Tuesday, May 9, 2023

CWP, 9 May MMXXIII Anno Domini

 Greetings Sheepdogs,
     This newsletter is continuing education for students of defensive pistolcraft.  
     For our friends in countries that prohibit the possession of Bibles and guns,
may I offer you my course outline at
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474513
or send me an email at Jon_Low@yahoo.com requesting the latest version.  
Steganographic and encrypted versions available upon request.  Back channels are open.  
You are not forgotten.  
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Prevention *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
 
     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.  
-- Tim Larkin
 
"What's More Important Than The Gun You Carry?
Viewing self-defense from a different perspective."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/what-s-more-important-than-the-gun-you-carry/
Excerpts:  
     “One of the fallacies of our era is the notion that equipment is the equivalent of force.”  
     . . . small handguns are difficult to shoot well.  
     . . . the greatest defensive skill is awareness.  
     . . . “Don’t tell me what you carry; show me what you can do with it.”
And, I would not be interested in knowing what a person did once,
but what they can do virtually every time, on demand.  
A police officer in Austin, TX, made something like a 50-yard, one-shot stop on a criminal
with his duty handgun.  A church deacon made a 15-yard head shot to stop a killer wielding
a shotgun.  A citizen in a shopping mall successfully engaged a shooter at something like
40 yards.  Can you make those kinds of shots, under that kind of pressure?  
 
"Fear is an instinct.  Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
 
"Are You Mentally Prepared To Defend Yourself?" by Uncle Zo
https://unclezo.com/2023/04/21/are-you-mentally-prepared-to-defend-yourself/
Excerpt:  
     Yes, the situation itself is dangerous and chaotic, but it can be managed and dealt with.  
The real danger lies in finding ourselves not knowing what to do – that’s the novelty that
brings about real panic.  
---
The cited book is
"The Way is in Training" by Matthew S. Little
ASIN: ‎ B0BR9CZL4Y
https://greybeardactual.com/book/
of Grey Beard Actual
https://greybeardactual.com/
     I took a low light pistol class from Matt at the 2022 Guardian Conference.  
I highly recommend.  
 
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."  
-- Tom Givens
 
     I read an article in the United Kingdom mass media reporting on a man attacking and killing
many children in a Kindergarten school.  He used a machete.  Knives are illegal in the U.K.  
No, really they are.  The point is that there is evil in our world.  There are well defined, easily
recognizable, evil persons.  By accident or design, doesn't matter; the result is the same.  
     The Taoists say there are no good men, there are no bad men, there are only different men.  
This is false.  Taoism is wrong.  The whole "Kung Fu" TV show was wrong.  But it was
excellent liberal propaganda.  [If Bruce Lee had starred, instead of David Carradine, it would
have been entirely different.  Just as Bruce Lee stole the show in the "Green Hornet", he
would have stolen the show in "Kung Fu".]  
     The Director of the Kindergarten school ensured that his school was a weapon-free-zone,
thus ensuring no one there could stop the machete murderer.  
     Don't let political correctness get your people killed.  Allowing your people to carry concealed
is a good thing.  The information will leak out.  The enemy will know.  This knowledge will
cause the enemy to choose not to attack your facility.  You WIN!  [This is why the woman /
trans-man did not attack the other two schools, and instead attacked Covenant elementary
school in Nashville, TN.  No, really, the Metro Nashville Police Chief said so.]  
 
“Willingness” is a state of mind.  Readiness is a statement of fact!”  
-- David M Shoup, USMC Commandant, 1960-1963
 
"SHOULD CHRISTIANS OWN AND CARRY GUNS?" by Stav
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ykwp6VZmK8
 
"On Avoidance" by Holt Bodinson (Jeremy D. Clough is listed as the author in a different
location, so I don't know who wrote the article.)
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/training-tips/on-avoidance/
Excerpt:  
     I do not know anyone who’s had to take a human life who does not still struggle
with it in some way.  
     [There are many who have killed that sleep peacefully.  They are at peace because
they know that the killing was righteous.  Those who struggle, do so because their
conscience is bothering them, because they do not believe that the killing was righteous.  
     Do not believe those who tell you that the killing was wrong or unjustified.  Know
that the killing was righteous, and you will have no struggle.  
     The liberal psychiatrists (they are all flaming liberals) will tell you that your lack of
emotion means you're a psychopath.  They lie.  
     Persons will tell you that you were wrong to kill.  Avoid such persons.  They lie.  
     The killing was justified, righteous, and necessary.  Cling to your guns and Bible.  
Eschew the nay sayers.  For they are de facto cowardly liberals.  
-- Jon Low]
 
"Developing Trust in Your Firearm (Long Version)" by Paul Harrell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjvW6bS1jIo
"Developing Trust in Your Firearm (Short Version)" by Paul Harrell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duxix70laqs
     How to develop confidence and trust in your firearm, your ammunition, and your ability.  
This is actually deep psychology.  Mr. Harrell doesn't talk about gear.  He talks about how
you think.  
 
     "You need to have the capacity for danger.  You need to be ‘dangerous’.  
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.  And, that is not
the same thing as being harmless.  . . .  There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.  
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless."  
-- Jordan Peterson
 
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----  (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.  
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 [in the register position]
     UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV:  BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.  [Also, what may move in front of your
target (in case someone panics and runs in front of you) and what is beyond your
target (in case your shot misses or passes through your intended target).]  
 
Excerpted from:  "The Modern Technique of the Pistol", by Greg Morrison,
Gunsite Press, Paulden, Arizona.
ISBN 0-9621342-3-6
Library of Congress Number 91-72644
     RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT
WILLING TO DESTROY
     Conspicuously and continuously violated, especially with pistols, Rule II applies whether
you are involved in range practice, daily carry, or examination.  If the weapon is assembled
and in someone's hands, it is capable of being discharged.  A firearm holstered properly,
lying on a table, or placed in a scabbard is of no danger to anyone.  Only when handled is
there a need for concern.  This rule applies to fighting as well as to daily handling.  If you
are not willing to take a human life, do not cover a person with the muzzle.  This rule also
applies to your own person.  Do not allow the muzzle to cover your extremities,
e.g. using both hands to reholster the pistol.  This practice is unsound, both procedurally
and tactically.  You may need a free hand for something important.  Proper holster design
should provide for one-handed holstering, so avoid holsters which collapse after
withdrawing the pistol.  (Note: It is dangerous to push the muzzle against the inside edge
of the holster nearest the body to "open" it since this results in your pointing the pistol at
your midsection.)  Dry-practice in the home is a worthwhile habit and it will result in
more deeply programmed reflexes.  Most of the reflexes involved in the Modern
Technique do not require that a shot be fired.  Particular procedures for dry-firing in the
home will be covered later.  Let it suffice for now that you do not dry-fire using a "target"
that you wish not to see destroyed.  (Recall RULE I as well.)
 
"The New Rules!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/the-new-rules/
 
"Top 5 Travel Safety Tips From Greg Ellifritz"
https://www.womensoutdoornews.com/2023/04/top-5-travel-safety-tips-from-greg-ellifritz/
 
"Man Accused of Shooting 6-Year-Old Over Basketball Arrested in Florida"
by AWR Hawkins
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2023/04/21/man-accused-shooting-6-year-old-over-basketball-arrested-florida/
     The government releases these convicted criminals into your neighborhood to attack you.  
So, it's up to you to defend your loved ones against these convicted criminals.  
     Of course, the vigilantes would kill the convicted criminals before they attack, thereby
saving everyone the . . . inconvenience.  (Remember the Global War On Terrorism?  That
was the strategy.)  But, of course, that is illegal.  So I would never suggest that.  We good
upstanding citizens never get our hands dirty.  As Miranda Lambert says, holding the
matches with no one else to blame.  But, that is the only way to prevent the 6 year old
(and others) from getting shot.  (Prevention is much better than apprehension, conviction,
and incarceration.)  And it saves the community the cost of trial, incarceration, and further
suffering when the convicted criminal is released.  Oh yes, he will be released.  And his
criminal activity will continue.  Welcome to the real world.  
[The existence of competent vigilantes is never noticed.  You have to use the techniques
of recognized presence.  It's a tricky statistical exercise.  And even those techniques won't
work if the deaths and disappearances (the signal) are below the noise level.  So we can
confidently say that there are no vigilantes.  No, really, ask the Metro Nashville Police
Department, Intelligence Section.  No evidence what so ever.  That's a good thing.]  
---
      Oh, you didn't believe that the judges would release violent convicted criminals?  
"Second judge orders release of accused killer stepdad Tyresse Minter"
by Larry Celona and Carl Campanile
https://nypost.com/2023/04/21/2nd-judge-orders-release-of-accused-killer-stepdad-tyresse-minter/
 
     "If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.  
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.  Therefore
what he must fear is his victim."  
-- Col. Jeff Cooper
 
"Verbal De-Escalation Is A Learned Skill
Stop trouble before it starts."  
by Shelley Hill
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/verbal-de-escalation-is-a-learned-skill/
 
"UPDATED: How mass killers pick out venues where their victims are sitting ducks"
https://crimeresearch.org/2023/03/vince-vaughn-explains-the-obvious-how-mass-killers-pick-out-venues-where-their-victims-are-sitting-ducks/
     Stay out of gun-free-zones!  Keep your children out of gun-free-zones, including all
government schools!  
     Gun-free-zones create unarmed victims for armed criminals to prey upon.  Yes, that is
their intended purpose.  Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.  
 
"Lucky Penny Saves the Day" by tacticalprofessor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/05/07/lucky-penny-saves-the-day/
 
"Preventing Negligent Discharges While Eating at a Restaurant" by tacticalprofessor
https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2023/05/06/preventing-negligent-discharges-while-eating-at-a-restaurant/
 
"Vehicle Run Down Attacks" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/vehicle-run-down-attacks
 
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:  
Don’t go to stupid places.  
Don’t associate with stupid people.  
Don’t do stupid things.  
Be in bed by 10:00pm (your own bed!).  
Don’t look like a freak.  
Don’t fail the attitude test.  
 
