Hi Sheepdogs,
All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones. Criminals choose these venues because
they know that no one will be able to stop them. In gun-friendly-zones, a good guy
with a gun stops the criminal before the body count reaches the threshold to be called
a "mass murder". So, going into gun-free-zones is an act of criminal stupidity. Sending
your children into gun-free-zones, especially schools, is child neglect. If you do it
intentionally, it's child abuse.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
"Better to stay out of trouble than get out of trouble."
-- Tactical Professor (Claude Werner)
In his book, "What The Dog Saw", Malcolm Gladwell explains the difference between
choking and panic in the chapter titled "The Art Of Failure" on page 269.
". . . Choking is about thinking too much. Panic is about thinking too little.
Choking is about loss of instinct. Panic is reversion to instinct. They may look
the same, but they are worlds apart."
". . . how failure happens is central to understanding why failure happens."
So, that we can avoid failure. Which means making the correct decision, as to who
to shoot, and hitting the intended target on demand, every time. Yes, you can,
if you understand what you're doing. If you can take yourself off of autopilot.
Read the book. At least read the chapter. I highly recommend.
Reverting to fundamentals when things go wrong is generally a good thing.
(But, you have to know when it is a good thing.)
You have to be able to revert. You have to be able to force yourself to revert to
fundamentals under stress. That takes training, which takes understanding,
otherwise your training is counter productive.
"Generally, when you revert to fundamentals, you lose fluidity, you lose the
fine touch. You start operating as a beginner, because in a sense, you are a
beginner again. So, you will not have the greatest sensitivity in force and timing."
Let me stop before I butcher Gladwell's fine work. Please read his work.
“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.)
"Train and Live With Your Defensive Firearm" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Excerpt:
"So I have to tell you that Col. Cooper was exactly right – it’s important to live with
that defensive gun. And I would add that the smart person will shoot their gun every
chance they get – at all kinds of targets and all kinds of ranges."
"Why We Suck, and How to Fix That" by John Mosby
An essay on the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
Excerpts:
“The Foole doth thinke he is wise, but the wiseman knowes himselfe to be a Foole.”
– William Shakespeare
“Incompetent people do not recognize—scratch that, cannot recognize—just how
incompetent they are…”
– David Dunning
“An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that is filled
with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, facts, intuitions, strategies,
algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the feel of useful
and accurate knowledge.”
– David Dunning
"Number One, assume that what you know is wrong, or at least, incomplete.
Continue seeking new knowledge, and improving your frame-of-reference, by
making it more broad." -- John Mosby
"Number Two, assume that whatever performance standard you develop will be
a MINIMUM standard. You’re not the only guy out there trying to get better, and
become more dangerous. Once you’ve achieved a MINIMUM standard, raise the
bar of performance. DO NOT EVER SETTLE!" -- John Mosby
---
Primary source document.
"Unskilled and Unaware of It:
How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own
Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"
by Justin Kruger and David Dunning
Smart people learn from everything and everyone,
Average people from their experiences,
Stupid people already have all the answers.
-- Socrates
From an email from Patrick Kilchermann --
I (Patrick Kilchermann) remember him (Patrick's father) once telling me:
"Pat. If you ever have to fight, you FIGHT. You hit him hard and keep hitting
him again and again until he's on the ground. As many hits as it takes. You might
have to hit him in the face 20 times in a row. But you hit him until he starts falling,
you hit him as he's falling, and you hit him until he's on the ground. As fast as
you can swing - both hands. And if he tries to get right back up, you hit him again.
Do NOT let him get up. Kick him if you have to. There's only one reason a man
tries to jump back up after he's been hit. If he gets the first hit, you'll probably lose;
if you let him get up he's gunna be madder than you and you'll probably lose."
Now, my dad wasn't someone you argued with, but I was a bit surprised.
His wisdom wasn't exactly how I thought most fights went at that 'tender young age'.
So I said: "Is that fair? Fighting like that?"
He said: "Right now I'm not telling you what's fair! I'm telling you how to win
fights. Do what I said if you want to win, don't do it if you want to lose."
You vote with your dollars. So, buy American and buy local.
"4 Reasons to Shop Your Local Gun Store" by Brad Fitzpatrick
"Traffic Stops: What CCW Citizens Need to Know" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Be polite!
. . . And that’s why the wise person, especially the wisely armed Guardian,
never stops practicing his or her skills. Because the more you subject yourself
to practice, and the more you witness yourself producing good results, the
greater and more long-lasting your confidence becomes.
. . . unless you know what to expect, you’re simply not prepared. And the
corollary: if you DO know what to expect, you are vastly more prepared.
. . . confidence makes you far less likely to ever need your gun, and it makes
you far more likely to win and survive if you ever DO need it.
-- Patrick Kilchermann
"The Choice!" BY JOHN FARNAM
Excerpt:
As I recently exited the sanctuary of our small church in CO and entered the
lobby, I made contact with our lone security-guy (who remains in the lobby and
monitors comings and goings). I asked, “All good?”
