Editor's Note: Today, Tactical Wire Editor Rich Grassi, following an end-of-year visit with friends and colleagues (courtesy of Crimson Trace, FLIR and Columbia River Knife and Tool) has some thoughts on what all gun owners are facing.


The end-of-year trips have their own bit of excitement. Travel, always an adventure since the advent of US air travel sinking to the level of Third World bus service, seems more hectic in December. Crushes of people, weather delays and cancellations, people seem to be wrapped up in the time when business issues have to be dealt with while facing the looming holidays with family time and the tendency to want "everything to be right."

It was that way in 2014 when I went to the Northeast. As I write this, I'm in the Northwest, a guest of Crimson Trace, FLIR and Columbia River Knife & Tool. As usual when industry types get together, there's discussion of the state of the industry and – leader of the outdoors industry news these days – new gun owners.

A number of us were at one table: Jorge Amselle of Harris Publications, Scott Rupp of Intermedia, Daniel McElrath of NRA Pubs and Kent Thomas, Crimson Trace Director of Marketing.

Kent noted that too many seem to focus on young shooters – including young women – as the leading demographic in the crush of new gun owners swelling our ranks in this time of the global war on terror and the over-reach of federal power. He said that a new gun owner – truly a first time gun owner – could be a 74 year old man, a 64 year old woman or a 22 year old college student of either gender.

And he wasn't talking about the All-American county employee guy who picked up his bride in the Middle East, apparently engaged in federally prohibited straw purchases (also violations of his state's laws) and did all this with the intention to commit mass murder. He was talking about people concerned about "All-Americans" like the latest jihadist – or whack jobs like "Carrot Top" of Aurora or "Uncle Fester" of Tucson.

Kent told us he'd reached his conclusions after commissioning a study and having gone through the contact information from Crimson Trace customers. That's how he reached his conclusions on the diversity of the "new gun owner."

As the President told us to "discuss gun violence" at Thanksgiving, people responded by either doing that (or not); then picking gun stores clean on the Friday after.

Fear is a motivator, but it's not the only one.

How do these things relate to the outdoors industry? Look at Crimson Trace: they have a laser unit, the Laser Guard, which changes the configuration of a pistol preventing its use of standard holsters for the model. So they now provide the Laser Guard with a Blade-Tech IWB holster in their Carry 9 package. There's a lesson there.

And those who wondered about the need for a laser aimer on a defense pistol don't consider things like physical disabilities.

Maybe you can see to identify the deadly threat entering the room. And our 74 year old male example above might be able to do that. But can he see the sights to make the hit? Maybe not. But with an aiming laser he can.

It's the same answer as the question "why is there a Glock 42 or a Ruger LC380 – when the 9mm versions are more powerful and the ammo is cheaper?"

Think about it: that same 74 year old man or 64 year old woman might have degenerative joint disorders or the use of only one hand. Getting old isn't pretty, something a number of us could school you on. Not only that, there are disabilities unrelated to age.

You need what works for you in your environment. These are people who aren't going to do a 1200 round, four-day pistol class – might not be able, even if they wanted to. Should they die before their time because you don't like the gun they select?

Companies like Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Crimson Trace, Blade-Tech and others are working toward getting responsible new gun owners gear they can use.

Meanwhile, those of us in media, in retail and in training have to learn another lesson: lose the "inside baseball" routine of talking over the heads of new gun owners and shooters. As Scott Rupp pointed out, he thinks it's critical to have a couple of training pieces in his periodical Handguns. He's careful to ensure that the material is easily understood even by the newest user.

That strikes home with me. While I learned something from SFC Don Bowling, US Army (Ret'd) in 1971 – "Write it on toilet paper so they can see through it!" – I sometimes forget and lapse into gun-writer-speak. This really hit me when my adult son wanted to learn about firearms and shooting. I'd been a firearms instructor since 1983, but I found it hard to go back and explain the basics.

It was a sobering moment and I'm now going back to examine the fundamentals – and the best ways to communicate them.

We're talking over a whole huge group of new gun owners, shooters – and NRA members.

It's something to keep in mind as this year slips away and a New Year enters. We're on the right side of history. We're winning.

It's now ours to lose.

-- Rich Grassi