*************************************************************************
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to practice) -----

 
 
      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)
 
     No police department, sheriff's department, military or private organization can ever give
you sufficient training.  So, you have to train on your own time, on your own dime.  
     You won't regret your lack of practice, because you'll be dead.  
On the other hand, if you practice, you'll be thinking, "I'm ALIVE!"  
I'm embarrassed to say that I've actually had this epiphany a couple of times in my life.  
If I had been paying attention, I could have avoided the bad situation.  (The world is
full of distractions.  Don't let them kill you.  PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN AND DRIVE!)  
 
Security Operations Summit 2023, $159.00
https://fbsnamerica.com/sos/
Attendees must be an active first responder (uniformed / credentialed officer, responder or
chaplain) or serving a specific faith-based organization in a leadership or safety / security
role to attend.  Because our speakers know they are speaking to a restricted audience,
more sensitive information is shared.  We could fill more seats by opening up registration
— but we want real operators getting unfiltered information.  We want the RIGHT seats
filled.  NOTE: Because it is a vetted audience, it is not live-streamed or available remotely.  
Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 8:00 AM CDT
-to-
Saturday, July 29, 2023 at 1:00 PM CDT
The Journey Church
1240 Leeville Pike
Lebanon, TN 37090
 
Active Self Protection National Conference 2023, $600
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2023/
September 29th – October 1st of 2023 A.D.
Manhattan, KS
 
Guardian Conference, $650
https://guardianconference.com/
Oklahoma City Gun Club
12465 NE 234th St, Arcadia, OK 73007
September 15th - 17th, 2023
Friday, Sept 15th, 2023; 7:15 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday, Sept 16th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday, Sept 17th, 2023; 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
 
Tac Con 2024, $595
(Sold out instantly yesterday, 16 April 2023.  Oh well.  Try again next year.)  
https://taccon.info/
Friday to Sunday, April 5-7, 2024.  Classes run all day, from 8am to 6pm.  
Dallas Pistol Club, just outside of Dallas, TX.  
1830 W Belt Line Rd; Carrollton, TX 75006.  
     If you fill out the registration form, you'll be put on a waiting list.  
 
"Classes by West Coast Armory North"
https://www.westcoastarmorynorth.com/training
 
FPF Training
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/fpf-training-122914420
 
"Take training from different instructors.  
We are all wrong about something."  
-- John Farnam
 
Excerpt from an email from Rob Leatham & Mike Seeklander --
Hello Jonathan,
     Do you focus on your stance positioning and balance as you shoot?  We promise that if
you are not maximizing your ability to be as athletic as you can in disadvantaged positions,
the effect is one of two things, 1. less accuracy, 2. less speed.  We spend an enormous
amount of time teaching structure in our classes specifically in on off-balanced positions.  
Why?  Because this is where you can gain ground on your competition!  
     Keep in mind that if you are defensive minded only (not a competitor), the possibility
of being off balance in a fight is highly likely!  Understanding how to mitigate that is the
key.  We teach an entire segment on balance in awkward positions and here are a few tips:  
    Wide Base:  This is critical in all shooting!  A wide, balanced base (your feet should be
outside your shoulders) will keep you balanced in most positions.  
    Lead foot:  If you are entering and leaning right, the right foot carries the weight.  It is
likely also your breaking foot if you are entering a position.  So if you enter a position
where you have to shoot around a wall and lean right, the right foot is going to be forward
slightly, and the left foot should be spread out enough to counter balance your lean.  
    Stay off the toe!:  This seems to be the most common issue we see, and it is most
apparent when the shooter is leaning around a wall and ends up on their toe on the
opposite foot from the lean.  This is incredibly common, and even necessary in some
positions, but destabilizes the shooter.  The only time you should be up on that toe is
when you absolutely have to in order to see the target you are leaning toward.  In all
other situations, keep the foot flat on the ground and use your lead leg bend to get you
into position to shoot.  
    Accept the position:  This simply means that you will have to accept the loss of balance
in some positions you are forced into.  You will NOT be able to shoot as aggressively in
these positions, so simple let the aiming process (sights or dot) dictate the speed.  Don't
try to out shoot your balance!   
. . .
Rob L. and Mike S.
The Bigger Circle Project
 
“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
 
"The Four Corners Approach to Unlocking Peak Performance"
by Matt
https://www.everydaymarksman.co/podcast/performance-pyramid/
Excerpt:  
     . . . we improve mindset through focus, awareness, and building confidence
through our training, practice, physical skills, and comfort with our equipment.  
 
"DON’T SHOOT!" by The Suited Shootist
https://gatdaily.com/dont-shoot/
Excerpt:  
     Darryl Bolke likes to drive the point home that every round fired is its own individual
use of force decision, requiring independent justification
.  
---
Force Science reaction time studies -
https://www.forcescience.com/tag/reaction-time/
 
"Tiger McKee on Training"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ5BCvTpbqA
Excerpts:  (paraphrased)
     You have to teach way below your level of knowledge.  
     Nothing we do with firearms is natural instinct.  
     When you get the guy who "grew up with guns" to take his first class,
he'll have an epiphany (realizing how much he doesn't know).  
Then when he starts to learn about using the gun for self-defense,
he'll realize that that is on a whole other plane.  
 
"Defensive Learning
Does your firearms training need to have experience under fire?"
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/defensive-learning/
 
" There's No Such Thing As "Average"
We often hear about the “average” self-defense scenario,
but the truth is every encounter is unique. "
by Jeff Gonzales
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/there-s-no-such-thing-as-average/
     As David Yamane says, the average American has one testicle and one ovary.  
Such a person does not exist.  Not even hermaphrodites.  
     Probabilistically speaking, the average event is a point (not even a measurable subset)
of a probability space.  What is the probability of the average occurring?  The measure of
a point in any infinite (The possibilities are infinite, not just combinatorially large.  Stop
and think about it for a minute and you'll see why.) set is zero.  So the probability is zero.  
(Probability zero does not mean the event cannot occur.  It just means the measure of the
probability of the event in the probability space is zero.  Zero probability events happen 
all the time.)  
     So practicing for an average event is effectively practicing for an event that physically
cannot occur or an event that has zero probability of occurring.  Sorry, that's reality.  
(And it is always better to operate in reality.  Fewer surprises.)  
 
"Edged Weapon Training vs Reality - Target Focus Training - Tim Larkin"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcliZnbd8S0
 
Hey Jonathan,
     Mike here and I want to personally relay an interesting comment I got from a good
buddy who is one of my instructors.  His text message kinda blew my mind:  
"A friend called last night panicked because of some craziness in his local community
and wanted me to teach them how to work a shotgun over FaceTime."  
     While I was a bit taken aback . . . I realized that there were many others like him
that might not be as prepared as they think with their self-defense skills, firearms, or
medical plans.  . . .
Until Then - Train Hard!
- Mike Seeklander
 
     A student in my Defensive Pistol class was practicing the hostage rescue drill (stolen
from John Farnam's Instructor Development class), where you start standing behind cover,
move out in an non-threatening manner (pistol in correct two handed grip, but out of sight
or pointing down) and ask the bad guy, "What do you want?"  When the bad guy starts to
respond, you shoot him in the cranial-ocular cavity (center of the triangle defined by the
eyes and nose).  [Talking is a high order intellectual activity.  It is almost impossible to
talk and shoot at the same time.  Answering a question is a high order intellectual activity
that requires attention and concentration.]  
     The student is right-handed and right-eye dominant.  She was having difficulty when
shooting the drill right-handed.  But when she attempted the drill left-handed using her
left eye to aim, she drilled the bad guy dead center every time, very fast, no hesitation.  
So, it wasn't just better marksmanship.  It was much more than that.  
     You must allow your students enough support-side shooting time to discover this ability,
or to discover that such an ability does not exist for them.  
     The left hemisphere of the brain is different from the right hemisphere of the brain for
every person.  The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body.  The right hemisphere
controls the left side of the body.  So yes, this is a real thing in psychology and physiology.  
As yogini Kristen Frick says, your left and right sides are sisters, not twins.  
And for some of us, they are half-sisters, or step sisters, or strangers (depending on how 
far your multiple personality disorder has progressed.) 
 
"Active Response Training
Close Quarters Gunfighting Class AAR" (After Action Report)
by David Zakar
https://thehebrewhammer.net/2023/04/30/active-response-training-close-quarters-gunfighting-class-aar/
Excerpt:  
     In retrospect, compensators weren’t such a hot idea for this class.  You are shooting
a LOT of rounds from retention, which means you’re basically pushing the blast (and
possibly spall) straight into your face.  I didn’t have any trouble with spall when using
the P365’s “slide comp”, but I sure noticed the blast, especially with +P ammo.  I’m not
sure if I would have done things differently (these are my carry guns, after all), but if you
have a choice, don’t use a comp.  
 
"John Holschen: Aligning Training with Reality" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i4Ozr6VtRE
     Worth watching on many levels.  
 
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
 
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get competent at that task) -----
 
     "Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
 
     The purpose of practicing low light techniques with a flashlight is to regularly be apprised
of the limits of your ability to see in the dark.  With the flashlight that you carry everyday,
as opposed to the one you brought to the class.  At what distance can you positively identify
a human target?  an animal target?  a vehicular target?  
 
