CWP, 30 July MMXIX Anno Domini

Greetings Sheepdogs,
     This blog is for civilian concealed carry for self defense. 
     Not police, they have a duty to pursue and arrest. 
Our primary goal is to escape and to facilitate the escape of
others, because the shorter the fight, the less hurt we get. 
     Not military, they have a duty to destroy the enemy by
fire, maneuver, and close combat.  Our duty is to facilitate
the escape of our loved ones.  The pistol is just an emergency
tool to ensure nothing prevents our escape. 
     Not hunting.  You want to hunt, join the Armed Forces and
volunteer for infantry.  You can get that MOS (military occupational
specialty) guaranteed in your enlistment contract.  The Marine
Corps has a Combat Hunter program.
     Not recreation, they are just having fun.  You are focused
and concentrating in a high stress situation.  And always
acutely aware of the safety rules (as someone's life depends on it).
     Not competitive shooting, they race the clock to win the game. 
You will move deliberately (not rushing), in a tactically correct
manner, so as not to get yourself killed.  [ So, you will think that
you are moving slowly, but to the objective observer you will be
moving quickly, though not as fast as the competitor (who isn't
spending any time looking for threats, because there are no
threats, and he already knows where all the targets are). ] 
You can't help anyone if you get incapacitated.
     Defensive pistolcraft is entirely different from offensive
pistolcraft because the mindset is entirely different.

“You have attained maturity.
Display it for us, if you please!”
-- Mary Janice Davidson

     You buy life insurance to protect your loved ones in case
you lose the fight.  You buy self defense insurance in case
you win the fight.  It's just something mature responsible adults
do.
     Attorney, John Harris, says, structure your finances.  So, you don't
lose everything in the event of a civil judgement against you.
Smart people don't end up destitute because they prepare.
So, get yourself an estate attorney and prepare, by structuring
your finances.

*****     *****     ***** Software *****     *****     *****

“Superior ambitions have to do with the development of character,
rather than status.  Status you can lose.  You carry character
with you everywhere.” -- Jordan Peterson

----- Mindset -----

“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
-- Colin Powell

"Gilroy, CA" by John Farnam, 29 Jul 2019
http://defense-training.com/2019/gilroy-ca/
     I have been to this Festival when I lived in Silicon Valley.
The point is, the management of the festival disarmed the attendees to
create unarmed victims for an armed criminal to prey upon.
Don't ever put yourself or your loved ones in such a situation.
     There is no legitimate reason to disarm law abiding citizens. 
It is always an act of oppression.

SSgt. Bellavia, Medal of Honor recipient, gives an excellent speech
(starts at 3:57 in the video).
https://lawofselfdefense.com/medal-of-honor-staff-sgt-david-g-bellavia/
     He spends his entire speech praising those who did not get any recognition. 
Most of us don't have embedded journalists writing about what we are doing.  So,
it's unlikely anyone will ever know what we did.  [Which is good.  Can't get court
martialed for something, if know one knows about it.  Oops, I guess you can. 
See article about CPO Gallagher below.]

Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam

Staying Alive: Tips & Tactics for Personal Security
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/5/31/staying-alive-tips-tactics-for-personal-security/
Excerpts: 
     “Personal security is my responsibility.”
     The only way to gain skill is through training.
     The purpose of training is to gain technical skill and build personal confidence.
     All skills are derived from training, and the adage holds true that
repetition — the mother of all skills — breeds confidence.
     The fact of the matter is that physical strength, firearms and the skills to
use them make up only 10 percent of your overall personal-security solution.
     Self-Defense is 90 Percent Situational Awareness

     ". . . we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and character, hope."
-- Romans 5:3 New International Version (NIV)

     Many gun schools teach, make the hard decisions now, because you
won't have time when the violent encounter starts.  This applies in all
things in life.  This is why pre-marriage counseling is so important. 
The counselor will ask you questions that never occurred to you.  By
answering the questions in each other's presence, you can decide in
the calm of an air conditioned room. 
Finding out that you and your spouse have drastically differing views
on experimental (cutting edge) Western medicine when your child is in
the emergency room being prepared for an emergency operation is too late. 
[Especially if some Court Appointed Special Advocate or Guardian Ad Litem
for your child is forced to make the decision, because you two can't
agree.]

Skill Set: Fundamentals Pt VI -- Think!
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/b8616502-9c3b-42d4-961a-137b9dfbb431

How to Stop an Attack Before It Starts
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/7/8/how-to-stop-an-attack-before-it-starts/
Excerpt: 
     ". . . One place looked really good to me and I asked the robber
why they never hit that place.  He told me that they had cased it,
but marked it off their list when they saw the night clerk. He said
the night clerk looked like a cowboy — that is, the kind of guy who
would keep a gun handy."

     “The ‘sunk-cost fallacy’ says that it is bad to lose something
we have invested time, money, energy, and emotion into, regardless
of whether or not that something is actually doing anything for us.
     Humans are naturally risk-averse, so we stubbornly choose not
to lose something, over potentially gaining something else, when we
don't even like what we would lose!”
-- Liz Powell

     Tim Cummings says, God puts you in jobs so that you can learn,
not so you can stay there for the rest of your life.  God causes
you to get fired from jobs because it is His will that you move on
to learn something else that will prepare you for the next step in
your life.

     Whenever something unexpected happens in my life, I recognize
it as a God thing, and graciously (and gratefully) accept it. 
Because God works all things for my good.
     When I got rejected from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology),
my father explained to me that they were doing me a favor.  They knew
that I would not have done well there.
 
----- Safety -----

“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard

Top 4 Concealed Carry Mistakes
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/top-4-concealed-carry-mistakes/
Excerpt: 
Most of your concealed carry success will result
from avoiding ever having to use your weapon.
     [So, if you are getting good self-defense training,
your instructor is teaching you how to avoid the
bad situations. -- Jon Low]

----- Training -----

     "The real value of training, though, is that it improves competence,
which leads to a higher level of confidence." 
-- Rehn & Daub
[The confident operator goes to the gun at the appropriate time in a deliberate manner.
Not too soon in a panicked frenzy.  That's why you have to train. -- Jon Low]

Jared Reston – Training & the AR-15 for Law Enforcement
https://www.arbuildjunkie.com/jared-reston-training-ars-for-law-enforcement/
Excerpt: 
     So, I don’t train for me to “get good.”  I don’t train for me to not die. 
I’m passed that now.  I’m training to save others . . . to be the best, and
for my family.  I train to make sure they know I’m going to make it home.

Split-Second Self-Defense: Acting Quickly in an Attack
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/6/21/split-second-self-defense-acting-quickly-in-an-attack/
Excerpt: 
     Any of us can learn to act quickly in a crisis.
But we must improve our ability to quickly size up a
situation and have a plan to put into effect right now.
Acting quickly takes the control away from the
criminals and often creates a new scenario that they
hadn’t even considered – a scenario in which they lose.

     Care enough to continue your training.

     Tom Givens says, there are only 4 things you need for combat:
Get the pistol out and on target.
Get good hits at 0 to 7 yards.
Reload, if necessary.
Clear malfunctions, if necessary.
     So, getting the fundamentals down pat will serve you well. 
All that "advanced" stuff is fun, but not terribly relevant.

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

     Determine chirality (right or left handedness, or somewhere
in-between).  Just because you are right handed does not mean
that you should shoot right handed.  Make a good faith effort
to shoot left handed before you decide.  You may surprise yourself. 
     When I worked armed security, my supervisor was left handed
(writing, using tools, throwing, etc.), but wore his pistol right
handed because he was more competent shooting right handed and
felt more comfortable shooting right handed. 
     Shooting is different from other manual skills.  Your brain
may process it differently.  The other side of your brain may
prefer processing it.  (Ya, I took way too many psychology classes
as an undergraduate.)  Your brain may not view shooting as a
manual skill.  Your brain may consider shooting an art form, and
process shooting as your brain would process poetry or music.
     Determine eye dominance (not necessarily left or right,
might well be somewhere in-between).  It is generally optimal
to aim with the dominant eye.  This means closing the non-aiming
eye for the fraction of a second when aiming to release the shot. 
This eliminates the possibility of shooting at the wrong image. 
Which can be tragic.  (If you think you can reliably aim with
both eyes open under combat stress, I suggest you are deceiving
yourself.)  [ Each eye has a right field of view and a left
field of view.  The left side of your brain processes the
right field of view of both eyes.  The right side of your
brain processes the left field of view from both of your
eyes.  So, eye dominance can change depending on which field
of view the brain finds more interesting.  (Hey, Columbia had
a great psychology department.  And it was saturated with
cute chicks.) ]
     If you are cross dominant (right handed, left eye
dominant), try shooting left handed.  You might like it. 
[Of course, we are assuming a good faith effort.  If you don't
want to do it, or are not interested in the results, don't
waste your time.] 

