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For me it usually comes up when we start talking about interests. I mention that I enjoy going to the range to shoot. See where the conversation goes from there. If you ever need a gun, and I mean need. Not in an abstract, but an immediate way. Then it is a life or death situation. You need to at least have some idea of what to do with it. So if it goes well between us I always take them shooting at least once so they can learn the bare minimum of how my pistol works. Then even if they never go back, at least they are a little safer. They have an idea of how it works and the four basic gun safety rules.

Girlfriend now has a chl and a pistol. So not an issue for me.

For full disclosure, I was married at 19 years old. Going on our 28th year come October. It sounds as if you, and the lady friend, are going about things the right way. Based upon the way they talk, er, uh, boast, some of the single men I work with are just out to conquer a quick one. If that was the case you would have to be quite a professional at not revealing your concealment. Outside of a derringer or lower body holster you would run the possibility of it being discovered with a casual hug. Congrats!

Let us know how things turn out. I have 3 kids finishing up higher education and they intend to qualify afterward. (So much easier when they have lived on and off campus and working on healthcare degrees due to the vast majority of clinical sites being posted.) I am sure they will have similar experiences.

My wife was raised in an anti-gun household, and she is very uneasy around guns to this day. I have taken her to the range a couple of times, but it is clearly not something she enjoys. When we were dating, she was reluctantly tolerant of my guns. And she has learned the meaning of the various signs from a couple times where we had to go to a different restaurant than first planned. I am working to schedule a private class for the whole family at a local range to go over gun safety and basic marksmanship, but she wants to wait until our 8 year old son is a little older....

That said, I carry around the house, unless I have had more than 1 beer. I usually throw my T-shirt over my holster, and I have set up my gun cleaning station on a table in the garage. As long as it is out of sight, she doesn't have an issue. Of course, she is quick to wake me if she hears a noise and is happy when I get a gun from my night stand safe to go investigate.

I keep talking to her about guns and politics as she is a staunch supporter of Shrillary. Hopefully I am making some progress. Last night she told me that her Democratic contacts are pushing for supporters to sign something against the NRA, and she seemed to be genuinely conflicted, so that may be a start. I reminded her that there is a reason why most all mass shootings have happened in places where guns were "banned", and also mentioned that the second amendment is the only thing protecting us from a tyrannical government (that could just as easily be led by conservatives as liberals). Being who she is, the safety argument was a lot more impactful than the freedom argument.

We spent 2 New Years eves at a low light pistol match shooting, until health curtailed it some fished 3 years almost every weekend in all weather, visited many gun stores and still do so. Some like it some do not. She has 4 handguns and 2 large cal rifles. It was mentioned from day 1. Our 1st time together was going to the gun club. Now we go to gun club about monthly and weekly fish, sometimes multiple trips weekly. Cant beat it!
Some years back we drove almost 800 miles to attend a 3 day (day/night) 500 round 3 gun shoot, when the striper bite was great she took off work and we fished 24 of 48hrs in almost freezing weather on Texoma, did this 2 weeks in a row, 1 of a kind to say the least!
Some like it some do not.

Pawpaw wrote:I had a woman tell me that she would never allow a gun in her house.

I thanked her for letting me know. When she asked why, I told her that obviously there was no future for us then. I had always had guns and would continue to have them. There is no other option.

Her opinion on guns took an immediate U-turn. She wound up becoming my second wife.

Well, that's very understandable. You are a catch Pawpaw!

C-dub wrote:

Pawpaw wrote:I had a woman tell me that she would never allow a gun in her house.

I thanked her for letting me know. When she asked why, I told her that obviously there was no future for us then. I had always had guns and would continue to have them. There is no other option.

Her opinion on guns took an immediate U-turn. She wound up becoming my second wife.

Well, that's very understandable. You are a catch Pawpaw!

Yea... like the flu.

I too am single again after an 11 year marriage, but at 48, I am not getting back into the dating scene. I'm concentrating on being there for my daughter and doing things I enjoy like hunting and fishing. Anyway, IF I were to start dating, she would know how much I was into guns as soon as she walked in my house with all the gun cabinets and mounted animals on the walls.

Never hide who you are, or try to create the impression you are someone you are not. Your true self will come out at some point and it is much easier to get "the big reveal" behind you early on. That doesn't just apply to CHL either.
As a couple of folks have suggested, taking her to the range is a great way to start the conversation. It beats the old Mae West line "is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Nope, that's a gun in my pocket.

As others stated, just be honest and be yourself. It will behoove you in the long run. If you can't be truly yourself then it's probably going to be a dead end road relationship.

When I first met my wife I was CC'ing. She noticed (don't ask how, this is a family forum ), and she said "oh..you're one of "those"..."...
I was like: "what do you mean "one of those"?" To which she replied, in a smiling fashion : "one of those gun nuts", and then she proceeded to show me her 1911 Yep...she is "one of those" too

I had no idea she was carrying, and I discovered then that woman tend to be more observant and covert. Lesson learned.

Ask her who shes voting for? That will give you an idea. Might not be accurate but maybe that will get you talking about why she is voting for that person and maybe you can bring up "gun control" and see how she feels about firearms.

Stay age appropriate. Have a divorced, 49 year old buddy who took great pride in the fact that he could pull a 26 year old millenial hottie on the rebound. Many dates and first class tickets to Paris and 20 grand vacation expenses later -- no prize, if you no what I mean.

This is an election year with the usual issues {stuff}. Ask her forthright how she feels about:

this;
that; and,
the other.

Among these election year issues may be bigger issues than guns?

Good luck.

P.S.

The last woman I dated said she didn't care much for nor did she want any guns. We'll have been married 33 years come August and yes, she does have her CHL.

AndyC wrote:If she carries a Glock, deal's off.

AndyC wrote:If she carries a Glock, deal's off.