Greetings Sheepdogs,
***** Mindset *****
My father taught me never to flash money. It attracts
criminals. Similarly, never flash your gun. That is to say,
never open carry. Always carry concealed. Guns are criminal
magnets. Not believing that shows ignorance of the criminal
mind. Criminals do not think the way we do. To think they
do is a fatal mistake.
Manufactured Drama!
http://defense-training.com/2018/manufactured-drama/
THE DECISION TO DEFEND ONESELF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/decision-defend-oneself-william-a-art-cason/
DEFENSIVE GUN USE / THE DECISION TO DEFEND ONESELF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/defensive-gun-use-decision-defend-oneself-william-a-art-cason
Surviving an Attack: Stay Calm & Take Care of Business
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/3/1/surviving-an-attack-stay-calm-take-care-of-business/
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
***** Safety *****
". . . personal defense is a lifestyle, not a hobby."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Subtle CCW: Keep It Concealed
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/2/22/subtle-ccw-keep-it-concealed/
The U.S. Navy never confirms nor denies that any particular ship
is carrying nuclear weapons. Revealing such information is wrong on
many levels. Similarly for you.
Years ago when I flew commercial airlines under orders,
I filled out the forms at check in, signed the papers, and
carried my pistol onboard the airplane. Never met the other
armed persons onboard. Didn't know who they were, or if they
existed. Now days, they all meet face to face (including the
Air Marshals), to ensure they don't shoot each other.
Similarly, make sure everyone on your church security
team meets face to face before going on duty. Make sure
your pastor announces that the church has a dedicated security
team and to leave the conflict resolution to them.
Thanks to FBI Special Agent Jeff Dale.
“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard
***** Training *****
Why do I need to train?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for
that which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
Dry Practice
Dr. Ignatius Piazza says, "Live fire is just to confirm
what you have learned in dry practice. It is in dry practice,
without the distraction of recoil and report, that you hone
your skills. You should be practicing 10 dry rounds for every
live round you fire."
Naish is correct. Trigger control is 90% of accuracy.
And it is only in dry practice that you can break that nasty
habit of your trigger finger flying off the trigger after
every shot. In dry practice you can engrain proper trigger control:
Touch the trigger.
Take the slack out of the trigger.
Press. (Slow controlled steady increasing pressure.)
Bang! (Was it a surprise break?)
Keep pressing. (Trap the trigger to the rear.)
Get the sights back on target.
Reset the trigger.
Take the slack out of the trigger. (Yes, there is slack after reset.)
Press. (1/8th pressure, 2/8th, 3/8th, . . . )
Bang! (Did you get a surprise break?)
Trap the trigger to the rear.
Sights back on target.
Reset.
Slack out.
Press. (While maintaining your hard focus on the front sight.)
. . .
So, you should always have two sight pictures. One before
the shot and one after the shot.
'Sight alignment and sight picture' determine where the
pistol is pointed when the firing pin strikes the primer.
'Follow through' determines where the pistol is pointed
when the bullet exists the muzzle, a millisecond later.
A millisecond is more than enough time to move your sights off
the target and get a "miss"; excuse me, "unintentional hit"
which could cost your treasure and freedom. So, keep aiming
and keep pressing the trigger, until your sights are back
on target.
The proper way to dry practice
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-proper-way-to-dry-practice/recreation-leisure
One-Handed Shooting and Why You Should Learn How to Do It Efficiently
https://www.ballisticmag.com/2019/02/21/one-handed-shooting-guide/
Excerpt:
"The key to becoming better at fighting is practicing what you need,
not just what you like. You get to choose whether to shoot or not, but
you seldom get to choose when. Assume it will be the least favorable
situation. One of my favorite quotes from Bruce Lee is
“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”
"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock
***** Tactics *****
Audacity wins.
-- Carl von Clausewitz
Craig Douglas of Shivworks talks about how to manage a strangers approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwCtu79iMDs
Who Dares Wins.
-- motto of the Special Air Service
***** Technique *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
Verbal Skills During An Armed Encounter
http://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/verbal-skills-during-an-armed-encounter/137712
Verbal Agility! with Craig Douglas of Shivworks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwKvve8pXWU
Register Position, and Finger Placement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1asDqdVoH-U
Why Slow is Fast
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/why-slow-is-fast/
I preach,
Slow is correct. Correct is efficient. Efficient is fast.
As Tom Givens says, you get fast by eliminating all the
extraneous motion.
Good English prose is succinct. Your writing gets better
by rewriting. Every time you rewrite, you eliminate extraneous
words. After 13 rewrites your prose are pithy. (Herman Melville
rewrote parts of "Moby Dick" 13 times.)
The movie and TV actors are performing for your entertainment.
Real gun fights (with at least one competent operator)
are not entertaining, because they are very short.
(As Bruce Lee said, real fights are short.) You won't see
the subtlety and efficiency unless you replay it in slow
motion.
The best fight is the one that is over before the
other guy realizes that he has bitten off more than he
can chew. (Paraphrase of a comment by Jeff Cooper.)
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
6 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Recoil Control With A Handgun
https://www.shooting-performance.com/tips-to-building-the-perfect-high-performance-grip-handgun/
***** Gear *****
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
Critical Rules of Home Emergency Firearm Storage
https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/critical-rules-of-home-emergency-firearm-storage/
Access security requires 3 things:
1. something you have (a physical key, or a fob that generates a
specific time dependent pseudo-random number, or etc. that can be
changed if it is compromised),
2. something you know (a number, a pass word or pass phrase, or
correct non-obvious answers to context sensitive questions, or etc.),
3. something that only you can derive based on information that
the system gives you at the time of the attempted access.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The third item usually isn't feasible for humans in real time.
For example a zero knowledge proof protocol. An example of which
would be proving you know a graph isomorphism between two known
graphs, X and Y. The canonical protocol would be as follows.
You randomly rename the vertices of graph X. Let's call the
renamed graph, G. You give graph G to the system.
The system, with probability 1/2, asks you to either:
Prove that G is isomorphic to X.
Or
Prove that G is isomorphic to Y.
You answer the first question by giving the mapping
X -> G that you used to create G. Or, you answer the second
question by using the graph isomorphism that you know to convert
G to Y and give the mapping G -> Y to the system.
The system checks that the mapping you gave it is in
fact an isomorphism. (But, never tells you if it found an
error.)
You and the system repeat the above game N times, where
N is the level of security the system desires. If the system
determines success at every iteration of the game, the
system grants access. The system never mentions any failures.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The second item is easily guessed by the enemy if it is
trivial. If it is not trivial, it's going to require high
order intellectual activity to recall. In a high stress
situation, that might be difficult. So, it needs to be
practiced.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The first item is a token. Tokens can be lost or stolen.
So, you must be able to replace the token. Because once the
token is compromised, it must be locked out of the system.
So, once the hacker has the digital imprint of your fingerprint
or the scan of your iris, you can't use them anymore. You
can't replace your fingerprint or your eyeball, or any bio-metric
of your body.
Why would you be accessing your weapon? Because an
emergency situation has occurred. In such a situation, your
hands may be covered with blood or cut. Will your bio-metrics
work in such a situation? Rub a little ketchup on your hands
and test it. Disappointed? Better now than in combat.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protecting and Securing Firearms
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2019/03/01/protecting-and-securing-firearms/
Making The Case For .45 ACP ‘Hardball’ (copper jacketed round nose bullets)
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/making-the-case-for-45-acp-hardball
A friend of ours had to shoot a dog that attacked him.
He fired 4 shots (.45 ACP hardball). None of the bullets
exited the dog's body.
Over-penetration is not a concern in the real world.
Reliability of feeding (from the magazine) and chambering
(into the chamber) are more important than terminal ballistics.
The gun must go bang when you pull the trigger. Hardball feeds
and chambers more reliably than any other bullet type.
Farnam's suggestions for pistols for persons with small
hands and dress restrictions.
http://defense-training.com/2018/the-sage/
The article "Capacity for Truth" explains why you should use
high capacity magazines.
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019-03_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
"The purpose of higher capacity magazines is not to let you shoot more."
The purpose is to allow you to fight longer before having to
reload. You reload less often.
That's why you should not carry a revolver. (Reloading is slow,
difficult, and needs to be done too often.)
Tom Givens makes the case for carrying a backup gun by
sharing a story of his friend who had a Federal Hydra-Shok .40 S&W
suffer a full case head separation in his .40 caliber Shield.
Had to disassemble the gun and pry the remainder of the case out
of the chamber. No apparent damage to the pistol, but it was out
of action until time and tools were applied.
George Shootaire comments that this is why you must make
the first shot count.
Why I don’t use the “best” ammo
https://thestreetstandards.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/why-i-dont-use-the-best-ammo/
Defensive Shooting: How to Find a Gun That “Fits” You
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/handgun-defensive-shooting/
***** Instructors *****
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
A young lady contacted me asking for training and recommendations
for a self defense pistol. She had already obtained an order of
protection, which he had walked through. So, she called the police
(who took 13 minutes to arrive) who arrested him. The police released
him shortly thereafter.
She had originally called me from a secure ward in the burn center
of a large hospital. I had a hard time getting to her because she
was not listed in the patient register, for security reasons. I had
to tell the nurse that I was a Court Appointed Special Advocate for
Children with the Wilson County Courts.
She did not want to carry the pistol. She just wanted to have
a pistol in the house in case he broke in again and tried to hurt her.
She has several small children under her care. So, we had to
decide on a strategy for safe storage while allowing quick access.
Every situation is different. Be flexible. Listen.
I tailored the training for her; dispensing with things concerned
with concealed carry, and keeping things as simple as possible. After
the safety rules, we concentrated on the basics:
1. from secure storage to ready position (25 seconds, hopefully
practice will reduce this time, but stress will increase the time)
2. from compressed ready to target using the sights
3. firing from compressed ready using body index (as this was
her expected scenario)
4. reloading
5. clearing malfunctions
Once we got the manual of arms done (because that is what
she thought was important), I dove into the mindset and self defense
law (because I thought it was important).
She would not do the after action drills, because she thought
they were stupid. She would not assume the standard standing shooting
positions, Weaver and Isosceles, because she thought they made her
look retarded.
Everyone is different. Your obligation is to help your student
within the constraints of the student's background, knowledge base,
intellectual capacity, and physical capacity. We should not try to
change people for the better (because our better may not be their
better). We should strive to give them skills that they can use to
defend themselves.
Maintain professional distance. Pray for your students.
Sinister Studies: Serious Scrutiny into Southpaw Shooting
Part 1
http://adaptivedefenseconcepts.com/sinister-studies-serious-scrutiny-into-southpaw-shooting-part-1/
How to do it left handed with two hands.
Part 2
http://adaptivedefenseconcepts.com/sinister-studies-serious-scrutiny-into-southpaw-shooting-part-2/
How to do it with the left hand only. Useful non-obvious techniques.
Part 3
http://adaptivedefenseconcepts.com/sinister-studies-serious-scrutiny-into-southpaw-shooting-part-iii/
Left handed manipulation of right handed revolvers. (Yes, I
know left handed revolvers exist, but the are rare.)
This is a deep dive into left handed manipulation. So,
it may be clumsy at first. Make sure the pistol or revolver
is unloaded. Never allow the firearm to point at you during
the operations.
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."
***** Pedagogy *****
Qui docet, discit. (He who teaches learns.)
-- motto of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
The Simple Phrase that Increases Effort 40%
http://danielcoyle.com/2013/12/13/the-simple-phrase-that-increases-effort-40/
The primary source,
"Breaking the Cycle of Mistrust:
Wise Interventions to Provide Critical Feedback Across the Racial Divide"
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Vol. 143, No. 2, Pages 804–824, 2014 A.D.,
American Psychological Association
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-a0033906.pdf
Excerpt:
". . . Three double-blind randomized field experiments . . ."
Such an experiment is not easy to execute. Check out their
statistical analysis and graphs. That's the way it's supposed to
be done.
"Train, Practice, Compete are the key
elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** Education *****
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
– John Farnam
FBI Special Agent Jeff Dale addressed the Tennessee Firearms
Association meeting last night. He told us that 120 innocent
persons died last year from gun shot wounds (including police fire,
friendly fire, and self fire) in criminal attack incidents. While
drunken drivers killed 58,000 innocent persons last year.
So, if your are spending a great deal of time practicing
your self defense gun skills, while neglecting your defensive driving
skills, you're not operating in reality.
Armed Citizens Are Successful 94% Of The Time At Active Shooter Events [FBI]
https://www.concealedcarry.com/news/armed-citizens-are-successful-95-of-the-time-at-active-shooter-events-fbi/
Excerpts:
". . . there were zero situations at which the Armed Citizen
injured or killed an innocent person."
Please note that the primary sources are cited at the end
of the article. Propaganda articles don't do that.
“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam
***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****
How do you win a gunfight? Don’t be there.
-–John Farnam
----- The Good News -----
Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Concealed Permit Requirement
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/27/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-eliminating-concealed-permit-requirement/
Dear Jonathan: 2 March 2019 A.D.
On Wednesday, I was the first witness before the Kentucky
state House Judiciary Committee about their Constitutional Carry
bill. The committee vote was the most challenging vote that the
legislation faced, and the final vote was
12 for - 8 against - 3 abstentions.
Several judiciary committee members told me that my testimony
made a real difference. On Friday, the bill passed the state
House by a 60-to-37 vote and heads to the governor, who has
promised to sign it. When signed Kentucky will become the
17th state that allows concealed carry without a permit in
all or virtually all the state.
