My Current Methodology

My methods rarely change from person to person: I start off with a discussion of safety and weapons handling, then explain and demonstrate grip and trigger manipulation. Once we've covered that, I have them dry fire a pistol, then shoot .22LR. They can shoot .22 for as long as they'd like before I step them up to 9mm. Should 9mm prove to be the most they'd like to handle, I provide them with as much 9mm as they can take, or go back down to .22LR if necessary.

Some want to rapidly progress up the recoil ladder. If they've demonstrated an ability to properly shoot the lower recoiling firearms, I'll bring out the .40s and .45s. They soon learn that the methods required to control and properly fire each handgun are really not that different, and rarely show signs of flinching with the "big guns."

An Alternate Viewpoint

A commenter on the blog recently suggested that I try the opposite: starting with the big guns and working our way down. I am hesitant to try this, for two reasons - first, because the method I use produces good results, and second, because I think that starting big would not be conducive to avoiding the development of trigger "snatch" or flinch.

Recently, though, I met Leila, a young woman who stands just over 5 feet tall. She's also quite slim, and doesn't work in a field that relates to firearms. What sets her apart from other women her size and age is that she carries an HK USP Compact in .45 ACP.

We went to the range, where she promptly bested me in a 25 yard bullseye shooting competition with a rented Ruger MkI. Humbled, I was only able to salvage a small amount of pride by keeping tighter groups during rapid fire with a 9mm 1911. Still, I had to scratch my head and wonder how anyone was able to beat me (after all, I'm perfect).

She was of the opinion that it was unnecessary to learn to shoot with smaller caliber firearms - that the recoil of a .45 caliber pistol was not bad at all, and that progressing up to it only built up unnecessary anticipation. This was remarkably similar to the opinion previously expressed by the Belgian commenter.

Leila did relate a story from her youth, when she was about to fire a 12 gauge shotgun - a Mossberg 500. She was told that it would be loaded with light recoiling target loads, but the male relatives involved loaded it instead with a Magnum slug. She received significant physical bruises from the encounter, but hasn't let it affect her long term. Our discussion led me to believe that she thought being honest about whatever the shooter was about to encounter was more important than the actual properties of the weapon or ammunition.

Treating Men and Women Differently

Last night, I took some male friends shooting. One, Gabriel, had never fired a weapon before, so I used my standard methods in order to introduce him to the sport. After one of the most brief intros I've ever given, he proceeded to put every round of .22LR he fired at 7 yards through the same hole, and kept every shot of 9mm from the 1911 in the 10 ring at that same distance.

However, I noticed that I was treating him a little differently than the last few women I have taken shooting. Most importantly, I did not first ask if I could touch him, then put gentle finger pressure on hips or shoulders (to correct posture), as I would with a woman. Instead, I would tap or even punch his shoulder and say simply, "Lean into it, dude." Am I likely to punch a woman's shoulder - ever? Not really.

Even the methods by which I approach a shooter at the range who appears to be having problems differ by gender (and age). Guys my age will hear me say, "Hey dude, need some help with...?" Women of all ages and older men might hear, "Excuse me, would you like some help with...?"

I also allowed Gabriel to progress much further and faster up the "recoil ladder" than I normally would with a new female shooter. He certainly was capable of firing the bigger stuff - after proving himself with the Kahr CW40, he still wanted something bigger. The range we were using had a rental Colt SMG and Desert Eagle .50AE. He kept every round from every full auto mag dump with the SMG on the silhouette, and the shot he fired from the Desert Eagle was straight through the point at which he'd aimed.

There was a female shooter on the next lane over, testing out a new Glock 26 with her husband; after helping them with some general shooting tips, I loaned them my Glock 19 with Advantage Arms .22LR  conversion. They enjoyed it and seemed more confident with the Glock 26 afterwards.

I can't say that I would have suggested that any new female shooter try the .50AE, although the 9mm Colt SMG was easy enough to control that I think most new female shooters would have found it both safe and enjoyable. Both the woman and her husband declined to try the Desert Eagle, though the husband did sample the SMG.

That Vuurwapen Guy is a Big Fat Sexist Jerk

Is the way I approach men and women differently when teaching shooting an indicator of some underlying sexism on my part? I am hesitant to say yes. I don't value men and women differently, but I learned during my (incomplete) postgraduate studies in secondary education that there are many ways to reach various age, gender, and racial groups. A "one-size-fits-all" approach, in my opinion, might sound more "fair" from an abstract sense, but has a low overall success rate.

