On Women’s Day on 9 August 2025, CHS Guns & Ammunition, False Bay Sport Shooting Club, False Bay Firearm Training Academy, and the South African Gun Owners Association (SAGA) joined forces to host one of the Western Cape’s most successful women’s shooting events to date. The sold-out Women’s Day Shooting Experience brought together expertise, passion, and resources to create a day dedicated to skill-building, empowerment, and camaraderie.
The event highlighted a truth with deep historical roots that when women have access to the means to protect themselves, their mobility, security, and opportunities expand. In the 19th century, compact firearms such as the Derringer became popular among women for discreet self-defence, small enough to fit into a purse, stocking, or muff.
While not the first weapon women ever carried, the Derringer…