"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock

Rangemaster Newsletter, July 2019
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-07_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
     Why you and your pistol should be ambidextrous.

Magnum Force - Target Practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8AqzN9Ga4
     Notice that the target is the navel.  Why?  Because that's the
part of the body that moves the least when the target is moving. 
Hence, the point to aim at for the highest probability of a hit. 
Many of the top instructors in the country teach this, today in 2019.
     This was supposed to be the San Francisco Police Department in
1973.  But, it's just a Hollywood movie.
     Why does the navel move the least?  Because that is the center
of mass of the human body.  Yes, as a matter of fact, everything is
physics (not politics).  There are only two sciences:  physics and
stamp collecting.

Steel Target Safety by John Hearne
https://www.facebook.com/download/656665994834036/steel%20target%20memo.pdf?av=545946543&eav=AfbQ0DyKpvA5pQn53KkQlNSdRO1jqhmD8W6L8h4HVNOz6ql3WcRfKazxqkEJHdIVHGA&hash=Acqr-0d9-v-eoGMO

Dressed to Kill: Sartorial Guidance for the Well Armed Man Part XI
https://thesuitedshootist.home.blog/2019/07/23/dressed-to-kill-sartorial-guidance-for-the-well-armed-man-part-xi/
Excerpt: 
     . . . I actually wore a suit jacket through the evolutions. Why?
Well “train how you fight” does have some merit when correctly applied.

"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner

     Thank you to Claude Werner, the Tactical Professor, for allowing me to
use his article on 'how to hand a pistol to another person' in my lesson
plans.  Yes, there is a safe correct protocol, in a car, on the range,
in a crowded church, etc.
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/passing-a-gun-to-someone-else/

     Dr. Sherman House is hosting a MAG20 course given by Massad Ayoob in Brentwood, TN.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mag20-classroom-armed-citizens-rules-of-engagement-hosted-by-the-civilian-defender-tickets-55663034635
Having taken the course, I can enthusiastically recommend it.
It's all classroom lecture, no live fire.  Bring a note book and take lots of notes. 
Exchange your notes with your classmates.  Write them up neatly and send them to
yourself by certified mail.  Do not open the envelope.  Put in a safe place. 
In the unlikely event of a self defense shooting, give to your attoney.
     One of the benefits of the class is that Captain Ayoob will testify for his
students as an expert witness at trial.

     John Farnam of DEFENSE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL INC.
is offering discounts for his classes,
http://defense-training.com/training-courses/
at
http://defense-training.com/discounts
     His web site for class registration is much better these days.

The Arlington-Fairfax Izaak Walton League is sponsoring an
Advanced Level 3 Pistol Coach School on August 29-30, 2019,
and a National Coach Development Staff (NCDS) Pistol Course
on on August 31 - September 1, 2019.
Arlington-Fairfax IWLA, 14708 Mt. Olive Rd., Centreville, Virginia
$200 Level 3 Pistol Coach School
$200 NCDS Course
Must be a Level 2 Pistol Coach to attend.
For more information about the courses,
email coaches@nrahq.org along with a copy of your shooting resume.

Law of Self Defense, live online class
Saturday, August 24, 2019, 9AM-4PM Mountain Time
https://lawofselfdefense.com/live-online-class-190824/

----- Practice -----

      Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III

Malfunctions
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/tactics-training/malfunctions/
Excerpt: 
Daily dry practice, 10 or 15 minutes a day, is the easy way to bank these repetitions.

Slow is smooth.  Smooth is efficient.  Efficient is fast.

Concealed Carry Corner: Carrying Concealed at Home – Can It Be Beneficial?
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/07/18/carrying-concealed-at-home/

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things,
you develop the habit in little matters.”
-- Colin Powell

----- Technique -----

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”
-- Bruce Lee

3 Cases When a Good Guy With a Gun Was Mistaken for a Bad Guy
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2019/07/3-cases-good-guy-with-a-gun/
Excerpt: 
     If you are present at a mass murder, don’t draw your gun until
you have positively identified the threat. Also, as soon as you have
neutralized the threat, holster the weapon. All the other good guys
with guns, including other armed citizens or plain clothes officers,
are likely to see “person with gun” as a threat, not a rescuer.

     We were taught to wear our badges on necklaces on our backs when
the shit hit the fan.  Good idea, even if you're not law enforcement. 
Who cares about being accused of impersonating a police officer?  The
important thing is not getting shot by the good guys.  The bad guys are
going to shoot you either way.  A few years later, I'm in a
theater watching a Sylvester Stallone cop movie and they do this in
the movie.  And I'm thinking, word travels, cause that's not the type
of detail the screen writers would put in for dramatic effect.  They
probably had a cop as a consultant on the production staff.

The Bag Trick . . . How to Easily Conceal a Weapon in Public
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-bag-trick-how-to-easily-conceal-a-weapon-in-public
     This technique is carrying a drawn weapon in your hand
in a "concealed" manner.  Consider carefully before using
this technique.

Weapon Retention, Disarms, and Strikes (Part 1)
http://blog.shooting-performance.com/weapon-retention-disarms-and-strikes-part-1/

"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee

     Attention to detail.

Correct shot process --
     You must get two sight movies for every shot you fire.  One before you
release the shot and one after you release the shot. 
*    If you don't get the first sight movie, you are not aiming, which is
irresponsible. 
     "But, I didn't have time.  The assailant was on me." 
     If you don't have time for a shot that requires aiming, don't shoot. 
Because every miss is destroying property, injuring innocent bystanders,
or killing them. 
     If the assailant is on you, as in close quarter combat, you should be
shooting from a close contact position, which does not entail aiming.
And therefore is outside the scope of this essay.
*    If you don't get the second sight movie, you are not following through,
which is irresponsible.  If you are not willing to follow through on every
shot, don't shoot.  Because, lack of follow-through will cause a miss, and
every miss is destroying property, injuring innocent bystanders, or killing
them.
     Of course, there is much more to the shot process.  Find a coach or
instructor, take a class, and practice (what you were taught).  You might
not like what you were taught on a philosophical or technical level.  But,
keep an open mind long enough to make a good faith effort to learn it
before you decide to discard it.  You might be surprised.  And isn't life
more fun with surprises?
     "Do I have to take a class?  Can't you just tell me what the shot
process is?"
     Sure (I elide the reasons for brevity): 
*    Correct anatomical grip (This will require modification of the pistol. 
How do I know?  Because I am old and wise.  And I see that the pistol
you are holding was not custom made for your hand.)  Barrel inline with
the forearm.  Not "parallel to", "inline with".  Web between the thumb and
index finger high in the tang of the pistol, with so much force the
skin is bunched up under the tang.  Thumb high and relaxed (on top of
the safety, if is exists).  Index finger in the register position. 
Middle finger up tight against the bottom of the trigger guard. (If
you've never done it before, it will hurt.  After you've done it
2000 times, it will feel natural and comfortable.)  Ring finger up
tight against the middle finger, gripping tight, finger tip pointing
back towards you.  ["towards" not "toward", there is a difference. 
At least that's what they taught us in that Ivy League University
my parents sent me to in the late 70's.]  Little finger up tight
against the ring finger, gripping tight.
     Support side hand, fingers over fingers (up tight against the bottom
of the trigger guard, no space between the fingers), thumb over thumb.
     [There are many coaches who give 6 hour classes on getting the
correct grip.]
     [Yes, I know there are many variations on the grip.  You will
have to experiment to find what works for your anatomy and personality. 
Just make sure you are practicing science and not religion.]
     Close your non-aiming eye. (Otherwise, you might be aiming at the
wrong image.)
*    Sight alignment - (This will be close to correct, if the grip is
correct.) horizontally center the front sight blade in the rear sight
notch (If you have any other type of sighting system, it's too
complicated and will not serve you well in combat.  Ya, I know the
military uses red dot sights.  I think they are wrong.  They will too
eventually.)   Make the top of the front sight blade level with the
top of the rear sight notch.  Being able to hold this alignment will
take hundreds of hours of practice.  It won't happen naturally. 
There is nothing natural or instinctive about shooting.  If you're
satisfied with the front sight wobbling around a little in the rear
sight, you are wrong.  It should appear fixed as in a photograph. 
*    Sight movie - Place the top of the front sight where you want
the bullet to impact.  Holding your front sight and the target relatively
stationary in a combat situation is impossible.  So, you won't see
a picture, you will see a movie.  That's okay.  The sight movies do
not have to be perfect to get acceptable hits on the intended target. 
With correct trigger control, you will get good hits. 
     "That sounds like magic." 
     Any sufficiently advanced technology will appear to be magic
to the ignorant.  The human is God's masterpiece of creation.  The
human is extremely advanced technology.  Anyone who tells you that
he is not ignorant of how the human systems work is lying to you.
*    Trigger control - Strive for a surprise trigger break by: 
Touching the trigger.
Taking the slack out of the trigger.
Smoothly increasing pressure on the trigger without intentionally
     releasing the shot.  (Striving for a surprise break.)  You
     don't fire the shot.  You hold the sights on target while
     continuously increasing pressure on the trigger.  Eventually,
     the pistol will fire.  (There are many techniques to achieve
     the surprise break.)
Trap the trigger to the rear.  Keep pressing.  Keep aiming.
*    Follow through - Keep pressing.  Keep aiming.
Get your second sight movie.
     That is the end of the shot process.  You may now move your
eyes to the next target.  Your eyes, not your pistol.  Once your
eyes are on the target (and it might be the same as the last
target), only then should you move your pistol to the next target. 
[Eyes first, then pistol will avoid overshooting the target.]
     Don't reinvent the wheel.  Learn from the masters.  Use
their hard earned experience.  Stand on their shoulders.  Don't
waste your time discovering everything from scratch.  Life is
too short for that.
     "The shot process you described is way too long and too
complicated to ever be used in combat."
     That is a false statement.  If you practice it (as in
dedicated deliberate practice) the shot process will compress
in time and become very fast.  It will also become an unconscious
process that you will execute automatically.
     "Who has that kind of time for practice or that kind of
dedication?"
     Very few.