While I'm open to new thoughts on which caliber to use when teaching new shooters, I doubt I'll be changing how I treat men and women any time soon.

This list does not include requests I made on behalf of other blogs that I have written for - that list would be not much longer, but is not germane to this discussion - nor does it include offers of T&E items by various companies, or requests for loans of firearms from friends not associated with manufacturers.

T&E Request History

- In early 2009 I requested SPR-type AR rifles or uppers from POF-USA and LaRue Tactical. I subsequently toured the POF-USA manufacturing facility and received two uppers from them for a T&E period that lasted for several months before I returned the uppers.
- After SHOT 2011 I contacted LaRue Tactical again with a request for a .308 PredatAR. Although this was discussed verbally at SHOT with LT, I figured I would include it on this list because it fell into a "request gray area."

Neither request of LaRue was responded to; that's perfectly fine, and it has not stopped me from recommending their products. As an aside, if anyone (industry or otherwise) is aware of a request I have made for products to be reviewed on this blog that I have not listed here, please let me know.

As I have become busier and busier with work and also have started to focus on finishing up the reviews that several companies have been patiently waiting on for quite some time (for this blog and others), I have realized that T&E of firearms or accessories is an incredibly time-consuming, and therefore expensive, process when done correctly.

It is unlikely that I will be requesting any items for review in the near future, especially considering the backlog of reviews that I need to complete. I have recently turned down T&E offers, mainly for this reason. I cannot in good conscience continue to receive "free stuff" when I still have reviews to complete from - wait for it - 2010 (an Elzetta flashlight).

Free Stuff = Positive Reviews?

On the subject of free stuff - there is a popular perception in the firearm community that receiving a firearm or accessory for free automatically guarantees a positive review. I do not believe this to be the case, though one could certainly insinuate that I am biased because I have received many free things for review (or for which the manufacturer specified that they did not want the item back).

The purchase price of an item is rarely higher than the value of the time required (fair market hourly rate for quality photography/video production/written work), as well as ammunition and ancillary costs, for a quality review. In most cases, it would make far more financial sense for the reviewer to simply purchase whatever item he or she is interested in, then enjoy the use of that item on their own dime and time. Of course, a free item is a nice offset for these costs, but it does not affect the outcome of my reviews, nor does it affect the outcome of many other bloggers' reviews.

There are some reviewers who simply will not accept what appears to be a gift from a firearm manufacturer, and I understand their position. Perhaps their policies make this more clear than my lack of such a policy does, but personal honor and the pride that comes from delivering a straightforward and honest review to fellow firearm enthusiasts are far more important than the occasional (or even frequent) "gift" of firearms or accessories. If anything, the relationships formed between a reviewer and members of the industry as a result of fair and honest product reviews and feedback are far more valuable than the simple cost of the items reviewed.

Someone Call the Waaambulance, He's Tired of Getting Free Stuff

I do not intend for this to be interpreted as a complaint regarding T&E or product reviews, just as a statement of fact regarding the realities of time and money. As your reviews improve, your "product" becomes more valuable. It stops being a side hobby and starts becoming a business, if you want it to. You start measuring each "free" review by how much money you could have made if you had put your skills to use for a company in the industry - some of which have already made you lucrative offers for your time that have the side benefit of not requiring you to sacrifice your moral convictions for a paycheck. There are, of course, slightly less moral offers - those you immediately deny.

I have been on the other side of the fence, listening to experienced (and honest/honorable) reviewers describe how much time they had spent on reviews, and how it had eventually grown to negatively affect the quality of their lives. I'm not exaggerating this in the slightest. That said, doing product reviews has not negatively affected the quality of my life - if anything, it's been a stepping stone to improve the quality of my life. I am, though, heeding the advice of those reviewers, which in one case dates back several years.

In any piece of work I put out, by any medium - whether compensated or uncompensated - I will always strive to deliver an honest and grounded opinion or message. This is especially true for any content placed on my blog.

Phoenix, Arizona from 10,500 feet

As I slowly winged my way home from Las Vegas, I had plenty of time to contemplate both the beauty of the world and what I had seen and experienced over the previous week. As an experience, SHOT Show is incredible; as a platform for the launch of new products, it was not so great.

