Carrying 24/7:

“Bad stuff happens when you least expect it”- Murphy’s Law

If you have been alive longer than a few months, and have seen the world these days, it seems like there is always a disaster or crisis or something going on. While a lot of that can be attributed to the 24 hour a day fear porn, I mean news cycle, it does raise some valid concerns, as it is easy to see that we can’t be ready all the time, everywhere…or can we?

Let’s assume we are in our native turf, not traveling outside of a 25-mile radius so we are surrounded by what we know. We will walk through the day and see if you can feasibly be ready all day.

You wake up on a normal workday, you get up, where is your firearm? Is it secured next to your bed or somewhere close? Do you have it holstered or is it in a rapid safe, does your significant other know how to access it? Why does it matter? Well, if someone wants to do ill in a coordinated effort it will likely be in the wee hours of the morning (usually around 2-3am, when people sleep the soundest and are likely asleep)? You decide to go for a quick jog to lose those holiday pounds, how are you carrying? Hard to do unless you have the right holster, so you grab your magnetic holster and strap it on your inside belt loop and go for a jog.

Is that guy on the bench resting, or waiting? Maybe not an issue for a guy my size and build but could be for a younger female. Do you have your headphones in or out, so you can hear if someone is following…. man this is a lot to think about and you haven’t had coffee yet.

You get home, where does your gun go? On the counter?

Wrapped around the towel rack, after all it could happen while you are in the shower that someone who saw you running enters. Thankfully no, you make it through breakfast, get the cup of joe and head to the car…while watching your phone completely oblivious to those around you. Luckily you are good to go, you have your pistol secured inside your work bag, and you transfer it to just under your steering column, man it’s good to have only one holster for all of this. Your work doesn’t allow carrying a handgun, but you have decided for years that you would rather be judged by 12 or fired than carried by 6, so its good your holster is deep concealed and has less printing than a cell phone.

You make it through the day without incident and stop by the grocery store on the way home, the take and bake pizza has been calling you. As you get out, someone walks unnecessarily close to your car, and they stop and ask for money. You can smell the alcohol, and say you don’t carry cash, but you are carrying an insurance policy against him if he decides to get violent.

You get through the store and get some un-needed ice-cream, and head back to the car, hands full. After loading up, you start the car and realize you are almost out of gas. Instead of saying the dumbest thing ever “I will wake up and fill it up in the morning” you fill it up at night in the dark. The same gentleman who was at the grocery store is yelling and screaming at the cashier, he appears to be getting agitated, but you keep your distance and exit with enough gas to get you through the week. As you pull in the driveway you notice your front door is open….did you forget to close it or lock it? You were on your phone looking at Facebook when you left, so you can’t remember.

But good thing you have practiced for this just in case and go into your house with a hand on your pistol just in case. After searching the house, you see nothing out of place. The rest of the night is un-eventful, and after stuffing your face with pizza you go to bed, knowing you will have to jog more tomorrow to counter-act that pizza. Your pistol is now on the bed frame, being held by magnets right where you can reach it if the need arises.

Why would I go through this vignette? Over the last 10 years I have had all those experiences, including a belligerent drunk shooting his handgun 30 yards from my front porch while my pregnant wife guarded the back door with a shotgun as I did the same with a rifle at the front. Bad things happen, and I wanted to illustrate it can happen anywhere, at any time, and having a way to carry a handgun should it arise is crucial. Having one that can be so versatile and be carried by the bed, in the truck, in a bag, going on a jog or elsewhere ensures there are not excuses to not carry, which is inevitably when it will happen. We never know when we will need to defend ourselves, but having a comfortable carry option, such as the Roughneck or Original magnetic holsters ensure that we will keep carrying, regardless of where we are in our day.

Author: Ian Bolser