John R. Lott, Jr.
johnrlott@crimeresearch.org
President, Crime Prevention Research Center
http://crimeresearch.org
(484) 802-5373
Matt Bevin: ‘Great Celebration’ over Eliminating Concealed Permit Requirement
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/03/06/matt-bevin-great-celebration-eliminating-concealed-permit-requirement/
‘Second Amendment Sanctuaries’: 21 of New Mexico’s 33 Counties Refuse to Enforce Gun Control
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/03/02/second-amendment-sanctuaries-21-new-mexicos-33-counties-refuse-enforce-gun-control/
More Colorado Counties Declare Themselves ‘2nd Amendment Sanctuaries’
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/03/08/more-colorado-counties-declare-themselves-2nd-amendment-sanctuaries/
Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps
https://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry_permit_reciprocity_maps.html
----- The Bad News -----
Say Goodby to Your guns!
http://defense-training.com/2018/say-goodby-to-your-guns/
Excerpt:
"CA, NJ, MA, CT, MD, and now IL are a few examples of
all-inclusive gun-bans, in various stages of completion."
[Those who said, "Gun confiscation could never
happen in America.", were naive. Now, they are wrong.
Because, it's already happening. -- Jon Low]
Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo Signs Gun Confiscation into Law in NY
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/26/democrat-andrew-cuomo-signs-gun-confiscation-law-ny/
----- Other News -----
When Felony Murder Is not Felony Murder
https://lawofselfdefense.com/potd-when-felony-murder-isnt-felony-murder/
Law of Self Defense Blog
https://lawofselfdefense.com/blog/
The most recent articles are freely available.
Older stuff requires membership.
King George III
http://defense-training.com/2018/king-george-iii/
Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog
https://gunselfdefense.blogspot.com/
Documenting civilians using guns in self-defense.
Largely because a well-known gun control activist
insisted to me that defensive use of guns by
civilians was very rare: "maybe once in ten years."
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence is not an act.
It is a habit."
-- Aristotle
***** Survival Tips *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Run 3 miles a day.
You must warm up. Stretch to avoid injury and to create
proper muscle tonus. Preparation process:
1. Pulse raiser exercise.
2. General mobility exercise.
3. Specific stretching.
4. Progressive buildup.
Hold the stretch on the inhale. Press a little further on the
exhale. Continue for 7 minutes or more, because it takes that
long for the muscle to release and relax. Don't bounce. Bouncing
causes micro tears in the muscles. Steady pressure.
If it hurts, breathe. Inhale over a slow count of 4.
Hold the air in over a slow count of 4. Exhale over a slow count of 4.
Inhale over a slow count of 4. Repeat over the 7 minutes of the stretch.
Regardless of your level of fitness or strength, technique
is always the deciding factor . . .
[No citation because I forgot who to attribute it to.]
When you run, 5 minutes at a jog to warm up. Twenty minutes
at full blast, as if the life of a loved one depended on you getting
there [or technically, to raise your pulse rate to 80% of maximum
(Maximum is when you feel you're going to vomit.)], and then 5
minutes at a jog to cool down. Three miles in 30 minutes. Easy.
Doing it 5 days a week takes self discipline, not so easy.
Doing it every day in all weather conditions, you're training for
the Olympics, or to ensure your loved ones survive.
Three minutes without oxygen, 3 days without water, or 3 weeks
without food will generally kill a human. Some medical types will
tell you that after severing an artery, you will bleed to death
in 3 minutes. That may be technically true, but you will pass out
in 17 seconds from loss of blood. So, you have to be able to put
your tourniquet on yourself in less than 17 seconds. Because, once
you are unconscious, you won't be able to do anything.
If you think you can improvise a tourniquet from stuff around
you, you are WRONG. If you think you can correctly apply a
tourniquet without training, you are WRONG. If you think a cheap
tourniquet (not SOFT or CAT) will work, you are WRONG. (Why do
you think they are not certified? It's because they don't work.)
If you don't know how to test to see if you have applied your
tourniquet correctly, you may have stopped veinal flow, but failed
to stop arterial flow, which means blood is piling up in the limb.
This condition will cause the limb to eventually be amputated.
Whereas, a correctly applied tourniquet can be on for many hours
without ill effect. Ignorance can cause injury or death.
Failure to prepare is not ignorance, it is stupidity. Don't
be stupid. Get training. Dr. House will train you at a very
reasonable cost. https://civiliandefender.com/
"Life is hard. It's even harder if you're stupid."
-- John Wayne
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam
***** Basics *****
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
***** Miscellany *****
I attended an Appleseed event at the Arlington United
Methodist Church this past Thursday night. It was just the
lectures, no shooting. The lectures were on the events that
started the American Revolutionary War and the stories of
individuals who participated in those events. Inspiring.
We should never forget the sacrifices others have
made for our freedom.
Cheers,
Jon
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
CWP, 18 February 2019 Anno Domini
Greetings Sheepdogs,
***** Mindset *****
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
A Study in Situational Awareness and Preparation Failures
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/a-study-in-situational-awareness-and-preparation-failures
". . . personal defense is a lifestyle, not a hobby."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
More thoughts about the Duel at the Dumbster
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2019/01/29/the-tactical-professors-shot-show-odyssey-part-iii-site-visit-to-the-duel-at-the-dumbster-continued/
Excerpt:
Guns are special purpose defensive tools that are useful
only in a minuscule (very small) spectrum of our lives.
Thinking of them as general purpose defensive tools is a
Serious Mistake and sets oneself up for a Negative Outcome.
"A good solution applied with vigor now is
better than a perfect solution ten minutes later."
-- Patton Jr., George S., "War As I Knew It",
New York, Bantam, 1983. Page 408.
THE SECRETS: SIX MYTHS OF THE GUN WORLD
https://blog.suarezinternational.com/2019/01/the-secrets-six-myths-of-the-gun-world.html
I am the kit fox,
I live in uncertainty.
If there is anything difficult,
If there is anything dangerous to do,
That is mine.
-- Sioux warrior's song
***** Safety *****
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
[Hundreds of persons are shot every year in America by persons
cleaning their unloaded guns and persons showing their unloaded
guns to others. -- Jon Low]
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
[Pointing your gun at someone is a very threatening behavior
(legally considered aggravated assault everywhere in America)
and could easily result in you getting shot. -- Jon Low]
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
[Keep your trigger finger in the register position until your sights
are on the target and you have decided to fire. When your sights
come off the target, immediately place your trigger finger in the
register position. -- Jon Low]
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
[Be certain of who you are shooting at. Use a flashlight if necessary.
Know what is behind your target. What's going to get hit if your miss,
or your bullet passes through your intended target? Know what may move
between you and your target. Untrained persons panic in high stress
situations and run around randomly while screaming and shouting. No,
as a matter of fact they do not freeze and drop to the ground. That's
why we have to teach children to drop and roll when on fire. It's
not natural. Nothing about shooting is natural or instinctive.]
“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard
***** Training *****
"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock
Losing A Legend Mourning Mike Voigt
https://americanhandgunner.com/our-experts/losing-a-legend-mourning-mike-voigt
Top instructors don't live forever. Get your training
while they are still alive.
Why do I need to train?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for
that which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
Gabe White Pistol Shooting Solutions
https://gunsmagazine.com/handguns/gabe-white-pistol-shooting-solutions
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence is not an act.
It is a habit."
-- Aristotle
***** Tactics *****
Audacity wins.
-- Carl von Clausewitz
Your Tactical Training Scenario - Shot Through the Door
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-shot-through-the-door
Hard Lessons: Fights
https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/hard-lessons-fights
Excerpt:
"Get out of there before [the police] show up (in which
case it's [the other party's] word against yours), or call
first - which is petty and stupid."
[I don't think calling first is petty or stupid. I think
it is essential. Because as Massad Ayoob says, there are only
two blanks on the police report: Complainant and Respondent.
You want to be the Complainant. You want to be the one who
called first and complained about the other guy. Because whoever
calls first is assumed to be the victim. Good guys call the
police. Bad guys don't. Unless they are petty vindictive
little shits, who are trying to get the police to do their
dirty work for them. So, be the first to call 911. -- Jon Low]
3 Gun Helped Me Survive
https://www.agirlandagun.org/3-gun-helped-me-survive/
Excerpt:
“My comfort with my weapons, knowing their capabilities
and mine, kept me calm and focused.”
Who Dares Wins.
-- motto of the Special Air Service
***** Technique *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
Why We Focus On The Front Sight
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/1/25/why-we-focus-on-the-front-sight/
Defending Yourself Against Dog Attacks
https://www.recoilweb.com/man-bites-dog-143323.html
STREET SMARTS: Countersurveillance Techniques
https://www.swatmag.com/article/street-smarts-countersurveillance-techniques/
Shooting With Your Eyes Closed?
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/shooting-with-your-eyes-closed/
May I invite your attention to the top right photograph?
The burning (glowing) powder is caught in a soleton (solitary wave form).
Most waves are dispersive (expand in space) and dissipative (lose energy
with time and distance). Soletons are neither. Theoretically,
they are tori shaped wave forms that are symmetric about the direction
of propagation. The example pictured is a little distorted.
The particle motion (as in the sense of retrograde or prograde) is
that the inside of the doughnut moves forward (in the direction of
propagation) and the outside moves backward, circulating around the
small diameter of the torus.
I worked with soletons in fluids of many different viscosities in
grad school in attempts to model geologic things under Prof. Dave
Bercovici. He was at the University of Hawaii back then.
He's at Yale now.
Craig Douglas of Shivworks Fights from the Deadly Triangle on Trigger Time TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S84NK6hXJLA&fbclid=IwAR1IDcs_ZF22U9gfoYZvJaDXqgOws3HL40EFJMCfmqnvF1BrTE5mV_RynTk
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** Gear *****
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
I Made A Huge Mistake While Carrying My Gun. Learn From My Experience.
http://concealednation.org/2019/01/i-made-a-huge-mistake-while-carrying-my-gun-learn-from-my-experience/
Rule Four in Self-Defense: Bullets On and Beyond Your Target
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/2/1/rule-four-in-self-defense-bullets-on-and-beyond-your-target/
This is truth. In police shootings (because the government collects
data in these incidents) where the bullet was a hollow point (as just about
all of them are), of the bullets that hit some human, 41% expanded. Because
all kinds of things can prevent the bullet from expanding (clothing plugging
the bullet cavity, the curtains that you shot through, the glass that you
shot through, etc.). Depending on which data set you're analyzing, the
bullet average penetration is around 2 inches. Not sufficient to reach a
vital organ to cause incapacitation. Because many things can block or
impede a bullet (leather jacket, heavy layered winter clothing, body armor,
other body parts, etc.).
I asked for suggestions for a pistol for persons with
small hands on the Rangemaster Instructors Facebook page and
got the following responses:
Glock 48
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield with small insert
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ in 380 auto
Sig Sauer P365
Kahr K9
Walther PPS M2
CZ P-10c
A lot of instructors are saying that the Smith & Wesson
M&P Shield EZ in 380 auto is the way to go for small hands
and/or weak hands (arthritis, etc.).
We have also had success with a small grip on a Sig P320,
and a Ruger American with the grip (back strap) removed.
You might want to go to a gun store and see how these
pistols fit your hand. Or, go to a gun range and rent these
pistols to see if they work for you. Can you get your finger
tips to point back toward you? Can you get your trigger finger
on the trigger such that when you take the slack out of the
trigger, the last bone in your trigger finger is perpendicular
to the bore axis (when the bore is in line with the bones of
your forearm and the trigger is in the middle of your finger
print)? The trigger can be moved by your gunsmith, or the
trigger can be replaced to allow you to get your trigger finger
in the correct position.
Folding Knife Selection, Carry & Access
https://www.mdtstraining.com/folding-knife-selection-carry-access/
Lucky you live in Tennessee. There is no such thing as an
illegal knife in the Volunteer State.
The problem with carrying a folding knife with tip pointing
up, is that it may open while still in your pocket.
"Hey, Staff, why would it do that? How could it do that?"
Because Murphy's Law says that anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong, at the worst possible time. So, it is essential
that you eliminate anything that can go wrong.
A visible pocket clip draws attention. Don't draw attention
to yourself. Put your knife inside your pocket. Don't let the
clip show outside your pocket.
I was getting malfunctions with my Ruger American in .45 ACP.
I bought it new and had fired about 500 rounds through it.
When the slide went forward, the cartridges would dive down into
the magazine, rather than jumping up into the chamber. I checked
several web sites and found the problem reported on a couple of
instructor forums. So, the problem was not unique to me.
I contacted Ruger on their web site. They asked me to shoot
the pistol with several different ammunition types to be sure it
was a pistol/magazine problem and not an ammunition problem.
I did, and still got the malfunctions (2 or 3 within a box of
50 rounds for each type of ammo that I tried). So, Ruger sent me
a Fed Ex shipping label (2nd day express). I packed the pistol
and my three magazines and shipped them off to Ruger. They
notified me to say they received the package and asked me to
give them 5 to 7 days to work on it. They actually took 2 days
(assuming they don't work on weekends), and then shipped it back
to me.
This is what they said they did:
Replaced all 3 magazine followers.
Replaced all 3 magazine springs. (The new springs are much stronger.
I speculate that these stiffer springs are not standard because they
make charging the magazines difficult.)
Repaired the barrel. (They chamfered the mouth of the chamber,
and polished all contact areas between the chamber and cartridge.)
After repair, pistol was function fired 35 rounds of Black Hills
230 grain full metal jacket, without malfunction.
So, I took it to the range to see how it worked for me.
After firing a few rounds of factory new 230 grain FMJ loaded
to the standard speed of 850 feet per second at the muzzle.
(I don't like the term "muzzle velocity", because velocity is a vector.
850 fps is a speed, which is a scalar.) It works fine now.
Shooter’s Tips: Learning the Red Dot
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2019/1/27/shooter-s-tips-learning-the-red-dot/
Things people say: “Don’t carry a nice gun.”
http://www.grantcunningham.com/2018/01/things-people-say-dont-carry-nice-gun/
Excerpt:
"Once in evidence, your gun will not be returned to you until
after all legal proceedings are settled. Even then, it may be
months or even years after the case has been closed before you
get your firearm back. Many people have had to file legal
proceedings to persuade the authorities to return their rightful
property.
