Gun Show and Tell

Gun Show and Tell is the number one thing I use to see from untrained gun people at the gun shop. They want to show off their carry gun to me, at the shop, while it’s loaded.

Your loaded gun comes out of the holster for self defense use and necessary admin purposes, not to show off to others.

If you want to play gun show and tell, go to the range and shoot.

One of the worse ones I had was a Police officer in McAllen at a gun show. We talked about different guns before the show started.  He was in uniform talking about his Sig 226 and where discussing different iterations of the gun all the way back to the German made versions with a heal magazine release.  He didn’t quite understand that he didn’t have an original German gun because he had a push button 1911 style magazine release that is now current on Sig guns.

The police officer wanted to prove me wrong and wanted me to show him on his gun what I was talking about and started to draw his gun from his holster.  My reaction was with command voice stop! He still insisted and then I asked if it was loaded and suggested if it was that it stay in the holster.

I would like to say it was my awesome command presence that made him stop but I think he finally realized what he was about to do and left shortly after that.  I didn’t see him again for the rest of the show.

My boss, the gun store owner was hot that someone almost, especially a police officer, pulled a loaded weapon out in the show hall.  He was trying to find the guy the rest of the weekend to get him banned from the hall for his mistake.

No matter how long you have been carrying or how experienced the other person is at gun handling, unless you have a safe direction to draw the weapon into, unload it, and verify it’s unloaded that gun needs to stay in the holster, period. No discussion, no what if, no nothing.

Even at my own home would I take my carry gun off and hand it over for inspection.

Engage your brain before you touch any firearm for any reason.

Stay Safe,

Ben