Can women shoot better because they’re less stubborn?

COL Ted Mc — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:23:54 -0400

From "The National Post"

Top shooter in Canada’s military has a long red ponytail and says women shoot better because they’re less stubborn

In keeping with a longstanding tradition of Canadians being unusually good at shooting things, a Victoria reservist has claimed the title as one of the world’s top military shooters.

Sgt. Tatyana Danylyshyn outshot several hundred competitors to top her class at the Bisley shooting competition, an annual event in the U.K. that has been dubbed the “Olympics” of military rifle shooting.

As a Canadian Forces press release noted, “her top shot placing was in the service rifle category of the Army Reserve Operational Shooting Concentration.” While other soldiers may be better with a pistol or a sniper rifle, Danylyshyn, 29, effectively ranks among Canada’s best reservists at wielding a military assault rifle.

“It seems to be going well,” said Danylyshyn, 29, a member of the Canadian Scottish Regiment and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/best-shooter-in-canadas-military-has-a-long-red-ponytail

EDITORIAL COMMENT:- Women in combat? Don't be silly - they're girls and simply can't do that kind of stuff.

Top shooter in Canada's military has a long red ponytail and says women shoot better because...

Sgt. Tatyana Danylyshyn outshot more than 700 competitors at an annual event in the U.K. that has been dubbed the 'Olympics' of military rifle shooting

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Aug 6 at 2015 12:31 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:31:36 -0400

I know they are more patient. I'm not sure if less stubborn is a factor in shooting.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:34 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:34:00 -0400

Yeah. I am doing to cache this with other great topics such as how PT Belts make you safer and the such.

I will just say being shooter is more than just hitting a target. If you are getting shot at being stubborn might be a benefit. Just because you can drive straight really well doesn't mean a thing when you hit the highways in LA.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Aug 6 at 2015 12:35 PM

LTC John Shaw — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:35:57 -0400

COL Ted Mc My wife and almost always outshoot me in shot grouping and accuracy. She does not practice as often but she is consistent and I think her lesser muscle mass provides and advantage. Women don't have involuntary movement or as many twitches as men and when BRAS is done right, more consistent shot group.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Aug 6 at 2015 12:55 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:55:50 -0400

It has to do with skill and aptitude

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Aug 6 at 2015 12:58 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:58:30 -0400

Women are less stubborn? Where are these women? I do not know ANY woman who is less stubborn. Equally stubborn maybe, but less stubborn, not in my experiences.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 6 at 2015 12:59 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:59:07 -0400

You've actually met such a "less stubborn" women?? Apparently I married into the wrong gene pool. We don't call (affectionately of course) my mother-in-law the "Irish Mother Superior" for nothing :-)

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Aug 6 at 2015 1:51 PM

Cpl Jeff N. — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:51:38 -0400

I know that women in the Marines consistently qualify lower than men (on average) I don't know that it is a given women can outshoot men or men can outshoot women. It is a skill that is refined by good habits, practice and the like. Of course target shooting at know distances is not the same as moving and shooting and having someone returning fire. This is another BS girl power story in my opinion.

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made Aug 6 at 2015 3:16 PM

Cpl Dennis F. — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 15:16:42 -0400

I don't know if the word is stubborn. It has been my experience that women pay closer attention and come to training with a blank slate ready to learn. Too many men arrive with a little training and a lot of ego. If your attitude is " I know it all already" you are not going to learn much. Failure is also a big part of the learning curve. You must be able to learn and improve from that failure point to really progress. A large ego and machismo is not conducive to learning from failure.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Aug 6 at 2015 5:30 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 17:30:42 -0400

I don't know about Women being less stuborn. She doesn't know some of the Ladies I know but there is a valid point to be had here. When you become fixed in your ways and incapable of learning, You Die or are slowly dying. In Counter-Terrorism they teach you to constantly change your routes and vary your routines to make yourself less of a target or a much harder target. As a Warrior who refuses to Change you are inviting Disaster. I used to attend the Black Powder Competitions in Indiana every year as a Child and I love the Kentucky Long Rifle 50 Cal I think but I wouldn't recommend taking it into a Modern Battle.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Aug 7 at 2015 2:33 AM

SrA Matthew Knight — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 02:33:24 -0400

I've always been under the assumption that the best shooters are not necessarily women nor men but are the ones with no prior firearms experience, or at least very little as they won't have developed bad habits when it comes to using firearms. I know that when I was at basic despite what the instructors said I tried shooting my way because I had been using guns since I was young. My shooting open site with those M16s was crap as a result. On the opposite end of the spectrum I had a friends who as far as I know hadn't hardly shot at all in her life with the exception of military training and maybe a little before. She went to the range to prepare for an Army assignment and shot expert on both the M4 and M9 so I believe there is some truth to that with certain exceptions of course.

Response by PO2 Ron Burling made Aug 7 at 2015 7:57 AM

PO2 Ron Burling — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 07:57:56 -0400

I spent much of my life as a shooter and much time 'helping' less skilled shooters, even as a police officer after the military. I don't believe that women are any less stubborn than men, indeed, that idea runs seriously counter to my experience but since many, indeed most, women are not avid shooters, they are less resistant to instruction, have no ingrained bad shooting habits, and, I believe, they generally have superior hand/eye coordination.

Response by SMSgt Bryan Raines made Aug 7 at 2015 8:20 AM

SMSgt Bryan Raines — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 08:20:33 -0400

I know not of these "non-stubborn" women who are referenced in this article. Are Canadian women that much different than the rest of the world?

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 28 at 2015 8:07 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 08:07:48 -0500

The funny thing about statistics is that 98% of them are made up.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Dec 28 at 2015 4:21 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 16:21:39 -0500

I've found women as a general rule have less of a chip on their shoulder when learning to shoot. They have more of an open mind, less bad habits to break and less perception and expectation that they should somehow already know what they're doing. Males behave as if the understanding of physics, body disciplines and mental focus shooting requires should come from their sex.

Response by PV2 Scott Goodpasture made Dec 28 at 2015 4:28 PM

PV2 Scott Goodpasture — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 16:28:08 -0500

Less stubborn? On which planet?

Response by 1stSgt Michael Gartland made Dec 28 at 2015 7:11 PM

1stSgt Michael Gartland — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 19:11:27 -0500

I didn't want to teach my wife any of my bad habits, so I took her to a concealed carry class with a great instructor who had no military experience. My wife had never even touched a firearm, but after a second more advanced class she is very accurate.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Dec 29 at 2015 1:42 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 13:42:47 -0500

There are a number of WWII Russian Snipers that would tend to validate that claim. I expect to see more of our women become snipers with the opening of all jobs in the military.

Response by SFC Richard Giles made Jul 20 at 2016 10:02 PM

SFC Richard Giles — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 22:02:24 -0400

I don't know if it's called stubborn as much as it is having an open mind about being the best. That and being able to have a lot of ammo at your disposal. Which seems to be a big issue in the guard today. Personally I do a lot of shooting on my own.

Response by SSG Paul Headlee made Sep 21 at 2020 12:16 PM

SSG Paul Headlee — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 12:16:18 -0400

Its true.