Davey Defense LLC

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  • October Progress & new Goal

    October Progress and New Goal

    Date: October 6, 2025
    Time: 10:43 AM

    As of this morning I am at 93 students for the year, closing in on my original goal of 100. I have three more scheduled for Thursday and a handful on Sunday, so I expect to clear that milestone this weekend.

    I am not going to sit on my laurels. With three months left and strong momentum, I am adjusting my personal goal to 150 students for 2025. It sounds lofty, but with word of mouth and personal connections, I believe it is achievable.

    My approach is simple conversation. I bring up Permit to Carry naturally in everyday interactions. Not as a sales pitch, but as part of who I am and what I do. Example from this morning: after my clinic visit I was talking with an old friend when a gentleman overheard us and asked for a business card. That short conversation may turn into another student and more down the road.

    That is the power of connection. Every conversation is a chance to share what we do and why we do it. The result is income and new friendships that grow the Davey Defense family.

    You have the same opportunity. You have the tools you need to make an unlimited amount of money and to be ambassadors for the Second Amendment in your communities. I will not assign quotas or set numeric expectations for you. Your goals are yours to define.

    My ask is simple: be the best instructors and advocates you can be. The results will follow.

    “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda

    I am going to do what it takes to reach 150 students this year, and I am confident each of you can achieve your personal goals as well. If you need help, ideas, or resources, you know how to reach me.

    Let’s finish the year strong.

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  • Caliber Choice Matters

    Over two decades of carrying a defensive firearm have taught me a simple truth: there is no one “perfect caliber.” Technology evolves, crime trends shift, and what worked yesterday may not be the best fit today. Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I teach my students when they ask about 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.

    Why Caliber Choice Matters

    When students first enter a permit-to-carry class, one of the most common questions I hear is, “What’s the best caliber for self-defense?” The honest answer: it depends on you—your ability to control recoil, your willingness to train, and the way you plan to carry.

    Lessons From .40 S&W

    Law enforcement shifted to .40 S&W after the Miami shootout. On paper it seemed the perfect balance: more power than 9mm, less recoil than 10mm. In practice, it proved snappy and difficult for many shooters to control. My own first carry gun was chambered in .40. It didn’t take long to realize that rapid, accurate follow-up shots were a challenge. The lesson: don’t buy a firearm without testing it first.

    The Strength of .45 ACP

    The .45 ACP, especially in a 1911 platform, offers excellent accuracy and confidence for many shooters. I carried one for more than a decade. But as crime trends shifted to involve multiple attackers rather than one-on-one encounters, the limited magazine capacity became a drawback. The lesson: evaluate your defensive environment, not just your favorite firearm.

    Why 9mm Is Today’s Standard

    Modern defensive ammunition has changed the game. Ballistic testing now shows 9mm, .40, and .45 ACP all provide very similar terminal performance with quality hollow points. With less recoil, faster follow-ups, and higher capacity, 9mm has become the dominant choice for both law enforcement and civilian carriers. The lesson: capacity, control, and concealability often outweigh raw caliber size.

    Key Takeaways for Students

    • Test before you buy. Hands-on experience is worth more than charts or online debates.
    • Balance the three C’s: Capacity, Control, Concealment.
    • Invest in quality ammo. Modern defensive loads make more difference than the caliber stamp on the slide.
    • Train regularly. Your ability to run the gun matters more than caliber choice.

    What I Carry Today

    Like many instructors and professionals, I carry a 9mm daily. It’s practical, concealable, and effective with modern ammunition. My personal choice may differ from yours—and that’s the point. Your carry gun must fit you and your circumstances. If you can’t control it, or won’t carry it, then it’s not the right gun, regardless of caliber.

    Final word for students: Don’t chase fads or internet arguments. Choose the firearm and caliber you can control, conceal, and trust. And then—train with it.

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  • Cut Through the Spin

    Cut Through the Spin: A 3-Question Fact-Check

    Use this anytime you see a stat in the news or on social. It works for firearms, crime, health—anything.

    1. What’s actually included in that number?

      • Are they counting all categories together (suicide + homicide + accidents + police)?
      • Is it per year, per 100,000 people, or a lifetime risk?
      • Does “homicide” include justified self-defense or only criminal murders?

    2. Where did the number come from?

      • Primary sources (CDC, FBI/UCR/NIBRS, DOJ) are the baseline.
      • If the claim can’t point to a primary source, treat it as opinion until verified.

    3. What’s missing from the comparison?

      • Are they mixing categories (e.g., “gun deaths” that include suicides vs. “homicides” from other causes)?
      • Is a single city being compared to the entire nation?
      • Are other relevant categories (knives, blunt objects, drowning, vehicles, medical errors) being left out?