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.  
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
 
"Developing Consistency
It's not enough to practice. Your practice needs to be consistent."  
by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/developing-consistency/
Excerpts:  
     When you practice consistently, you develop habits that support your growth in the
activity.  These habits become ingrained and serve as a foundation for further improvement.  
The more consistently you practice, the stronger and more effective your habits become,
making it easier to achieve your goals.  
     By establishing clear goals, creating a dedicated practice routine, prioritizing quality
over quantity, monitoring progress, and remaining flexible and adaptable, you can
cultivate consistency.  
---
     [If you're not consistent, you're doing something different every time.  You think you're
doing exactly the same thing every time, but you're not.  Because you can't feel or see or
sense the difference, because you lack kinesthetic awareness.  
     You develop kinesthetic awareness by practicing (not plinking, not playing, not fooling
around).  Once you develop kinesthetic awareness, you will feel the error and automatically
correct it, without being told to.  Practice is amazing.  
-- Jon Low]  
 
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
 
"Deep Practice: Improve Your Shooting The Right Way" by Richard Nance
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/deep-practice-improve-your-shooting/471011
 
"50 ROUNDS | A Minimalist Approach To Practice" by Clint Smith
https://americancop.com/50-rounds-a-minimalist-approach-to-practice/
 
“100 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress.”  
-- Clint Smith (in the context of police training)  
 
"Be careful what you practice.  
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."  
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Intervention *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************

----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes not getting involved) -----
 
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
 
"Uniformed School Resource Officers Aren't the Solution to Stop Mass Public Shootings"
by John R. Lott, Jr.
https://townhall.com/columnists/johnrlottjr/2023/04/24/uniformed-school-resource-officers-arent-the-solution-to-stop-mass-public-shootings-n2622308
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
Excerpt:  
     With six murdered at the Covenant School in Nashville at the end of March, Tennessee
Governor Bill Lee proposed over $200 million in new measures to protect schools and
prevent more such attacks.  One of his proposals is to put “an armed security guard in every
school in Tennessee.”  Both Republican Senators from Tennessee have offered similar
legislation in the form of the federal Safe Schools Act.  Governor Lee understandably
wants to do something to prevent this type of violence from ever happening again.  But
allowing teachers to carry firearms in their classrooms is a much more effective and less
costly solution.  A bill advanced by a Tennessee state House committee last week would
do just that.  Having an armed ally in a school could stop attacks. but identifiable officers
are easily targeted.  “A deputy in uniform has an extremely difficult job in stopping these
attacks,” noted Sarasota County, Florida, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman.  “These terrorists have
huge strategic advantages in determining the time and place of attacks.  They can wait for
a deputy to leave the area or pick an undefended location.  Even when police or deputies
are in the right place at the right time, those in uniform who can be readily identified as
guards may as well be holding up neon signs saying, ‘Shoot me first.’
  My deputies know
that we cannot be everywhere.”  There's a good reason air marshals on planes don't wear
uniforms.  If you have an armed officer in a school, don’t put him in uniform and make
him readily identifiable.  Give him a staff position in the school so it won’t be obvious
that he is the one person with a gun.  The prospect of armed resistance deterred the
Covenant School shooter from choosing another target.  [Actually, 2 other targets according
to the Metro Nashville Police Chief.]  “There was another location that was mentioned,
but because of a threat assessment by the suspect of too much security, they decided not to,”
said Nashville Police Chief John Drake.  Unfortunately, no one at the Covenant school
had a gun to fight back with.  [Which was an intentional decision by the
Covenant Church / School leadership.]  These murderers count on gun-free zones to
ensure they will be the only armed person.  Last year, the Buffalo, NY shooter wrote in
his manifesto:  “Areas where CCW permits are outlawed or prohibited may be good
areas of attack.”  Unfortunately, national media refuses to report such explicit statements
by attackers.  Nor do they report that 94% of mass public shootings occur in places
where civilians are banned from having guns.  Violating gun-free school zones in
Tennessee means a six-year prison term.  While that is a severe penalty for law-abiding
citizens, an additional six years for someone such as the Covenant school mass murderer
is irrelevant, even if they had lived.  The murderer would already be facing six life
sentences or the death penalty.  Twenty states already allow teachers and staff to carry
concealed handguns.  Any teacher with a concealed handgun permit can carry in Utah
and New Hampshire.  In other states, school boards or superintendents decide the policy.  
In the thousands of schools where teachers are permitted to carry, no one has been
wounded or killed in an attack during school hours.  Only at schools where guns are
banned have people been hurt or killed in school shootings.  Other common concerns
about allowing teachers to carry guns – such as students getting a hold of the weapons
or teachers losing their tempers – have never actually occurred . . .  
---
     [Don't let political correctness get your people killed.  A few years ago, Covenant
Church had a schism.  The conservatives left and formed Stephens Valley Church.  
Covenant Church implemented their anti-gun liberal policies and got the above result.  
All mass murders occur in gun-free-zones.  If your church is a gun-free-zone, leave.  
If your children's school is a gun-free-zone, get them out.  Waiting till tomorrow, may
be too late.  
-- Jon Low]  
 
     Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
 
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."  
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be competent to do in support of your strategy) -----
 
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
 
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
 
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
 
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
 
"The Do’s and Don’ts of Handgun Shooting for the Cross Dominant" by Melody Lauer
https://www.recoilweb.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-handgun-shooting-for-the-cross-dominant-136222.html
     If you haven't taken a class from Melody, it would be worth the travel, hotel, and tuition 
to take a class from her.  She is a deep thinker.  
 
"The Most Important Pistol Skill" by Salvatore
https://reflexhandgun.com/2023/04/25/the-most-important-pistol-skill/
Excerpt:  
     The most important skill with a pistol, as it pertains to self-defense,
is being able to deploy it efficiently, safely, and quickly.  
     We could say that the draw to a first, solid hit, is most important.  
I would submit that the draw itself can be separated out from the first
accurate hit to an extent because most defensive gun uses end with a
gun displayed yet no shot fired.  
     [TRUTH!  The vast majority.  According to Prof. Gary Kleck, Prof. John Lott,
the NRA, and others.  
     One need not even present the pistol.  I have been able to get the
bad guys to leave by clearing my concealment garment and establishing
a correct grip on my pistol.  This was a kidnapping attempt of another
person.  Though I didn't know at the time. -- Jon Low]  
     "5 – Support-hand only draw"
[What's the point of practicing shooting support-hand-only if you never practice drawing
support-hand-only?  If your firing-side-hand is injured, you won't be able to use it to
draw your pistol.  This needs to be taught in pistol classes.  This needs to be practiced.  
Yes, it is dangerous.  That's why it needs to be taught and practiced.  
-- Jon Low]  
 
"When it all Goes Wrong: One-Handed Revolver Reloads" by Nate Parker
https://www.usacarry.com/one-handed-revolver-reloads/
     Just because you don't carry a revolver does not mean that you won't be using a revolver
in combat.  All kinds of strange things happen in combat.  So it's important to be able to use
a revolver in combat (that mean adverse conditions, not the pristine conditions of your local
range).  When I was in the Marine Corps, we did familiarization fire, disassembly, assembly,
and cleaning of all sorts of weapons (especially enemy weapons).  
     Just because you don't carry a revolver doesn't mean you won't have a student who brings 
a revolver to class.  You must be able to teach this student. 
---
     I have never seen a revolver with a cylinder release on the right-hand side of the weapon.  
Can you use your left index finger to release the cylinder? as a left-hander would release a
magazine from a semi-auto with a mag release on the left-hand side.  Or can you reach over 
with your right-hand to activate the cylinder release? 
---
     Reasons not to carry a revolver:  
     Lots of moving parts.  Lots of tiny moving parts (including springs).  
Therefore, less reliable than a modern semi-auto.  Ask any mechanical engineer.  
     Needs to be reloaded too often.  
     More difficult to reload than a modern semi-auto,
which means more time is required.  
     Not ambidextrous.  Cannot be modified to be ambidextrous.  
     Old technology.  
 
"Gunfight in the Dark: Would You Survive?" by Mike Boyle
https://www.thearmorylife.com/low-light-close-range-realistic-tactics-for-the-armed-citizen/
Excerpt:  
     I would submit that for most scenarios road cops, investigators and armed citizens
might find themselves in, a hands-apart technique is the way to go.  
     [On the inside of my belt, on my support side, I have a leather pouch that holds one
magazine and one flashlight.  I recommend you do likewise. -- Jon Low]  
 
     If you keep your hands up to protect your face and head, it is possible and reasonable to
block head punches with your elbows.  
 
"Red Dot Pistol Tips and Tricks" by SLG
https://pistol-training.com/red-dot-pistol-tips-and-tricks/
     I don't use red dot sights, but I know many of you do.  
 
     I often include articles that I completely disagree with, because it is important to understand
both sides of the argument.  
"Switchology 101: The Right Light for Your Firearm" by Jeremy Stafford
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/switchology-101-the-right-light-for-your-firearm/247716
     A weapon mounted light is inappropriate for civilian concealed carry.  Because you will be
using the WML to search, which violates Safety
RULE II:  NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER
     ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.  
     If you don't think so, stop and visualize the scenario.  Or use a weapon mounted light in 
force-on-force training.  You'll see for yourself. 
 
     I initially was not going to cite this article, because I think it is nonsense.  But then I
thought that if you are reading my blog, you might be curious as to the sort of article that
I choose not to include.  That way you can make an informed decision as to whether
or not to trust my judgment.  
"An Alternate Approach to Pistol Sights" by Chris Baker
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/an-alternate-approach-to-pistol-sights/
Excerpt:  
     "ASHTON: And, critically speaking, most of the shooting errors we see have little
to do with sighting and much more to do with changing the grip before/during the
trigger press.  That’s what moves the sights off the target, that’s where your “low-left”
[scatter for right-handed shooters] comes from."  
     [No, that's wrong.  Right-handed shooters scatter low left (and left-handed
shooters scatter low right) when they anticipate the recoil and push against it.  
The solution to this problem is the surprise trigger break, as Col. Cooper taught
us decades ago. -- Jon Low]  
 
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Postvention *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
----- Aftermath (You have to be alive to have these problems:  
criminal and civil liability.) -----
 
     A police officer (I did not get permission to quote him nor identify him by name in my
blog posting) spoke to us at the Tennessee Firearms Association, Nashville Chapter meeting.  
He told us of a gunfight that he had been in several years ago.  He and a supervisor and a
fellow officer were clearing an apartment in low income government housing.  He saw an
amorphous blob in a closet.  A hand projected out of the closet with a pistol in it.  He
suffered several gunshot wounds before becoming aware that he was in a gunfight.  
Once he realized what was going on, he emptied his magazine at the suspect.  [He was
using a 9mm Glock with a weapon mounted light.]  In the closed confined space of the
small apartment there was no breeze.  [All of his practice in low light conditions with a
flashlight or weapon mounted light had been outdoors.]  After the first shot, the grey cloud
of smoke made vision impossible.  [So he was firing without being able to see anything,
much less positively identify his target.]  He then crawled out of the apartment to find
his supervisor and his partner in the hallway in wide eyed shock.  They had not fired a
shot.  They had not helped him.  They had retreated outside.  
     He told us of his PTSD symptoms.  He returned to work and felt fine, but became a
"disruptive employee", was stripped of his pistol and duties, and forced to attend psychiatric
sessions.  He recovered and returned to full duty.  He is happy now.  His advice to us
was to seek help after an incident, because you don't know what the symptoms will be,
and you won't know how to treat them.  So seek professional help.  
     Another piece of advice he gave us was to take care of yourself, eat well, sleep well,
and exercise.  
 