What happens to your gun?
Life in an evidence locker isn’t pleasant. Items are tagged
and simply thrown in, without regard for maintaining their
appearance or function. Some evidence rooms are in unheated
basements where the humidity is high and rust is common. If your
handgun or rifle goes into evidence, don’t expect to get it back
in the same condition it was when the police took it from you.
This is just one of those little realities of life.
It’s something you have to accept as part of the cost of self
defense."
***** Instructors *****
Adaptive Shooting Techniques
Developing a New Grip
Reduced Hand Strength or Lack of Support Hand Can Be Overcome
https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/TJ_Winter2018_HIGH.pdf
IDPA Tactical Journal, Volume 22, Issue 4, 4th Quarter 2018, page 15.
If you're going to be an instructor, learn how to help
your students develop a proper grip.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
I've never gotten through the first day of a class without
having compiled a list of things that I have to find out for my
students. That's why I am presently using the format of a 12 day
course taught on 12 consecutive Saturdays. It gives me time to
answer the students questions and fix equipment problems (e.g.
The pistol does not work for you. You can use one of my pistols
and gear for today. But, you have to get a pistol that works
for you.)
We either bring in experts or go to experts for:
Law of Self Defense, Andrew Branca, online course.
Force-on-force using Simunitions, Bob Allen of Royal Range.
Judgment (no-shoot / shoot) exercises on video simulators,
Bill Hayes of Axiom Training.
First Aid, Kevin Hunt of Prepared Medical Response.
Tactical scenarios, one of the local IDPA or IPSC clubs.
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."
As such, you have a duty and responsibility to teach
competently. You have to have a deep understanding of the
material that you are teaching. You have to avoid teaching
anything of which you lack a deep understanding.
If you are going to use another instructor's lecture
and give due credit to that instructor, then you have to
read it to your students verbatim. Otherwise, you have to
tell your students that you are paraphrasing. Otherwise,
you have to tell the students that this is your lecture,
some of the ideas of which you have stolen from so and so.
As my fencing coaches told me, there is nothing new
under the sun. There are no secrets. There are just
things that the novice hasn't learned yet. In self defense,
the rules for establishing innocence or regaining innocence
are amazingly analogous to the rules for establishing or
regaining the right of way in foil fencing. Most foil
fencers do not understand the subtleties. So, under
competent judging, they lose. Most carriers of weapons
don't understand the laws of self defense. So, as Claude
Werner says, they have negative outcomes.
Plagiarism is bad. But, using the information and
ideas of others is flattery. And they should graciously
accept your flattery. Citing sources is good. But,
eventually best practices pass into common knowledge.
At which point, citation is a courtesy more than a
scholarly ethic.
"I invented that."
Well, no, you didn't. You may have independently
discovered it. Which is good. But, if you do a literature
search, you'll find it (probably before your birth).
So, stay humble. It avoids embarrassment.
***** Pedagogy *****
Qui docet, discit. (He who teaches learns.)
-- motto of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
"Train, Practice, Compete are the key
elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** Education *****
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
– John Farnam
You can get a free download from USCCA by going to
www.FreeReportGalco.com/
and typing in your email address. They will then email the documents to you.
Ya, it's an advertisement for USCCA, but it's got some useful information
for the neophyte. You might want to forward it to friends of yours who are
new to our lifestyle.
“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam
***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****
How do you win a gunfight? Don’t be there.
-–John Farnam
Martin Luther King Jr. Was Denied Concealed Carry Permit for Self-Defense
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/21/martin-luther-king-jr-was-denied-concealed-carry-permit-for-self-defense/
9 Cases That Prove Why We Need AR-15-Style Carbines and Pistols
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2019/01/9-ar-15-cases/
Excepts:
The AR-15 is an assault prevention rifle.
The AR-15 is a lifesaving emergency rescue tool, by design.
All kinds of good stuff at
Crime Prevention Research Center
http://crimeresearch.org
Case Of The Week: Regaining Innocence: Real-World Example
https://lawofselfdefense.com/cotw-regaining-innocence-real-world-example/
Enter the Night!
http://defense-training.com/2018/enter-the-night/
If you think this could never happen in America,
you are naive.
If Gun Control Fascists Didn’t Have Lies . . .
https://lawofselfdefense.com/potd-if-gun-control-fascists-didnt-have-lies-2/
Amazing that the State of Arkansas has a duty to retreat.
Louis Awerbuck: The Exception to the Rule
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/louis-awerbuck-the-exception-to-the-rule/
If Louis said the Springfield Armory XD is the pistol to use,
that's good enough for me.
School Hires Combat Vets With Rifles To ‘Put Down’ Active Shooters
https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/02/13/school-hires-combat-vets-with-rifles-to-put-down-active-shooters/
Yet another Mass Public Shooting in another Gun-free zone:
at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/yet-another-attempted-mass-public-shooting-in-another-gun-free-zone-at-the-henry-pratt-company-in-aurora-illinois/
All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones, because those are
the only places that have unarmed victims for armed criminals to
prey upon.
In gun friendly zones, the prospective victims shoot back.
Only the communist would see a problem with that.
The murderer was a convicted felon, prohibited from
possessing a gun. So, every gun control law failed to prevent
this crime.
The murderer was a repeat offender. In Turkey and Saudi Arabia,
they have no concept of a "repeat offender", because they have no
repeat offenders. When I was in Ankara, I saw a little girl
walking to the grocery store in the middle of the night, by
herself. I asked her where her parents were. She told me they
were at home and had sent her to buy groceries (so she was alone,
carrying a large amount of cash, in a big city). She laughed at
my concern. I approached a policeman (armed with a submachinegun
slung over his shoulder) and told him. He assured me that she
was perfectly safe. And she was.
Stop appointing liberal judges, and you don't have repeat
offenders prowling the streets. Of course, that would require
not electing liberal politicians who appoint the liberal judges,
or not electing liberal judges. Now whose fault is that?
Are you aware of what's going on with West Virginia's
Supreme Court? Judges aren't above the law, they just think
they are.
UPDATED: Why we shouldn’t depend on mental health professionals
to detect mass killers:
Elliot Rodger’s slipping “under the radar” is hardly rare
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/why-we-shouldnt-depend-on-mental-health-professionals-to-detect-mass-killers-elliot-rodgers-slipping-under-the-radar-is-hardly-rare/
Expecting mental health professionals to detect and report
people who are in fact a threat to themselves or others is
nonsense, and always has been (as the above examples show).
The false positives would do horrendous damage to the
reputation of the falsely accused persons, and might permanently
prevent the falsely accused person from possessing a gun. After
a psychiatrist labels you crazy, how do you prove to a anti-gun
liberal judge that you are sane? If you think that is easy,
you are naive. Liberal judges think that wanting to possess a
gun is prima facia evidence of paranoia, a mental illness.
South Dakota becomes 15th state to allow concealed carry without a permit
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/south-dakota-become-15th-state-that-allows-concealed-carry-without-a-permit-in-all-or-virtually-all-the-state/
Yeah! Governor Kristi Noem, pro-gun, and smoking hot
(you have to see her in person). Rush Limbaugh says politics
is akin to movie star celebrity for ugly people. Noem has an
IMDb web page.
Defensive gun uses by people legally carrying guns over the past two months
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/defensive-gun-uses-by-people-legally-carrying-guns-over-the-past-two-months/
Why is Dr. Lott able to do a much better job of reporting
these incidents than the NRA official journal, American Rifleman?
Because his agenda is entirely different from that of the NRA.
At Townhall: Background Checks Bill Would Turn Many
Well-intentioned Americans Into Criminals
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/at-townhall-background-checks-bill-would-turn-many-well-intentioned-americans-into-criminals/
Excerpt:
. . . "Virtually every time the government stops someone
from buying a gun, it is a mistake." . . .
If you think getting your name off of the prohibitted list
is not a nightmare, you are naive. Even the late U.S. Senator
Ted Kennedy had a hard time getting his name off the "no fly" list.
Some nameless faceless bureaucrat can put you on the list
without due process, without oversight. The government does not
have to prove that you committed a crime (of which there is a
public record). You have to prove that you do not pose a threat
to yourself or others. How would you prove that?
“Hard times create strong men
Strong men create good times
Good times create weak men
Weak men create hard times”
-- T.J. Weber
***** Survival Tips *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Why Hearing Protection is Important
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/articles/2019/1/29/why-hearing-protection-is-important/
"Hearing loss is permanent and cummulative."
-- Medical experts at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO
at a lecture during a level 3 coaches course.
Failed Kidnapping Leads To Lessons Learned | Active Self Protection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj0e_fhQOgg
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam
***** Basics *****
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Women's Self-defense Technique -
Man Pinning Both Wrists in Mount Position
https://youtu.be/jAh0cU1J5zk
You have to have unarmed techniques,
because you may not be able to access your
weapon initially.
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
***** Miscellany *****
A Warrior, Defined
https://havokjournal.com/culture/a-warrior-defined/
War Just Might Be The Answer - Iliza Shlesinger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DV4JIxEk4s
This is one of the inventions from my company,
Military Systems Group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZtkKtqgBc
Maybe you need one in the back of your pickup truck?
In a previous blog posting, I listed credentials
that would allow the carry of weapons: courier card
(Armed Forces), armed guard license (state), written
contracts with the U.S. State Department (federal),
written orders from the king of the country (foreign),
SOFA treaty (international), and being born into a
royal family (but we can't choose our parents).
My friend, Joe, who is deploying under the
auspices of a United Nations Peace Keeping Force,
has the best yet, a light blue passport. Yes, diplomatic
immunity. The worst one could legally suffer would
be expulsion from the country as a persona non grata.
But, in a contested area, who is going to expel him?
Who would have the authority or inclination to expel
a field grade officer and U.N. Peace Keeper?
When I was at Columbia University in New York,
I had classmates who were the children of diplomats.
They all carried.
And then there are written orders based on
executive orders (such as the early President Bush's
order concerning the Global War On Terrorism).
And then there are letters, such as those issued
by Congress under authority of the
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 11.
Unfortunately, the modern ones are not public record.
But then again, much of our government's budget is
not public record. But, if you follow current
events and notice things that don't make sense or
don't logically follow, you can detect them.
That's what intel analysts do.
For the latest version (it changes almost daily)
of my lesson plans for my NRA Defensive Pistol course,
send me an email. Jon_Low@yahoo.com
The McDonalds restaurant by the Long Meadows
rifle range in in Greenbrier, TN sells "Senior Coffees".
I ask the young lady at the counter, what's a Senior Coffee?
She tells me it's a coffee for anyone over 40 years old.
I give her a quizzical look, because 40 is not a senior
anything in my life experience. She responds to my
look by saying, 40 is really old. I imagine she was
16 or 17. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was 60.
I had forgotten how hard it is to tell a person's
age when you are very young. I remember as a child,
understanding that people grew up and got big, but
I didn't understand that people actually grew old
and died. So, there was always time to do important
things later.
Get your training while you can. Because good
instructors have experience, so they are old. They
aren't going to be teaching forever. People like to
retire. Some people can't retire, because the teaching
is a calling, not a job. But, God has put an expiration
date on all of us.
You can't take a course from
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC
or
Louis Awerbuck, South African Defense Force 1 Spesiale Diens Bataljon
or
CWO2 Pat Rogers, USMC
or . . .
Cheers,
Jon
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
***** Mindset *****
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
A Study in Situational Awareness and Preparation Failures
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/a-study-in-situational-awareness-and-preparation-failures
". . . personal defense is a lifestyle, not a hobby."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
More thoughts about the Duel at the Dumbster
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2019/01/29/the-tactical-professors-shot-show-odyssey-part-iii-site-visit-to-the-duel-at-the-dumbster-continued/
Excerpt:
Guns are special purpose defensive tools that are useful
only in a minuscule (very small) spectrum of our lives.
Thinking of them as general purpose defensive tools is a
Serious Mistake and sets oneself up for a Negative Outcome.
"A good solution applied with vigor now is
better than a perfect solution ten minutes later."
-- Patton Jr., George S., "War As I Knew It",
New York, Bantam, 1983. Page 408.
THE SECRETS: SIX MYTHS OF THE GUN WORLD
https://blog.suarezinternational.com/2019/01/the-secrets-six-myths-of-the-gun-world.html
I am the kit fox,
I live in uncertainty.
If there is anything difficult,
If there is anything dangerous to do,
That is mine.
-- Sioux warrior's song
***** Safety *****
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
[Hundreds of persons are shot every year in America by persons
cleaning their unloaded guns and persons showing their unloaded
guns to others. -- Jon Low]
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
[Pointing your gun at someone is a very threatening behavior
(legally considered aggravated assault everywhere in America)
and could easily result in you getting shot. -- Jon Low]
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
[Keep your trigger finger in the register position until your sights
are on the target and you have decided to fire. When your sights
come off the target, immediately place your trigger finger in the
register position. -- Jon Low]
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
[Be certain of who you are shooting at. Use a flashlight if necessary.
Know what is behind your target. What's going to get hit if your miss,
or your bullet passes through your intended target? Know what may move
between you and your target. Untrained persons panic in high stress
situations and run around randomly while screaming and shouting. No,
as a matter of fact they do not freeze and drop to the ground. That's
why we have to teach children to drop and roll when on fire. It's
not natural. Nothing about shooting is natural or instinctive.]
“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard
***** Training *****
"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock
Losing A Legend Mourning Mike Voigt
https://americanhandgunner.com/our-experts/losing-a-legend-mourning-mike-voigt
Top instructors don't live forever. Get your training
while they are still alive.
Why do I need to train?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for
that which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
Gabe White Pistol Shooting Solutions
https://gunsmagazine.com/handguns/gabe-white-pistol-shooting-solutions
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence is not an act.
It is a habit."
-- Aristotle
***** Tactics *****
Audacity wins.
