Hi Sheepdogs,
With rights come responsibilities. With the right to keep and bear arms,
comes the responsibility to continually train and practice to maintain
competence. A weapon system without continuous operator training is a
danger to everyone within range.
"Hey, Staff, It's like riding a bicycle, once you learn you never forget."
That is absolutely false. Marksmanship is a perishable skill. Tactical
maneuver is a perishable skill. Physical and verbal avoidance, deterrence,
and de-escalation are perishable skills. Such skills must have been practiced
recently to be effective.
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
In the comments section of one of John Murphy's videos, John says,
"I make no claim to being a combat veteran."
I had to write to John to tell him that my recollections of combat were
running, hiding, and later, searching for survivors and body parts.
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
Jordan Peterson: Guys who are too nice? Good luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6-360oFHZ4
Considerations for Lethal Force Part 1 by Varg Freeborn
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/considerations-for-lethal-force-part-1/
Considerations for Lethal Force Part 2 by Varg Freeborn
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/considerations-for-lethal-force-2/
Considerations for Lethal Force Part 3 by Varg Freeborn
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/considerations-for-lethal-force-part-3/
"The art of cognitive blindspots | Kyle Eschen | TEDxVienna" by Kyle Eschen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOG65rSM5fA
The video on inattentional blindness referred to is
"selective attention test" by Daniel J. Simons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
Consider how many seconds you can get ahead of your emeny by applying
this principle. You could have your pistol out and on target before he
noticed what you were doing.
Remember the video I posted a few months ago where the guy pulls up
his shirt and rotates 360 degrees to show that he is unarmed, only to
produce a pistol in his hand?
These sleight of hand techniques are not that difficult to execute.
Yes, you have to practice. But, it's no harder than practicing your
presentation or a malfunction clearing operation.
This is in the mindset section, not the technique section, because
I am advocating you learn the principle from which there are a million
possible implementations (the technique) of the principle. A possible
technique would be to wave at someone behind the bad guy (whether or not
that someone exists) pretending to warn that person to run away,
to force the bad guy's attention away from your presentation from the
concealed holster. Yes, you have to practice. Flubbing a magic trick
in combat is different from flubbing on stage in front of an audience.
The vast majority of violent crime against us good guys (which is
a very specific category) is crime of opportunity, as opposed to premeditated.
You can avoid this crime by causing the criminal to decide not to attack you.
The criminal is looking for easy money or easy sex. If your body language
says that you are not easy, then the criminal will pass you by for easier
prey. You get the body language by taking expert training and by practicing
what you were taught.
"I can fake it. I'm a good actor."
No, you can't. Unless you've spent significant time in prison, you
won't even know what to fake, much less how to fake it.
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
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
You must have a plan for when the mob traps and attacks your car. You must
have a plan for when the mob attacks you as a pedestrian. You must practice your
plan with your family. Because you must be able to execute your plan faster than
the mob can execute their violence against you. Otherwise, you lose.
Blaming others for the tragedy will not bring anyone back to life.
Six Self-Defense Commands and Strategies for Families . . .
http://godgalsgunsgrub.blogspot.com/2015/06/six-self-defense-commands-and.html
I could not find the author's name anywhere on the web site.
I wrote to him to request his name for attribution or a moniker if he could not
give me his name. Short bio of the author at
https://www.blogger.com/profile/18289354729286002247
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
Why Practicing Gun Handling is Critical by Shane Jahn
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/16/why-practicing-gun-handling-is-critical/
Excerpt:
Having many years’ experience, our shooter had allowed himself
to be over-confident and complacent.
Seek out more good training. Learn from your mistakes and share
them with others so that they don’t make them.
Here Are 4 Concealed Carry ‘Holsters’ That I Simply Don’t Trust,
And Reasons Why You Shouldn’t, Either by Brandon Curtis
https://concealednation.org/2020/07/here-are-4-concealed-carry-holsters-that-i-simply-dont-trust-and-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-either/
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
----- Training -----
CIVILIAN DEFENDER HEMORRHAGE ARREST COURSE, 8 HOURS, HOSTED BY ON-TARGET
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/civilian-defender-hemorrhage-arrest-course-8-hours-hosted-by-on-target-tickets-115081614206
by Dr. Sherman A. House
https://civiliandefender.com/
Sat, August 15, 2020
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM CDT
On Target Shooting Sports
915 North Thompson Lane
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
Every Wednesday at 4:00 PM Central Time, Michael Mann does a webinar for
church security teams.
https://www.facebook.com/SafeWithMann/
Michael Mann Security Services
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxi2b2Q-RK0G3U1gLPE9Cmw/featured
Lots of useful videos.
Without testing, there has been no training. -- Greg Hamilton
Private lesson –Training Modules by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/07/23/private-lesson-training-modules/
Watch the video.
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Skill Set: Fundamentals by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/c2ba92ab-56cd-4ffa-8a17-329ac4e1b41e
Excerpt:
"The fundamentals of responding to a threat are:
Move, Communicate, using Cover, Shooting - if or as needed, and Thinking."
". . . it’s extremely difficult -- if not impossible -- to remember
to do something that you haven’t learned."
Training is Just as Important as the Firearm You're Carrying by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/24/training-is-just-as-important-as-the-firearm-youre-carrying/
Excerpts:
“Don’t tell me what you carry — show me what you can do with it.”
"Ability, not gear, wins gunfights."
". . . training is more important than what we are carrying."
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
----- 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
Bring your gloves to practice (the ones you wear in the winter to keep your
hands warm). Make sure you can do everything with your gloves on. No, you won't
have time to take your gloves off in combat. And if it's cold, you won't want to.
Why practice?
"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
Friday Fundamentals – Performance Standards by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/friday-fundamentals-performance-standards/
Without measurement, you're lost in space. Try these drills
and get an anchor in reality. You might be surprised at how you
stack up against the law enforcement professionals in our country.
Or, you might be shocked.
Dry Fire Training To Improve Defensive Handgun Skills by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/dry-fire-training-to-improve-defensive-handgun-skills
Excerpt:
"I’d urge you to become devoted to dry practice."
"What Are The Dry Fire Training [Topics] You Should Focus On:
Trigger-Pull
Firearms Presentation
Follow-Through And Holstering
Reloading
Immediate Action: Stoppages"
"Don’t focus on the target. Your attention should always be on the front sight or reticle."
"In fact, frequency is more important than duration."
I know some instructors and schools teach target focused aiming. They are just wrong,
theoretically, and practically.
If you focus on the front sight, you will be concentrating on the front sight.
(Because visual focus on an object equals mental concentration on that object. Because
just about all information to the brain comes through the eyes.)
So, you will know where your pistol is aimed.
If you focus on the target, you will be concentrating on the target; and your
front sight will wander off the target and you'll never notice it, because you are
concentrating on the target. Remember inattentional blindness? You're not looking
for your front sight, so you won't see your front sight, so you won't be able to
aim your pistol.
"Staff, can't the same argument be made for the target? with the conclusion that
you have to focus on the target?"
No, because:
1. The target is moving relative to your line of sight, whereas your sights are
not moving relative to your line of sight. (Admittedly, this is a subtle psychological
thing.)
2. In your field of view, the target is, generally, several orders of magnitude
larger than your front sight. (So, the target is hard to miss.)
3. You have immediate visual feedback and control of your front sight. You have
no such control of the target. (I'm talking about real targets, not stationary
paper targets.) So, your perception of control over the objects is very different.
(Cogent explanation requires a deep dive down a psychological rabbit hole.)
4. While inattentional blindness may apply to targets (We have all seen competitors
run past targets in an IPSC or IDPA match without shooting it because they didn't
see it.), in combat we wouldn't be pointing our pistol at the target in the first
place unless we had already decided that it was a deadly threat. So, it is
inconceivable that we would be blind to it through inattention.
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
Practice the shooting exercises starting with something in your hands to
simulate a cell phone or bag of groceries. If you don't practice dropping whatever
is in your hands to free your hands for self defense, you'll still be holding the
item when the coroner examines your remains. (Yes, I understand that your baby is
a different situation. Make sure to drop her feet first.)
Bad practice equals bad performance.
-- Richard A. Mann
----- Techniques -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
Weak-Hand Only: A Critical Shooting Skill You Need to Know by Chris Christian
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2018/7/9/weak-hand-only-a-critical-shooting-skill-you-need-to-know/
Excerpt:
"The ability to transition to the weak hand and return accurate fire can be
a life-saving skill. But, it is a skill that must be learned and absorbed into
the subconscious mind."
Drills: With support side hand only --
"One Ragged Hole" - From ready position, 5 rounds at 5 yards slow fire,
attempting to place all bullets through the same hole.
"Bill Drill" - From the holster (yes, you need to get a support side holster)
6 rounds at 7 yards rapid fire.
"Transition Drill" - From low ready, 6 rounds at 5 yards with 3 targets 2 feet apart,
attempting to transition smoothly between targets. Move eyes first, then the sights
to your line of sight.
"Emergency Shift Drill" - From pistol in firing hand, transfer to support side
hand and fire. [I think inserting the web between the thumb and index finger under
the tang and over the hand that is gripping the pistol, and then sliding the gripping
hand down and off the grip works better than a side to side transfer. -- Jon Low]
Taking It In The Crotch, Is Appendix Carry For You? by Patrick Roberts
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/accessories/taking-it-in-the-crotch-is-appendix-carry-for-you
The ergonomic arguments are cogent. This article gives the details
for adjustment for comfort and function.
Mr. Roberts talks about adjusting "ride height", by which he means the
level of the holstered pistol relative to the belt line / waist line.
That, of course, is a function of the ride height of your pants.
Tatiana Whitlock goes into detail about this in her class on concealed carry.
Apparently women's clothing ride height has a lot more variability than that
of men's clothing.
Accept your wobble. If you achieve a surprise trigger break, you will get
good hits, no matter how much your sights look like they are wobbling. Yes,
actually it is magic. (Any sufficiently advanced technology will appear as magic to
the ignorant. God's creation, the human, is very advanced technology.)
I see a lot of NRA and YouTube.com videos teaching breath control. I do
not teach breath control to my defensive pistol students, nor do I teach it to my
junior rifle team athletes. (I am a level 3 rifle coach, certified by the NRA, CMP,
and USA Shooting.)
I believe that breath control in a combat situation will happen automatically,
as an autonomic nervous system function. So, I don't waste time teaching it.
Studies by USA Shooting at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, CO and the United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit demonstrate
that with practice, the shooter will automatically (without instruction) release the
shot at the respiratory pause, after the exhale and before the inhale. After
significant training and practice the shooter will automatically release the shot
between heart beats.
By automatically, I mean without training to do so, without conscious effort
to do so. So, teaching something that will happen automatically with practice is
unnecessary, and perhaps counter productive.
Hold Tight To The Past, The Old Masters on Gun-Gripping, by Massad Ayoob
https://gunsmagazine.com/handguns/hold-tight-to-the-past/
Grip as tight as you can, otherwise the enemy will take the pistol away from
you. He'll slap it right out of your hand. Or, grab it and twist it out of your
hands.
If you can't wrap all of your fingers around the grip so that at least your
middle finger tip is pointing back toward you, then the grip is too big for your
hand. So, you won't be able to control it very well. So, you won't get much accuracy.
Please consider,
Learn To Make A Coin APPEAR INSIDE A Glass!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_g67Q8YgH0
Do you see how you can use the techniques to gain time in a fight?
Magicians talk about being ahead. For us, that corresponds to being
seconds ahead in a fight. Already having decided what action you are
going to execute. Already having the concealment garment cleared.
Already having the pistol out of the holster. Use misdirection and
inattentional blindness to get ahead.
Six of us security and nurses were holding down a psych patient in order
get him restrained (physically and chemically). He had pulled out his IV and
was sucking on it. Punching, kicking, biting, spitting, bad language, etc.
I was responsible for his right arm. Remembering what an instructor had
taught me, that they may be crazy, but they're not stupid. I tell him,
"Stop struggling. I don't want to break your wrist."
I am always surprised at how effective simple direct words can be.
Use your words.
Little old lady
https://www.corneredcat.com/little-old-lady/
Transcript:
Seems to me that everyone is chasing after the self-defense techniques
used by athletic young adults.
Not me.
I want to know the self-defense techniques that work best for little old ladies,
because (if all goes right) someday I will be one.
And if a technique is so easy to use and so certain that even a little old lady
can use it, why would I not learn to use it now?
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
----- Tactics -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
“Don’t Run in a Straight Line” and other Bad Advice by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/dont-run-in-a-straight-line-and-other-bad-advice
Another ‘Worst Possible Case’ – Interrupting a Murderer by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/another-worst-possible-case-interrupting-a-murderer/
Closing with the enemy by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/closing-with-the-enemy/
On the other hand, I have closed with the enemy to ensure my shot hit the enemy.
I simply lacked the confidence to shoot from the farther distance.
Then again, unlike Prof. Werner, I was never infantry.
Avoiding The Ambush by Jeff Chudwin
https://www.lawofficer.com/avoiding-the-ambush-2/
Wow! You need to read this.
"AMBUSH CAN BE AVOIDED OR DEFEATED."
"THOSE WHO WIN; FIRST PREPARE TO WIN."
"Don't rush." Because rushing causes self-imposed time compression, which
causes mishaps. It takes a great deal of training and practice to avoid rushing
in a high stress situation. That's why you have to take classes from experts
and practice what they teach you. Yes, you have to spend your own money and
your own time. How much is your life worth? How much are the lives of your
loved ones worth?
The article is worth reading just for
"Closing: Standing Orders From Rogers’ Rangers"
Like my father and grandfather (and I suspect other ancestors, because I'm
here), we are chronically early. Because we hate getting ambushed.
There are people who are always fashionably late. You may be married to one.
You may be dating one. She ain't a country girl. And she ain't the girl next door.
At Front Sight the instructors would tell the students,
"If you can't be on time, be early."
"Why? Will being late cause you to miss something? Aw, poor thing.
Suck it up buttercup."
No, being late will cause you to get killed. I know of an officer who
did not get his unit to the correct position in time. A friendly artillery
fire mission destroyed his entire unit, 100% fatality. Being late causes
death.
Distance, How Close is Too Close?
Lessons Learned From Self-Defense Encounters Caught on Camera
by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/lessons-learned-from-self-defense-encounters-caught-on-camera/
Excerpt:
"Don't overestimate your ability to get effective hits on a man-sized
attacker at close distances. Even at only around 10 feet, the rounds had
no effect or missed the attacker. Either way, the officer drastically
[over]estimated his ability, along with the time and distance it would take
to stop the charging attacker."
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Education -----
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Vehicle Attacks: Targeting Houses of Worship by Michael Mann
https://youtu.be/10p-Y1Pgv3s
Excerpt:
"The police evacuated people from the area, some who had been waiting for hours."
[If you got hit by a truck, could you survive without emergency room medical treatment
for hours? You better know how to stop the bleeding, apply tourniquets, chest seals,
and pack wounds.] This incident was in Nice, France during Bastille Day celebrations.
Michael gives these seminars every week. A fantastic gift to our community.
https://www.facebook.com/SafeWithMann/
You have to see the enemy rehearsals a week to a week and a half before the attack.
Pay attention! Look around!
Security by design, not target hardening.
Intelligence, not hardware.
Maintain close relations with local law enforcement. So, they will give you
intel. So, they recognize your people, so they don't mistakenly shoot your people.
Use of Suspicious Activity Reports.
Prevention, not response! Yes, you can prevent the attack. Yes, you can know
when the attack will come. Intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination
isn't that hard. Just do it!
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, we were operating out of the U.S. Embassy
in Ankara, Turkey. We were hunting terrorists. We were fairly successful.
The guys in Istanbul, missed one. A terrorist drove a gasoline tanker truck
into a wedding party, killing just about everyone. Time lines and spider webs.
Time lines allow you to associate events, and induce relationships and causality.
Spider webs (association charts) allow you to see relationships between
persons who may never have met face to face. You've heard of Six Degrees of
Separation? That was Frigyes Karinthy in 1929. Now days it's 5 degrees of separtion
at most. Because of the internet and social media. But, in the bad guy social
circles it's even less than 5, because they know the government and private
intelligence agencies are actively searching for them. So, they are not going
to associate with a person, unless they have a fairly direct connection to that
person in the number of people vouching for someone in any chain of such vouching.
This has forced the terrorist organizations to rely on broadcasting their
propaganda in hopes of radicalizing a nut case. The nut case turns into the
"lone wolf" terrorist who pledges allegiance to the organization. But nut cases
stick out like sore thumbs, if you pay attention and look for them.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
Grip --
Hat tip to Mark at Practcal Eschatology
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
The following was stolen from the above web site.
How To Make Sure Your Handgun Fits You by Tom McHale
https://bearingarms.com/tom-m/2013/11/23/how-to-make-sure-your-handgun-fits-you/
Tom refers to photos, but I couldn't find any on the web site.
Grip Fitting 103 by SFC Richard Merrill and the USAMU International Pistol Team
https://www.usashooting.org/library/Instructional/Pistol/pistol_july_aug_2009.pdf
Wow, this is really for target shooting.
Hand Size Counts in Safe Handgun Use by Joel J. Heber
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1011.842&rep=rep1&type=pdf
This is really a legal brief, more than advice to us.
#SHOOTTip – Handgun Size & Fit by Julie Golob
https://www.juliegolob.com/shoottip-handgun-size-fit
How To Properly Fit A Handgun To Your Hand by (could not find the author)
https://blog.gunassociation.org/properly-fit-handgun-hand/
How To Fit Your Hand To Your Pistol by Julianna Crowder
https://www.agirlandagun.org/how-to-fit-your-hand-to-your-pistol/
Proper Pistol Grips by (no author cited)
https://www.agirlandagun.org/training/proper-pistol-grip/
Approved, Not Recommended, and Dangerous grips.
Good informative pictures in the article.
The Right Fit by Rich Grassi
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/tactics_training_hg_therightfit_200903/138790
I'm sure holding the pistol, with the firing side thumb down,
like a hammer works for some people, but I don't think it's optimal.
Like a Glove: Picking a Handgun to Fit Your Grip by (couldn't find an author)
http://www.combatarmory.com/blog/like-a-glove-picking-a-handgun-to-fit-your-grip/
How to measure for your Custom Grip by Andrew Berryhill
https://www.precisiontargetpistolgrips.com/custom-measuring.html
This is really for target shooting.
Okay, that was a lot of text to read. Let's distill it.
Refer to the pictures in "Proper Pistol Grips" article above.
1. Barrel must be in line with the bones of the firing side forearm.
In line, not just parallel to.
2. Firing side hand must be as high in the tang of the grip as possible.
Flesh should be bunched up under the beaver tail.
3. Firing side fingers should be able to wrap around the grip far
enough to allow at least the middle finger tip to point back toward the shooter.
4. Distance from the surface of the back strap to the face of the trigger
is correct if the trigger finger is able to press the trigger straight to
the rear (after all slack is taken out of the trigger). No sideways pressure
on the trigger. The trigger finger should have no contact with the pistol
except for the face of the trigger.
5. All kinds of opinions on where the firing side thumb should be.
But, it should not be sticking out to the side, that indicates that
the girth of the grip is too big. Tom Givens says the thumb should
be high, not pulled down as if gripping a hammer, but rather up as
if gripping a saber.
6. Firing side middle finger should be up tight against the bottom
of the trigger guard.