He replied that all was well, and then added dolefully, “They won’t let me
carry a gun.”
I replied courtly, “I don’t ask!”
"There are no victims, only volunteers.
You volunteer by looking uncertain and afraid.
You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably are,
unprepared to confront the hazards of life."
— Jeff Cooper
----- Aftermath ----- (You have to be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.)
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
---
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett dedicate their book, "Good Omens", to
"G.K. Chesterton
A man who knew what was going on"
"If there is no life after college, college is useless.
If there is no life after death, Christianity is useless." -- Dick Speece
If there is no life after your lethal force encounter,
all of your self defense insurance is useless.
The professional gambler says, never buy insurance (in the context of playing
blackjack for instance, when playing in a casino) because insurance is betting
against yourself. Self defense insurance is one of those anomalies to the
professional gambler's rule. Buying self defense insurance is betting on yourself,
as you are betting that you will win the gunfight and end up needing legal defense.
Defending yourself from criminal prosecution and civil law suits is extremely
expensive. So, you have to have insurance. Please read the document at the link
in the right hand column labeled, "Self Defense Insurance".
“Your understanding and consent are not required for someone to take
your life, kill your loved ones, and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (how to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders)
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.
"A conversation I’m glad I will never have to have" by tacticalprofessor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2021/12/18/a-conversation-im-glad-i-will-never-have-to-have/
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, you killed him with his own gun
when you were just a little boy because he didn’t
believe in securing firearms.”
Primary source document:
If you're not wearing the gun, it should be secured against all unauthorized users.
Avoidance, Deterrence, Escape
" ‘I’m the sheriff. Who are you?’:
Oakland County Sheriff pulls over man posing as a cop"
Be careful. The guy pulling you over may not be a cop, even if he is in uniform,
even if the car is a cop car, even if the inside of the car has the computer, radar, etc.
This is extremely dangerous.
This was happening a lot in Hawaii because the Honolulu Police Department has
lots of unmarked cars, because all the cops use their personal cars for work. They get
a huge car and gas allowance. The cops would take their cars into the chop shops to
get the odometers turned forward to get more allowance. (The chop shops usually
turn the odometers back to make the cars look less used.)
[Be careful. 50,000 United Parcel Service uniforms were stolen from the manufacturer.]
You have to have good tires on your car. Otherwise, you will slide around,
especially when the road is wet or icy. Then you will crash and die, or worse, end
up bed ridden for the rest of your life racking up huge medical bills and forcing
loved ones to care for you. (Or not. Maybe they'll just toss you into a nursing
home.)
"THE PROLIFERATION OF WIRELESS SIGNAL JAMMERS"
by PATRICK MCCARTHY
The competent home invaders of yesteryear would cut the power lines and the
telephone lines before making entry. Now days, most homes don't have land lines
for their telephones. Maybe for their internet. Maybe their phone is on their internet.
The criminals aren't stupid.
The reason the Mexican cartels are recruiting U.S. Signals Intelligence personnel
is to maintain their secure communication. Any moron can jam a signal. It takes a
trained SigInt operator to defeat the jammers. Or, to monitor a signal and draw
intelligence from the signal. Even if you can't understand what they are saying or
can't decrypt or can't interpret the machine Morse code, you can still do Traffic
Analysis and direction finding. And that's usually enough to find and destroy
your target. (I'm talking about the target, not the transmitter.)
Have a buried land line, just in case. (Or, have a microwave relay to your
nearest cell phone tower, depending on your level of sophistication and geography.)
"Parents of 13-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing his brother, 5,
face endangerment charges after 'leaving gun out' " by ALYSSA GUZMAN
Excerpt:
"Their 13-year-old, Keegan McGivern, admitted to investigators on December 14
that he shot his brother Connor with his father's handgun that he 'always leaves out,'
the criminal complaint said.
Never leave your pistol lying around for others to pick up and use.
"16-year-old girl, mistaken for intruder, fatally shot by father on Southeast Side"
by Bethany Bruner
Positively identify your target. Use your words. Use your flashlight.
Police response time, 5 minutes.
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
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.
*************************************************************************
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
I was listening to a Christian radio station as I was driving and a lady gave the results
of a recent survey. A lot of persons believe that when they die, they will go to heaven
and be turned into angels. (There are many songs on the Country radio stations that
espouse this belief.) This is not Christian theology, so these persons are not de facto
Christians. But, they identify as Christians, they think they are Christians. Sort of like
a guy identifying as a gal. A person can call himself whatever he wants to, but that
doesn't make it true. No matter how much the person believes it. No matter how much
the government or governing body of that sport believes it.
This is the sort of thing that Claude is talking about in the above quote,
"Much of what you know is false." If you don't get training, you will never defeat
your false beliefs.
There are those who teach "instinctive shooting" / "point shooting" / "target focused
shooting" / etc. The basic premise being that the shooter does not have a hard focus
on his front sight when releasing the shot.
