Forums / Strategies, Tactics & Training / Gun Poem

You picked out a weapon - good! Now go train.
Go learn how to use it, go learn how to aim.
Learn when you can shoot and when you must not,
Learn how to clear jams and make a fast shot.

But do not believe that your skill at arms
Means that you never again can face harm.
The world is still ugly, and your thousand yard stare
Might be invisible to the chump over there.
Don't fuss and don't quibble and don't worry about it.
Just carry your handgun. Don't leave home without it.

And when the battle comes down, as battles must do,
To a clash of the wills between the bad guy and you,
Your will must be stronger than the evil you face
The mere fact of the gun will not take its place.

Far more decisive than the caliber's name
Is the knowledge and skill that choose point of aim
(Misses with guns big and small are the same!)

The gun that you carry strapped firm to your side
Might hold some of your hope and all of your pride
But it isn't your weapon: the fire in your eyes
And the wiliest schemes your mind can devise
Are far more important than the brand of your gun,
And far more important than how fast you can run.

What carries the day when the battle is nigh,
Is the Will that refuses simply to give up and die --
The Will that commands your eye not to blink,
And forces a paralyzed mind to nonetheless think --
The Will that requires your aim be still true
No matter what damage may terrify you.
So I'll say it again, though I sound like a fool:
Your Will is your weapon. A gun is only a tool.

Your gun may save the day; then again, it may not.
For if a brand name and caliber are all that you've got
The game is over right now and your life is done --
For you still are not armed. You're just holding a gun.

author unknown.