7. Support side hand index finger should be up tight against the
bottom of the trigger guard.
8. Base of the support side thumb should be in contact with the grip.
No air gap. (If you've got an air gap, it means your support side
hand is too far back on the grip.)
9. Base of the thumbs should be in contact, no air gap. (If you've
got an air gap, it means your support side hand is too far forward.)
8. I think the support side thumb should be high, because I have seen
many students (not just my students) not be able to figure out why the
pistol won't fire, and it's because their trigger finger is pressing
against their support side thumb. Ya, as a matter of fact this does
happen. I've seen it in a lot of classes. Keeping the support side
thumb high prevents this problem.
And if you're not saturated by the subject yet,
Secrets of Handgun Grip by Dave Campbell
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/12/secrets-of-handgun-grip/
Excerpt:
"Handguns are the most difficult firearms to learn because
they are small, relatively lightweight and have limited points
of contact with the shooter. "
"American gun makers believed — correctly in my not-so-humble opinion —
that handgun shooters would naturally want their guns to shoot as if they
were pointing their index finger toward the target with a straight and
locked wrist. Smith & Wesson and John M. Browning both found that a
grip angle of 118 degrees from the centerline of the barrel to be the
most comfortable and natural angle."
"Georg Luger, the folks at Steyr, H&K with its P7 and Gaston Glock
insist that a sharper angle of 122 degrees to be better."
UPLULA MAGAZINE LOADER | Load magazines fast!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVVEQ7bAEFs
Excerpt:
Do you worry about breaking your nails when loading your magazines?
Suboptimal Concealed Carry Rigs - Are you doing #EDC wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXALz6Y-up4&feature=emb_logo
When Tasers Fail
https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/05/09/when-tasers-fail
Excerpt:
APM Reports found more than 250 fatal police shootings nationwide
between 2015 and 2017 that occurred after a Taser failed to incapacitate
a suspect. In 106 of them, the suspect became more violent after
receiving the electrical shock, according to a review of case files and
media reports, suggesting the Taser may have made a bad situation worse.
In every self-defense class that I have attended, we were taught
to fire several rounds into the assailant because pistol ammunition is
ballistically deficient and the probability of a one shot stop is very
low. The same is true of pepper spray. Some people are not affected
by pepper spray. The same is true of Tasers; some people are not
affected. (The reason does not matter. The result is "no affect".)
Believing that your tools are 100% effective may result in you
being shocked when they don't work. If you know that your tools may
not work, it won't bother you too much when they don't work. Such is
proper mindset.
The Back-Up Gun: 3 Reasons To Carry One by B. Gil Horman
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/7/24/the-back-up-gun-3-reasons-to-carry-one/
Many stores are reporting being sold out of guns and ammo.
I have found that Target Sports USA has ammo.
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Don’t be a CCW Idiot by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/dont-be-a-ccw-idiot
Primary sources,
Charges: Gun fell out of man's sweatpants and discharged,
fatally striking woman outside Trend Bar in St. Paul
https://www.fox9.com/news/charges-gun-fell-out-of-mans-sweatpants-and-discharged-fatally-striking-woman-outside-trend-bar-in-st-paul
Manslaughter charge for man accused of fatally shooting woman outside St. Paul bar
https://www.startribune.com/manslaughter-charge-for-man-accused-of-fatally-shooting-woman-outside-st-paul-bar/571603972/
Tom Givens discusses auto pistol reliability
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re8oMnGbnh4
Ricochet Analysis Introduction by Bev Fitchett
https://www.bevfitchett.us/ballistics/ricochet-analysis-introduction.html
I think penetrating windshields rather than ricocheting off the windshield
is a good reason to use full metal jacket round nose bullets a opposed to
hollow point bullets. As always, situation / mission dependent.
You probably won't be able to predict the situation far enough in advance to switch
to the appropriate ammunition.
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
All leadership is by example. So, as the instructor, you must set the example
for your students. By word and deed. If you are not willing to take on this
responsibility, please consider whether or not you are fit to be an instructor.
Be careful what you teach. Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Pedagogy -----
Teach positive. Teach what to do. Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
Skill Set: Verbalization by Tiger McKee
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/7688e143-30b5-40dd-92eb-155e5a2542fa
Excerpts:
Nowadays I teach small classes – one to three or four students.
I enjoy the slow pace, the interaction with the students and the
progress they make.
Sooner or later in the class, regardless of the skill level
of the students, verbalization comes into the training. Once students
begin to “talk” their way through drills I start to see major progress.
The more they talk, the slower the performance and the fewer mistakes
occur. Their confidence improves, which is critical because your
performance is always equal to your self-image.
A positive self-image – confidence -- is mandatory for a good performance.
After all, fighting is decision making at high speed. But first,
you have to go slow, step by step. Verbalization is the key.
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
***** ***** ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical ***** ***** *****
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"Imagine a man who professes over and over his undying love for a woman
but knows nothing of where she was born or who her parents were or where
she went to school or what her life had been until HE came along -- and
furthermore, doesn't care to learn. What would you think of such a person?
Yet we appear to have an unending supply of patriots who know nothing
of the history of this country, nor are they interested".
-- David McCullough
From "Brave Companions"
“Exemption Culture” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/exemption-culture/
I Asked Massad Ayoob About Saying Nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBy9L0gcqGY
Evidence eradication team.
Point out evidence and witnesses.
Every Thursday at 13:00 Central Time, Andrew Branca does a Q&A on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/LawofSelfDefense/
Actually, Andrew does all kinds of stuff on many different channels and they are all
very informative.
Defining Your “Castle” in Tennessee
https://www.uslawshield.com/defining-your-castle-in-tennessee/
ARMED “CASTLE” DEFENSE: GO OUTSIDE ??? by Steven Harris (an attorney who regularly
defends LEO's in use of force cases, and is a student of Tom Givens)
http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=18502#more-18502
Note that "brandished/gunpointed" is non-deadly force as a matter of law in
some jurisdictions. Check your local laws.
Note the long list of things that justify the use of deadly force, not just
a deadly threat against you. Check the laws in your jurisdiction.
"The defender was under no legal obligation to issue a warning or challenge,
or to first attempt to defend with non-deadly force."
Beto's AR15 Boogaloo Is A BUST - Here's Why
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xDxFdAbSg
Armed St. Louis Couple Charged With ‘Unlawful Use of a Weapon’
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/07/st-louis-couple-mccloskey-charged/
These people are wealthy attoneys living in a gated community. They were
able to hire attorneys immediately.
Do you have the money to pay your bail? hire an attorney? hire private
investigators? hire expert witnesses? If not, you better buy insurance.
This couple are both hardcore liberals who support Black Lives Matter
(the group that broke down their fence and threatened them).
Oh ya, a lot of liberals own and use guns. Hypocrisy? I don't see any hypocrisy.
COVID-19 is political by Liz Wheeler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohyh-hsNjIk
77% of Republicans Don’t Know This by Liz Wheeler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJRWBeoeojA
THE BIDEN PLAN TO END OUR GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC
https://joebiden.com/gunsafety/
You have to click the hyperlink in the upper right corner to get past the donation page.
I hope this scares you and motivates you to vote,
get your friends and relatives to vote, donate money to the Trump campaign,
volunteer to work on Trump's campaign, etc. As the people of
Cuba, Venezuela, et al discovered, if you don't write a check
from the comfort of your living room, you'll be fighting in
the jungles (which you might find unpleasant).
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Willingness is a state of mind. Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
***** ***** ***** Basics ***** ***** *****
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
Shooting Outdoors and Cleaning Up Afterwards by Joshua Gillem
https://www.concealedcarry.com/firearms-ownership/shooting-outdoors-and-cleaning-up-afterwards/
Common courtesy never gets old.
BEGINNERS GUIDE FOR NEW HANDGUN OWNERS by Walther Arms Company
https://waltherarms.com/2020/07/01/beginners-guide-for-new-handgun-owners/
A series of videos for newbies.
What Is MOA, And Why Is It Useful? by Kevin Creighton
https://www.ammoman.com/blog/what-is-moa-and-how-do-you-use-it/
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
2008 Mumbai Attack: A Case Study in Surveillance Detection by Michael Mann
https://www.facebook.com/SafeWithMann/videos/606376670279497
The 2008 (11/26/2008) Mumbai attack was preceeded by 2 years of surveilance.
None of the attackers had every set foot in India before the attack.
The attackers were not highly trained. And yet were very successful.
If you can't recognize hostile surveilance, you won't be able to stop it.
60 hour continuous attack.
172 killed, 300+ injured.
The bad guys had never been on an elevator and did not initially know how to operate it.
Adversary Attack Methodology.
Time, distance, demeanor.
The CBS news report on the incident, "Mumbai: Behind The Attacks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfYDzq1pYoU
The Khyber Pass pub is still up and running in Pilladelphia, PA.
https://www.khyberpasspub.com/
Thanks to Micheal Mann.
Guns & Men: The Memsaab Speaks METAL VS. METTLE by Helena Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/guns-men-the-memsaab-speaks/
This is deep.
Feminazi & Firearms Don't Mix (this is humor, no really, it is)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayHXSBAVWL4
All off color and tasteless humor has been censored to avoid emails
from Sherman asking me, "Was that really necessary?"
Also, certain persons slapped my head and informed me that children
(at my age, I consider 20 year olds children)
are reading this blog. In particular, children in London, England, United Kingdom.
Who are actually using these blog postings as a basis for training.
I guess it makes sense to use free material to learn a subject when the
government prohibits it. Especially if the government prohibits it.
House Of The Rising (Cover in Old French with lyrics in the comments section)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvAEMz64O9c
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
My grandson is standing and shuffling before squatting back down.
He'll be walking soon.
Book of Proverbs
Practice honesty 11:1
Choose the right friends 12:26
Live with integrity 13:6
Exercise good judgment 13:15
Speak wisely 14:3
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Thursday, July 16, 2020
CWP, 16 July MMXX Anno Domini
Hi Sheepdogs,
Happy 244th Birthday!
I write a lot of text in these blog postings, because I know a lot of you
will not invest the time to read or watch the citation. So, I give you a
synopsis to entice you to click on the citation and follow through. Or, I give
you a summary, in hopes that at least some of the valuable information will
transfer.
May I invite your attention to,
The Active Self Protection National Conference:
Bullets and Bibles - 25-27th September 2020 located in Manhattan, KS
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2020/
A fund raiser for Homes of Hope that provides food, lodging, and life skills
training for kids who have aged out of the foster care system.
https://fhftc.org/homes-of-hope/
And Flint Hills Foster Teen Camps that provide summer camps for foster children
who otherwise would not be able to afford such.
https://fhftc.org/
"Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call
for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray . . .
Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight -- all through the
day. Let us all pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes.
Let us pray for our churches. Let us pray for ourselves . . .
Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ
and redeeming love . . .
Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice."
-- General Robert E. Lee
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
How to Minimize Drama! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/how-to-minimize-drama/
Controlling Your Fear by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/26/controlling-your-fear/
The public dismisses those of us who prepare for the zombie apocalypse,
because the public is so insulated that they don't know that the zombies exit.
"Prepare For The Zombie Wars" by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/prepare-for-the-zombie-wars/
Excerpt:
“Wait,” said VZ. “Seriously, we have fought these guys.” It’s true.
We’d fought people stoned outta their skulls on everything from khat to
crack, hash to meth; wild-eyed religious fanaticism to Wild Turkey with
an LSD chaser. And who’s more dangerous than a scumbag so brain-fried on
PCP he’d snap the links of handcuffs, fracturing his wrists in the process,
and still try to strangle you or stab you with his own protruding
splintered bones?
Thugs and suicide bombers soaked in stimulants and painkillers are
already epidemic in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We had all had to
shoot some whacko right down to the deck and keep shootin’ ’till his
clothes caught fire; delivered guaranteed-fatal wounds on loony-goons who
were clinically dead but hadn’t got the telegram.
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
Even in peaceful Nashville, TN we fight the drunks and meth heads
every night in the emergency rooms. And those are the sane ones. The
psych patients that the police (and Paramedics, more highly
trained than the Emergency Medical Technicians, who are more highly
trained than the First Responders) dump on us are even worse.
The nurses have to sedate them before we can ship them off to a psych
ward, if we can find one that will accept them. (And most won't
because they are infected with Covid-19.) And guess who has to hold
them down so the nurse can inject them?
There are courses that teach you how to escape from restraints.
This assumes you have submitted or been forced into the restraint.
Do not submit to any kind of restraint. For this is akin to
submitting to being moved (kidnapped). Submitting to anything that
the bad guy wants you to do is WRONG. The situation will never get
better, it will only getting worse. Better to fight with everything you
have now. Right now, without telegraphing your intent. Explosive
attack, now! Gouging eyes is always good.
If you think you can't win, so you should not fight, you are
WRONG; and desperately need to read "Principles of Personal Defense"
by Jeff Cooper.
If you think that if you submit, your attacker will show you
mercy, you are WRONG, statistically and practically. Your attacker
is not like you. He does not think as you do. He is not civilized.
He is not decent. To assume that he is, is criminal stupidity.
"Your Firearm As Your Last Resort" by Dr. Michael Sweeney
(Check out the author's bio at the end of the web page.
UPS endowed a chair at Hillsdale College. That's significant.
It says which side of the culture war they are on.
I used to work for UPS. My son presently works for UPS.)
https://www.thearmorylife.com/your-firearm-as-your-last-resort/
Excerpt:
"Concerned about the cost, I talked to my wife, who advised
“You should spend at least as much for training as you spent on
the gun.” A wise woman and a good rule to follow."
[My father told me to judge a man by the women he associates with:
wives (in Saudi they have up to 4), girlfriends, business partners, etc.
-- Jon Low]
"I Am Afraid to Start Concealed Carrying" by Carrie Lightfoot
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/i-am-afraid-to-start-concealed-carrying/
Concealed Carry Mindset by Carrie Lightfoot
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/concealed-carry-mindset/
Cultivate the habit of treating other people like *people.* by Kathy Jackson
https://www.facebook.com/CorneredCatCCW/posts/3167237940035941
Excerpt:
A firearm can never get you out of the kind of trouble a big mouth gets you into.
‘I live in a nice neighborhood’ by The Tactical Professor (Claude Werner)
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/
Excerpt:
"Serious crime knows no borders, regardless of how nice your neighborhood is."
In my classes, I teach that you need to decide, now, how much physical abuse
you are willing to tolerate before you use lethal force. If you don't establish
a clear line in the sand now, you will never use deadly force in self-defense,
because the situation will escalate until you are dead without you deciding to
react, because you won't know when to react, because you haven't established any
criteria.
Some of my students are surprised when I tell them my personal decision;
that I have decided that I will will not let anyone punch me. Because at my age,
61, and my physical condition, not that great, I don't think I could survive a punch.
(And yes, as Greg Ellifritz suggests, I have been punched; in sport and in combat.)
For those who think my decision is unreasonable, please consider the following:
"Deaths from a single punch not that uncommon" by AIMEE GREEN
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/21/deaths-from-a-single-punch-not-that-uncommon/
So, think about it, and decide now. Because you won't have time to decide in combat.
You won't be able to decide in combat.
Self-defense From A Former Woman International Protection Agent by Mary Beth Wilkas Janke
https://www.swaay.com/physical-self-defense-tips-women
I have noticed that everyone who writes about self-defense mentions physical
fitness. Fat couch potatoes may live long enough to procreate in a peaceful society.
We are always playing with probabilities.
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
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
The Four Rules of Firearm Safety by Jeff Gonzales
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/13/the-four-rules-of-firearm-safety/
". . . someone's gun went BANG!!! when they only expected a click." by Kathy Jackson
https://www.facebook.com/CorneredCatCCW/posts/3142978935795175
Excerpt:
So now he is holding an "empty" gun in one hand, and the other hand has
the magazine and the newly un-chambered "Barney" round.
. . . when he pressed the trigger ...
BANG!!
How did this happen?
Yesterday, I drove home from Strategic Edge Gun Range with the key for the
range control system in my pocket. The owner, Tony, had to phone and email me
to tell me to bring the key back, because they could not make the rifle range
hot without the key (the lights, sirens, and such are all controlled by the
computer system, and without the key the range stays cold, because the system
thinks someone is still down range, because you take the key when you walk or
drive one of the golf carts down range). Extremely embarrassing for me.
So, why did it happen? What causes such mishaps? The Marine Corps says,
1. Distraction, i.e. allowing yourself to be distracted.
2. Time compression, i.e. rushing (usually self imposed and unnecessary).
3. Breaking habits, i.e. failure to follow established protocols.
[Why does the Marine Corps care? Because the guy who explained this all to
us had crashed an F-18. And the Marine Corps wanted to prevent such mishaps.
So, the entire Marine Aircraft Group - 49 stood down for a day to listen to
this pilot and review all of our protocols.]
Solution to the problem -- Pay attention to what you are doing.
Take your time to do what you are doing carefully. Do what you are
supposed to do, no short cuts. Protocols are established for a reason,
even if you don't know the reason, even if you think you are smarter
than the guy who established the protocols.
Sgt. Maj. Troy told me that upon arriving at a new command, observe
for the first month, before making any changes. Because they may be doing
it that way for a good reason.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
Why handgun retention training is essential by Marty Katz
"It is highly likely that if someone gets your firearm ‒ for any reason ‒ that person will kill you"
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/training/articles/why-handgun-retention-training-is-essential-7ySdIdyiwkhzQDsv/
Wow, these techniques (12 all together) are very different from what
was taught at the Tactical Conference recently (year before last, because
this year's conference was canceled) by Fletch Fuller of
www.ReadyUpTacticalTraining.com.
The technique taught at Tac Con was much simpler, just one technique, not 12.
Much easier to remember, much easier to execute, and keeping both of the
defender's hands on the pistol or the attacker's hands which are on the pistol.
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
----- Training -----
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Terrorism for the Security Professional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9nzxozEJzc&feature=youtu.be
TACTICAL CONFERENCE 2021 (will be sold out by October 2020)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tactical-conference-2021-dallas-tickets-100629329032
Fri, Mar 26, 2021, 8:00 AM – Sun, Mar 28, 2021, 6:00 PM CDT
Dallas Pistol Club
https://dallaspistolclub.com/
1830 West Beltline Road
Carrollton, TX 75006
Tom Givens says you need to be able to do 4 things:
1. Get the pistol out of the concealed holster and on target.
2. Get good hits at 7 yards.
3. Reload if necessary. (A low probability event in civilian self-defense.)
4. Clear malfunctions if necessary. (A low probability event, if you have kept
your pistol clean, are using factory new ammunition that you have practiced
with to know that it feeds and chambers reliably, and don't cause a malfunction.
You won't cause a malfunction if you have had competent training and have
recently practiced what you were taught.)
The 4 things are listed in chronological order. You have to practice
presentation from the concealed holster to the target a lot in order to make
it reliable. Otherwise, your presentation will get fouled under stress.
[For example, after the gunfight, assuming you survive, you won't be able
to figure out how you jammed your thumb. You jammed your thumb by ramming
it into the back strap of your pistol, because you hadn't practiced
establishing your proper grip enough to automatically get your hand into
the correct position under stress.]
Only when you have gotten your pistol on target do you have the option
of shooting. Yes, that's the way you should think about it. Presenting to
the target does not mean you will shoot. Shooting is not part of the
presentation. So, shooting should not be practiced as part of the presentation.
Shooting should always be a separate intellectual decision.
