers as we can and we do it with everything here. We want to take down those walls for people who are often intimidated in a gun shop or a range environment. Whether you’re a man or a woman, our staff is trained to very high hospitality and customer service standards.”
“We stop any intimidation immediately at the front door,” she continued. “With a reception desk, first-time visitors know where to go to ask a question instead of having to walk up to a big burly guy behind the gun counter standing there with his arms crossed glaring at them. The difference in the men’s and women’s classes is dropping the barriers of intimidation to make them feel at home in this environment. As a result, we’re seeing a surge in women buying guns and taking classes.”
The Art of Instruction
When bringing the words “women” and “shooting sports” together, it always seems to require additional clarification, such as “women-only” or “women-specific.” Now, more than ever, the shooting sports industry is making a concerted effort to accommodate women. (Not that they haven’t in the past. Let’s give credit where it’s due.)
The shooting sports industry has made guns specifically for women, hunting and shooting clothes specifically for women and shooting accessories specifically for women, so the logical progression would be to have shooting classes or courses specifically for women.
There’s no arguing the point there are differences between men and women on a physical level, which is why guns, clothes and some accessories — particularly holsters — are designed to accommodate a woman’s body. But when it comes to learning, do women really learn that differently from men?
Recognizing people in general learn differently and going beyond the basic learning styles such as visually, aurally, verbally or physically, it’s a proven fact women perceive and understand things differently than men. Now, throw in something as intimidating and frightening as shooting a gun.
It’s an absolute necessity to create shooting classes with curriculums designed explicitly for women, right? Not according to the instructors who specifically teach women in two totally different environments. One is a 20,000 sq. ft. gun store; the other is one of the premier shooting academies in the U.S.
Teaching A Skill Set
Paige Roux, training coordinator and senior firearms instructor for Shooter’s World AZ (an indoor range and pro-shop with two stores in the Phoenix area), has extensive experience instructing women. In fact, during the 10-year period Shooter’s World has been offering classes for women, tens of thousands of them have taken classes.
“The curriculum for women is exactly the same as any other class we teach,” Paige explained. “It’s not like it’s special for women. We’re not going to make this a special avenue for them, because you don’t have to. We’re teaching a skill set to give them the ability to safely and proficiently handle a firearm. The exact same skill set we teach men. The only difference we incorporate into the class is we talk about kids a lot more or carrying in the grocery store. We’ll talk about purses, or ways to conceal for a female. Other than that, it’s exactly the same.”
Paige Roux addresses students during a Women’s Handgun II course. This course expands skills students
would have acquired in Shooter’s World’s Fundamental course offerings —— learning more on firearms safety
rules, clearing malfunctions, trigger control/reset and follow through, concluding with additional range time.
Ken Campbell, CEO of Gunsite Shooting Academy concurred, “There should be no difference when teaching women. Yes, there are some minor differences such as men have more upper body strength, but honestly, women are better learners. Women listen and do. Men don’t respond the same way. Bottom line, it’s not about gender — it’s about the skills being taught.
“As Jeff Cooper said, ‘We’re teaching crisis management for close-range interpersonal confrontation,’” Campbell continued, “and it’s the same for men and women alike. There is no difference in our curriculums for women. We may spend a little extra time on off-body carry options, such as a purse or backpack, but women are just as capable as men when it comes to learning what we teach at Gunsite.”
“We’re teaching a skill set to give them the ability to safely and proficiently handle a firearm. The exact same skill set we teach men.”
Paige Roux Training Coordinator + Senior Firearms Instructor Shooter’s World, AZ
Two very different types of shooting venues, but both agree it’s not about gender — it’s about the instructor, how they teach and breaking down the barriers women feel when they first walk into a gun shop or onto a range with an instructor, who in every sense of the word is a complete stranger.
Developing Instructors
“I was introduced to the shooting sports later in life,” said Lisa Roux, Shooter’s World Founder and COO. “I knew what it felt like to be intimidated as a brand-new shooter. I didn’t want a female to walk into our store and feel like she had to have a man with her. I want her to come in and give her the tools and the empowerment she needs to shoot. This journey doesn’t need to be any different for her than for a man who is coming in to learn how to shoot.”
Lisa reiterated Paige’s stance: The Shooter’s World team is teaching a skill set.
