Hi Sheepdogs,
Ars moriendi ars vivendi est. (The art of dying is the art of living.)
Life is a fatal sexually transmitted disease. -- Jeff Cooper (paraphrased)
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***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
"Better to stay out of trouble than get out of trouble."
-- Tactical Professor (Claude Werner)
"Body Language: Lower Your Victimization Profile,
Because The Bad Guys Are Watching" by Salvatore
How to avoid the fight in the first place. How to be deselected by the criminal
predator.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz. Now that Greg lives in Austin, Texas, I told my sister to
contact Greg and get some training. Because prosecutors in Austin don't get death
threats, they get murder attempts.
Do you see how the following applies to us?
In his book "Computer Security and the Internet: Tools and Jewels", 2nd Edition,
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
Paul C. van Oorschot writes in the section on general computer security principles,
2. no rulebook: attackers [the bad guys] are not bound to any rules of play,
while defenders [the good guys] typically follow protocol conventions,
interface specifications, standards and customs."
[We have to break out of these constraints. -- Jon Low]
3. defender-attacker asymmetry: attackers need find only one weak link to exploit,
while defenders must defend all possible attack points.
[As Marcus Wynne said, sometimes it's easier to kill the wolf. -- Jon Low]
10. market economics and stakeholders: market forces often hinder allocations
that improve security, e.g., stakeholders in a position to improve security, or who
would bear the cost of deploying improvements, may not be those who would
gain benefit.
[So, you and yours will have to seek out training and practice on your
own time, on your own dime. -- Jon Low]
15. user non-compliance (human factors): users bypass or undermine computer
security mechanisms that impose inconveniences without visible direct benefits
(in contrast: physical door locks are also inconvenient, but benefits are understood).
[So, you're going to have to educate your people, so they understand the benefits
of the personal security training, as opposed to ignoring it or denying it. -- Jon Low]
17. non-expert users (human factors): whereas users of early computers were
technical experts or given specialized training under enterprise policies, today many
are nonexperts without formal training or any technical computer background.
[The vast majority of Gun Culture 2.0 have no training in the safe use of guns,
much less expert training in how to fight or how to use a gun in a gunfight.
So, we must teach. You may consider it your God given duty to teach. -- Jon Low]
. . .
". . . security expertise may be today’s very best job-for-life ticket,
as well as tomorrow’s." -- Paul C. van Oorschot
“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.)
"Random Thoughts on The Gunfight That Never Was" by Marcus Wynne
The best gunfight is the one you intentionally avoided by using your skill
and knowledge.
Do not start if afraid.
Once begun do not be afraid.
-- Mongolian saying
"Random Tips for the Street" by Marcus Wynne
"The Wolves and the Sheep" by Aesop (620 B.C.)
Once upon a time, the wolves sent an embassy to the sheep, desiring that there might
be peace between them for the time to come.
"Why," said they, "should we be forever waging this deadly strife? Those wicked dogs
are the cause of all; they are incessantly barking at us and provoking us. Send them
away, and there will be no longer any obstacle to our eternal friendship and peace."
The silly sheep listened, the dogs were dismissed, and the flock, thus deprived of
their best protectors, became an easy prey to their treacherous enemy.
[Ever hear of "Defund the Police"? Every hear of "Black Lives Matter"? -- Jon Low]
"Rethinking Concealed Carry" by Forrest Cooper
Excerpt:
"A good concealed carry firearm needs to be something that we can enjoy
shooting . . . "
"If we approach self-defense and concealed carry from merely a legalistic angle,
proactively having a[n insurance] policy for the events which are nearly certain to
take place after using a firearm to defend one's self sounds like a responsible decision.
When rethinking concealed carry from what we value, programs like these point to
the long game."
"Social skills, hand-to-hand fighting, and the ability to respond to common
medical emergencies change the way we evaluate our decisions. There is a distinct
difference between people who own firearms, and people who are able to use them."
From Tom Givens,
Knowledge
Skills
Attitude
Just about every month, I give a 4 hour lecture at the Bass Pro in Opry Mills
shopping mall in Nashville, TN for students who wish to get their Tennessee
Handgun Permit. It's just lecture, no live fire, no hands-on manipulation of pistols.
The following are my answers to questions from the students.
---
The purpose of self defense is to prevent your injury. No law requires
you to take the first blow before defending yourself. If you allow your
enemy to strike first, you will be down on the ground getting stomped to
death, unable to defend yourself and your loved ones. You must strike
preemptively. To be able to do this, you must be aware.
If you failed to avoid, evade, and escape the attack, the purpose of
self defense is to stop the attack before you get injured anymore. We
always shoot to stop the attack. We do not shoot to kill. The condition
of the bad guy is incidental to our purpose of stopping the attack.
---
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)
---
To immediately stop the attack, you must either zero the enemy's
blood pressure by placing multiple bullets in his thorax destroying
his heart and lungs, or else you must break the central nervous system
by placing a bullet into his brain.