Everyday Tactical: Keeping Your Hands Free
https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/everyday-tactical-keeping-your-hands-free/

Shooting Stance: What's Right for You?
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/7/17/shooting-stance-whats-right-for-you/

----- Tactics -----

You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen

Situational Awareness and Positioning (part I)
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/situational-awareness-and-positioning-part-i/
Situational Awareness and Positioning (part II) The Tueller Principle
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/situational-awareness-and-positioning-part-ii-the-tueller-principle/

“Dig up all the information you can, then go with your instincts.”
-- Colin Powell

"Audacity wins."
-- Carl von Clausewitz

----- Education -----

"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam

Training to shoot from and through vehicles
https://www.policeone.com/police-training/articles/484391006-training-to-shoot-from-and-through-vehicles/
Excerpt: 
What’s really scary about using vehicles as cover is that most common handgun rounds can easily penetrate all the way through doors, panels and glass.

"DEFENSIVE SHOOTING FOR REAL-LIFE ENCOUNTERS" by RALPH MROZ
https://thestreetstandards.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/defensive-shooting-for-real-life-encounters-text-bw1.pdf
Excerpt: 
     ". . . the holster is more important than the gun.
It’s hard to buy a gun that’s not reliable and accurate
at defensive distances from a major manufacturer these days.
But it’s all too easy to buy a sloppy, ill-fitting,
unconcealable, or dangerous holster.
. . . "
     There are reasons that most professionals carry their
gun in a strong-side hip holster whenever they can. That is
the most natural and fastest place to draw a gun from
concealment, it provides excellent concealment, and you
can draw from that position while fighting. It’s not new
or noteworthy, but it works!

No Second Place Winner by WILLIAM H. "BILL" JORDAN,
Assistant Chief Patrol Inspector, U. S. Border Patrol
https://archive.org/details/No_Second_Place_Winner_Bill_Jordan

Interview with Col. Jeff Cooper, starting on page 28 of
American Handgunner Magazine March/April 1987
https://americanhandgunner.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/HMA87.pdf
Excerpts: 
     "How do you suppose the parents of Vanessa Williams feel?"
[I assume the Colonel is referring to the scandal that erupted when Penthouse
magazine published nude photos of Miss Williams after she had been crowned
Miss America 1984.  (for the vast majority of my readers who are too young
to remember) -- Jon Low]
     "I find what people have done with the discipline [defensive pistolcraft]
annoying.  It has perverted my purpose in life.  I try to keep polite about it,
but I find it difficult to suffer fools gladly."
     [Aimed shooting was not always the fundamental that it is today. 
Things change.  Be prepared to adopt best practices, or go the way of
the dinosaurs. -- Jon Low] 
     "The greatest hazard of advancing age is lack of imagination and lack
of desire to explore new ideas.  I'm aware of that so I try to stay open
minded."
     [What excellent advice for us sexagenarians. -- Jon Low]

*****     *****     ***** Hardware *****     *****     *****

"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley

----- Gear -----

     If your pistol has a manual thumb safety, it should be up for safety on (won't fire)
and down for safety off (will fire).  Anything else is a design error.  Because pushing
the safety down with your thumb is a natural movement.  Pushing anything up with your
thumb is awkward and counterintuitive, which means not conducive to reliable operation
under combat stress.
     The safety should be attached to the frame of the pistol.  If it's attached to the
slide, this is a design error.  You must press the safety down with your thumb and hold
it down while operating the pistol.  Otherwise, something will bump the safety and the
pistol won't fire.  If the safety is on the slide, it will move with the slide, so you
can't keep your thumb on it to hold it down. 
     I'm talking about safeties, not spring loaded decocking levers.
     If your pistol has a magazine release at the bottom of the grip, this is a
design error.  Removing the magazine will require two hands, which slows and complicates
reloading.  Reload with one hand will be difficult and awkward, which means you are going
to have to dedicate a lot of time to practice.
     Yes, as a matter of fact, there are incorrectly designed pistols on the market. 
If you buy one, shame on you.  If you give it to a loved one, you are doing
her a grave disservice.  If you sell it to an unsuspecting person, when they take
their first training class and have to fire 1000 rounds in two days, they are going
to realize that you are a scum bag.

5 Reasons to Make a Flashlight Part of Your Everyday Carry
https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2019/05/29/5-reasons-make-flashlight-part-everyday-carry/

Best EDC (Every Day Carry) Flashlights
https://www.firearmreview.com/best-edc-flashlights/
     [I think your flashlight should have a thumb activated pressure
switch on the rear end of your flashlight tube.  Press - on.  Release - off. 
Anything more complicated than that will not serve you well.  Remember
we are buying a tool for combat.  Combat tools must be simple. -- Jon Low]

Pepper Spray Laws By State: A Simple Cheat Sheet With All The Details
https://www.silverdoctors.com/headlines/world-news/pepper-spray-laws-by-state-a-simple-cheat-sheet-with-all-the-details/
Excerpt:
Tennessee has no laws that prohibit individuals from carrying or
using pepper spray. It is legal to buy, carry, use, or ship to Tennessee.

State Knife Laws
https://mdcreekmore.com/state-knife-laws/
     Tennessee, where there is no such thing as an illegal knife.

MDFI Targets
https://trainmdfi.com/mdfi-alumni/targets/
     I love the caption at the bottom of one of the targets,
"YOU SUCK!  IT'S NOT THE GUN!"

Results of gun care product evaluation
https://www.shootersforum.com/gun-cleaning/91566-results-gun-care-product-evaluation.html
     DIY_Guy did the experiments and published the data.  He does not publish any
conclusions.  He simply presents the data and asks you to draw your own conclusions. 
Kudos to DIY_Guy! 
     I included the price of the tested items.  My conclusion is that WD-40 (the
normal kind, not the special kind that was also tested) is the cheapest product
on the long list of products tested, and it works fairly well.
     But, you should look at the data and draw your own conclusions.

How to Carry Concealed In a Purse (If You Must)
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/7/15/how-to-carry-concealed-in-a-purse-if-you-must/

Should I Carry in my Purse?
http://www.corneredcat.com/article/practical-issues/should-i-carry-in-my-purse/

     John Farnam says,
The best [purses for off body carry] are made by GTM,
guntotenmamas.com
which redirects to
https://www.gtmoriginal.com/
Though I suspect Vicki Farnam did the research.