-- Carl von Clausewitz
Your Tactical Training Scenario - Shot Through the Door
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-shot-through-the-door
Hard Lessons: Fights
https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/hard-lessons-fights
Excerpt:
"Get out of there before [the police] show up (in which
case it's [the other party's] word against yours), or call
first - which is petty and stupid."
[I don't think calling first is petty or stupid. I think
it is essential. Because as Massad Ayoob says, there are only
two blanks on the police report: Complainant and Respondent.
You want to be the Complainant. You want to be the one who
called first and complained about the other guy. Because whoever
calls first is assumed to be the victim. Good guys call the
police. Bad guys don't. Unless they are petty vindictive
little shits, who are trying to get the police to do their
dirty work for them. So, be the first to call 911. -- Jon Low]
3 Gun Helped Me Survive
https://www.agirlandagun.org/3-gun-helped-me-survive/
Excerpt:
“My comfort with my weapons, knowing their capabilities
and mine, kept me calm and focused.”
Who Dares Wins.
-- motto of the Special Air Service
***** Technique *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
Why We Focus On The Front Sight
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/1/25/why-we-focus-on-the-front-sight/
Defending Yourself Against Dog Attacks
https://www.recoilweb.com/man-bites-dog-143323.html
STREET SMARTS: Countersurveillance Techniques
https://www.swatmag.com/article/street-smarts-countersurveillance-techniques/
Shooting With Your Eyes Closed?
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/shooting-with-your-eyes-closed/
May I invite your attention to the top right photograph?
The burning (glowing) powder is caught in a soleton (solitary wave form).
Most waves are dispersive (expand in space) and dissipative (lose energy
with time and distance). Soletons are neither. Theoretically,
they are tori shaped wave forms that are symmetric about the direction
of propagation. The example pictured is a little distorted.
The particle motion (as in the sense of retrograde or prograde) is
that the inside of the doughnut moves forward (in the direction of
propagation) and the outside moves backward, circulating around the
small diameter of the torus.
I worked with soletons in fluids of many different viscosities in
grad school in attempts to model geologic things under Prof. Dave
Bercovici. He was at the University of Hawaii back then.
He's at Yale now.
Craig Douglas of Shivworks Fights from the Deadly Triangle on Trigger Time TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S84NK6hXJLA&fbclid=IwAR1IDcs_ZF22U9gfoYZvJaDXqgOws3HL40EFJMCfmqnvF1BrTE5mV_RynTk
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** Gear *****
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
I Made A Huge Mistake While Carrying My Gun. Learn From My Experience.
http://concealednation.org/2019/01/i-made-a-huge-mistake-while-carrying-my-gun-learn-from-my-experience/
Rule Four in Self-Defense: Bullets On and Beyond Your Target
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/2/1/rule-four-in-self-defense-bullets-on-and-beyond-your-target/
This is truth. In police shootings (because the government collects
data in these incidents) where the bullet was a hollow point (as just about
all of them are), of the bullets that hit some human, 41% expanded. Because
all kinds of things can prevent the bullet from expanding (clothing plugging
the bullet cavity, the curtains that you shot through, the glass that you
shot through, etc.). Depending on which data set you're analyzing, the
bullet average penetration is around 2 inches. Not sufficient to reach a
vital organ to cause incapacitation. Because many things can block or
impede a bullet (leather jacket, heavy layered winter clothing, body armor,
other body parts, etc.).
I asked for suggestions for a pistol for persons with
small hands on the Rangemaster Instructors Facebook page and
got the following responses:
Glock 48
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield with small insert
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ in 380 auto
Sig Sauer P365
Kahr K9
Walther PPS M2
CZ P-10c
A lot of instructors are saying that the Smith & Wesson
M&P Shield EZ in 380 auto is the way to go for small hands
and/or weak hands (arthritis, etc.).
We have also had success with a small grip on a Sig P320,
and a Ruger American with the grip (back strap) removed.
You might want to go to a gun store and see how these
pistols fit your hand. Or, go to a gun range and rent these
pistols to see if they work for you. Can you get your finger
tips to point back toward you? Can you get your trigger finger
on the trigger such that when you take the slack out of the
trigger, the last bone in your trigger finger is perpendicular
to the bore axis (when the bore is in line with the bones of
your forearm and the trigger is in the middle of your finger
print)? The trigger can be moved by your gunsmith, or the
trigger can be replaced to allow you to get your trigger finger
in the correct position.
Folding Knife Selection, Carry & Access
https://www.mdtstraining.com/folding-knife-selection-carry-access/
Lucky you live in Tennessee. There is no such thing as an
illegal knife in the Volunteer State.
The problem with carrying a folding knife with tip pointing
up, is that it may open while still in your pocket.
"Hey, Staff, why would it do that? How could it do that?"
Because Murphy's Law says that anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong, at the worst possible time. So, it is essential
that you eliminate anything that can go wrong.
A visible pocket clip draws attention. Don't draw attention
to yourself. Put your knife inside your pocket. Don't let the
clip show outside your pocket.
I was getting malfunctions with my Ruger American in .45 ACP.
I bought it new and had fired about 500 rounds through it.
When the slide went forward, the cartridges would dive down into
the magazine, rather than jumping up into the chamber. I checked
several web sites and found the problem reported on a couple of
instructor forums. So, the problem was not unique to me.
I contacted Ruger on their web site. They asked me to shoot
the pistol with several different ammunition types to be sure it
was a pistol/magazine problem and not an ammunition problem.
I did, and still got the malfunctions (2 or 3 within a box of
50 rounds for each type of ammo that I tried). So, Ruger sent me
a Fed Ex shipping label (2nd day express). I packed the pistol
and my three magazines and shipped them off to Ruger. They
notified me to say they received the package and asked me to
give them 5 to 7 days to work on it. They actually took 2 days
(assuming they don't work on weekends), and then shipped it back
to me.
This is what they said they did:
Replaced all 3 magazine followers.
Replaced all 3 magazine springs. (The new springs are much stronger.
I speculate that these stiffer springs are not standard because they
make charging the magazines difficult.)
Repaired the barrel. (They chamfered the mouth of the chamber,
and polished all contact areas between the chamber and cartridge.)
After repair, pistol was function fired 35 rounds of Black Hills
230 grain full metal jacket, without malfunction.
So, I took it to the range to see how it worked for me.
After firing a few rounds of factory new 230 grain FMJ loaded
to the standard speed of 850 feet per second at the muzzle.
(I don't like the term "muzzle velocity", because velocity is a vector.
850 fps is a speed, which is a scalar.) It works fine now.
Shooter’s Tips: Learning the Red Dot
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2019/1/27/shooter-s-tips-learning-the-red-dot/
Things people say: “Don’t carry a nice gun.”
http://www.grantcunningham.com/2018/01/things-people-say-dont-carry-nice-gun/
Excerpt:
"Once in evidence, your gun will not be returned to you until
after all legal proceedings are settled. Even then, it may be
months or even years after the case has been closed before you
get your firearm back. Many people have had to file legal
proceedings to persuade the authorities to return their rightful
property.
What happens to your gun?
Life in an evidence locker isn’t pleasant. Items are tagged
and simply thrown in, without regard for maintaining their
appearance or function. Some evidence rooms are in unheated
basements where the humidity is high and rust is common. If your
handgun or rifle goes into evidence, don’t expect to get it back
in the same condition it was when the police took it from you.
This is just one of those little realities of life.
It’s something you have to accept as part of the cost of self
defense."
***** Instructors *****
Adaptive Shooting Techniques
Developing a New Grip
Reduced Hand Strength or Lack of Support Hand Can Be Overcome
https://www.idpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/TJ_Winter2018_HIGH.pdf
IDPA Tactical Journal, Volume 22, Issue 4, 4th Quarter 2018, page 15.
If you're going to be an instructor, learn how to help
your students develop a proper grip.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
I've never gotten through the first day of a class without
having compiled a list of things that I have to find out for my
students. That's why I am presently using the format of a 12 day
course taught on 12 consecutive Saturdays. It gives me time to
answer the students questions and fix equipment problems (e.g.
The pistol does not work for you. You can use one of my pistols
and gear for today. But, you have to get a pistol that works
for you.)
We either bring in experts or go to experts for:
Law of Self Defense, Andrew Branca, online course.
Force-on-force using Simunitions, Bob Allen of Royal Range.
Judgment (no-shoot / shoot) exercises on video simulators,
Bill Hayes of Axiom Training.
First Aid, Kevin Hunt of Prepared Medical Response.
Tactical scenarios, one of the local IDPA or IPSC clubs.
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."
As such, you have a duty and responsibility to teach
competently. You have to have a deep understanding of the
material that you are teaching. You have to avoid teaching
anything of which you lack a deep understanding.
If you are going to use another instructor's lecture
and give due credit to that instructor, then you have to
read it to your students verbatim. Otherwise, you have to
tell your students that you are paraphrasing. Otherwise,
you have to tell the students that this is your lecture,
some of the ideas of which you have stolen from so and so.
As my fencing coaches told me, there is nothing new
under the sun. There are no secrets. There are just
things that the novice hasn't learned yet. In self defense,
the rules for establishing innocence or regaining innocence
are amazingly analogous to the rules for establishing or
regaining the right of way in foil fencing. Most foil
fencers do not understand the subtleties. So, under
competent judging, they lose. Most carriers of weapons
don't understand the laws of self defense. So, as Claude
Werner says, they have negative outcomes.
Plagiarism is bad. But, using the information and
ideas of others is flattery. And they should graciously
accept your flattery. Citing sources is good. But,
eventually best practices pass into common knowledge.
At which point, citation is a courtesy more than a
scholarly ethic.
"I invented that."
Well, no, you didn't. You may have independently
discovered it. Which is good. But, if you do a literature
search, you'll find it (probably before your birth).
So, stay humble. It avoids embarrassment.
***** Pedagogy *****
Qui docet, discit. (He who teaches learns.)
-- motto of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
"Train, Practice, Compete are the key
elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** Education *****
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
– John Farnam
You can get a free download from USCCA by going to
www.FreeReportGalco.com/
and typing in your email address. They will then email the documents to you.
Ya, it's an advertisement for USCCA, but it's got some useful information
for the neophyte. You might want to forward it to friends of yours who are
new to our lifestyle.
“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam
***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****
How do you win a gunfight? Don’t be there.
-–John Farnam
Martin Luther King Jr. Was Denied Concealed Carry Permit for Self-Defense
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/01/21/martin-luther-king-jr-was-denied-concealed-carry-permit-for-self-defense/
9 Cases That Prove Why We Need AR-15-Style Carbines and Pistols
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2019/01/9-ar-15-cases/
Excepts:
The AR-15 is an assault prevention rifle.
The AR-15 is a lifesaving emergency rescue tool, by design.
All kinds of good stuff at
Crime Prevention Research Center
http://crimeresearch.org
Case Of The Week: Regaining Innocence: Real-World Example
https://lawofselfdefense.com/cotw-regaining-innocence-real-world-example/
Enter the Night!
http://defense-training.com/2018/enter-the-night/
If you think this could never happen in America,
you are naive.
If Gun Control Fascists Didn’t Have Lies . . .
https://lawofselfdefense.com/potd-if-gun-control-fascists-didnt-have-lies-2/
Amazing that the State of Arkansas has a duty to retreat.
Louis Awerbuck: The Exception to the Rule
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/louis-awerbuck-the-exception-to-the-rule/
If Louis said the Springfield Armory XD is the pistol to use,
that's good enough for me.
School Hires Combat Vets With Rifles To ‘Put Down’ Active Shooters
https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/02/13/school-hires-combat-vets-with-rifles-to-put-down-active-shooters/
Yet another Mass Public Shooting in another Gun-free zone:
at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/yet-another-attempted-mass-public-shooting-in-another-gun-free-zone-at-the-henry-pratt-company-in-aurora-illinois/
All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones, because those are
the only places that have unarmed victims for armed criminals to
prey upon.
In gun friendly zones, the prospective victims shoot back.
Only the communist would see a problem with that.
The murderer was a convicted felon, prohibited from
possessing a gun. So, every gun control law failed to prevent
this crime.
The murderer was a repeat offender. In Turkey and Saudi Arabia,
they have no concept of a "repeat offender", because they have no
repeat offenders. When I was in Ankara, I saw a little girl
walking to the grocery store in the middle of the night, by
herself. I asked her where her parents were. She told me they
were at home and had sent her to buy groceries (so she was alone,
carrying a large amount of cash, in a big city). She laughed at
my concern. I approached a policeman (armed with a submachinegun
slung over his shoulder) and told him. He assured me that she
was perfectly safe. And she was.
Stop appointing liberal judges, and you don't have repeat
offenders prowling the streets. Of course, that would require
not electing liberal politicians who appoint the liberal judges,
or not electing liberal judges. Now whose fault is that?
Are you aware of what's going on with West Virginia's
Supreme Court? Judges aren't above the law, they just think
they are.
UPDATED: Why we shouldn’t depend on mental health professionals
to detect mass killers:
Elliot Rodger’s slipping “under the radar” is hardly rare
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/why-we-shouldnt-depend-on-mental-health-professionals-to-detect-mass-killers-elliot-rodgers-slipping-under-the-radar-is-hardly-rare/
Expecting mental health professionals to detect and report
people who are in fact a threat to themselves or others is
nonsense, and always has been (as the above examples show).
The false positives would do horrendous damage to the
reputation of the falsely accused persons, and might permanently
prevent the falsely accused person from possessing a gun. After
a psychiatrist labels you crazy, how do you prove to a anti-gun
liberal judge that you are sane? If you think that is easy,
you are naive. Liberal judges think that wanting to possess a
gun is prima facia evidence of paranoia, a mental illness.
