I watched a TREX video the other day and he went on a rant about boomers, fudds, etc (and the fact that tactical is yucky). 9 times out of 10 I agree with him concerning that culture.

So I wanted to test his theory. This will be lengthy and there will be no TL:DR provided. I would like input from those who have done the same thing.

I started working in a gun shop a couple weeks ago. It's in Cincinnati. There is enough around here that you should not know, but if you figure it out; come in and talk gear with me and I can get you a little bit of range time or something. The other week while talking with the guys, we were talking about our kits. If any of you know me around here. I blow a full load for Esstac. While pimping them to employees, I said to one of the management guys "Why don't we do a full kit day every once in a while?" Management smiles. Fast forward to today. I forgot my Daeodon. I went to open up and I see management in his steel plates with a ballistic helmet on. Mentally I freaked out because this was all my idea and I am the rookie! Called the wife to bail me out. And she did. She also brought her Daeodon ASS so that one of the other guys who didn't have one could LARP with us. (For those who know my wife through my failed YT channel, yes she is that fucking awesome)

Now for some observations throughout the day. The best being no complaints or bitching. I am serious. This ties in with about 20%~ish of customers who came in and asked why we all had gear on. We all started telling customers that it was "Spec Ops wannabe Saturday". Everyone was pleasant but you could tell they were on a little bit of an edge. I only worked a 4 hour shift today and it started to bother me around the half way mark.

Synopsis of why it bothered me and why I brought up TREX initially. Plates. Some of us had mags and a fixed blade. Some of us had admin pouches. Some only had chest rigs which was pretty sweet too. No matter what someone had on, people asked. (You're welcome Esstac LOL I pimped the fuck out of y'all and so did the kid with my wifes donor carrier) My point is that people were on edge with us wearing something that would/could not produce harm to them. We are a shop full of gun nerds. We want to help you pick out your first gun, or shoot your first gun. We see a trend of people coming in wanting to shoot an AR and mentioning that it is scary. After a half hour with 40 rounds, they come out with a smile that you couldn't slap off. Why is there an outlook that multicam/gear/whatever is scary? Sure half of us are vets. Beards, tattoos. It does not make sense that someone would be concerned about someone in body armor. I get that it looks militant/glow boi/what ever. People who were regulars and know us pretty well were acting as if they were concerned. I get that it is not normal, but the point of this experience was to show people that it is normal. Games/LARPing/prior life, it should not matter. We want any edge we can get to live life longer. Not to mention it was fun!

Final thoughts. I am thinking body armor is like a suppressor. I hear "I thought you couldn't have that", "Where do you even order that?", "That is some hard shit...blah blah blah"... Guys, you may not like the instagram guys, or YT, but they do bring up a good point. "Tactical" stuff should not be crazy. It is simply an upper hand or an advantage over the guy who hates you. I thought it was an awesome little experiment and it was boosting a little 'morale' in the shop where we could expand the conversation from only guns, to the gear that supports the gun and the why.

I would love to hear stories of you and your opinion on why the public thinks 'that shit be scary yo!".

Thanks for reading, just figured I would share a day full of lessons with y'all. I am not posting this in GD because of the clowns.

If I came into a gun store with everyone all kit up I'd think they are expecting some shit and I'd be ready to leave for said reason. After explained no biggie.

Thanks for the comment. If you knew where this was... it is one of the wealthiest parts of town. Anymore and I might as well tell you where I work! You would think (logically) that if employees felt a need to wear plates, the GM would shut down the place for the safety of the customers at that point.

LOL for God's sake, we have boys wearing jumpers and people are scared of people in armor?

ETA: For context. The GM was caught off guard with this. Started asking each of us what is going on. If a dangerous motive was the reason, it would have been exposed. Because all of us matched up with "because we think it looks cool?" he started commenting on the cool gear. I am not picking on you for the reason you stated, because in this world it is valid. In my theory, is you opinion of 'expecting some shit' the exact negative stigma that I talked about?

You are right and your are wrong at the same time. Depends on the personality. Most want to join the club to be a wannabe SEAL. The others who are the super high spenders were a little cautious and I do not blame them at all.

But seriously. I love the discussion guys. Call it how you see it. Yeah, we are nerds, but we learned a whole lot today.

