The Biggest Hurdle In Gun Culture 2.0 Isn’t…

… correcting a trigger jerk. It’s not learning how to draw and shoot from concealment in under two seconds or figuring out which 9mm defensive ammo is best for you (spoiler alert: It’s Federal HST). 

It’s none of these things. In fact, it’s something I’ve never seen in the curriculum of any entry-level pistol class I’ve ever taken. It’s how to learn how to carry your gun on a day in, day out basis. 

Everything else in Gun Culture 2.0 depends on this one simple little task. People who don’t carry their guns regularly don’t see a need to train with their guns. They don’t see a need to have it with them every time they leave the house. If you don’t have your gun with you, you don’t think about it. You don’t think about it, you don’t care if you can shoot it well, and all of a sudden, that new gun becomes yet another expensive, underused consumer good.

Congratulations, you’ve just bought a tactical pet rock. 

People buy guns because they feel their lives and the lives of their loved ones have value and are worth protecting. But for most people, the value they place on those lives is a few hundred dollars worth of metal and plastic and maybe few hours of classroom time to get their concealed carry permit. Like so many other things in this world, we throw money at the problem and hope for a shortcut. We are worried about our personal security and buy a gun, without investing the time and energy to understand what real problem is. 

The real problem isn’t what gun is best, or which flashlight has the most lumens. The real problem is developing the habits that lead to a safe secure lifestyle. 

A brief digression. My friend Jon used to do marketing for Cold Stone Creamery, and during his time there, he put on quite a few pounds. He was surrounded by ice cream all day long, and unsurprisingly, he ate a quite of a lot of it. When he left the job, he lot the weight, and I asked him how he did it. 

“It’s simple,” he said. “All diets work if you stick with them,” and that’s the trick with concealed carry. You just have to stick with it. It has to become a habit, like working out each each or not have a late night snack every night. 

It’s not hard, but it is difficult, and it’s also very, very possible to accomplish. 

All you have to do it stick to it.