    Quick Pocket Version

    • Inside the box? (What’s included/excluded?)
    • Source of truth? (CDC/FBI/DOJ or just a headline?)
    • Missing context? (Fair apples-to-apples?)
    How to sanity-check a stat in under 5 minutes
    1. Identify the exact terms used (e.g., “gun deaths,” “firearm homicides”).
    2. Search the primary table (CDC WONDER or FBI UCR/NIBRS) for the same term and year.
    3. Compare the raw figure to the claim. If it doesn’t match, note what’s different (definitions, categories, time frame).

    Instructor’s note: Facts live in the source tables. Framing lives in headlines. Teach yourself—and your students—to tell the difference.

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  • Standing Firm – The Second Amendment Belongs to Everyone

    Standing Firm – The Second Amendment Belongs to Everyone

    By John Davey – no spin, no sugarcoating.

    St. Paul’s talk about flipping on “local gun restrictions” the second state preemption lifts is exactly the kind of overreach the Constitution forbids. The right to keep and bear arms is not granted by government – it is recognized and protected by the Constitution, and it shall not be infringed. Politicians don’t get to decide when, where, or how peaceable citizens may exercise a fundamental right.

    Equal rights mean exactly that

    The Second Amendment doesn’t care about your skin color, creed, religion, gender, or who you love. Black, white, brown, Asian. Gay, straight, trans. Male, female. Every peaceable person holds the same natural right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and to resist tyranny. Chip away at that right for one group – you’ve chipped it away for all.

    What this means for our community

    Local bans on commonly owned firearms, parts, or accessories are unconstitutional, unworkable, and unfair to the very people who follow the law. These measures don’t touch criminals – they burden responsible citizens. We won’t pretend otherwise.

    Our lane at Davey Defense

    We train shooters to be safe, skillful, and responsible. We also make sure our students understand their rights – what they are, why they matter, and how to exercise them lawfully. Stay alert. Know your rights. Don’t let unconstitutional overreach convince you otherwise.

    Signed,
    John Davey – Owner / Lead Instructor
    Davey Defense LLC

    Published: September 4, 2025

  • If your carry gun is just a Gucci toy, you’re not serious about survival

    By John Davey — straight talk, no sugarcoating.

    Here’s the truth, and it’s going to sting for some of you.

    Guns are not toys. They are not ornaments. They are not something you dress up with glitter and Gucci parts so you can show off online. A firearm is a life-saving tool, period. And if you don’t treat it that way, then you don’t really understand what carrying one means.

    I’ve seen it over and over again — people bragging about “Gucci builds,” tricked-out range toys they’d never actually carry when life’s on the line. Let me make it clear: when it comes to defending your life or your family, good enough isn’t good enough. The right tool for the job is the only tool worth having. If you can’t afford it today, wait. Save. Borrow. Do what it takes. Because you only get one shot when your life is on the line.

    What’s your life worth? What’s your family’s life worth? If the answer is “cheap on sale at the counter,” then you need to rethink your priorities. Tools meant to save lives aren’t where you cut corners. Period.

    Say what you want, but this is the truth. And truth doesn’t care about feelings. It cares about outcomes.

    If that makes some of you uncomfortable, so be it. Maybe you needed to be uncomfortable. Because the cold reality is this: someday, when the chips are down, you’ll either have the right tool in your hands — or you won’t. And you’ll only get one chance to find out which side of that line you’re on.

  • If I Could Only Keep One Firearm


    It’s a question that comes up more often than you’d think: If you could only keep one firearm, which would it be, and why?


    My first reaction is always: it depends. What’s the situation? Are we talking about day-to-day carry? Hunting? Self-defense in a no-rule-of-law scenario? The answer shifts depending on the context.


    For pure survival, it’s hard to beat a 12-gauge shotgun. There isn’t an animal on this planet that can’t be taken with it. From deer to birds, it covers the spectrum.


    But if the focus is small game and sheer versatility, the humble .22 rifle is king. It’s light, cheap to shoot, and it will put food on the table when bigger calibers are wasteful or unnecessary.


    Now if the conversation shifts to pistols — that’s where it gets personal. My .22 pistol is a phenomenal training tool. My 9mm is my go-to for daily carry. But if you told me I could keep only one handgun, I wouldn’t hesitate: my 1911 in .45 ACP.


    Why? Because it’s more than a tool. It’s reliable, powerful, and deeply personal. It represents a lifetime of shooting, training, and trusting a sidearm that’s stood the test of time. In short, it does everything I need it to do, and it does it with authority.


    So the truth is this: there isn’t one single “right” answer. The context matters, and every tool has its place. But when pressed to pick only one, I’ll stand with the .45 1911 on my hip. That’s my gun. That’s my answer.