There are those who teach shooting with both eyes open. In particular, they are
teaching to release the shot with both eyes open, usually focusing on the target.
Because both eyes open focusing on the front sight would cause extreme difficulty
aiming, as the shooter would see two targets. Focusing on the target with both eyes
open causes a double image of the front sight, so it's just as wrong.
Dismissing such people as idiots is not appropriate. Calm logical argument is the
correct course of action, if they are interested in learning, which most aren't. Because
if they are stupid enough to believe such nonsense, they are usually too vested in their
school of thought to consider that it might be wrong.
Ask them to read the after action reports of shootings or interviews of persons who
have been in gunfights. If they do, they will see that when the bad guy was actually
hit, the police officer will say things like, "The front sight was huge as a basketball."
And when the 14 rounds are fortunately caught by a wooden fence in the background,
the police officer will say things like, "I never saw my front sight. I was watching the
bad guy." But, that is of course, anecdotal evidence and not statistically significant.
Though it is a clue.
The arguments would be as follows:
---
Why the shooter has to focus on the front sight --
If you don't focus on the front sight, it will wander off on you, and you will never
notice it, because you won't see it, because you're not focused on it. Such is
"inattentional blindness". If you don't understand inattentional blindness, view this video,
Visual focus is equivalent to mental concentration. You are concentrating
on whatever you are visually focused on, because the eyes are part of the brain
[Michael Ochsner (Mike Ox) explains this in his book, "Real World Gunfight Training"]
and has been understood at least as far back as 1977, when I studied psychology
at Columbia. So, if you focus on the target, you won't notice the front sight. The front
sight will wander off the target and you'll never notice it. So, you will miss the target.
---
Why the shooter has to close the non-aiming eye for the fraction of a second
required to release the shot --
Aiming with both eyes open causes the shooter to see a "double image".
You can prove this to yourself by sticking your thumb up at arm's length,
place it over a distant target, focus on the target and you will see two thumbs,
focus on your thumb and you will see two targets.
So, if you are focused on the target and using the wrong front sight
image, you will miss the target. If you are focused on the front sight and
use the wrong target image, you will miss the target. Murphy's Law guarantees
that the shooter will be using the wrong image. [Murphy's Law - Anything
that can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible time.]
The shooter won't automatically use the image from the dominant eye,
because eye dominance is perceptual, not physiological. So, it can and does
change with stress and attention. Eye dominance is not necessarily left
or right. It can be 50% - 50%. Or, anything in-between. Everyone is different.
Any time a person aims with both eyes open, he will get a double image.
Assuming a hard focus on the front sight, a person using his right eye to aim,
who uses the wrong target image will be shooting way off to the left (damaging
property, injuring innocent bystanders, maybe killing them). A person using his
left eye to aim, who uses the wrong target image will be shooting way off to the right.
This is why it is essential to eliminate the double image by closing the non-aiming eye.
Murphy's Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst
possible time. So, the person shooting with both eyes open will be shooting at the
wrong image, and hitting unintended objects. No such thing as a miss, only
unintended hits.
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." So, we must eliminate anything
that can go wrong from our weapon system. So, the non-aiming eye must be closed.
There is nothing natural or instinctive about shooting. Shooting is a specialized
skill peculiar to a specific tool. Comparing shooting to any other day-to-day
operation in normal life is incongruous.
---
Why the shooter has to keep his finger off the trigger until the sights are on the
target and the shooter has made the decision to fire. --
"Ugly Training, Poor Results" by Jeff Gonzales
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
Bill Rogers,
and some at Gunsite Academy,
teach starting the trigger press as soon as the pistol is pointed at the target, before you
push the pistol out to the target. So, that you may shoot as soon as the sights are on
the target. I agree with Jeff Gonzales, this is wrong and dangerous.
"Fighting or Shooting – Which to Practice?" by Dave Spaulding
Excerpt:
Gillum: "How did you get into so many fights and always come out on top?
I nearly tied you shooting!"
Books: "Friend, there's nobody out there shooting back at you! It isn't always
being fast . . . or even accurate . . . that counts. It’s being willing! I found out
early that most men, regardless of cause or need, aren't willing. They'll blink an
eye or draw a breath before they pull the trigger . . . and I won't!"
---
If someone is late for work, do you think he will be on time for combat?
If you think so, you're a damn fool.
If you tell a guy about the dangers of a holster that uses the trigger finger
to release the pistol and show him the documentation (such as the three
documents attached to a prior email) that prove the point, and he still uses
the holster, do you think he is trainable? do you think he is incorrigible?
A Marine colleague (who retired as a senior field grade officer) told me
that when he went into Al-Fallujah, the U.S. Army electrical guys would not
go with him, saying "we might get killed". Apparently, they had a different
understanding of what was expected of them when they signed up for the
U.S. Army. Fortunately, the Marine Master Sergeant assigned to my
colleague's unit was a Reservist and an electrical contractor in civilian life.
So, the MSgt. was able to take care of the electrical things that needed doing.
