Open Letter: Firearms Industry & Shooting Community

Brendan,

I recently started working as the Director of Operations for our nations 2nd largest public indoor range.?With that said I have a few comments on the gun industry and shooting community.?The below comments and views are in no particular order.?As you know, I like to give you and others the straight deal, so here it goes.

One of the big problems with gun stores and gun ranges (in my opinion) is that when you walk into one they often look like a military armory.?In my mind it will be the death (pun intended) of the shooting community, and here is why.?Who in their right mind would want to introduce their wife or children to the sport of recreational shooting and hunting, when, if you go to a gun range, the people their look like they are prepping for the battle of Fallujah.?Almost every gun made looks like it is being sold to some nation's military.?To the average consumer, every person that wants to carry something like that looks like a guy that is going to shoot up a country music concert from a balcony.?I'm so sick of the faux tactical thing that I've been on a crusade lately to call people out on it.??

When I think back to being taught by my dad and grandpa to shoot a rifle, it was a wooden stock .22, and we shot beer cans.?We also shot skeet/clay with old wooden stock 12 gauge and 410 shotguns.?It was fun and inexpensive.?I can't imagine my dad sitting down with me and teaching me to shoot a surplus M16.?My mom would have freaked out and no more guns.?I still have my grandfathers .22 rifle and my dad’s 12-gauge shotgun to this day.?They may not be a Holland & Holland heirloom quality rifle and shotgun, however they hold much meaning to me.?Just as many men like to own and pass down high-end watches such as a Rolex to their sons.?I like the idea of passing down family tools of the trade to my children and the history behind it.????

As you know I’m a dad with two daughters.?So here’s some advice for dads with young daughters.?When your daughter is ready, buy her a pink Daisy Red Ryder BB gun and teach her to shoot.?When she's old enough to handle a .22, get her a Marlin 39A lever action or a Ruger 10/22 and go shoot cans together.?When she's old enough to go hunting with you maybe use a Marlin .30-.30 lever gun, the same kind I remember men keeping in their trucks back in the day.?A good friend of mine has a Marlin .45-70 Guide Gun that he travels with when he is camped in Alaska or upper Montana and Idaho.?So the common thread is, those guns are all the same, they are all super capable for what they were designed for, and they don't project an image that is ridiculous.??

Back in the day, before 9/11, if I would have been at a range, and a dude showed up wearing a bunch of stupid 5.11 gear, carrying a bunch of tactical Cordura bags with a bunch of mil looking hardware, I would have kept my eye on that assclown for sure.?And if I would have had my daughters there with me, I would have left stat.?Now, those ass hats walk around all over the place.

Here is my take on why - they may have been in the military, most likely in a National Guard unit, and maybe they deployed and were posted up as a guard at the dump outside Baghdad.?They had a bunch of old crappy TA-50/military gear from the 1980's issued to them and they took pictures of each other and sent the photos back to their parents and boyfriends and talked about how bad the war was.?Then they caught a glimpse of some SOF dudes wearing Salomon’s and Oakley's and some 5.11 crap, and fell in love. So then they go home and get out of the military, and then buy everything they can to emulate what they saw.?They also want to look in the mirror and see a SOF guy looking back, and not the dork that they are.?I get it.?The other option is that they never were in the military, but they played a lot of Call of Duty: Tier 1, and they are trying to look the part?or worse, both.??