     I was so happy with my holster from CraftHolsters.com for my Ruger American
that I got another one, different type, for my Springfield Armory XD Tactical. 
Leather IWB/OWB Holster,
https://www.craftholsters.com/leather-iwbowb-holster
link for Springfield Armory XD Tactical  holsters,
https://www.craftholsters.com/springfield-xd-tactical-holsters
     I love the look, smell, and feel of quality leather.  The holster
is double stitched throughout.  The mouth is reinforced with a second layer
of leather and stays open for one handed holstering.  (Needing two hands to
holster causes the shooter to muzzle his support side hand.) 
     Before the break in period - The holster holds the pistol tight. 
When I turn it upside down and shake, the fully loaded pistol does not
fall out.  It doesn't move in the holster at all.  I prefer a tight fit,
because I don't want my pistol falling out when I break dance in the
discotheque.  [I assume you've seen the video of the FBI agent and know
what I'm talking about.  (He got convicted, but avoided jail time.) 
He destroyed his career by neglecting to use a quality holster with a
retention device.  Violating a safety rule will get you a dropped pistol
or a negligent discharge (ND).  But, you have to break multiple safety
rules to actually shoot a bystander.  That's why we always practice
safety in layers, safety in depth.  We always walk far from the cliff's
edge in training and practice.  This allows us to dance at the cliff's
edge in combat.] 
     This holster has no retention devices.  A holster used for concealed
carry for civilian self defense should not have retention devices, because
it takes a great deal of practice to reliably and automatically defeat retention
devices in high stress situations.  (Competitions are not high stress situations. 
You won't see competitors urinating or defecating in their pants, or vomiting,
or shaking uncontrollably.)  [Most police officer involved shootings (OIS)
are not high stress situations, because the police officer initiates the event. 
It's entirely different when the deadly force attack surprises you. 
That's high stress.]
     The belt loops are tight on a 1.5" wide belt.  So, you have to use a 1.5"
belt.  Tight is good.  The holster won't slide around on your belt.  So, the
holster will be where you expect it to be when you need it.
     As with all leather goods, there is a break in period.  So, you will
need to wear it around the house before taking it to the field or street. 
I always spend a few nights sleeping with my holster on (pistol inserted),
because I need to know if I can, as I've had jobs where I needed to sleep
in my car with all my gear on.  [When I was working security in South Carolina,
for Hawkeye Security out of Columbia, I would guard the ATM techs when they
put money in the ATM's.  Many were far from home, so instead of driving home
between jobs, I'd just sleep in my car.] 
     After the break in period - The pistol will fall out when the holster
is turned upside down and shaken.  But in normal use, the pistol is held
snug and does not jiggle around.  The pistol can be presented and holstered
easily.
     I enthusiastically recommend this holster for inside the waistband (IWB)
concealed carry for self defense.
     No, CraftHolsters.com did not pay me for the review.  I am not
famous enough for anyone to pay me to endorse or advertise anything.

Triggers for Serious Guns
http://defense-training.com/2019/triggers-2/

----- Technical -----

1911 School, Feeding Part 1 of 3
https://rangehot.com/1911-school-feeding-part-1-of-3/
1911 School, Feeding Part 2 of 3.
https://rangehot.com/1911-school-feeding-part-2-of-3/
1911 School, Feeding Part 3 of 3.
https://rangehot.com/1911-school-feeding-part-3-of-3/
Excerpt: 
     The 1911 pistol was designed by a genius, . . .
Does anyone really believe that the fact that the magazine would
physically accommodate 8 rounds with a little modification to
the spring and follower somehow escaped his notice? . . .
The farther we stray from Browning’s specifications,
the more likely we are to have trouble.

How a Glock Works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2RDitgCaD0

M16 and AR-15 - How firearms work! (Animation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIBUIN30yU

----- Your Body -----

Conquering Cataracts
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/6/21/conquering-cataracts/
     I tell the shooters on my junior rifle team to get an eye
exam and to give the coach the written results of the exam. 
When coaching in Hawaii and South Carolina, every athlete complied.
Since moving to Nashville in 2011, only one athlete has done so.
So sad.  Can't fix the problem if you don't know what the
problem is.

I can see clearly now!
Shooting Glasses Demystified
https://americanhandgunner.com/exclusives/i-can-see-clearly-now/
     Operating / shooting with both eyes open is fine.  But, aiming with
both eyes open is a recipe for disaster.  In a high stress situation,
you can't ensure that you will be aiming at the correct image if both
eyes are open, even if one eye is strongly dominant over the other. 
At a physical level, something might obscure the vision of the dominant
eye, causing you to automatically use the image from your non-dominant
eye for aiming.  At a psychological level, your less dominant eye may
become dominant in a high stress situation. 
     Murphy's Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong at
the worst possible time.  The only way to defeat Murphy's Law is to train
to eliminate all of the things that can go wrong.  Close your non-aiming
eye for the fraction of a second needed to aim and release the shot. 
Otherwise, you may be shooting at the wrong image, which for a right
eyed shooter will mean a point of impact way to the left of where you
thought you were aiming.  For a left eyed shooter, shooting at the right
eye's image will put your point of impact way to the right of where you
thought you were aiming.
     "But, Coach, you can't get correct sight alignment with both eyes
simultaneously.  So, the non-aiming eye will not have the correct sight
alignment image.  So, you will know that you are not aiming with the
correct eye."
     Unfortunately, that is not true in a high stress situation.  You
will have a hard focus on the front sight.  If the rear sight isn't in
alignment with the front sight in the sight movie, you won't notice it. 
So, you must close the non-aiming eye to aim in combat.  Remember, we
are talking combat, not competition.  The stress level is much higher. 
It is rare for the competitor to orgasm, urinate, or defecate in their
pants during competition.  It is a common occurrence in combat,
especially for virgins (to combat).  I remember a big husky Marine
smiling at me and telling me, "I shit myself.  Oo Rah!"  Another time,
a Marine told me, "I got a woody and came!  Get some!"  These were
happy experiences for us because we were in a team (doing it with
our buddies), and knew that we were righteous, and knew that we would
never be prosecuted for anything we did.  Not so much for the civilian
self defender.  It's going to be an extremely unpleasant experience.

“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam

*****     *****     ***** Instruction *****     *****     *****

----- Instructors -----

     Attention to detail.

The Ability to Demonstrate
https://www.tridentconcepts.com/2014/06/15/the-ability-to-demonstrate/
     You must demonstrate every technique for your students. 
As some students are only visual learners.  If your student
asks you to demonstrate the technique, do so slowly.  You're
doing it for their learning, not to impress anyone.
     If you are the student, and the instructor does not demonstrate,
ask the instructor to demonstrate the technique.  If she does it
too fast for you to follow, ask her to do it again slowly.  After
all, you are paying for the class and her time.

“You don’t step on enthusiasm.”
-- Colin Powell

     Over the Independence Day holidays (4 day weekend for me),
I taught a Defensive Pistol course with one student.  We did
things that cannot be done in a class of multiple students. 
     Her muscles were tight, so she lacked the flexibility (range
of motion) to do some of the techniques.  So, we spent several
hours stretching; to avoid injury and to loosen her muscles to
increase flexibility.  (I could imagine doing such stretching
exercises in a class of 5 students, if they were all in the
same family.  Wouldn't think such would be possible in a larger
class.)  I love teaching one student classes. 
     We spent a lot of time (perhaps 3 hours in total) working
on her surprise break.  We tried many different techniques to
allow her to achieve her surprise trigger break.

     Scheduling classes over holidays allows students to attend
classes without having to take paid time off (PTO) from their
day jobs.  At Front Sight, the Father's Day class is always
well attended by fathers.

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."

     Only 3 things happen naturally in an organization: 
friction, confusion, and under performance.  Anything
else takes leadership.
-- Pastor Mike Ayon

"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch

“Leadership is solving problems.
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day
you have stopped leading them.”
-- Colin Powell
[Similarly, if your students are not telling you their problems,
you are not helping the student correct the problem.]

     The article "an" is correctly used when the next word starts
with a vowel sound, such as "an apple".  "European" does not start
with a vowel sound, so ". . . hunter with an European focus." is
wrong.  (Say it aloud and you will hear that it is not euphonic.)
It should be ". . . hunter with a European focus."
     "I am a NRA Instructor . . . " is wrong.  It should be
"I am an NRA Instructor . . . " because "N" starts with the vowel
sound "e".  Read it as written and you will hear the euphonic or
non-euphonic sound.
     Strive for command of the English language.  Because people
notice.
     [I sent the above to the Editor-in-Chief of The Firearm Blog
concerning the writing of one of his contributors.  He replied by
telling me that I was wrong; that the article "an" is used before
words that start with a vowel. 
     This is what makes instructing so difficult.  So much of
what your students know to be true is false.  And you must gently,
kindly, lovingly cause them to believe the truth.
     Bad habits must be replaced with good habits.
     False beliefs must be replaced with true beliefs.
     Not easy.  But, that is your job as an instructor.]

“There is no end to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
-- Colin Powell

----- Pedagogy -----

Qui docet, discit.  (Who teaches, learns.)
-- motto of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers

10 Ways to Spot Great Teachers (and Avoid Crummy Ones)
http://danielcoyle.com/2014/05/16/10-ways-to-spot-great-teachers-and-avoid-crummy-ones/

     Dustin Solomon, in his book “Building Shooters” states that
an instructor should not expect any learning to take place
the first time new information is presented.
[That's why you have to send the lesson plans to the students before the
class.  So, they can read it before the class.  So, they are not hearing
novel information for the first time in class. -- Jon Low]

"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.