You have to know the willingness of the people that you are going
into combat with. Their competence, capability, and expertise don't mean
much if they won't go. Similarly for your instructors. Similarly for your
partners in life.
If you are a good instructor, you can instill the willingness to fight
into your students. If you are a good leader, you can instill the willingness
to fight into your subordinates. At least some of them. Some people are
just cowards; best not to waste time with them.
Self defense is combat. Leaving your house is entering a potential
self defense situation. No, no (as Liz Wheeler would say), life is a
self defense situation. You have to know beforehand, who you can
trust to fight with you.
Some scared bunnies are nice people. They are fun to be around.
They are fun to sleep with. But, you can't depend on them to watch
your back when the muggers attack. You can't depend on them to
protect their own children. You have to be discerning. You have to
know who these people are. Otherwise, you get killed when they fail
to back you up.
In his book, "What The Dog Saw", in the chapter titled, "Most Likely to Succeed",
Malcolm Gladwell explains why it's impossible to hire the correct person for the job,
using the National Football League as an example. The basic problem is that college
football is not like professional football in key respects (such as the plays that they
use). Do you see how this relates to your training for lethal force encounters? Your
force-on-force training is not like a violent encounter in the real world. And can
never really be, because the casualty rate would be too high for any civilian instructor
to tolerate. The instructor would never be able to get insurance.
In Marine Corps recruit training, recruits die. How many deaths could a civilian
instructor tolerate before he went out of business? How many casualties could a
civilian instructor tolerate before he was sued into bankruptcy?
You should read the book. I highly recommend.
The point is, don't deceive yourself into thinking that you are good to go. Strive
for competence, with the understanding that the real world is going to be different.
I was working intelligence for a combined arms exercise in the California desert
by 29 Palms. The weather guys said the winds were too high. So, CWO Carter told
command that the winds were too high and advised them to postpone the jump.
Lt.Gen. Klingston gave the order to jump, and the 101st Air Borne jumped.
Every Lt. in every plane gave the order to jump. They sustained 3% casualty and
1% fatality. Back then, I thought, what a waste. But, now I understand that those
who survived would have been competent to go into combat. Those who did
not survive, were not competent. It wasn't a training evolution. It was a weeding
out process.
Make sure your training is "training" and not "weeding out". Because you
might get weeded out.
A friend told me of his recent training experience. He was in a body guard
(executive protection) class. In an exercise, he and others were moving a principal
from one location to another. During the movement, my friend fell and injured his
knee. A serious injury, so my friend had to drop out of the class. (Tuition for the
class, time for the class, pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages from the
regular job, . . . ) Maybe my friend was too old, maybe too heavy, etc. A person has
got to know his limitations. Otherwise, you get weeded out.
Tim Larkin tells of how he was weeded out of the Navy Seals in the beginning of
his book, "When Violence is the Answer". I recommend his book. (A colleague
gave it to me as a Christmas present.)
ISBN 978-0-316-35464-6 (hard cover)
ISBN 978-0-316-35465-3 (paper back)
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing – so you can
fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Full-Size Handgun: Go Big Before Going Compact
WHY YOU SHOULD LEARN TO SHOOT ON A FULL-SIZE
HANDGUN BEFORE GOING COMPACT." by Stacey Mudgett
When we were toddlers, we used the big fat pencils. When our coordination got better,
we used the thinner pens and pencils. Same thing.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting (Part 6)" by The Tactical Professor
There are links to all of the previous articles, parts 1 to 5.
Email from Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
"Training Helps You Handle the Adrenaline Rush" by Kat Ainsworth Stevens
Wenger's comments --
I (Stephen P. Wenger) have linked to this primarily as a springboard for my own
comments. Stevens is correct about the value of inoculation in overcoming the effects
of stress. Pilots deal with life-threatening emergencies – despite the claims of some
trainers about the “inevitable” effects of adrenaline/epinephrine – because they drill
dealing with them, whether in simulators or in the air. I invite correction from list
members who may be more current in the literature of physiology and medicine than
I am but . . . The deleterious effects of stress are the result of the architecture of the
brain, which if not well trained allows the so-called “reptilian brain” to override the
“thinking brain” – the neocortex. The catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine
are released from the medulla of the adrenal glands on stimulation that originates in
the CNS. They are very short-lived hormones that do not actually enter the brain in
appreciable quantities. Cortisol – a much more persistent hormone – is similarly
released from the cortex of the adrenal glands. It is my own theory that it is
responsible for the “adrenaline junkie” phenomenon in those people in which it – and
similar drugs – produce a sense of euphoria. Yes, “muscle memory” is a misnomer
for conditioned reflexes – which do not always require the once touted 3,000 repetitions
to cement. I was taught to take as wide a sampling of firearms training as I could afford.