For a thorax shot from the front, the target is the center of the triangle
defined by the notch at the top of the sternum and the nipples. From
the side, the target is the top of the arm pit. (So, your cartridge must be
powerful enough to break through the bone of the enemy's upper arm
or shoulder.) From the back, the target is between the shoulder blades.
Student: "I would never shoot anyone in the back."
You may need to shoot the bad guy in the back. If he is shooting
people in the theater, shopping mall, or church, why would you
hesitate to shoot him in the back? You are not police. You have no
obligation to give a verbal warning. You have no obligation to ask the
bad guy to surrender. If you do, he will turn and shoot you. Then you
will be dead and he will continue shooting innocent persons.
For a brain shot from the front, the target is the T formed by the
eyes and nose (cranio-ocular cavity), behind which are holes in the skull.
From the side, the target is the ear hole (external auditory meatus).
From the back, the target is the spinal column at the base of the skull.
Since there is no hole in the back of the skull, we are attempting to
break the spinal column.
Your pistol ammunition is ballistically deficient compared to rifle or
shotgun cartridges and probably will not penetrate the skull, which is
the hardest strongest bone in the body. So, you must shoot through
a hole in the skull to get a bullet into the brain.
"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
James Shaw Jr., a hero of our time! (No weapon, just a combat mindset.)
It doesn't take a good guy with a gun. It takes a good guy with guts.
"Travis Reinking Waffle House Shooting, Raw Video and Testimony"
by FOX NASHVILLE (the TV station, channel 17)
"Waffle House shooter found guilty on 4 counts of murder
A man who shot and killed four people at a Nashville Waffle House
in 2018 has been found guilty on four counts of first-degree murder"
by TRAVIS LOLLER
Notice that the jury rejected the insanity defense.
I take notice because this happened in my neighborhood at a Waffle House
that I frequent. Because I often get off work when all other restaurants are closed.
For those who don't know, Waffle House is 24/7.
"FIXED MINDSET VS GROWTH MINDSET AND SELF DEFENSE TRAINING"
by Short Barrel Shepherd
In the righthand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
Because self defense insurance is essential.
“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
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----- Safety ----- (how to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders)
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
[The real world is a hot range. (Hot range means that when your pistol is in its holster
it is loaded; full magazine in the magazine well, round in the chamber, action cocked.)
Hundreds of persons shoot themselves or others with "unloaded" guns every year,
especially while cleaning their guns or showing their guns to others.]
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
[This is muzzle discipline.]
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
[Keep your finger in the register position until your sights are on the target, and you've decided
to fire. Register position means the finger is up on the frame of the pistol.
This is trigger finger discipline.]
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
[As well as what is behind your target, as you might miss or pass through.
As well as those who may move into your line of fire. Untrained people panic.
You can't be sure of your target if you can't see your target. So, you have to have a
tactical flashlight (at least 500 lumens). If you can blind the enemy, you might not
have to shoot him. That's a big win for you.
Good guys never shoot at noises, shadows, movement, etc. We only shoot at
positively identified enemy combatants.]
Criminals don't care about damaging property or shooting innocent bystanders.
So, they don't care about these rules.
If you haven't committed to these safety rules, you're not really a good guy.
Secure Community Network showed us a video in which a woman saw a car with
several men in it, who deployed with weapons. She immediately got back into her
car and drove in reverse to escape.
Can you drive in reverse at speed down a dirt road? If not, better learn how and
practice. No, really, do it! Of all the "tactical driving skills", driving in reverse is
the most useful and most used.
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.
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----- 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)
"Competitive versus Defensive Shooting: Which Is Better?
Will competitive shooting help or hurt you in the real world?" by STEVE TARANI
Excerpt:
"One of the qualifications to apply for a primary firearm instructor position
to this very day for such groups, is on-demand performance at current Master
shooter levels."
[Well, the problem with this criterion is that being good at a skill is not correlated
with being able to teach that skill. Teaching is a separate specialized skill, requiring
specialized training.
As a level 3 rifle coach certified by the NRA, CMP, and USA Shooting, and
extensively trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Centers and a few military training
facilities, I can assure you that many top shooters don't know what they are doing
(because when you ask them, they can't give you a straight answer),
or know that what they are doing but are wrong (doesn't match the video or your
observation). I have witnessed many top shooters training students to do what
the top shooter thinks he (the top shooter) is doing, but is not doing.
Try this experiment in the mirror. With an unloaded pistol in your holster,
present to the bad guy in the mirror. Look carefully at the reflection. Is your head
tilted? Are your shoulders down and relaxed? Are you aiming at the point you
intended to aim at? Were you doing what you thought you were doing? Probably
not. But, that's okay, because you were teaching the correct thing, even if you
were not doing it. Well, no, because all teaching is by example. Your students
will watch and mimic. It doesn't matter what you say. It's what you demonstrate
that counts, that sticks in the students' minds. -- Jon Low]
“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
"Fundamentals of Clandestine Carry Pistol" By John Mosby
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"LOW LIGHT CONCERNS | Part 1 – Lighting Conditions" By Erick Gelhaus
Photopic
Diurnal transition
Mesopic
Scotopic
If it's dark and you are seeing in black and white (only your rods are working,
not your cones), if you look directly at the object, you will get a fuzzy image because
the center of your optic disk, the fovea, is dense with cones, not rods. The solution
is to look at the edge of the convex hull of the object. The image of the object will
be sharper, because you are now focusing the image on a rod dense area instead
of your macula.