*****     *****     ***** Legal and Politial *****     *****     *****

How do you win a gunfight?
Don’t be there.
-- John Farnam

Our research cited extensively in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Eliminating gun-free zones: A way to deter mass shooters?
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/06/our-research-cited-extensively-in-the-philadelphia-inquirer-eliminating-gun-free-zones-a-way-to-deter-mass-shooters/

     All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones.

The Danger of Gun-free zones:
What are you supposed to do when you can’t have your gun with you?
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/06/the-danger-of-gun-free-zones-what-are-you-supposed-to-do-when-you-cant-have-your-gun-with-you/

     The purpose of gun-free-zones is to create unarmed victims for
armed criminals to prey upon.  Because Democrats need mass murder
events to advanced their political agenda (disarming the people). 
Why do you think the Founding Fathers wrote the 2nd Amendment?

A Counterargument to "Virtue and Guns"
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ethics-everyone/201905/counterargument-virtue-and-guns

Getting the Prosecutors We Deserve?
https://lawofselfdefense.com/getting-the-prosecutors-we-deserve/
     My brother, a political scientist with lots of prestigious
graduate degrees, likes to say that people get the government
they deserve.  I have seen that to be true.  People either get
the government they voted for, or they move (to an area where
they get the government they voted for).

     Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7206793/Edward-Gallagher-NOT-GUILTY-murder.html
     This is not the first time in my memory this sort of politically motivated
prosecution of Armed Service members has taken place. 
     Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich
http://michellemalkin.com/2012/01/23/the-trial-of-the-last-haditha-marine-ssgt-wuterich-takes-plea-deal/
Michelle Malkin has chronicled the Haditha 8.  See the links at the bottom
of the web page.
     It has always amazed me that subordinates can testify against a
senior concerning war time activity.  I thank God that I never had the
misfortune of encountering such disloyal persons. 

Dear Jonathan: 
     I hope that you had a great July 4th!
     Social media outlets scrubbing information that they disagree
with is a real danger to our political debate. Twitter has locked
me out of my account because of a Tweet that I posted in March
discussing the New Zealand killer’s manifesto. In contrast to the
constant media claims that killer is a “right-winger,” I wrote he
called himself “a socialist, environmentalist, who hates
capitalists & free trade.” I also wrote that his “plan all along”
was to “lead to more gun control” in New Zealand and the United
States. Those facts might not be politically convenient for many,
but everything that was in my Tweet was factually correct, and
Twitter is not explaining their reason for their actions.
     I am not the first conservative to [have] their account locked,
with actor James Woods being among the more prominent examples.
The details are in this Tweet.
https://twitter.com/CrimeResearch1/status/1146553632822910976
This link does not seem to work presently.
     The only way to overcome this bias may be to embarrass
Twitter. One way to do this, if you are on Twitter, is to
retweet our tweet.
     Thank you very much for your continued interest and support.
It means a lot for the work that we need to do.
John R. Lott, Jr.
President
Crime Prevention Research Center
http://crimeresearch.org
johnrlott@crimeresearch.org
(484) 802-5373

Drive On
https://www.deltabravocharlie.com/home/drive-on
     A comparison of car ownership and gun ownership,
and driver licensing and shooter licensing.

     Information to keep you out of jail.  No, really, the ATF is nasty. 
I've had to deal with them as a Federal Firearms Licensee.
NFA Rules on Shotguns: Everything You Need to Know (Not!)
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2019/7/10/nfa-rules-on-shotguns-everything-you-need-to-know/
     As one commenter notes, "Clear as mud."
     "AOW" means Any Other Weapon.
ATF Rescinds Prior Methods to Measure a Firearm’s Overall Length when Equipped with a Stabilizing Brace
https://blog.princelaw.com/2019/07/05/atf-rescinds-prior-methods-to-measure-a-firearms-overall-length-when-equipped-with-a-stabilizing-brace/

SOME PERSPECTIVE ON SHOT COUNT & PLACEMENT, RELOADS, REENGAGEMENT
http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=8637&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=some-perspective-on-shot-count-placement-reloads-reengagement

The Empty Case for “High-Capacity” Magazine Restrictions (CATO Institute)
https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/legal-policy-bulletin-3-updated.pdf

*****     *****     ***** Survival *****     *****     *****

"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House

     I attended a "Stop the Bleed" class sponsored by the American College of Surgeons
Committee on Trauma at the Tennessee Firearms Association meeting at the Golden Corral
in Hermitage, TN.  Got a nice pamphlet and a certificate, too.  I highly recommend you
take such a class.  I'm sure you can find one in your area.  They covered direct
pressure, wound stuffing, and tourniquets.  No chest seals, nose tubes, or things like
that.  It was a short class, but lots of hands on practice.  So, you left the class
knowing how to execute the techniques and use the equipment.
     You have to stop the bleeding before applying chest compressions.  Otherwise,
you're just pumping the blood out of the victim.  (Hey, this isn't obvious to those
who teach to do CPR and artificial respiration first.  Being ignorant makes you
dangerous to others.)
     "But, I didn't know that he was bleeding."
     Well, that's still your fault for not searching for bleeding.
     "You expect me to cut off his clothes and search his entire body?"
     Yes.
     "I can't do that.  That's indecent."
     This is a matter and life and death.  Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Heavy flow is not massive hemorrhage:
Tampons don’t belong in your IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit)
https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-your-ifak/

Attorney Andrew F. Branca self-defense “insurance.”
https://lawofselfdefense.com/calling-the-shots-july-24-2019/
     Will your insurance cover the second or third trial?
in the event of a mistrial caused by a hung jury or other reason?
     Will your self defense insurance provide: 
Enough money?  (Murder trails cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
Does the policy have caps?  If so, what are they?)
Do they let you choose your own attorney?  (Or, do they force you to use
their attorney?  Not what you want.)
Who decides if I am covered?  (Some policies review the incident before
deciding whether or not to pay for legal expenses.   Not what you want.)
     Andrew recommends the book,
"Legal Boundaries By State: The Travel Guide For American Gun Owners"
https://www.concealedcarry.com/product/legal-boundaries-by-state-the-travel-guide-for-american-gun-owners/
and of course,
"Law of Self Defense", 3rd Edition
https://lawofselfdefense.com/product/law-of-self-defense-3rd-edition/

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

How to Avoid Printing and Step Up The Concealed Carry Game
https://www.guns.com/news/2019/07/26/how-to-avoid-printing-and-step-up-the-concealed-carry-game-video

How to get prepared in three easy steps
https://www.grantcunningham.com/2019/06/how-to-get-prepared-in-three-easy-steps/
     While AA batteries are cheap, they still need to be replaced
regularly.  I have found that in the long run a rechargeable
tactical flashlight is the most cost effective.
     My Marines carried all kinds of cheap junk knives.  I urged
them to spend the money on a reliable tactical knife.
     You have to buy gear with the belief that your life will
depend on the reliable correct operation of the gear.  If you're
trusting your life or the lives of your loved ones to cheap junk,
you are stupid.

Jacketed Hollow Point Ammo – JHP Explained
https://www.targetbarn.com/broad-side/jacketed-hollow-point/

Full Metal Jacket Ammo – FMJ Explained
https://www.targetbarn.com/broad-side/full-metal-jacket/

"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN

*****     *****     ***** Miscellany *****     *****     *****

     Shout out! to our readers in Bratislava, Slovakia.
If I hadn't spent my Marine Corps years in intelligence,
I wouldn't have had any idea where you were.  [Major Lipson,
the S-2 at MAG-49, would have us fill in maps with country
name, location and name of the capital, and other interesting
stuff.] 
     I am old.  The Google maps of your area don't look
anything like the maps I remember studying in grade school. 
All the names have changed.  All the borders have changed. 
     It is a mistake of youth to think that the way things
are is the way they have always been, or always will be.

