[June 30, 2025] This past weekend, I was at my local gun range to get in some much-needed practice. I feel it is my moral duty as a mature man to be educated and skilled in the use of tools and to maintain my physical ability to protect those around me. My father and all my relatives had the same concept of masculine responsibility. What I noticed at the gun range is what I’m writing about today.
The common American view of gun use is that it is both a right and a duty to be a safe user of firearms. Recall that I’ve written about how a man should be mentally and physically strong, articulate, and ready to step in to defend the weak and innocent. And that defense may be with a gun if circumstances dictate. That’s the reason I was at my local range, taking a course in handgun Tactical Decision Making.
Pew Research Center and others have done studies on gun ownership, and the results are unsurprising. For example, those like me who grew up in a household with guns are far more likely to own them. Likewise, folk from rural areas are more likely to own and use firearms. What did surprise me was that when we look at adults, there are no significant differences in gun ownership in any age range. The young and old own firearms at about the same rate.
There were 15 adults in my class this weekend, one female and one young man. The rest of our class were men well over the age of 50 (average age in the mid-60s). How is this significant? I will point out that regardless of when I go to the range, typically during the weekday, this is the same age distribution, as well as overwhelmingly male and white. This is reflected in the Pew studies I linked to above.
What did take me off guard somewhat was the wide range of pistol skills. To attend this class, a student had to have passed a rigorous course meeting the state of New Jersey’s onerous qualification standards. Each had to possess a valid state-approved Concealed Carry Permit (“CCP” in NJ or CCW elsewhere).
Most attendees were in class with the intent to improve their performance if they were to ever get into a situation where they needed to use a pistol; not surprising. There was one glaring theme. Everyone said that going through the tactical gun range taught them how terrible they were at shooting under time constraints, in poorly lit areas, and under pressure of a threat.
This gun course was a wake-up call for even the better shooters.
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Please read my books:
I go to my neighborhood outdoor gun range at least twice a month. I’m getting pretty darn good with my 45 auto. I’m new here. Thank you, sir, for a great website.
Welcome aboard, Harry.
Gen. S., sir, we thank you for being one of those real men who are prepared to become a warrior in times of crisis. No longer, it seems, do we as a society encourage young men to become real men, at least I don’t see it. We teach boys to be feminine and weak. That is why Leftists want to pump our boys with mind-altering drugs. What this will do is cause our society to fail.
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I found it interesting that my algorithms flagged this as “spam.” I think this goes to show us all that we are being censored in ways we don’t even see or know about. If I’d not noticed this in my spam folder, which I rarely look at it, Guns R Us comment would have disappeared.
Thank you, sir, for your diligence. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️
Classic Lefty-Progressive-Liberal fascism at work. And they call those of us who want free speech, including the lefties, the F word … Fascists. They are the ones using fascist techniques. And they claim to be tolerant. Ha Ha Ha Ha 😊
EXACTLY
“Most attendees were in class with the intent to improve their performance if they were to ever get into a situation where they needed to use a pistol; not surprising. There was one glaring theme. Everyone said that going through the tactical gun range taught them how terrible they were at shooting under time constraints, in poorly lit areas, and under pressure of a threat. This gun course was a wake-up call for even the better shooters.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. Nails it. We are always less prepared than we might think. So, have the right mindset that you must have constant vigilance.
👍👍👍👍👍 protect yourself and the weak and innocent 👏👏👏👏👏👏 that is the mark of a real man who takes responsibility for himself and others. 🙏
Every day I can drag myself to the gun range, the better I am for it. I’m like Gen. Satterfield, be ready for the unknown and the unexpected. Otherwise be prepared to be weak and useless.
In a world of craziness, being prepared is more than a duty but necessary. When our politicians encourage violence — like the Democrat Party in America does today — then being ready to take charge and stop EVIL, and being sure you know what evil is correctly, you must stop it. Gen. Satterfield has often written about evil and here is a link for those new her. I highly suggest you read these articles.
https://www.theleadermaker.com/?s=Evil
Well said, Erleldech. I too need to get myself there. Like Gen. S. writes, BE PREPARED!!!!!
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Nice artwork.
Yep, and Gen. Satterfield has written often about being prepared. The last time was in his last book, “55 rules for a good life” and if you don’t yet have that book, then you are really missing out on something great. He talks in it about being prepared and the many ways you can make this happen. But you must know where you are aiming because you can’t hit what you don’t aim at. Thanks sir, and yes! I’m doing my best to adopt the greatest responsibilities I can.