"Money Can’t Buy Me Love (nor skill, for that matter)!" by Tom Givens
Excerpt:
"Money Can’t Buy Me Love (nor skill, for that matter)!
If, like me, you teach defensive firearms use every week, you see this played out
over and over again.
“If I just buy the newest RDS (red reticle, green reticle, circle reticle, closed
emitter, magic) I’ll be able to shoot so much better.”
“If I get a better quality barrel installed in my gun, I’ll shoot so much better.”
“If I buy the new (Walther, H&K, Herfenderfer Special) like the influencers,
I’ll be able to shoot so much better.”
Unfortunately, what that never ending quest to buy performance results in is a
long term plateau of mediocre skill. There are no short-cuts or magic beans in this
business. A better quality barrel can benefit you IF you have an exceptionally
crappy factory barrel (it happens) or if you are highly skilled enough to outshoot
the accuracy potential of your factory barrel (much less likely). Same for other gizmos.
I’m 70 years old, with 70 year old eyes and busted up hands. My training gun is
an almost stock Glock 17, with a grip reduction (for my girl size hands) and plain
steel Heinie fixed iron sights. My rear sight is plain black, and my front sight is
painted a bright orange/red. That’s it. It is identical to the Glock 17 I carry every
day. In fact, you probably could not tell the two guns apart.
Today, I shot the Rangemaster Bullseye Course with my G17 and Lawman 124
grain ball. This is reliable ammo, but the bullets are plated, not jacketed, and for
whatever reason they are not as accurate in my Glocks as quality jacketed ammo.
It was what I had handy, so that’s what I shot today. I scored 290 out of a possible
300 points (96.7%). That’s shot on a B-8 bullseye at 5,7,10, 15 and 25 yards,
with fairly tight time limits. I then shot the Rangemaster Advanced Bullseye Course,
earning a 285 out of 300 (95%). This course has tighter time limits and includes
a few rounds with dominant hand only and non-dominant hand only.
Skill is the product of competent training and deliberate, purposeful practice.
I’m sorry, but there are no short-cuts. Plan accordingly."
"THE ART OF ONE-HANDED SHOOTING" by Dan Abraham
I disagree with the author's recommended grip, especially for a 1911.
Keep your thumb on top of the thumb safety, holding it down. Otherwise,
something will bump the safety and the gun won't fire.
I agree with the author that you have to practice one handed with your support
side hand. Just because you're right-handed, does not mean you're going to be
right-handed in combat. All kinds of crazy things happen in combat.
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
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----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
"Skills Check: Precision Hits at Multiple Distances
Do you have what it takes to get precision hits at different distances?" by ED HEAD
Mr. Head bases drills on reality. How refreshing.
The Jack Wilson Drill.
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Dumbest Ways We Train with Firearms" by RICHARD MANN
Instead of immediate action, reload. Because the high probability reason that your
pistol didn't fire is that you've run out of ammo, not that you have a malfunction.
(Assuming you clean your pistol regularly, maintain it correctly, and are using
factory new ammo.)
[Pulling your trigger a second time (with a double action semi-auto pistol) is stupid,
because the probability of a faulty primer that will fire on a second strike of the firing
pin is extremely low. And the conditional probability of this being the event is
extremely low; the probable event is that there is nothing in the chamber. -- Jon Low]
Scan properly. Doing the California twitch is WRONG. John Farnam teaches
to turn your whole body around 360 degrees to look at what's going on around you.
Dry practice when you go to the live fire range. Do the drill dry before you do it
live. Get all the kinks worked out before you spend precious ammo on it.
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
"Raise Your Learning Curve" by Steve Tarani
Time Management
Passion is derived from emotional content whereas discipline is a matter of will.
Repeatability
Sustainment
Excerpt:
"The best kept secret to raising your learning curve is absorption and retention.
How you get there is by employing effective time management . . ."
"Bruce Lee once said “I do not fear the man who does 10,000 kicks in one day.
I fear the man who does one kick every day for 10,000 days.” "
Such is self-discipline, a rare character trait.
"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
Slow is smooth (because you can control what you're doing).
Smooth is efficient (because elegance automatically removes inefficiencies).
Efficient is fast (because there is no wasted motion).
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----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Denny’s Shootings and Fights" by tacticalprofessor
Excerpt:
"Denny's is just Waffle House for people who can't fight." -- Caleb Causey
"When you go out to eat, especially late at night, don’t assume that the only heaters
are in the kitchen. It’s always best to bring your own also and know how to use it."
