As you may notice, I don’t use my real name when I post on this blog, nor on my Twitter account. Recently another gun blogger opined that all gun bloggers should use their real name if they want to be taken seriously by gun manufacturers.

I thought I would address the issue of anonymity, and why I choose it.

Throughout history, people have chosen to remain anonymous for many reasons. For some like Poor Richard, the threat to their families and property, were they revealed, was obvious.

My reason boils down to essentially the same thing – I don’t need the hassle if certain people find out what I do here. However, unlike Poor Richard, my work wouldn’t be seen as seditious as much as it might be misunderstood.

You see, I am an engineer by training, and a recruiter by profession. I have professional relationships with clients and candidates who need to have confidence in me and my skills, in order to complete the transaction that I bring them together to fulfill. Only when those two groups find peace with each other do I get paid.

Now, as we know, there are people in this world who do not understand guns, and who, in fact, fear them. The incident in Newtown, Connecticut, last December has shown that this fear is pervasive, and doesn’t respond to logic or reason.

Somewhere, the sets of [customers and candidates] and [those ignorant or hostile to guns and gun owners] intersects, and I don’t see any point in making that an issue.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not misleading any of my clients or my candidates. In fact, when the time is right, I’ve made it known clearly. I even work with some gun manufacturers.

But the truth is, it doesn’t matter whether most of my clients or candidates know I write this blog, because it doesn’t affect how I fill jobs.

Now, that other blogger seems to assume that my goal with this blog is to impress gun manufacturers.

But I write the blog because I like shooting and I like to share what I like with other people who like shooting. If that includes gun manufacturers, that’s great, but they should not expect me to bow down and give them a Guns&Ammo review just because they like me. In fact, you can look at my reviews and see that I tell it like it is, and that may not be good for a manufacturer if they can’t live up to our standards.

Interestingly, the companies I do reviews for know me by my name. They trust me to give them an honest opinion, and I do.

And, when I attend industry events, or visit the gun show or a gun shop, I have calling cards with my name on them. I introduce myself as “Rooster* of the Fill Yer Hands gun blog.”

But to me that’s no different than introducing myself to prospective engineering clients as “Rooster* of the Fill Yer Jobs Staffing Agency.”

After all, it’s who I am.

* I use my real name. Duh.