I came to regard that advice as a two-edged sword. Years ago, a student who'd taken
my Arizona CWP course returned for a weekend of further training and left as a very
proficient shooter. Four years later – when a refresher course was still required to
renew the Arizona CWP – he required what I recall as three attempts to shoot a passing
score in the state-mandated “qualification” course – five shots at five yards, five shots
at ten yards. In the interim, he'd trained at a much better known “shooting school” that
had taught him different technique. Instructors tend to teach the techniques that work
best for them. Good instructors are familiar with different techniques so that they can
adapt to students who may differ from the instructor. Both my website and my book
(you may download the book free of charge at Wenger's webiste, cited above) were
intended, in part, to help gunners evaluate both past and prospective training for its
practicality in emergencies. Unlike Stevens, while I may be able to help some hunters
with marksmanship and related matters, my words are not intended for that audience.
"100 percent standards" by The Tactical Professor
There is no such thing as a miss in the real world. There are only unintended hits.
If you train to 70% or 80% accuracy, how can you expect to shoot 100% in the
real world?
"But Staff, if I shoot 100% accuracy, I'm shooting way to slow."
What are you going to do about that? May I suggest:
Practice recently. Practice realistically. Practice more.
Move in closer, so you don't miss. (Ya, I know it's dangerous. But, it works.
What did you think you were signing up for?)
Take a kneeling or squatting position and a head shot. The upward trajectory will
minimize the chance of hitting persons in the background (at least the near background).
Move behind cover to give yourself more time. Approach from behind cover.
Move back to give yourself more time. Retreat is a tactical maneuver. Retreat
is not surrender.
Remember our safety rule,
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
This means you have positively identified your target. (With a flashlight and verbal
questions if need be.)
This means you are aware of panicking persons who may run into your line of fire.
This means you know what's in your background, in case you miss or pass through.
Oh, yes, being the good guy is much more difficult than being the bad guy.
If you are killing innocent bystanders, you aren't really the good guy. [Being in
the Air Force and operating under orders does not relieve you of this safety rule.
If you have a conscience, your violation of this safety rule will eventually hit you.
Even if nobody else knows. Well, the intel guys will know. And they sometimes
feed journalist who write books.]
"Shocking Video in Fatal Burlington Store Shooting" by Officer Tatum
“Perfect” Outcomes! BY JOHN FARNAM
Rangemaster JANUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER
"UD!" (Unintentional Discharge) BY JOHN FARNAM
Once you've found a correct carry position for you,
Lock Tite the damn screws! You don't have to use the type of Lock Tite
that requires a propane torch to remove. The regular type is fine. And
check all of your equipment before you put it on. If you can't check it,
don't put it on!
All of your equipment is in good working order. Otherwise, you are WRONG!
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Slow and Steady Makes For Good Firearm Practice" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Excerpt:
"You might argue that slow may be good in practice, but slow doesn’t win gunfights.
I can’t argue with that. But working slow and working to create good habits is the
foundation that winning speed is built upon. You truly have to learn to walk before you
can run. When we have taken the time to ingrain good habits, we have built the foundation
for winning in a criminal attack. Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
In his book, "Be Fast, Be Accurate, Be the Best", Bill Rogers says,
"You can't shoot fast by shooting slow. You have to practice shooting fast to shoot fast.
Because shooting fast is fundamentally different from shooting slow."
I disagree. I think Wilson is correct.
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
"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
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
Criminal activity generally takes place between the hours of 10:00 PM and sunrise.
Because this is when the law abiding citizens are sleeping. Fewer witnesses, fewer people
to get in the way, etc. So, you should plan to take care of your business in the early
morning hours after sunrise, when most of the criminals are sleeping. Ya, if he's high on
meth, he could go several days without sleeping, but generally speaking, humans have to
sleep. In the early morning hours there are law abiding citizens busy at their outdoor
jobs and moving around; picking up trash, making deliveries, etc.; except on holidays.
But hopefully, you too are sleeping in on holidays and not bopping around. So, there
are generally lots of witnesses in the early morning hours. Good for us, bad for the
criminals.
Every gunfight avoided is a gunfight won.
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"TACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ENTERING A HOME TO ENGAGE
AN INTRUDER
THE HOUSTON HOME INVASION: PART 2"
by Justin Collett
In his book, "The Tipping Point", in the chapter titled, "The Power of Context",
Malcolm Gladwell, on page 160, explains that
". . . The mistake we make in thinking of character as something unified and
all-encompassing is very similar to a kind of blind spot in the way we process information.
Psychologists call this tendency the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which is a
fancy way of saying that when it comes to interpreting other people's behavior, human
beings invariably make the mistake of overestimating the importance of fundamental
character traits and underestimating the importance of the situation and context. . . . "
So, you have to consider the context of the lethal force encounter. Where are you?
What has happened immediately prior to the present? How are you behaving?
How is the enemy dressed? (gang banger, businessman, Sunday best) Etc.
The situation (to an objective observer) may not be what you think it is. The
situation in the mind of the enemy may be entirely different from your perspective.
Having a misunderstanding is bad. Having a misunderstanding with guns is tragic.