ETA: I know guns are a political subject . Putting that aside, I would like to compare it to another life experience of mine. Slipknot was getting big in my teens. I liked them. Dad and brother like them as we are metal heads and it was new. You had kids in highschool who wore JNCO, hot topic shit, and died their hair black. We see many trends like this happen often before it becomes main-stream. I still played sports (but had them in my walkman), my brother wore black and showed the world he liked them. Would you say the tactical community is the same as the goths in the late 90's or early 2000's? Maybe to the point of the two gentleman who kindly posted, are we freaks?

People are uncomfortable when everyone around them is more powerful. Wearing your kit made them realize how naked they are and you aren’t. People don’t like to be reminded they are naked.

With the limited number of gun stores with ranges in Cincinnati it really narrows your position down. Especially given one of those gun stores has been buying other gun stores with ranges and then even buying more property with more ranges.

That said - Gun stores don't make money on guns and you know that. What they do make money on is the accessories.

Wearing the kit that you don't sell in store and basically telling your shoppers to go online for accessories is telling your shoppers to buy other accessories they may want while they are there.

Sure... demand is one thing. Others don't mind the wait and as they shop online why not buy all that they need at once?


Wearing kit in public to me is going to your grocery store and being in full battle rattle.

Wearing kit at a gun store that doesn't sell what you're wearing is a waste of time as you're advertising what you cant sell. You want to promote the use of body armor... sell it. Then educate those who do not know.

LOL you have had to many hints. I am not with that store though.

But I do agree with the point that they should sell what we are 'repping. I don't thinks this company wants to get into that. BUT I am just the guy who would like to open a shop specializing in that area.
Your point is taken. Next stop. The grocery store and pet food store in kit next week. I will update this as time goes on. God I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass haha.

The part in bold. That is kind of the problem around here. There is demand for it, but shops do not carry anything. I have a plan for my dream, but Ohio wildlife doesn't like tactical shit, neither does the NRA for grants, so I think I am on my own for this childish dream of mine.

I think there is a lot more depth to that exact point. I would love to talk about my observations from a psychological standpoint about today, but I want to keep my thread simple.

I think Spec ops wannabe Saturday would be awesome at gun stores, everybody wear their kit and just conduct business. I’d probably just hang out and shoot the sh*t about gear though, never actually buy anything

Esstac is where it's at

Now get together some friends, and walk around town with it on.

Different people are gonna express trepidation/concern for different reasons. Some people "just won't like it" because they're nerds, fudds, whatever you'd like to call it. Others would be a bit on edge because of the context, not the carrier per se.

If I see someone in kit in a public setting, I'm gonna assume something is abnormal, because, well, it is abnormal. Would I care one iota if given an explanation? Not at all, I own a carrier and shoot in it all the time. But any time you see something well out of the ordinary, and the item in question is normally used or seen in an overtly kinetic setting, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect folks to be a bit taken uncomfortable and I don't think that makes them a (insert pejorative). Again, I personally couldn't care less and wouldn't mind one bit if I asked and was told yalls reason. Carry on.

The gun store I used to work at, we would regularly bring our kit into the store for demo. We served a lot of cops so it wasn't that abnormal to demo it.
That being said,  I  wouldn't wear it in public for two reasons,  one, I am a firm believer in blending in until its time to stand out. I spent a lot of time in kit in the military,  and to me it's normal, but to others, it's not normal at all. I also don't want to advertise my capabilities or lack thereof.

Hey, Grey man theory is perfectly acceptable by me in the terms of logic and unwanted attention. I know a while back we talked about running at they gym before I bought mine. I have gone to two gyms with it now. In hind sight, multicam is not the best choice. I will most likely get an additional carrier in wolf grey for running and LARPing at work. I'll keep the multicam for 'special' occasions ha.

I know this is not the same, but I was thinking about motorcycles last night. When people started wearing their helmets into gas stations or other short stops. It was weird before bikes were REALLY big. It is unnerving because they hide their face and have protection on their head. The threats for a helmet and body armor are very different. In my eyes wearing the plates in public is abnormal. My AO has little to no threats for me to justify wearing one while shopping. Now someone in Minneapolis, Buckhead, or any other place lately with higher shootings? I am 'slightly' surprised to hear that more people wouldn't wear armor while out just because of the chances.