Trust me, you don't want to engrain the habit of shooting every time you
present to the target. Because if you do, you might not be able to override
that habit in combat. ("I didn't mean to shot him. It was an accident." will
get you charged with negligent homicide. Remember, self-defense shootings
are intentional, not accidental.)
Only after you shoot, may it become necessary or prudent to reload.
If you've run the gun dry, it's necessary. If not, it may be prudent, if you
are behind cover and you feel the situation allows you the time. You should
consider the amount of time that the reload would take if you fumble the
reload. Just as we always consider the amount of travel time to a new
location in the event we get lost. (And we always get lost, because the maps
are obsolete. [We are Marines, not James Bond.] The enemy is jamming the
GPS. [Yes, even encrypted GPS can be jammed. The Russians have very good
jammers. Some of our former allies have our jammers, which work very well.]
And nobody practices enough with the Lensatic Compass and maps to be competent,
because we have GPS.)
Only after you have fired, might it become necessary to reduce a stoppage.
(If you have to reduce a stoppage before firing, because you carry your pistol
without a round chambered, you are WRONG on many levels. An instructor told
us about an incident in which the 1st defender wimped out and cowered behind
cover. So, the 2nd defender took the 1st defender's pistol and attempted to
shoot the bad guy. The pistol did not fire. So, the 2nd defender automatically
cleared the malfunction and shot the bad guy, effectively stopping the incident.
Unfortunately, the amount of time taken to clear the malfunction gave the
second bad guy, the opportunity to wound the 2nd defender. I paraphrase and
summarize, as the incident was much more chaotic and complicated than that.
But, the point is that not carrying your pistol with a round in the chamber
may cause some other good guy to get grievously wounded.)
So, you should know Tap, Rack, Point; and Lock, Strip, Rack, Load; or
Unload, Load. Various schools teach stoppage reduction in all kinds of ways.
For all of the foregoing, find a technique that you can understand and do,
and then practice it to the point of unconscious competence.
Defensive Handgun Training: 3 Critical Fundamentals by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/6/defensive-handgun-training-3-critical-fundamentals/
". . . practical knowledge, though teachable, cannot be truly mastered without experience . . ."
-- Mortimer J. Adler
After Action Report of Tom Givens' Combative Pistol course
https://unclezo.com/2020/07/01/combative-pistol/
The reason you have to rack the slide when reloading after your pistol
has run out of ammo, rather than pressing the slide release lever, is that
your slide might not be locked back. You must use a technique that will
always work, not one that only works when the slide locks back.
Ya, you can tape your hands to avoid blisters. But, the better solution
is to deburr your pistol and all other equipment that you will be using.
Admittedly, you might not know where to remove material until you get
the blisters. But, if your pistol feels like a used bar of soap, you're
close.
Yes! Taking the slack out of the trigger after reset is essential!
Yes! You have to have a working gun and ammunition. You can tell
real gunfighters, especially infantry, they are always happy to carry extra
water and ammo.
Yes! Recency of practice is far more important than volume of practice.
Active Self Protection
https://www.youtube.com/activeselfprotection
All kinds of good stuff at this web site.
Dr. Tony Kern and Gordon Graham discuss how leaders in high-risk industries
can better understand the factors that lead to human error and develop strategies
to help personnel make safer decisions under time pressure.
https://info.lexipol.com/webinar-when-error-is-not-acceptable
Understand that self-defense combat is a high-risk low-frequency event.
The discussion in the video has that underlying assumption.
Tragedy is caused by error. Error is identifiable and manageable.
Small mistakes snowball into fatal mistakes. In the example given,
within 31 seconds.
Political correctness and popular culture have corrupted classical
thought.
"To err is human, but to persevere in error is only the act of a fool."
-- Cicero
It's not, "to forgive is divine." That's just popular culture stupidity.
[This is akin to self-professed Christians thinking that when you die
you go to heaven and become an angel with wings. That is not Christian
theology. God created the angels before the humans. They are entirely
different. Or, the stupidity of "God helps those who help themselves."
That is not Biblical. That is not Christian theology. It's just pop
culture, like the Easter Bunny. And the most widespread and perverse,
that good people go to heaven and bad people to go hell. The Bible and
Christian theology says -- First, there are no good people. Second, only
repentant people go to heaven. -- Jon Low]
Solution: Avoid the first mistake by training and practicing.
Recover from the first mistake (as opposed to letting it snowball) by
training and practicing. This is not a thought experiment, you actually
have to do it. Your company will not pay you to do it. You have to
do it on your own time, at your own expense.
The "violation" that they talk about is to us, breaking a safety
rule (yes, I'm talking about during combat).
"But, Staff, it's combat. Things are chaotic. We can't be expected
to follow all the safety rules in combat."
WRONG! If you don't follow the safety rules in combat, you'll shoot
the good guys, you'll shoot the innocent bystanders, you'll shoot yourself.
"DON'T VIOLATE! STAY COMPLIANT!" That means obey the 4 safety rules.
Time pressure causes errors. Solution: Practice slowly and correctly.
Speed will come automatically with correct practice, because slow and
correct is efficient. Efficient is fast, because all extraneous wasted
motion is eliminated. [I know this is counter-intuitive, but it is true.]
The problem occurs when the enemy takes you off your behavioral
script. A competent chess player will intentionally make a move that is
not in any of the books (especially when playing against computers),
even if the move is inferior to known moves, because it takes the opponent
off script (or out of the book). The opponent is now in uncharted territory.
It is much easier to kill your enemies when they are off script.
[The Marine Corps first taught me this at Marine Forces Pacific, G-2
at Camp Smith in Hawaii in the early 1990's. I didn't get an opportunity
to use this until Operation Iraqi Freedom. We implemented the technique
in Riyadh, KSA; Ankara, Turkey; and various locations in Iraq. It works.]
If you sprung a leak in your spacesuit and only had 10 seconds to
live, what would you do?
"Plan for 9 seconds and then execute." -- Neil Armstrong
We learn from experience. Unfortunately, experience kills a lot
of people in the first failure.
Meeting minimum standards does not ensure survival. You may have to
be performing at a high level to survive. [Whoa! Stop and think about that.]
I was on a Delta Airlines flight landing at the Philadelphia, PA airport.
Just before we touched the runway, the pilot pulled up sharply forcing
everyone back into their seats (high G force for a commercial airliner).
Banked to the left and came around to attempt another landing. After
we landed, the pilot got on the intercom and informed us that the air
traffic controllers had two airplanes landing on the same runway and he
didn't think we would both fit. (I later found out that the airplanes
were approaching the runway from opposite directions. Stop and think
about that. You're supposed to land into the wind.) [I don't like
using the word aircraft because you don't know if they are airplanes or
helicopters.] The point is that we, passengers, are alive today because
the pilot had situational awareness, recognized the problem, and acted
decisively. It was actually a very difficult maneuver, because there
were multiple runways, so there were other aircraft that he had to avoid
colliding with.
If you are not using a check list, you are WRONG!
"In government, changing a curriculum is more difficult than moving
a small town graveyard." That's why you have to get your training in
the private sector. Tom Givens says, if your instructor hasn't taken a
class in the past 10 years, he's teaching obsolete doctrine. I make
changes to my curriculum after every class I attend or every book I read,
always striving to incorporate best practices. [Ya, I disregard a lot
of stuff too. And I experiment with a lot of stuff before deciding
whether or not to implement it.]
What you learn from experience is mediocrity. To progress, you
have to get expert training.
Expert is not necessarily professional.
(Many instructors object to the government regulations and taxation,
and so don't take money for their services.) As the gentlemen in the
video say, government regulators destroy quality. That is why I would
never be a licensed Professional Engineer. Like the free masons of
ancient Europe, not the modern boys club, I was a software engineer.
Software engineers are not licensed in any state in the United States.
This is important. When your children ask you what profession to go into,
think about this.
Expert is not necessarily expensive.
(Many instructors work through non-profits or church ministries and
don't charge money for their services. Because they believe in our cause.)
It's your responsibility to get trained. Because only you and
your family will suffer the consequences of your failure.
"Professional" first uttered in 1420 A.D. Trade guilds.
Life time of continuous improvement and opportunities.
Novice, apprentice, journeyman, craftsman, master craftsman.
Over a 25 year career. The Master craftsman is expected to add something
new to the craft, as a Doctorate is expected to contribute something
new to his field in his dissertation. I would add that it is the
duty of the Master to teach, to ensure the next generation is competent.
You have to be, not seem to be.
As seen on a tee shirt,
"SWAT because not every cop can get through motorcycle school."
The Home Defense Rig by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/the-home-defense-rig/
Excerpt:
. . . he had gone through the motions of “being prepared” while really
being completely unprepared. . . .
Simply put, he had the hardware, but not the enabling software.
[You have to be able to carry your defensive tools with your hands free.]
Front Sight 4-day Defensive Handgun class (free)
https://www.frontsight.com/freehandguncourse/?A=Submit&src=swjill
Let the video play through and then click on the green button.
Fill out the form. Ya, you're going to be put on their emailing
list, so you might want to use a different email address. But,
it's still a great deal.
Things You Can Learn From Watching Yourself Train by Joshua Gillem
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/things-you-can-learn-from-watching-yourself-train/
Terrorism Prevention for Security, a seminar presented by Michael Mann on 7/14/2020
Excerpts:
In small scale attacks such as against your church, expect the enemy
to recon one to two weeks before the attack. (Large scale such as the 9/11
attacks would be on the order of years.)
The purpose of the attack is to get you to over react and to create an
environment of fear. So, your planning should be to avoid these results.
The attack requirements are:
1. Select the target. So, you should cause the enemy to not select your facility
as a target. [Publicly announcing that your facility is a gun free zone,
as the United Methodists have done on their web site, will cause the enemy to
select your facility. Holding regular defensive pistol courses at your church
will make it common knowledge that your church is not a gun free zone, will cause
the enemy to decide not to select your facility. -- Jon Low]
2. Gather intelligence. The enemy does most of this online, but someone
from the enemy unit will come to your facility in person one to two weeks
before the attack to verify ingress and egress, count persons, count security
personnel, verify traffic patterns, verify floor plans, etc.
3. Surprise victims. Without surprise, the enemy is at a horrible disadvantage
and will generally abort the mission. [So, you have to have personnel out in
the parking lot greeting people and observing. You must interdict in the
parking lot. Once the enemy is in the building, it's too late. -- Jon Low]
4. Maintain control. If the enemy cannot maintain control of the environment,
they will not be able to accomplish their mission. So, you must plan to deny
them control. [Train your people to immediately counter-attack. -- Jon Low]
5. Mobile. The enemy must be mobile in order to accomplish his mission.
So, plan to deny him mobility. [Know the choke points in your facility.
Train your people to immediately move to the choke points and to control them.
-- Jon Low]
---
Equipment:
Cell phones, apps to turn your cell phones into dedicated walkie-talkies
for your people.
Suspicious Activity Reports, fill them out and keep records. So, the next
time the guy shows up, you know he's a bad guy. Otherwise, he's just another
stranger.
Medical supplies, tourniquets, pressure dressings, chest seals, and the
training to use them correctly.
Flashlight, this is a weapon. If your flashlight cannot blind the enemy,
you don't have a weapon.
Utility tool, Leatherman or something like that.
Weapons, pistol, pepper spray, baton, Taser, etc. and the training to
use them effectively, and the certification to legally use them.
---
Strive for prevention, not response. Train for deterrence and detection
by observation.
Do not harden your target, because that will conflict with the mission
of your church. No displays of force. All weapons should be concealed.
Observe who is aware. They will be either protectors, police, or
predators. You should know who is who because you have introduced yourself
to all of the good guys, previously.
Identify system weaknesses by constantly observing. Strive for
continuous improvement. [If the powers that be won't make the necessary
changes to improve security, work around them. Because this is a matter
of life and death. -- Jon Low]
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
----- Practice -----
Why practice?
"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
Gunfighter Moment by Ken Hackathorn
https://soldiersystems.net/2015/06/13/gunfighter-moment-ken-hackathorn-11/
Excerpt:
"For most people the decision phase is the most time consuming part of the equation."
"You are what you practice . . . "
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz of Active Response.
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
The students you may have --
0. Intentionally unsafe. Consciously incompetent.
This student should be asked to leave, as he is a danger to everyone.
This student will point his pistol at people, and when told not to do that, he will say,
"It's okay. It's not loaded." This student will negligently shoot himself or others
if you allow him to stay.
1. Unsafe gun handling, because he doesn't know any better.
Unconsciously incompetent. You need to teach this student the safety rules.
2. Safe gun handling. He knows that he needs training.
Consciously incompetent. This student is ready for the manual of arms and marksmanship.
3. Competent gun handling. Knows what to do, but has to think about what he's doing.
Consciously competent. This student is ready for tactical scenarios without a shooting enemy.
4. Competent gun handling without conscious thought, so mental bandwidth may be
used to make threat decisions, use of force decisions, and tactical decisions.
Unconsciously competent. This student is ready for force-on-force training.
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Techniques -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
May I recommend you study magic (as in the performance art, not the occult)?
You will find the principles very useful in your practice of self-defense.
DO 9 Mind-Blowing Magic Tricks (Learn the Secrets Today!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqnd7D8MII
SankeyMagic
https://www.youtube.com/user/SankeyMagic
Deception, Perception, and the Psychology of Belief
Remember the video I posted a few months ago where the guy lifts his shirt
and turns around to show that he is not armed, only to produce a pistol (that
was in his waistband) and shoot the victims? He was using several principles
that are taught and studied in the art of theatrical magic.
Penn and Teller have several videos where they explain their tricks. You
can find them on YouTube.com.
Utilizing the principles of misdirection (and others) will give you
valuable seconds in a fight, which may be the difference between life and death.
Simply causing the enemy to see something that he doesn't understand
may be enough to disrupt his OODA loop.
As Sam Harris says, you don't have to practice and perfect several techniques,
you have to know the principles. The execution will follow naturally from the
principles. If the victims were aware of the principles they would not have been
deceived when the bad guy pulled up his shirt and turned around to show
that he was unarmed. They would have understood what the bad guy was doing.
[Just as I was able to see a psych patient palm a hydrocodone tablet.]
The 3-E’s of Being Elusive by Evan D.
https://novaselfdefense.com/1/post/2014/02/the-3-es-of-being-elusive-or-rude.html
Instinctive Advantage Of The Laser Sight by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/instinctive-advantage-of-the-laser-sight
This assumes you can see the laser dot on the target. What if the dot
and the target are the same color? What if the dot is too small for you to see?
Which it will be at some distance.
Do you know at what distance you can no longer resolve the dot? in daylight
conditions? in low light conditions? If you are using your tactical flashlight
to illuminate the target, can you see your laser dot in the 500+ lumen shine
of your flashlight?
What if the target is too bright for you to see the dot on it? What if the
environment is too bright to see the dot? Problems you don't have with a
passive iron sight system. What if the batteries die? What if the electronics
malfunction? Iron sights don't require batteries and don't have electronic
circuits. Combat is all about reliability. Reliability is all about simplicity.
We do not recommend adjustable sights because they are fragile. Fixed
sights have no moving parts and are thus reliable. Laser sights are adjustable.
If they were not, how would you zero them?
If you don't have enough light to silhouette your sights against your target,
you don't have enough light to identify your target. So, you should not be
shooting it. The laser is not going to illuminate your target. You need a flashlight
to illuminate your target.
The author says you can use the laser to aim the pistol when you can't
bring the pistol to your line of sight. I don't think he has thought this out
or trained this. The only time one would be shooting without using the sights
would be in a close contact situation. Seeing the laser dot in such a situation
seems unlikely.
THE DRAW by Stav and Mack (Stav's boyfriend)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5MNjs8Egs
Good detailed descriptions and explanations.
Notice that she machined her rear sight so that it doesn't tear her hand when
she racks her slide.
She muzzles her left hand when holstering. That's a problem with belly bands
that don't stay open. Might want to put a kydex holster inside the belly band to
allow a one handed holstering operation.
She sent me an email saying she is not muzzling her hand,
that it's just a bad camera angle.
Best AR-15 Battlesight Zero Distance by Travis Pike
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-ar15-battlesight-zero/
Maximum Point Blank Range - the maximum range at which you can aim at your
intended target and expect to impact within a few inches of the point of aim
at all closer ranges.
There is an excellent hand drawn diagram about half way down the web page.
(As Travis says, at least it's not drawn in crayon. I don't know why people
are always joking about us, Marines, drawing with crayons.)
"Hey, Staff, why are just about all of the people you cite, Marines?"
Bias, I guess. Actually, it's cute chicks and Marines.
Ralph Mroz says to zero your pistol at 25 yards, because from 0 to 25 yards
your point of impact will be within an inch of your point of aim. So, 25 yards is
your Maximum Point Blank Range.
"6 Reasons Why You Should Carry Defensive Tools in Front of the Hips" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/6-reasons-carry-defensive-tools-front-hips/
I'm sorry, I was not clear about squatting. The Vietnamese general was
saying that the American soldiers could not squat because they lacked the
physical flexibility; and by metaphor, they lacked the mental flexibility to
understand the culture in which they were operating, so they could not assimilate,
so could not win the hearts and minds of the local people. It would take a study
of Vietnamese literature to catch his allusions. (I had studied some Vietnamese
literature as part of an Oriental Literature course at Punahou, before "Oriental"
became politically incorrect.) But, the intelligence analysts got it, because
that's their job.
Your Tactical Training Scenario . . . Injured Hands by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-injured-hands
How I Fooled Penn & Teller!! (FULL EXPLANATION) by Wes Barker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQOytYPi3M
This video is about methods. Can you see how to apply these methods to
gain seconds in a gunfight?
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
----- Tactics -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Arc to the [enemy's] 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position." -- Craig Douglas
See Craig's chapter in "Straight Talk on Armed Defense", ISBN: 9781440247545,
for details. Do not turn your head to look behind yourself,
because that forces you to take your eyes off the threat in front of you.
Do not move backwards, because you are moving into territory you can't see.
(And tripping over things you can't see. And moving into another bad guy.)
Post Auto Accident Tips by John Murphy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1sh6sFk-Y&feature=share
Lessons from a Texas Church Shooting by Massad Ayoob
https://americanhandgunner.com/our-experts/lessons-from-a-texas-church-shooting/
Excerpt:
". . . He is in a Chapman-style modified Weaver stance, gun arm locked straight
and support arm bent and pulling tight . . ."
Jack Weaver’s original Weaver stance had both arms bent. Chapman’s modification
was to lock out the firing side elbow (so the firing side arm acts as the stock
of a long gun), bend the support side elbow and pull it down in front of the chest
(to allow pulling with the support side bicep muscle); push with the firing side
and pull with the support side.
Why do we teach the Weaver platform?
The advantages of the Weaver stance are that:
1. It places your support side arm in front of the vital organs in your torso, making
it more difficult for the enemy to strike your heart and lungs. (For those of us who
do not regularly wear body armor. If you are wearing body armor, it makes sense
to present the front of your armor to the enemy and not expose the side of your
armor.)
2. It is the same stance for pistol and long gun. So, transitioning between the two
is easier than with other positions. We expect to transition. ["The purpose of the
pistol is to give you time to get to your rifle." – Jeff Cooper
If the forest is too dense to maneuver a long gun, or the building's passages are too
narrow for a long gun, or the tunnels are too small for a long gun, we will
transition to our pistol.]