Jeff Cooper in his "Principles of Personal Defense" says you can figure out the
situation in an instant. I disagree. My experience has been ambiguous situations,
and not knowing who is on whose side.
When operating in the U.S. Armed Forces, everyone on your side is wearing your
uniform, so everyone else may legally be considered an enemy combatant until proven
otherwise. So, it's actually okay to machinegun the lady in the abya (black dress that
goes from head to toe with slits for the eyes) who won't stop when told to.
In our civilian world, you have to do things to clear up the ambiguity. Yell, "STOP!"
Say, "Sorry sir, I can't help you." If he keeps coming, you may have to shoot him.
But, as least you tried. And your attorney can articulate what you did to try to clear
up the ambiguity, and why the bad guy's actions clearly indicated malice. Yes, that's
how it works. That's what you have to do to avoid prosecution.
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task, skill, or tactic) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Why Trigger Jerk Is A Myth" by John “Shrek” McPhee
Right handed shooters scatter their bullets low left (and left handed shooters scatter
their rounds low right) when they push against the anticipated recoil before the bullet
exits the muzzle. This is an autonomic nervous system response. All autonomic
nervous system responses are defeated by the surprise trigger break. Yes, it is that
simple. Simple, not easy. Achieving a surprise break takes concerted effort and
practice. Even after achieving the epiphany, one may slip back into intentionally
firing the pistol, as opposed to letting the pistol fire with a surprise break. So,
continued practice is essential. Competent firearms manipulation is a perishable skill.
So, you have to continually practice.
"Learning how to Properly Conceal Carry" with Tessah & Shelby
Wings, claws, and wedges, not just for inside the waistband appendix holsters.
You should consider using them on your holster, no matter where you wear
your holster.
The Enigma is independent of your pants and belt. That is significant. You can
leave it on when using the bathroom. (Depending on your choice of underwear.)
Always carry on the same place on your body. Always! Don't let attire or season
change the position of your pistol. Sheriff Jim Wilson <http://sheriffjimwilson.com>
tells a story of walking with a suspect who turned on him and attacked. The sheriff
went for his pistol, only to find it wasn't there, because he had worn it in a different
position that day. Big mistake!
"Weak Hand Shooting: Tips to Improve Support Hand Skills" by Travis Pike
This is why you have to have an ambidextrous pistol.
Appendix carry is only easier for support-hand-only draw if you're drawing from
in front of your body. It's impossible to draw by reaching around the back of your
body, as you would have to if the bad guy were in front of you.
Does your support-hand have the range of motion to establish a correct grip on your
pistol before you pull it out of your appendix holster? If not, you're going to have to
turn the pistol around in your holster, somehow.
With a little stretching, most of my students can establish a correct grip with their
support-hand when the pistol is still in the holster when carrying on the side of their
hip (at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock). So, they don't have to turn the pistol around. You too
can do this with a little practice.
You don't have to lose the fight. Just learn the proper techniques before the fight.
And practice them, so you can actually execute them under stress.
That's why you have to take classes from different persons in different schools.
Instructors won't teach what they don't understand. Instructors won't teach what
they can't do themselves. Instructors won't teach what they can't demonstrate.
(They might have an assistant instructor demonstrate for them, especially if they
are getting on in years.)
"A pirouette is a graceful spin that's executed by ballerinas and contemporary dancers
alike. As a child, I loved to do pirouettes in my modern dance class, whirling round and
round until I was dizzy in the head and fell to the ground. As I got older, a trick I learned
to help me maintain my balance and control was "spotting" -- identifying a single point
for my eyes to return to each time I made a full circle spin. Having a single focal point
was all I needed to master my pirouette with a graceful finish." -- Kimya Loder
"Our Daily Bread", 'January/February/March 2022' edition, page 'Saturday, February 19'.
Do you see how you can use this technique in combat? Perhaps you learned a
similar technique in your yoga classes, but that was stationary. Miss Loder is talking about
a dynamic technique. Yes, it works. Besides dancers, ice skaters, and other use it.
Look. Choose a point to fixate on. Keep looking at it as you turn. If necessary,
snap your head around and find the point. Stop turning. Look. No dizziness, no
vertigo, no loss of balance, no motion sickness. Bravo!
If you can't do this technique for whatever reason, the next best thing is to close
your eyes. Turn. Stop. Open your eyes. (You can't shoot very well when you're
turning around anyway. So, you're not really losing much. No, as a matter of fact,
you are not John Wick.)
"FOOTBALL “HAND-FIGHT” EXERCISES AND DRILLS FOR THE MARTIALIST"
by HOCK HOCHHEIM <HOCKHOCHHEIM@FORCENECESSARY.COM>
Diverse training.
"4 myths of front sight focus" by Mike Ox
"How to Improve Pistol Accuracy and Speed with Handgun Red Dots
Reflex sights can improve pistol accuracy and speed,
but only if you know how to use them." by BRAD FITZPATRICK
Excerpt:
"I can’t tell you all the secrets regarding how this technique works,
but it does. Try it for yourself."
