Over at our monkey man rivals (guns.com),
1. Buying a semi-automatic pistol
You’re a gun guy or gal. You know that a semi-automatic pistol is better than a revolver for concealed carry. Well of course it is. More controllable trigger -> more accuracy. Greater capacity. Slimmer! Lighter!
Do me a favor: dumb it down.
Most concealed carry newbies are intimidated by semis. They worry — rightly IMHO — that they may do something wrong when loading/racking the pistol. They worry it might “go off.” If the semi has a frame-mounted safety, well, that’s one more thing that could go wrong.
Sure, you can teach a newb to get comfortable with a semi. But how many of the millions of new concealed carriers out there are going to do that? I’d bet dollars to donuts very, very few. So . . .
Small revolver’s are friendly! YOU CAN SEE THE BULLETS (cartridges, but still). Point and shoot. Reloading in the heat of battle? Me? And revolvers look like a gun.
Wait! Snubbies are no fun for practice, even when loaded with low-power .38s.
True! But again, why are you assuming that a newbie is going to practice? And if they do, they should buy a second full-size gun for that. Which they probably won’t.
2. Storing their gun in a drawer
There are millions of “loose” guns out there. Concealed carry handguns shoved in bedside tables at night and stored on closet shelves (often wrapped in a sock).
And nothing bad happens! Not in the vast majority of cases (so to speak).
Don’t get me wrong: I fully understand the desire to have a gun right there for the proverbial and sometimes literal bump-in-the-night scenario.
But a concealed carry gun needs to be stored securely to avoid unauthorized access — even if children are gun savvy. If nothing else, “casual” theft and teenage angst.
More than that, a newbie should learn safe storage so that they can get another gun and safely secure that gun. In other words, safe storage is the gateway drug to other handguns, shotguns and/or rifles.
Remember that bit above about having a second gun to practice? If a newbie understands and practices safe storage, they’re far more likely to get that second gun. Which they really should have.
3. Not talking enough about their gun
I may have said this before: Americans have a natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. That right also depends on culture.
In the main, concealed carry newbies don’t come from gun families. Most brand new concealed carriers are well over 21. So carrying a gun is a big leap for them.
Well done! But not enough of them spread the word about armed self-defense. They’re defensive about it (so to speak), afraid they’ll be criticized maybe even ostracized for their choice. And you know what? They’re probably right.
But they need to speak up. You could even say new concealed carrier are the best emissaries for the Second Amendment. “I used to think . . . but I realized . . .” That’s powerful stuff.
Newbies don’t have to open carry or join the NRA to help protect our — and their — firearms freedom. They just need to let the world know that they’ve taken responsibility for their safety, the safety of their family and their immediate circle.
Gun normalization. It starts the moment a newbie straps up. With a revolver. Stored safely. Or something like that.