Gun Names

Google image, Lady Die, a Glock 27 .40 caliber semiautomatic

I am a law enforcement certified firearms instructor. I have taught cops and civilians the ins and outs of surviving a shooting incident.

When I was just a civilian handgun owner, I used to carry my concealed firearm when I took my three little kids on bikes to bike paths and parks. I expected, if I ever used the gun, it would be against a large attacking dog, several of which we had bad experiences with before I began to carry.

Later, after becoming an instructor, I advised that women name their handguns. Why?

Because once, at a crowded park and trailhead of a bike path, as I was unloading my kids' bikes, my eldest, a four year old with a high loud clear voice, asked, 'Mommy, did you bring your gun?' See, even my preschoolers knew the benefit of a gun in the face of an attacking dog. But, it was a little uncomfortable. The operative word when carrying concealed is concealed. So. I named my gun Fluffy, a sweet name for a Colt Mark IV Officer's Model .45 ACP with Hydro-Shok hollow points, don't you think?

If one of the kids said, 'Mommy, are we bringing Fluffy?', the listener would imagine some hairy little shotgun-swab dog, not a deadly weapon.

I began advising women and men with small children to name their guns to avoid a similar embarrassing occurrence.

Some of the more creative names:

Sparky

Lady Die

Mary Kay

Pink Lady (no, it was not pink)

Julie (hmmm)

Poppy

Mary Poppins

Artemis (as in the Goddess of the Hunt)

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