I also have some problems with gun manufacturers selling all this crap.?I believe they are doing a disservice to the shooting community and ultimately feeding into a false narrative being pushed by mainstream media (MSM) and many political types.?On that note, remember to trust but verify.?Do not drink the Kool-Aid from MSM or political talking heads that are pushing their own agendas.?At the end of the day it’s about power and control, and not what is in the best interest of freedom and our way of life.?Hold true to the U.S. Constitution, think for yourself and never relent.?Now back on target.?I mean damn near every pistol that comes out looks like its being sent to SAD/GB operators in Syria.?It’s ridiculous.?I took a look at some of the stuff that gun stores are listing on their site for sale.?Who buys that shit??As an example, why would someone recommend to a woman that comes in a gun store to buy a concealed carry pistol to buy a tan Cerakote cut down Kimber??In most cases women that carry guns in their purses should be carrying .38 revolvers.?In their houses, .357 revolvers loaded with .38 special.?The average civilian guy should be carrying .357 double action revolvers and a shotgun with #4 buckshot in the house for home defense.?Generally speaking, the idea of a normal, minimally trained civilian should be carrying or using a semi-auto is ridiculous.?Are you really going to tell me that a firearms instructor is going to teach that 40-year-old lady how to clear a double feed while she's getting attacked in a dark parking lot??I’d fire someone for even thinking it.?I’m simply saying, don’t set people up for failure.?I’ll mention my ol’ Agency brother, Tom.?FYSA he served as an Army Ranger, 7th SFG 18C, CAG Operator and with JSOC before joining the Agency (Clowns In Action).?He carries a Ruger Blackhawk single action .357 in his glove box.?It's always going to work and it’s a great man stopper round.?He has a Ruger Super Blackhawk single action .44 mag for camping up north.?They both work and point the same, so no drama.?He could carry and use whatever the heck he wants, and cost doesn't matter, so if he wanted a semi action with some bullshit round he would carry it.?There is a reason he doesn’t.?It's probably education and training, and I think the gun manufactures would be good to educate people, instead of just selling them shit.?It’s about mission requirements, purpose and intent.?Tom and I carried long-guns, Glock’s, hi-capacity mags, etc when executing HVI/HVT capture/kill missions and going on target for a reason.?We may get into an extended firefight and we may have to put down many/many threats/enemy combatants on target.?The average John Doe or Jane Doe is not likely to engage multiple threats in home defense or be in lengthy firefight inside their home.?Know your operating environment and prepare for the fight.?

So here is my advice to you, many across the gun industry and shooting community.

In general forget about catering to all the LE/Mil folks.?They have a place to train, and it’s their job.?And the tools for their job are different.?There are thousands of former ass clowns that advertise all of their shit on the Internet to do classes and train people.?And of course, all of their training videos look like a recruiting video for Seal Team 6.?Like engaging 8 plate targets at high speed with a reload and a transition drill from their AR to a Sig 226.?I mean what freaking civilian is going to be shooting like that outside of the zombie apocalypse??Ridiculous.

I would recommend focusing on getting women and kids and families involved.?I would take a much softer approach,?I would put cans at the end of the range and let kids come in on Sunday afternoon and shoot .22s for fun - and shut down the range or range bay to any adults during that time.?Teach, Train, Educate & Mentor the next generation.??

The gun and shooting community needs to grow the next generation.?This has been what has hurt the hunting community.?So many parents stopped taking their kids hunting and fishing, that they now think its fun and cool to play with their so called smartphones all day.?The number of registered hunters fall every year.?How long before the voice of the hunter to put land aside for their use is diminished to the point of not being meaningful, and that land gets turned over to big business to build a fancy resort or to oil companies to do fracking.

Anyway, I think it would go a long way and maybe get some good local press by turning more ranges into a fun, family friendly venue.?Maybe do some things outside (i.e. sponsored outdoor father-son competitions or mother-sons things), and get away from the image of the crazy doomsday preppers.

I know it may be hard to sell the gun industry as a whole, since all this stupid shit is real popular now since every dude that's ever gone to BUDs has written 6 books about himself that he hopes to star in when Jerry Bruckheimer makes a movie about him, but I would ask the powers that be within the gun industry and private owners, from an image perspective, do they want to be the dad’s teaching their sons or daughters to rabbit hunt, with a .22 or do they want to be the guy spray painting their kid's face matte black and handing them an AR and some 5.11 pants to go to stand guard on the roof.

To all the good ol’ skool pipehitters that are also loving husbands, devoted fathers and caring sons keep holding the line for all that we hold true in this life.?I hope your beards all grow long and full, and that you are yours stay strong and well.

See you on the high ground…

Always Faithful & Always Forward,

-T