A 2023 poll by the Pew Research Center discovered the reason 72% of buyers make a gun purchase is for self-protection. The number goes up to 91% if we include buyers who list it as one of the reasons for their purchase. Couple that with the record number of gun sales in the last few years and the high number of first-time gun buyers, and it’s clear that people don’t feel as safe as they used to.  

A new mindset is emerging. People are recognizing that they must be their own first responders when a crisis knocks on their door. I recall a decades-old statistic about burglaries in America: 2/3 of burglaries occur without injury to people. My immediate thoughts were, ‘Wait! Do you mean there’s a 33% chance of getting hurt in a simple property crime? Those odds aren’t very favorable.’

Burglars used to break into homes during the day when most people worked. They’d hit businesses at night when everyone had gone home. They avoid people and danger that way. Luckily, these tactics also prevented danger to most of their victims. Something has drastically changed in America. A new breed of robber doesn’t care if someone is at home. They enter with guns drawn, expecting it. 

On March 30, for example, three armed suspects broke into a Harrison County, Tennessee, home at 1 a.m. The invasion was quickly thwarted by an armed homeowner, who exchanged gunfire with the suspects. One suspect was fatally wounded, while the other two escaped by jumping through a window and fleeing on foot. 

That story reminded me of another instance where an owner confronted five home invaders in Texas in January 2019. He used an AK-47 to defend himself, sending three invaders to the morgue and two more to the hospital. The immediate and predictable media coverage began raging about high-capacity magazines and “weapons of war” being unnecessary. One viewer responded with this salient response: 

“Why does a person need more than five rounds or a ‘weapon of war’? Because sometimes, one round per attacker isn’t enough. Gunfights rarely take five rounds or less. Sometimes, bad people bring ‘war’ to your doorstep. Sometimes, the only thing between you and death at the hands of five attackers is 30 rounds of 7.62.” 

I remember speaking with one elderly lady who lived in a trailer at the edge of a high-crime area. Her home had been broken into numerous times. I’ll never forget her words, “I’ve installed two different brands of alarms, one for each end of my trailer. The different sounding alarms alert me to which end of the trailer I must focus on to protect myself.” If that’s not frightening enough, I learned that her pre-teen grandchildren sometimes stayed with her. 

These are your customers. They arrive with this newfound perspective of self-reliance and a determination not to become victims. I know this isn’t news to you guys and gals. You likely hear similar stories every day.

The mindset isn’t anything new or unique. It’s the same one shared by the entire self-defense community. As I’ve heard people say, when every second counts, police are just minutes away. It’s the understanding that the reason to own a gun is the same as for owning a fire extinguisher. It’s the realization that they are now their own first responders.  

Providing what your customers seek is more complex than just selling them a gun. They are coming to you looking for self-protection. Letting them know the full scope of what this means is up to us. You and I see threats in concrete terms illustrated by real-world examples. Your customers, however, have not read all the books and articles we have and won’t yet have the same perspectives we do. I believe there is an obligation to educate them on how to use their newly acquired gun and how to gain the specialized knowledge they lack.  

Some excellent resources are available, such as Grossman’s On Combat and his collaborative work with Loren Christiansen and Michael Askins, Warrior Mindset. Both give good accounts of what it takes to train for and win a violent encounter. Another blunt appraisal is Varg Freeborn’s Violence of Mind. He gives the most lucid appraisal of civilian survival strategy I’ve read. David Klinger’s Into the Kill Zone is another excellent book. It recounts numerous violent encounters from a police perspective. Real stories show how violent suspects think and act. They are sobering examples of just how bad violence can be.  

But, gaining competency with their gun, understanding violence, and developing a new mindset is only part of what these customers need. They need training for an additional and wholly different threat – the potential for criminal and civil charges relating to self-defense.

To be sure, the priority is to prepare for and survive the violent crisis. If they don’t accomplish this, nothing else matters. After all the smoke clears, however, they may face another battle, one that takes place in a courtroom. Let’s not leave our customers unaware of how significant this threat is. Surviving a gunfight only to be put in prison for 25-30 years is a self-defense loss. Any gun owner convicted of murder or manslaughter is effectively losing their life. They are giving up the most productive and enjoyable years on this Earth.

We don’t have to teach the legal issues surrounding self-defense, but the potential threat is critical enough that every gun owner must be aware of it. The danger isn’t new, but it is more likely today than ever before. Justice may be blind (a debatable statement), but a politically motivated prosecutor is not. Using deadly force against a member of a politically influential group or someone well-connected and the chances of prosecution skyrocket. A prosecutor may use the case for political purposes. He won’t worry about how the charges will impact those involved. His agenda can outweigh his concern for justice. Therefore, your customers must develop one mindset for facing a violent encounter and a second mindset for post-incident survival.

They should also seek instruction covering self-defense law. Many people turn to friends, family, or police for advice. Others seek out firearms instructors or even attorney friends. There’s no guarantee that any of them are accurate sources of information about self-defense. I was shocked to learn that attorneys receive only a fraction of the training that police officers get on the topic. Many attorneys I’ve asked admit they received less than an hour on self-defense law. Most received much less. That’s scary!  

There are some great classes available for those interested. Attorney Andrew Branca offers outstanding training in all aspects of self-defense law. Mas Ayoob is another experienced and respected instructor who teaches similar content. Neither course is cheap, but they are well worth it compared to potentially losing 25-30 years of one’s life. Fortunately, both offer excellent books for those seeking knowledge without expensive tuition. Branca’s Law of Self-Defense is an excellent source, as is Ayoob’s Deadly Force. 

You might be asking why I’m recommending books and training classes to those of you who sell guns for a living. It’s because gun salespeople are on the front line. You’re standing before the customers and have the best opportunity to affect their survival. They are asking how to achieve safety and security. You’re in a unique position to help them achieve what they seek.   

Mas Ayoob refers to guns as “emergency lifesaving equipment.” Jeff Cooper used to say that a gun is a tool. The real weapon is the mind. If you’ve not read the books mentioned, I urge you to start them today. The knowledge will be helpful to you personally and to every customer you serve afterward. Learn both survival mindsets so you can pass them on to your customers.