"Lightning Strikes Thrice: Lessons From One Officer’s Shootings"
by Massad Ayoob
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/concealed-carry/lightning-strikes-thrice-lessons-from-one-officers-shootings/
     It's good to know what to expect in a real shooting.  Knowledge will lessen the surprise,
the shock.  
 
     In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
 
“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
 
     In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".  
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
Read this before you buy insurance.  You need to make an informed decision.  
     "You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob  
 
     If you live in a first world country that is functioning properly, you can call the cops to
report a dead body and let them take care of it.  But what if you can't?  
     "Disposing of Corpses Post-SHTF" by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2023/05/disposing-of-corpses-post-shtf.html
     My experience working in hospitals and the morgues in those hospitals was that bodies
start to stink within 4 hours of death.  
     In the Marine Corps we bring our dead home.  We search and then leave enemy dead.  
No souvenirs, no desecration.  
     If you want to quickly eliminate the body, thermite.  Thermite is easy to make,
aluminum powder and ferric oxide (rust from iron).  Thermite is available from welding
supply stores.  Thermite blocks (12" X 12" X 3") for destroying the engine blocks of
abandoned vehicles are available in most supply units (you pull a cord to ignite them).  
If you don't have a 55 gallon drum, a hole in the ground will work, or any confined space
(the trunk of a car, especially if the gas tank is under the trunk).  Or phosphorous grenades.  
 
“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
 
----- Survival, Medical, etc. -----
 
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
 
"My 35 Best Practices" by Paul T. Martin
https://paultmartin.com/blog/f/my-35-best-practices
 
"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
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Education *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
 
"On Hunting" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/on-hunting/
 
"SEX TRAFFICKING AND WHY NO FAMILY MAY BE IMMUNE"
by Steve Moses
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/sex-trafficking-and-why-no-family-may-be-immune
Excerpts:  
     A large number of sex trafficking victims are believed to be children in
the foster care system.  
---
     [The foster care system is very bad.  This is why it is common for teenage
girls to run away from foster care.  
(Foster parents have many children under their care.  So they won't notice the
absence of the child for days, weeks, or months.)  Ya, as a matter of fact, I do know.  
I was a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children in the Tennessee
Family Court system in Wilson County.  
     And if the foster parents were good, and the child tries to come back to them,
the foster parents won't take her back because she ran away.  It's a vicious cycle.  
     A colleague (and old Marine Corps buddy) was brought into the Tennessee
Department of Children's Services to clean things up.  He actually recovered
several children that were listed as dead on the records.  We still tease him about
resurrecting children.  That's how bad the government systems are.  That's how
bad the government employees are.  You can't fix these systems.  You have to
purge them.  But, you can't, because they are staffed with deeply entrenched
civil servants, who de facto cannot be fired.  
-- Jon Low]
---
     National Human Trafficking Hotline at  888-373-7888 [save on your phone, you
never know]  
 
     Why do law enforcement agencies [as the Federal Protective Service (responsible for the
physical security of all federal facilities) and many local police departments] contract out
their responsibilities to private companies?  
     The U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court rulings require government law enforcement
officers (LEO) to get search warrants.  Private security may do "administrative inspections"
without warrants.  
     LEOs must be able to articulate probable cause to arrest.  Private security may "detain"
without probable cause.  (Actually, without any reason at all.)  
     LEOs must get warrants to do wire taps.  Private security need not (depending on state
law, neither party need know of the tap, or only one party needs know of the tap, or both
parties need to know that the conversation is being recorded by a third party; if the
communication is interstate federal law applies, if one of the parties to the conversation is 
in a facility that you have authority over, no laws apply, because it's in your house).  
If LEOs do a wire tap and the warrant is found to be defective, all information is fruit of 
the poisonous tree.  If private security does the tap, the recordings can be used as evidence, 
the information is a tip just like any other citizen reported tip (attributed or anonymous).  
     This list could go on for pages.  But you get the idea.  
 
     History is important.  
"Jack Weaver:  The Real Weaver Stance" by Jeremy Clough
https://americanhandgunner.com/handguns/jack-weaver-the-real-weaver-stance/
 
     "Unfortunately, the world’s villains are irresistible,
particularly to the voluntarily naive/stupid!"  
-- John Farnam
     "Sudan" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/sudan/
 
"Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 28, 2023" (and all other weekends)
by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/weekend-knowledge-dump-april-28-2023
 
ANSWERING YOUR EMBARRASSING GUN QUESTIONS PT 2!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZfns34Wo3w
 
MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER
Rangemaster Firearms Training Services
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-05_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf?
     Concerning Tim Kelly's article --
     How do you prevent the student from closing his eyes when the gun goes BANG! ?  
Ask him to look for the muzzle flash.  Yes, it will be visible, even on a bright day.  
(It's not enough to point out problems.  You must always give a solution.  Otherwise,
you're not really an instructor.  It's wrong to leave the student wondering, how to fix
the problem.)  
     Defining two words by referencing the other word is not good.  
     Accuracy refers to how close the center of mass of the group is to the point of aim.  
You adjust your accuracy by moving your sights (assuming your shooting is consistent).  
     Precision refers to how tight the group is, regardless of the point of aim, regardless
of the point of impact of any individual shot.  Shooting, as any experiment in the real
world, is a probabilistic event, not a deterministic event.  Given a point of aim, the
point of impact is a probability distribution (probability density function).  
---
     Tom Givens refers to a "flyer" as being completely his fault, and lists several possible
causes.  I suggest that such fliers may not be "forced errors" (baseball terminology),
but rather a result of the probability distribution of the experiment.  Low probability
events occur because their probability is non-zero.  Even zero probability events
occur.  So in reality the flier may not have been his fault.  I have seen Tom shoot.  
I know of what I speak.  
     No matter how much you practice, you can't force the point of impact to match the point
of aim.  You can only estimate the center-of-mass of your group to be the point of aim.  
Blame the Uncertainty Principle.  Oh yes, it has macroscopic effects, because errors stack.  
I know that there is a statistical mechanics argument that random errors will cancel out
at the macroscopic level.  But we are dealing with systemic errors.  Because we are in
the real world.  Sorry, that's just reality.  
---
"15 Stats Explaining Deadly Errors in Lethal Force Engagements" by Jake
https://www.tierthreetactical.com/15-stats-explaining-deadly-errors-in-lethal-force-engagements/
 
"7 Things Gun Stores Won't Tell You (But you should know)" by Backfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAK1hJ_1SkQ
     Also some gun store etiquette.  Mark up on guns vs. mark up on accessories.  Common
mistakes when filling out the ATF forms.  
 
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
 
*****     *****     ***** 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
 
"Becoming an Expert Witness" by Marty Hayes
https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/becoming-an-expert-witness
     If you're going to be an expert witness, you have to hide all of your political bias.  You have 
to appear to the jury as impartial, objective, knowledgeable, and professional. 
 
"Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the ATF's "bumpstock" ban is unconstitutional."
https://app.getresponse.com/view.html?x=a62b&m=B9jUQv&mc=JC&s=zwPKif&u=izZc&z=ES6uJSg&
 
"The myth of “due process” and Red Flag laws" by John Harris
https://tennesseefirearms.com/2023/04/the-myth-of-due-process-and-red-flag-laws/
     A deep dive into the law.  
 
"Breaking!!! Supreme Court 6-3 Carry Decision Up For Immediate Emergency Review!"
by Armed Scholar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6adamoOQxvk
 
"Wounded officers say gun fired without them pulling trigger" by Washington Post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdRHKDTPht4
     SIG Sauer P320.  
 
"Vivek Ramaswamy angers Don Lemon in debate over civil war, Second Amendment:  
'It's infuriating' "
by Gabriel Hays
https://www.foxnews.com/media/vivek-ramaswamy-angers-don-lemon-debate-civil-war-second-amendment-its-infuriating
---
     We can argue whether the so-called Civil War was actually fought to end slavery but
Ramaswamy is guilty of some hyperbole.  In his seminal essay “The Racist Roots of Gun
Control,”Clayton Cramer dates the first recorded law in what would become the United States
denying arms to blacks to the 1751 French Black Code in Louisiana and notes:  
“While arms restrictions on free blacks predate it, these restrictions increased dramatically
after Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, a revolt that caused the South to become increasingly
irrational in its fears.  Virginia’s response to Turner’s Rebellion prohibited free blacks
'to keep or carry any firelock of any kind, any military weapon, or any powder or lead …”  
     In his infamous 1857 ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, Justice Roger Taney commented
that recognizing citizenship of Black Americans black citizens would include
“the right to . . . full liberty of speech in public and private upon all subjects which
[a state’s] own citizens might meet; to hold public meetings upon political affairs,
and to keep and carry arms wherever they went.”  
     Back to Cramer:  “The end of slavery in 1865 did not eliminate the problems of racist
gun control laws; the various Black Codes adopted after the Civil War required blacks
to obtain a license before carrying or possessing firearms or Bowie knives; these are
sufficiently well-known that any reasonably complete history of the Reconstruction
period mentions them.  These restrictive gun laws played a part in the efforts of the
Republicans to get the Fourteenth Amendment ratified, because it was difficult for
night riders to generate the correct level of terror in a victim who was returning fire.”  
     So, Ramaswamy seems to fall into AOC's category of being “factually incorrect but
morally right.” Lemon isn't even worthy of comment.  
-- Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
 
"Testimony before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary on Gun Control"
by John Lott
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/12/testimony-before-the-u-s-house-committee-on-the-judiciary-on-gun-control/
 
"Nebraska becomes the 27th Constitutional Carry State" by John Lott
https://crimeresearch.org/2023/04/nebraska-becomes-the-27th-constitutional-carry-state/
---
     North Dakota, come August 1, will be Permitless Carry and will apply to anyone in the
USA who can legally possess a firearm.  Currently, Permitless Carry in North Dakota is
only for residents of the state.  (North Dakota has been the only remaining state to maintain
the permit requirement requirement for nonresidents.)  
 