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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
"The Art of Coaching" by Brian Hill
"The Basics of Hosting a Training Class" by Adam Syfrett
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
----- Andragogy -----
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
In his book, "The Tipping Point", in the chapter titled, "The Stickiness Factor",
Malcolm Gladwell explains a radical conclusion about children and television.
[But, I think it applies to adults, as in adult learning.]
"Kids don't watch when they are stimulated and look away when they are bored.
They watch when they understand and look away when they are confused."
You should read this book. I highly recommend.
So, you should observe your students. They will watch you when they understand
and look away when they are confused. Confused, not bored. If they look away,
you need to explain something. Find out what they are confused about, and explain it.
In his book, "The Tipping Point", in the chapter titled, "The Stickiness Factor",
Malcolm Gladwell on page 125 explains that
"An adult considers constant repetition boring, because it requires reliving the
same experience over and again. But to the preschoolers repetition isn't boring,
because each time they watch something they are experiencing it in a completely
different way."
Perhaps this is what Jesus meant, when He said, you have to be like a child to
enter the kingdom. Matthew 18:3
On page 126, "If you think about the world of a preschooler, they are surrounded
by stuff they don't understand -- things that are novel. So the driving force for a
preschooler is not a search for novelty, like it is with older kids, it's a search for
understanding and predictability," says Anderson.
Are your firearms / self-defense students not in the same boat as the preschooler?
[You won't get bored with dry practice repetitions if you notice all the things you are
doing wrong and try to correct them on the next repetition. Ya, you might be doing
it perfectly. But more likely, you're doing it too fast to be able to detect what's wrong.
As Sheriff Jim Wilson says in the article above, slow down and pay attention. If you
still can't detect any errors, practice in front of a mirror. Shocking isn't it? how
twisted and contorted you are. Your peers and coaches could tell you a hundred times,
but you won't believe them because it feels correct. So, you won't correct it, because
they are wrong. Fortunately, mirrors don't lie. And they are hard to argue with. Even
the evil queen couldn't. (The one in Snow White.) If you've got access to video,
even better. But, because you don't view the video until a few seconds later, it's
not as effective as a mirror. Instant feedback is really stunning.]
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"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
A friend has a reloading system for sale:
Dillon XL 750 press
CV-750 vibrating case cleaner
D-Terminator electronic scale
CM-500 media separator
Berry's kinetic bullet puller
RF 100 Auto primer filler small
Set of dies for loading 9X19mm pistol ammo (the standard 9mm ammo)
Spear bullets reloading manual #14
Hornaday handbook of cartridge reloading 9th edition
Lyman reloading handbook 49th edition
Some storage cases for 9 mm pistol ammo, 50 round boxes.
About 1 pound of Hodgson HS-6 pistol/ shotgun powder
Also have pick up tubes.
If it weren't for deaths and divorces, I'd never be able to afford my gun stuff.
She's asking $2000. The stuff is in Summerville, SC.
In his book, "The Tipping Point", in the chapter titled, "The Stickiness Factor",
Malcolm Gladwell on page 180 explains why the human eye is only capable of
focusing on a small area at any given time, because ". . . the receptors that process
what we see -- are clustered in a small region in the very middle of the retina called
the fovea."
This has all kinds of implications for your training. Besides the fact that you
should be constantly scanning, which is part of being aware.
I highly recommend this book.
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Plight!" by JOHN FARNAM
Decommissioning government arsenals in the U.S. was a good thing. The private
sector does a better job than a government bureaucracy. Support the U.S. firearms
industry. Buy American!
"The best shooting ear protection worth wearing" by Matt Sampson
"The Best Lens Colors" by Mary Waszkiewicz
"Get a Grip" by Dave Merrill
"4 Tips To Choose a Defensive Handgun" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
"How to Clean & Lubricate a Gun" by Eric Hung
"What Is the Best Gun Barrel Material?" by NRA Staff
"Niobium and columbium are synonymous names for the chemical element with
atomic number 41; columbium was the name given in 1801, and niobium (Nb) was
the name officially designated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
in 1950." -- U.S. Geological Survey
Why the unnamed author insists on using an obsolete name for an element is
beyond me. While the IUPAC is bunch of nasty political shits, they are still the
de facto governing body. We were constantly fighting with these morons when
I worked at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, MD. (I don't care
what anyone calls the bureau or the city now days, I'm going to use the names
that I knew when I lived and worked there.) At least IUPAC didn't do anything
stupid like removing planethood from Pluto. [Pluto is a planet! I've never been
there, but I have a justified true belief.]
“Chance favors the prepared.
Fortune, the bold.
Providence, the audacious!”
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Legal ***** ***** *****
"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
Concerning innocent persons who were convicted --
The Innocence Project reports:
70% of cases involved mis-identification by witnesses.
32% of cases involved mis-identification by multiple witnesses.
45% of cases involved mis-application of forensic science.
