According to the NSSF, approximately 11 million Americans purchased their first firearm in the past 2 years, and it is estimated that half of them were women. A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League (AG & AG) polled new members who were new gun owners to learn more about them. This article provides trending data among this demographic.
AG & AG offered the same survey to new members over the past two years. If a woman indicated she was a new shooter (acquiring a firearm within the past year), she was asked additional follow-up questions. The responses for the new-shooter specific questions totaled 1,176 women responses in 2020 and 1,706 in 2021, providing a good glimpse into general trends of this specific demographic.
The questions also tried to determine if a gun was new to just this individual or new to her household. In 2021, there was an increase in AG & AG members who were brand new to firearms — they did not have guns in their households, nor did they shoot as children.
| Experience | 2020 | 2021 |
| Brand New to Firearms | 53% | 60% |
| Guns were in the home, but I didn’t shoot. | 29% | 29% |
| I shot as a kid/teen, but not as an adult. | 17% | 11% |
When asked why these women were spurred to purchase a firearm and get firearms training, the responses were relatively consistent year-to-year.
| Reason | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
| Riots/fear of mobs and civil unrest | 16% | 13% | -3% |
| Elections/legislation/concern of bans | 12% | 12% | |
| Just learned about training opportunities | 10% | 11% | +1% |
| Urged by family member/friend | 9% | 12% | +3% |
| New firearm in household | 9% | 9% | |
| Pandemic/uncertainty of access to essentials | 9% | 8% | -1% |
| Rising unemployment/fear of crime | 8% | 8% | |
| Fear of targeted violence/discrimination | 7% | 7% | |
| Ammo shortage/concern of waiting | 6% | 6% | |
| Lack of law enforcement resources | 6% | 6% | |
| Quarantine boredom/try something fun | 5% | 4% | -1% |
| Recent safety/crime experience | 3% | 4% | +1% |
| Stimulus check provided opportunity | 1% | 1% |
When 2021 was reviewed quarterly, some trends became more apparent throughout the year. Not surprising, the concern of riots and the concern of the pandemic consistently trended down as more areas of the country opened up and life tried to resume to “normal” for most Americans.
| Reasons for New Gun Ownership in 2021 | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q |
| Urged by family member/friend | 13% | 9% | 12% | 14% |
| Just learned about training opportunities | 10% | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| New firearm in household | 8% | 11% | 9% | 11% |
| Riots/fear of mobs and civil unrest | 14% | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Elections/legislation/concern of bans | 11% | 12% | 13% | 11% |
| Fear of targeted violence/discrimination | 7% | 6% | 6% | 9% |
| Rising unemployment/fear of crime | 8% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
| Pandemic/uncertainty of access to essentials | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Recent safety/crime experience | 4% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
| Ammo shortage/concern of waiting | 6% | 6% | 5% | 5% |
| Quarantine boredom/try something fun | 4% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Lack of law enforcement resources | 5% | 6% | 6% | 4% |
| Stimulus check provided opportunity | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
The previous questions asked why the individual was motivated to purchase a firearm, so AG & AG also asked why she chose to join a women’s shooting organization. The answers were consistent year to year:
| I attend AG & AG events… | 2020 | 2021 |
| to practice defensive skills | 48% | 48% |
| for the social aspect | 30% | 31% |
| because I like to compete | 9% | 9% |
| Other entries | 13% | 13% |
These answers are consistent with responses about concealed or open carry permits. Responses indicated that — even though these women had only been shooting for one year or less — more than one-third had already acquired a carry permit or license and about half of them plan to in the near future.
| Carry Permit | 2020 | 2021 |
| Yes | 33% | 39% |
| No | 15% | 16% |
| Not Yet | 53% | 46% |
AG & AG also looked at individual demographics of new gun owners to see if the organization was becoming more inclusive and diverse, which has been a high-priority initiative for the past several years.
| Age | 2020 | 2021 |
| 18-24 years old | 1% | 1% |
| 25-34 years old | 6% | 7% |
| 35-44 years old | 16% | 15% |
| 45-54 years old | 32% | 30% |
| 55-64 years old | 25% | 30% |
| 65-74 years old | 16% | 15% |
| 75 years or older | 1% | 2% |
| Ethnicity | 2020 | 2021 |
| White | 78% | 77% |
| Latina | 8% | 7% |
| Black | 6% | 7% |
| Prefer Not to Answer | 4% | 4% |
| Multi-Racial | 2% | 1% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1% | 2% |
| Bi-Racial | 1% | 1% |
| Native American | 0% | 0% |
| Ideology | 2020 | 2021 |
| Conservative | 66% | 61% |
| Independent | 14% | 16% |
| Libertarian | 5% | 6% |
| Liberal | 4% | 4% |
| Progressive | 2% | 2% |
| Other | 9% | 11% |
Surveys include additional information about shooting sports and new shooters’ purchasing preferences. All of the results can be downloaded here.
About A Girl & A Gun
A Girl & A Gun (AG & AG) is a membership organization whose events are successful stepping stones for thousands of women entering the shooting community by fostering their love of shooting with caring and qualified instructors who coach them. AG & AG breaks barriers for women and girls in self-defense, and in pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting sports by welcoming beginners to learn the basics of safe and accurate shooting and providing experienced shooters with advanced-level opportunities. The club has thousands of members in all 50 states and hosts recurring Girl’s Nights Out at hundreds of ranges throughout the United States.
For more information about A Girl And A Gun Women’s Shooting League, or to learn how to join, please visit AGirlandAGun.org. Follow AG & AG on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest for social media and corporate news.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