-- Claude Werner
[The reason that the vast majority of robberies occur in Wal Mart parking lots
after sunset is that the Waffle House, Denny's, I-Hop, etc. parking lots adjoin the
Wal Mart parking lot. -- Jon Low]
"Best Practices for Mitigating Threats" by STEVE TARANI
Solve the problem early. How? Pay attention. Look for the threat progression.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
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
"Bystander Chokes Out Attacking Dog" by Active Self Protection
If the human rescuer had pulled the dog's head back to the dog's spine, he could
have broken the dog's neck. But the human was clearly trying not to hurt the dog.
"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
"The Importance of Follow Through" by SHERIFF JIM WILSON
Get back on the target you just shot, not the next target. Moving to the next
target before you get the second sight picture on the target that you just shot
is a potentially fatal training scar.
"Realistic Reloads: Fast, Efficient and Rare" by Jeremy Stafford
Excerpt:
"Even from a training perspective, the tactical reload is inefficient.
It takes up more training time than any other reload in the basic firearms curricula,
yet it is never used. Why are we spending our precious training time teaching a
technique that doesn’t get used? (Or at least, is used so infrequently that finding
actual data is impossible.)
"Carry With A Loaded Chamber: Here's Why" by Paratus
When you are attacked, if your pistol is not on your body, you won't have time
to get it. If there is no round in the chamber, you won't have time to chamber a round.
That is reality. The real world does not care about your reasons, only your actions.
"It's NOT Your Trigger Control" by Mike Seeklander
Page 42.
Excerpt:
"We forgot that 'feeling' of what your hand is doing in relation to the gun is as
important as 'seeing' the sights or dot. We focus too much on the visual aspect
of aiming and forget the kinetic [kinesthetic] process of feeling. . . .
Grip THEN Pull (the trigger)!"
[This is actually kind of deep. You're going to have to experiment and practice
quite a bit to understand what he's talking about. Dry practice is better, as you won't
have the distraction of report and recoil. If you're already at a high level (unconsciously
competent), you might be able to achieve the epiphany through visualization,
but I doubt it.
If you think you already do this, I would be willing to bet you're not. This is
what Claude Werner means when he talks about, "Much of what you know is false."
It's really easy to think you're doing something, when you're not.
-- Jon Low]
"CCW Printing: Etiquite [Etiquette] When Concealing a Handgun" by Chris Cypert
(I couldn't find the word "Etiquite", so I'm pretty sure he meant "Etiquette".)
Excerpt:
"If we’re carrying concealed, but printing significantly, then regarding the
populations representing the greatest possible danger (Violent Criminal Actors,
peace officers), we’re de facto open carrying and must deal with the downsides
of that method of carry."
“Hey! Free gun!” (What the criminal thinks when he sees you printing.)
"The Violent Criminal Actor knows you have something of tremendous impact/value,
and you don’t know that he knows, or that he’s about to initiate an assault to take it."
"Surveys show that a surprising number of women notice a man’s shoes and other
wardrobe accoutrements immediately upon seeing him."
" “No one has ever asked me about my gun printing which means no one has ever
noticed” is a refrain we hear often. Just because no one approached us at the grocery
store and asked, “Hey, what is that bulge there?” or “Is that a gun?” doesn’t mean
that no one noticed."
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
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***** ***** ***** 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
"When Training Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Be Training" by Marcus Wynne
Consider the criminal and civil liability when one of your students is arrested,
prosecuted, and convicted of a crime related to your training, perhaps using what
he learned in your class. Even if this arrest occurs decades after the class that he
took from you. Even if you required background checks for your students and such.
No the bill does not have to become law. The drafting of the bill is to set a
precedent. To make it easier the next time.
Do you understand what's going on?
Even if you've been retired from teaching for decades, or even if you're dead,
the insurance company is still on the hook if the policy was in force at the time
of the training (not the time of the event). Such is the nature of "professional liability".
The plaintiff sues you (or your estate, or the insurance company who sold the policy
that was in force at the time of the training) for what you taught the perpetrator.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
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
"The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has happened."
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
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***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
I read "When Violence Is The Answer" by Tim Larkin,
ISBN 978-0-316-35464-6 (hard cover)
ISBN 978-0-316-35465-3 (paper back)
I highly recommend. (A friend at work gave the book to me as a Christmas present.)
Excerpts:
"Dulce bellum inexpertis." (War is sweet to those who have never experienced it.)
-- Pindar
. . .
"Each of my students has a different story, but 70 percent of them have something
in common: they only sought out help after surviving an act of violence."
[That's why we have to out reach. If we train them, they could avoid the act of
violence in the first place, and all of the attendant injury. -- Jon Low]
. . .
"Asocial violence doesn't care about your social skills. Negotiating with a serial
killer is like arguing with a bullet. If it's coming your way, words won't deflect it. If
he has decided to stab you to death, capitulation doesn't appease them. It only makes
their work easier. When it comes to asocial violence, if you have not been able to
foresee and escape it, you must render your attacker one of three ways to survive:
incapacitated, unconscious, or dead. . . . "
. . .
"Waiting for your attacker to give up -- or worse, expecting him to follow the rules --
is, putting it bluntly, to risk participating in your own murder."
. . .
"Taking time to reflect on how you found yourself in this position, or waiting for
your assailant to make the first move because you're still thinking about yourself as
the good guy . . . , will get you killed."
