If you’ve found your way here, congratulations! In the galaxy, nee, universe of weapons, tactical advice, survival tips, and general home defense wisdom, websites, blogs, YouTube channels, and so forth, Untactical is the veritable drop in the ocean. In fact, it’s more likely a grain of invisible sand at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. What will you find here? The definition of tactical (adjective) is: characterized by skillful tactics or adroit maneuvering or procedure. |
I started this blog because at the ripe, old age of (well, never you mind) I became a gun owner and concealed carry permit (CCW) holder. I will go into the reasons for those life decisions in future posts but, for now, let’s talk about the motivation for this blog.
I can’t be the only one.
That’s it in a nutshell.
As I researched (and continue to research) handgun models, holsters, places to shoot, state laws on carrying said handgun, and so on, I read innumerable articles, watched countless videos, subscribed to any number of newsletters, and generally tried to educate myself on modern gun culture.
You see, way back in (Ha! you thought I was going to give something away there, didn’t you?) my USAF basic training days, I qualified as a marksman with the M16 (albeit with the .22 conversion kits installed). A few years later, I had to shoot again (not much shooting went on in the USAF back in my day). That time, I qualified expert.
I say that, to admit this: Okay, I’m not a complete newbie when it comes to firearms. When I say I became a gun owner recently I mean I purchased my second gun ever recently. About fifteen years ago we bought a small Astra 9mm semi-automatic pistol. I think I shot it once and I don’t think Mrs. Untactical shot it at all. We’ve owned a nickel-plated, pearl-handled .32 Smith & Wesson six-shooter since my mother passed away a few years ago. Mrs. Untactical typically keeps hold of that particular gun but, technically, we own it. The Astra was sold to a responsible gun owner in the family years ago rather than have it collect dust and offer up a tempting treasure for two curious boys (now grown and moved out).
To get back to the subject at hand, let’s just say that I was completely flabbergasted (and not a little sticker-shocked) when perusing the plethora of handgun options available on the market today. And, being a writer (but you guessed that already from all those fancy words I just used), I thought, ‘Why not chronicle this journey of ours?’
What journey, you might ask?
The journey from (more or less) modern firearm newbies to something resembling responsible gun owners.
Along the way, I’ll try to offer reasonable advice that will hopefully be of some value to other gun newbies (I had to so resist the urge to replace newbie with neophyte there… because of that writing thing). I will post pictures of guns, target sheets, and perhaps myself or Mrs. Tactical launching a few projectiles downrange. I’ll do my best to provide links to knowledgeable, more tactically astute folks who can help us all on our journey from newbie to wherever we’re trying to get with regard to responsible gun ownership.
To close this first, introductory post, I will say something that I will repeat early and often throughout this series: Safety First, Last and Always. There are enough knuckleheads running around out there without any more joining them.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to meeting and talking with all of you.
Mr. Untactical