"Ann Coulter interviews John Lott about the Nashville Covenant Mass Murder,
media bias, and the difficulty one police officer has stopping mass public shootings"
https://crimeresearch.org/2023/04/ann-coulter-interviews-john-lott-about-the-nashville-covenant-mass-murder-media-bias-and-the-difficulty-one-police-officer-has-stopping-mass-public-shootings/
 
"Giffords may have just DESTROYED the Gun Control movement.  
This is bigger than a slip of the tongue" by Langley Outdoors Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLKQ6dYwq3Q
---
"Gun Grabbin' Gabby Giffords Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud!"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSHSitdxgXk
---
Primary source document,
" 'No More Guns. Gone': Why Gabby Giffords Isn't Giving Up"
by Philip Elliott
https://time.com/6274979/gabby-giffords-gun-control/
 
     Justice Marshall wrote in Marbury v. Madison that a law repugnant to the constitution is void.  
     But a law does not create itself, its creator is the legislative branch although it could also
in some instances arise from the judicial or administrative branches.  Since a law does not
arise without a creator, what Justice Marshall was telling us is that the creator(s) of such a
law is that whom is repugnant to the constitution and should be, nay must be, removed from
office before more harm can be done.  
-- John Harris
 
"Dem Witnesses Have No Response When Lindsey Graham
Confronts Them With Things RBG Did While On Court"
by Forbes Breaking News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVRIpMwuUzM
 
"Supreme Court Immediate Block of "Assault Weapon" & Magazine Bans Coming!?!"
by Armed Scholar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsVcTbDaTt0
 
    “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
 
*****     *****     ***** 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
 
     In the "How to be an Assistant Instructor" class, Tiffany Johnson tells of a student who
suffered a stroke during the classroom portion of a class that Tiff was teaching.  The only 
symptom was a "checked out" expression.  If you and your Assistant Instructors are
not paying attention to the students, the student may be dying in front of you in the second
row of your class while the lecture rambles on.  
     Tiff says, "Don't wear dark glasses."  You need eye contact with the students. 
     Tiff says, you have to explain the chamber check in detail.  The student may never have
seen a loaded or unloaded chamber before.  The student doesn't know what he is looking for.  
So, you have to explain.  Assuming is dangerous!  
 
"Managing the Unsafe Student in a Firearms Class" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/managing-the-unsafe-student-in-a-firearms-class
 
Qui docet, discit.  (Who teaches, learns.)
-- motto of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
 
"On Apprenticeship" by David Cagle
https://www.facebook.com/tom.givens.37/posts/pfbid031HqxrZt1tTT1ipAjEgvpDdWTEwD2X5pdC1dkj3JMA8Hh4vsD2q3rapfobjJxCZtrl
or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rangemaster/permalink/10159229675790924/
Excerpt:  
     Standing on the shoulders of giants isn’t just a saying, it’s a strategy.   
     If you are truly in a position where you can’t devote time to cultivating a relationship
with a mentor in that way, I would first posit that you may be too busy to teach at all
until you can.  
     Your ability to become a living vessel of the subject matter is limited only by your
own willingness and effort to study.  
     Teaching is both an honor and a heavy responsibility, and there are people out there
who will help you along the path.  Being an apprentice first shows you care more about
your current and future students than you care about your ego.  
 
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”  
-- Chuck Haggard
 
     A student in my Defensive Pistol class was practicing the hostage rescue drill (stolen
from John Farnam's Instructor Development class), where you start standing behind cover,
move out in an non-threatening manner (pistol in correct two handed grip, but out of sight
or pointing down) and ask the bad guy, "What do you want?"  When the bad guy starts to
respond, you shoot him in the cranio-ocular cavity (center of the triangle defined by the
eyes and nose).  
     Talking is a high order intellectual activity.  It is almost impossible to talk and shoot
at the same time.  Answering a question is a high order intellectual activity that requires
attention and concentration.  So by getting him to answer your question, you are giving
yourself time.  
     The student was right-handed and right-eye dominant.  She was having difficulty when
shooting the drill right-handed.  But when she attempted the drill left-handed using her
left eye to aim, she drilled the bad guy dead center every time, very fast, no hesitation.  
So, it wasn't just better marksmanship.  It was much deeper than that.  
     You must allow your students enough support-side shooting time to discover this ability,
or to discover that such an ability does not exist for them.  
     The left hemisphere of the brain is different from the right hemisphere of the brain for
every person.  The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body.  The right hemisphere
controls the left side of the body.  So yes, this is a real thing in psychology and physiology.  
As yogini Kristen Frick says, your left and right sides are sisters, not twins.  
And for some of us, they are half-sisters, or step sisters, or strangers (depending on how 
far your multiple personality disorder has progressed.) 
 