"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen

     I shot a mini-gun (No, I don't know the specifics).  The right
button caused it to fire 2000 rounds per minute.  The left button
fired at 4000 rounds per minute.  (No, I did not pay for the ammo.) 
[One of the guys told me that on the more recent versions of the
gun, both buttons fire at 2000 rpm.  It's ambidextrous.]
It had a big 4" X 4" red dot type sight mounted on it.  The ammo
had tracers spaced every so many rounds (No, I don't know how many.)
So, I could see where the bullets were going (in bright daylight). 
It was mounted on a really nice swing arm so it was easy to shoot. 
I didn't feel any recoil.  It didn't pull one way or the other. 
The helicopter was vibrating, causing the stream of bullets to
wiggle a little.  I remembered from theory class that when you
shoot up or down, gravity has much less affect on the bullet's
trajectory.  But, you only really get to see the effect when
you're in a helicopter shooting between straight down and nearly
straight up.  (The mounting system prevents the gunner from
shooting any part of the helicopter.)
     The buttons are electronic switches, not mechanical switches. 
The gun is run by electric motors.  They don't care if the cartridge
fires or not.  So, cartridges that fail to fire do not cause
stoppages.  (I don't know if there is any immediate action for
fixing stoppages.)
     I remembered to turn to the left when exiting the CH-53
from the rear hatch.  Some things you never forget.  (Of course,
if I had turned right, I wouldn't be here writing to you.)

     Fasting and prayer will make you spiritually obese.
-- Pastor Mike Ayon

     My mother told me that there are two types of people in
the world:  those who write thank you letters and those who don't.
     Today, I received a thank you letter from President Trump.
[No, it was not for a campaign contribution.]

When it’s least expected, you’re selected.
-- John Farnam

Semper Fidelis,
Jon

Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com

God can do more than we can hope or imagine.
In fact, He can do the impossible.  God will
make roads in the wilderness and rivers in
the desert.

CWP, 28 June MMXIX Anno Domini

Greetings Sheepdogs,

***** Mindset *****

Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam

     As a civilian, you have no duty to pursue and arrest.  You have no
duty to close with and destroy the enemy by fire and close combat. 
     You have the overwhelming duty to escape, and to ensure the escape of
your loved ones.  The pistol is merely an emergency tool you use to
overcome anything that would prevent your escape.

***** Safety *****

“The fast and/or emphatic reholster
is an awesome way to shoot yourself.”
-- Chuck Haggard

     The incorrectly designed holster is also an excellent way to shoot
yourself. 
     "But, the U.S. Army uses them."
     Doesn't that prove the point?

***** Training *****

     "The real value of training, though, is that it improves competence,
which leads to a higher level of confidence." 
-- Rehn & Daub

A Beginner Takes an Advanced Class and Tells the Tale
https://www.womenandguns.com/a-beginner-takes-an-advanced-class-and-tells-the-tale/
     A tale of encouragement.

     Care enough to continue your 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

Two ways to improve firearms training
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/training/tips/476633027-Two-ways-to-improve-firearms-training/
Excerpt: 
“There are two reasons to attend training:
to learn something new, or to validate that what you
are currently doing is still the best thing out there.”

An email to my junior rifle team members -
     "Why can't I shoot high standing scores?" 
     Because you don't have balance.  Unlike prone and kneeling,
standing is an unsupported position.  So, in prone and kneeling,
you relax to be still to shoot well.  In standing, if you relax,
you fall down.  So, you have to constantly adjust muscle tension
to maintain balance.  In order to do this, you have to practice
fine balance. 
     "I can stand still." 
     No, you can't.  The SCATT traces show you wobbling all over
the place.  You think you are still because you lack the kinesthetic
awareness to detect your movement, because you haven't practiced
enough to develop the kinesthetic sensitivity. 
     Practice does not eliminate errors.  Practice increases
sensitivity, which allows you to notice the errors that you were
always committing, but never noticed.  Once you notice the errors,
you will correct them, often automatically (if you are educated
enough to recognize them as errors).  So, it appears to the
ignorant that practice is eliminating their errors.  But,
practice is just making the shooters aware of their errors.  They
still have to have the intellect to recognize the error as an
error, and know what to do to correct it.  That takes reading
of your textbooks and questioning of your coaches.  If you
think you can do it without help, you are on a fool's quest.
     "What can I do to improve my balance?" 
     You are fortunate to be a biped.  Monopeds, as cranes,
cannot do much to improve their balance. 
     But, you can stand still on one leg, for long periods of time,
until you can do it indefinitely (on either leg).  Standing still
means not moving at all.  Balance by adjusting muscle tension,
not by movement of mass.
     Then, you can do deep knee bends with one leg, until you can
do it gracefully.  Watch yourself in a mirror.  Are you wobbling
around or are you in complete control?
     Then you can stand on one leg while leaning forward,
other leg in line with your torso.  Then lean back, keeping
your free leg in line with your torso.  (The leaning should
be to the limits of your range of motion.  If your range of
motion is poor, stretch twice daily.)
     Then you can do the above with your eyes closed.  Because,
we wish to develop inner ear balance, not just balance based
on visual cuing.  Because when we are aiming, we are mentally
focused on sight alignment and sight movie, not on visual
cues for balance.  We might pick them up out of our peripheral
vision, but if we are wearing a hat and blinders, probably not.
     Tell your yogi or yogini what you are trying to accomplish. 
They can help you.  (If you let them.)
     When I was your age, I practiced the balance exercises
twice daily and mastered fine balance in one month.  At which
point I was able to shoot 95 out of 100 on the old NRA smallbore
targets at 50 feet back in the late 70's.  So, I think you
should be able to master fine balance in one month with
dedicated practice.  Less dedication, less self discipline
will stretch out the time to accomplish your goal.
     As with most things in life, it's not hard to do. 
It's hard to force yourself to do it consistently and long
enough to achieve the goal.  Once you achieve the goal,
it's fairly easy to practice enough to maintain the fine
balance.  Until you get distracted with other things.
     That's why you have to strive for your Olympic medal
before you get married.  You have to strive for your
doctorate before you have children.  Life is full of
distractions.  Saying no to the distractions is extremely
difficult.  It takes will power, self discipline, that
most people don't have.
     Of course, if your legs are weak, you will have to
exercise correctly, eat correctly, and sleep correctly;
to have enough strength to do any of the above.
Cheers,
Coach Low

"You train for the people who love you."
-- Tatiana Whitlock

So you Wanna Take a Shooting Course?
https://www.breachbangclear.com/so-you-wanna-take-a-shooting-course/
     I love his point about socialize, make friends.

"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner

     I took a "Use of Force" class presented by attorney Marcos M. Garza,
https://garzalaw.com/
(I think I met him when he was a JAG officer at Quantico many years ago,
but I'm not sure.) and sponsored by U.S. Law Shield,
https://www.uslawshield.com/
     What I took away from the lecture:
     We don't kill people over stuff.
     It is reckless to give a statement at the scene.  (Police don't
give statements until 72 hours later.  Some 48 hours.)
     Invoking your Constitutional right to have your attorney present during
questioning supersedes all other rights.  Invoke it and shut up.
     A given set of facts can be presented in many different ways
from many different perspectives.  If you give a statement without
your attorney present, you prevent your attorney from presenting the
facts in a favorable light.  Compare: 
     "The lady fired two shots a the intruder.  The first shot missed. 
The second shot struck the intruder and killed him."
     to
     "The lady fired a warning shot.  The intruder continued to advance
on her after the warning shot.  She fired a second shot that struck and
killed the assailant."
     Same facts, different narrative.
     You ain't that smart.  You ain't that sophisticated.  And you're
under terrible stress.  So, keep your mouth shut.  Let your attorney
talk for you.  Because he is not under stress, so he is objective.
     Don't consent to anything.  Your attorney cannot fight your consent. 
But, he can fight a search warrant, a drug test, etc. after the fact.

     If you find yourself in North Carolina check out,
Apache Solutions LLC
https://apachesolutionsllc.com
5239 US 601 Hwy
Yadkinville, NC 27055
United States
(336) 422-6859
apachesolutionsllc@gmail.com
     Sergant Tim kelly was a mortor man in my son's company in the
Marine Corps.

     The unidentified moderator on Shop Talk at Concealed Carry
https://www.facebook.com/concealedcarryinc/videos/vl.885739085098217/828860547499974/?type=1
says Dave Spaulding is going to retire.  Get your training while you can. 
Everyone has an expiration date.

