Molly Carter

Molly Carter grew up in a small steel town in western Pennsylvania, deep in the rust belt. She learned to shoot at a young age, plinking soda cans behind the chicken coop and, a few years later, groundhogs from the horse pasture. She spent much of her time at the family’s hunting camp near the Allegheny National Forest, where summers drifted away as Molly explored the woods, hiking through the trees and skipping rocks in the creeks. It was here that she was taught how to hunt, primarily by her mother and grandmother, as well as field dress and preserve meat. As she grew into her teen years, Molly developed a passion for philosophy. She scoured through treaties and essays, and found herself drawn to the rhetoric of the Enlightenment, particularly John Locke, whose ideas of natural law, the self, and the state of nature resonated with the values of her upbringing, namely hard work, self-sufficiency, and independence. Her passion for “love of wisdom” led her to pursue a degree in philosophy, where she focused her studies on social and political theory. Through the values instilled in her by her family, her education, and her experience working in the criminal justice system, as an adult, Molly saw through the illusion of a beneficial big government that so many of her peers supported. She began to advocate for voter awareness, especially when it came to the importance of Constitutional rights and preservation of personal and civil liberties. During this same period, Molly obtained her concealed carry permit and purchased her first CCW, a .380 Ruger LCP. After attending her first gun training course, Molly developed a zeal for helping women become comfortable and competent with firearms, and regularly takes novice women shooters to the range. Molly’s path eventually led her away from the traditional 9-to-5 and into the world of freelance writing, where she has created content for a wide range of clients, including Gander Outdoors, Wide Open Spaces, and Ammo.com. She’s also active on Quora, and has achieved “most-viewed” writer in topics such as guns and firearms, concealed carry, and the Second Amendment. Currently, Molly carries a Glock 43 chambered in 9mm, and her favorite piece to shoot is a Hawes Western Marshall single-action revolver in .357 Magnum.