It’s a heck of a way to find out who reads your blog.

We got in the car to make a quick run to Dairy Queen last night, and my 14 year old son started digging on me.

“An M1 Carbine? Really, Dad?”

“What?”

“You want an ancient gun that uses imaginary ammo? Come on! They had to make up ammo for that thing, and it still sucks. The only target the M1 Carbine is good for is Nazi zombies.” He was laughing at me.

I tried to make my case. “Hey, the M1 Carbine filled an important hole in the US inventory. It was easy to shoot and . . .”

“For cooks, Dad. They issued it to cooks.” He was still laughing.

“Come on, it’s just a wish list.”

“Then wish for a real gun. Something in .308. A FAL or a G3 or a SCAR Heavy.”

Okay, his main weapons experience is in Call of Duty and Fallout, but thanks to some obliging people at the local gun store, he has handled all 3 of these, even if he’s never shot them.

The FN FAL was and is the main battle rifle of the western world. The WikiPedia page for the FAL has more flags on it than Pinehurst. And the 7.62mm NATO round has proven itself as the round of choice by fighters all over the world.

The boy has a point.

So, as the NFL says, after further review, please amend my list . . .

5. FN FAL

I could buy 4 of these what a SCAR Heavy would run. Easy choice.

And when the zombies come, if they’re riding grizzly bears, I’m good.

Wait. Imaginary ammo?

A few years ago, the company I worked for brought in a training consultant who taught us about goal setting, or as I imagined him saying it, GoalSetting. One thing he presented that stood out to me was a study that looked at the goal setting habits of a group of people. He claimed that only 3% of people actually write down their goals, but those who do have a higher net worth than then other 97% combined. I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve made it a habit to write down my goals in most areas, like home projects.

JP at the Eyes Never Closed blog and the Empty Mags Podcast recently waxed about his gun wish list, and it got me to thinking about my list. Like most shooters, I’ve had this vague list in my head of guns I would like to own, but it occurred to me that my list wasn’t written down. So, with this post, I plan to remedy that oversight.

My list is a little less eclectic than JP’s, but he told me that he has another list that is “more attainable and not as crazy.” Well, call me boring, but, with thanks and a hat tip to JP, and in the hope that I can indeed increase my odds of actually owning these guns, here is my list, in the rough order of desire.

1. AR-15

My plan is to build my own, starting with a stripped lower. I recently stripped and rebuilt a friend’s AR so that part isn’t a concern any more.

I suspect, however, that this choice will also move me into the world of ammunition reloading. That’s not a bad thing, though.

2. M-1 Garand

I live about 2 hours from the Anniston CMP Armory, so I could drive over and select my own M-1 from their inventory. As a GSSF member, I qualify.

3. AK-47

Image courtesy of WarriorTalk News

I go back and for on whether this is number 3 or number 1. Since I already own an SKS, an AK would be an easy addition from an ammo standpoint. I would have to see what was available at the time to decide whether I want an original Kalashnikov or a modern Saiga.

4. Glock 35

Courtesy of 3gun.se

Here the idea is to build an Open gun for USPSA. This presumes I have already moved into the ammo reloading business, since this is a new caliber for me. It also means about double the cost for add-ons.

5. M-1 Carbine

I shot one at the Blogger Shoot in May, and it was a lot of fun. Again, I could get one from Anniston easily.

6. A pair of Ruger Vaqueros

These and the two below are for my desired entry into SASS, Cowboy Action Shooting. That opens a whole other can of worms that I will be happy to fish with. It also means I definitely have to get into reloading, unless I hit the PowerBall.

I would probably get them, and the Winchester clone, in .357 Magnum.

7. Lever Action Winchester Clone

This goes with the Vaqueros for SASS, although I could also hunt with it if I had to. (Keep telling myself that . . . )

8. Coach Gun

I’ve looked at the Norinco imports and they seem quite servicable, and they’re cheap. This one has use in a home defense mode, beyond that of SASS.

Yes, there are probably more. Some are a less attainable and a little crazy. I’ll talk about those at a later date.

I was putting away my Glock last evening, after my wife and son and I got home from a quick trip out to pick up a few things, and the routine of it struck me. Carrying a gun has become an every day thing for me now. I don’t leave the house without one, and unless I am prohibited by law or some other circumstance, like I’m going to the beach, I am carrying it concealed. But I must confess, it hasn’t always been that way.

I bought my first gun in 1992, but I didn’t start carrying it. After a while I bought a fanny pack, and I would put the fanny pack bedside the seat in the car with me, just about everywhere I drove.

We lived in small towns, and I guess I never felt like I needed to carry it. I had a concealed carry permit everywhere we lived, but unless we visited a big city or a high crime area, I didn’t feel like I needed to carry. I guess I was either clairvoyant or ignorant or both.

So, when we moved back to the Atlanta area 10 years ago, one of the first things I did was get a carry permit. I carried it a little more than I did before, probably because I felt like the areas were less safe, Again, I took the gun with me in the car most places, but I didn’t carry it very much.

Looking back, I also realize I never felt 100% comfortable carrying a loaded gun. Now, I know there are some who don’t carry with a round in the chamber, and those who don’t trust the Glock without an external safety. I am not one of those groups. But I was always aware, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

Then came September 11, 2001, and my perception of personal safety changed. And so did my behavior.

Less than a week afterward I bought my first concealed carry holster, a leather belt holster for my Glock 17. And I started carrying it.

I bought a Glock 26, and a IWB holster, so I could carry in the warmer weather. Later, as things allowed, I added more Glocks and more holsters, widening my options.

Along the way, I got more and more comfortable carrying. Now it is a way of life for me. I want to say I don’t give it a second thought, but that wouldn’t be true. Because my sense of awareness changed on September 11, too, I am rarely unaware of the gun on my hip. But I don’t have a knot in my chest either. I am relaxed.

I carry a gun whenever I can carry, not whenever I think I might need it, because I don’t know when I’ll need it. I dress to allow carry, not the other way around. And when I can’t carry a gun on me for legal reasons, I have one as close as I can have it.

What caused this attitude change? Probably the change I went through, along with the rest of the country, following September 11. Before, I thought I had some sense of when and where I was safe. I know now that that was self delusion. I was just lucky. Now I’m a little more prepared.