     I attended a Civil Liability lecture from attorney John Harris,
http://harrislawoffice.com/content/attorneys/john_i_harris.htm
He is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms Association.
https://tennesseefirearms.com/
     Civil liability requires a "preponderance of the evidence" (51% certainty),
not "beyond a reasonable doubt" (95% certainty).
     In reality, the Castle Doctrine is easily overcome by the plaintif. 
     In reality, the No Retreat Doctrine is easily overcome by the plaintif. 
     Any unlawful activily will void the claim of self-defense.  For instance,
you were in voilation of some zoning ordinace.  The unlawful activity doesn't
have to have anything to do with the self-defense claim.
     Get training from qualified experts who will testify for you at trial
and are in fact good witnesses.  [This is one of the reasons taking Massad
Ayoob's course is worth far more than the price of tuition.  He will testify
for his students.  It's up to the court (the judge) as to whether or not
your witness will be considered an expert by the court.  It is up to your
attorney as to whether or not it is a good legal strategy for this expert
witness to testify for you.] 
     [I write in my lesson plans that I give to my students that I will
testify for them at no charge.  I consider it my duty.  Whether or not
they ask me to testify for them is another thing entirely.]
     Always carry a cell phone that can make video and audio recordings.
     Have your 911 script prepared and memorized, NOW!  Otherwise, you
will screw it up later.
     Know who to call.  Attorney [I give my students a list of competent
attorneys.  Any legitimate self-defense insurance program will have a
number to call to get an attorney sent to you immediately.]  Bail bondsman. 
Friend (who can actually help you).  Spouse (who is willing to help you). 
Etc.
     Write a will and estate plan.  Structure your finances, so you don't
lose everything in an civil judgement.  If you don't know what I'm talking
about, call an attorney with expertise in estate planning.  Prepared
people don't get bankrupted by civil judgements. 
"Life is hard.  It's even harder if you're stupid." -- John Wayne 
Don't be stupid.  Structure your finances.

     Wiley Clapp, field editor for the American Rifleman magazine, wrote an
article in the July 2019 issue of the American Rifleman paper magazine, in
which he explains in detail why you have to focus on the front sight when
aiming.  Unfortunately, the NRA web site,
https://www.americanrifleman.org/
neglected to publish his article on the web site.  So, read it in the paper
magazine if you can.  Clapp recommends you shoot a blank piece of paper,
instead of a target, to hone your sight alignment skills.  In particular,
focusing on the front sight.
     My archery coach, Al Lizzio, would refer to the bullseye target as the
one eyed monster, because it distracts the shooter from concentrating on
the shooter's form, and instead caused the insufficiently trained shooter
to fixate on the target.  Which always leads to failure.

     The NRA Whittington Center
34025 U.S. 64 West
Raton, NM 87740
has courses you might be interested in,
http://nrawc.org/training/wu-defensive-academy/school-of-practical-pistol/

5 Biggest Mistakes Concealed Carriers Make
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/6/18/5-biggest-mistakes-concealed-carriers-make/
Excerpt: 
     If you wanted to learn to scuba dive or fly an airplane,
a smart person would realize the importance of getting training.
It is no different with personal defense: It only makes sense
to get good professional training.
. . .
     Carrying a concealed handgun is a way of life. In many ways,
it changes the way we dress, the way we act and the way we think.
It changes our priorities to the point that we pass on a vacation
in order to spend time and money on training. Taking it seriously
will help a person avoid these five pitfalls to concealed carry.

SHOP Talk: Concealed Carry Tips
https://www.concealedcarry.com/firearms-ownership/shop-talk-concealed-carry-tips/

***** Practice *****

      Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III

Armed Self-Defense: 4 Reasons to Practice Movement Drills
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/6/3/armed-self-defense-4-reasons-to-practice-movement-drills/

Slow is smooth.  Smooth is efficient.  Efficient is fast.

***** Techniques *****

     These articles were written for rifle shooters, but they directly apply to
combat pistol shooters.

What Causes Poor Trigger Technique?
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/6/15/what-causes-poor-trigger-technique/
Excerpt: 
     Check each item carefully and adjust the trigger,
your position, or your grip as necessary. Don’t be satisfied
until you are correct.
     [Yes, as a matter of fact, you can move your trigger (or your gunsmith can
move it for you).  Yes, as a matter of fact, you should move your trigger. 
The probability that the factory settings of your trigger are correct for
you is infinitesimal.]
     [The first stage of the trigger that the author is referring to is the slack;
perceptible movement of the trigger, but no sear movement.  The second stage
of the trigger that the author is referring to has no perceptible trigger
movement, but has sear movement.]

Our Guide To Help Develop Proper Rifle Trigger Technique
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/3/5/our-guide-to-help-develop-proper-rifle-trigger-technique
Excerpt: 
     "When you shoot, you receive and process not only sensory information
but also the thoughts in your own head, which can influence your shooting
results. These thoughts are generally unrelated to your sensory input —
things like what happened at work today or what you need to do tomorrow."
     [That's why yoga practice is an essential part of your training program. 
     Level III Rifle Coach Jonathan Low says, this is the difference between
winning and losing the match. 
     Advanced Pistol Instructor Jonathan Low says, this is the difference
between winning and losing the gunfight.]
. . .
     "Follow your shot plan."
     [This means you have to have a shot plan.  This means you had to have
been taught what a shot plan is, written it out in your own words, and practiced
it until it became automatic. 
     If you don't have a shot plan, even God can't help you.  Because God will
never violate your free will.  And by not having a shot plan, you have chosen
to be negligent in your training.]

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”
-- Bruce Lee

8 Self-defense tips for men
https://www.wimsblog.com/2013/04/self-defense-tips-for-men/

"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley

How to use the small fixed blade knife with Craig Douglas of Shivworks
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=307624830151292

"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee

Shooting Through Doors and Walls [always a bad idea]
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/shooting-through-doors-and-walls
     As Greg says, you have to positively identify your target before
shooting it.
     RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET (Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety)
     When I was an artillery forward observer, the instructors at the
U.S. Army artillery school at Schofield Barracks told us to call Marine Corps
pilots for air strikes because the Marines would fly low and inverted
over the target to positively identify it before attacking it.  Do likewise.
     The U.S. Air Force pilots flew high (to avoid getting shot down) and
scattered their bombs everywhere (nearly hitting us).  Everyone serves a
purpose, even if it's to be an example of what not to do.

Skill Set: Fundamentals, Pt IV: Cover
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/8d314381-248a-4def-aee1-d706008d6add

Mastering Jim Cirillo’s Technique For Coarse-Aim Shooting
https://gundigest.com/handguns/personal-defense/mastering-jim-cirillos-technique-for-coarse-aim-shooting
     I do not teach nor do I recommend this technique. 
But, I cite it as something you may want to experiment with.

***** Tactics *****

You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen

Considerations for Fighting With a Little One at Your Side
https://www.recoilweb.com/considerations-for-fighting-with-a-little-one-at-your-side-150139.html
Excerpt:  "You Should Make the Hardest Decisions Now"
     This article is full of counter intuitive truth.

"Audacity wins."
-- Carl von Clausewitz

Skill Set: Fundamentals Pt V -- Shooting
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/d0b93733-9f98-4d9c-ac6f-00227652a11c
     The pelvic girdle probably isn't the best place to hit,
but it's the best place to aim (John Farnam also teaches this),
because it moves the least. 

***** Gear *****

9mm Ammunition for Serious Purposes
http://defense-training.com/2019/9mm-ammunition-for-serious-purposes/

The Secrets of Gunpowder
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/5/31/the-secrets-of-gunpowder/

Full Circle!
http://defense-training.com/2019/full-circle/
     Some history on our armed forces rifles.

All About Flashlights
https://www.concealedcarry.com/gear/shop-talk-all-about-flashlights/
Excerpt: 
Stick any flashlight from this page into your cart and
use the code FlashTalk at checkout to take 15% off.

***** Instructors *****

Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God’s gift to our students.
Our students are God’s gift to us."

