Women are buying more firearms than ever before; local fishing report

It’s no secret that gun sales continue to boom. And they’re not all being bought by men, but women too. 

Here’s some interesting statistics on the handguns that are trending for women in 2021. It’s a glimpse at what women are choosing to train with and carry. 

Recently A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League (AG & AG) hosted its 9th Annual National Conference. All 450 participants were required to go through a “gear check” process where their handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches were all reviewed and function checked. The following lists the most popular brands and models that the women brought to training.

Women’s Choices of Handguns

A total of 626 handguns were reviewed and logged by brand and model during the AG & AG gear check process. By far GLOCK was the most popular brand among women at the 2021 training conference. More than 32% of the handguns brought to the event were GLOCK pistols, of which the most preferred models were G19s and G17s. The next popular brand was SIG SAUER, with the P320 and P365 models, followed by Smith & Wesson’s M&Ps and Shields.

Brands
Percentage

GLOCK
32%
SIG SAUER
18%
Smith & Wesson
14%
Springfield
8%
CZ-USA
6%
Heckler & Koch
5%
Walther
5%
Ruger
2%
STI
2%
Canik
2%
Kimber
1%
Taurus
1%
Beretta
1%
Rock Island
1%
Wilson Combat
0.5%
FN
0.3%
Zev Tech
0.3%
Mossberg
0.2%
Accuracy X
0.2%
EMG
0.2%
Garrison
0.2%
German Sports Guns
0.2%
Girsan
0.2%
Hi-Point
0.2%
SCCY
0.2%
Interestingly, the logs reflect a lot of brand loyalty. For example, if a shooter brought two pistols (typically one for general or competition training vs. one for concealed carry courses), the pistols were usually the same brand, such as a G19 and G43 or a P938 and a P238. Seldom did women with multiple guns cross brand lines. This is noteworthy because it may indicate that if a woman finds a gun she likes, she is likely to purchase more products from the same brand.
Breaking it down further, these are the most popular model of handguns that ladies brought to training:

Models
Percentage

GLOCK 19
11%
S&W M&P 
7%
GLOCK 17
7%
SIG P320
6%
SIG P365
5%
HK VP9
4%
GLOCK 34
4%
S&W M&P Shield 
3%
Springfield XDM
3%
S&W M&P Shield EZ
3%
GLOCK 43
2%
SIG P320 Legion X5
2%
GLOCK 45
2%
CZ P-10
2%
GLOCK 48
2%
Walther PPQ
2%
Canik TP9
2%
STI Staccato
2%
GLOCK 43X
1%
Springfield XD
1%
CZ Shadow 2
1%
GLOCK 19X
1%
SIG P365XL
1%
Walther Q5
1%
SIG P238
1%
Springfield 1911
1%
CZ 75
1%
S&W M&P EZ
1%
Walther PDP
1%


LOCAL FISHING REPORT
On the local fishing scene, and despite low water conditions before the rains came, fishing was good to fair. 

According to Willie from Willie’s Bait & Tackle in Cementon, the Lehigh River, the falls area in Northampton and upriver have been yielding some trout, smallmouth bass and rockfish. River fish are favoring minnows and worms. 

Hokendauqua Creek by the nursing home, continues to produce trout for anglers who work the deeper holes. And the recently stocked Hokendauqua Creek for this past weekend’s kids fishing derby in Hokey Park, should have some leftover trout. 

For big trout, Trout Creek in Slatington has been surrendering trophy size trout that was stocked by Springside Fire Company in Slatington, who raise trout in a pond on their property. The funding of these trout is from local donations, said Willie. 

Up at Leaser Lake, sizeable (4-5 pound) largemouth bass are being caught but must be legally released as well as nice sunnies and huge muskies. Only trout may be kept there. 

Chris’ Bait & Tackle in Mertztown, reports Ontelaunee Reservoir in upper Berks County, was producing large (1.5 pound) crappies but they’re off the spawn now, however action should resume after they re-group. Ontelaunee is also producing catch-release 4-5-pound largemouths and huge snakeheads that have infested the lake.

According to Chris, he doesn’t know how snakeheads got in there, but they should be removed. In fact, some of his customers are buying large shiners and fishing specifically for them. 
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