I revert back to a statement from my OP. When I hear people say "Oh, I didn't know you could buy that", it gets my wheels turning on how to let people know that there is an option for you to buy protective equipment. Maybe it is abnormal because 99% of people don't know any better. It is a tricky subject. I don't see armor as much, but often I see shooting belts come in to the shop. Most comp setups, but every once and a while you see a war belt come in and they go on their merry way and practice.

I just hiked 5 miles with the wife (geocaching) and I wear my BFG plateminus with l210's every time we go.
I don't run any pouches just slick, so as to not cause to much panic.

Hate to make this comparison, but I'm gonna. It's kind of like a group that's into BDSM, even if it's just the look with the leather and leashes etc., wanting to LARP in public. In this comparison, they're not doing anything inappropriate, just sharing their interest in public. People have a conception of what all that symbolizes and can jump to conclusions that may not fit the actual group before them. Naturally, there's gonna be a reaction. A lot of trepidation or even repulsion.

Bikers get the same thing in a lot of places. Not everyone that wears colors is running meth. Plenty of groups in our area are just families and good fellowship.

Gear's kind of like all that too. It's a very specific and uncommon interest with associations that may not all be positive with the average normie citizen.

The answer I think is what you folks are doing. Wear the kit sometimes and be sociable. Be approachable. People will get comfortable with it when they see that there's nothing to fear from it.

i cannot imagine wearing my PC into the local grocery store, not YET. Wearing it to the range to practice, yeah, you'll get some looks, but it won't be TOOD remarked upon, but anywhere else, you're going to draw attention. I have never seen anyone wearing a OC in a gunshop, and I can say the two I worked at waaay back in the day would have frowned heavily upon it, (if the stuff was even available), and, as stated above, if I walked into a shop and found a whole bunch of guys kitted up, I might wonder, plan clothes staging for a raid, someone caught the last half of War Of The Worlds or something else.
I think if it gets to the point that i am wearing my PC and rifle to the grocery store, the stores are likely to be no longer open. I fervently hope to avoid that, and just keep LARPing and "training" in mine.

Most people view a gun as some sort of magical talisman. They own one so they’re safe. They don’t really think they need to carry it or be any good with it. Gear is even more foreign a concept. Look at how many idiots in GD leave their keys unlocked in their car. They have no concept of personal defense. No sense of preparedness at all. It is entirely alien to them.

If I went into a gun store & everybody
was dressed up in their outfit like a bunch of mall ninjas I’d find another shop.

Tell the store to ADVERTISE it next time and watch the interest grow. Also have the bosses consider carrying some gear to sell. People want it, they just don't know it.
Especially RICH people.

There ya go - wear only the products the store actually sells, "Yes, sir, this IS a comfortable plate carrier - we have several right over here. And yes, these plates are available, either what is on this shelf, or we can order in anything you would like that is available. Would you be interested in our package deals?"

Personally, I would’ve thought it was cool to walk in and see the staff decked out. From a marketing perspective, some signage and extra displays would have helped your customers process your intent more quickly and turned the experience into profits.

I've never seen a gun store employee that could wear a plate carrier for more than 5 minutes without 'muh bad knees' giving out.

Well that is half way a problem for me. I am doing this job to see what operating a shop would be like so that I can open up my own 'tactical' shop in the area. There is not a shop in the area that does armor and an assortment of pouches. No where to buy a good rifle light except streamtlight. There is Aimsurplus, and they have a good selection but I want to aim for the niche market of tactical gear. There is more to my plan but I will see how possible things are with a startup business and if the projected market is big enough to make a decent living on. I don't need a Ferrari, but I would like a house big enough to have a kid in ha! That day was also a test to see how much interest is gained.

Some people in the shop are aware that I want to start this after I finish my Electrical Engineering degree, which I graduate in fall next year.

They don't sell gear like that. Mostly concealment, mags, AR parts, etc. They have a belt that is stupid expensive that has sat there for years. Doesn't even come with an inner belt lol.

If we were to market a day with gear, it would probably need to be LARPing Saturday. More along the lines of a scoial event, and come in to test your gear on the range. I said it in the statement above, I need to be careful that this does not hurt their business, but does not step on my toes if I want to start a store front in the near future.

No, it’s just kind of a dorky thing to do.

I would probably go to a different gun shop if everyone was dressed in LARPing gear.

