I’m very exited to finally be blogging alongside acclaimed firearms expert, police officer, and Backwoods Home Magazine firearms editor, Massad Ayoob. If you have young children, you must read his book, Gunproof your Children, which you can purchase right through the BHM website. This a yearly re-read for me. His other books can be found here (scroll down to the “Firearms & Hunting” header. You can get to his blog by clicking on the sidebar to the left, or by clicking here.

Ayoob is one of my heroes, and not just because he’s brilliant and boosts our subscription numbers. He’s my hero because he talks about guns and women. And children. And reality. Because you can bet that in all his years as a cop, he’s seen it. Thanks to his advice over the years, I own a pistol that fits ME–not my husband–and I’m well practiced with it. (Ladies, if you haven’t already, please go read Ayoob’s article, “Armed and Female.”)

I do have a big problem with packing heat, though, and that is that I can’t find a holster that I like, that is easy for ME (not my husband) to use, and that fits my gun. Oh yeah–and a holster that I can afford. You know what I’m going to say next, right? I’m going to make one. Now I’m not particularly well practiced in leather work, but I’m a fast learner (and more importantly, I’m determined). I’m starting my search at the store I know, Tandy Leather Factory. I don’t have enough experience with holsters to know what kind I really want, so I’m getting a fairly general (and inexpensive) pattern book to start with. From there I’ll try a few mock-ups in fabric before I start in on the leather. While I’m at it, I’m going to make myself a new belt, too. The belt I wear is about 30 years old (maybe more–it used to be my dad’s) and only an inch wide, so not really suited to hold a holster anyway.

I expect this to be a project that will take me a while, since I tend to do a lot of research before I delve into something new, but I’m excited to learn a new craft that I know will serve us well on the homestead.

(P.S. I’m nearly finished with the Man’s socks… I’ll give you another update tomorrow.)