3. It allows the shooter to pull with the support side arm bicep. If the support side
arm is locked out straight (as in the isosceles stance), you can't pull with the
support side arm. You have to pull with the support side arm to prevent the muzzle
from flipping up on recoil. If the muzzle flips up on recoil, it takes longer and is
harder to get the sights on the target for the second and subsequent shots.
4. It looks more aggressive to the enemy (a significant psychological advantage)
because it is a fighting stance similar to a boxing stance. The body language says,
“I am ready and willing to fight.”
5. It reduces the width of the target that you present to the enemy. This has a
strong psychological affect on the enemy as it makes his target smaller and thus
reduces his confidence in hitting his target.
6. It gives the shooter a supported position when the shooter transitions to the
kneeling position or the squatting position.
7. The Harries flashlight technique uses the Weaver stance.
http://michaelharries.com/index.php
8. It flows naturally from the interview position that you assumed, because you
were aware of the situation, because you were in condition yellow when the enemy
started the incident.
I read a gun magazine web page article in which the author (a young kid)
(At 61, I can refer to 30 year olds as young kids.)
referred to the Weaver stance as "old and dusty". Freedom of speech and a free
internet. You have a duty to practice due diligence. Because stupidity runs
rampant on the internet.
Finding a “Hard Corner” by SHAWN VINCENT
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33309
Mr. Vincent advises to find a hard corner and wait for police to arrive.
I wouldn't bet my life on the police arriving at all. My downstairs neighbor
called 911 when some guys tried to kick in her front door (attempted home
invasion). The Metro Nashville police never showed up. Hey, Saturday night,
lots of activity. I get it. But, the fact remains, the police never arrived.
So, waiting for the police to arrive is not good advice. How long are you
going to wait? Until the enemy is able to break the door?
Escape out of the residence? Counter attack? Call friends for help?
(Which is what my neighbor did. I arrived in 15 minutes. Her husband nee
boyfriend arrived in 30 minutes. She left to sleep at a friend's house.
I waited for the police to show up. They never did.)
If the police in your jurisdiction get de-funded, how long are you going
to wait? Oh, I'm sorry. That was a sarcastic rhetorical question. There
won't be any police left when there is no funding for the police and the
active police officers are all being prosecuted by the District Attorney.
In Nashville, District Attorney Glenn Funk is prosecuting Metro Police Officer
Andrew Delke for 1st degree murder in the shooting of Daniel Hambrick in
July of 2018. The facts of the case are known and were made public. No one
is arguing facts. The prosecution is purely to appease Black Lives Matter
and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Education -----
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
My pastor, Heath Cross, says,
Books are meant to be read cover to cover.
In order to learn how to read, he recommends,
"An Experiment in Criticism" by C. S. Lewis, 1961.
C.S. Lewis says there are three types of readers:
Illiterate - cannot read at a high level.
Aliterate - can read at a high level, but don't.
Literate - actually read at a high level.
(Aliterate in the sense of asocial, as opposed to antisocial or social)
[I am not misspelling the word "alliterate".]
Some will not read. Some will read a book only once. Some will read a book
many times, getting more out of it every time.
"How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Jerome Adler, 1940.
Do you take the things that you have learned from the book along with you in your
life?
"Conscientious Objections" by Neil Postman, 1988.
Some read for entertainment, some for information, but very few engage the text.
He recommends reading the King James version of the Bible. It will
open Shakespeare to you.
Pastor Cross recounts at seminary how many confessed that they had never read
the Bible cover to cover. In the first century, Jesus of Nazareth revealed
God to the illiterate masses through spoken parables. In our times, God
reveals Himself to us through a book. (because the masses around here are
at least functionally literate) You have to be able to read at a high level
in order to understand. Because the Bible is a translation of
a translation of a translation of ancient man's way of explaining things
in the context of that time. There are many things not mentioned because
they did not exist at that time. There are many things mentioned that
no longer exist.
In order to read, you have to have a scholarly dictionary at hand.
May I recommend American Heritage,
https://www.ahdictionary.com/
and Random House,
https://www.dictionary.com/
Without the etymology and connotations, you won't get the allusions.
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part I, An Interview with William Aprill
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-i
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part 2, An Interview with William Aprill
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-2
Excerpt:
Ask, Tell, Make.
We ask once, we tell once, and then we make ready.
Ask, Tell, Make provides a layered, articulable explanation for
what you did and why you did it.
Every inch is your friend, so keep moving.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.” Tape loop.
"Four Cases That Show How An Eyewitness Can Be Unreliable" by Massad Ayoob
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/06/massad-ayoob-four-cases-that-show-the-unreliability-of-eyewitness-testimony/#massad-ayoob-eyewitness-1
Excerpt:
If you are not looking for something, you very likely will not see it.
If you are not listening for something, you very likely will not hear it.
And if you do not understand what you have seen or heard,
it is as if you had not seen or heard it at all.
Check out the resources at USA Carry.
https://www.usacarry.com/concealed-carry-resources.html
Concealed carry maps.
State reciprocity maps.
Check out the resources at
https://handgunlaw.us/
"Straight Talk on Armed Defense" edited by Massad Ayoob. The authors are:
John Hearne, Dr. Anthony Semone, Dr. Alexis Artwohl, Dr. William Aprill,
Craig “Southnarc” Douglas, Massad Ayoob, Tom Givens, Spencer Blue,
Ron Borsch, Harvey Hedden, Jim Fleming, and Marty Hayes.
https://www.gundigeststore.com/product/straight-talk-on-armed-defense/
ISBN: 9781440247545
I recommend this book.
A collection of essays by subject matter experts. Though some of
their discussions are not in line with their expertise as given in
their short bios. Some of the authors have given citations in a scholarly
manner. Others, not so much.
I got the downloaded PDF version, so I could read it immediately;
thinking that I could copy and paste excerpts into my review. No such
luck. The PDF file is "Secured". Can't copy, can't print, etc. Ya,
I could have broken it, but if they don't want people to excerpt, I'll
respect it. So, I paraphrase below and the text in quotes might have typos.
---
Study Craig's comments on "un-equal initiative" and "un-proportional armament".
". . . the criminal has no ego investment in who wins or loses."
[Well, I don't believe that's true. Tom Givens told us of a study
in which the vast majority of interviewed convicts reported that the
reason they attacked/killed the victim was because the victim "dissed"
(displayed disrespect toward) the convict. I think your failure to
submit would be perceived as a show of disrespect. But, my experiences
are not statistically significant. -- Jon Low]
Close range, multiple assailants, presence of a weapon.
"Every criminal assault that is not an ambush will begin with an encroachment problem."
"Arc to the [enemy's] 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position."
Study Col. Grossman's comments on "virgins discussing sex".
---
"Lone Citizen Heroes" by Ron Borsch
Excerpts:
Only about half of rapid mass murders were stopped by anyone.
Of the half that were stopped, 2/3rds were stopped by on-site citizens
(mostly unarmed) or on-site security, not off-site police officers!
Winners and survivors are those who arrive at the act stage before
their adversary does. (In the context of the OODA loop.) The prepared
and practiced always act faster.
We tend to assume that the police will recognize we are one of
the good guys and this assumption can get us killed.
[Mr. Borsch advocates rendering first aid to the person you just
shot. Because it will look good in court. I disagree. You should
assume the person you just shot is playing opossum and will kill
you if you get close enough. -- Jon Low]
Mr. Borsch's words are more elegant than mine, but the sentiment
is that all mass murders happen in gun-free-zones.
---
"Moving Forward" by Massad Ayoob
Excerpt:
We fear what we do not understand, and what we cannot control.
[Ayoob then urges the reader to educate himself to understand the
enemy, and then get training and practice to be able to control
the situation.]
5 words of advice for millenials in college
(actually for everyone, especially the part about reading)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCdOap1Bpg8
Free books of the day by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/07/14/free-books-of-the-day/
cognoscente = A person with superior, usually specialized knowledge or
highly refined taste; a connoisseur.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
I shot an AR-15 type match with iron sights at my club this morning.
I hadn't shot a rifle match with iron sights since my last Known Distance
qualification course in the Marine Corps in 1985. I knew I was going to have
trouble because I could not see the targets at 100, 200, 300, and 500 yards.
(I could barely resolve the berm at 500 yards.) The targets were 8" diameter
steel plates.
My eye glass prescription is correct. I can focus. But, I couldn't
resolve. I can see the tree. It's bright, clear, and in focus. But, I
can't distinguish individual leaves as I used to be able to. Resolution is
a function of the objective lens size. Humans can't change their lens
size at will. (lens, not pupil) And unlike goats who have rectangular
pupils, human pupils are circular. So, I couldn't improve target resolution
by turning my head 90 degrees to either side. This is the result of aging
from 20 to 60. But, any alternative to aging is suboptimal. Not to worry,
as a human I can buy telescopic sights. We do whatever we need to do to
stay at the top of the food chain.
The shooters were talking after the match and one old timer said,
"Shooting 100 yards is the same at shooting 500 yards. Same technique,
same sight alignment."
Another old timer replied,
"I've been in construction my whole life. You put a 2X4 on the ground and
anyone can walk on it without falling off. But, you suspend it between
scaffolding a couple floors up and you won't be able to find anyone willing
to walk on it, much less able to. As long as you know it ain't the same,
it ain't the same."
That's why you have to practice your long range, 25 yard, pistol shots.
Practicing at 7 yards will not translate to being able to hit at 25 yards.
Cause it ain't the same. Ya, you're going to use the same sight alignment.
But, not the same sight picture, because the front sight will be huge
compared to the target. Not the same trigger control, probably much slower.
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
Issues with Weapon Mounted Lights by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/issues-with-weapon-mounted-lights
Excerpt:
"Weapon Mounted Lights are for shooting. Handheld lights are for searching."
More Info on Weapon-Mounted Lights by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/more-info-on-weapon-mounted-lights
"Always inspect ammo regardless of brand." by Jeff Boren
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CitizensSafety/permalink/759203961483536/
In case you don't understand the picture, the bullets are seated at
an incorrect depth in the case. This is factory new Federal ammo. If you
look carefully, you can see the bulge in the brass case indicating the
back end of the bullet.
If you make peanut butter in your kitchen, you can make it with
zero percent rat feces. But, if you mass produce peanut butter, you
get a certain percentage. That's why the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
has standards that tolerate a certain percentage of rat feces in your peanut
butter. The cost of maintaining a zero percentage would make the retail
price of peanut butter prohibitive. Another one of the lovely things you
learn in business school (or industrial engineering courses in engineering
school).
The analogy does not hold, because loading modern ammo safely is much
more complex (difficult) than making peanut butter safely.
I listened to a pod cast,
https://ftaprotect.com/blog/changes-in-the-gun-industry-that-every-instructor-should-know-about
in which a panel of firearms instructors from Firearms Trainers Association said,
A student will bring a revolver to your class. You have to be able
to teach the student how to run that revolver. Because that student
doesn't want to hear "That revolver is not an appropriate gun for self
defense." [I paraphrase.]
Yes, you as a instructor need to be knowledgeable in the running
of a revolver, so that you can teach the student how to do a support
hand only reload.
The student is paying you to tell him the truth, whether he wants
to hear it or not. If you fail to explain to him why the revolver is
not appropriate for self-defense / combat, then you are negligent in your
duty to instruct.
As Tom Givens says,
The revolver is inappropriate for self-defense because it takes too
long to reload, is too difficult to reload, and has to be reloaded
too often.
I would add that the modern double action revolver is inherently
a "double-action-only" tool for combat. Cocking the hammer (if it exists)
is inappropriate for combat because the trigger pull becomes too light
to control in a high stress situation and requires the operation of cocking
which costs time. The double action trigger pull is long and heavy. This
makes accuracy very difficult for persons with short fingers or weak hands;
or those who don't train enough (which is the vast majority of our community).
So, the truth is that the revolver is inappropriate for self-defense.
If you don't explain this to your students, you are doing them a grave
disservice.
10 Top .45 Pistol Options For Any Budget by Elwood Shelton
https://gundigest.com/handguns/10-top-45-pistol-options-for-any-budget
The real advantage of a 45 ACP cartridge is that it is slow, as in
sub-sonic (~850 feet per second). (Sonic is 1100 to 1200 feet per second,
depending on the environment.) So, the 45 ACP is a much more efficient
projectile, because it is not losing energy to a super-sonic shock wave.
Lower speed means less air resistance, less energy loss to the environment.
That means more energy on target. Almost all other self-defense pistol
rounds are super-sonic at the muzzle.
But, doesn't that mean that its trajectory is not as flat as the
faster rounds? Yes, but the deviation from a Least Action space-time
line (light beam) is not significant at self-defense pistol distances.
If zeroed at 25 yards, the point of impact will be within an inch of
the point of aim from 0 to 25 yards.
If zeroed at 7 yards, the point of impact will be about 9 inches
high at 25 yards. So, if you aim at the center of the 8" diameter
(4" radius) plate at 25 yards, your bullet will miss over the top of
the plate by about an inch.
As long as super-sonic bullets are super-sonic they are in front
of their shock wave moving through clear air. When they slow to make
the transition from super-sonic to sub-sonic speed, they are in their
own shock wave, which means turbulent air, which means unstable flight;
and a huge loss of energy. The sub-sonic rounds don't have this problem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMERTIME CONCEALED CARRY by Ms. Stavroula Avramidis
How to carry (and DRAW) from different outfits and holsters!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKaaj6e7Vk
Information starts at 1:44. This is a women's clothing and concealment video.
---
Women's Concealed Carry (play list)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyqh82Fgaaklv0fLeXm8z1aVHEIn4Gvd3
---
Gear Reviews (play list)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyqh82FgaaklRndUaNxWDt631piEuUJyA
---
CONCEALED CARRY FASHION SHOW | 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKIyh1s5Tb0&list=PLyqh82Fgaaklv0fLeXm8z1aVHEIn4Gvd3&index=20&t=0s
She is one of those who can rock a between the thighs holster.
---
Ms. Avramidis offers a free book on Home Defense,
https://www.sheequipsherself.com/services
---
Her web site,
https://www.sheequipsherself.com/
Good web site for female beginners. Very friendly.
---
I appreciate her reading list.
TOP 7 SELF-DEFENSE BOOKS | Books I recommend for concealed carry and self defense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGPlq6whGng&list=PLyqh82FgaaklRndUaNxWDt631piEuUJyA&index=3&t=0s
---
TACTICA DEFENSE FASHION | Try-on and review of concealed carry clothing and holsters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJoDVSKd7k0
Use code "Stavroula10" for 10% off your purchase at https://tacticafashion.com
---
BELLY BAND COMPARISON AND REVIEW | Rating 4 belly bands! Bravobelt, Tactica, Crossbreed, CanCan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfw1QSEbhCw
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safest Belly Band Holster | Tactica Belly Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95imLlf-RJ8
Kim's Corner Ep 7: Belly Band Holster: Crossbreed Modular Belly Band Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOR_yt4csTg
Concealed Carry in Skirts and Dresses!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ja4mUIO4mw
Apparently there are women who can rock the between the thighs holster.
DATE NIGHT CONCEALED CARRY | Outfit & Holster Ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1feHzZXRqE4
The advantages of thigh carry when wearing a coat.
Skirts give you options. You have access to the waistline and to the thighs.
I would wear the garter belt, because I would worry about the thigh holster
sliding down my leg.
I would go with the sticky stuff against my skin to prevent the belly band
from moving around.
If you're going to wear a purse holster, the strap has to have a steel cable
running through it, and has to be across your body, not just over one shoulder.
Concealed Carry for Women Summer Style Guide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge_G_cLdzr4
Excerpt:
Knowing you can defend yourself without sacrificing your style.
Knot your shirt in front.
[Check out the outboard thigh holster.
Ya, I love chambray shirts.]
A montage of stylish concealed carry.
https://www.instagram.com/stylemetactical/
Concealed Carry Options For Women - What Is Right For You?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWts0wtwenA
A review of carry methods suitable for women. Some interesting hacks for purse carry.
5 Ways To Conceal in Summer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHLDLo9Q740
The problem with the Sticky holster is that when you use the toilet
you have to put the holstered pistol somewhere.
Dene Adams Concealed Carry Holsters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GJlFEXOcw
What a great video.
So, the purpose of the foregoing was to prove that women can wear stylish
clothing and carry concealed. So, don't use fashion as an excuse as to why you
aren't carrying. No one's going to care about the excuse when the bad guys attack.
Can't find pipe cleaners because they are politically incorrect?
Don't like the "fuzzy sticks" at Hobby Lobby because they have too much lint?
Try "Randy's bristled pipe cleaners" in regular and extra long. Available at
your local smoke shop. The bristles are stiff nylon. So, they are not going
to scourer as would a bronze bore brush. But, they work pretty well for gas
tubes and trigger mechanisms.
Tactical Target Systems
https://tacticaltargetsystems.com/
sent me some cardboard targets that are designed to hold 2 ceramic trap or skeet
targets, one in the center of the head and one in the high thoracic cavity. So,
that from a distance you can see when you hit the target.
https://tacticaltargetsystems.com/cardboard-training-targets/
They work. I thought you might be interested in using them.
No, I did not pay for them. No, I did not ask for them.
Is Hollowpoint the Best Defensive Ammo for Concealed Carry? by Massad Ayoob
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/hollowpoint-best-defensive-ammo-concealed-carry
An essay explaining why the threat of over penetration should cause you
to choose to use hollow point ammo.
Tuckable holsters
https://www.vedderholsters.com/iwb/
https://www.77solutionsedc.com/shop/25374025/appendix-carry
https://aliengearholsters.com/alien-gear-cloak-tuck-iwb-holster-inside-the-waistband.html
https://www.phlsterholsters.com/shop/phlseter-skeleton-holster/
As in you can tuck your dress shirt over them.
Streamlight Stylus PRO USB Penlight by Tom McHale
https://americanhandgunner.com/gear/streamlight-stylus-pro-usb-penlight/
apophthegm = A terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim.
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Hoppe's Videos
https://www.hoppes.com/hoppes-learn/ho-videos.html
Check out the videos on how to clean your firearm.
How to Adjust Open Sights on a Handgun by Mark Dye
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/13/how-to-adjust-open-sights-on-a-handgun/
Ya, you've got to have a sight pusher tool. But, that might not be enough.
The Springfield Armory XD's are extremely tight. I've never been able to push
the rear sight on those pistols. Got to put it in a vice (make sure you put a
piece of leather between the pistol slide and vice jaws) and tap it with a
bronze punch and hammer. Got to etch some marks on the rear sight and the slide
so you can tell how far you've moved the sight.
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
What All Instructors Need To Know (quotes from Tom Givens)
https://ftaprotect.com/blog/what-all-instructors-need-to-know-699030369
Excerpt:
Any trainer who hasn’t taken any training himself in the last
ten years is probably teaching obsolete doctrine.
"How I Changed How I Teach Self Defense Law In My CCW Classes" by Jacob Paulson
https://lawofselfdefense.com/how-i-changed-how-i-teach-self-defense-law-in-my-ccw-classes/
I always have one of Andrew Branca's Law of Self Defense classes (live or online)
as part of my Defensive Pistol course. I must admit that sometimes the students neglect
to attend. But, one can only lead a horse to water.
Be careful what you teach. Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Pedagogy -----
Teach positive. Teach what to do. Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
On The Range: Mars vs Venus by Tatiana Whitlock
https://americanshootingjournal.com/on-the-range-mars-vs-venus/
“I Grew Up Around Guns.”
