# Female snipers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100 "2005-10-13T17:37:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/1 "2005-10-13T17:37:51Z")
Somewhere I picked up the “fact” that women are better at being snipers than men. True? False. If true, then why? ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/2 "2005-10-13T17:42:46Z")
> [@Love Rhombus](#): > > Somewhere I picked up the “fact” that women are better at being snipers than men. True? False. If true, then why? I’m just trying to imagine what governing body keeps the official statistics on this. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/3 "2005-10-13T17:47:25Z")
> [@Love Rhombus](#): > > Somewhere I picked up the “fact” that women are better at being snipers than men. True? False. If true, then why? I can’t provide a cite; this is just hearsay. I’ve heard that female snipers are more patient than men, and have steadier hands. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/4 "2005-10-13T17:56:49Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > I can’t provide a cite; this is just hearsay. I’ve heard that female snipers are more patient than men, and have steadier hands. How do female and male [biathlon](http://www.usbiathlon.org/) competitors compare? I think this would be a pretty good indicator of how steady ones hands are under stress. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/5 "2005-10-13T18:04:10Z")
Certainly there have been many excellent female snipers (the Soviets trained a bunch during WW2) but whether or not an individual is a good shooter surely depends on that individual’s talents, rather than gender. In addition, being a sniper isn’t just about being a good shot. It also requires being able to crawl for three days to get into position to _get_ the good shot, then crawl for three days to get the heck outta there without being spotted. So far, men have the edge for the physically demanding activity that makes up most of the life of a jungle sniper. In the more modern urban wars, though… I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/6 "2005-10-13T18:16:31Z")
I heard that it was the same reasons Der Trihs said; I assumed it was something biological that made them better at it. I’m ashamed to confess that it might well have been a game that told me that “fact.” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/7 "2005-10-13T18:20:46Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > In addition, being a sniper isn’t just about being a good shot. It also requires being able to crawl for three days to get into position to _get_ the good shot, then crawl for three days to get the heck outta there without being spotted. So far, men have the edge for the physically demanding activity that makes up most of the life of a jungle sniper. In the more modern urban wars, though… I dunno. That’s endurance and patience not strength. Females ( unless pregnant ) tend to have significantly higher endurance than males. ---
**Author:** ![Cynical\_Optimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Cynical\_Optimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cynical_Optimist)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/8 "2005-10-13T18:27:13Z")
As far as female snipers go, I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that [Dr. Ruth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Westheimer) was an Israeli sniper. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/9 "2005-10-13T18:32:21Z")
Hasn’t it been shown that women – as a group – have superior small-motor skills/coordination compared to those of men? I have no cite, but I have long heard that stat. I would venture to say that that is probably the rationale behind the sniper claim. Maybe they make better surgeons too. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/10 "2005-10-13T18:41:27Z")
I believe modern military snipers now mainly work in teams of two. Not sure how that might affect things though. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/11 "2005-10-13T18:41:46Z")
> [@stuyguy](#): > > Hasn’t it been shown that women – as a group – have superior small-motor skills/coordination compared to those of men? I have no cite, but I have long heard that stat. I would venture to say that that is probably the rationale behind the sniper claim. Maybe they make better surgeons too. Women are indeed better at finesse shots because their shots are not interfered with by the pulse of a heartbeat. That, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of their targets are men ensures a near 100% solution. OK…I got nuthin. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/12 "2005-10-13T18:47:06Z")
I saw a show on the history channel many months ago about Russian female snipers during WWII. Apparently women from certain rural areas made the best snipers. I think at least part of this was specific to Russian culture rather than any genetic sort of issue, i.e. it was at least in part due to the fact that these women already knew how to hunt animals. I know the history channel isn’t much of a site, but at least it’s making the same claim. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/13 "2005-10-13T21:04:04Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Women are indeed better at finesse shots because their shots are not interfered with by the pulse of a heartbeat. That, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of their targets are men ensures a near 100% solution. > > OK…I got nuthin. Oh, I’m sure you’ll get something from this post! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/14 "2005-10-13T21:16:24Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Women are indeed better at finesse shots because their shots are not interfered with by the pulse of a heartbeat. That, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of their targets are men ensures a near 100% solution. > > OK…I got nuthin. I clicked on this thread just to find out how long it could go without a snarky post. Ten neutral posts, I guess, before **Inigo Montoya** made his crack about the lack of heartbeat. Understand, I’m not complaining. It was a well-crafted gag, and it had a patina of seriousness that nearly disguised the needle. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/15 "2005-10-13T21:20:22Z")
We all know that the plural of anecdote isn’t data, but there were two female Soviet snipers in WWII with over 300 confirmed kills\*: [Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyudmila_Pavlichenko) and [Nina Alexeyevna Lobkovskaya](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Alexeyevna_Lobkovskaya) - confirmed by Soviet military propoganda 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/16 "2005-10-13T21:29:12Z")
> [@Cynical Optimist](#): > > As far as female snipers go, I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that [Dr. Ruth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Westheimer) was an Israeli sniper. I’d never heard that. Of course, it reminded me of the [urban legend](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/mrrogers.asp) of Mr. Rogers being a sniper. And I must add that I joke with my girlfriend that the reason that women aren’t allowed in combat is simply that they are too mean to be allowed to fight. We have the Geneva conventions for a reason, people! 🙂 I’m not sure if this means they would make good snipers. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/17 "2005-10-13T23:35:32Z")
> [@Love Rhombus](#): > > Somewhere I picked up the “fact” that women are better at being snipers than men. True? False. If true, then why? Perhaps from that great source of factual information, the [Bond movie](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093428/). Anecdotally, I’ve trained a few people to shoot (mostly handgun), and generally speaking, women pick it up faster than men, stereotypes notwithstanding. I think this probably has to do with having less of an ego about following instructions and being more patient with early performance than men. Woman don’t typically insist on coming to the range with a 8-3/4" Model 29 Smith & Wesson, either. They’re generally perfectly happy to start out shooting .38 Spl in a Ruger Security Six. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Otanx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Otanx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otanx)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/18 "2005-10-14T02:54:05Z")
While at basic training we were told by our Drill Sgts that women are easier to train because the “normal” woman hasn’t handled a gun, and is willing to listen and try what is tought. The men mostly have shot weapons, and tend to think they are “the best shot in the world” so first they have to break the bad habits before building up the better ones. If this is the case then it wouldn’t be that women are better, but that people that haven’t handled weapons before are just easier to train. -Otanx ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/19 "2005-10-14T03:46:52Z")
Oddly, comparing the various Olympic shooting records isn’t all that useful, because the totals don’t match, i.e. Men’s double trap is scored out of 150, Women’s out of 120. Offhand I don’t know of an open event, but at the extreme end, it does in fact look like men have the edge. Of course, this may simply be due to the fact that more men than women take up shooting as a hobby (I strongly suspect), thus there’s a larger talent pool from which to draw champion shooters. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100/20 "2005-10-14T04:52:05Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Perhaps from that great source of factual information, the [Bond movie](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093428/). Hey ! It was also mentioned in the video game _Metal Gear Solid_; with two such references, it _must_ be true ! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-snipers/326100.md?page=2)