The XDS45 was snappy, but not outside the extreme limits of controllability

To be sure, there were some mildly interesting things, like the new Springfield XDS45, and a few really impressive things, like the T/C Dimension rifle. But the overbearing presence of zombie-themed targets, ammo, optics, firearms, and knives was incredibly annoying. Whether or not it increases sales, it cheapens the brand involved and brings too much of a fantasy, toy-like feel to a market centered on the production and sale of deadly weapons. Zombies are not real, but bad people are - when will we see "ammo designed to kill bad people" marketed as such?

The T/C Dimension rifle is really cool

Back on the subject of the T/C Dimension, I was really impressed with it. It is affordable, it is available, it appears to be cleverly as well as practically engineered, and it has features not seen on rifles anywhere near its price. I'm perfectly happy with my Remington 700, but I really like the concept of the Dimension, and will probably end up with one.

This HK rifle has an identity crisis. Is it an MR762A1? Or was a PSG1 left to wreak havoc upon unsuspecting MR762A1 rifles at the HK factory?

HK had a lot of 417s on display. The lighting at their booth wasn't ideal, but I was able to work with it. I especially liked the "PSG417," as I called it.

Here's a crappy photo of the MR762A1's dual ejectors

I spent some time talking to some guys with German accents who really knew firearms. They were very interesting to talk to.

Pick one. You can only have one, though

In an unsurprising move for a German company known for having everything in ordnung, even the stickers were well-organized.

Alles in ordnung. Except for that one on the left, up front...someone's getting fired

Seeing how various companies market products was really interesting. Practically any firearm company with a Turkish connection, such as SAR Arms and ATI, used scantily clad women to attract attendees. One AR company (I forget the name, had never heard of them before) used super-tactical looking dudes in ATACS camo to push their rifles on media day, but when another media person asked what made their rifles different, they launched into an explanation about how tight their magwell was and how tight the BCG to receiver fit was. That, and the fact that they left Condition 3 rifles lying around well behind the firing line - then tried to pass the buck about it - led me to walk away without sampling their products.

The good Sigs

Sig stuck all of their quality products on a wall that none of the Sig reps really wanted to talk about, mainly because none of them came in rainbow or diamond plate editions. That the Sig 553 was shown in pistol configuration is no coincidence.

"Not available for sale in the US." Right

I talked to Larry Vickers at the Daniel Defense booth. He's lost weight, but gained some gray hair. I told him so. He seemed to have mixed feelings about my comments.

Stop looking at this picture. YOU ARE BREAKING THE LAW

On the subject of ignoring companies, Knight's Armament prohibited taking pictures of their products at the show, and so did a few tactical vehicle manufacturers. That's fine - their competitors weren't as mentally challenged, and saw their new products receive much more media coverage. Chances are that if I can take a picture of an HK417, a Colt 901 or an FN Ballista, I'm not in violation of ITAR by taking pictures of an SR15, which is old news anyway, but quite attractive with a light grey and black color scheme, or what was probably supposed to be foliage, but which looked more like an attractive seafoam green that I would see on the walls of a bathroom in an upscale art gallery.

Vltor has a new stock for the SCAR. They had a lot of other new products too. I took photos of them in March of 2011

Colt is manufacturing the Bulldog crank operated, five barrel weapon. You can buy one for the bargain price of $50,000. That is actually a bargain price. Seriously. They have been made in small numbers by tiny shops in recent years, for over $70-80,000.

I took a lot of photos of the Colt Bulldog. It was so shiny that my AF wanted to focus on whatever was being reflected by the flat surfaces

Random thought: airsoft is big. Some of the guys who were representing airsoft websites and magazines had crews and equipment that rivaled all but the biggest firearm media organizations. Airsoft isn't my thing, but the airsoft people I encountered seemed very nice. I hope they had a good time.

R. Lee Ermey got to meet me

Apparently, people who read my blog in the industry got the impression that I walk around in über-tactical attire. I don't. I don't like associating myself with that appearance and the impression that it gives. However, it was pointed out to me that I wore a huge, "overcompensating" watch and conspicuously carried a knife and flashlight. My only defense was that I wear these things for practical purposes. As an aside, my J frame/ankle holster combo was "made" (by a woman!) for the second time in the four years I've been carrying with that method.