. . .
"This gulf in self-perception might be the biggest mental obstacle I have to overcome
with my clients -- male or female, rich or poor, big or small. It's also the biggest obstacle
to keeping yourself safe. It's as if people who plan to hurt you can speak a language that
you've deliberately chosen not to learn."
. . .
"Speed and decisiveness aren't inborn characteristics for most of us -- we have to
learn them."
. . .
"Survival isn't the exclusive province of the bigger and stronger -- it goes to the
person who approaches his or her circumstances with the proper mindset, takes control
of the situation and acts to cause decisive injury instead of reacting to the effects of
someone else's choice."
. . .
"It means you want to be the first one to inflict debilitating injury, and you want to do
it as quickly as possible."
. . .
"What kind of person can inflict a debilitating injury in self-defense? Let me describe
them for you: they are not timid, they don't dance around, they don't worry about being
countered or even killed -- they just plow in with clear intent, like the result is a foregone
conclusion, focused above all on causing that injury and not stopping until it's achieved.
They are you with an action mindset and a clear understanding of the tool of violence."
. . .
"Our perspective dictates our actions -- no matter how much we wish otherwise."
. . .
"The best defense isn't defense at all, it's offense."
. . .
"They were so focused, in each case, on just one of the weapons the attacker had,
which is how they ended up on the receiving end of the other [weapon]."
. . .
"If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
'I'm at a disadvantage,'
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender -- all the factors that untrained people
think make the difference when it comes to violence -- all matter far less than your
mindset and your intent."
. . .
"That's how you flip things in your favor. When you understand anatomy,
you strip the opponent's power down to almost nothing."
Lee Weems conducts intelligent conversations with knowledgeable people.
First Person Safety
"How Many Americans Own AR-15 Rifles and Large Capacity Magazines?
(Light Over Heat #6)" by David Yamane
Primary source:
"2021 National Firearms Survey" by William English
Click on link for free download.
Some very counter-intuitive or unexpected findings.
"What We Talk About When We Talk About Gun Safety (Light Over Heat #7)"
by David Yamane
Sheriff Jim Wilson
Check out the section titled "Latest Stories".
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
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***** ***** ***** 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
The advantage of an MRDS (micro red dot sight) is a single plane of focus.
The shooter superimposes the red dot on the target and presses the trigger.
The problem with an MRDS is finding the dot. Do I need to align the pistol
with my line of sight? Do I need to turn the device on? Do I need to replace the
battery? Do I need to use my iron sights (because the high tech electronic device
is broken)? Because the MRDS is a high tech electronic device, when the enemy
releases an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) all the microscopic wires in your MRDS
will be destroyed. Maybe worse, because your MRDS is an electronic device,
the hackers can hack your sight.
"My MRDS isn't connected to the internet. The hackers can't attack it."
Your car isn't connected to the internet (sometimes). But the hackers can pop
your locks and start your engine without your fob. When I was in the Marine
Corps, I worked ground electronic warfare. We could detonate enemy devices
at the range of our radio signals. You think the hackers aren't working on the
commercially available and easily reverse engineered MRDS? All kinds of medical
equipment have already been hacked. The attacking devices are small enough to fit
in your pocket.
Our enemies (Russians, ChiComs, etc.) know that our infantry rifles use red dot
sights. They have electronic warfare programs to attack these sights. You think
those executable programs won't be released or leaked into the wild? Then the
script kiddies will be running them, just for fun.
"WHERE TO START WITH GEAR FOR CONCEALED CARRY" by MONICA
Spring steel or nylon clips that hold your holster to your belt will wear out,
and need to be changed before they fail. When they aren't springy anymore,
change them.
Magazine springs need to be changed when they wear out. Feel the
spring tension when you push the follower down into the magazine. If it's stiff,
good. If it's soft and mushy, change the spring.
"Mossberg MC2" BY JOHN FARNAM
Concerning "Ambidexterity!", I disagree with John. I think your pistol being
ambidextrous is necessary, because you can't predict which hand you will be using
in combat. If you could, you wouldn't be there in the first place.
TASER type devices don't work as advertised.
"But, in training they worked."
The real world is not the same as your training. The barbed needles will not penetrate
leather jackets or belts. The barbed needles will not stick in skin over bone, such as the
skin over your skull or other similar areas. If the barbed needles do stick, they are easily
knocked or pulled out. The devices on the civilian market will fire two shots at most
before needing to reload. Reloading is not easy (even with practice).
To work correctly, one needle needs to stick in a muscle mass above the belt line and
the second needle needs to stick in a muscle mass below the belt line. Think you can
achieve that in two shots, while being attacked? Have you seen the "sights" on these
devices? Don't deceive yourself.
"Skill Set: Winter Practice" by Tiger McKee
When it's cold, I always carry two sets of gloves. The first is thin and tight.
Kid (baby goat) skin or calf (baby cow) skin. If that is not sufficient (too cold,
fingers getting numb), then I will put the thicker insulated gloves on over the thin
ones.