South Dakota becomes 15th state to allow concealed carry without a permit
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/south-dakota-become-15th-state-that-allows-concealed-carry-without-a-permit-in-all-or-virtually-all-the-state/
Yeah! Governor Kristi Noem, pro-gun, and smoking hot
(you have to see her in person). Rush Limbaugh says politics
is akin to movie star celebrity for ugly people. Noem has an
IMDb web page.
Defensive gun uses by people legally carrying guns over the past two months
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/defensive-gun-uses-by-people-legally-carrying-guns-over-the-past-two-months/
Why is Dr. Lott able to do a much better job of reporting
these incidents than the NRA official journal, American Rifleman?
Because his agenda is entirely different from that of the NRA.
At Townhall: Background Checks Bill Would Turn Many
Well-intentioned Americans Into Criminals
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/02/at-townhall-background-checks-bill-would-turn-many-well-intentioned-americans-into-criminals/
Excerpt:
. . . "Virtually every time the government stops someone
from buying a gun, it is a mistake." . . .
If you think getting your name off of the prohibitted list
is not a nightmare, you are naive. Even the late U.S. Senator
Ted Kennedy had a hard time getting his name off the "no fly" list.
Some nameless faceless bureaucrat can put you on the list
without due process, without oversight. The government does not
have to prove that you committed a crime (of which there is a
public record). You have to prove that you do not pose a threat
to yourself or others. How would you prove that?
“Hard times create strong men
Strong men create good times
Good times create weak men
Weak men create hard times”
-- T.J. Weber
***** Survival Tips *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Why Hearing Protection is Important
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/articles/2019/1/29/why-hearing-protection-is-important/
"Hearing loss is permanent and cummulative."
-- Medical experts at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO
at a lecture during a level 3 coaches course.
Failed Kidnapping Leads To Lessons Learned | Active Self Protection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj0e_fhQOgg
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam
***** Basics *****
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Women's Self-defense Technique -
Man Pinning Both Wrists in Mount Position
https://youtu.be/jAh0cU1J5zk
You have to have unarmed techniques,
because you may not be able to access your
weapon initially.
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
***** Miscellany *****
A Warrior, Defined
https://havokjournal.com/culture/a-warrior-defined/
War Just Might Be The Answer - Iliza Shlesinger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DV4JIxEk4s
This is one of the inventions from my company,
Military Systems Group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZtkKtqgBc
Maybe you need one in the back of your pickup truck?
In a previous blog posting, I listed credentials
that would allow the carry of weapons: courier card
(Armed Forces), armed guard license (state), written
contracts with the U.S. State Department (federal),
written orders from the king of the country (foreign),
SOFA treaty (international), and being born into a
royal family (but we can't choose our parents).
My friend, Joe, who is deploying under the
auspices of a United Nations Peace Keeping Force,
has the best yet, a light blue passport. Yes, diplomatic
immunity. The worst one could legally suffer would
be expulsion from the country as a persona non grata.
But, in a contested area, who is going to expel him?
Who would have the authority or inclination to expel
a field grade officer and U.N. Peace Keeper?
When I was at Columbia University in New York,
I had classmates who were the children of diplomats.
They all carried.
And then there are written orders based on
executive orders (such as the early President Bush's
order concerning the Global War On Terrorism).
And then there are letters, such as those issued
by Congress under authority of the
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 11.
Unfortunately, the modern ones are not public record.
But then again, much of our government's budget is
not public record. But, if you follow current
events and notice things that don't make sense or
don't logically follow, you can detect them.
That's what intel analysts do.
For the latest version (it changes almost daily)
of my lesson plans for my NRA Defensive Pistol course,
send me an email. Jon_Low@yahoo.com
The McDonalds restaurant by the Long Meadows
rifle range in in Greenbrier, TN sells "Senior Coffees".
I ask the young lady at the counter, what's a Senior Coffee?
She tells me it's a coffee for anyone over 40 years old.
I give her a quizzical look, because 40 is not a senior
anything in my life experience. She responds to my
look by saying, 40 is really old. I imagine she was
16 or 17. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was 60.
I had forgotten how hard it is to tell a person's
age when you are very young. I remember as a child,
understanding that people grew up and got big, but
I didn't understand that people actually grew old
and died. So, there was always time to do important
things later.
Get your training while you can. Because good
instructors have experience, so they are old. They
aren't going to be teaching forever. People like to
retire. Some people can't retire, because the teaching
is a calling, not a job. But, God has put an expiration
date on all of us.
You can't take a course from
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC
or
Louis Awerbuck, South African Defense Force 1 Spesiale Diens Bataljon
or
CWO2 Pat Rogers, USMC
or . . .
Cheers,
Jon
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
CWP, 22 January 2019 Anno Domini
Greetings Sheepdogs,
***** Mindset *****
I am the kit fox,
I live in uncertainty.
If there is anything difficult,
If there is anything dangerous to do,
That is mine.
-- Sioux warrior's song
Please read "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning"
by John S. Farnam. To order the book, send a check for $30
made out to Defensive Training International to
Mrs. Vicki Farnam
1281 E Magnolia Street
Suite D/340
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Make sure to include your address.
Mr. Farnam teaches to shoot from a stationary position.
Don't move and shoot at the same time. (The games such as IDPA
and IPSC love to force the competitor to shoot while moving.)
But, shooting while moving drastically increases your
probability of missing, and every miss is damaging property
and injuring innocent people, maybe killing them.
"Only those who risk going too far can
possibly find out how far one can go."
-- T.S. Elliot
Voluntary Victims
http://defense-training.com/2018/voluntary-victims/
Excerpt:
“Stay alert and keep your head up.
Out here, not all ‘organ donations’ are voluntarily!”
Complacency kills.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal,
it is the courage to continue that counts.”
“Never, Never, Never Give Up.”
-- Winston Churchill
***** Safety *****
“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard
". . . personal defense is a lifestyle, not a hobby."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
***** Training *****
Why do I need to train?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for
that which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
Stop practicing shooting!
https://thestreetstandards.wordpress.com/2018/12/12/stop-practicing-shooting/
Please read the comments by Marcus Wynne at the end of the blog post.
5 quick and easy spec-ops trigger control tips for defensive pistol precision
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/5-quick-and-easy-spec-ops-trigger-control-tips-for-defensive-pistol-precisi/law-enforcement-defense-security
“When you aren’t skilled and confident,
you get scared and you over react.”
-- Greg Ellifritz
Practice smarter: Information is key to improving shooting
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-information-is-key-to-improving-shooting/law-enforcement-defense-security
Practice smarter: The physiology behind learning
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-the-physiology-behind-learning/law-enforcement-defense-security
Practice smarter: Putting it all together
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-putting-it-all-together/law-enforcement-defense-security
Your Tactical Training Scenario- Castle Doctrine
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-castle-doctrine
Over the Christmas and New Year vacation, I practiced on the simulators
with Axiom Training in Summerville, SC. Email: fma.axiomtraining@yahoo.com
We had students from 11 years of age (female) to 60 (male). We consistently
found that the students shoot over the bad guy, when the bad guy ducks or
falls due to being shot.
John Farnam says you should fire your first shot to the bad guy's
navel (because it is difficult for him to move in such a way so as to
avoid getting hit there) and then the subsequent 3 rounds up the midline to
his neck (and then move).
We had a very ambiguous scenario in which a young man and a young
woman were lying on a couch in a college dormitory setting. He was
holding a knife and trying to convince her to do things. It was not
clear that she was in distress or not enjoying the situation.
The 11 year old girl presented her pistol from concealment and
fired 3 times into the guy (all good solid hits that would have
incapacitated him immediately). In the debriefing, she said that she
thought he was attacking her with the knife (and couldn't understand
how such behavior could be play). When questioned about any concerns
she might have had about missing and hitting the young lady (who was
lying next to the guy), she said it never entered her mind. When
asked if she had used her sight to aim, she said no. She said she
just pointed and shot.
In another scenario, a middle age woman (wife and mother of two)
watched a guest in her house get beaten to death and then allowed the
attacker to turn on her and kill her without presenting her pistol
from her holster. She put her hands on her face and turned to look
at us.
Yes, you can learn a lot in simulator practice. The simulator
is sometimes the crowbar that pries your eyes open to see reality.
Training scars
Are you doing something in training classes that you should not be
doing in combat? Are you doing something during your practice sessions
that you should not be doing in combat?
At Front Sight we learned Administrative Actions. We would do a
chamber check and a magazine check after every exercise before
holstering. The idea was that it ensured you were prepared for the
next exercise. We were repeatedly told that these were administrative
actions and that we were not to do them in a combat situation. But,
as Sara Ahrens says,
“Be careful what you teach. Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
Be careful what you practice. Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous.”
(These are not direct quotes. I have paraphrased Ms. Ahrens.)
So, perhaps the correct thing to do is to dispense with the
administrative actions and simply holster after the After Action Drills.
Then you can practice reloading and clearing malfunctions when needed
in real time.
At Front Sight we never picked up spent casings. The casings
were considered part of the gravel surface on the ground. But, on
some ranges, students are required to police up their brass after
every exercise. Better to pick up brass at the end of the day.
Or, leave the brass on the ground for the brass hounds. There are
people who reload and would love to pick up your brass for you.
Training & Practice: You Need Both to Build Self-Defense Skills
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/1/4/training-practice-you-need-both-to-build-self-defense-skills/
Excerpt:
We train to learn new and proper techniques.
We practice those techniques often enough so
that they become a habit. And it is also the
reason for continuing our education by
taking more classes. Those classes reinforce
what we have learned and give us a chance to
make sure that we are practicing it properly.
There are actually many bad instructors in the
training industry. So, you have to be careful.
If you see them violating any of the 4 basic safety
rules:
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
in their YouTube.com or Photobucket videos or
advertising material, avoid them.
If you see them violating the safety rules in
class or allowing others to violate the safety rules,
leave the class. Don't worry about losing your tuition.
This is a life and death situation.
I have to mention this because very dangerous
practices have appeared in classes on YouTube.com
videos and after action reports from classes as
reported on several instructor forums.
Live fire while persons are down range is wrong.
Dry fire with real pistols while persons are down
range is wrong. Dry fire while aimed at persons is wrong.
"But, Staff, we did that sort of training in
the Marine Corps."
Yes, that is true. We fired artillery over the
heads of other guns in our battery. We crawled under
live machinegun fire and live explosive detonations.
But, I do not believe that that sort of training is
appropriate for civilian self defense operations.
The Armed Forces accept training casualties,
including fatalities. We, as civilian instructors,
should strive for zero training casualties.
Our insurance carriers won't tolerate casualties.
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
Rangemaster newsletter, January 2019 A.D.
http://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-01_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
Remember that recency trumps everything in retention of motor skills, . . .
"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock
***** Tactics *****
Audacity wins.
-- Carl von Clausewitz
"FBI Miami Firefight" by Edmundo and Elizabeth Mireles,
2017. (No publisher listed.) ISBN 978099510308
Excerpts:
". . . In the military, if you run into an ambush,
you assault through the ambush. In law enforcement,
if you run into an ambush, you seek cover, return fire
if possible and call for back up. Two diametrically
opposed philosophies came into direct conflict on that
day." Page 82.
[I teach my students that an immediate explosive
counter attack (or preemptive attack, without telegraphing
your intention) is effective because surprise is a force
multiplier. Col. Cooper espouses similar advise in his book,
"Principles of Personal Defense", ISBN-10: 1581604955
ISBN-13: 978-1581604955
-- Jon Low]
IN EXTREMIS COMMUNICATION, PART 3
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/24/in-extremis-communication-part-3/
Who Dares Wins
-- motto of the Special Air Service
***** Techniques *****
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
10 Common Handgun Draw Mistakes, and How to Fix Them
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2018/12/10-handgun-draw-mistakes/
My comments:
-
Snatch, Don’t Pull
[I had to think about this for a while.
I'm pretty sure what the author is talking about
is jerking the pistol out of the holster, as
opposed to smoothly pulling the pistol out of
the holster. In order to get the inertia
effect that the author is talking about, you
have to have a non-zero third derivative of
displacement with respect to time. [Zeroth
derivative is displacement. 1st derivative is
velocity. 2nd derivative is acceleration.
The automotive industry calls the 3rd derivative
"jerk", because that's what the passengers
in the car feel.] So, you have to jerk the
pistol out of the holster. (Always a good
idea, because in combat, easy things become
difficult and difficult things become impossible.
So, make sure you can do everything easily in
training and practicing.) -- Jon Low]
-
Support Hand
[For us, civilian concealed carriers, the
support hand would not normally be free to slap
the chest. Rather, it would be holding the
concealment garment out of the way. Or, it would
be occupied, forcing a one handed presentation
from the holster. So, slapping the the chest
with the support hand may be forming a training scar.
-- Jon Low]
-
Trigger Control
[All bad autonomic nervous system responses are
defeated by the surprise break. That's why Col.
Jeff Cooper taught it. Anticipating recoil, and
pushing the muzzle low left (for a right handed
shooter), and breathing incorrectly (such as not
breathing) are autonomic nervous system responses.
-- Jon Low]
-
Slow Down Strings
[This is essential, because you can do all
these things only as fast as you can think.
Letting your pre-programmed responses outrun
your rational thought is wrong.
You may have had the experience of outrunning
your GPS unit while driving because you were
driving too fast. Bad results, you missed your
exit, you got into the wrong lane, etc. Worst
case, the cop does not stop you for speeding in
time, and you collide with another vehicle or
pedestrian, killing many. (You may not understand
what I am saying. When I was young, I hated the
cops for giving me speeding tickets. But, I am now
more mature and thoughtful. So, I realize that
the cops pulling me over for speeding, prevented
me from killing many people.) -- Jon Low]
-
Lack of Economy of Motion
“. . . speed is the economy of motion, . . .”
[You must not push yourself to go faster.
Rushing is one of the three causes of mishaps.
The Marine Corps calls self imposed rushing,
time compression. Distraction, breaking habits,
and time compression cause mishaps (in particular
crashing aircraft).