FN FNS. Yawn. The FNX is a far better handgun

Media Day at the Range was a circus. It was better from a user standpoint than the AAC shoot, which closed down two hours early, but there were a ton of people there who basically just wanted to play with toys, making it harder for those who wanted to sample and write about new products. I lost track of how many times I was asked if I was familiar with AR-15s before being handed one - it would seem that some people made fools of themselves.

One of the more bizarre incidents at Media Day was when I was on the long rifle range and came upon some Bushmasters with MOE furniture and what I think were Swarovski 1-6 scopes. There was one really fat guy who was standing nearby - he was wearing a Freedom Group polo shirt. I asked him if I could shoot one of the rifles, to which he responded in the affirmative. Another guy handed me a fully loaded 30rd mag, which was an oddity on a day when you were otherwise lucky to shoot 5 rounds.

I looked at the ammo, which appeared to be 52gr HPs, then looked up to ask someone what ammo it was. Both guys were gone. I was left alone. I had no idea what I was supposed to be reporting on - the rifle? The scope? The ammo? The optic was perfectly zeroed, and I hit steel at 550 yards more often than not, which I was pretty happy with, considering the wind, projectile, and MOE handguards. When I missed, it was by a few inches. But I'm still at a loss as to what I was supposed to be evaluating.

I shot some .338 Lapua Magnum from a Barrett MRAD. Into a berm. Decadence and waste

Very few manufacturers bothered to ensure that their firearms were shooting to point of aim. Barrett and HK did a great job of this, while, for example, Armalite did not. Even Aimpoint only used laser bore sighters, though I was still on target at 75 yards with the Micro-equipped Ruger Mark III. Some companies apparently didn't think members of the media would want to hit their targets, or, perhaps more accurately, thought they were incapable of doing so. The long rifle range didn't seem to have many of these problems. I was on steel 100% at 950 yards with the Sako TRG in .300 Win Mag.

The M1A/M14 should not exist, but it is a fine looking rifle

I asked Browning if they were going to make the 1911-22 in something like 9mm or another self-defense type caliber. The rep smiled and said "We're thinking about it"

My last day at the show was incredibly hectic. I was running around trying to see the people and things I had missed over the previous four or five days. I saw about half of the people and things I wanted to see, but I also unexpectedly met some people that were really cool. Overall, it was a good trip.

I think the case costs more than the pistol. I'm not sure

One of my last (planned) stops was to see my friend Mauro at Technoframes. They make replica ammunition and super-high-end display and carry cases. Beautifully crafted stuff.

On my way out the door, I encountered a USMC EOD tech who had lost both legs and part of at least one hand in Afghanistan, and was at the show in part to display some unique tools that he had a hand in designing. If you are reading this, please contact me.

I wore good shoes and my feet felt great for the whole show, but this puts having sore legs in perspective.

After that discussion, I picked up my bags and paid $60 for a cab ride to the airport. I did this because time was of the essence (although my entire flight ended up being at night anyway - I spent too long at the show); in other times throughout the show, I literally went hungry because I refused to pay the exorbitant prices the hotel restaurants were charging for basic food that wasn't very good to begin with. Luckily, I had brought energy bars: Snickers and Hershey's.

They said, "We're in the Pilatus." And I started looking for a PC-12. But then I saw the PC-7...

At the airport on my way out of town, I ran into two guys who looked like they had just come from SHOT. We made small talk about the show and flying. When I found out that they were with Dillon Aero, I told them that I load with a 550B and love it, and when I needed some small parts a few years back, Dillon sent me what I needed right away, without any fuss. I didn't have time to tell them that I thought Dillon provided a level of customer service that every company should aspire to before they flew away in their totally sweet Pilatus PC-7 that you might have seen in some of the Dillon publications. It's cool to see that they actually use it, and that it's not just a (turbo)prop for attractive models to stand next to.

The Kahr PM9 now has a manual safety (meh) and a lighter trigger with less travel (slightly less meh). Guns.com has a photo.

Benelli is making a nickel plated version of the M4 with a collapsible stock and a full length magazine tube. When I talked to Benelli in March about making stocks and M4 magazine tubes in the US so as to make the M4 more competitive on the market, they didn't sound too excited. I'm puzzled about the nickel plating. Anodizing is quite adequate for corrosion resistance, and the barrels are chrome lined anyway. The Firearm Blog has beautiful photos.

