Brantley Gilbert is working toward self-sufficiency, but it’s not because he fears some version of armageddon is coming.

The life he’s building gets to the essence of the country singer. Talking to Taste of Country Nights, Gilbert opened up about what he feels are his responsibilities as a husband and father and introduced a theology that guides some of his decisions.

He also talked about his very impressive gun collection.

• Brantley Gilbert’s new Tattoos album dropped last Friday (Sept. 13).
• It features “Over When We’re Sober,” a duet with Ashley Cooke.
• The full, unedited conversation with Gilbert is available to listen to at the Taste of Country Nights: On Demand podcast.

ToC Nights host Evan Paul asked Gilbert a question he put to more than a dozen country stars last November ahead of the CMA Awards: How prepared are you for doomsday?

Those results were informative, but mostly entertaining — Luke Bryan was very cheeky for reasons only he understands.

“I will say that one of the goals of the farm that I bought a few years ago … is to kind of unplug from the matrix and let it be self-sufficient,” Gilbert says. “Should anything ever happen, I want my kids also to have the skillset and the knowledge to be able to take care of theirselves if anything were to go bad.”

The lower part of the 365 acres near his hometown in Georgia is nearly ready, he adds, and guns are big part of the experience. This shouldn’t be surprising, because Gilbert literally tattooed the Second Amendment on his back so he’d be able to stop answering gun rights questions.

“There’s a thing called the Warrior Poet Society that a guy named John Lovell started. And there’s something on there called the Order of Man,” Gilbert begins.

The Order of Man is a web series and podcast hosted by Ryan Michler. A description of his goals (“reclaiming what it means to be a man”) is more broad than the WPS, which describes itself as a “call for a more elite protector.”

“Warrior Poets are those who train and fight for higher purpose. They are members of a rare fraternity of warriors who fight with intellect, conviction, and great skill. Motivated by a love for others, Warrior Poets become students of the art of war so that they may triumph when the enemy calls.”

Here’s Gilbert again: “(Michler) said, as husbands and fathers, we have three jobs, and that’s to protect, provide and preside. And it’s not so much the surface meaning of what those things are. Protecting is not just having a gun. And being able to protect them from that kind of danger is to protect from anything they might face emotionally.”

“I do feel like — and this is a core belief of mine — I’m responsible for the safety of my wife and my kids. And in this day and age I feel like guns are a tool necessary for me to do my job well.”

Gilbert talked about fatherhood earlier in the interview, as well. This year, he and wife Amber will welcome another baby boy, giving them two sons and a daughter at home. The pregnancy was a surprise for them, but it’s also an opportunity.

Related: Brantley Gilbert Sells His Stunning Log Cabin Mansion

“I feel like, you know, we have a unique opportunity to raise some kids in the right home with the right ideals, and hopefully send them on their way with a with a good moral compass, with their faith intact,” he shares.

Faith is paramount in Gilbert’s life at the moment, and he’s hopeful that’s what people see first on the album cover. He’s shirtless, showing off a giant cross on his chest. One can debate if that’s what fans see first or not.

None of this should suggest that Gilbert is a reluctant gun owner. ToC put a list of Post Malone‘s guns in front of him (an M-14, Walther PPK, Coble AR-15 and more) and asked if he could top that.

“On one wall of my gun room, yeah,” Gilbert says.

“I love the guy, but I like guns.”

Watch the full video above to see how Gilbert’s collection compares to Hank Williams Jr.’s.