     Consider learning the topics below, teaching the topics to your friends and relatives,
and how to teach to their friends and relatives so that they will be able to teach their
friends and relatives (because they will, so it's up to you to see to it that they do it correctly).  
     Inspecting pistols and holsters for safety and reliability.  
     Cleaning pistols for reliability and accuracy, and storage.  
     Modifying pistols for fit and utility (correct word, instead of usability).  If the pistol is
not comfortable to shoot or is hurting their hand, the shooter is not going to enjoy the
experience.  Which means he won't practice.  
---
     Unload all pistols.  Check your neighbor's pistol to see that it is unloaded.  Instructor
and assistant instructors check all pistols to see that they are unloaded.  
     Ensure that their is no live ammo in the room.  
---
***** Start of Equipment Inspection *****
     Please do a thorough equipment inspection to make sure the pistol and holster function
properly.  
     Remove the magazine from the pistol.  
     Chamber check to make sure the pistol is unloaded.  
     If the pistol has a magazine safety and will only fire with a magazine inserted in the
magazine well, insert an empty magazine and make sure it is locked in place.  
(A magazine safety is a design flaw.  You must be able to shoot the round in the chamber
if attacked while reloading.  So such a pistol is inappropriate for self-defense.)  
     Keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction.  
     Rack the slide.  
     Press the trigger.  You should feel slack (no sear movement) and then a hard stop
(sear engagement).  Press through the hard stop to release the firing pin (sear movement).  
(If the sear is machined correctly, the trigger release will be smooth and crisp, no catching,
no gritty feel, no friction.)  You should hear the click of the firing pin being driven forward.  
If not, the pistol needs a gunsmith.  
     Put a pencil in the barrel with the rubber eraser end toward the firing pin and point the
pistol up.  The firing mechanism should have enough force to pop the pencil out of the barrel.  
(Otherwise, the student is going to get a lot of misfires due to light firing pin strikes.)  
     Press the trigger and hold it to the rear.  Rack the slide.  Release the trigger to reset the
action.  There should be a distinct click on reset.  (The lack of a distinct click on reset is a
design flaw.  Multiple clicks, making it impossible to determine which click is the reset,
is a design flaw.  Such a pistol is inappropriate for self-defense.)  Take the slack out of the
trigger.  (Yes, there will be slack after the reset.)  There should be a hard stop.  Press through
the hard stop.  There should be a distinct click as the firing pin is driven forward.  
If not, the pistol needs a gunsmith.  
     Check that the pistol does not fire when any one of the safeties is on.  If it does, it needs
a gunsmith.  
     Check that the pistol does not fire when the slide is out of battery.  [Some pistols
(e.g. Sig P229) are designed to fire when out of battery.  They claim that this is a reliability
feature.  Because in close combat the slide may be pushed out of battery.  Such thinking is
wrong.  When fired with the slide out of battery, the case will rupture sending flaming
propellant down into the magazine, burning through the other cases, and igniting the rounds
in the magazine.  Yes, as a matter of fact, I have seen it happen.  I watched a Kimber model
1911 blow up in my son's hand when it fired out of battery.  The rounds in the magazine
ignited and blew the stocks (side plates) off the grip, and blew the magazine out.]
     Check that the pistol does not fire when holstering with the safeties off.  
(Yes, some ill-fitting holsters will press the trigger when holstering.)  
     Check that the pistol does not fall out of the holster when you turn it upside down and
shake it.  (Yes, even for inside the waistband holsters that use the pressure of the belt to
squeeze the holster against the body.)  
     Check that the mouth of the holster stays open, so the student can holster with one hand.  
(Two handed holstering causes the student to muzzle his support side hand.)  
***** End of equipment inspection. *****
---
***** Start of Cleaning and Storage *****
     Put away all ammo.  
     Cleaning is essential to prevent malfunctions and to maintain accuracy.  You must clean
the lead and copper fouling out of the bore of the barrel, because if the bore gets too small,
pressure in the barrel and chamber will get dangerously high.  The change in pressure will
cause a change in point of impact relative to your point of aim.  
     If the fouling turns your rifled-barrel into a smooth-bore barrel, your bullets won’t
stabilize, and will scatter all over the place.  
     Clean before initial use.  Clean after every use.  If carried and not used, clean monthly
(Your body is a warm moist environment conducive to rust.  Your clothes have lots of lint.  
If you ever cleaned your drier lint trap, you would know this.).  The high-tech finish on the
exterior of your modern pistol may not rust, but the small springs will.  The lint will foul
your trigger mechanism.  
Cleaning your pistol –
      Field strip your pistol.  Disassembly beyond field stripping should be done by an
armorer or gunsmith.  
     There is nothing wrong with using your dishwasher, an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner,
or soaking the field stripped pistol in a bucket of WD-40 overnight as an initial cleaning
step.  But that's not enough.  You must follow the steps below to clean your pistol.  
     Spray everything down with something that will dissolve the carbon.  WD-40 works fine
and is relatively cheap.  
     Take a real stiff brush and scrub all surfaces.  (Including outside surfaces.  The pistol is
covered with your perspiration and dead skin.)  A toothbrush designed for humans is too soft.  
The brushes that come in military cleaning kits are good.  The brushes sold in golf shops
for cleaning the face of golf clubs are good.  The brush needs to be very stiff and able to get
into tiny nooks and crannies.  Use pipe cleaners (the real stiff bristly kind that you buy in the
smoke shops), and Q-tips as needed.  
     Get a bronze bore brush (Brownells sells an extra tough bore brush that creates a lot
more friction and hence significantly reduces the number of strokes needed to clean a bore.)
and bore solvent (Hoppes No. 9 or some other bore solvent), dip the brush in the solvent
and run the brush through the bore 20 times.  (All the way forward and all the way back
counts as one stroke.)  After brushing the bore, run a couple of clean patches through the bore.  
(Avoid cloth with lint.  Coffee filters work fine and have no lint.)  Look down the bore with
a light at the other end.  The bore should be glassy smooth and shiny.  If not, repeat the
process until the bore is glassy smooth and shiny.  You’ve got to get the copper and lead
out of your barrel.  There is enough heat and pressure during firing to cause the copper
jacket residue or lead bullet residue to chemically bond to the interior of the barrel.  
A nylon bore brush is too soft.  A steel bore brush is too hard. (It will scratch your bore.)    
If you see rough spots or rough lines parallel to the rifling, get out the bore brush and
bore solvent and do another 20 strokes.  (Don't get impatient and use a steel tool to scrape
the fouling out.  You will regret the scratches you cause.  Fouling will build up in the
scratches you made, which will be very difficult to clean the next time.  How would I
know this?)
     Lubricate with a light coat of oil, especially the rails of the slide, springs, and trigger
mechanism.  The operative word is light.  
     After cleaning and lubricating, you might want to blow the excess lubricant out with
compressed air, so you don’t spray lubricant everywhere when you fire the pistol.  
[Keep your cans of compressed air away from your drug addict friends.  Otherwise, they
will huff the whole can and pass out.]  Or it may be sufficient to wipe everything down
with a clean dry rag.  
     “Rust is neglect.” – Kimber owner's manual
Cleaning your magazines –
     Disassemble your magazines.  Get magazines with removable base plates to allow
easy cleaning of the interior.  If the base plate won’t come off, you can trap the spring
(by compressing the spring and sticking a paper clip through the magazine sideways) and
pull the follower out, and then pull the spring out.  
     Get stainless steel magazines.  They won’t rust.  
     Clean and lubricate the interior of the magazine, the spring, and the follower.  
Brass has a low coefficient of static friction, but steel (Wolf or Tul ammo) and aluminum
(Blazer and Federal ammo) have much higher coefficients.  So, the inside of the magazine
must be clean and lubricated to allow the ammunition to feed reliably.  (Yes, as a matter
of fact, ammo will get stuck in your magazine if it is dirty enough, especially with double
stack magazines.)  
     Have your pistol completely disassembled and inspected by a gunsmith annually
(depending on how much the pistol is used and maintained) to check for wear and to
replace springs before they weaken or break.  As with all mechanical devices, worn out
parts need to be replaced.  Every cleaning is an inspection.  
     Replace your magazine springs when they no longer feel strong to you, before they
malfunction on you.  You don't have to buy from the manufacturer (very expensive).  
The online gun stores, such as Brownells, Midway USA, Numrich Gun Parts Corporation,
etc. have lots of replacement springs for your magazines.  
Storage –
     Store firearms and ammunition separately to deny a burglar a complete system.  
Lock up all firearms and ammunition when you’re not using them, just as you would
lock your car or house in a high crime area.  Firearms must be secured against untrained
children, untrained adults, and those unauthorized.  Security by obscurity is
cryptologically wrong.  Hiding your guns will not work.  Children are curious and will
search, often more efficiently than police (who are often bored and irritated when
forced to search).  So, the firearms must be locked in secure containers, closets, or safes.  
     For long term storage a coat of oil or grease would be appropriate.  The military uses
Cosmoline.  
***** End of of Cleaning and Storage *****
---
***** Start of pistol modifications ***** (Ya, this is a repeat from the last blog posting.)  
     My modifications to the typical plastic frame striker action pistol
for my students and clients --
                    Internal:  
     Polish all trigger mechanism bearing surfaces.  Smooth and round the sear
in the frame that holds the striker back.  The Glocks come from the factory
as a sheet metal stamping and so are rather rough and mis-shapen.  
     The maritime modification, which means the cups around the striker have been
cut to allow water to drain out in the event of the pistol being submerged.  Otherwise,
you get a hydraulic action retarding the striker.  Which could cause a light striker
hit on the primer.  ["My pistol will never get submerged."  Ya, right.]  
     Smooth and polish all bearing surfaces that force the chamber up and down as
the action cycles.  
     Smooth and polish all bearing surfaces between cartridge, magazine, feed ramp,
and chamber.  
                    External:  
     Debur all sharp protrusions.  The entire surface of the pistol should be as
a used bar of soap.  Otherwise, your student is going to get cuts and blisters.  
     Grind off the protrusions on the front strap that separate the fingers.  Because
nobody's fingers match those protrusions.  Those protrusions are a serious design
flaw.  
     Grind out some space at the sides of the tang to avoid irritation and blisters when
used by students who have arthritis or protruding sesamoid bones.  
     Grind a smooth undercut and side cuts in the trigger guard where it meets the
grip to avoid "Glock knuckle" (a blister and callous on the big joint of the middle finger).  
     Shave off some of the plastic on the sides of the Glock magazines.  They are
just too tight.  I think you ought to be able to eject the magazine by twisting your
forearm in a snappy motion, roll the pistol (as opposed to pitch or yaw), using
centripetal acceleration to force the magazine out.  Of course, if it dropped free
with gravity that would be better.  
     Machine out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch to allow proper sight
alignment, especially in low light conditions.  Take a hundredth off each side, so as
not to disturb the zero.  They are the steel tritium glow in the dark Glock sights,
not the cheap plastic sights.  If the barrel is short, you may have to machine out
3.5 to 4 hundredths of an inch.  
     Grind smooth the sharp inside corners of the rear sight notch.  And then
coat with an indelible black ink, such as Sharpie Rub-a-Dub Laundry Marker
or Sharpie Permanent Marker.  Hot or cold bluing is difficult these days with all
the EPA restrictions.  
     Machine serrations in the sides of the slide to allow purchase to perform a
chamber check.  Ya, I know some instructors teach against the practice of doing
a chamber check at all.  And some teach against performing a chamber check by
reaching under the pistol and grabbing the sides of the slide with the pads of the
fingers.  And of course, if you have a weapon mounted light under your barrel,
you might not be able to do such a chamber check.  But, I teach against weapon
mounted lights for civilian concealed carriers.  And I like doing a chamber check
this way.  Ya, I know it gets your fingers too close to the muzzle.  [I'm conflicted.  
I have psychological tension.  I suffer from institutional inertia.]  
***** End of pistol modifications *****
 
     "Teach them diligently . . . "
-- Deuteronomy 6:7
Lots of different translations / interpretations.  
https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Deuteronomy%206:7
What kind of web master puts spaces in his file names?  Oh, right.  
 
     You should teach your students the material in your course.  Even more important,
you should teach your students how to teach the material in your course.  Because they
will be teaching your material to their friends and relatives.  Which is a good thing.  
No, you should not be miffed at your loss of profit because others are teaching your
material.  You should be flattered that they considered your material of such high value
that they shared it with their loved ones.  Many will not be able to teach your material,
so they will refer their loved ones to you.  WIN! 
 
     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 Salomon
 
"Citizens Safety Academy Effective Assistant Instructor Webinar Review"
by Daniel Reedy
https://www.primerpeak.com/citizens-safety-academy-effective-assistant-instructor-webinar-review/
---
How to be an Effective Assistant Instructor, $75
https://onlinepermitclass.com/courses/ai-package/
---
     Yes, I took the class.  Not the original, the recorded webinar.  I highly recommend.  Because 
you really don't know what you don't know, until Tiff slaps you up side the head and explains 
it to you. 
 
"Speak More Effectively" by Dale Carnegie
https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/presentation-effectiveness-a-free-guide-to-effective-public-speaking
     Free download ebook.  
Excerpt :  
     "Never, never, never memorize a talk word for word."  
     "The old Roman philosophers used to say, “Exemplum docet” (the example teaches).  
And how right they were!"  
     "Much harmful, misleading nonsense has been written about delivery of a speech.  
The truth is that when you face an audience, you should forget all about voice, breathing,
gestures, posture, emphasis.  Forget everything except what you are saying.  What
listeners want, as Hamlet’s mother said, is “more matter, with less art.”  
     Do what a cat does when trying to catch a mouse.  It doesn’t look around and say:  
“I wonder how my tail looks, and I wonder if I am standing right, and how is my facial
expression?”  Oh, no. That cat is so intent on catching a mouse for dinner that it couldn’t
stand wrong or look wrong if it tried — and neither can you if you are so vitally
interested in your audience and in what you are saying that you forget yourself."  
     "Will Rogers prepared his famous Sunday night radio talks by trying them out as
conversation on the people he met during the week.  If, for example, he wanted to speak
on the gold standard, he would wisecrack about it in conversation during the week.  
He would then discover which of his jokes went over, which remarks elicited people’s
interest. That is an infinitely better way to rehearse a talk than to try it out with gestures
in front of a mirror."  
 
"Tiger McKee on Training"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ5BCvTpbqA
Excerpts:  (paraphrased)
     You have to teach way below your level of knowledge.  
     Nothing we do with firearms is natural instinct.  
     When you get the guy who "grew up with guns" to take his first class,
he'll have an epiphany.  Then when he starts to learn about using the gun
for self-defense, he'll realize that that is on a whole other plane.  
 
     I used to teach the presentation from holster to target without concealment garment
first, and then I would teach the presentation with open front and closed front concealment
garment.  
     I don't teach the presentation without concealment garment anymore.  So the student
doesn't have to unlearn the open carry technique.  
 
