Need any neighbors?
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I wouldn’t start off with the politics of it. Keep things lighter, like talking about a trip to the range. They always say that the big three are politics, religion, and money (spender vs saver), so politics needs to be a topic early on anyway (one of the few benefits of online dating profiles). But when it comes to firearms, I’d usually bring it up in terms of having gone to the range, or that I’d be going to the range soon, maybe even ask if she’s interested in going with you. The political aspects get too nuanced and can turn into an unnecessary conflict. Even women who are “okay” with firearms can still be programmed by the media that AR-15s are scary and should be illegal. That’s where, once she knows you a little better and doesn’t think you’re the maniac that the media portrays owners of ARs to be, you can have a more substantial conversation about why the media is so wrong. My goal was always to let her know very early that I own firearms, I go to the range regularly so there’s going to be some gun cleaning taking place, and I will occasionally have to wait at home for UPS/FedEx because I don’t want powder/primers sitting outside in the sun.
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Why not strap on the most beautiful handgun you own, in a fine leather OWB holster under your jacket. When you take your jacket off in private, see how she reacts to the sidearm. If she admires your beautiful old blued M29 S&W and the fine leatherwork on the holster, she’s a keeper. If she screams in horror, show her the door. Kind of like those dog food ads where the girl rags on the guy for having good food in the fridge for his dog. Next scene she’s on the outside of the door, and he’s hanging with his best friend.
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I’ve mentioned before that my wife was outright anti-gun when we met. I didn’t know it! Funny thing, the subject never came up during dating. I, unlike vegans, don’t have to tell anyone about my guns 10 seconds after I meet them (5 seconds if they are also LGBTQXTWDCSNG… 
).
I believe that in forcing the conversation as a contentious point before gaining someone’s trust, you stand a chance of losing what could, given a chance, become a good relationship by bringing in too much BS into the dating period of the relationship before people actually get to know each other. The first few dates should be everyone on their best behavior. If the subject occurs organically then so be it, and I would not be the one bringing it up.
In any case my wife found out the day I moved in with her. We had a deep meaningful conversation on the subject and at that point we agreed to disagree and set up some ground rules.
Before long, she saw the HUGE advantage of having her personal armed bodyguard and she started patting me down before we left the house to make sure I was “packing”.
Now she is a very well trained shooter herself and so are our kids.
Patience, understanding, maturity and logic won us a 2A loyal convert and ME a great wife.
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Hey there,
Chris here with Worth It Supply LLC
As someone that has been carrying a concealed handgun for many years now. I have a lot of advice on this. I have a few of these stories to share.
When I met my no wife. I kind of slowly immersed her in the world of guns. When we were dating all of my guns were put in my closet and stored well out of view. However I was also enrolled in the sanoran desert institute perusing my associates degree in firearms technology. So that was a pretty good ice breaker. I asked question before hand seeing how she felt about firearms and if she would like to go shooting with me sometime. She said that she had been shooting once with her friend and her dad. So it was really just easing her into it.
A good way to get someone used to shooting a gun is loading a single round putting it on the bench letting them get comfortable with it and then disengaging the safety and sending the round down range. Repeat this process until they are comfortable shooting the 1 bullet. Then slowly add more ammo till you are at a full magazine or cylinder. The reason behind this is if she is frightened by the gun when it goes off you know that that gun is clear because you loaded it and there was a single round. My wife love shooting now and she can shoot all 19 round from my Glock 19X and replace the mag and go some more.
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I agree. On my first date with my wife I had 2 guns a full size Springfield armory 45 and a proformance center M&p shield in 9mm. They were both concealed carry for just that reason. Nobody knew about them. There was rioting in the streets and we were going down town. I remember a car dealership owned by my uncle was a primary source of concern and he wanted me to do security for him. The previous night if I remember correctly was and Antifa rally that lead to the police being assaulted with cinder blocks. Thankfully I was a member of USCCA. But our first date awakened as it was. Went well and she had no idea the firepower I was packing.
It’s crazy that I remember purchasing gold dot hollow points for my .45 for this specific occasion. But it’s best to not force anything until you are both comfortable and there needs to be a degree of trust between you both. My wife and I are still working out some tactical advantages. She walks on my left. Because if ■■■■ goes down I’ll need my right hand. For the gun of choice. These things take time and a lot of patience.