The civilian equivalent to "Qualifying Expert" on the rifle or handgun range.
by Keith Finch
https://gatdaily.com/i-grew-up-around-guns/
Excerpt:
“If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent . . .
The skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills
you need to recognize what a right answer is.” -- Dunning
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
***** ***** ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical ***** ***** *****
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
Man Exploits Man! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/man-exploits-man/
Excerpt:
“Under capitalism, man exploits man.
Under Communism, it’s just the opposite!”
-- John Kenneth Galbraith
We used to deride each other by asking,
If it went to trial, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Marine?
If the communists (Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Democrats, etc.) take control,
will there be enough evidence to convict you of being a capitalist? a patriot?
a Constitutionalist?
Escalation of Force by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLksnLUA8Do&feature=emb_logo
The enemy with a knife is a deadly force threat at 21 feet (7 yards),
which means at 21 feet it's a tie, which means you get stabbed and die. It doesn't
matter that you shot him. You win the fight by not getting stabbed.
After being shot with a shotgun in the heart, the bad guy still has 5 to 15
seconds of mobility. That's more than enough time to kill you.
Voters need to demand change from the GOP by Tucker Carlson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS-bsetu01w
Meritocracy.
Freedom of speech is freedom of thought.
Serve the middle class.
Five (5) Things Every Gun Owner Needs To Know by Arizona Attorney Marc J. Victor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaBu2aH_fB0
1. Just shut up. (Mr. Victor gives many reasons.)
Exceptions: call 911, traffic tickets, only after consultation with your attorney.
2. It all comes down to reasonableness.
3. Lawyers don't argue about the law, they argue about the facts. (Not even the
facts, but rather what witnesses say happened. And of course, everyone is lying;
intentionally or unintentionally.)
4. Mandatory minimum sentences. (That the jury never knows about.)
Would you risk a 50% chance of 20 years to life in prison against a 100% chance of probation?
That's a plea bargain.
5. You will be prosecuted. So, is what's going to happen worse than being prosecuted?
Wow, this guy practices in Hawaii. That's a tough jurisdiction; corrupt and full of nasty people.
What the MSM (Main Stream Media) Was Afraid to Tell You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIKTJ7HeR3s
What you believe depends on the sources you choose to consume. I offer the
above as an alternative to the main stream media. (As are John Farnam's Quips.)
Security clearances are for consumers of intelligence. Producers don't care
or need clearances. The intelligence services are massive bloated bureaucracies.
They produce very little useful intelligence. The vast majority of what they
write in their reports and stamp classified comes from open sources.
We are productive citizens. We are not consumptive citizens.
The consumptive citizens are well defined. The multi-generational welfare
recipients. The drug addicts and homeless who use our hospital emergency rooms
as hotel rooms and never pay. The recipients of government grants. et al
Never confuse compassion with criminal stupidity. Such misinterpretation of
truth has tragic consequences.
Little Choice!
https://defense-training.com/little-choice/
Tom Givens writes,
From NSSF - MOST BACKGROUND CHECKS EVER RECORDED FOR JUNE
June 2020’s NICS-adjusted background checks were nearly off the chart.
It was the highest figure ever recorded in June and the second highest
on record since instant background checks began more than 20 years ago.
The June 2020 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 2,177,586 is an increase of
135.7 percent compared to June 2019.
Associated Press report,
https://apnews.com/8ddad3189eb8864e9ae6b123e09b6900
Excerpt:
Chipman, a retired agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the numbers are not mere blips.
“This can no longer be characterized as a spike. This is a sustained
uptick in sales that has continued for an unprecedented amount of
months now,” he said.
Virginia Gun Sales Surge 157 Percent in June 2020
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/06/virginia-gun-sales-surge-157-percent-in-june-2020/
NYTimes: ‘Nothing to See’ as Murders Spike 22 Percent Amid Protests
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2020/07/06/nytimes-nothing-to-see-as-murders-spike-22-percent-amid-protests/
The big Democrat cities defund their police departments and release
all arrested suspects without bail. So, violent crime skyrockets. So,
the people buy guns to protect themselves. What's not to understand?
One America News Network
https://www.oann.com/
Check out Liz Wheeler on YouTube.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN5P7dx0mfY&list=PUMfKNuYXBc9bxb0fg2cGTBg&index=64
The following is in the legal section because it is legal advice concerning
liability aimed at the large number of people who carry a pistol, but are incompetent
to do so, because of lack of training and practice.
"Why You Should Never Keep a Round Chambered in Your Firearm" by Firearms Attorney Marc J. Victor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq6DVlBJwLM
Every gun school that I have attended teaches to carry your pistol with
a round in the chamber, because there will not be time to chamber a round, and
you may not have the mental or physical capacity to chamber a round.
Mr. Victor is speaking to persons who carry, but are incompetent because
of lack of training. Such persons present a danger to themselves and others
by unintentionally firing their pistols. For such persons Mr. Victor advises
carrying with an empty chamber. This is legal liability advice to incompetent
gun carriers. This is not tactical advice to competent operators.
Appropriate Force - A Citizen's Guide to Self Protection by Michael Mann
https://youtu.be/D8nWTTN4qQg
Minimal reasonable force does not mean equal force.
You must have a training program for your security team for physical protection.
Force continuum:
1. Avoidance
2. Presence (demonstration that you are aware of the threat, not a show of force)
3. Call for help, call police
4. Verbalization (tell them what you expect from them, ask them to stop, ask them to leave)
5. Physical control (hands, intermediate weapons, etc. In TN you need training and a
certificate to possess a baton. I said "possess", not "use".)
6. Deadly force
Escalation may be very fast.
Appropriate force considerations:
Age
Relative strength
Size
Skill level
Multiple assailants
Display of a firearm. Study the law.
Threat is intent (you can't read their minds, you have to look at behaviors and
what they are saying) and capability (do they have the means?).
Practice low ready (not pointing at the assailant). Know how to do it.
Know when to use it. Research the laws of your state.
Consider your weapons handling and where you are pointing your muzzles.
Ignorance of the law is no defense. You don't have the immunity and privileges
that the police have.
Disparity of Force by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33301
Proportionality, not disparity. Force is either deadly force
(death or serious bodily injury) or non-deadly force.
What is in each category depends on state law. Use of a pillow can be
deadly force if used to smother the other person. Position of disadvantage.
Injury. Knowledge of the enemy at the time. Past experience of the
other person.
The battered spouse can't shoot the abuser while he's sleeping
and use the legal defense of self-defense. But, there have been cases
where the beating wasn't imminent, but was inevitable / unavoidable.
Battered spouse syndrome. And so, was acquitted. Details were given
at a lecture at one of the Tactical Conferences in one of the past 5 years.
The MUST AVOID Self-Defense Insurance Trap by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/the-must-avoid-self-defense-insurance-trap/
Lockton is offering self-defense insurance that reimburses expenses
only after the charges are dropped or you are acquitted. So, there is a
huge financial incentive for Lockton to ensure you get convicted. So,
buying this insurance is criminal stupidity.
As Andrew says, "This insurance program is not fit for purpose."
Here are a couple of articles that review self-defense insurance programs.
Pre-paid legal services:
6 Concealed Carry Insurance Options To Protect Your Six (2019)
by Gun Digest Editors
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/4-self-defense-insurance-options
Self-Defense Gun Owner Insurance Programs Compared
https://www.concealedcarry.com/self-defense-gun-owner-insurance-programs-compared/
This web page, the chart, and the PDF file are updated on a regular basis.
Be careful about USCCA,
https://lawofselfdefense.com/uscca-sued-in-federal-court-refused-to-cover-platinum-member/
https://www.thetowntalk.com/story/news/2019/10/18/kayla-giles-files-lawsuit-over-halted-payments-self-defense-policy/4023210002/
The headlines in The Town Talk (a Louisiana news organization, I'm trying to be polite)
articles claim Giles twice admitted that she murdered Thomas Coutee Jr. (the ex-husband). Nothing
could be further from the truth. She admitted to shooting him. She admitted to killing him.
She also claimed self-defense. Which means she claims that the killing was righteous.
One has to be very careful when reading "news reports". As my English professor, Yerkes,
once told me, "There is no journalism. There is only propaganda.", referring to the Columbia
University Journalism School.
Symptoms! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/symptoms/
And now for the other side of the coin --
Black Lives Matter thought they had a great relationship with the Nashville
politicians, as Mayor Cooper attended one of their recent rallies in spite of
the Mayor's order forbidding gatherings of 10 or more persons. But, the extremely
liberal Democrats of the Nashville City Council and Mayor stabbed BLM in the back
by increasing the Metro Nashville Police Department budget by 1.5 million dollars
in the budget passed last week. (They also increased property taxes by 37%.)
It's one thing to mouth support for a cause. It's an entirely different
thing to give up your police bodyguards. No one in their right mind would do
that, said the council rep. from my district.
All Time High: Now Over 18.6 Million Concealed Carry Permit Holders by Chris Eger
https://www.guns.com/news/2019/10/04/all-time-high-now-over-18-6-million-concealed-carry-permit-holders
Primary source,
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3463357
Gun Laws by state
https://amedia.concealedcarry.com/resources/Law+Summary+E-Book-20190304.pdf
Gun laws --
https://handgunlaw.us
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com
"Indiana Waives 5-Year Gun Permit Fees, Protects Owners From Civil Suits" by Personal Defense World
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/07/indiana-gun-permit-fees-civil-suits/
By July 2020 Indiana Carry Licenses Will be Completely Free by Luke C.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/30/indiana-carry-licenses-free/
Excerpt:
. . . [S]tarting July 1st, 2020 Indiana will be the first state to offer
a permit without any sort of fee and one of only eight states that require no
training of any kind in order to obtain the license.
Make The Aggressor Work For The Fight by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvwXDKMvNs0
Trump Administration Legalizes Commercial Exportation of Suppressors
https://americansuppressorassociation.com/suppressor-exportation-now-legal/
Higher sales volume of any commodity leads to lower consumer prices,
as the manufactures can realize economy of scale. This will also create a
larger international constituency for suppressors, making rescinding this
policy very difficult for future administrations or congresses.
What You Say WILL Be Used Against You . . .
https://lp.uslawshield.com/webinar-exclusive-7-13-stream/
Excerpts:
"Don't make any statements. Don't make any witnesses." [If your spouse runs down
the stairs and you tell her what just happened, you have made a witness. She can
testify to what you said. Excited utterances. "She would never testify against me."
Maybe not, now. But, you get into a nasty divorce a decade in the future, she might
change her mind. There is no statute of limitations on murder. -- Jon Low]
Take all the stupid bumper stickers off your car.
Deal with reality. Suck it up.
Have lawyer immediately available. [This takes money and action on your part.]
Don't say stupid/extremist things on social media.
911 call: your name, where you are, you are the victim, ask for police,
ask for an ambulance, and hang up the phone. Don't worry about being rude. Just hang up.
Saying, "I'm sorry." is consciousness of guilt. Don't say it. Because you are
not saying anything.
"I invoke my right to remain silent. I invoke my right to an attorney."
And then shut up. Your silence cannot be used against you at trial.
If you have the incident recorded, let the cops download it. If you attempt to
download it, and accidentally format the drive, you have tampered with evidence.
The attorneys on the panel mentioned this because it actually happened.
What you say before being Mirandized will be used against you.
What you say when you are not in custody will be used against you.
What you say when you are not being interrogated will be used against you.
So, be silent.
The government may hold your weapon as physical evidence for the entire statute
of limitations. (There is no statute of limitation for murder.) So, you have to
have another identical pistol. Because if the government returns it, it may be rusted
beyond recognition. Or, tested to the point of destruction. Or, lost.
You legally have to identify yourself to the police: name, address, date of birth;
maybe more depending on your state.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Lessons Learned from a Home Invasion Attempt by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/lessons-learned-from-a-home-invasion-attempt
Willingness is a state of mind. Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
***** ***** ***** Basics ***** ***** *****
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
CONCEALED CARRY: WHERE DO I START? by Ms. Stavroula Avramidis
Step-by-step guide to licensing, classes, and getting started!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BdekvdwZQQ
Range Commands by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/27/range-commands/
Advice For Your First Shooting Class(es) by David Zakar
https://thehebrewhammer.net/2020/06/16/advice-for-your-first-shooting-classes/
Are you able to rack the slide of your pistol? If not, read this article.
[How-To] Rack a Pistol Slide With Weak Hands by By Alice Jones Webb
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/how-to-rack-pistol-slide-weak-hands/
Eventually, we have to move you to a real pistol. The 380 Auto is
just too weak. Statistically, it will not stop an attacker with two shots.
How to Keep Shooting Fun For Beginners by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/7/how-to-keep-shooting-fun-for-beginners/
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Remembering Charlie Daniels, a True Second Amendment Advocate by Mark Chesnut
https://www.ballisticmag.com/2020/07/13/remembering-charlie-daniels-second-amendment-advocate/
Every year we would auction off a fiddle autographed by Charlie Daniels
at the Friends of the NRA banquet.
Testosterone: The World’s Most Potent Poison by Will Dabbs, MD
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/testosterone-the-worlds-most-potent-poison/
A funny story and great pictures. I never got to watch the combined arms
exercises. We were always inside, running the comm center.
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
/* Random data from the HotBits radioactive random number generator */
unsigned char hotBits[128] =
{ 168, 53, 251, 18, 158, 9, 108, 232, 248, 79, 166, 69, 3, 162, 172, 78,
96, 34, 88, 230, 129, 80, 129, 28, 27, 164, 150, 79, 20, 215, 40, 0,
30, 147, 207, 210, 176, 126, 173, 63, 236, 254, 17, 11, 39, 48, 49, 156,
49, 175, 62, 98, 147, 162, 18, 55, 123, 219, 159, 55, 175, 165, 255,
234, 229, 148, 110, 219, 63, 24, 142, 227, 166, 165, 219, 146, 19, 109,
236, 147, 79, 31, 83, 89, 127, 82, 118, 135, 178, 159, 226, 88, 25, 211,
145, 148, 139, 72, 150, 100, 199, 8, 190, 132, 19, 187, 104, 79, 45,
203, 161, 208, 169, 141, 194, 229, 225, 17, 97, 126, 66, 44, 160, 74,
96, 80, 207, 14
}; // The unsigned char data type contains values from 0 to 255.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Happy 244th Birthday!
I write a lot of text in these blog postings, because I know a lot of you
will not invest the time to read or watch the citation. So, I give you a
synopsis to entice you to click on the citation and follow through. Or, I give
you a summary, in hopes that at least some of the valuable information will
transfer.
May I invite your attention to,
The Active Self Protection National Conference:
Bullets and Bibles - 25-27th September 2020 located in Manhattan, KS
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2020/
A fund raiser for Homes of Hope that provides food, lodging, and life skills
training for kids who have aged out of the foster care system.
https://fhftc.org/homes-of-hope/
And Flint Hills Foster Teen Camps that provide summer camps for foster children
who otherwise would not be able to afford such.
https://fhftc.org/
"Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call
for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray . . .
Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight -- all through the
day. Let us all pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes.
Let us pray for our churches. Let us pray for ourselves . . .
Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ
and redeeming love . . .
Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice."
-- General Robert E. Lee
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
How to Minimize Drama! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/how-to-minimize-drama/
Controlling Your Fear by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/6/26/controlling-your-fear/
The public dismisses those of us who prepare for the zombie apocalypse,
because the public is so insulated that they don't know that the zombies exit.
"Prepare For The Zombie Wars" by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/prepare-for-the-zombie-wars/
Excerpt:
“Wait,” said VZ. “Seriously, we have fought these guys.” It’s true.
We’d fought people stoned outta their skulls on everything from khat to
crack, hash to meth; wild-eyed religious fanaticism to Wild Turkey with
an LSD chaser. And who’s more dangerous than a scumbag so brain-fried on
PCP he’d snap the links of handcuffs, fracturing his wrists in the process,
and still try to strangle you or stab you with his own protruding
splintered bones?
Thugs and suicide bombers soaked in stimulants and painkillers are
already epidemic in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We had all had to
shoot some whacko right down to the deck and keep shootin’ ’till his
clothes caught fire; delivered guaranteed-fatal wounds on loony-goons who
were clinically dead but hadn’t got the telegram.
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
Even in peaceful Nashville, TN we fight the drunks and meth heads
every night in the emergency rooms. And those are the sane ones. The
psych patients that the police (and Paramedics, more highly
trained than the Emergency Medical Technicians, who are more highly
trained than the First Responders) dump on us are even worse.
The nurses have to sedate them before we can ship them off to a psych
ward, if we can find one that will accept them. (And most won't
because they are infected with Covid-19.) And guess who has to hold
them down so the nurse can inject them?
There are courses that teach you how to escape from restraints.
This assumes you have submitted or been forced into the restraint.
Do not submit to any kind of restraint. For this is akin to
submitting to being moved (kidnapped). Submitting to anything that
the bad guy wants you to do is WRONG. The situation will never get
better, it will only getting worse. Better to fight with everything you
have now. Right now, without telegraphing your intent. Explosive
attack, now! Gouging eyes is always good.
If you think you can't win, so you should not fight, you are
WRONG; and desperately need to read "Principles of Personal Defense"
by Jeff Cooper.
If you think that if you submit, your attacker will show you
mercy, you are WRONG, statistically and practically. Your attacker
is not like you. He does not think as you do. He is not civilized.
He is not decent. To assume that he is, is criminal stupidity.
"Your Firearm As Your Last Resort" by Dr. Michael Sweeney
(Check out the author's bio at the end of the web page.
UPS endowed a chair at Hillsdale College. That's significant.
It says which side of the culture war they are on.
I used to work for UPS. My son presently works for UPS.)
https://www.thearmorylife.com/your-firearm-as-your-last-resort/
Excerpt:
"Concerned about the cost, I talked to my wife, who advised
“You should spend at least as much for training as you spent on
the gun.” A wise woman and a good rule to follow."
[My father told me to judge a man by the women he associates with:
wives (in Saudi they have up to 4), girlfriends, business partners, etc.
-- Jon Low]
"I Am Afraid to Start Concealed Carrying" by Carrie Lightfoot
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/i-am-afraid-to-start-concealed-carrying/
Concealed Carry Mindset by Carrie Lightfoot
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/concealed-carry/concealed-carry-mindset/
Cultivate the habit of treating other people like *people.* by Kathy Jackson
https://www.facebook.com/CorneredCatCCW/posts/3167237940035941
Excerpt:
A firearm can never get you out of the kind of trouble a big mouth gets you into.
‘I live in a nice neighborhood’ by The Tactical Professor (Claude Werner)
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/
Excerpt:
"Serious crime knows no borders, regardless of how nice your neighborhood is."
In my classes, I teach that you need to decide, now, how much physical abuse
you are willing to tolerate before you use lethal force. If you don't establish
a clear line in the sand now, you will never use deadly force in self-defense,
because the situation will escalate until you are dead without you deciding to
react, because you won't know when to react, because you haven't established any
criteria.
Some of my students are surprised when I tell them my personal decision;
that I have decided that I will will not let anyone punch me. Because at my age,
61, and my physical condition, not that great, I don't think I could survive a punch.
(And yes, as Greg Ellifritz suggests, I have been punched; in sport and in combat.)