     "The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.  
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."  
-- Robert John Meehan
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****     ***** Gear *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
"Is It Right For You?
There are many different kinds of pistols out there,
and what’s right for one person might not be right for you."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/is-it-right-for-you/
     Sheriff Wilson is correct.  Fit to you (your hands, your eyes, you body type for concealment,
etc.) is subjective.  Take the time and put in the effort to find a pistol that fits you.  
 
     All of the fingers of your support side hand must be on the grip of your pistol.  Yes, the
grip must be that long.  Your support side hand little finger provides most of the resistance
to muzzle flip, because it has the longest lever arm from the pivot point (the tang of the
grip).  That is physics.  
 
     Your bore must be clean and dry.  A light coat of oil or any incompressible liquid will
cause dents in the bore.  That is fluid physics.  That is material science.  
 
"12 Gauge #4 Buckshot to the FACE!" by Sherman House
https://civiliandefender.com/2023/04/21/12-gauge-4-buckshot-to-the-face/
Excerpt:  
     If you fire a shot and get a good hit, and the attacker breaks off, mission accomplished!  
Top off, check yourself for injuries, grab some cover if you haven’t already, keep your
head up and get on the phone to the police.  
 
"Magazine Spring Stress Tests" by David Lewis
https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/magazine-spring-stress-tests/
Excerpt:  
     So, unless you’re part of the group of individuals that actually shoots thousands
of rounds down range on a weekly basis for training or completion reasons,
the whole issue of worrying about the lifespan of your magazine springs is somewhat trivial.  
 
" Elite Swinger Moving Target with 8 inch Plates "
https://www.challengetargets.com/product/CT-SWINGER-ELITE-R8.html
Check out the video at the bottom of the web page.  
 
"The Best Shooting Ear Protection You Can Get In 2023"
by Sam Hoober
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/the-best-shooting-ear-protection-you-can-get-in-2023
     Mr. Hoober talks about ear plugs that use "diaphragms".  My research has indicated that
the best passive, non-electronic (no batteries) ear plugs use ceramic baffles.  
Hocks Noise Braker for instance,
https://www.noisebrakers.com/
     If you're going to use foam ear plugs, you must roll them between your fingers until they
become long and thin.  Then insert them deep into your ear canal.  Hold them in place while
they expand and fill your ear canal.  If they are sticking out so far that you can see them
outside your external auditory meatus, they probably are not in deep enough, and won't
protect you.  If they are in deep enough, you will feel congested, because they will interfere
with air pressure equalization.  That's why you NEVER wear ear plugs while SCUBA diving,
even if you're shooting under water.  (You may be thinking that the speed of sound in water
is much higher than the speed of sound in air.  So the report of your firearm under water
would cause you more hearing damage.  But that is not the case.  Acoustic energy, and thus
pressure, dissipates more rapidly in water than air because the wave must move more mass.  
Water having a higher density than air.  Ya, I know that's hand waving fluid physics.)  
 
"The Secrets of Gunpowder
Because not all propellants are created equal [sic, equally, I cannot tolerate bad writing.]  
by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/the-secrets-of-gunpowder/
     The more surface area the granule has, the faster it burns.  Spheres minimize surface
area.  Flakes maximize surface area.  Cylinders are in between.  (Within the manufacturing
and engineering constraints that we are talking about.)  
 
Hey Jon,
     With everything blooming, May's the best month to show your gun how much
it means to you.  And here's three ways to tell your semi-auto "I love you" without
breaking your piggy bank:
    holster = your gun's new home
    ammo pouch = storage for your gun's food
    gun belt = emotional support for your gun
. . .
Al
craftholsters.com
 
"Body Armor for Private Citizens" by Massad Ayoob
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/body-armor-for-private-citizens/
     I have worn many different types of body armor in the Marine Corps and in private 
security.  The company will issue you body armor.  If you believe that your life is of value, 
buy your own.  Get the best.  I would recommend Safariland.  I paid $900 for mine 
a few years ago.  The quality and workmanship is there.  
     Good to see stuff like this published on the GunMagWarehouse.com blog.  
I buy magazines from GunMagWarehouse.  
 
"Tweaking Your Wardrobe for Successful Concealment Part 1."
by The Suited Shootist
https://gatdaily.com/tweaking-your-wardrobe-for-successful-concealment-part-1/
"Tweaking Your Wardrobe For Effective Concealment Part 2."
by The Suited Shootist
https://gatdaily.com/tweaking-your-wardrobe-for-effective-concealment-part-2/
      [Word!  (that means truth in certain vernaculars) -- Jon Low]  
"Tweaking Your Wardrobe for Effective Concealment Part 3"
by The Suited Shootist
https://gatdaily.com/tweaking-your-wardrobe-for-effective-concealment-part-3/
     In my last job as an armed guard at the federal building in downtown Nashville,
we had to wear neck ties.  They were clip on, and tore off easily.  
 
"Why Hollow Points Don't Expand" by Paul Harrell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yu8WwT8mw
1.  inappropriate target (not liquid)
2.  inappropriate barrel length (too short, bullet doesn't reach speed threshold)
3.  hollow point clogging
4.  inappropriate range (too far, bullet slows below speed threshold)
5.  inappropriate or non-existent test protocols
     More videos at
https://www.youtube.com/@PaulHarrell/videos
 
"5 Things You Must Know About Detachable Magazines
Mags are the unsung heroes of proper firearm function."
by John Tertuliani
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-things-you-must-know-about-detachable-magazines/
 
Hi Students,
     The Defensive Pistol course is fast approaching.  I trust you have acquired all your
equipment and ammunition.  
---
     Your trigger must fit your trigger finger.  When the pistol is gripped correctly (barrel
in line with the bones in the forearm, web between the thumb and index finger up high
and tight against the tang, middle finger tight against the bottom of the trigger guard) and
the slack is out of the trigger, your trigger finger should be pressing the trigger straight
to the rear. No vector component of lateral force.  
     If the gun store clerk tells you that the trigger on your pistol cannot be moved to
accommodate the length of your trigger finger, he lies.  A competent gunsmith can move
the trigger. Some gunsmiths won't do the job for fear of liability. But some will.
"Some girls don't like guys like me. Ah, but some girls do." -- Sawyer Brown
     Moving the stock trigger might not be the best option.  You may need to replace the
trigger with an after-market trigger.  That's fine.
---
     Your grip must fit your firing side hand. The tips of your middle finger and ring finger
must be able to point back towards you.  You would never wear shoes or gloves that did
not fit.  Why would you use a pistol that doesn't fit your hand and trigger finger?  The life
of your loved ones will depend on your competence.  So, get it right.  
---
     Now that we have deburred all sharp edges from all of our equipment, we can move
on to adjusting the equipment to fit us and work properly.  If you don't accomplish this
process before the class, you will end up with cuts on your hands from sharp edges on
your equipment and blisters on your hands from wear against parts of your equipment
that should have been filed down.  We will be shooting 1000 rounds in two days in a
very intense mentally focused manner.  Which is not the same as shooting 50 rounds
casually in a day of plinking.  So, we need to find out where your hands and your pistol
do not mate perfectly.  If your grip is plastic, we can file it.  If your grip is aluminum we
can file it, or you may need to use a Dremmel tool on it.  If your grip is steel, we can file
it, or we may need to ask Coach Hoffman, a professional machinist, to fix it for you.  
If you think your factory stock pistol fits you, you're wrong.  Everyone is different, every
mass produced pistol is the same, so how could it possibly fit you.  If you had the pistol
custom made for you and they took moldings of your hands, then maybe your pistol fits
you.  But I wouldn't bet on it.  Your pistol and all other equipment should feel as does a
used bar of soap, smooth.  If there are any sharp edges anywhere, file them down.  
You may feel it's minor, but in training and in combat, it will be major, perhaps even
debilitating.  
     If racking the slide causes a little discomfort in practice, I guarantee that that rear sight
will rip a bloody cut across your palm in combat.  Adrenaline causes you to be much
stronger in combat. You won't feel any pain in combat, but the tendons connected to your
fingers will be torn and your blood will make your grip very slippery.  This may well be
the reason you lose the fight.  And you must never lose the fight.  So, file down that rear
sight until it is smooth.  If you don't know what you are doing, please, PLEASE, ask me
for help.  So, get together with me as soon as you can so we can get your equipment fitted
to you.  
---
     If your sturdy gun belt is not continuously adjustable, punch enough holes in your belt
to allow you to adjust for changes in your waist measurement.  (eating, defecating, pregnancy,
eating ice cream before going to sleep, exercising, etc.)  
---
     If your holster does not work for you, we will need to order you another holster.  This
may take several weeks.  So, don't wait.  Procrastination kills.  (At the least, it will prevent
you from enjoying the class.)  
     Your holster should be mounted at 3 o'clock on your gun belt if you are right-handed
and at 9 o'clock if you are left-handed. (If you have your holster mounted anywhere else,
please read the section on holsters in our lesson plans.)  
     Sit down in a chair, all the way back.  The grip of your pistol should not bang the back
of the chair, because that would give away the fact that you are armed, defeating the purpose
of carrying concealed.  Adjust your holster mount so that the pistol cants forward.  So, the
grip does not stick out the back.  This is also important so that the grip does not get caught
on the chair back and lift the chair when you stand up.  Or worse, twist your pistol out of
your holster when you stand up.  If your holster does not allow such adjustment, get a real
holster.  
---
     Adjust your magazine / flashlight pouch, so that it is in a position that allows you to
easily acquire an indexed grip on the magazine and your flashlight.  Your pouch should be
mounted from 9 to 11 o'clock for right handers and from 3 to 1 o'clock for left handers.  
There are severe disadvantages for mounting anywhere else.  (See the lesson plans.)  
---
     Send me your equipment list, so we can make sure everything is appropriate before
the class starts. Because once the class starts, it's 3 weeks too late.  
     In high stress situations, easy things become difficult, and difficult things become
impossible.  So, you must practice until everything is trivially easy.  
Cheers,
Jon
 
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
 
*************************************************************************
*****     *****   Religion, Politics, History, War Stories, et al   *****     *****     *****
*************************************************************************
 
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
 
Rest In Peace Tiger McKee (8 December 1959 to 16 April 2023)
who died unexpectedly in his sleep in his bed next to his wife of 30 years
on Sunday, April 16, 2023 A.D at age 63.  
     "Tiger McKee Memorial Service 04-23-23"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIErf-jjgqE
     Go Fund Me for his wife, Gretchen,
https://www.gofundme.com/f/tiger-mckee
---
"In Memoriam: Tiger McKee" by Tom McHale
https://americanhandgunner.com/news/in-memoriam-tiger-mckee/
---
"WE HAVE LOST ANOTHER GREAT GUN GUY" by Massad Ayoob
https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/we-have-lost-another-great-gun-guy/
---
     No one lives forever.  And even if they did, they would retire from teaching.  
So take classes from the masters now.  Tomorrow may be too late.  
     You can search for his videos on YouTube.com.  
     It's amazing what you learn about a guy at his memorial service.  Tiger was a car guy,
a motorcycle guy, an artist, an entrepreneur, a 30 year husband (of the same woman), 
a church guy, and a gun guy.  
Friends of the family gave stirring testimonies.  
     I was standing in the overflow section of the church, Grace Fellowship.  (And I got
there an hour early.)  
     I read his writings religiously.  
 
