Remember this: Anyone can pick up a pencil and draw a circle. It's the way you interpret and translate that circle that will influence what a person may or may not see.
I have observed in passing conversation, be it by outraged men, is women utilizing guns not necessarily made for females. These outraged men wondered when someone was going to produce a gun based on the standard of a woman's proportions.
Why do women not address this issue?
I say to that: The Female Code. Yes, women have a code to understanding everything. Women are always trying to make circumstances better. Men just go with it most of the time, unless it is activism.
If it works, don't fix it is manly motto. One could question quality here, but I am not hen-pecking. If I buy shoes I don't want my feet to hurt, else the shoes will be returned.
I am no gun expert. Just a thinking woman delving into the issue at hand. Common sense would dictate that you should find yourself a gunsmith just like a violinist would find a good luthier.
Let's inspect this further why don't we?
In my research, I have found that the dimensions on mass produced standard stocks are designed based on the average male size. Most men range in the area of 5ft 6in to 5ft 11in. I am in the lower quadrant so managing a gun is usually not an issue unless I am in cramped quarters such as a sardine can of a deer stand.
With that being said, let us visit the Art world for a second. If you think you don't have talent and are not endowed with the ability to draw, there is hope. Everything is based on concept and design. Most people in the art community favor the the Golden Ratio. It brings balance to a design by signifying what is aesthetically pleasing.
When taking a human figure drawing class, you will be instructed that your model can be drawn around a standard scale of proportion. This idea is more geared to drawing consistently. You certainly don't want to draw an eye on the cheek, or the nose on the forehead unless you're being abstract.
Lets consider the head and body.
As you can see from the nice drawing above, the head is measured into sections. Keep this picture in mind. Every section of this head is measured out for a certain distance from the top to the center of the eye, on to the bottom of the nose ending at the chin. If you draw a line down the center each side will be a mirror of the other in proportion or scale. When you see a nice pencil drawing of an intricate picture with lots of detail, the artist isn't drawing all of that free hand. It's being sections out with a graphing system and each square is basically being copied down to detail with room for nuances. The bigger challenge is making sure you have your shading down with your lights, darks, or middle grays. People only see the finished product in awe and wonder. Let them have it I say. Don't ruin other peoples' good work.
As for the design of the average man: lets look at that.
Here is a drawing of how to proportionately draw the male figure. See how it is also sectioned. Based on these measurements you could design a gun around the man above if he is an average of X amount of men in the national population. When you are thinking in terms of mass production, you want the least amount of output for the most amount of benefit. The manufacturer would design a gun that would be functional with little error for a percentage of the population. If you are a strange little anomaly then you're going to have to get with their program, do without or make some kind of arrangement on your own.
It's the same for clothes. Women go into Superstores to buy standard cut sizes such as 6, 15, 20, 24. Most of the time when you are buying these clothes, you accept the fact they are ill-fitting and never visit a tailor. Shame on you women. Stop buying non-tailored clothes. This is why you lose yourself and your figure. Conforming to fabric instead of it conforming to you. If you're a woman, you don't want to spend your hard earned money on clothes that don't look good and don't fit you. Why would you do the same thing with a lethal weapon when you don't have too? This could get you hurt. It would be like handling a hot pot with no hand protection. Then again, I am thinking Barney Phiff.
I spoke to a lady online who participated in shooting. She stated that she shot a rifle but because of her small petite frame that the gun was gangly in her hands. She was very uncomfortable and this made her not as confident.
If you buy a little black dress, it better fit you well while giving you confidence and doing its job. You buy a gun: it better do the same thing. Boost your confidence and focus so you can do your job, the gun can do its job, and you're not shying away from the social or technical aspect of it. If you're going on a date, you don't want to worry your dress is riding up. No.....
Your gun is your accessory. Wear it well but in this case.....shoot it like you stole it.
I doodle. I do not draw.
Picture disappeared.