Innocent persons get convicted all the time. Andrew Branca says, "If you are
innocent and go to trial, you have a 10% of being convicted. That's just the noise in
the system." The justice system isn't perfect. You don't always get the correct verdict.
So, if you don't have self defense insurance, you're a damn fool. Because in
America, you get as much justice as you can afford.
See the link in the column to the right of this article labeled, "Self Defense Insurance".
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
Free of charge. Just pay shipping.
Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage.
"FBI And Other Agencies Paid Informants $548 Million In Recent Years
With Many Committing Authorized Crimes" by Adam Andrzejewski
Many informants were authorized to commit “crimes” with the permission
of their federal handlers. In a four-year period, there were 22,800 crime
authorizations (2011-2014).
---
"FBI authorized informants to break the law 22,800 times in 4 years
New details about FBI informants were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act."
by Dell Cameron and Patrick Howell O'Neill
---
Primary source documents follow:
---
"AUDIT OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS
AND EXPLOSIVES’ MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS"
by Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice
---
"Audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Management of its
Confidential Human Source Validation Processes"
by Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice
---
"Audit of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s
Management and Oversight of its Confidential Source Program"
by Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice
---
Sentences such as,
"These investigations determined the DEA’s use of these individuals as sources was
improper." are rampant throughout these reports.
If you think these "Law Enforcement Agencies" are not using informants to entrap you,
you're a damn fool. If you think they would never do anything illegal to entrap you,
you're criminally stupid. They authorize their informants to commit crimes to entrap you
as a normal way of doing their work. They are lazy. It is much easier to entrap the
innocent than to investigate the criminal. (Also, a lot safer. The bad guys might kill
them.) This is an example of human nature.
The ATF sent several people to ask me for illegal weapons, suppressors, auto sears,
etc. when my first ex and I had an FFL in Honolulu, Hawaii. So, I know from first
hand experience that these Inspector General reports are true.
"Chicago community hires private security to curb crime surge" by Fox News
Chicago police are forbidden, by department policy, to pursue criminals.
Stop and think about that. If they pursue, they can be individually sued
because their actions are outside of the scope of their job description.
[In order to sue a law enforcement officer, the standard legal verbiage is
"abuse of power under color of law and actions outside the scope of
his job description".] So, the community hires private security (many
of whom are sworn law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions)
to protect the community, because the officers will pursue and arrest.
Just as in North Charleston, SC, this will cause the criminals to move to
other less affluent areas that cannot afford to hire private security.
Do you see the intended consequences? You can bet the politicians who
imposed these policies knew exactly what the consequences would be.
---
Democratic vice president Hubert Humphrey remarked,
“There are not enough jails, not enough policemen, not enough courts to
enforce a law not supported by the people.”
Humphrey, while still a US senator, he stated in GUNS Magazine,
“But the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms is just one more
guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against a
tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically
has proved always to be possible.”
Since 1988, Nebraska's own constitution includes:
“All persons are by nature free and independent, and have certain inherent
and inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness,
and the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family,
home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use,
and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed
by the state or any subdivision thereof.”
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
---
"Atty. Andrew Branca Interviewed on Rittenhouse Trial by CCW Safe"
Andrew explains how unethical contemptable prosecutors are. So, you have to
have a strong intelligent defense team.
Derek Michael Chauvin had one attorney. The prosecutors had 12 attorneys.
They were churning out motions that Chauvin's attorney had no time to read, much
less write a written response to, much less being able to argue the law (you can't
argue if you didn't get any sleep the previous night.)
“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 a dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Survival ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
How gun companies survive.
"Seventeen gun firms flee to friendlier states" by Paul Bedard
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-secrets/17-gun-firms-flee-to-friendlier-states
It's important to know the states and the companies.
Where do you want to live? Where do you want to raise your children?
If you answered Los Angeles, CA, I think you clicked on this blog by mistake.
If you want to survive, you might want to move into a friendly state.
Jordan Peterson: Women always reject these men
Excerpt:
"Money is the promise that your sacrifice now will pay off in the future."
---
Inflation (caused by the government shutting down large sections of the
economy and printing money) is breaking that promise. What is the natural
reaction to this broken promise? (Well, you can see it in Los Angeles, Portland,
Chicago, etc.)
You have to be able to defend your castle.
Or, you have to have an escape plan, a place to escape to, and the means to
get to that place. If you have to escape from Los Angeles, CA and have to
get to your parent's place in rural Massachusetts, you better have a means
of transportation that doesn't depend on any airlines or bus company. Or,
you have to move now, while the airlines and bus companies still operate.
"Beyond Tactical: Black Medical Gloves" by Justin
I remember this advice from one of Greg Ellifritz's classes. Wear gloves that allow
you to see blood on them. Black don't.
"Real Gunfighter Lance Thomas on Justic Files" by Rodger B
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** War Stories, History, and such ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
10 Commandments of Logic
"THE RIDDLE OF THE GUN" by Sam Harris
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thoms Jefferson
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
KI4SDN
God can do more than you can hope or imagine.
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