The Marine Corps issued us leather gloves with wool liners, but I would
not recommend them (too bulky).
I practice with the thin gloves and I practice with the thick gloves over the thin gloves.
That's why I use a Springfield Armory XD, the trigger guard is large enough to allow me
to get my double gloved trigger finger on the trigger.
If you haven't practiced (dry practice is fine) with your gloves, you don't know
if you can make your weapon system work. Trying to make it work for the first
time in combat is the definition of stupid.
If you want to keep your stuff dry in your backpack, put your stuff in Ziploc® bags
inside your backpack. Buying a waterproof backpack is too expensive.
Your holster must cover the muzzle of your pistol. Otherwise, something will
bump the muzzle and push your pistol out of your holster. The pistol only has to
be a little out of the holster for the trigger to be exposed to gremlins. And then
Murphy's Law takes over.
Selway Armory has 45 Super.
Underwood .45 Super 230 Gr. Nosler Sporting Handgun Jacketed Hollow Point
$1.40 per round
Ammunition Depot has ammo in stock.
45 ACP at
Sort by price per round
62¢ per round
And various 9mm for around 50¢ per round.
Ammo prices are coming down.
TULAMMO 9MM 115 GRAIN FMJ
32¢ per round
I mistakenly thought that Red Army ammo was ChiCom. It is actually
Russian made at Tul. Same as Tulammo. Just different packaging.
“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
"Skill Set: DIY Stippling" by Tiger McKee
I find a Dremel tool, and various size drill bits, works fine on plastic grips.
“Chance favors the prepared.
Fortune, the bold.
Providence, the audacious!”
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***** ***** ***** 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
Ghost Guns: The Truth Behind DIY Firearms [and all kinds of other stuff]
by U.S. LawShield, Attorneys Emily Taylor and Richard Hayes
Emily Taylor and Richard Hayes answers to questions like:
· What is a ghost gun?
· Are ghost guns legal?
· Can I sell a ghost gun?
· How many ghost guns are used in crimes?
· What happens if you get caught with a ghost gun?
· What is the Biden Administration’s plan for ghost guns?
· Are my Second Amendment rights at risk?
Serial numbers on receivers were only required as of the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Lots of guns manufactured prior to 1968 had no serial numbers.
"No-Knock Warrants - Why The Amir Locke Shooting Should Terrify Gun Owners"
Colion Noir gives several examples of police executing "No knock" warrants
on the wrong house or on persons not named in the warrant. Amir Locke was not
named in the warrant.
The resident has to protect himself and his family from the home invaders.
The police have to defend themselves from the armed suspect. So, it's always
a lose - lose situation. So, you should have a plan for evacuating your house in
the event of a home invasion. How do you avoid being shot? Don't be there!
Why do we have this problem in the first place? Because judges release convicts,
because parole boards release convicts. Oh, did the media outlets forget to mention
that all of the persons named in the warrants had long violent criminal records?
No judge in his right mind will sign a no knock warrant for a first time offender.
Rather, the police (or prosecutor) will call the suspect or the suspect's attorney and
set up a time for the suspect to turn himself in for booking. That's why you have to
have an attorney on retainer. Can't afford that? That's why you have to have
self defense insurance. Any decent insurance policy will give you an attorney
that you can call 24/7.
"When Training Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Be Training" by Marcus Wynne
Legal precedent. Extra judicial. Extra legal.
The POTUS (initially Reagan) can order any non-U.S. Citizen kidnapped.
Operation Goldenrod
The POTUS (initially Obama) can order any U.S. Citizen killed.
Excerpt: "Anwar Al Walaki, an American citizen executed without due process
via drone by order of President Obama."
Do you understand what's going on?
"Progressives are stuck . . .
They want STRONG Gun Laws, but Gun arrests are mean . . .
get the popcorn . . . " by Langley Outdoors Academy
The narrator does not state it explicitly, because he doesn't want to be labeled racist.
Who do you think are being arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned for gun crimes?
I'll give you a hint, it's not those conservatives clinging to their God and guns.
"THE LEGAL DEFENSE OF JOHN DEROSSETT: PART 1" by SHAWN VINCENT
Posted by Justin Collett
Persons do not "battle opioid addiction". They embrace opioid use by choice,
voluntarily. No one forces them to take the drugs. Much to the contrary, the drugs
are expensive and hard to get. So, they expend much effort (in this case prostitution)
and money to get the drugs. They chose to take the drugs initially and repeatedly.
That is how they get addicted. They are addicted, because they want to do the drugs.
Anyone who tells you differently is lying to you.
Arresting without a warrant, because the suspect is smart enough to avoid the
sting operation, is bad police practice. ". . . testimony from detectives revealed that,
in the history of the entire department, deputies had never attempted a prostitution
arrest by going to a home without a warrant."
Firing a warning shot is criminal stupidity. NEVER FIRE INTO THE AIR!
Smearing a suspect, is abuse of power under color of law and actions outside
the scope of the Sheriff's job description. The Brevard County, Florida sheriff was
way out of line.
