We are equally guilty of this let’s be honest, that said, your personal protection is not something you should just skip over.
Well before I became a Firearms Instructor, gun safety and practice was always in the back of my mind, especially once we started to have children. Keeping them safe and keeping something that could either hurt or even kill them, out of their hands was extremely important. I also never stopped practicing with my various Firearms. I’ll be honest, I like to shoot it’s something that I really enjoy. Firearms played a dual role, they were not only fun for me to use, but they were also to protect my family as well.
Many people I have trained over the decades feel like they have shot a gun, so they know how to shoot. They don’t keep them clean; they don’t practice, and some don’t even get licensed. Perhaps thinking if they feel the need to carry, they will take the chance at getting caught. Or they’ve shot their gun, so they know how it works and since they haven’t used it, it’s still clean and can be used. PROCRASTINATION! If you only carry once a year and have a CCW so you can carry it legally, the cost far outweighs the cost of fines, court cost a criminal record and most likely losing your Firearm. If you go to the range once a month, it’s far better than going once a year or ten years. If you take your Firearm out, clean it and make sure that it is secure against anyone who may take it. It’s much better than going to get it and finding out it’s gone, and you don’t even know for how long. Even worse, is needing it during a time of protection and it doesn’t work because you haven’t used it in so long you forgot how it works!