Nah, it reminds me that I’m around a bunch of autists who may be mentally unstable. Range, out in the desert, whatever yeah that’s acceptable. But I’d walk the fuck out of a gun store if everyone was fully kitted out.

OP, Loveland area here, which gun shop?

Have you given any thought to what you would need to charge for gear items compared to what they cost online?

Unless you plan to negotiate with Crye about a bulk discount, then people are going to try on a JPC 2.0 in your store and then go save whatever your markup is by buying it online.

One idea would be to have a bunch of items in the store that people can pay you to try on in various combinations before they order it online. I know I'd be down to pay a fee to go somewhere that I could physically try on all sorts of products in various sizes before making a large purchase decision.

I would start with Esstac clearly. I have a great relationship with those guys. You are on the right track with my idea. Same with plates to try. Belts. Slings.

If I saw a bunch of High School kids walking around wearing their full on football uniforms, pads, helmets, cleats, and the whole deal just strolling through Walmart or whatever I'd think "that's a bit weird, WTF are they doing wearing their football helmets and pads off the field for?" Same goes for kit, there is a time and place for it and that time and place isn't in a normal public situation.  If some dude was walking around in full on SCUBA gear around downtown I'd think he was a weirdo.  If a skydiver walked everywhere with his parachute on he'd look like a crazy person.  Even LEO who can make a very reasonable case to why they should be more kitted up don't, because public perception matters. People see you wearing football pads and a helmet they assume you're about to play football.  Don't wear your kit in public.  The world hasn't yet gone Mad Max, Immortal Joe is not riding around.

I've had people tell me to walk my dog at night with my PVS14 and helmet on to get more times under NODs, but I will not do it.  It looks bizarre and would scare the shit out of my neighbors.

I think wearing kit at the range is a good, reasonable step if you have a range that allows for more than just bench rest shooting or static stand on the line shooting.  If you can be dynamic at your range wear kit, get practice in with your kit, and hopefully some others will see that and consider kitting up themselves or ask you questions at which point you can be a brand ambassador.  There are competitions where guys are required to wear plate carriers for shooting, those are great opportunities to wear kit.  MILSIM events are great opportunities to wear kit once at the event.  YouTube and social media are a great way to get people interested in kit and more used to the concept of civilians owning it. Walking around in kit in public spaces though is not the way to go.

We're not yet at that the stage of being Mandalorians. Wearing your kit in public is not the Way.

I have had some beer so bear with me. I actually agree with 99% of what you have said. I would walk my dogs at night with NVG's haha. They are GSD's and would take care of me, rather than vice versa. I brought up the point in bold today at work. Encouraging the community to become more than closet nerds. Bring in your plate and shoot. Bring your war belt and reload. Management had no problem. Advertisement is half of the equation. The other half is getting the community involved. "See, we are freaks like you". I know that is abrasive for customer service in the modern era, but for a gun shop it should be 'locker room' talk. I think we 'in the current times' need to find a healthy balance. You should be able to joke with me, but at the end of the day, I am proud as shit for the guy who wore steal plates with 6 loaded mags. That did happen. The kid has heart, but when I squeezed his traps today, he was not happy and collapsed like a baby deer. But seriously, he was a champion. If you are fully green, we would love to extend personal knowledge (not me air force/JK) to help you learn or tailor your needs to a budget. And by we, I mean me because I am a technical guru, but I know JACK SHIT about tactics, or complementing gear with guns. I know my realm is in the competition community, but I would like to extend the olive branch to the tac groups. We have a fucking awesome instructor whose toes I will not step on. He explains philosophy and practice, and I want to talk to you about 'striker vs hammer fired' etc. (I know simplistic on here but customers have no idea about anything).

Again guys, sorry for having a decent amount of beer. I hope that made sense. And Kaer, mandalorians had one fault..... they didn't use multicam.

I can appreciate your experiment and if your gunshop does it once or twice a month, I think it would be a healthy conversation starter for many.  I think allowing patrons to use your range with kit on (plate carrier or battle belt or both), even encourage it, that's a big positive.  A lot of people have good kit but few places to actually use it on the range and once you get into more dynamic training, you really get an appreciation for how it impacts your maneuverability (and help reinforce you to get off your ass).

