Among many other firsts, 2020 has seen record destroying sales of guns to first time gun buyers. Many folks, from all walks of life, from all parts of the political spectrum, have suddenly realized what many of us have known and preached for years: Your personal safety is in your hands.
Realizing that, more than 5 million people bought their first gun in 2020. That is based on numbers reported by the NSSF for sales through July, which was at nearly 5 million then, and those first time gun sales have continued to soar since.
“NSSF tracks the background checks associated with the sale of a firearm based on the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS). NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for January through July 2020 is a record 12.1 million, which is up 71.7 percent from the 7.1 million NSSF-adjusted NICS January through July 2019. This equates to nearly 5 million first-time gun owners in the first seven months of 2020.”
Honestly, based on the numbers and the political landscape as of late, I would not be surprised if more than 8 million people buy their first gun this year.
Welcome…
If you are one of those first time gun buyers, I congratulate you on your decision to take personal responsibility in terms of your own safely, and I welcome you to the world of gun ownership.
… now train!
However, merely owning a gun is just the first step in ensuring your personal safety. The next, and arguably more important step, is getting training on how to not only properly employ your gun, but also how to know when you should, and when you should not.
Training is extremely important, but you also need to realize not all trainers are equal. In fact, some are downright dangerous (cough, Voda, cough). Before plunking down a chunk of change on training classes, do some research. Talk to your friends who own guns and ask their opinion. Ask the local gun shop for suggestions. Check to see if the instructor is certified, either by the NRA* or by another reputable certification program. Spend a little time googling the instructor. If they have a bad reputation, it will not take you long to figure that out.
(* NRA certification is really minimal and should not be considered 100% foolproof. I’ve seen some really bad instructors who were NRA certified. That said, if the NRA has actually pulled someone’s certification, that should really tell you something.)
Practice makes perfect
Beyond training, it is also important to practice. Firearms skills do in fact deteriorate over time. Everyone needs to practice in order to maintain their proficiency, from the highest speed, lowest drag combat proven warrior all the way down to stay at home mom or dad.
So again, to all those first time gun owners, welcome! Now please, for your sake and the sake of all other gun owners, take those important next steps to becoming a responsible gun owner. Learn how to use your new tool, and then practice with it.