    — Trusted since 2021
    Davey Defense

  • The Hard Truth

    The Hard Truth I Wish I’d Learned Earlier in My Firearms Journey

    Looking back on my years as a shooter and instructor, there’s one lesson I wish I had learned much earlier: just because you shoot a lot doesn’t mean you’re training. For years, I thought volume alone equaled progress. I’d head to the range, run rounds down the barrel, make some noise, and assume I was improving. The truth is, without intentional practice, I wasn’t building skills—I was just repeating habits. Sometimes, I was even reinforcing bad ones. The difference between “shooting” and “training” is focus. Training is purposeful. It’s guided by fundamentals, by repetition done correctly, and by pushing yourself beyond comfort with intent. Shooting without structure may be fun, but it won’t prepare you when skill and clarity matter most. If I had spent more time, earlier in my journey, with quality instructors who could guide and correct me, my skill level today would be sharper. That isn’t regret—it’s recognition. Because like anything in life, what we practice becomes permanent. Whether we practice the right way or the wrong way, repetition writes it into muscle memory. The lesson? Don’t confuse motion with progress. Don’t confuse noise with improvement. Seek out training. Seek out guidance. Don’t just shoot—train with purpose. That’s a lesson I carry with me now, both in firearms and in life. And it’s one I’ll pass down every chance I get.

  • Misconception

    The Greatest Misconception About Responsible Gun Owners

    One of the biggest misconceptions I see from the general public about responsible gun owners is that we all fit into the same neat little box. According to the stereotype, every one of us is a conservative, older, white male. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    Responsible gun owners come in every shape, size, creed, and color. We represent every economic background, every walk of life. Some are young, some are old. Some grew up in families that hunted and shot regularly, others discovered firearms later in life. To lump us all into a single category is not only wrong — it ignores the diversity of real people who take firearms ownership seriously.

    The second major misconception is this: that if people carry guns in public, society will descend into chaos. We’re told that blood will run in the streets, that every traffic jam will end in a shootout, that road rage incidents will explode. It’s fearmongering. It’s false. And history proves it.

    As a student of history, I know that none of those things happen simply because law-abiding citizens carry firearms. The presence of a firearm doesn’t suddenly turn a responsible person into a criminal. The idea that carrying a gun in public inevitably leads to violence is a myth pushed by those who benefit from fear and division.

    The truth is simple: responsible gun owners are among the safest, most law-abiding members of society. We train, we prepare, and we carry because we value life — our own and the lives of others. We don’t carry to cause trouble. We carry to make sure we get home at the end of the day.

  • Another Shooting in Minneapolis: My Thoughts

    Another Shooting in Minneapolis: My Thoughts

    This morning I heard the news — another shooting in Minneapolis. First a mass shooting last night, and then word of an active shooter at a Catholic school. It hit me like a gut punch. I’m sick to my stomach. It doesn’t have to be this way.

    What I can’t wrap my head around is how we, as a so-called civilized nation, tolerate this level of criminal behavior. We act like we’re helpless, like there’s nothing that can be done. Meanwhile, our politicians and “leaders” keep peddling the same old line: more laws, more restrictions, more rules for the good guys. But the truth is, we already have the ultimate law on the books: it’s illegal to murder people. And yet here we are.

    The sad reality is that evil exists. Guns aren’t the problem — people with evil intent are. A firearm is just a tool. We don’t blame the hammer when it’s misused. We don’t outlaw fire extinguishers because someone sprayed one in a hallway. But somehow, the narrative always lands back on guns.

    Here’s my plain answer. We stop tragedies like this by:

    • Allowing teachers and staff the legal right to carry on school grounds if they choose.
    • Trusting law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and others, instead of treating them as the threat.
    • Actually enforcing the laws we already have instead of slapping wrists and letting criminals walk.

    And prevention? It starts with accountability. It starts with taking warning signs seriously. It starts with not ignoring criminal behavior until it escalates into murder.

    I know some people won’t like hearing this. But I refuse to sugarcoat it. This morning’s news makes me sick, but it also reinforces what I’ve been saying for years: freedom means responsibility. And pretending otherwise costs lives.

    That’s all I’ve got right now. I just needed to put it into words.

    John Davey

  • Carrying a Gun vs. Living the Lifestyle

    Carrying a Gun vs. Living the Lifestyle

    By John Davey — a straight talk on responsibility, consistency, and mindset.

    Plenty of people carry a gun. Fewer truly live the lifestyle.

    What’s the difference? Mentality.

    Carrying a firearm isn’t about strapping on steel like it’s another pocketknife or wallet. It’s waking up every day with discipline and awareness – choosing a tool that carries life-and-death responsibility and acting accordingly.

    The Habits That Define the Lifestyle

    • Safety first, always. My standard never changes: you leave my range with the same number of holes you came with. That mindset travels with you – range, store, home, everywhere.
    • Consistency beats intensity. One flashy training day doesn’t prepare you. Steady reps do. Build muscle memory by doing it right until you can’t get it wrong.
    • Humility over ego. Overconfidence gets people hurt. The most dangerous shooters I see aren’t new; they’re the ones who “already know.” Be coachable.
    • Skills over stuff. Gear matters, but mindset and fundamentals matter more. When gear fails – and it can – skills keep you safe.

    The Core: Responsibility

    The gun is a tool. The foundation is responsibility – the decision to be safe, disciplined, and prepared for yourself, your family, and everyone around you.

    That’s what separates someone who just carries from someone who actually lives the lifestyle.