If you want to go faster, practice.
With deliberate practice, you will automatically
get faster.
It takes about 2000 repetitions to engrain
muscle memory, so you can execute the action without
conscious thought. How many times have you pissed
into the toilet bowl? Way more than 2000, right?
Why do you still miss? Because, your are not doing
it deliberately. You are not concentrating on what
you are doing. Repetition of an action is not the
same as deliberate practice. -- Jon Low]
-
Re-holstering
“If you don’t practice that and you’re in a
high-stress situation it’s going to be very difficult.”
[If you don't re-holster, the cops might shoot you,
because you are the person with the pistol in hand
at an active crime scene. -- Jon Low]
*** The following are related and should be read in the order presented. ***
Front sight focus or point shooting: Which is better?
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/front-sight-focus-or-point-shooting-which-is-better/law-enforcement-defense-security
Sighted vs. point shooting: Myths and realities
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/sighted-vs.-point-shooting-myths-and-realities/recreation-leisure
Excerpts:
This is something that shooters can eventually do
subconsciously . . . in a few thousandths of a second
instead of 0.4 seconds, or more.
. . .
Everything was being driven by the subconscious.
. . .
But I do agree with point shooting as a step in the sighted shooting process.
Why the quickest thing you can do to shoot better is something you shouldn’t do
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/why-the-quickest-thing-you-can-do-to-shoot-better-is-something-you-shouldnt/law-enforcement-defense-security
Speed vs. accuracy in training and self-defense
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/speed-vs.-accuracy-in-training-and-self-defense/law-enforcement-defense-security
Excerpt:
So, it’s really important that you do the shooting fundamentals
on autopilot so that your cortex can make smart choices about
whether or not to shoot and what to shoot.
*** End of related articles. ***
Craig Douglas teaches How to draw a firearm while standing in a crowd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZwYmNwlVi8&fbclid=IwAR0ihslCuwjd-UGzvEXuDwBA9beNJr2RvLDfozErA7RvJZzBWO6Ib4DQCjw
After Drawing, When Should You See Your Sights?
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/after-drawing-when-should-you-see-your-sights
HOW TO ESCAPE A STANDING REAR CHOKE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMESzGWGV7M
This technique is similar to the technique taught
in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. As with all
self-defense techniques, the goal is to escape.
The Marine Corps technique's (taught in 1981) goal was
to incapacitate or kill. The Judo we learned in boot
camp was not the sport Judo taught in civilian schools
for progression into Olympic competition. Sport Judo
is sanitized. They do not teach techniques that would
injure or kill the opponent. Parents wouldn't send
their children to such classes.
How do you win a gunfight? Don’t be there.
-–John Farnam
***** Gear *****
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
"FBI Miami Firefight" by Edmundo and Elizabeth Mireles,
2017. (No publisher listed.) ISBN 978099510308
Excerpt:
"Keeping in mind that the Wound Ballistics Workshop
concluded that size does matter, . . . " (the author
italicized the word "does"). Page 138.
[That is why you should shoot the biggest bullet
that you can shoot accurately. -- Jon Low]
I got a holster from
Craft Holsters
https://www.craftholsters.com/
Ivana Krasku 980/9
96901 Banska Stiavnica
Slovakia
(They had initiated the contact because apparently someone in Slovakia is reading this blog.)
Model: Open-Muzzle IWB Holster
Color: Black
Handed: Right
Gun: manufacturer Ruger, model American, .45 ACP
As described and pictured on the web page,
https://www.craftholsters.com/open-muzzle-iwb-holster-p79
$59.95
Shipping $17.95 UPS
The material quality is high. The quality of workmanship
is high. The areas that need to be reinforced are (so the
mouth of the holster stays open and it appears that the holster
will not wear out in normal usage before the pistol does).
Double stitching throughout. Molding is well done.
Tension screw is effective at controlling the friction on
the trigger guard that holds the pistol in the holster.
(I like my holsters tight, so my pistol won't fall out
when I break dance. Don't want to be like that FBI special
agent who dropped his pistol at the night club and then
negligently shot a guy when the agent picked up the pistol.
Ya, I have to jerk hard to get the pistol out of the holster,
but that's the trade off I'm willing to make.)
As with all high quality leather holsters, it is tight at
first and needs a break in period, but then it holds the pistol
firmly and consistently. I had forgotten the smell of high
quality leather. I haven't bought a leather holster since
my Kramer decades ago. (I've been using hybrid holsters
of leather and Kydex.) The snaps that hold the holster to
my belt are secure. Wearing the holster in the 3 o'clock
position is comfortable. No sharp edges digging into me
or anything like that. I can bend my leg at the hip without
the holster impeding movement. There is no adjustment
(as in most hybrid holsters) for cant or position of
carry up and down relative to your belt. But, it is
designed correctly, so that's not a problem.
I recommend this holster without reservation.
Finding a pistol grip that fits your hand is essential
for weapon retention and accuracy. Your glove size
(circumference measured around your knuckles) is not relevant.
The length of your fingers (not your thumb) is really what matters.
When you have established a correct high tight grip, and
the barrel is in line with the bones of your forearm
(in the same line, not just parallel to) your fingers
should wrap around the grip so that your finger tips point
back toward you.
Try grabbing a hammer. Got a solid strong grip?
Try grabbing a pencil in the same way. Too small, right?
Try grabbing a basketball in the same way. Too big, right?
There is an optimal size of an object that allows you to
get your strongest hand grip on that object. On your pistol grip,
it is the largest grip that allows your finger tips to
point back toward you.
Why do you need a strong grip? So, the pistol doesn't
come out of your hand. Well, someone may be trying to rip
it out of your hand or you may have bumped into something
that would knock the pistol out of your hand.
Ordering some full size self-defense pistols in .45 ACP
from fattest grip to thinnest grip (in my opinion)
we have (magazine capacity + 1 in the chamber):
Glock G21, 13+1
Para Ordnance, 14+1
Springfield Armory XD, 13+1
Heckler & Kock USP, 12+1
Heckler & Kock HK45, 10+1
Smith & Wesson M&P, 10+1
Ruger American, 10+1
CZ 97 B, 10+1
Model 1911 type single stack pistols, 8+1
(Of course, you can change the stocks, back strap,
etc. to change the size of the grip.) Grip size is more
important than magazine capacity. Don't be silly with
life and death decisions.
Once, you find a pistol with correct grip size for
your hand, you have to adjust the trigger so that when
you place the center of your fingerprint on the center
of the trigger, and you have taken the slack out of the
trigger, the last bone of your trigger finger is
perpendicular to the barrel. That is to say, your
trigger finger is pressing the trigger straight to the
rear, without any vector component of force in any other
direction. So, your gunsmith may have to move your
trigger, or you may have to change your trigger. Just
do it. Don't compromise your grip to get proper trigger
placement.
I met a Customs and Border Patrol Officer at an
instructor's class whose hand was too small for his
pistol's grip (a Glock). So, he rotated his hand around
the grip, so he could get his finger on the trigger.
(So, his thumb did not lay flat against the side of
his pistol, but rather pointed out to the side.)
He had to do this because his agency would not allow
him to use some other pistol and would not allow him
to modify the trigger on his issued pistol. (He put in
a lot of practice and shot quite well. But, WHY?
This is akin to forcing all of your agents to wear
the same size shoes. Can you imagine trying to work
in shoes that don't fit your feet?) As a civilian,
you don't have such ridiculous restrictions. So,
get a proper fitting pistol grip and move your trigger
to accommodate the length of your trigger finger.
Your pistol should be ambidextrous. Just because you're
right handed doesn't mean you're going to be right handed in
combat. The person you give your pistol to might not be right
handed.
Pistols such as the Glock and Smith&Wesson M&P allow you to
move parts to make the pistol left handed. That's not the
same as being ambidextrous, and once so configured will
present a problem for the right handed shooter (which may
be you, being forced to shoot with your support side hand).
The truly ambidextrous pistols that I know of are:
Springfield Armory XD
Ruger American
Some of the Fabrique Nationale Herstal pistols
Some of the Heckler and Koch pistols
Some of the Walther pistols
Charter Arms makes a left handed revolver. But, you
should not be using a revolver for combat. They don't
hold enough ammunition. They take too long to reload.
They are too difficult to reload under stress or one handed.
All other revolvers are extremely right handed and difficult
to manipulate left handed.
If you choose to have a manual thumb safety on your
pistol, it should be ambidextrous. But, you should not
have a manual thumb safety. Unless, you are going to
practice enough to automatically defeat the safety when
you present your pistol, and automatically engage the
safety immediately before holstering (which takes about
2000 deliberate correct repetitions). So, in the modern
manual of arms, the safety is only engaged when the pistol
is holstered. If you have a properly designed holster,
it will cover the trigger. So, the manual thumb safety
is not useful. That's why most modern combat pistols
don't have manual thumb safeties.
***** Instructors *****
"In martial arts and especially if you claim to teach self-defense,
the price of error is blood. The luxury of an instructor is that
it will not be your blood. That makes bullshit more reprehensible,
not less." -- Rory Miller
Instructors, please read "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning"
by John S. Farnam; completely, not just the parts that pertain to you.
Because you will have to teach those left handed revolver techniques to
your student. Well, you will, if you are worth your salt.
Shooting Sports Industry Influencer Series: John Chapman
https://www.getzone.com/shooting-sports-industry-influencer-series-john-chapman/
Excerpt:
"Talking negatively about other instructors is a huge red flag."
This is truth.
My aunt Lois told me, if you don't have anything nice to say,
don't say anything.
It's a matter of maturity, spiritual maturity.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
The Telephone Game and the Training Industry
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/the-telephone-game-and-the-training-industry/
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."
***** Pedagogy *****
"Train, Practice, Compete are the key
elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** Education *****
Video Podcast: Concealed Carry and Responsibilities
http://www.downrange.tv/blog/video-podcast-concealed-carry-and-responsibilities/42719/
This is reality.
Excerpt:
Adaptive thinkers and competent doers.
Louis Awerbuck: Interview With a Madman
https://louisawerbuckinterviewwithamadman.blogspot.com/2009/02/jeff-cooper-once-told-me-that-he.html
Excerpts:
. . . All males from the shoulder line to the waist are the same height,
whether it’s me or a basketball player. And from nipple to nipple they’re
all nine inches wide. So in a full frontal shot, if you’re out nine inches
here you’ve got nothing. . . .
[Mr. Awerbuck's training is one of the reasons that I took my
children to a 4-day defensive handgun class when they were 14 years
old. He was correct about a lot of things. And humble to the end.
-- Jon Low]
The odds and stakes of home protection
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/12/23/the-odds-and-stakes-of-home-protection/
Driving 201: Road Tactics
https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/driving-201-road-tactics
Small Arms Survey report: Improvised weapons
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/about-us/highlights/2018/highlight-report-improvised.html
Free download at
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/U-Reports/SAS-improvised-craft-weapons-report.pdf
We're not talking about zip-guns. We're talking craft-production.
We're not talking handtools in your garage. We're talking top of the
line milling machines and lathes. No, I'm not advertising for my
employer.
An Introductory Guide to the Identification of
Small Arms, Light Weapons, and Associated Ammunition
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/resources/publications/by-type/handbooks/weapons-id-handbook.html
Free downloads at the web site. For those of you who have been through
any of the intelligence schools, check out chapters 7, 8, and 9. I have
a high school classmate who has worked as an intelligence analyst since
grad school. He sits in an air conditioned office in Suitland, MD.
I told him that he should get out in the field and see the real world.
Criminals do not appear out of no where.
If you didn't see him coming, shame on you.
"Criminal Assault Pre-Incident Indicators"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPbCw9pV90c&fbclid=IwAR0Vq3tOjlj7MQbqBbGREnaTXwH9IGXjPMAtSkyPhALrQsfvPHk0390JYSI
If you didn't take immediate action (like running away)
when you noticed him, shame on you.
"I'm the victim! It's not my fault!"
Completely false. If you live defensively, you will have time to avoid.
"The car accident wasn't my fault. I had the right of way."
Completely false. If you drive defensively, you will never get into a collision.
(Even if someone intentionally attempts to ram you.)
If you have a collision with a stationary object, you are an incompetent
driver, and you need to take training and practice until you are competent.
Cars are unstable when driven backwards. If you can drive
backwards fast in a controlled manner, you are well on your way
to becoming a competent defensive driver.
If you are constantly scanning 360 degrees around, even when
you are stopped at an intersection, you will notice the car barreling
down behind you, and you will have time to pull onto the sidewalk
to avoid getting rear ended.
Yes, we are that type of person.
Awareness & Action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Bp6jxKR6s
FPFTraining
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSV5s-3gY-0WLDewDQ5WbPA
“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam
***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****
Downrange Failure
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/downrange-failure/
Media Hype Questionable Gun Control Study
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=lXGgI2E5JUw
What you believe depends on what you choose to read and watch.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=747672642281894&id=100011174952414
"There is no journalism. There is only propaganda."
-- Prof. Yerkes, English Department, Columbia University (~1977 A.D.)
"When You Give a Teacher a Gun" in Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine
https://www.gq.com/story/when-you-give-a-teacher-a-gun
A reporter embeds with a FASTER Saves Lives class in Ohio.
Few tyrants argue for 'slavery of the masses.'
Instead, they argue for the power to
'protect people from themselves.'
-- AE Samaan
***** Survival Tips *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
This is why you must never send your child to a government school.
UNPREPARED AND OVERWHELMED
http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/
This happens all over the world, all the time. About once
a week world wide. (I read and analyze open source intelligence.
It was my job in the Marine Corps for 3 decades.) A concentration
of children with unarmed and untrained adults is a honey pot for
criminals and terrorists. Notice the sexual predators kept at the
school by the district administrators in spite of the investigator's
recommendation to fire that faculty member.