Ruger is making a .22 pistol that no one but die-hard Ruger fans should care about. It's not a conversion kit for the SR series, nor is it a reasonable, even scaled down, facsimile of the SR series pistols. Gunblog has some shooting video.

Charles Daly Defense has taken a cue from all the zombie crap at SHOT and risen from the dead. It has also brought forth more promises of the Tavor, as Rob at GearScout reports. I would rather have an AUG, because it is proven, and it exists. But if CDD actually brings the Tavor here, good for them, and good for us.

I saw the Remington VersaMax Tactical at SHOT, but snickered and walked away. Caleb at GunNuts seems to like it, though.

Magpul has furniture for 870s now. I am as puzzled by this (from a practical standpoint - however, they will certainly make much money doing this) as I am by the popularity of the Magpul MOE stock. It does practically nothing that the M4 or CAR stocks don't do. The CTR is worth considering, but the MOE is a complete waste of money. As, I think, are the Magpul stocks for the 870. The forend, maybe it is worthwhile, but only if you want to mount a light. ITSTactical has video.

In more Magpul news, Gunmart says that Magpul are introducing a fixed AR stock. It is supposed to be "coming spring 2012." This estimate is probably off by a decade. Lest you think I hate Magpul, I'll probably buy one of these as long as it's A1 length and not too heavy.

"Izzy" Ocampo was a Marine who deployed to Iraq in 2008. He did not see combat, according to his parents. He apparently killed four homeless people. He apparently did mortuary affairs type work, which is an unenviable job for sure, but his case still does not reflect anything upon the vast majority of combat vets.

Terminal Lance sums this up perfectly.

I also had the opportunity to shoot some high speed video of several rifles in action. Specifically, I took high speed video of the MR762, Sig 716, and Armalite AR-10, among others. A direct recoil comparison of the three is very difficult because a different shooter was behind every rifle (Jeff at Gunblog for the Armalite, Steve from Airsoftology for the MR762, and a Sig rep for the 716), and because I do not have a large sample size to work with, the rate of fire calculations/estimations may not be representative of overall rifle performance. Another factor is ammo - although I am fairly certain that all three were using Federal's AE308D 150gr load.

However, when I spoke to the designer of the 716 on the floor at SHOT and asked him what the cyclic rate of fire of his weapon was, I was told that it was between 650 and 700 rounds per minute. The observed speed of 645rpm would, then, seem to be fairly accurate.

Also on the topic of the 716, there is a noticeable amount of bolt bounce - that is, as the bolt carrier comes forward and impacts the barrel extension, it recoils slightly. This has the effect of unlocking the bolt to one degree or another, which will prevent the weapon from firing if the hammer falls again during this period of time.

The amount and duration of bolt bounce seen with the 716 would not prevent it from firing on full auto, in my experience. However, the designer of the 716 told me that the weapon was designed as a semi-auto rifle, and currently has a lighter buffer than the full-auto version, the final details of which have yet to be nailed down. As another point of interest, barrel details - steel and finish - have also yet to be finalized.

Armalite told me that they use high speed video to tune the performance of their rifles, but it took me a while to find an engineer-type to confirm what the rate of fire of their AR-10 platform rifle should be, which was between 650 and 750rpm, depending on ammo. Again, the observed rate of fire of 715rpm falls within this range. One (non-engineer) rep at Armalite was of the opinion that this only mattered on full auto, which is not exactly true.

The rate at which the bolt carrier assembly recoils rearward can have an effect on reliable extraction and ejection, even if extractor and ejector dimensions and springs are absolutely correct. The period of time during which the bolt is behind the stack of rounds in the magazine, neither traveling rearward or forward, has an effect on reliability in that the magazine may not have enough time to push the next round into place before the bolt comes forward again, resulting in a "bolt over base" malfunction that is most commonly seen on suppressed rifles, as they have much greater rates of fire. Also, high forward bolt carrier velocity can result in extreme bolt bounce, as noted previously, while low forward bolt carrier velocity could mean that there isn't enough force to overcome strong magazine springs, dirt or debris in the action, etc.

As for HK, I was unable to confirm the expected cyclic rate. I was, however, told about some MR762 endurance testing that I will hopefully be able to report on at some point in the near future.