“It’s very black-and-white. This is how you stay safe. These are the skills you need to obtain to be able to shoot proficiently. It doesn’t look any different for women than it does for men,” she asserted. “But, if we say, ‘Okay, for you little lady, it needs to look like this,’ it takes away the empowerment piece for them, and I don’t like that differentiation.”
All smiles at the conclusion of a recent Gunsite’s Ladies Pistol class. Gunsite offers Ladies
Pistol 1 and Ladies Pistol 2 —— taking both together is equivalent to a 250 Pistol Class.
Rather than hire outside instructors, Shooter’s World promotes from within.
“We primarily teach entry-level classes,” Lisa informed. “All of our instructors have to come up through the range. It’s a launching platform for instructors to start so they have all those interactions and can start to understand how different people are, how some talk differently, learn differently and have different expectations of us when they come through the door. We don’t hire instructors. We create them.”
Gunsite Academy takes the same approach with their instructors.
“We have an extensive vetting process,” Campbell explained. “You have to have taken three or more graded Gunsite classes and achieve a Marksman 1 or Expert designation. You also have to sufficiently impress the Range Master, who’s willing to recommend you. But more importantly, we look at the personality of the individual — how they interact with the staff and others in their class and if they can connect with people. Timing is about a year. It’s not a quick process.”
However, both venues agree the curriculum is very black-and-white and nothing about it should change for gender. It’s not the curriculum that adapts, it’s the instructor and how they approach their class and the individual.
The “Hospitality Factor”
Paige Roux noted for women, the biggest challenge is taking their first step through the door and it’s the one thing they’ve changed in how they accommodate women.
“Yes, it’s intimidating to them in the beginning to walk into a gun store if they’ve never done it before and it’s where the majority of the difference lies,” she acknowledged. “We’ve worked hard to knock down the wall of intimidation — to get rid of any barriers that would prevent a woman from coming in to buy a gun, ask a question or take a class.”
One of the more notable differences Shooter’s World has most retail gun shops don’t is a front desk. Not the gun counter, which is located at another part of the store, but an actual front desk where customers/students are acknowledged and greeted when they first walk though the doors.
“We don’t hire instructors. We create them.”
LISA Roux Founder + COO Shooter’s World, AZ
Value In Vulnerability
Campbell remarked how 45 years ago, when Gunsite first opened, it was rare to have a woman in any class, now it’s rare not to have several.
“With the more diverse population we’re getting and new gun owners, it’s more important than ever to reach your audience. People learn differently and instructors teach differently. It’s not about changing the curriculum, it’s about knowing your audience and how to reach them. We spend time talking to the students getting to know them so we can better understand how to reach them and communicate the message in a way they can understand,” he said.
A student works on a target downrange with a Gunsite instructor standing by. Gunsite CEO Ken Campbell
notes his team takes this approach to class instruction: “People learn differently and instructors teach
differently. It’s not about changing the curriculum, it’s about knowing your audience and how to reach them.”
Shooter’s World works in the same way. They don’t change the curriculum, but they do change how they approach each class based on the students.
“We ask a lot of questions,” said Lisa, “because the questions women are asking now have changed from questions asked in 2020. The conversations have definitely evolved. We have a lot more women coming in who are really nervous about buying a gun and taking classes. It’s taken all the current events to push them to a place where they can say, ‘okay … it’s time.’ So, listen to them and take notes.”
Paige agreed, “Ask for feedback. What’s the one thing you took away? What’s the one thing we did that helped you the most, or what do you feel you didn’t receive? The instructor has to be vulnerable. You have to be willing to constantly learn.”
And finally, Lisa concluded, “Treat women the same as you do the men. Don’t dumb it down. Don’t try and sugarcoat it. Be straight with them and give them the information. Women want to learn. Give them the opportunity to do it. The same way you do for men.”
By embracing the same approach to instruction and service as Shooter’s World and Gunsite Academy, your store can easily join “women” and “shooting sports” together without any need for further clarification.
Shari LeGate is FMG Publications’ video producer and shooting sports analyst. She’s a former member of USA Shooting, executive director of the Women’s Shooting Sports Foundation and has covered the past three Olympics as part of NBC’s in-studio team (and will analyze Tokyo 2020 this summer).