When Cops Shoot an Unarmed Kid
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/when-cops-shoot-an-unarmed-kid
This is truth. As Ralph Morz says, police departments
disqualify any applicant with any arrest record. So, they end up
with applicants who have never been in a fight, not even a shoving
conflict. Can such people handle violent confrontations? They
can't even conceive of a violent confrontation. So, what do they
do when they can't control the situation? They go to guns.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam
Or, . . . as my girlfriend says,
"That's a horrible idea. What time?"
***** Basics *****
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Training: Three ready positions every concealed carrier should know
https://www.guns.com/news/review/training-three-ready-positions-every-concealed-carrier-should-know
The problem with the Sul position is that you only have one
hand on the pistol. So, we teach a retention Sul position, which
is the same as the Sul, except that the support side hand is in
front of the pistol (holding the pistol), instead of behind the pistol.
The thumb tips are still in contact to prevent the possibility of
shooting your support side hand. (Ya, I know that sounds stupid.
But, it's a real thing.)
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
***** Miscellany *****
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence is not an act.
It is a habit."
-- Aristotle
Pro Tip: Understanding Parallax | Shooting USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Q9O_jzs6Q
How Does it Work: Open Bolt vs Closed Bolt Firearms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Ga4uoWmfEt4
Individuals and churches come to me for training.
Usually after a traumatic experience. When they realize
how inept they are at personal or organizational security.
A young lady asked me for training because she and her
friend had been followed by two men in a Kroger grocery
store. The men followed them out to their car.
I reach out to churches, businesses, and individuals.
Because the training prevents the criminal predator from
choosing the trained person to victimize in the first
place, avoiding the trauma. Training changes the person's
personality, behavior, body language, etc. The trained
person leaks information that makes it clear to any
observer this is not an easy submissive target.
For the latest version (it changes almost daily)
of my lesson plans for my NRA Defensive Pistol course,
send me an email. Jon_Low@yahoo.com
“After our enemies with guns have all been wiped out,
there will still be enemies without guns, and they
are bound to struggle desperately against us.
We must never regard these enemies lightly.”
-- Mao Tse Tung
Report to the Second Plenary Session of the
Seventh Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, 1949 A.D.
Cheers,
Low Jun Hin
Report to the Sheepdogs of Defensive Pistolcraft
Patriotic Defenders of the Second Amendment
United States of America, 2019 A.D.
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
***** Mindset *****
I am the kit fox,
I live in uncertainty.
If there is anything difficult,
If there is anything dangerous to do,
That is mine.
-- Sioux warrior's song
Please read "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning"
by John S. Farnam. To order the book, send a check for $30
made out to Defensive Training International to
Mrs. Vicki Farnam
1281 E Magnolia Street
Suite D/340
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Make sure to include your address.
Mr. Farnam teaches to shoot from a stationary position.
Don't move and shoot at the same time. (The games such as IDPA
and IPSC love to force the competitor to shoot while moving.)
But, shooting while moving drastically increases your
probability of missing, and every miss is damaging property
and injuring innocent people, maybe killing them.
"Only those who risk going too far can
possibly find out how far one can go."
-- T.S. Elliot
Voluntary Victims
http://defense-training.com/2018/voluntary-victims/
Excerpt:
“Stay alert and keep your head up.
Out here, not all ‘organ donations’ are voluntarily!”
Complacency kills.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal,
it is the courage to continue that counts.”
“Never, Never, Never Give Up.”
-- Winston Churchill
***** Safety *****
“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard
". . . personal defense is a lifestyle, not a hobby."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
***** Training *****
Why do I need to train?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for
that which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
Stop practicing shooting!
https://thestreetstandards.wordpress.com/2018/12/12/stop-practicing-shooting/
Please read the comments by Marcus Wynne at the end of the blog post.
5 quick and easy spec-ops trigger control tips for defensive pistol precision
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/5-quick-and-easy-spec-ops-trigger-control-tips-for-defensive-pistol-precisi/law-enforcement-defense-security
“When you aren’t skilled and confident,
you get scared and you over react.”
-- Greg Ellifritz
Practice smarter: Information is key to improving shooting
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-information-is-key-to-improving-shooting/law-enforcement-defense-security
Practice smarter: The physiology behind learning
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-the-physiology-behind-learning/law-enforcement-defense-security
Practice smarter: Putting it all together
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/practice-smarter-putting-it-all-together/law-enforcement-defense-security
Your Tactical Training Scenario- Castle Doctrine
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-castle-doctrine
Over the Christmas and New Year vacation, I practiced on the simulators
with Axiom Training in Summerville, SC. Email: fma.axiomtraining@yahoo.com
We had students from 11 years of age (female) to 60 (male). We consistently
found that the students shoot over the bad guy, when the bad guy ducks or
falls due to being shot.
John Farnam says you should fire your first shot to the bad guy's
navel (because it is difficult for him to move in such a way so as to
avoid getting hit there) and then the subsequent 3 rounds up the midline to
his neck (and then move).
We had a very ambiguous scenario in which a young man and a young
woman were lying on a couch in a college dormitory setting. He was
holding a knife and trying to convince her to do things. It was not
clear that she was in distress or not enjoying the situation.
The 11 year old girl presented her pistol from concealment and
fired 3 times into the guy (all good solid hits that would have
incapacitated him immediately). In the debriefing, she said that she
thought he was attacking her with the knife (and couldn't understand
how such behavior could be play). When questioned about any concerns
she might have had about missing and hitting the young lady (who was
lying next to the guy), she said it never entered her mind. When
asked if she had used her sight to aim, she said no. She said she
just pointed and shot.
In another scenario, a middle age woman (wife and mother of two)
watched a guest in her house get beaten to death and then allowed the
attacker to turn on her and kill her without presenting her pistol
from her holster. She put her hands on her face and turned to look
at us.
Yes, you can learn a lot in simulator practice. The simulator
is sometimes the crowbar that pries your eyes open to see reality.
Training scars
Are you doing something in training classes that you should not be
doing in combat? Are you doing something during your practice sessions
that you should not be doing in combat?
At Front Sight we learned Administrative Actions. We would do a
chamber check and a magazine check after every exercise before
holstering. The idea was that it ensured you were prepared for the
next exercise. We were repeatedly told that these were administrative
actions and that we were not to do them in a combat situation. But,
as Sara Ahrens says,
“Be careful what you teach. Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
Be careful what you practice. Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous.”
(These are not direct quotes. I have paraphrased Ms. Ahrens.)
So, perhaps the correct thing to do is to dispense with the
administrative actions and simply holster after the After Action Drills.
Then you can practice reloading and clearing malfunctions when needed
in real time.
At Front Sight we never picked up spent casings. The casings
were considered part of the gravel surface on the ground. But, on
some ranges, students are required to police up their brass after
every exercise. Better to pick up brass at the end of the day.
Or, leave the brass on the ground for the brass hounds. There are
people who reload and would love to pick up your brass for you.
Training & Practice: You Need Both to Build Self-Defense Skills
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/1/4/training-practice-you-need-both-to-build-self-defense-skills/
Excerpt:
We train to learn new and proper techniques.
We practice those techniques often enough so
that they become a habit. And it is also the
reason for continuing our education by
taking more classes. Those classes reinforce
what we have learned and give us a chance to
make sure that we are practicing it properly.
There are actually many bad instructors in the
training industry. So, you have to be careful.
If you see them violating any of the 4 basic safety
rules:
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
in their YouTube.com or Photobucket videos or
advertising material, avoid them.
If you see them violating the safety rules in
class or allowing others to violate the safety rules,
leave the class. Don't worry about losing your tuition.
This is a life and death situation.
I have to mention this because very dangerous
practices have appeared in classes on YouTube.com
videos and after action reports from classes as
reported on several instructor forums.
Live fire while persons are down range is wrong.
Dry fire with real pistols while persons are down
range is wrong. Dry fire while aimed at persons is wrong.
"But, Staff, we did that sort of training in
the Marine Corps."
Yes, that is true. We fired artillery over the
heads of other guns in our battery. We crawled under
live machinegun fire and live explosive detonations.
But, I do not believe that that sort of training is
appropriate for civilian self defense operations.
The Armed Forces accept training casualties,
including fatalities. We, as civilian instructors,
should strive for zero training casualties.
Our insurance carriers won't tolerate casualties.
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
Rangemaster newsletter, January 2019 A.D.
http://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-01_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
Excerpt:
Remember that recency trumps everything in retention of motor skills, . . .
"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock
***** Tactics *****
Audacity wins.
-- Carl von Clausewitz
"FBI Miami Firefight" by Edmundo and Elizabeth Mireles,
2017. (No publisher listed.) ISBN 978099510308
Excerpts:
". . . In the military, if you run into an ambush,
you assault through the ambush. In law enforcement,
if you run into an ambush, you seek cover, return fire
if possible and call for back up. Two diametrically
opposed philosophies came into direct conflict on that
day." Page 82.
[I teach my students that an immediate explosive
counter attack (or preemptive attack, without telegraphing
your intention) is effective because surprise is a force
multiplier. Col. Cooper espouses similar advise in his book,
"Principles of Personal Defense", ISBN-10: 1581604955
ISBN-13: 978-1581604955
-- Jon Low]
IN EXTREMIS COMMUNICATION, PART 3
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/24/in-extremis-communication-part-3/
Who Dares Wins
-- motto of the Special Air Service
***** Techniques *****
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
10 Common Handgun Draw Mistakes, and How to Fix Them
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2018/12/10-handgun-draw-mistakes/
My comments:
-
Snatch, Don’t Pull
[I had to think about this for a while.
I'm pretty sure what the author is talking about
is jerking the pistol out of the holster, as
opposed to smoothly pulling the pistol out of
the holster. In order to get the inertia
effect that the author is talking about, you
have to have a non-zero third derivative of
displacement with respect to time. [Zeroth
derivative is displacement. 1st derivative is
velocity. 2nd derivative is acceleration.
The automotive industry calls the 3rd derivative
"jerk", because that's what the passengers
in the car feel.] So, you have to jerk the
pistol out of the holster. (Always a good
idea, because in combat, easy things become
difficult and difficult things become impossible.
So, make sure you can do everything easily in
training and practicing.) -- Jon Low]
-
Support Hand
[For us, civilian concealed carriers, the
support hand would not normally be free to slap
the chest. Rather, it would be holding the
concealment garment out of the way. Or, it would
be occupied, forcing a one handed presentation
from the holster. So, slapping the the chest
with the support hand may be forming a training scar.
-- Jon Low]
-
Trigger Control
[All bad autonomic nervous system responses are
defeated by the surprise break. That's why Col.
Jeff Cooper taught it. Anticipating recoil, and
pushing the muzzle low left (for a right handed
shooter), and breathing incorrectly (such as not
breathing) are autonomic nervous system responses.
-- Jon Low]
-
Slow Down Strings
[This is essential, because you can do all
these things only as fast as you can think.
Letting your pre-programmed responses outrun
your rational thought is wrong.
You may have had the experience of outrunning
your GPS unit while driving because you were
driving too fast. Bad results, you missed your
exit, you got into the wrong lane, etc. Worst
case, the cop does not stop you for speeding in
time, and you collide with another vehicle or
pedestrian, killing many. (You may not understand
what I am saying. When I was young, I hated the
cops for giving me speeding tickets. But, I am now
more mature and thoughtful. So, I realize that
the cops pulling me over for speeding, prevented
me from killing many people.) -- Jon Low]
-
Lack of Economy of Motion
“. . . speed is the economy of motion, . . .”
[You must not push yourself to go faster.
Rushing is one of the three causes of mishaps.
The Marine Corps calls self imposed rushing,
time compression. Distraction, breaking habits,
and time compression cause mishaps (in particular
crashing aircraft).
If you want to go faster, practice.
With deliberate practice, you will automatically
get faster.
It takes about 2000 repetitions to engrain
muscle memory, so you can execute the action without
conscious thought. How many times have you pissed
into the toilet bowl? Way more than 2000, right?
Why do you still miss? Because, your are not doing
it deliberately. You are not concentrating on what
you are doing. Repetition of an action is not the
same as deliberate practice. -- Jon Low]
-
Re-holstering
“If you don’t practice that and you’re in a
high-stress situation it’s going to be very difficult.”
[If you don't re-holster, the cops might shoot you,
because you are the person with the pistol in hand
at an active crime scene. -- Jon Low]
*** The following are related and should be read in the order presented. ***
Front sight focus or point shooting: Which is better?
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/front-sight-focus-or-point-shooting-which-is-better/law-enforcement-defense-security
Sighted vs. point shooting: Myths and realities
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/sighted-vs.-point-shooting-myths-and-realities/recreation-leisure
Excerpts:
This is something that shooters can eventually do
subconsciously . . . in a few thousandths of a second
instead of 0.4 seconds, or more.
. . .
Everything was being driven by the subconscious.
. . .
But I do agree with point shooting as a step in the sighted shooting process.
Why the quickest thing you can do to shoot better is something you shouldn’t do
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/why-the-quickest-thing-you-can-do-to-shoot-better-is-something-you-shouldnt/law-enforcement-defense-security
Speed vs. accuracy in training and self-defense
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/speed-vs.-accuracy-in-training-and-self-defense/law-enforcement-defense-security
Excerpt:
So, it’s really important that you do the shooting fundamentals
on autopilot so that your cortex can make smart choices about
whether or not to shoot and what to shoot.
*** End of related articles. ***
Craig Douglas teaches How to draw a firearm while standing in a crowd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZwYmNwlVi8&fbclid=IwAR0ihslCuwjd-UGzvEXuDwBA9beNJr2RvLDfozErA7RvJZzBWO6Ib4DQCjw
After Drawing, When Should You See Your Sights?
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/after-drawing-when-should-you-see-your-sights
HOW TO ESCAPE A STANDING REAR CHOKE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMESzGWGV7M
This technique is similar to the technique taught
in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. As with all
self-defense techniques, the goal is to escape.