For those who think my decision is unreasonable, please consider the following:
"Deaths from a single punch not that uncommon" by AIMEE GREEN
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/21/deaths-from-a-single-punch-not-that-uncommon/
So, think about it, and decide now. Because you won't have time to decide in combat.
You won't be able to decide in combat.
Self-defense From A Former Woman International Protection Agent by Mary Beth Wilkas Janke
https://www.swaay.com/physical-self-defense-tips-women
I have noticed that everyone who writes about self-defense mentions physical
fitness. Fat couch potatoes may live long enough to procreate in a peaceful society.
We are always playing with probabilities.
Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation
-- John Farnam
----- Safety -----
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
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
The Four Rules of Firearm Safety by Jeff Gonzales
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/13/the-four-rules-of-firearm-safety/
". . . someone's gun went BANG!!! when they only expected a click." by Kathy Jackson
https://www.facebook.com/CorneredCatCCW/posts/3142978935795175
Excerpt:
So now he is holding an "empty" gun in one hand, and the other hand has
the magazine and the newly un-chambered "Barney" round.
. . . when he pressed the trigger ...
BANG!!
How did this happen?
Yesterday, I drove home from Strategic Edge Gun Range with the key for the
range control system in my pocket. The owner, Tony, had to phone and email me
to tell me to bring the key back, because they could not make the rifle range
hot without the key (the lights, sirens, and such are all controlled by the
computer system, and without the key the range stays cold, because the system
thinks someone is still down range, because you take the key when you walk or
drive one of the golf carts down range). Extremely embarrassing for me.
So, why did it happen? What causes such mishaps? The Marine Corps says,
1. Distraction, i.e. allowing yourself to be distracted.
2. Time compression, i.e. rushing (usually self imposed and unnecessary).
3. Breaking habits, i.e. failure to follow established protocols.
[Why does the Marine Corps care? Because the guy who explained this all to
us had crashed an F-18. And the Marine Corps wanted to prevent such mishaps.
So, the entire Marine Aircraft Group - 49 stood down for a day to listen to
this pilot and review all of our protocols.]
Solution to the problem -- Pay attention to what you are doing.
Take your time to do what you are doing carefully. Do what you are
supposed to do, no short cuts. Protocols are established for a reason,
even if you don't know the reason, even if you think you are smarter
than the guy who established the protocols.
Sgt. Maj. Troy told me that upon arriving at a new command, observe
for the first month, before making any changes. Because they may be doing
it that way for a good reason.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
Why handgun retention training is essential by Marty Katz
"It is highly likely that if someone gets your firearm ‒ for any reason ‒ that person will kill you"
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/training/articles/why-handgun-retention-training-is-essential-7ySdIdyiwkhzQDsv/
Wow, these techniques (12 all together) are very different from what
was taught at the Tactical Conference recently (year before last, because
this year's conference was canceled) by Fletch Fuller of
www.ReadyUpTacticalTraining.com.
The technique taught at Tac Con was much simpler, just one technique, not 12.
Much easier to remember, much easier to execute, and keeping both of the
defender's hands on the pistol or the attacker's hands which are on the pistol.
"The fast and/or emphatic reholster is an awesome way to shoot yourself."
-- Chuck Haggard
----- Training -----
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Terrorism for the Security Professional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9nzxozEJzc&feature=youtu.be
TACTICAL CONFERENCE 2021 (will be sold out by October 2020)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tactical-conference-2021-dallas-tickets-100629329032
Fri, Mar 26, 2021, 8:00 AM – Sun, Mar 28, 2021, 6:00 PM CDT
Dallas Pistol Club
https://dallaspistolclub.com/
1830 West Beltline Road
Carrollton, TX 75006
Tom Givens says you need to be able to do 4 things:
1. Get the pistol out of the concealed holster and on target.
2. Get good hits at 7 yards.
3. Reload if necessary. (A low probability event in civilian self-defense.)
4. Clear malfunctions if necessary. (A low probability event, if you have kept
your pistol clean, are using factory new ammunition that you have practiced
with to know that it feeds and chambers reliably, and don't cause a malfunction.
You won't cause a malfunction if you have had competent training and have
recently practiced what you were taught.)
The 4 things are listed in chronological order. You have to practice
presentation from the concealed holster to the target a lot in order to make
it reliable. Otherwise, your presentation will get fouled under stress.
[For example, after the gunfight, assuming you survive, you won't be able
to figure out how you jammed your thumb. You jammed your thumb by ramming
it into the back strap of your pistol, because you hadn't practiced
establishing your proper grip enough to automatically get your hand into
the correct position under stress.]
Only when you have gotten your pistol on target do you have the option
of shooting. Yes, that's the way you should think about it. Presenting to
the target does not mean you will shoot. Shooting is not part of the
presentation. So, shooting should not be practiced as part of the presentation.
Shooting should always be a separate intellectual decision.
Trust me, you don't want to engrain the habit of shooting every time you
present to the target. Because if you do, you might not be able to override
that habit in combat. ("I didn't mean to shot him. It was an accident." will
get you charged with negligent homicide. Remember, self-defense shootings
are intentional, not accidental.)
Only after you shoot, may it become necessary or prudent to reload.
If you've run the gun dry, it's necessary. If not, it may be prudent, if you
are behind cover and you feel the situation allows you the time. You should
consider the amount of time that the reload would take if you fumble the
reload. Just as we always consider the amount of travel time to a new
location in the event we get lost. (And we always get lost, because the maps
are obsolete. [We are Marines, not James Bond.] The enemy is jamming the
GPS. [Yes, even encrypted GPS can be jammed. The Russians have very good
jammers. Some of our former allies have our jammers, which work very well.]
And nobody practices enough with the Lensatic Compass and maps to be competent,
because we have GPS.)
Only after you have fired, might it become necessary to reduce a stoppage.
(If you have to reduce a stoppage before firing, because you carry your pistol
without a round chambered, you are WRONG on many levels. An instructor told
us about an incident in which the 1st defender wimped out and cowered behind
cover. So, the 2nd defender took the 1st defender's pistol and attempted to
shoot the bad guy. The pistol did not fire. So, the 2nd defender automatically
cleared the malfunction and shot the bad guy, effectively stopping the incident.
Unfortunately, the amount of time taken to clear the malfunction gave the
second bad guy, the opportunity to wound the 2nd defender. I paraphrase and
summarize, as the incident was much more chaotic and complicated than that.
But, the point is that not carrying your pistol with a round in the chamber
may cause some other good guy to get grievously wounded.)
So, you should know Tap, Rack, Point; and Lock, Strip, Rack, Load; or
Unload, Load. Various schools teach stoppage reduction in all kinds of ways.
For all of the foregoing, find a technique that you can understand and do,
and then practice it to the point of unconscious competence.
Defensive Handgun Training: 3 Critical Fundamentals by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/6/defensive-handgun-training-3-critical-fundamentals/
". . . practical knowledge, though teachable, cannot be truly mastered without experience . . ."
-- Mortimer J. Adler
After Action Report of Tom Givens' Combative Pistol course
https://unclezo.com/2020/07/01/combative-pistol/
The reason you have to rack the slide when reloading after your pistol
has run out of ammo, rather than pressing the slide release lever, is that
your slide might not be locked back. You must use a technique that will
always work, not one that only works when the slide locks back.
Ya, you can tape your hands to avoid blisters. But, the better solution
is to deburr your pistol and all other equipment that you will be using.
Admittedly, you might not know where to remove material until you get
the blisters. But, if your pistol feels like a used bar of soap, you're
close.
Yes! Taking the slack out of the trigger after reset is essential!
Yes! You have to have a working gun and ammunition. You can tell
real gunfighters, especially infantry, they are always happy to carry extra
water and ammo.
Yes! Recency of practice is far more important than volume of practice.
Active Self Protection
https://www.youtube.com/activeselfprotection
All kinds of good stuff at this web site.
Dr. Tony Kern and Gordon Graham discuss how leaders in high-risk industries
can better understand the factors that lead to human error and develop strategies
to help personnel make safer decisions under time pressure.
https://info.lexipol.com/webinar-when-error-is-not-acceptable
Understand that self-defense combat is a high-risk low-frequency event.
The discussion in the video has that underlying assumption.
Tragedy is caused by error. Error is identifiable and manageable.
Small mistakes snowball into fatal mistakes. In the example given,
within 31 seconds.
Political correctness and popular culture have corrupted classical
thought.
"To err is human, but to persevere in error is only the act of a fool."
-- Cicero
It's not, "to forgive is divine." That's just popular culture stupidity.
[This is akin to self-professed Christians thinking that when you die
you go to heaven and become an angel with wings. That is not Christian
theology. God created the angels before the humans. They are entirely
different. Or, the stupidity of "God helps those who help themselves."
That is not Biblical. That is not Christian theology. It's just pop
culture, like the Easter Bunny. And the most widespread and perverse,
that good people go to heaven and bad people to go hell. The Bible and
Christian theology says -- First, there are no good people. Second, only
repentant people go to heaven. -- Jon Low]
Solution: Avoid the first mistake by training and practicing.
Recover from the first mistake (as opposed to letting it snowball) by
training and practicing. This is not a thought experiment, you actually
have to do it. Your company will not pay you to do it. You have to
do it on your own time, at your own expense.
The "violation" that they talk about is to us, breaking a safety
rule (yes, I'm talking about during combat).
"But, Staff, it's combat. Things are chaotic. We can't be expected
to follow all the safety rules in combat."
WRONG! If you don't follow the safety rules in combat, you'll shoot
the good guys, you'll shoot the innocent bystanders, you'll shoot yourself.
"DON'T VIOLATE! STAY COMPLIANT!" That means obey the 4 safety rules.
Time pressure causes errors. Solution: Practice slowly and correctly.
Speed will come automatically with correct practice, because slow and
correct is efficient. Efficient is fast, because all extraneous wasted
motion is eliminated. [I know this is counter-intuitive, but it is true.]
The problem occurs when the enemy takes you off your behavioral
script. A competent chess player will intentionally make a move that is
not in any of the books (especially when playing against computers),
even if the move is inferior to known moves, because it takes the opponent
off script (or out of the book). The opponent is now in uncharted territory.
It is much easier to kill your enemies when they are off script.
[The Marine Corps first taught me this at Marine Forces Pacific, G-2
at Camp Smith in Hawaii in the early 1990's. I didn't get an opportunity
to use this until Operation Iraqi Freedom. We implemented the technique
in Riyadh, KSA; Ankara, Turkey; and various locations in Iraq. It works.]
If you sprung a leak in your spacesuit and only had 10 seconds to
live, what would you do?
"Plan for 9 seconds and then execute." -- Neil Armstrong
We learn from experience. Unfortunately, experience kills a lot
of people in the first failure.
Meeting minimum standards does not ensure survival. You may have to
be performing at a high level to survive. [Whoa! Stop and think about that.]
I was on a Delta Airlines flight landing at the Philadelphia, PA airport.
Just before we touched the runway, the pilot pulled up sharply forcing
everyone back into their seats (high G force for a commercial airliner).
Banked to the left and came around to attempt another landing. After
we landed, the pilot got on the intercom and informed us that the air
traffic controllers had two airplanes landing on the same runway and he
didn't think we would both fit. (I later found out that the airplanes
were approaching the runway from opposite directions. Stop and think
about that. You're supposed to land into the wind.) [I don't like
using the word aircraft because you don't know if they are airplanes or
helicopters.] The point is that we, passengers, are alive today because
the pilot had situational awareness, recognized the problem, and acted
decisively. It was actually a very difficult maneuver, because there
were multiple runways, so there were other aircraft that he had to avoid
colliding with.
If you are not using a check list, you are WRONG!
"In government, changing a curriculum is more difficult than moving
a small town graveyard." That's why you have to get your training in
the private sector. Tom Givens says, if your instructor hasn't taken a
class in the past 10 years, he's teaching obsolete doctrine. I make
changes to my curriculum after every class I attend or every book I read,
always striving to incorporate best practices. [Ya, I disregard a lot
of stuff too. And I experiment with a lot of stuff before deciding
whether or not to implement it.]
What you learn from experience is mediocrity. To progress, you
have to get expert training.
Expert is not necessarily professional.
(Many instructors object to the government regulations and taxation,
and so don't take money for their services.) As the gentlemen in the
video say, government regulators destroy quality. That is why I would
never be a licensed Professional Engineer. Like the free masons of
ancient Europe, not the modern boys club, I was a software engineer.
Software engineers are not licensed in any state in the United States.
This is important. When your children ask you what profession to go into,
think about this.
Expert is not necessarily expensive.
(Many instructors work through non-profits or church ministries and
don't charge money for their services. Because they believe in our cause.)
It's your responsibility to get trained. Because only you and
your family will suffer the consequences of your failure.
"Professional" first uttered in 1420 A.D. Trade guilds.
Life time of continuous improvement and opportunities.
Novice, apprentice, journeyman, craftsman, master craftsman.
Over a 25 year career. The Master craftsman is expected to add something
new to the craft, as a Doctorate is expected to contribute something
new to his field in his dissertation. I would add that it is the
duty of the Master to teach, to ensure the next generation is competent.
You have to be, not seem to be.
As seen on a tee shirt,
"SWAT because not every cop can get through motorcycle school."
The Home Defense Rig by John Connor
https://americanhandgunner.com/guncrank-diaries/the-home-defense-rig/
Excerpt:
. . . he had gone through the motions of “being prepared” while really
being completely unprepared. . . .
Simply put, he had the hardware, but not the enabling software.
[You have to be able to carry your defensive tools with your hands free.]
Front Sight 4-day Defensive Handgun class (free)
https://www.frontsight.com/freehandguncourse/?A=Submit&src=swjill
Let the video play through and then click on the green button.
Fill out the form. Ya, you're going to be put on their emailing
list, so you might want to use a different email address. But,
it's still a great deal.
Things You Can Learn From Watching Yourself Train by Joshua Gillem
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/things-you-can-learn-from-watching-yourself-train/
Terrorism Prevention for Security, a seminar presented by Michael Mann on 7/14/2020
Excerpts:
In small scale attacks such as against your church, expect the enemy
to recon one to two weeks before the attack. (Large scale such as the 9/11
attacks would be on the order of years.)
The purpose of the attack is to get you to over react and to create an
environment of fear. So, your planning should be to avoid these results.
The attack requirements are:
1. Select the target. So, you should cause the enemy to not select your facility
as a target. [Publicly announcing that your facility is a gun free zone,
as the United Methodists have done on their web site, will cause the enemy to
select your facility. Holding regular defensive pistol courses at your church
will make it common knowledge that your church is not a gun free zone, will cause
the enemy to decide not to select your facility. -- Jon Low]
2. Gather intelligence. The enemy does most of this online, but someone
from the enemy unit will come to your facility in person one to two weeks
before the attack to verify ingress and egress, count persons, count security
personnel, verify traffic patterns, verify floor plans, etc.
3. Surprise victims. Without surprise, the enemy is at a horrible disadvantage
and will generally abort the mission. [So, you have to have personnel out in
the parking lot greeting people and observing. You must interdict in the
parking lot. Once the enemy is in the building, it's too late. -- Jon Low]
4. Maintain control. If the enemy cannot maintain control of the environment,
they will not be able to accomplish their mission. So, you must plan to deny
them control. [Train your people to immediately counter-attack. -- Jon Low]
5. Mobile. The enemy must be mobile in order to accomplish his mission.
So, plan to deny him mobility. [Know the choke points in your facility.
Train your people to immediately move to the choke points and to control them.
-- Jon Low]
---
Equipment:
Cell phones, apps to turn your cell phones into dedicated walkie-talkies
for your people.
Suspicious Activity Reports, fill them out and keep records. So, the next
time the guy shows up, you know he's a bad guy. Otherwise, he's just another
stranger.
Medical supplies, tourniquets, pressure dressings, chest seals, and the
training to use them correctly.
Flashlight, this is a weapon. If your flashlight cannot blind the enemy,
you don't have a weapon.
Utility tool, Leatherman or something like that.
Weapons, pistol, pepper spray, baton, Taser, etc. and the training to
use them effectively, and the certification to legally use them.
---
Strive for prevention, not response. Train for deterrence and detection
by observation.
Do not harden your target, because that will conflict with the mission
of your church. No displays of force. All weapons should be concealed.
Observe who is aware. They will be either protectors, police, or
predators. You should know who is who because you have introduced yourself
to all of the good guys, previously.
Identify system weaknesses by constantly observing. Strive for
continuous improvement. [If the powers that be won't make the necessary
changes to improve security, work around them. Because this is a matter
of life and death. -- Jon Low]
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
----- Practice -----
Why practice?
"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
Gunfighter Moment by Ken Hackathorn
https://soldiersystems.net/2015/06/13/gunfighter-moment-ken-hackathorn-11/
Excerpt:
"For most people the decision phase is the most time consuming part of the equation."
"You are what you practice . . . "
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz of Active Response.
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner the Tactical Professor
The students you may have --
0. Intentionally unsafe. Consciously incompetent.
This student should be asked to leave, as he is a danger to everyone.
This student will point his pistol at people, and when told not to do that, he will say,
"It's okay. It's not loaded." This student will negligently shoot himself or others
if you allow him to stay.
1. Unsafe gun handling, because he doesn't know any better.
Unconsciously incompetent. You need to teach this student the safety rules.
2. Safe gun handling. He knows that he needs training.
Consciously incompetent. This student is ready for the manual of arms and marksmanship.
3. Competent gun handling. Knows what to do, but has to think about what he's doing.
Consciously competent. This student is ready for tactical scenarios without a shooting enemy.
4. Competent gun handling without conscious thought, so mental bandwidth may be
used to make threat decisions, use of force decisions, and tactical decisions.
Unconsciously competent. This student is ready for force-on-force training.
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Techniques -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
May I recommend you study magic (as in the performance art, not the occult)?
You will find the principles very useful in your practice of self-defense.
DO 9 Mind-Blowing Magic Tricks (Learn the Secrets Today!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqnd7D8MII
SankeyMagic
https://www.youtube.com/user/SankeyMagic
Deception, Perception, and the Psychology of Belief
Remember the video I posted a few months ago where the guy lifts his shirt
and turns around to show that he is not armed, only to produce a pistol (that
was in his waistband) and shoot the victims? He was using several principles
that are taught and studied in the art of theatrical magic.
Penn and Teller have several videos where they explain their tricks. You
can find them on YouTube.com.
Utilizing the principles of misdirection (and others) will give you
valuable seconds in a fight, which may be the difference between life and death.
Simply causing the enemy to see something that he doesn't understand
may be enough to disrupt his OODA loop.
As Sam Harris says, you don't have to practice and perfect several techniques,
you have to know the principles. The execution will follow naturally from the
principles. If the victims were aware of the principles they would not have been
deceived when the bad guy pulled up his shirt and turned around to show
that he was unarmed. They would have understood what the bad guy was doing.
[Just as I was able to see a psych patient palm a hydrocodone tablet.]
The 3-E’s of Being Elusive by Evan D.
https://novaselfdefense.com/1/post/2014/02/the-3-es-of-being-elusive-or-rude.html
Instinctive Advantage Of The Laser Sight by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/instinctive-advantage-of-the-laser-sight
This assumes you can see the laser dot on the target. What if the dot
and the target are the same color? What if the dot is too small for you to see?
Which it will be at some distance.
Do you know at what distance you can no longer resolve the dot? in daylight
conditions? in low light conditions? If you are using your tactical flashlight
to illuminate the target, can you see your laser dot in the 500+ lumen shine
of your flashlight?