I have doddled these pictures. It shows the nine dimensions of the stock of a gun. (Consider here the left handed and right handed aspects which I will not get into. That is for someone endowed in gun shootery more than I am.) All this can be changed for comfort and proper function. If you consider this then your consistency in firing and making your mark can be in the 100% range rather than the 25% range. The purpose of a gun is to hit your mark. Other than that, you're just looking pretty, feeling secure and toting a gun that is not in action. If it is going to be in action aren't you going to cry when you can't even hit a cold turkey on Thanksgiving Day?
Lets consider women's body shapes. Women can have long torso, short legs or long arms or small hands. Women can be a skinny as a bed sheet or curvy.
If you consider holding a gun such as a pump shotgun, the barrel doesn't play in the comfort of the gun. The barrel could be sawed off. If the stock is too long etc., the distance from the butt of the gun on your shoulder to your grasp on the lever action of the pump could be a considerable distance. Have you ever felt like you were stretching way to much to shoot a gun? Or do you seem to swallow the gun?
If you watch someone shooting an ill-fitting gun it becomes obvious. You can tell by their attitude because its the first thing to go South. The shooting stance is probably off. They stand like they have a kink in their neck. When the gun discharges it usually hurts them in the shoulder. Bruises ensue.
I also read in one of my ancient library books that if the stock is too short this can position the thumb on the grip to close to the face that the tip of the nose ends up absorbing the recoil. I am sure that has to hurt or be annoying at least.
Shooters tend to conform to standard manufactured guns. The problem this causes is the ability to form bad habits in shooting by over-compensating. When one does get a hold of a gun that is fitted to them it become obvious and the allowances have to be made to get out of the bad habits or the shooting suffers.
A good fitting gun is lost consciously because it allows for you to focus on the task of shooting instead of being self aware that it lies in your hands against your shoulder. The gun itself becomes an extension of you and your actions.
How can one get measured?
There is a tool, in my research I have found that is called a Try-Fit Gun. It works just like the new and improved tailor mannequins. Tailor mannequins have adjustable ports to allow for different sizes without buying different mannequins based on fit. You can adjust the stock out in the different dimensions for positioning on your body or shoulder. Think of the stock as your hips. Do you want to feel the discomfort of a tight gun girdle? How many times have you put on a pair of blue jeans that looked like you were poured in them only to find you couldn't sit or lift your leg? We've all been there.
One day I went to Bass Pro Shop. I saw the customers grooming through the guns. Some where picking them up and shouldering them. Some were just pointing them out and buying them. I was thinking that is nice but you have to shoot it as well to know if it is the one for you. If you can stand the comfort of holding the gun that doesn't mean you're going to be able to absorb the power behind the blast. Welcome bruises and soreness. Sometimes peoples eyes are bigger than their stomach. I've seen women in videos dressed in bikinis where they shoot a gun and the recoil knocks them in the head. I also read that if the weight of the gun is too light it will 'kick' harder.
Lets get real. People are lazy.
Unless you're really working out, the upper body strength is not there. On the other hand, as a consumer people want it right now. They don't want to have to wait to have something adjusted or customized unless it is at their leisure. It's the Right Now mentality. Right Now could get you killed.
As credit to men, if a guy tells you that he thinks a particular type of weapon might be too much for you, he might be right. Men tend not to tell women such things unless they know and can gauge your strength and size. I have had several men stand over me like mother hens because they truly did not want me to get hurt. That is how simple it is. It is not always ego. It's actual concern.
They truly do not want you to get hurt. Men will be guilt-ridden because after a while they will think maybe they should have stopped you. After you are wounded or hurt, there is no going back from that. What is done is done.
It's not that men do not want women to participate. They know these guns are not made by a woman's standard size. Deep down they know it can hurt you.
If you're planning on buying a gun, be a good consumer and not a lazy person. Read up on the new additions to guns and what they have to offer. Most companies now will customize a gun for you. If not, find a gunsmith that makes customized rifles or shotguns. Its a doable thing.
As for buying things because they are convenient, maybe you should rethink that because you want your gun to last a lifetime. You can pass it down to your children. That being said, they may need a customized gun of their own. Mind you the price is up to you. It's your vision. It depends on how far you are willing to go with it. One gun can last a person a lifetime with consistent marksmanship.
Written by: W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
