What Type of Gun Owner Are You?

When I talk with people who own firearms, they seem to fit into a few categories…

Regardless of the type of owner you might be today, I would recommend every gun owner consider becoming a Prepared Owner. Having a firearm is not only a right (2^nd Amendment) but it is also a responsibility. A responsibility as well since owning a firearm can have life threatening abilities. If you have a firearm for any reason, you either need to be prepared to use it or just lock it away where no one can easily access it.

Let me share with you a real life event for illustration. A friend of mine’s brother and his family were attacked and held at gun point while they were being robbed. One night someone was knocking at the door. When they asked who it was they kicked it in (usually much easier than most people think) and two men entered the house. He was there with two older children and one younger one.

It was clear one of the men was high on something as he was acting irrationally and just wanted to shoot someone if they got out of line. Fortunately they cooperated and were simply tied up and gagged while they robbed their house of valuables. They left behind a wake of fear and damage.

The father of the family was a gun owner…a Casual Owner as described above. He had a 9mm hand gun locked away in a safe in the house. He had shot it enough he was capable of loading and shooting…he just couldn’t get to the gun in time to do anything with it. He wasn’t a prepared gun owner and didn’t have a specific plan of how he was going to access the firearm in case of emergency. He tried to get to it but they caught him before he could get there.

Whether it would have been a good thing or not to have access to his firearm, we will never know. He wishes he had been able to reach it…but he couldn’t. So the family was beaten up a bit and terrorized for life by the incident. But he was a gun owner…just not a prepared one.

Being prepared isn’t all about knowing how to shoot a firearm. It’s more. It’s about being trained to shoot it confidently and accurately. It’s about knowing how to get to it quickly should an incident occur. It’s about knowing the law and what you can and can’t do if you do get to the firearm and start shooting. It’s about knowing what your rights are after a shooting and how to contact legal counsel while you are being taken into custody while the police figure out what really happened. It’s about being prepared…a Prepared Gun Owner. Something to consider, determine which type you are today, and how you can move to become a Prepared Owner.