Even if the Sheriff's Deputies had been wearing uniforms (they were not), and
even if the Sheriff's Deputies had identified themselves as deputies (they had not),
Mr. DeRossett still might have been justified in shooting them. Because anyone
can buy a sheriff's uniform online. Anyone can claim to be a deputy. Remember,
the St. Valentine's Day Massacre was perpetrated by men dress as police officers.
Claude Werner is correct. USE YOUR WORDS!
"Don't Say You're Sorry - [Self-Defense Law Breakdown: Mens Rea and Actus Reus]"
by Armed Attorneys
You won't have these problems, because you will immediately call your attorney,
whom you have on call 24/7, because you have a self-defense insurance policy.
You won't have these problems, because you will remain silent.
You won't have these problems, because you will immediately call 911 to request
police and two ambulances (one for the assailant and one for you),
and stay at the scene (if it is safe to do so).
You won't have these problems, because you will not tamper with evidence.
"Shoot to Wound or Kill? [The Legs - Self-Defense Gun Law]"
by Armed Attorneys
We shoot to stop the attack. We don't shoot to kill. We NEVER shoot to wound.
Shooting in a combat situation is a low probability event, which means you might
get unintended hits (damaging property, injuring people, maybe killing them).
Shooting to wound is a zero-probability event, which means you will definitely get
unintended hits. And that is criminal negligence.
NEVER render aid to the guy you just shot! That is criminal stupidity. If you're
close enough to render aid, he is close enough to kill you. And he has already
demonstrated that he wants to kill you. That's why you shot him in the first place.
No, he is not incapacitated. He is playing opossum and will kill you first chance
he gets.
Their advice, to render aid if you want to, is criminally negligent advice.
"Why a High-Ranking FBI Attorney Is Pushing ‘Unbelievable’ Junk Science on Guns"
by Radley Balko
Excerpt:
"For years, forensic firearms analysts have claimed the ability to examine the marks
on a bullet found at a crime scene and match it to the gun that fired it – to the exclusion
of all other guns. It can be powerfully persuasive to juries. But over the last decade or
so, some scientists have cast doubt on the claim . . . The most damning criticism of
the field came in a 2016 report by the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and
Technology, or PCAST, which found that “firearms analysis currently falls short of
the criteria for foundational validity,” and that the studies the field’s practitioners
often cite to support their work are poorly designed and “seriously underestimate the
false positive rate.” After decades of deferring to these forensic analysts, a handful
of judges started to heed the warnings from scientists, and have put limits on what
some forensic witnesses can say in court. Those decisions have sparked a defensive
backlash in the forensics community, along with rebukes from law enforcement
officials and prosecutors. Agar’s document is part of that backlash. In the two-page
handout, Agar instructs firearms analysts on how to circumvent judges’ restrictions
on unscientific testimony. He even suggests dialogue for prosecutors and analysts
to recite if challenged. Most controversially, Agar advises analysts to tell judges
that any effort to restrict their testimony to claims backed by scientific research is
tantamount to asking them to commit perjury. Agar’s document was so volatile,
it was upbraided by the Texas Forensic Science Commission (TFSC). That
agency – the only one of its kind – was formed in the wake of revelations that bogus
expert testimony likely caused the state to convict and execute an innocent man,
and is tasked with ensuring that expert testimony given in Texas courtrooms is
scientifically valid. The TFSC called Agar’s advice to firearm analysts “irredeemably
faulty,” and stated that it “runs counter to core principles in science.” "
---
Comment by Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA:
"This is a brief excerpt from a much longer essay that includes a few other
examples of now debunked “scientific analysis” from the FBI. Jim Agar is the
assistant general counsel for the FBI Crime Lab. Sadly, most people in jury
pools have been “educated” in forensic sciences by TV, where firearm examiners
are portrayed as not only being able to link bullets fired through hammer-forged
barrels [e.g., from Glocks] to the specific gun from which a bullet was fired but
also, pending the seizure of the gun, to identify not only the model but also
whether or not it had a compensator or a suppressor. Hammer-forged barrels
lack the tool marks left in barrels with cut rifling – which is why ejected cases are
now sought as evidence – but, consider this: How much variation can their be in
the toolmarks in two barrels with cut rifling when they were produced consecutively?"
---
Comment by Jon Low, KI4SDN:
Sophisticated knowledgeable attorneys know that the vast majority of "forensic
evidence" presented by the prosecution is nonsense. That's why they try so hard
to keep it out of the trial. Everyone knows that the jury lacks the education and
expertise to see how flawed the evidence is.
The American judicial system is bad. But it is better than any other in the world.
"Jordan Peterson: Imitation Of The Divine | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union"
Excerpts:
"We want to infer the value structure that directs attention."
"There is no perception without action."
"Not me. Well, if you think that then definitely you." [Get the context of this
statement at 24:23. Consider.]
"We cannot frame our perceptions outside of narrative structure. And there
are no narrative structures without value. [And values are based on an ethical
structure. -- paraphrase]"
Do you see how this is exactly what we are striving for in defensive pistolcraft?