What if the target is too bright for you to see the dot on it? What if the
environment is too bright to see the dot? Problems you don't have with a
passive iron sight system. What if the batteries die? What if the electronics
malfunction? Iron sights don't require batteries and don't have electronic
circuits. Combat is all about reliability. Reliability is all about simplicity.
We do not recommend adjustable sights because they are fragile. Fixed
sights have no moving parts and are thus reliable. Laser sights are adjustable.
If they were not, how would you zero them?
If you don't have enough light to silhouette your sights against your target,
you don't have enough light to identify your target. So, you should not be
shooting it. The laser is not going to illuminate your target. You need a flashlight
to illuminate your target.
The author says you can use the laser to aim the pistol when you can't
bring the pistol to your line of sight. I don't think he has thought this out
or trained this. The only time one would be shooting without using the sights
would be in a close contact situation. Seeing the laser dot in such a situation
seems unlikely.
THE DRAW by Stav and Mack (Stav's boyfriend)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5MNjs8Egs
Good detailed descriptions and explanations.
Notice that she machined her rear sight so that it doesn't tear her hand when
she racks her slide.
She muzzles her left hand when holstering. That's a problem with belly bands
that don't stay open. Might want to put a kydex holster inside the belly band to
allow a one handed holstering operation.
She sent me an email saying she is not muzzling her hand,
that it's just a bad camera angle.
Best AR-15 Battlesight Zero Distance by Travis Pike
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-ar15-battlesight-zero/
Maximum Point Blank Range - the maximum range at which you can aim at your
intended target and expect to impact within a few inches of the point of aim
at all closer ranges.
There is an excellent hand drawn diagram about half way down the web page.
(As Travis says, at least it's not drawn in crayon. I don't know why people
are always joking about us, Marines, drawing with crayons.)
"Hey, Staff, why are just about all of the people you cite, Marines?"
Bias, I guess. Actually, it's cute chicks and Marines.
Ralph Mroz says to zero your pistol at 25 yards, because from 0 to 25 yards
your point of impact will be within an inch of your point of aim. So, 25 yards is
your Maximum Point Blank Range.
"6 Reasons Why You Should Carry Defensive Tools in Front of the Hips" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/6-reasons-carry-defensive-tools-front-hips/
I'm sorry, I was not clear about squatting. The Vietnamese general was
saying that the American soldiers could not squat because they lacked the
physical flexibility; and by metaphor, they lacked the mental flexibility to
understand the culture in which they were operating, so they could not assimilate,
so could not win the hearts and minds of the local people. It would take a study
of Vietnamese literature to catch his allusions. (I had studied some Vietnamese
literature as part of an Oriental Literature course at Punahou, before "Oriental"
became politically incorrect.) But, the intelligence analysts got it, because
that's their job.
Your Tactical Training Scenario . . . Injured Hands by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-injured-hands
How I Fooled Penn & Teller!! (FULL EXPLANATION) by Wes Barker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQOytYPi3M
This video is about methods. Can you see how to apply these methods to
gain seconds in a gunfight?
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
----- Tactics -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Arc to the [enemy's] 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position." -- Craig Douglas
See Craig's chapter in "Straight Talk on Armed Defense", ISBN: 9781440247545,
for details. Do not turn your head to look behind yourself,
because that forces you to take your eyes off the threat in front of you.
Do not move backwards, because you are moving into territory you can't see.
(And tripping over things you can't see. And moving into another bad guy.)
Post Auto Accident Tips by John Murphy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1sh6sFk-Y&feature=share
Lessons from a Texas Church Shooting by Massad Ayoob
https://americanhandgunner.com/our-experts/lessons-from-a-texas-church-shooting/
Excerpt:
". . . He is in a Chapman-style modified Weaver stance, gun arm locked straight
and support arm bent and pulling tight . . ."
Jack Weaver’s original Weaver stance had both arms bent. Chapman’s modification
was to lock out the firing side elbow (so the firing side arm acts as the stock
of a long gun), bend the support side elbow and pull it down in front of the chest
(to allow pulling with the support side bicep muscle); push with the firing side
and pull with the support side.
Why do we teach the Weaver platform?
The advantages of the Weaver stance are that:
1. It places your support side arm in front of the vital organs in your torso, making
it more difficult for the enemy to strike your heart and lungs. (For those of us who
do not regularly wear body armor. If you are wearing body armor, it makes sense
to present the front of your armor to the enemy and not expose the side of your
armor.)
2. It is the same stance for pistol and long gun. So, transitioning between the two
is easier than with other positions. We expect to transition. ["The purpose of the
pistol is to give you time to get to your rifle." – Jeff Cooper
If the forest is too dense to maneuver a long gun, or the building's passages are too
narrow for a long gun, or the tunnels are too small for a long gun, we will
transition to our pistol.]
3. It allows the shooter to pull with the support side arm bicep. If the support side
arm is locked out straight (as in the isosceles stance), you can't pull with the
support side arm. You have to pull with the support side arm to prevent the muzzle
from flipping up on recoil. If the muzzle flips up on recoil, it takes longer and is
harder to get the sights on the target for the second and subsequent shots.
4. It looks more aggressive to the enemy (a significant psychological advantage)
because it is a fighting stance similar to a boxing stance. The body language says,
“I am ready and willing to fight.”
5. It reduces the width of the target that you present to the enemy. This has a
strong psychological affect on the enemy as it makes his target smaller and thus
reduces his confidence in hitting his target.
6. It gives the shooter a supported position when the shooter transitions to the
kneeling position or the squatting position.
7. The Harries flashlight technique uses the Weaver stance.
http://michaelharries.com/index.php
8. It flows naturally from the interview position that you assumed, because you
were aware of the situation, because you were in condition yellow when the enemy
started the incident.
I read a gun magazine web page article in which the author (a young kid)
(At 61, I can refer to 30 year olds as young kids.)
referred to the Weaver stance as "old and dusty". Freedom of speech and a free
internet. You have a duty to practice due diligence. Because stupidity runs
rampant on the internet.
Finding a “Hard Corner” by SHAWN VINCENT
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33309
Mr. Vincent advises to find a hard corner and wait for police to arrive.
I wouldn't bet my life on the police arriving at all. My downstairs neighbor
called 911 when some guys tried to kick in her front door (attempted home
invasion). The Metro Nashville police never showed up. Hey, Saturday night,
lots of activity. I get it. But, the fact remains, the police never arrived.
So, waiting for the police to arrive is not good advice. How long are you
going to wait? Until the enemy is able to break the door?
Escape out of the residence? Counter attack? Call friends for help?
(Which is what my neighbor did. I arrived in 15 minutes. Her husband nee
boyfriend arrived in 30 minutes. She left to sleep at a friend's house.
I waited for the police to show up. They never did.)
If the police in your jurisdiction get de-funded, how long are you going
to wait? Oh, I'm sorry. That was a sarcastic rhetorical question. There
won't be any police left when there is no funding for the police and the
active police officers are all being prosecuted by the District Attorney.
In Nashville, District Attorney Glenn Funk is prosecuting Metro Police Officer
Andrew Delke for 1st degree murder in the shooting of Daniel Hambrick in
July of 2018. The facts of the case are known and were made public. No one
is arguing facts. The prosecution is purely to appease Black Lives Matter
and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Education -----
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
My pastor, Heath Cross, says,
Books are meant to be read cover to cover.
In order to learn how to read, he recommends,
"An Experiment in Criticism" by C. S. Lewis, 1961.
C.S. Lewis says there are three types of readers:
Illiterate - cannot read at a high level.
Aliterate - can read at a high level, but don't.
Literate - actually read at a high level.
(Aliterate in the sense of asocial, as opposed to antisocial or social)
[I am not misspelling the word "alliterate".]
Some will not read. Some will read a book only once. Some will read a book
many times, getting more out of it every time.
"How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Jerome Adler, 1940.
Do you take the things that you have learned from the book along with you in your
life?
"Conscientious Objections" by Neil Postman, 1988.
Some read for entertainment, some for information, but very few engage the text.
He recommends reading the King James version of the Bible. It will
open Shakespeare to you.
Pastor Cross recounts at seminary how many confessed that they had never read
the Bible cover to cover. In the first century, Jesus of Nazareth revealed
God to the illiterate masses through spoken parables. In our times, God
reveals Himself to us through a book. (because the masses around here are
at least functionally literate) You have to be able to read at a high level
in order to understand. Because the Bible is a translation of
a translation of a translation of ancient man's way of explaining things
in the context of that time. There are many things not mentioned because
they did not exist at that time. There are many things mentioned that
no longer exist.
In order to read, you have to have a scholarly dictionary at hand.
May I recommend American Heritage,
https://www.ahdictionary.com/
and Random House,
https://www.dictionary.com/
Without the etymology and connotations, you won't get the allusions.
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part I, An Interview with William Aprill
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-i
The Psychology of Deterring Attackers–Part 2, An Interview with William Aprill
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/the-psychology-of-deterring-attackers-part-2
Excerpt:
Ask, Tell, Make.
We ask once, we tell once, and then we make ready.
Ask, Tell, Make provides a layered, articulable explanation for
what you did and why you did it.
Every inch is your friend, so keep moving.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.” Tape loop.
"Four Cases That Show How An Eyewitness Can Be Unreliable" by Massad Ayoob
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/06/massad-ayoob-four-cases-that-show-the-unreliability-of-eyewitness-testimony/#massad-ayoob-eyewitness-1
Excerpt:
If you are not looking for something, you very likely will not see it.
If you are not listening for something, you very likely will not hear it.
And if you do not understand what you have seen or heard,
it is as if you had not seen or heard it at all.
Check out the resources at USA Carry.
https://www.usacarry.com/concealed-carry-resources.html
Concealed carry maps.
State reciprocity maps.
Check out the resources at
https://handgunlaw.us/
"Straight Talk on Armed Defense" edited by Massad Ayoob. The authors are:
John Hearne, Dr. Anthony Semone, Dr. Alexis Artwohl, Dr. William Aprill,
Craig “Southnarc” Douglas, Massad Ayoob, Tom Givens, Spencer Blue,
Ron Borsch, Harvey Hedden, Jim Fleming, and Marty Hayes.
https://www.gundigeststore.com/product/straight-talk-on-armed-defense/
ISBN: 9781440247545
I recommend this book.
A collection of essays by subject matter experts. Though some of
their discussions are not in line with their expertise as given in
their short bios. Some of the authors have given citations in a scholarly
manner. Others, not so much.
I got the downloaded PDF version, so I could read it immediately;
thinking that I could copy and paste excerpts into my review. No such
luck. The PDF file is "Secured". Can't copy, can't print, etc. Ya,
I could have broken it, but if they don't want people to excerpt, I'll
respect it. So, I paraphrase below and the text in quotes might have typos.
---
Study Craig's comments on "un-equal initiative" and "un-proportional armament".
". . . the criminal has no ego investment in who wins or loses."
[Well, I don't believe that's true. Tom Givens told us of a study
in which the vast majority of interviewed convicts reported that the
reason they attacked/killed the victim was because the victim "dissed"
(displayed disrespect toward) the convict. I think your failure to
submit would be perceived as a show of disrespect. But, my experiences
are not statistically significant. -- Jon Low]
Close range, multiple assailants, presence of a weapon.
"Every criminal assault that is not an ambush will begin with an encroachment problem."
"Arc to the [enemy's] 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position."
Study Col. Grossman's comments on "virgins discussing sex".
---
"Lone Citizen Heroes" by Ron Borsch
Excerpts:
Only about half of rapid mass murders were stopped by anyone.
Of the half that were stopped, 2/3rds were stopped by on-site citizens
(mostly unarmed) or on-site security, not off-site police officers!
Winners and survivors are those who arrive at the act stage before
their adversary does. (In the context of the OODA loop.) The prepared
and practiced always act faster.
We tend to assume that the police will recognize we are one of
the good guys and this assumption can get us killed.
[Mr. Borsch advocates rendering first aid to the person you just
shot. Because it will look good in court. I disagree. You should
assume the person you just shot is playing opossum and will kill
you if you get close enough. -- Jon Low]
Mr. Borsch's words are more elegant than mine, but the sentiment
is that all mass murders happen in gun-free-zones.
---
"Moving Forward" by Massad Ayoob
Excerpt:
We fear what we do not understand, and what we cannot control.
[Ayoob then urges the reader to educate himself to understand the
enemy, and then get training and practice to be able to control
the situation.]
5 words of advice for millenials in college
(actually for everyone, especially the part about reading)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCdOap1Bpg8
Free books of the day by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2020/07/14/free-books-of-the-day/
cognoscente = A person with superior, usually specialized knowledge or
highly refined taste; a connoisseur.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
I shot an AR-15 type match with iron sights at my club this morning.
I hadn't shot a rifle match with iron sights since my last Known Distance
qualification course in the Marine Corps in 1985. I knew I was going to have
trouble because I could not see the targets at 100, 200, 300, and 500 yards.
(I could barely resolve the berm at 500 yards.) The targets were 8" diameter
steel plates.
My eye glass prescription is correct. I can focus. But, I couldn't
resolve. I can see the tree. It's bright, clear, and in focus. But, I
can't distinguish individual leaves as I used to be able to. Resolution is
a function of the objective lens size. Humans can't change their lens
size at will. (lens, not pupil) And unlike goats who have rectangular
pupils, human pupils are circular. So, I couldn't improve target resolution
by turning my head 90 degrees to either side. This is the result of aging
from 20 to 60. But, any alternative to aging is suboptimal. Not to worry,
as a human I can buy telescopic sights. We do whatever we need to do to
stay at the top of the food chain.
The shooters were talking after the match and one old timer said,
"Shooting 100 yards is the same at shooting 500 yards. Same technique,
same sight alignment."
Another old timer replied,
"I've been in construction my whole life. You put a 2X4 on the ground and
anyone can walk on it without falling off. But, you suspend it between
scaffolding a couple floors up and you won't be able to find anyone willing
to walk on it, much less able to. As long as you know it ain't the same,
it ain't the same."
That's why you have to practice your long range, 25 yard, pistol shots.
Practicing at 7 yards will not translate to being able to hit at 25 yards.
Cause it ain't the same. Ya, you're going to use the same sight alignment.
But, not the same sight picture, because the front sight will be huge
compared to the target. Not the same trigger control, probably much slower.
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
Issues with Weapon Mounted Lights by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/issues-with-weapon-mounted-lights
Excerpt:
"Weapon Mounted Lights are for shooting. Handheld lights are for searching."
More Info on Weapon-Mounted Lights by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/more-info-on-weapon-mounted-lights
"Always inspect ammo regardless of brand." by Jeff Boren
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CitizensSafety/permalink/759203961483536/
In case you don't understand the picture, the bullets are seated at
an incorrect depth in the case. This is factory new Federal ammo. If you
look carefully, you can see the bulge in the brass case indicating the
back end of the bullet.
If you make peanut butter in your kitchen, you can make it with
zero percent rat feces. But, if you mass produce peanut butter, you
get a certain percentage. That's why the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
has standards that tolerate a certain percentage of rat feces in your peanut
butter. The cost of maintaining a zero percentage would make the retail
price of peanut butter prohibitive. Another one of the lovely things you
learn in business school (or industrial engineering courses in engineering
school).
The analogy does not hold, because loading modern ammo safely is much
more complex (difficult) than making peanut butter safely.
I listened to a pod cast,
https://ftaprotect.com/blog/changes-in-the-gun-industry-that-every-instructor-should-know-about
in which a panel of firearms instructors from Firearms Trainers Association said,
A student will bring a revolver to your class. You have to be able
to teach the student how to run that revolver. Because that student
doesn't want to hear "That revolver is not an appropriate gun for self
defense." [I paraphrase.]
Yes, you as a instructor need to be knowledgeable in the running
of a revolver, so that you can teach the student how to do a support
hand only reload.
The student is paying you to tell him the truth, whether he wants
to hear it or not. If you fail to explain to him why the revolver is
not appropriate for self-defense / combat, then you are negligent in your
duty to instruct.
As Tom Givens says,
The revolver is inappropriate for self-defense because it takes too
long to reload, is too difficult to reload, and has to be reloaded
too often.
I would add that the modern double action revolver is inherently
a "double-action-only" tool for combat. Cocking the hammer (if it exists)
is inappropriate for combat because the trigger pull becomes too light
to control in a high stress situation and requires the operation of cocking
which costs time. The double action trigger pull is long and heavy. This
makes accuracy very difficult for persons with short fingers or weak hands;
or those who don't train enough (which is the vast majority of our community).
So, the truth is that the revolver is inappropriate for self-defense.
If you don't explain this to your students, you are doing them a grave
disservice.
10 Top .45 Pistol Options For Any Budget by Elwood Shelton
https://gundigest.com/handguns/10-top-45-pistol-options-for-any-budget
The real advantage of a 45 ACP cartridge is that it is slow, as in
sub-sonic (~850 feet per second). (Sonic is 1100 to 1200 feet per second,
depending on the environment.) So, the 45 ACP is a much more efficient
projectile, because it is not losing energy to a super-sonic shock wave.
Lower speed means less air resistance, less energy loss to the environment.
That means more energy on target. Almost all other self-defense pistol
rounds are super-sonic at the muzzle.
But, doesn't that mean that its trajectory is not as flat as the
faster rounds? Yes, but the deviation from a Least Action space-time
line (light beam) is not significant at self-defense pistol distances.
If zeroed at 25 yards, the point of impact will be within an inch of
the point of aim from 0 to 25 yards.
If zeroed at 7 yards, the point of impact will be about 9 inches
high at 25 yards. So, if you aim at the center of the 8" diameter
(4" radius) plate at 25 yards, your bullet will miss over the top of
the plate by about an inch.
As long as super-sonic bullets are super-sonic they are in front
of their shock wave moving through clear air. When they slow to make
the transition from super-sonic to sub-sonic speed, they are in their
own shock wave, which means turbulent air, which means unstable flight;
and a huge loss of energy. The sub-sonic rounds don't have this problem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMERTIME CONCEALED CARRY by Ms. Stavroula Avramidis
How to carry (and DRAW) from different outfits and holsters!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKaaj6e7Vk
Information starts at 1:44. This is a women's clothing and concealment video.
---
Women's Concealed Carry (play list)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyqh82Fgaaklv0fLeXm8z1aVHEIn4Gvd3
---
Gear Reviews (play list)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyqh82FgaaklRndUaNxWDt631piEuUJyA
---
CONCEALED CARRY FASHION SHOW | 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKIyh1s5Tb0&list=PLyqh82Fgaaklv0fLeXm8z1aVHEIn4Gvd3&index=20&t=0s
She is one of those who can rock a between the thighs holster.
---
Ms. Avramidis offers a free book on Home Defense,
https://www.sheequipsherself.com/services
---
Her web site,
https://www.sheequipsherself.com/
Good web site for female beginners. Very friendly.
---
I appreciate her reading list.