     The following is a letter that I wrote to my son's friend who has
been conducting firearms training for about two years.
     My advice concerning firearms instruction as a business,
vocation, or calling --
*    Continuously seek top level training.
I have attended the Tactical Conference for the last 5 years.  Three days of
quality training for $400.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tactical-conference-2020-dallas-tickets-60665750894
     It's really important to be taking classes regularly.  Otherwise, you fall behind
and get lost.  You end up teaching things that are not best practices.  They made
sense when you learned them, but things have changed since then.  If you don't
think the fundamentals change, you're wrong.  (Trigger finger in the register
position was not always taught.  It's a fairly recent development.  Now days,
it's fundamental.)
*    Carry insurance.
I carry one million dollars of general liability and five hundred thousand dollars
of professional liability (in case someone sues me for something that I taught
one of my students).
     "If I do things right, I will never get sued.  So, I don't need to carry insurance."
     No, that is false.  Neglecting to carry insurance is stupidity incarnate.
I use the NRA instructor insurance through Lockton.  But, there are many
available.  Best to shop around.
     Knowledgeable students are going to ask for your insurance.  Any range that
you want to use for your classes is going to ask for your insurance, and they
are going to ask you to add them to your insurance policy.
*    Regularly communicate with your students.
Write a blog, such as
DefensivePistolcraft.com
Send out a monthly newsletter.
So, your students don't forget you.  So, your students will refer others to you.
To give your students an avenue to ask you questions.  To keep your students
involved and thinking.
*    Encourage your students to take courses from other instructors.
You don't want a cult following.  And you want your students to be talking
about you with other students who don't know about you.
*    Accumulate credentials.
There is no rush on this, actually it will happen naturally.
     Getting an NRA instructor certification will allow you to post your courses
on the NRA web site.  And it will get you all kinds of discounts and freebies
from companies that like to do business with the NRA.  As a certified NRA
Instructor, you are allowed to post your non-NRA courses on the NRA web site.
     Front Sight has a free 5-day instructor development course.  It's free because
they expect you to work for them.  But, you don't have to.
https://www.frontsight.com/Courses.asp?Action=View&ID=270
     Rangemaster has a 3-day instructor development course for $685
https://rangemaster.com/training/instructor-development-course/
     Defense Training International has an Instructor Program for $725
http://defense-training.com/training-courses/
description near the bottom of the web page.  I'm going to attend this course
in Nashville, TN at Royal Range on October 5th and 6th.  You should too.
     Get your state's certification, so you can teach your state's course for
whatever concealed carry licensing your state might have.
     All this credentialing is to give you legitimacy, so people feel comfortable
going to you for training and referring their friends to you.
*     Price your classes commensurate with your experience, credentials, and
intended audience.  At Front Sight we charged $2000 for a 4-day handgun
course.  That is a well defined demographic.  When I taught weekend classes
for little old ladies in the small town of Dowelltown, TN, the tuition for the
class was a very small tax deductible donation to the church that was hosting
the class.  I didn't make any money, but I got a lot of good will. 
Don't deceive yourself.  Good will is invaluable.  Good will gets you referrals. 
Little old ladies have daughters and granddaughters, who will eventually
realize that they need your training services.  Hopefully before the traumatic
event, but probably after.  Be prepared for these students.
     There is a service,
https://www.shootingclasses.com/
that you might want to sign up for.  I haven't used them much, as they just
started up recently.  But, they seem to have a good business model.
     Get in bed with self defense insurance companies, e.g. U.S. Law Shield,
https://www.uslawshield.com/
Invite them to come to your classes and give their spiel about the benefits
of their self-defense insurance program.  They in turn will drive students
to your classes.  Explain to your students that they carry life insurance
to protect their loved ones in case they lose the fight, they carry self
defense insurance in case they win the fight.
*    If you don't have your own range facility (or even if you do), get in
bed with the local ranges, so you can use their facilities for your classes.
It's a symbiotic relationship.  It's like a doctor having privileges at a
hospital.  If you don't, people will wonder what's wrong with you.
     I use the Strategic Edge Gun Range, the gun ranges at Long Meadows
Farms, Davidson County Sportsmans Club, and several private properties.
Sometimes you will want to shoot at night or do things that some ranges
won't allow, like bringing cars onto the range to do car jacking scenarios
where you shoot out of the car.  (accessing a concealed pistol while buckled
into a seat in a car and shooting out the window usually requires
private property).
*    Don't tell war stories.  They waste the student's valuable time. 
Nobody cares what a great special forces operator you were.  Nobody cares
what a heroic cop you were.  All your students care about is what you can
teach them that will be useful in protecting themselves and their loved ones.
*    Have an emergency plan and explain it to the students.  Who has first
aid training?  Where is the first aid kit?  Who is responsible for calling 911?
Who will run out to the street to direct the ambulance to the range?  Etc.
     The plan will make the students feel safe and comfortable.  They will
think you are an experienced professional.
*     Be aware that beginner classes are the most difficult to teach,
because so much of what the student knows to be true is false.
Cheers,
Jon

"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch

     Dustin Solomon, in his book “Building Shooters” states that
an instructor should not expect any learning to take place
the first time new information is presented.
[Hat tip to Bill Hayes of Axiom Training.]

     Avoid using acronyms like the plague, because your students
won't ask you what they stand for.  No one wants to look stupid.

***** Pedagogy *****

Qui docet, discit.  (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

Law of Self Defense
Live Online Class on August 24, 2019
https://lawofselfdefense.com/live-online-class/

“Destiny doesn’t make appointments,
nor does she waste her time with the naive and unready!”
-- John Farnam

How To Secure An Apartment Or Condo From Intruders
https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/15/ccw-weekend-how-to-secure-an-apartment-or-condo-from-intruders/

***** News, Legal, Philosophical, and Political stuff *****

How do you win a gunfight?
Don’t be there.
-- John Farnam

Street Survival: When it comes to using deadly force,
are you a P.O. (Police Officer) or a C.O. (Conscientious Objector)?
https://www.policeone.com/police-training/articles/484143006-street-survival-when-it-comes-to-using-deadly-force-are-you-a-po-or-a-co/
[You have to register to access the article, but registration is free.]
Excerpt: 
     When a police officer has to use deadly force to save innocents from a killer,
that officer must be unencumbered and purposeful in his mission. They must be able
to seek out that killer, take aim and fire a bullet into a vital area to stop the
threat. 
     To be able to do this while making the right decision in doing so takes not
only a great deal of ongoing training, but also a quantum of soul-searching in
advance to determine that the officer is a P.O. (Police Officer) who can do what
needs to be done, and not a C.O. (Conscientious Objector), who can’t.

     Lt. Dan's other articles are at
https://www.policeone.com/street-survival-dan-marcou/

The Law-Abiding Gun Owner's Guide to Firearms Customization
https://assets.uslawshield.com/docs/PSA_Informative.pdf
     Ignorance may be bliss, but what you don't know can
get you arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned. 
     Do you understand the term, "illegal constructive
possession"?  If not, you better read this article.
     Did you know that the NFA prohibits vertical foregrips
on pistols?  Do you understand what that means?  If not,
you better read this article.

U.S. House of Representatives, oversight hearing --
     Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D - N.Y.):
"How bad does the mass shooting epidemic have to get before
you will adopt common sense gun safety policies like other
banks have done?"
     Mr. Tim Sloan (CEO of Wells Fargo Bank): 
"We just don't believe that it is a good idea to encourage
banks to enforce legislation that doesn't exist."

     As Herr Professor Doctor Albert Einstein said,
never underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people.

     Tennessee is a "True Man" state.
“Soft” v. “Hard” Stand-Your-Ground: A Case Example
https://lawofselfdefense.com/soft-v-hard-stand-your-ground-a-case-example/

“She died defenseless”
https://crimeresearch.org/2019/06/finally-one-national-news-story-about-how-the-virginia-beach-shooting-was-in-a-gun-free-zone-she-died-defenseless/

     "I don't believe.  I know and decide.
     No maybes.  No in-between.  Yes must be yes.  No must be no.
Never change your mind.
     Vows are sacred.  Never play with the D word. (Divorce)
     Your life is a sermon."
-- Pastor Mike Ayon

      Not only is your life a sermon that is on display to the world,
many persons whom you don't even know exist
are listening and watching your sermon.

     President Trump signed H.R. 1222 Target Practice and Marksmanship Training
Support Act into law on 10 May 2019.

***** Survival *****

"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House

Why You Should Carry Medical Gear: Part 1
https://www.shootingclasses.com/blog/posts/why-you-should-carry-medical-gear-part-1/
Why You Should Carry Medical Gear: Part 2
https://www.shootingclasses.com/blog/posts/why-you-should-carry-medical-gear-part-2/

Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
-- John Farnam

SWAT Raid or Home Invasion?
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/how-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-swat-raid-and-a-home-invasion
Excerpts:
     I’ve never seen a home invasion where a criminal used
a weapon mounted light or ballistic shield.
     If you don’t see any badges, it isn’t a legitimate police raid.
     Real cops wear belts.
     All the cops on a raid will have a police radio (walkie-talkie). 
It may be on the vest or clipped on the belt.  SWAT teams will likely
have helmets with mounted radio headsets using mouth or throat
microphones.  I’ve never seen a reported home invasion where the
criminals are using radios (even the commonly available walkie-talkies
you can buy at a sporting goods store).  No radios = no police.
     If you are hearing lots of ineffective beating at the door,
it’s likely home invaders.
     . . . during a raid, ALL of the officers will be yelling “Police”
to identify themselves.  If you aren’t hearing lots of identifying
words and verbal commands, you are likely dealing with home invaders.
     To buy yourself time, you need to harden your house.  . . .
All of those interventions will slow down both the police and
home invaders, giving you more time to make a better assessment
about what is really going on.  If there is any doubt, call 911
immediately.

***** 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 *****

"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen

When it’s least expected, you’re selected.
-- John Farnam

Semper Fidelis,
Jon

Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com

God can do more than we can hope or imagine.