I think ultimately armor is the next logical step after purchasing a firearm and getting some equality training.  Most will likely want a naked carrier and lighter plates (steel is cheaper, but once you start moving around and doing dynamic maneuvers, they can be brutal on the body).  As some people progress, they'll add a mag pouch or two, FAK (while encouraging training and partnering with somebody TCCC or similar certified), etc.  

Learn to make holes, have a means to stop from getting holes, and learn to plug holes.  A responsible gun-owner learns to defend themselves, their home, their family; they protect themselves first (armor), and they learn to have a means to save lives from gunshot wounds.

That said, having a mock up of some streamlined armor for concealed carry isn't a bad option either.  Many will view overt plate carriers like they would open-carry; nothing really wrong with it, but it will get attention and often negative attention.  You will never placate the sheep no matter how much you try and educate them.  I just view them as walking concealment and the really large, fatasses as moving cover.  

ROCK6

All great points. I agree that it should only be once a month or so. Make it special enough as to not burn out after one month if we did it every week. It should be a fun conversation. Guys give women shit for accessorizing. Want to see a hypocrite? HA When picking out your kit and pouches and shit, man, I admit it tickles my fancy. Getting people to that next step after only owning the gun is tough. A lady came in looking for a nightstand gun. After picking something I asked her if she had anything picked out like a flashlight. From the look on her face I must have said it in another language. I asked her how she plans to PID in the dark. She admitted she never thought about supporting equipment.

Between body armor and flashlights, it is amazing (or I blame TV and movies) how some people think just buying the gun is good enough. No practice, nothing. Owning the gun itself is their answer. Maybe this is my calling in life. I need to learn more myself. I can't believe I am even thinking about this. It's almost funny. I get my EE degree done next year, but I want to open up a small tac shop haha. Talk about taking a kick in the balls.

While the shop is great, I would look at building relationships with a reputable range and medical professional for training.  Those should be symbiotic relationships with gun/gear stores.  A good trainer can show why having a light, spare magazine (in a pouch), etc. is an integral part of using your firearm for home or self defense.  Same goes for the medical aspect.  You send them business, they send you business...both are reinforcing.

ROCK6

On one hand I think it’s a great idea to expose people to other aspects of self defense. Far to many people have blinders on and think self defense is just about owning guns. They buy a gun, put it in a safe and get a false sense of security. They overlook tactics, training, first aid, defense measure like body armor, situational awareness, security systems, etc... all of which work together. Cherry picking one or two of those and ignoring the rest is reckless.

With that said the average person going to a public gun range probably is a fairly new and inexperienced shooter and walking into a range for the first time and seeing everyone kit out like some sort of military compound could certainly freak some people out.

Also, please don’t go into a public place like a grocery store wearing a full battle rattle. This is NOT how you win over the hearts and minds of people who are on the political fence between pro and anti gun.  When you do this is makes all gun owners look crazy.

Imagine anyone else doing their hobby inside a grocery store. Like if someone rode in on a horse, or was carrying a surf board, driving a go-cart, started playing a musical instrument, swinging a samurai sword, dressed up like some a marvel/star wars/scifi character, etc...you would look at that person and think “they are fucking crazy”. You are doing the same thing only it’s with a weapon and body armor. You will get the police called on you.

I live in cincinnati. If I saw you at Kroger I would immediately dial 911, and make for the nearest exit. On my way out I would notify any staff and shoppers i saw. I’m not sticking around to see if you are a cool gun nerd larping with his gear or a psycho murder off his meds ready to shoot up a public space. My duty is to protect and provide for my family, I will take precautions necessary to make it home to them safely. I don’t care if that means the local police get called out and your ass gets tossed in cuffs until they sort out what they hell your dumb ass was thinking.

FWIW I own body armor, NV, and all kinds of tactics stuff. I just have common sense....

If I walked in a shop and all the employees were kited up I would at first laugh and think the store was full of SOG wannabes. Then I would realize they were marketing to the SOG wannabes and laugh even harder. Theres is nothing wrong with having extra insurance... and load bearing vests and plates are basic necessities in a SHTF situation... but it's perception that drives marketing. I would be more inclined to frequent a store and make purchases if they offered training on the use of kit... including medical, night vision shooting and EDC.

