Ask any trainer, gun store owner or member of the National Rifle Association and the statistics might shock you — shooting sports have attracted more women than ever before.

In the classes I teach, more than half are ladies. When you go to the range, you definitely see plenty women of all ages at the firing line. What’s caused this interest from the ladies in what has traditionally been a male dominated area? First, we have to give some credit to what we all see on the TV and in the movies. An excellent example is the TV show NCIS. What red-blooded, all-American lady wouldn’t like to be the show’s character Ziva — a highly-trained Israeli Mossad ex-operative. Or Kensi — the tall brunette girl on NCIS Los Angeles (I can hear you laughing at me, but it’s a good show!). As is evidenced by the way they safely handle their handguns on the set, these girls are highly trained, and soft on the eyes.