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A man’s notes
about surviving
a woman on her road
to carrying a
concealed gun.
right: Range day
getting to know the
Kahr CW9. Author
was allowed to
shoot it and found
it accurate and
enjoyable to shoot.
below: The book
that started it all.
PHOTO BY B. SHONTS
Better let her pack
[ BY MIGUEL GONZALEZ ]
Christmas morning 2010 will forever be the day I
remember as the end of my old life.
A
mistake was made that
changed the balance of power
in my household and I no
longer was “The Man,” but became
a partner. As when the soviets managed
to steal the U.S. atomic bomb
secrets and create their own nuclear
arsenal, the shift of power in my
house was tectonically moved when
Sarah, my wife of 24 years, laid her
hands on a book. Under recommendation
of my former friend Gail Pepin,
I bought her the book The Cornered
Cat: A Woman’s Guide to Concealed
Carry, and gave it to her as a present
in the effort that she might get a bit
interested in shooting. Gentlemen,
do not make the same mistake!
I should have seen something was
happening. After she started reading, I
noticed that she was no longer yawning
while we were watching shooting
shows on TV. She began paying attention
and even dared to ask a couple
of questions, which I was more than
happy to answer. Then more questions
came out of the blue: Was my
carry gun single action, double action
or safe action? What kind of ammo do I
use for defensive purposes? What kind
of holster?
A faster-thinking living creature by
now would have started to prepare for
battle, but I am a man, and slow-witted
by definition. I was actually jumping
for joy that my dear beloved was
getting into guns after decades of me
pushing the issue. I was hoping that
she might get interested enough to go
to the range at least quarterly, and get
the cobwebs out of her snubnose .357
Magnum revolver I bought her. But
suddenly, the sky fell on my head as
in a Hollywood blockbuster movie: “I
want my gun!” was her war cry and as I
babbled about the gun she already had
and how good a man-stopper it was,
she put her foot down. She slowly and
surely dissected my initial reaction by
explaining–with the patience wives reserve
for husbands–why she needed
to choose her own gun and why my
selection of gun was the equivalent
of buying her a vacuum cleaner for
Valentine’s.
20
USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n MAY/JUNE 2011