Yeah? So do we chief. It was sarcasm. Call 911 on someone wearing a plate carrier? (deleting insult)

ETA: I hear you, but they way you worded everything and your comparisons, it makes me think about the whole Trump twitter thing. People worried about outward appearance or being weird. Exposure to an oddity. Essentially you are the reason why I made this thread up. We are trying to normalize it. And yes, some of us open carry at work, and when we need lunch, some go to kroger with our open carry guns. Hope you're not there to call the cops on someone exercising their rights because you are paranoid.

Why would you laugh?

lol the responses of some of yous...and on a site like this!

I wear my plate carrier, with plates, IFAK, a few mags, hydration bladder, and shitty radio on my nightly 2.5 mile walk.  I also carrier one of my boys on my shoulders, so maybe that could relax people to it?  I carry it for the weight, if I'm not wearing that, then I've got a weighted pack instead.

Anyway, extremely high traffic part of our town, no one has said a thing, looked scared or worried, or any of that.  Police never roll down their windows and holler at me when they drive by.

Funny thing though, I've been doing that for several months, and just last week I saw a guy out walking his dag in a minimalist carrier!  Ha!  I like to think I'm setting the trend 'round here.

Most excellent sir. Keep up the good work!

Excellent comment, and in the right market area, might help out other non-competing locals/shops.

OTOH, if the "Kitted-up" employees had the time (and requsite expertise) to discuss their kit with customers, that's great.  Unfortunately, the employees' time presumably is occupied with their jobs, and all that kit just gets in the way for scant useful purpose.  If there is some occasional down-time, then fine.  But I reckon the "kitted-up" employees won't have much down time in an efficiently-run shop.

What might be better is to invite local Experts in first-aid and local Range officials to the gunstore, and set them up, with appropriate signage, so they could discuss their kit/products/services while the store employees go about their business.  The trick here is finding real Experts in their fields, not some person who knows just enough to be "dangerous", so to speak.  ADVERTISE well in advance to such Experts appearing both with signage, and on the web!  The store can possibly sweeten the deal with a slight discount to the Expert.

I understand your comments.  It's one thing to wear full kit in a Wal-Mart, and quite another on the shooting range.  In between lies a grey area, and alarming people for no good reason hurts the RKBA cause.

To me the "kit" is like athletic performance kit, there is a time and place where wearing it is appropriate.

I think a lot of emphasis is on "the tactical look", but you can't lose sight of the fact that all of this stuff is supposed to enhance survivability or performance.

A speedo, swimmers cap, and swim goggles are important for serious lap swimmers, but do you waltz around the street with it on? Nope (well okay, maybe some of you do ).  Time and place. Bicycle shorts and helmet are nice for bicycling long distances, but do you stroll around the grocery store in them? Nope.  Time and place.  Point being, don't look like a weirdo, because you're not at that point doing anything other than detracting from the whole purpose behind wearing kit, which isn't to look cool it's to help you perform in a combative situation.

That said, if you want to were Crye G4 pants without the knee pads inside a grocery store with just a normal t-shirt on go for it.  But wearing full battle rattle in public looks weird.

Here is what you can do, if you really want to do public outreach.

"Wear a plate carrier with non-ballistic plates in it to workout".  Provided you're fit enough for said activity.  Just a plain plate carrier with nothing on it, no pouches, no weapons, just weighted with some friendly moral patches on it ideally in a non-camo and not black color (go with ranger green, grey, coyote, tan). Other fit people running the same trails, at your gym, or CrossFit Box will see the value and consider getting one themselves.  Once they have the carrier it's not a big jump for them to one day just buy actual ballistic plates to toss in it should something ever happen.

In fact, CrossFit has probably already done a lot to sell plate carriers and get people seeing them outside of just their martial use.

There ya go, you can promote tactical coolness and get in shape at the same time without looking like a weirdo, in fact you'd look pretty cool if you can rock pullup and a run in a weighted vest.

I mow my lawn in full kit sometimes. Don't give a fuck. Neither do neighbors.

Its a great workout.  

I already do that. Been doing it since November. (ETA, I used to think and feel weird about seeing armor in public. Stoner01 talked me into going to the gym with it. I am glad he did because I have a much more open outlook. Grey man is a-ok by me, but if you want to LARP... go for it!)