The Marine Corps technique's (taught in 1981) goal was
to incapacitate or kill. The Judo we learned in boot
camp was not the sport Judo taught in civilian schools
for progression into Olympic competition. Sport Judo
is sanitized. They do not teach techniques that would
injure or kill the opponent. Parents wouldn't send
their children to such classes.
How do you win a gunfight? Don’t be there.
-–John Farnam
***** Gear *****
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
"FBI Miami Firefight" by Edmundo and Elizabeth Mireles,
2017. (No publisher listed.) ISBN 978099510308
Excerpt:
"Keeping in mind that the Wound Ballistics Workshop
concluded that size does matter, . . . " (the author
italicized the word "does"). Page 138.
[That is why you should shoot the biggest bullet
that you can shoot accurately. -- Jon Low]
I got a holster from
Craft Holsters
https://www.craftholsters.com/
Ivana Krasku 980/9
96901 Banska Stiavnica
Slovakia
(They had initiated the contact because apparently someone in Slovakia is reading this blog.)
Model: Open-Muzzle IWB Holster
Color: Black
Handed: Right
Gun: manufacturer Ruger, model American, .45 ACP
As described and pictured on the web page,
https://www.craftholsters.com/open-muzzle-iwb-holster-p79
$59.95
Shipping $17.95 UPS
The material quality is high. The quality of workmanship
is high. The areas that need to be reinforced are (so the
mouth of the holster stays open and it appears that the holster
will not wear out in normal usage before the pistol does).
Double stitching throughout. Molding is well done.
Tension screw is effective at controlling the friction on
the trigger guard that holds the pistol in the holster.
(I like my holsters tight, so my pistol won't fall out
when I break dance. Don't want to be like that FBI special
agent who dropped his pistol at the night club and then
negligently shot a guy when the agent picked up the pistol.
Ya, I have to jerk hard to get the pistol out of the holster,
but that's the trade off I'm willing to make.)
As with all high quality leather holsters, it is tight at
first and needs a break in period, but then it holds the pistol
firmly and consistently. I had forgotten the smell of high
quality leather. I haven't bought a leather holster since
my Kramer decades ago. (I've been using hybrid holsters
of leather and Kydex.) The snaps that hold the holster to
my belt are secure. Wearing the holster in the 3 o'clock
position is comfortable. No sharp edges digging into me
or anything like that. I can bend my leg at the hip without
the holster impeding movement. There is no adjustment
(as in most hybrid holsters) for cant or position of
carry up and down relative to your belt. But, it is
designed correctly, so that's not a problem.
I recommend this holster without reservation.
Finding a pistol grip that fits your hand is essential
for weapon retention and accuracy. Your glove size
(circumference measured around your knuckles) is not relevant.
The length of your fingers (not your thumb) is really what matters.
When you have established a correct high tight grip, and
the barrel is in line with the bones of your forearm
(in the same line, not just parallel to) your fingers
should wrap around the grip so that your finger tips point
back toward you.
Try grabbing a hammer. Got a solid strong grip?
Try grabbing a pencil in the same way. Too small, right?
Try grabbing a basketball in the same way. Too big, right?
There is an optimal size of an object that allows you to
get your strongest hand grip on that object. On your pistol grip,
it is the largest grip that allows your finger tips to
point back toward you.
Why do you need a strong grip? So, the pistol doesn't
come out of your hand. Well, someone may be trying to rip
it out of your hand or you may have bumped into something
that would knock the pistol out of your hand.
Ordering some full size self-defense pistols in .45 ACP
from fattest grip to thinnest grip (in my opinion)
we have (magazine capacity + 1 in the chamber):
Glock G21, 13+1
Para Ordnance, 14+1
Springfield Armory XD, 13+1
Heckler & Kock USP, 12+1
Heckler & Kock HK45, 10+1
Smith & Wesson M&P, 10+1
Ruger American, 10+1
CZ 97 B, 10+1
Model 1911 type single stack pistols, 8+1
(Of course, you can change the stocks, back strap,
etc. to change the size of the grip.) Grip size is more
important than magazine capacity. Don't be silly with
life and death decisions.
Once, you find a pistol with correct grip size for
your hand, you have to adjust the trigger so that when
you place the center of your fingerprint on the center
of the trigger, and you have taken the slack out of the
trigger, the last bone of your trigger finger is
perpendicular to the barrel. That is to say, your
trigger finger is pressing the trigger straight to the
rear, without any vector component of force in any other
direction. So, your gunsmith may have to move your
trigger, or you may have to change your trigger. Just
do it. Don't compromise your grip to get proper trigger
placement.
I met a Customs and Border Patrol Officer at an
instructor's class whose hand was too small for his
pistol's grip (a Glock). So, he rotated his hand around
the grip, so he could get his finger on the trigger.
(So, his thumb did not lay flat against the side of
his pistol, but rather pointed out to the side.)
He had to do this because his agency would not allow
him to use some other pistol and would not allow him
to modify the trigger on his issued pistol. (He put in
a lot of practice and shot quite well. But, WHY?
This is akin to forcing all of your agents to wear
the same size shoes. Can you imagine trying to work
in shoes that don't fit your feet?) As a civilian,
you don't have such ridiculous restrictions. So,
get a proper fitting pistol grip and move your trigger
to accommodate the length of your trigger finger.
Your pistol should be ambidextrous. Just because you're
right handed doesn't mean you're going to be right handed in
combat. The person you give your pistol to might not be right
handed.
Pistols such as the Glock and Smith&Wesson M&P allow you to
move parts to make the pistol left handed. That's not the
same as being ambidextrous, and once so configured will
present a problem for the right handed shooter (which may
be you, being forced to shoot with your support side hand).
The truly ambidextrous pistols that I know of are:
Springfield Armory XD
Ruger American
Some of the Fabrique Nationale Herstal pistols
Some of the Heckler and Koch pistols
Some of the Walther pistols
Charter Arms makes a left handed revolver. But, you
should not be using a revolver for combat. They don't
hold enough ammunition. They take too long to reload.
They are too difficult to reload under stress or one handed.
All other revolvers are extremely right handed and difficult
to manipulate left handed.
If you choose to have a manual thumb safety on your
pistol, it should be ambidextrous. But, you should not
have a manual thumb safety. Unless, you are going to
practice enough to automatically defeat the safety when
you present your pistol, and automatically engage the
safety immediately before holstering (which takes about
2000 deliberate correct repetitions). So, in the modern
manual of arms, the safety is only engaged when the pistol
is holstered. If you have a properly designed holster,
it will cover the trigger. So, the manual thumb safety
is not useful. That's why most modern combat pistols
don't have manual thumb safeties.
***** Instructors *****
"In martial arts and especially if you claim to teach self-defense,
the price of error is blood. The luxury of an instructor is that
it will not be your blood. That makes bullshit more reprehensible,
not less." -- Rory Miller
Instructors, please read "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning"
by John S. Farnam; completely, not just the parts that pertain to you.
Because you will have to teach those left handed revolver techniques to
your student. Well, you will, if you are worth your salt.
Shooting Sports Industry Influencer Series: John Chapman
https://www.getzone.com/shooting-sports-industry-influencer-series-john-chapman/
Excerpt:
"Talking negatively about other instructors is a huge red flag."
This is truth.
My aunt Lois told me, if you don't have anything nice to say,
don't say anything.
It's a matter of maturity, spiritual maturity.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
The Telephone Game and the Training Industry
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/the-telephone-game-and-the-training-industry/
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."
***** Pedagogy *****
"Train, Practice, Compete are the key
elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** Education *****
Video Podcast: Concealed Carry and Responsibilities
http://www.downrange.tv/blog/video-podcast-concealed-carry-and-responsibilities/42719/
This is reality.
Excerpt:
Adaptive thinkers and competent doers.
Louis Awerbuck: Interview With a Madman
https://louisawerbuckinterviewwithamadman.blogspot.com/2009/02/jeff-cooper-once-told-me-that-he.html
Excerpts:
. . . All males from the shoulder line to the waist are the same height,
whether it’s me or a basketball player. And from nipple to nipple they’re
all nine inches wide. So in a full frontal shot, if you’re out nine inches
here you’ve got nothing. . . .
[Mr. Awerbuck's training is one of the reasons that I took my
children to a 4-day defensive handgun class when they were 14 years
old. He was correct about a lot of things. And humble to the end.
-- Jon Low]
The odds and stakes of home protection
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/12/23/the-odds-and-stakes-of-home-protection/
Driving 201: Road Tactics
https://www.integratedskillsgroup.com/blog/driving-201-road-tactics
Small Arms Survey report: Improvised weapons
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/about-us/highlights/2018/highlight-report-improvised.html
Free download at
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/U-Reports/SAS-improvised-craft-weapons-report.pdf
We're not talking about zip-guns. We're talking craft-production.
We're not talking handtools in your garage. We're talking top of the
line milling machines and lathes. No, I'm not advertising for my
employer.
An Introductory Guide to the Identification of
Small Arms, Light Weapons, and Associated Ammunition
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/resources/publications/by-type/handbooks/weapons-id-handbook.html
Free downloads at the web site. For those of you who have been through
any of the intelligence schools, check out chapters 7, 8, and 9. I have
a high school classmate who has worked as an intelligence analyst since
grad school. He sits in an air conditioned office in Suitland, MD.
I told him that he should get out in the field and see the real world.
Criminals do not appear out of no where.
If you didn't see him coming, shame on you.
"Criminal Assault Pre-Incident Indicators"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPbCw9pV90c&fbclid=IwAR0Vq3tOjlj7MQbqBbGREnaTXwH9IGXjPMAtSkyPhALrQsfvPHk0390JYSI
If you didn't take immediate action (like running away)
when you noticed him, shame on you.
"I'm the victim! It's not my fault!"
Completely false. If you live defensively, you will have time to avoid.
"The car accident wasn't my fault. I had the right of way."
Completely false. If you drive defensively, you will never get into a collision.
(Even if someone intentionally attempts to ram you.)
If you have a collision with a stationary object, you are an incompetent
driver, and you need to take training and practice until you are competent.
Cars are unstable when driven backwards. If you can drive
backwards fast in a controlled manner, you are well on your way
to becoming a competent defensive driver.
If you are constantly scanning 360 degrees around, even when
you are stopped at an intersection, you will notice the car barreling
down behind you, and you will have time to pull onto the sidewalk
to avoid getting rear ended.
Yes, we are that type of person.
Awareness & Action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Bp6jxKR6s
FPFTraining
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSV5s-3gY-0WLDewDQ5WbPA
“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam
***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****
Downrange Failure
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/downrange-failure/
Media Hype Questionable Gun Control Study
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=lXGgI2E5JUw
What you believe depends on what you choose to read and watch.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=747672642281894&id=100011174952414
"There is no journalism. There is only propaganda."
-- Prof. Yerkes, English Department, Columbia University (~1977 A.D.)
"When You Give a Teacher a Gun" in Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine
https://www.gq.com/story/when-you-give-a-teacher-a-gun
A reporter embeds with a FASTER Saves Lives class in Ohio.
Few tyrants argue for 'slavery of the masses.'
Instead, they argue for the power to
'protect people from themselves.'
-- AE Samaan
***** Survival Tips *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
This is why you must never send your child to a government school.
UNPREPARED AND OVERWHELMED
http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/
This happens all over the world, all the time. About once
a week world wide. (I read and analyze open source intelligence.
It was my job in the Marine Corps for 3 decades.) A concentration
of children with unarmed and untrained adults is a honey pot for
criminals and terrorists. Notice the sexual predators kept at the
school by the district administrators in spite of the investigator's
recommendation to fire that faculty member.
When Cops Shoot an Unarmed Kid
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/when-cops-shoot-an-unarmed-kid
This is truth. As Ralph Morz says, police departments
disqualify any applicant with any arrest record. So, they end up
with applicants who have never been in a fight, not even a shoving
conflict. Can such people handle violent confrontations? They
can't even conceive of a violent confrontation. So, what do they
do when they can't control the situation? They go to guns.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam
Or, . . . as my girlfriend says,
"That's a horrible idea. What time?"
***** Basics *****
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
Training: Three ready positions every concealed carrier should know
https://www.guns.com/news/review/training-three-ready-positions-every-concealed-carrier-should-know
The problem with the Sul position is that you only have one
hand on the pistol. So, we teach a retention Sul position, which
is the same as the Sul, except that the support side hand is in
front of the pistol (holding the pistol), instead of behind the pistol.
The thumb tips are still in contact to prevent the possibility of
shooting your support side hand. (Ya, I know that sounds stupid.
But, it's a real thing.)
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
***** Miscellany *****
"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence is not an act.
It is a habit."
-- Aristotle
Pro Tip: Understanding Parallax | Shooting USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Q9O_jzs6Q
How Does it Work: Open Bolt vs Closed Bolt Firearms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Ga4uoWmfEt4
Individuals and churches come to me for training.
Usually after a traumatic experience. When they realize
how inept they are at personal or organizational security.
A young lady asked me for training because she and her
friend had been followed by two men in a Kroger grocery
store. The men followed them out to their car.
I reach out to churches, businesses, and individuals.
Because the training prevents the criminal predator from
choosing the trained person to victimize in the first
place, avoiding the trauma. Training changes the person's
personality, behavior, body language, etc. The trained
person leaks information that makes it clear to any
observer this is not an easy submissive target.
For the latest version (it changes almost daily)
of my lesson plans for my NRA Defensive Pistol course,
send me an email. Jon_Low@yahoo.com
“After our enemies with guns have all been wiped out,
there will still be enemies without guns, and they
are bound to struggle desperately against us.
We must never regard these enemies lightly.”
-- Mao Tse Tung
Report to the Second Plenary Session of the
Seventh Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, 1949 A.D.
Cheers,
Low Jun Hin
Report to the Sheepdogs of Defensive Pistolcraft
Patriotic Defenders of the Second Amendment
United States of America, 2019 A.D.
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
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