Due to a lack of control (shooter) and a small sample size, the video provided here is not intended to judge any of the weapons based on these factors, but should provide some insight as to how each weapon functions. It is also nice to know that the Armalite and Sig weapons were functioning at the rate their designers expect them to.

I kept this criteria pretty strict, and there were a few young women who were fairly knowledgeable about products - but not knowledeable enough to make this list. I also cannot say that I met every such woman at SHOT - perhaps they number in the dozens or even hundreds. I met a few more that would have been perfect for this article, but for whom I was unable to catch up with for an "interview" and photo shoot. What I can say is that the women you see here are successful, skilled, intelligent, and definitely going places in the firearm world.

Amy Sowash of the USA Shooting Team

Amy Sowash was the last such woman I encountered at the show, but is first on this list because she's probably going to win a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics next year. I saw her at the Eley booth, where she was sitting in front of a poster of herself with her name and "Olympic Team USA" printed on it; not noticing this, I asked if she was a shooter. After she politely responded that she was, in fact, a shooter, and I removed my foot from my mouth, we talked about her past, present, and future in the shooting world.

She was born into a hunting family, first started shooting at age 3, and had a strong desire to become an Olympic athlete as she grew up. When she started college, she decided that she was going to focus on shooting, throwing herself into the sport wholeheartedly. It was a long and tough road, but since graduating, she has been living in Colorado Springs, where the USA Shooting Team is located. She travels quite a lot, and has competed in - and placed in - a number of international shooting competitions. Most recently, she took the silver medal at the 2011 World Cup in Sydney, Australia. She's also a multiple-time National Champion in several shooting events.

I was relieved to find out that she shoots more than I do, because she's definitely a more accomplished shooter than I, and it would be embarrassing to find out that all my practice wasn't amounting to anything. She will sometimes fire 200 shots per day, and is at the range almost every day. Her sport involves slow fire competition, and she often spends five or six hours at the range in order to put those 200 shots through the bullseye.

Although she was obviously a very pleasant young lady, I wondered aloud how much friction and/or competition there was between members of the shooting team involved in the same disciplines. She responded with the simple answer that only one person from the team will shoot in her events at the 2012 Olympics. So, underneath that friendly demeanor and pleasant appearance, a fierce competitor lurks.

Lisa Looper of Looper Law Enforcement

I first met Mrs. Looper while waiting for our mutual friend Natalie of Girl's Guide to Guns. As with Ms. Sowash, I asked, perhaps impolitely, if she was "someone" in the industry, to which Natalie immediately responded that Lisa had invented the Flashbang holster. I was impressed with the simplicity and ingenuity of this design, although I have no plans to ever utilize this device myself.

Lisa is the mother of three children and a remarkably intelligent (34 on the ACT, another factoid from Natalie) - as well as hard working - woman. This year, she's expanded her holster line to include leather and kydex belt-mounted holsters. I commented that the kydex molding patterns used for her holsters had the appearance of a "Bladetech mindset." She responded that she and her husband had taught BladeTech what they knew about leather - the Looper family has been in the leather business for over 70 years - while BladeTech taught them about kydex and kydex molding.

Through the introduction of the Flashbang holster, Lisa has not only given women a great carry alternative, but has done so in a way that has attracted a lot of (positive) attention to concealed carry, and, for lack of a better term, "exposed" concealed carry to women who may never have considered it before. As an example, her products have even been featured on Wired Magazine's website.

Annie of Colt Competition Rifles

Arriving at the Colt booth for an appointment I subsequently missed, I found a young woman standing at a podium near several competition-oriented rifles. In what you may recognize to be a growing trend, I started out, shall we say, incorrectly, by asking a question that basically related to whether she was at the booth because she knew anything about the products there, or if she was there because she was attractive. Modesty prevented her from answering with the truth, which I eventually found out from a conversation with her and her boss.

The truth was that not only did she "know something" about the products, but she was a part of the Colt Competition Rifle Development Team. Unsure if my leg was being pulled, I asked technical questions about the rifles, every one of which she answered promptly and confidently.  Impressive, to say the least. As an aside, she also mentioned that she had had an idea for a holster similar to the Flashbang.

