When A Girl & A Gun held its National Conference in Grand Junction, Colo., April 29 to May 4, a total of 1,028 pistols were processed through the organization’s Gear Check process. There were several standout models and brands that emerged as favorites among women shooters, as well as preferences when it came to aftermarket products.
Glock, title sponsor of the event, was the top pistol brand, at 21 percent of all checked in by the women. SIG Sauer claimed second-place honors at 18 percent, followed by Walter at 15. Rounding out the top 10 were Smith & Wesson, Heckler & Koch, Springfield Armory, Staccato, Canik, CZ and Beretta, respectively.
More Walther PDP F-Series of pistols were brought to the annual event than any other handgun—100 in all. The volume of Glock 19s checked in totaled 76, followed by the SIG Sauer P365 XL (45). Trailing that top three were the Glock 34, SIG Sauer P365, Glock 17, SIG Sauer P320, Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ, Glock 43X, Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 and Walther PDP Full Size, in descending order.
Optics
More than half of the participants arrived with pistol-mounted optics—55 percent. Holosun was the preferred brand at 66 percent, followed by SIG Sauer, 11 percent, and Trijicon with six percent.
Red dominated the reticle’s dot color followed by green—62 and 38 percent. One percent of attendees preferred gold.
Only three percent of the gals who arrived with iron sights had upgraded them. When they did select an aftermarket version the brand of choice was Trijicon more often than other brands.
Triggers & Gear
Stock triggers dominated the event (88 percent). Of those upgraded, the majority were Glock Performance units.
When it came to holsters, Comp-Tac led the way, followed by Black Scorpion, Haven Defense and Blade Tech. In magazine pouches, the same four were tops, changing positions slightly to Black Scorpion, Comp-Tac, Haven Defense and Blade Tech.
It’s important to note that the annual national conference includes seminars and range sessions. Because of the volume of fire during training, results of this survey don’t necessarily reflect female preference when it comes to everyday carry for self-defense.