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I have a story for that. I like in Lansas there is a lot of dirt and fields around my girlfriend had no idea I was carrying a gun. Until we got pulled over for suspicious activity. You see it was dark and I couldn’t see the house 50 feet from the road. We stopped to make out and. When the officer asked if I had weapons I said yes. You should have seen her face when she found out it was a gun. Needless to say that was the first of many falling shorts and we ended up breaking up months later.
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I don’t view it like that so much as it’s something that can’t stay hidden for very long when you’re dating. Whether it’s a range bag on the floor, the smell of Hoppe’s, or she puts her arm around my waste, it’s not something that will stay hidden for very long. I was just out of town and walked into a restaurant that had a sign inside stating, “ABSOLUTELY NO firearms…”. I was with my brother, not on a date, but I had to explain to him why we needed to leave and go eat somewhere else. When I go to a Post Office or somewhere that firearms are prohibited and I have to unload and store my firearm in my truck, do I really want that to be the first time my date finds out that I carry? It’s not that I’m an eager vegan, wanting to tell everyone as soon as I meet them. I just think it’s unrealistic to think I could keep it hidden from someone I’m dating.
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Maybe you lost her because you “jumped the gun” (pardon the pun!). Not one of my previous lovers or dates ever batted an eye about it, and they certainly weren’t “gun nuts” like us. Hah! Anyway, long having been single now (completely unrelated to guns!) and having amassed quite a few “scary” guns, I’ve given it a lot of thought. First, this advice assumes you have no reason to believe she’s “okay” about guns and that you must proceed with caution. That being the case, ABOVE ALL (and contrary to much advice given here), if it’s someone you truly want to keep, KEEP QUIET about it and give the relationship plenty of time to grow into something solid! When (hopefully) you eventually feel in your bones that she wants to keep you as much as you want to keep her, then EASE her into it, perhaps with an intimate and open conversation about your awareness that bad things happen to good people and therefore you feel a responsibility to protect people you love (i.e., HER!) from harm while in your care. Assuming she’s stable and rational enough to accept that reality, then offer to take her to the shooting range with one of your NON-SCARY guns, like a small pistol (and keep quiet, for now, about your other guns). Take careful note of how she takes to that, facilitated with further conversation and subsequent “shooting dates,” and as you feel confident she’s still with you, then gradually expose her to your more exotic specimens, all the while demonstrating to her through your words and behavior that you’re not a nutcase at risk of going on a shooting spree. With patience and discretion, I believe you can keep her from jumping to crazy conclusions about you, which is the danger you must mitigate from the git-go, knowing how people tend to stereotype others, especially in these politically-charged times.
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Fail quickly and fail often. Those two things will get you a successful outcome the fastest.
What do you do for fun? Oh, you like to knit? I like shooting. You don’t like guns? Well, I guess things aren’t going to work out between us. Thanks for a nice evening…. See ya!
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Time-saving approach.
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It would be a like a drive-thru with a dollar meal date until I hear the right answer. 
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R and I have a friend, I actually call her my Firearms Mentor. At first glance you would have to ask yourself this very question “Does she know about guns?”. She actually has the opposite problem, when her dates find out SHE is a gun enthusiast and I mean A For Real Enthusiast, they leave her.
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Before I would ever broach the subject with someone I was dating, I would want to be dating them long enough for them to know what kind of person I truly am. Then maybe they would be understanding of my sincere reasons for doing what I do. 
Most people who don’t like guns don’t have enough experience with them or understand them. Instead of telling them I carried a firearm everyday, I would more likely ask them just to go to the range with me sometime to experience shooting a firearm. ( I’ve yet to take a non-gun person who didn’t enjoy themselves)
Maybe then they would understand that someone has to stand between the wolf and the sheep
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Does she like Taco Bell?
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Aaaa no, her dad just died and left her comfortably wealthy so you may have to up you game to Chuck-a-Rama or Sizzler or something. 
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I might be able to swing Sizzler or Golden Corral
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Happy Birthday @Mike164! 
enjoy your day sir!
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same thing with my wife. she actually was shooting ok. until a guy with a .45 colt started shooting right next to her and hit her with hot brass. she was not happy at that point. but, she still helps me , with my gun collection.
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Take care of it very early in the relationship.
It’s gotta be a deal breaker. But catch it soon enough, then no great loss.
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