# Would having large breasts be a major disadvantage in a gun fight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2018, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209 "2018-02-05T11:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209/21 "2018-02-07T04:36:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Ask any elite athlete to strap 15 pounds to their chests and they’ll give you a good long lecture on balance and weight, I’m sure. But if you live and practice with that weight every day, it’s less of an issue. This, to a certain extent. I am a woman with very large breasts. While that means that clothing fits me ill, and I’m a candidate for dowager’s hump, for the most part they do not get in the way, especially if I am wearing an athletic bra that is too small (they’re all too small). They can get in the way for certain exercises so I imagine that if I were in a physical fight and trying to hang on to and shoot a handgun, they could cause me to lose because they get in the way of movement close to the chest. They definitely slow me down when running and they block my view when looking directly down. And I can see them possibly causing problems if I have to swing a rifle up to my shoulder and shoot, but that’s mainly because I don’t shoot rifles and would be klutzy. But, with practice, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. I wouldn’t trust them to slow a bullet but they might get full of shot if a shotgun is being used. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209/22 "2018-02-07T07:28:16Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > Being married to a gun-owning woman possessing voluminous breasts… A wonderful introductory phrase, with a scent of pentameter no less. Should be a contest for best continuation of the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209/23 "2018-02-07T21:02:17Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#): > > As a non-busty non-woman, I admit I’m a little surprised to learn this. It seems to me that unless one is using a large-capacity detachable magazine, a rifle would be unlikely to interfere with a woman’s bust, even a large one. The butt of the rifle is nestled high on the shoulder, and, aside from part of the stock, there’s not much of a rifle that’s below the collarbone. > > Here’s a photo of an elite biathlete shooting from a standing position: > > [https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/helena-ekholm-of-sweden-takes-2nd-place-during-the-ibu-world-cup-picture-id108247856](https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/helena-ekholm-of-sweden-takes-2nd-place-during-the-ibu-world-cup-picture-id108247856) > > She’s not built like Lara Croft–no human being is–but it looks like neither of her arms would interfere much with even large breasts (note the outward-jutting angle of her right humerus). The only part of the rifle that looks like it could interfere is the stock, and one imagines that an L-shaped stock (like the one linked to below) might get around that problem: > > [https://www.airsoftgi.com/images/airsoft-mft-batlink-minstk-blk-b.jpg](https://www.airsoftgi.com/images/airsoft-mft-batlink-minstk-blk-b.jpg) > > I’m absolutely speculating here\*; I have no direct experience with this, and your wife certainly does. May I ask what would interfere with her breasts if she were to shoot the way you do? Would it be the stock? The magazine? One or both of her arms? Something else? It’s not the gun that is interfered with, so much as her arm position. Her right arm is forced to a very different position that doesn’t give a great balance point. The picture provided seems to be the exact opposite body style as Mrs. Butler, tall, thin, restrictive clothing and custom gun with more practice than I could likely imagine. Mine is not tall, has short arms, eats more bacon, and rarely wears compression coverings on her upper body. I’m certain she could train around it if she needed/wanted to, but for casual target shooting, it’s not been a priority. Handguns for her are no problem, except for size in her hand and a preference for smaller calibers in revolver instead of semi-auto. She lacks some of the strength needed to slingshot the slide to charge an automatic. > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > A wonderful introductory phrase, with a scent of pentameter no less. Should be a contest for best continuation of the sentence. Completely unintentional, but thank you. Please go on with the contest. I’m sure it would be entertaining! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209/24 "2018-02-07T21:11:26Z")
Olympic guns, whether rifle or pistol, sometimes [barely resemble real ones](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kKc0mvAg29M/VvSU-z4Y5kI/AAAAAAAAHHw/t-o_YOsQKzU/s640/blogger-image--1899610296.jpg). They are usually weighted funny, and the clothing used is designed to provide support for the type of shooting. And the stance used is very different that non-Olympic shooters. IDPA/IPSC uses standard two-hand pistol stances, while ISSF uses a 19th century single hand shot. Using an Olympic stance with a standard centerfire pistol or rifle will likely lead to you falling backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209/25 "2018-02-07T21:22:30Z")
They say you should never bring a knife to a gun fight. I can’t imagine large breasts would be any better than a knife. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-having-large-breasts-be-a-major-disadvantage-in-a-gun-fight/808209.md?page=1)