Guns are getting a lot of air time on the news these days, so expect me to write about them more. Normally it is my policy to neither confirm or deny my possession of weapons, but in the spirit of blogging I will break policy. I hope you appreciate and enjoy.

Very frequently I choose to go armed. I am fortunate to live in a state that issues permits to carry a handgun, so I exercise that right. As unnerving as it may be, the fact remains that if you have spoken to me in person since about 1990 I have been packing at least one firearm. Freaky, huh? I’m not sure I want to know what you had in your pants.

I have a fair amount of talent for shooting, I have received quite a bit of professional training in the use of firearms, and I practice frequently. It’s that practice that prompts this post. I actually wore out a gun. More on that later, but first some background.

The #1 rule of the unofficial USMC Rules of Gunfighting is”Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.”

Generally, I tote a GLOCK 36 in .45 caliber. It is quite a lot of power in a reasonably small package, and I am very happy with it. To do it right, carrying a gun requires a surprisingly large amount of accessory gear. This includes a quality holster, spare ammunition magazines, a good flashlight, and a large folding knife …oh, also, another gun as a backup. Yeah, it seems excessive even to me sometimes, but I make the commitment. That stuff is definitely heavy, though, and I do make exceptions when I want to dash out of the house on an errand or go someplace dressed in such a way all that gear might be hard to hide. This brings me back to the gun I broke, a so-called pocket pistol that I carried as a backup or when I was traveling light.

When I didn’t feel like hauling the .45 around I had a Beretta 21-A semiautomatic in .22LR caliber, plus a leather holster that I would slip into a pocket with two spare magazines, a tiny LED flashlight, a small Kershaw pocketknife and be good to go. The catch is that a .22 pistol has no “stopping power” so you had better be able to shoot it very accurately. That in turn means lots of practice. I guess the model 21 was not designed to be shot quite as much as I thought. After approximately 1100 rounds fired in practice since I bought it in 1998 it became  unreliable, jamming in various ways or failing to fire completely. Taking this as a sign, I thanked it for ten years of service and bought a new pocket pistol.

Enter the Kel-Tec P32. This gun is tiny! It fires the larger, more reliable .32 ACP cartridge and weighs less than a loaded GLOCK 36 magazine! Now, if it holds up to the hundreds of rounds I will shoot through it over the next ten years I’ll be really impressed.

Just to get it on record, here are the actual rules of firearms safety. If everyone who encountered a gun knew & followed these rules nobody would ever be shot unintentionally.

• Rule #1 – All guns are always loaded unless you have personally checked it completely. If you put the gun down or lose control of it even for a second this rule applies again.
• Rule #2 – Never let the muzzle point at anything you are not willing to destroy.
• Rule #3 – Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. This is The Big One since the majority of unintentional shootings are caused by this
• Rule #4 – Be sure of your target and what is behind or around it.

…and finally, for your amusement, the semi-serious USMC Rules For Gunfighting

1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you’re probably not moving fast enough nor using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on “pucker factor” than the inherent accuracy of the gun.
9.5. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. “All skill is in vain when an Angel ****es in the flintlock of your musket.”
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. Have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won’t work.
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. The visible target should be in FRONT of your gun.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
16. Don’t drop your guard.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them).
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Your number one Option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a “4.”