Why do we teach? Why do we study? Because we are striving for a divine ideal.
Stephen P. Wenger cites the following two articles as warnings. Don't be that guy.
"Girl, 9, Dies After She's Mistakenly Shot by Robbery Victim" by Associated Press
"Victim's friend charged in homicide, shooter cleared" by EVAN GOODENOW
If you can't figure out who you're supposed to be shooting at, DON'T SHOOT!
If you can't hit what you're aiming at, DON'T SHOOT!
If you're doing a crime, or just helping your buddy do the crime, STOP!
Go home, because you're going to get shot (even if you're unarmed and didn't do
anything). You're going to get charged with felony murder if anyone gets killed,
even if you're unarmed and didn't do anything.
Stephen P. Wenger cites the following article to demonstrate the differences between
New Hampshire and Connecticut.
"Judge rules in favor of gun dealer against two Manchester police officers who were shot"
by Nancy West
The gun store defendant, Chester Arms, argued that it was protected by federal law,
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
The government defendant, Department of Safety, claimed sovereign immunity.
"HALF OF U.S. ATTORNEYS GENERAL WANT SCOTUS TO HEAR 2A CASE"
by DAVE WORKMAN
What is the difference between "ambit", "pale", "limit", "boundary", etc. and
why do lawyers choose to use a particular word instead of another? Is there a technical
legal meaning that we laymen don't know? Or are these words of art? Legal decisions
actually turn on these things.
"The Truth Behind Remington's $73 Million Settlement With Sandy Hook Survivors"
by Colion Noir
The case never went to trial. There was no judgment.
Remington, the gun manufacturer, was not involved. They had already gone
bankrupt. The plaintiffs were suing the estate of the former Remington company.
The estate consisted of the insurance companies whose policies were in force
at the time of the event.
The settlement was capped by the insurance policies. So, there was no point
in going to trial because the plaintiffs would never get more than the value of the
insurance policies. So, 73 million dollars is propaganda.
NRA-ILA
Infographic by Andrew Branca, free download
LawOfSelfDefense.com/elements
which resolves to
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca, book
The book is free of charge. Just pay shipping.
Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage.
“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
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***** ***** ***** Survival, Personal Security, etc. ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
"Jordan Peterson - Population Collapse Is Coming"
Lots of "justification" for genocide: over population, global warming, climate change, etc.
"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
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***** ***** ***** War Stories, History, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"Beto O'Rourke backtracks on gun confiscation vow" by Becket Adams
For those too lazy to read,
"The Gun Control Prince himself (Beto O'Rourke) is now an Ardent Gun Rights supporter... Or..."
by Langley Outdoors Academy
The polling must be incredible to cause a 180° shift is his platform.
Don't scoff. There are U.S. citizens stupid enough to vote for such a candidate.
And they aren't all Democrats.
Anyone going to the Primavara 2022 match in Chisinau, Moldova?
Practiscore: https://practiscore.com/primavara-2022/register
May 28, 2022 @ 8:00 AM to May 28, 2022 @ 5:00 PM
Pre-match event on May 27, 2022.
Location: SR Practica, Chisinau, MD 02071
Match fee $55 U.S. dollars.
Dear Sissy,
"The Brussels Choice - Numberphile" by my friend Neil Sloane
The operation is reversible. Do you see how you can make a crypto system with
this operation? It's not homeomorphic to the exclusive-or operation. Ya, I know,
homeomorphisms refer to continuous topological transformations. But, you know
what I'm talking about. Symbolic dynamics.
The ChiComs think they are so smart. Keep chasing, you're going to catch them.
Love,
Jon
The supreme treasure is knowledge,
The middle treasure is children, and
The lowest treasure is material wealth.
-- Mongolian proverb
For those of us who remember watching the original Star Trek on TV as a child.
"THE CURIOUS ORIGINS OF THE FINAL FRONTIER" BY WILL DABBS, MD
"Jordan Peterson: How Autism and Intelligence Connect"
Do you see how you can use this for social engineering?
“Temple Grandin: "The Autistic Brain" ”
You have to figure out how your student thinks, if you want to be able to teach
the student. 13:56
28:55 free education / training (code academy)
My high school computer science teacher, Mr. Lawrence, told me, if you have a
problem that you can't solve, study it until you understand it, and then go to sleep.
When you wake up, you will have the solution. This technique has worked for me
in college and in industry.
Sell your work, not yourself.
Notice the fiber bundles in the brain.
Ya, she's a flaming liberal, but you can get past that.
"Jordan Peterson: Why I am no longer a tenured professor at the University of Toronto
The appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity is demolishing education and
business"
"Jordan Peterson: Advice for Hyper-Intellectual People"
Excerpt:
"There is no relationship between being smart and wise."
“NCOs look after the men, so that officers can find ways to get them killed.
That's the difference between ‘maintenance’ and ‘command.’ ”
-- Garth Ennis
"Ghost Riders in the Sky " by Southern Raised
"Sixteen Tons" by Southern Raised
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thoms Jefferson
*************************************************************************
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
God can do more than you can hope or imagine.
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