Setup Saturday: Get Some Training

Chasing the Gucci unicorn, it can be as addictive as crack and twice as expensive. If you’ve been on Instagram or any gun gurus social media you know exactly what I’m talking about, the latest and greatest that the firearms industry has to offer. Here is the deal, most (not all) of those people get that gear sent to them for free to show to you so you will rush out and buy it, it is marketing at its core. In reality people have budgets, mortgages, kids, and car payments so how do we decipher what is a must have versus what am I buying because it looks good on the gram.

Unfortunately, the answer is as varied as each person. My mentor has a saying when asked about a specific piece of gear, “what’s your mission?” Is your mission to carry a gun to protect yourself? Are you in law enforcement looking to setup your new Sam Brown belt? Each person is operating in their own mission and each person has an operational budget for gear. If you are a CEO your operational budget is much greater than mine but is that new wiz bang 6000 necessary for what you do? Or just a way to flex on the poors?

In the past two weeks we have covered carry gun selection as well as belts and holsters. That will get you out in the world as an armed citizen. Extra credit if you booked a class to learn how to fight with that weapon. But what comes next? I see too many people looking for the NEXT gun or the NEXT mod they can have done. There is nothing wrong with that if it is being done with purpose and not just because you liked how your salesman’s gun looked.

I’ve been behind that counter, trust me, most of the time we are crying inside when you start talking about stipple patterns, lightening cuts, triggers, and dots. Learn to shoot what you have now, the way it is right now. I understand that we all want nice things, we work hard to buy things that will last and that will work. In today’s disposable world it can sometimes be hard to come by. I also understand that I will recommend things that are considered “Gucci” just ask my friends. There is, however, a difference between buying a quality flashlight once vs adding a red dot to your gun without having first mastered the irons.

I’ve done a full Gucci Glock from the ground up, rmr, comp, trigger, all of it. Do I still have it? Nope. What do I run now? A stock gen 3 Glock 19. What I found is all that fancy techno wizardry added up to me being just as fast as irons, at traditional gun fight distances. Is there a place and purpose? Absolutely, it just wasn’t for what I do.

Stop idolizing the Instagram warriors, the YouTube gunslingers, and the new new in the industry. There is only one mod you can buy that will make you better, faster, and more accurate and that is training, go get some and I promise, the world of gear will become more clear.