This is not to pick on you, rather than telling people how it is who now come in this thread. I am not asking anyone for permission for anything, especially on the internet lol. Someone mentioned it earlier. I am pretty bummed out to see that some people ON A GUN FORUM are more concerned about optics than anything else. I hate to inform you, but if you turn on the television you will see that according to media the right-wingers can do no right. Why would I care if I offend you while I wear armor somewhere? Am I bothering you? Get over it and MYOB.

I am not going to wear it to go get ice cream, but damn... some of y'all really need to evaluate your priority of outlook in these times vs what is actually happening. If I lived in Buckhead GA right now. You bet your ass I am picking up bread and milk with armor on. Portland? Fuck yes. Those people could be educated and purchase armor for themselves. The problem is the types of people who sit there and say "oh no, that looks militant, that looks weird, I don't like that so you should not do that". It makes some of you sound like liberals more than anything else.

Back to the topic. I am attending a rifle course at work next week with a guy who has more than earned his stripes in life. I know I have to wear my belt, but I am thinking about wearing plates. There is the problem of consistence though. On one hand, I want to learn tactical shit and I want to practice how I play. On the other hand, I compete. Does anyone with class experience and competition experience see this not meshing well together depend on how you practice? I normally compete with a stock CZ SP-01 to not train (nor can I afford a 2011) with a gucci gun that would be terrible in tactical practices if the time came to it. I am 90% sure I will train with armor to practice how I play. I am sure I am over thinking it. After wearing my armor a couple times as well, how many of you (with a budget, not $800+ per plate) rocked L210's or 4401's and went to a cheaper plate with polyethylene(UHWMP or whatever the acronym is)??

Secondly, I go into work today. I am going to talk with one of the bosses to see if we could do one weekend a month, or at least a day, where we could advertise 'bring your kit in and train!'. The shop fully admits to being geared towards new or newish shooter by offering many rentals, carbine and handgun courses, medical, etc. I would worry the tactical community could overrun the place on the weekends if we do it too often, not to mention if the big man wants to appeal to new shooter, who am I to step on his toes? I would like to make a sign for the front door on those days saying something like 'PLEASE pick our minds about our gear, blah blah'. I am no expert on armor, but along with new shooters, the gun is only half of the equation. Maybe less than half. I would love to explain to people that armor is an awesome way to increase survival chances in a situation (if you have time to put it on). Explain the budget options vs high dollar because the internet is being diluted with trolls and bad info. Maybe keep a set in the car if you drive through Avondale in Cinci! People did ask what brand I had, armor and level. To not step on the toes of the shop, I like to give enough information to the customer to make them WANT to do some homework rather than being told 'I have this, so should you'. Of course I rock Esstac only, but what works for me may not work for you.

One thing that is going very well at the shop is the female demographic. Half are new, and the other half is coming in to buy their 2nd handgun because they do not like they glock 43 after shooting someone's 19, or other compact/full size guns. We try to give our best advice on carrying vs a nightstand gun. We hear many stories how the female goes to shop XXX where there is no range and the guy says, oh since you're a female you need something super tiny. I will repeat, if they claim they will carry on their hip, we will recommend something small. Purse and night stand gun? Lets get something with a higher capacity and less felt recoil. Females are the best customers hands down. They listen and don't try to flex. I think body armor ties into this because with new shooter emerging everyday, we should not overload them, but instead give them a quick rundown on the bigger picture. Imagine how a new shooter with their new gun feels empowered to protect themselves. Now add armor to that. A false sense of invincibility for sure, but a sensible purchase.

I love the bigger picture of things. We would being doing a huge favor for our new friends in the community by educating them of great supporting equipment like slings and flashlights. Simple and budget options available, but no one thinks about them until someone makes them aware of those products.

Maybe I will stop for coffee on the way to my class in full kit. Just because so many of you seem to cringe at weird things.

Keep doing it! My neighbors see me loading my car up for work sometimes. I live in a lower middle class section of town. Not a single one cares. Some ask me about my gear, some say it's nice to have me as an addition to the neighborhood (moved here in March). Either way, I am personable and present myself as such. Smile and wave!

Fact is, I go to the store and see dudes wearing a dress, women barely wearing anything at all, folks with purple/blue/mold colored hair, face tattoos, no bra, belly buttons a showin', butt cheek crease on display; if someone wants to wear a carrier on a walk like I do, their property, working at a gun store, then that's going to be only slightly odd compared to when I go buy milk and fruit loops.