TOP 7 SELF-DEFENSE BOOKS | Books I recommend for concealed carry and self defense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGPlq6whGng&list=PLyqh82FgaaklRndUaNxWDt631piEuUJyA&index=3&t=0s
---
TACTICA DEFENSE FASHION | Try-on and review of concealed carry clothing and holsters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJoDVSKd7k0
Use code "Stavroula10" for 10% off your purchase at https://tacticafashion.com
---
BELLY BAND COMPARISON AND REVIEW | Rating 4 belly bands! Bravobelt, Tactica, Crossbreed, CanCan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfw1QSEbhCw
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safest Belly Band Holster | Tactica Belly Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95imLlf-RJ8
Kim's Corner Ep 7: Belly Band Holster: Crossbreed Modular Belly Band Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOR_yt4csTg
Concealed Carry in Skirts and Dresses!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ja4mUIO4mw
Apparently there are women who can rock the between the thighs holster.
DATE NIGHT CONCEALED CARRY | Outfit & Holster Ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1feHzZXRqE4
The advantages of thigh carry when wearing a coat.
Skirts give you options. You have access to the waistline and to the thighs.
I would wear the garter belt, because I would worry about the thigh holster
sliding down my leg.
I would go with the sticky stuff against my skin to prevent the belly band
from moving around.
If you're going to wear a purse holster, the strap has to have a steel cable
running through it, and has to be across your body, not just over one shoulder.
Concealed Carry for Women Summer Style Guide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge_G_cLdzr4
Excerpt:
Knowing you can defend yourself without sacrificing your style.
Knot your shirt in front.
[Check out the outboard thigh holster.
Ya, I love chambray shirts.]
A montage of stylish concealed carry.
https://www.instagram.com/stylemetactical/
Concealed Carry Options For Women - What Is Right For You?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWts0wtwenA
A review of carry methods suitable for women. Some interesting hacks for purse carry.
5 Ways To Conceal in Summer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHLDLo9Q740
The problem with the Sticky holster is that when you use the toilet
you have to put the holstered pistol somewhere.
Dene Adams Concealed Carry Holsters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GJlFEXOcw
What a great video.
So, the purpose of the foregoing was to prove that women can wear stylish
clothing and carry concealed. So, don't use fashion as an excuse as to why you
aren't carrying. No one's going to care about the excuse when the bad guys attack.
Can't find pipe cleaners because they are politically incorrect?
Don't like the "fuzzy sticks" at Hobby Lobby because they have too much lint?
Try "Randy's bristled pipe cleaners" in regular and extra long. Available at
your local smoke shop. The bristles are stiff nylon. So, they are not going
to scourer as would a bronze bore brush. But, they work pretty well for gas
tubes and trigger mechanisms.
Tactical Target Systems
https://tacticaltargetsystems.com/
sent me some cardboard targets that are designed to hold 2 ceramic trap or skeet
targets, one in the center of the head and one in the high thoracic cavity. So,
that from a distance you can see when you hit the target.
https://tacticaltargetsystems.com/cardboard-training-targets/
They work. I thought you might be interested in using them.
No, I did not pay for them. No, I did not ask for them.
Is Hollowpoint the Best Defensive Ammo for Concealed Carry? by Massad Ayoob
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/hollowpoint-best-defensive-ammo-concealed-carry
An essay explaining why the threat of over penetration should cause you
to choose to use hollow point ammo.
Tuckable holsters
https://www.vedderholsters.com/iwb/
https://www.77solutionsedc.com/shop/25374025/appendix-carry
https://aliengearholsters.com/alien-gear-cloak-tuck-iwb-holster-inside-the-waistband.html
https://www.phlsterholsters.com/shop/phlseter-skeleton-holster/
As in you can tuck your dress shirt over them.
Streamlight Stylus PRO USB Penlight by Tom McHale
https://americanhandgunner.com/gear/streamlight-stylus-pro-usb-penlight/
apophthegm = A terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim.
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Hoppe's Videos
https://www.hoppes.com/hoppes-learn/ho-videos.html
Check out the videos on how to clean your firearm.
How to Adjust Open Sights on a Handgun by Mark Dye
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2020/7/13/how-to-adjust-open-sights-on-a-handgun/
Ya, you've got to have a sight pusher tool. But, that might not be enough.
The Springfield Armory XD's are extremely tight. I've never been able to push
the rear sight on those pistols. Got to put it in a vice (make sure you put a
piece of leather between the pistol slide and vice jaws) and tap it with a
bronze punch and hammer. Got to etch some marks on the rear sight and the slide
so you can tell how far you've moved the sight.
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
What All Instructors Need To Know (quotes from Tom Givens)
https://ftaprotect.com/blog/what-all-instructors-need-to-know-699030369
Excerpt:
Any trainer who hasn’t taken any training himself in the last
ten years is probably teaching obsolete doctrine.
"How I Changed How I Teach Self Defense Law In My CCW Classes" by Jacob Paulson
https://lawofselfdefense.com/how-i-changed-how-i-teach-self-defense-law-in-my-ccw-classes/
I always have one of Andrew Branca's Law of Self Defense classes (live or online)
as part of my Defensive Pistol course. I must admit that sometimes the students neglect
to attend. But, one can only lead a horse to water.
Be careful what you teach. Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do, no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Pedagogy -----
Teach positive. Teach what to do. Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
On The Range: Mars vs Venus by Tatiana Whitlock
https://americanshootingjournal.com/on-the-range-mars-vs-venus/
“I Grew Up Around Guns.”
The civilian equivalent to "Qualifying Expert" on the rifle or handgun range.
by Keith Finch
https://gatdaily.com/i-grew-up-around-guns/
Excerpt:
“If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent . . .
The skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills
you need to recognize what a right answer is.” -- Dunning
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
***** ***** ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical ***** ***** *****
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
Man Exploits Man! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/man-exploits-man/
Excerpt:
“Under capitalism, man exploits man.
Under Communism, it’s just the opposite!”
-- John Kenneth Galbraith
We used to deride each other by asking,
If it went to trial, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Marine?
If the communists (Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Democrats, etc.) take control,
will there be enough evidence to convict you of being a capitalist? a patriot?
a Constitutionalist?
Escalation of Force by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLksnLUA8Do&feature=emb_logo
The enemy with a knife is a deadly force threat at 21 feet (7 yards),
which means at 21 feet it's a tie, which means you get stabbed and die. It doesn't
matter that you shot him. You win the fight by not getting stabbed.
After being shot with a shotgun in the heart, the bad guy still has 5 to 15
seconds of mobility. That's more than enough time to kill you.
Voters need to demand change from the GOP by Tucker Carlson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS-bsetu01w
Meritocracy.
Freedom of speech is freedom of thought.
Serve the middle class.
Five (5) Things Every Gun Owner Needs To Know by Arizona Attorney Marc J. Victor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaBu2aH_fB0
1. Just shut up. (Mr. Victor gives many reasons.)
Exceptions: call 911, traffic tickets, only after consultation with your attorney.
2. It all comes down to reasonableness.
3. Lawyers don't argue about the law, they argue about the facts. (Not even the
facts, but rather what witnesses say happened. And of course, everyone is lying;
intentionally or unintentionally.)
4. Mandatory minimum sentences. (That the jury never knows about.)
Would you risk a 50% chance of 20 years to life in prison against a 100% chance of probation?
That's a plea bargain.
5. You will be prosecuted. So, is what's going to happen worse than being prosecuted?
Wow, this guy practices in Hawaii. That's a tough jurisdiction; corrupt and full of nasty people.
What the MSM (Main Stream Media) Was Afraid to Tell You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIKTJ7HeR3s
What you believe depends on the sources you choose to consume. I offer the
above as an alternative to the main stream media. (As are John Farnam's Quips.)
Security clearances are for consumers of intelligence. Producers don't care
or need clearances. The intelligence services are massive bloated bureaucracies.
They produce very little useful intelligence. The vast majority of what they
write in their reports and stamp classified comes from open sources.
We are productive citizens. We are not consumptive citizens.
The consumptive citizens are well defined. The multi-generational welfare
recipients. The drug addicts and homeless who use our hospital emergency rooms
as hotel rooms and never pay. The recipients of government grants. et al
Never confuse compassion with criminal stupidity. Such misinterpretation of
truth has tragic consequences.
Little Choice!
https://defense-training.com/little-choice/
Tom Givens writes,
From NSSF - MOST BACKGROUND CHECKS EVER RECORDED FOR JUNE
June 2020’s NICS-adjusted background checks were nearly off the chart.
It was the highest figure ever recorded in June and the second highest
on record since instant background checks began more than 20 years ago.
The June 2020 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 2,177,586 is an increase of
135.7 percent compared to June 2019.
Associated Press report,
https://apnews.com/8ddad3189eb8864e9ae6b123e09b6900
Excerpt:
Chipman, a retired agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the numbers are not mere blips.
“This can no longer be characterized as a spike. This is a sustained
uptick in sales that has continued for an unprecedented amount of
months now,” he said.
Virginia Gun Sales Surge 157 Percent in June 2020
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/06/virginia-gun-sales-surge-157-percent-in-june-2020/
NYTimes: ‘Nothing to See’ as Murders Spike 22 Percent Amid Protests
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2020/07/06/nytimes-nothing-to-see-as-murders-spike-22-percent-amid-protests/
The big Democrat cities defund their police departments and release
all arrested suspects without bail. So, violent crime skyrockets. So,
the people buy guns to protect themselves. What's not to understand?
One America News Network
https://www.oann.com/
Check out Liz Wheeler on YouTube.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN5P7dx0mfY&list=PUMfKNuYXBc9bxb0fg2cGTBg&index=64
The following is in the legal section because it is legal advice concerning
liability aimed at the large number of people who carry a pistol, but are incompetent
to do so, because of lack of training and practice.
"Why You Should Never Keep a Round Chambered in Your Firearm" by Firearms Attorney Marc J. Victor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq6DVlBJwLM
Every gun school that I have attended teaches to carry your pistol with
a round in the chamber, because there will not be time to chamber a round, and
you may not have the mental or physical capacity to chamber a round.
Mr. Victor is speaking to persons who carry, but are incompetent because
of lack of training. Such persons present a danger to themselves and others
by unintentionally firing their pistols. For such persons Mr. Victor advises
carrying with an empty chamber. This is legal liability advice to incompetent
gun carriers. This is not tactical advice to competent operators.
Appropriate Force - A Citizen's Guide to Self Protection by Michael Mann
https://youtu.be/D8nWTTN4qQg
Minimal reasonable force does not mean equal force.
You must have a training program for your security team for physical protection.
Force continuum:
1. Avoidance
2. Presence (demonstration that you are aware of the threat, not a show of force)
3. Call for help, call police
4. Verbalization (tell them what you expect from them, ask them to stop, ask them to leave)
5. Physical control (hands, intermediate weapons, etc. In TN you need training and a
certificate to possess a baton. I said "possess", not "use".)
6. Deadly force
Escalation may be very fast.
Appropriate force considerations:
Age
Relative strength
Size
Skill level
Multiple assailants
Display of a firearm. Study the law.
Threat is intent (you can't read their minds, you have to look at behaviors and
what they are saying) and capability (do they have the means?).
Practice low ready (not pointing at the assailant). Know how to do it.
Know when to use it. Research the laws of your state.
Consider your weapons handling and where you are pointing your muzzles.
Ignorance of the law is no defense. You don't have the immunity and privileges
that the police have.
Disparity of Force by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/33301
Proportionality, not disparity. Force is either deadly force
(death or serious bodily injury) or non-deadly force.
What is in each category depends on state law. Use of a pillow can be
deadly force if used to smother the other person. Position of disadvantage.
Injury. Knowledge of the enemy at the time. Past experience of the
other person.
The battered spouse can't shoot the abuser while he's sleeping
and use the legal defense of self-defense. But, there have been cases
where the beating wasn't imminent, but was inevitable / unavoidable.
Battered spouse syndrome. And so, was acquitted. Details were given
at a lecture at one of the Tactical Conferences in one of the past 5 years.
The MUST AVOID Self-Defense Insurance Trap by Attorney Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/the-must-avoid-self-defense-insurance-trap/
Lockton is offering self-defense insurance that reimburses expenses
only after the charges are dropped or you are acquitted. So, there is a
huge financial incentive for Lockton to ensure you get convicted. So,
buying this insurance is criminal stupidity.
As Andrew says, "This insurance program is not fit for purpose."
Here are a couple of articles that review self-defense insurance programs.
Pre-paid legal services:
6 Concealed Carry Insurance Options To Protect Your Six (2019)
by Gun Digest Editors
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/4-self-defense-insurance-options
Self-Defense Gun Owner Insurance Programs Compared
https://www.concealedcarry.com/self-defense-gun-owner-insurance-programs-compared/
This web page, the chart, and the PDF file are updated on a regular basis.
Be careful about USCCA,
https://lawofselfdefense.com/uscca-sued-in-federal-court-refused-to-cover-platinum-member/
https://www.thetowntalk.com/story/news/2019/10/18/kayla-giles-files-lawsuit-over-halted-payments-self-defense-policy/4023210002/
The headlines in The Town Talk (a Louisiana news organization, I'm trying to be polite)
articles claim Giles twice admitted that she murdered Thomas Coutee Jr. (the ex-husband). Nothing
could be further from the truth. She admitted to shooting him. She admitted to killing him.
She also claimed self-defense. Which means she claims that the killing was righteous.
One has to be very careful when reading "news reports". As my English professor, Yerkes,
once told me, "There is no journalism. There is only propaganda.", referring to the Columbia
University Journalism School.
Symptoms! by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/symptoms/
And now for the other side of the coin --
Black Lives Matter thought they had a great relationship with the Nashville
politicians, as Mayor Cooper attended one of their recent rallies in spite of
the Mayor's order forbidding gatherings of 10 or more persons. But, the extremely
liberal Democrats of the Nashville City Council and Mayor stabbed BLM in the back
by increasing the Metro Nashville Police Department budget by 1.5 million dollars
in the budget passed last week. (They also increased property taxes by 37%.)
It's one thing to mouth support for a cause. It's an entirely different
thing to give up your police bodyguards. No one in their right mind would do
that, said the council rep. from my district.
All Time High: Now Over 18.6 Million Concealed Carry Permit Holders by Chris Eger
https://www.guns.com/news/2019/10/04/all-time-high-now-over-18-6-million-concealed-carry-permit-holders
Primary source,
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3463357
Gun Laws by state
https://amedia.concealedcarry.com/resources/Law+Summary+E-Book-20190304.pdf
Gun laws --
https://handgunlaw.us
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com
"Indiana Waives 5-Year Gun Permit Fees, Protects Owners From Civil Suits" by Personal Defense World
https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2020/07/indiana-gun-permit-fees-civil-suits/
By July 2020 Indiana Carry Licenses Will be Completely Free by Luke C.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2020/06/30/indiana-carry-licenses-free/
Excerpt:
. . . [S]tarting July 1st, 2020 Indiana will be the first state to offer
a permit without any sort of fee and one of only eight states that require no
training of any kind in order to obtain the license.
Make The Aggressor Work For The Fight by Don West and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvwXDKMvNs0
Trump Administration Legalizes Commercial Exportation of Suppressors
https://americansuppressorassociation.com/suppressor-exportation-now-legal/
Higher sales volume of any commodity leads to lower consumer prices,
as the manufactures can realize economy of scale. This will also create a
larger international constituency for suppressors, making rescinding this
policy very difficult for future administrations or congresses.
What You Say WILL Be Used Against You . . .
https://lp.uslawshield.com/webinar-exclusive-7-13-stream/
Excerpts:
"Don't make any statements. Don't make any witnesses." [If your spouse runs down
the stairs and you tell her what just happened, you have made a witness. She can
testify to what you said. Excited utterances. "She would never testify against me."
Maybe not, now. But, you get into a nasty divorce a decade in the future, she might
change her mind. There is no statute of limitations on murder. -- Jon Low]
Take all the stupid bumper stickers off your car.
Deal with reality. Suck it up.
Have lawyer immediately available. [This takes money and action on your part.]
Don't say stupid/extremist things on social media.
911 call: your name, where you are, you are the victim, ask for police,
ask for an ambulance, and hang up the phone. Don't worry about being rude. Just hang up.
Saying, "I'm sorry." is consciousness of guilt. Don't say it. Because you are
not saying anything.
"I invoke my right to remain silent. I invoke my right to an attorney."
And then shut up. Your silence cannot be used against you at trial.
If you have the incident recorded, let the cops download it. If you attempt to
download it, and accidentally format the drive, you have tampered with evidence.
The attorneys on the panel mentioned this because it actually happened.
What you say before being Mirandized will be used against you.
What you say when you are not in custody will be used against you.
What you say when you are not being interrogated will be used against you.
So, be silent.
The government may hold your weapon as physical evidence for the entire statute
of limitations. (There is no statute of limitation for murder.) So, you have to
have another identical pistol. Because if the government returns it, it may be rusted
beyond recognition. Or, tested to the point of destruction. Or, lost.
You legally have to identify yourself to the police: name, address, date of birth;
maybe more depending on your state.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
Lessons Learned from a Home Invasion Attempt by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/lessons-learned-from-a-home-invasion-attempt
Willingness is a state of mind. Preparedness (or lack thereof) is a fact.
***** ***** ***** Basics ***** ***** *****
“Often, it’s what you don’t know that kills you!”
-- Carr
CONCEALED CARRY: WHERE DO I START? by Ms. Stavroula Avramidis
Step-by-step guide to licensing, classes, and getting started!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BdekvdwZQQ
Range Commands by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/6/27/range-commands/
Advice For Your First Shooting Class(es) by David Zakar
https://thehebrewhammer.net/2020/06/16/advice-for-your-first-shooting-classes/
Are you able to rack the slide of your pistol? If not, read this article.
[How-To] Rack a Pistol Slide With Weak Hands by By Alice Jones Webb
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/how-to-rack-pistol-slide-weak-hands/
Eventually, we have to move you to a real pistol. The 380 Auto is
just too weak. Statistically, it will not stop an attacker with two shots.
How to Keep Shooting Fun For Beginners by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2020/7/7/how-to-keep-shooting-fun-for-beginners/
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
***** ***** ***** Miscellany ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Remembering Charlie Daniels, a True Second Amendment Advocate by Mark Chesnut
https://www.ballisticmag.com/2020/07/13/remembering-charlie-daniels-second-amendment-advocate/
Every year we would auction off a fiddle autographed by Charlie Daniels
at the Friends of the NRA banquet.
Testosterone: The World’s Most Potent Poison by Will Dabbs, MD
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/testosterone-the-worlds-most-potent-poison/
A funny story and great pictures. I never got to watch the combined arms
exercises. We were always inside, running the comm center.
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
/* Random data from the HotBits radioactive random number generator */
unsigned char hotBits[128] =
{ 168, 53, 251, 18, 158, 9, 108, 232, 248, 79, 166, 69, 3, 162, 172, 78,
96, 34, 88, 230, 129, 80, 129, 28, 27, 164, 150, 79, 20, 215, 40, 0,
30, 147, 207, 210, 176, 126, 173, 63, 236, 254, 17, 11, 39, 48, 49, 156,
49, 175, 62, 98, 147, 162, 18, 55, 123, 219, 159, 55, 175, 165, 255,
234, 229, 148, 110, 219, 63, 24, 142, 227, 166, 165, 219, 146, 19, 109,
236, 147, 79, 31, 83, 89, 127, 82, 118, 135, 178, 159, 226, 88, 25, 211,
145, 148, 139, 72, 150, 100, 199, 8, 190, 132, 19, 187, 104, 79, 45,
203, 161, 208, 169, 141, 194, 229, 225, 17, 97, 126, 66, 44, 160, 74,
96, 80, 207, 14
}; // The unsigned char data type contains values from 0 to 255.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
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