This time of year is one of my favorites and can be a bit expensive. I encourage everyone to do a little spring cleaning as the sun shines brightly and warm the beautiful outdoors.
Most people load their everyday carry and backup magazines, but because of God’s mercy, we never have to use our CCW defensive round for self-defense. Defensive rounds are more expensive than training rounds, so most of us will trade out our CCW mags for training mags to save that expensive ammo. However, it is important that we take the time to shoot defensive ammo. The defensive ammo has a different feel and a tish more recoil.
Our everyday carry guns can get a little dusty or lint dust in all the crevices and we need to make a point of cleaning them from time to time. In North Dakota, we train more in the summer and our guns can get cleaned more often. But winter can be different because we are not going outside in the uncomfortable cold weather to train. So our CCW guns may not get the care that is needed.
When we keep our magazines loaded for self-defense, the constant pressure does affect the springs in the magazine. From time to time those springs need the pressure released. Now, we could unload the mags and let them sit for a little while before reloading them. But where is the fun in that?
Choose a nice warm, sun shiny day and plan a day to the range to go and shoot off the dust from your CCW. Take your time with your shots and get your brain into the game. Think about the feel and the trigger press. It may have been a few months since you were out to the range. Hopefully, you have done some dry fire training over the winter, but if not, then you may notice more shot anticipation during your spring cleaning session.
Ladies, while you may be tempted to let the man in your life clean the gun – I encourage to have the patience to learn how to field strip and clean your gun yourself. Field stripping and cleaning your gun builds familiarity and a little confidence along the way. If you want to get more comfortable with your gun, then take the time to clean it yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. I have several videos on Rumble of field-stripping instructions for some common handguns. Granted we should make a few more videos this year, but we do have videos on the several of the popular models the ladies prefer. Remember that none of us knew how, until we took the time to learn how. You will get there too. 🙂
Gentleman, while you may try to help her by cleaning her gun and loading her magazines, you are not really helping her. This is not a feminist statement, this is a self-defense consideration. What if she needs to load the gun and you are nowhere around? What if she needs to make a quick fix because the gun malfunctioned? We learn best when we have hands-on learning. So, please be patient and helpful. But allow her the time she needs to figure out how to field strip and load the magazine. Confidence is built over time and not on timer. Timers increase stress and anxiety.
Some spring cleaning chores should be enjoyable and more than just windows and raking the yard.
Glory be to God
Firearms training that begins with a solid foundation 