She started out in the industry as a shipping/receiving employee for Warne Scope Mounts, where her talents were recognized by Dave Wilcox, VP of Operations for Warne. After getting approval and a licensing agreement from Colt for the rifle, Mr. Wilcox tasked her with being part of the team which created a Colt competition rifle. She clearly did well at her job, because one of these rifles, in the hands of Clint Upchurch, has had no problems winning major matches.

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As mentioned previously, this is not meant to be an all-inclusive list; these were the three women I was able to speak with and photograph who were most obviously very knowledgeable, skilled, or ingenuous. Maybe I'll have a chance to expand the list next year.

I'm not sure how I'll repay them for the rides, advice, tips, pro-tips, meals, drinks, and so on, but they are all genuinely great folks, with the exception of the tremendously untremendous Rob Curtis, the suspicious-looking Jeff, the dumb blonde Natalie, and the underachieving Nora.

I would also like to thank the incredible Lisa of Flashbang Holsters (Mr. Lisa - hold on to her tight), the name-forgotten Delta Arms gunsmith who paid for my $30 hamburger and shake, Mauro of Technoframes for letting me tear it up in his Z06 and being an all-around awesome Italian mountain man, the unflinching Aissa who did not slap me after I made a comment about women over 35 - not knowing that she was over 40 - Angela for looking like the meeting of an Olympic athlete and a supermodel - and for not stabbing me after I asked if she had gained weight since I last saw her, Stickman for the photos of herself in an Arc'teryx thong, Dave at Elzetta for not being upset that I've had one of his lights for years without reviewing it, Shane at Multitasker for the travel advice, tool steel, and car talk, the NSW dude for the 300BLK info, D for the room with the view, Annie for making my heart go pitter-patter because she can explain the difference between cut and button rifling better than I can, Jim at Deliberate Dynamics for the 300BLK stuff, the cute "barista" for the extra cookie, the Vietnam-era Navy Corpsman I dined with who worked for a year in the burn ward - sir, I could never do what you did, Trijicon for not making anything related to zombies...

If I've forgotten anyone, I apologize, and blame it on IEDs causing memory loss. You know who you are, you know what you did out of kindness, and I will repay you, in one way or another.

It's no secret that women are starting to buy firearms in increasing numbers. What has come as a surprise to me is the number of women who are extremely driven in the pursuit of their goals in the industry - be it as behind-the-scenes business personnel, on-air personalities, social media experts, or product development experts. And, to be frank, the sophistication, intelligence,  and attractiveness of these women is a factor in what I am writing about here.

To be sure, SHOT has its share of women who are hired for their looks alone and are meant to attract male purchasers. I don't think the general female population begrudges this practice, but I could be wrong. However, they aren't likely to attract a lot of women with that tactic.

Women are buying firearms, women are buying accessories, and women are becoming increasingly involved in shooting sports. Women who have come to power in the industry are, obviously, well-suited to serve the needs of female customers. However, I believe that men in the industry aren't totally incapable of competing for female business - if they choose to do so, and pursue their business correctly.

Fit guys (and fat guys) who wear tactical pants and Oakleys are still a driving force, at least in the tactical firearm and accessory market, but the members of that population segment that can be reached probably have been, at this point. Females who like firearms but don't know it yet can be reached, but traditional marketing and advertising methods may not be suitable and appropriate for them.

As I said previously, women in the industry have a bit of an advantage in this. But I'm not suggesting some sort of affirmative action program, where companies hire women simply because they are women. The capable ones stand on their own merits. Take, for example, Lisa, who invented the Flashbang Bra Holster. Or Natalie at Girl's Guide to Guns, who has an amazing ability to present firearms to non-gun people.

How, then, can companies without many female employees market their products specifically to women? I had no idea, so I asked some women, and they said, "Ask women." Not, apparently, in the form of error-prone focus groups, but with in-depth conversation.

As an example, I regularly see women roll their eyes at yet another pink gun - but those same women like the idea of decorating their firearms and accessories with pink nail polish. I can't explain it, but I'm sure they could.

Perhaps the greatest insight came from speaking with a very young - and very successful - woman, who said "I want to be taken seriously." That's not the first time I've heard this from women in the industry, but in the context of our conversation, many things fell into place in my mind when she said that.

Only time will tell, but this segment of the market is ripe for the taking. The companies that research and plan carefully for it could potentially reap great profits, while the companies that ignore women do so at their own peril.