“4 Rs” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/4-rs/
 
"2017 Personality 20: Biology & Traits: Orderliness/Disgust/Conscientiousness"
by Jordan B. Peterson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBWyBdUYPgk
 
"Louisville shooter Connor Sturgeon reportedly detailed reasons for rampage in manifesto"
by Katherine Donlevy and Steven Vago
https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/louisville-bank-shooter-connor-sturgeon-left-manifesto/
Excerpts:  
     Sturgeon . . . hoped to showcase how easy it was to buy a gun in Kentucky and wanted
to highlight [his] . . . mental health crisis . . .  
     He also planned to end the slaughter by suicide — a wish that was granted when he
was shot to death by police officers when he brandished his firearm.  
     . . . Sturgeon had been told he was going to be fired from the bank shortly before
the massacre.  
 
"Tucker Carlson: The Biden admin is incentivizing bad behavior"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaNdNcVol2Y
     On May 1st, Brandon's rules will force people with credit scores above 680 to pay a fee
on their mortgage to subsidize those with lower credit scores.  As President Reagan said,
tax what you want to destroy and subsidize what you want to grow.  
 
"Tucker: This is a dark moment in our history"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAfGKyM5szo
     Genital mutilation of minors in the United States.  Hungary standing up to the woke
propaganda.  
 
"Tucker Carlson: It is hard to believe this is happening"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9eN19qkZRk
 
"Here is WHY MrBeast is in BIG Trouble" by Ben Shapiro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJM4lILOAM
 
     Analysis of Chris Rock stand up "comedy" routine.  
"Lila Rose REACTS to Chris Rock Brilliantly Mocking the Pro-Abortion Stance"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR-BSO1Kp7I
 
Monty Python called it in the 1970's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5RWtGAMyk
 
Murder and organ harvesting in China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h10KmprqHp4
 
Breaching with a shotgun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89862LGOlE
 
"Gun Rights Helped WWII Vets Overthrow Corrupt Politicians"
The Battle of Athens, also known as the McMinn County War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJZSD5GtCn8
     Sometimes you have to kill the politicians.  Works the same way anywhere in the world.  
No sense in getting yourself arrested.  Just to it correctly, the way you were taught.   You 
got good results overseas.  You'll get the same results in CONUS.  Law enforcement at the 
municipal level is high school educated.  Law enforcement at the federal level is corrupt.  
There is no real threat to competent vigilantes. 
 
"YOUR MURDER MAY GO UNSOLVED" by Gabe Suarez
https://www.patreon.com/posts/your-murder-may-82509586
Excerpt:  
     "In areas of high crime, the lack of cooperation with the police is widespread.  
Think about it, will you elect to testify against the Mexican Mafia on a murder case?  
Its ok, you will need to leave your current life and friends and go into hiding vis-a-vis
witness protection, but you will feel good about doing your civic duty.  No?"  
     Source documentation,
Murder Accountability Project
http://murderdata.org/
 
     How it's supposed to look.  Or, at least the way I remember it.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxIWDmmqZzY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZjEC4WhCvg&list=RDU0Y-NBVi1LM&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVER6hyoyJo&list=RDU0Y-NBVi1LM&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRv7EjjwYBI&list=RDU0Y-NBVi1LM&index=20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWDHKjMAbVk&list=RDNWDHKjMAbVk&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEjCDriXwnI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19d2aolIx0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3nswy0LNsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbhCPt6PZIU
 
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Cryptology *****     *****     *****
 
     "Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.  
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.  
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
 
     Remember the Mirror Visitor.  
"Factorials, Harmonic Numbers, and Trig" by Lines That Connect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HwwY4czx_E
Inversions.  Reflection formulae.  
     Background at
https://www.youtube.com/@LinesThatConnect
[The author is not ready to reveal himself.]  
 
"Sean Carroll - Philosophical Issues in Quantum Thermodynamics"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9COqqqsFtc
     Note Information / Entropy / Time.  Your cryptosystem operates in the real world,
and so is subject to physics (whichever denomination you adhere to).  The ciphertext is
high entropy.  The plaintext is low entropy.  Intelligent work causes a lowering of entropy.  
Systems with finite degrees of freedom don't equilibriate the way systems with infinite
degrees of freedom do.  Your cryptosystems operate as systems with finite degrees of
freedom.  
     Laws are only reversible if information is conserved.  Laws that destroy information
are not reversible.  
     "Past Hypothesis" is nonsense.  
     Fast and loose with the definition of the word "entropic".  At several points.  
     Heat death (equilibrium at the end of the universe) temperature when I was in college
was 3 Kelvin.  My how things change.  10^(-37)?  How in the world did he get that number?  
     Statistical Mechanics is deep and fundamental.  
 
"Four Ways To Write A Pitch-Shifter - Geraint Luff - ADC22"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJUmmcGKZMI
     Digital Signal Processing at a conceptual level, no math.  But significant.  Do you see
how you can use this?  This is all about information preservation / conservation.  
 
     When I read Harry Potter to my kids, the stirring of potions got stuck in my mind.  
What is the difference between stirring clockwise and stirring counterclockwise?  
[This is not a fluid physics question.  It's a conservation of parity question.  Remember
Madam Wu's experiment?  Because only experiments count.  Theories come and go.]  
What is the expected [used in the technical probability sense] result of
"Stir twice clockwise."  
"Stir seven times anti-clockwise."
"Add a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir."  
-- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Chapter 9, by J. K. Rowling.  
When is a maximal entropy achieved?  
     Given a new deck of cards, how many imperfect riffle shuffles are needed to get the
entropy of the deck to stops increasing (in an equilibrium, non-transient, sense)?  What do
the casinos require?  What do the magicians says?  Remember the deck of cards is a system
with finite degrees of freedom.  Your cryptosystem has finite degrees of freedom.  Sorry,
that's reality.  
     Every system in the real world has finite degrees of freedom.  All systems are finite.  
All systems are discrete.  [Statistical mechanics]  Quantum mechanics says so.  
Do you see the problems with using the math for continuous systems with infinite degrees
of freedom?  [Thermodynamics]  It's a mistake that can be exploited.  
     Remember negative Kelvin temperatures?  In systems with finite degrees of freedom,
you can force a decrease in entropy (getting closer to the plaintext) by pumping energy
into the system (more stirring, more shuffling).  Oops!  
     [No, actually, cryptosystems do not have astronomical degrees of freedom.  They are
highly constrained by engineering, materials, and physics.  But mostly by human
imagination, or lack thereof.]  
 
"The famous Chinese Room thought experiment - John Searle (1980)"
by Jeffrey Kaplan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBE06SdgzwM
     Formalized symbol manipulation.  Do you see the problem?  How do you decipher
hieroglyphics?  Assuming you have the symbols, but no dictionary.  No Rosetta Stone.  
How do you decipher arbitrary ciphertext?  How do you pull semantics out of syntax?  
 
"Powell’s Pi Paradox: the genius 14th century Indian solution" by Burkard Polster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypxKzWi-Bwg
     Are series that converge faster better than those that converge more slowly?  Which has
more or less information? entropy? . . .  
 
"LogJam Attack" by Computerphile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVtjsd00fWo
     Abstract of the paper --
"Imperfect Forward Secrecy: How Diffie-Hellman Fails in Practice"
https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2810103.2813707
     The paper --
"Imperfect Forward Secrecy:
How Diffie-Hellman Fails in Practice"
by David Adrian, Karthikeyan Bhargavan, Zakir Durumeric, Pierrick Gaudry,
Matthew Green, J. Alex Halderman, Nadia Heninger, Drew Springall, Emmanuel Thomé,
Luke Valenta, Benjamin VanderSloot, Eric Wustrow, Santiago Zanella-Béguelin, and
Paul Zimmermann
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2810103.2813707
 
     Precompute and attack.  
 
     "Premature optimization is the root of all evil."  
-- Donald Knuth
 
*************************************************************************
     *****     *****     *****  Intelligence   *****     *****     *****
 
“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.)
 
Scout Sniper:  Hey Staff, we got voices and noise apparently coming from wall, but can't see
any speakers.  
SSgt.:  Echoes off the wall.  Angle of reflection equals angle of incidence.  
SS:  Got 'em.  
 
"Mexico’s President Attacks U.S. DEA for Investigating Sinaloa Cartel"
by Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2023/04/18/mexicos-president-upset-at-dea-for-investigating-sinaloa-cartel/
     Do you understand what's going on?  
     SigInt at its best.  
 
"Elon Musk reveals the goal of the new Twitter"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxStDmHFAE
 
"Special Forces Swiftly Evacuate US Embassy Staff from Sudan" by The Associated Press
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/american-embassy-personnel-sudan-evacuated-airlift/2023/04/23/id/1117168/
     Just as in Afghanistan, Brandon abandons U.S. Citizens in Sudan.  
 
"Ukraine Demand Hitting U.S. Heavy Ammo Stocks, Manufacturing Capabilities"
by Simon Kent
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/23/report-ukraine-demand-hitting-u-s-heavy-ammo-stocks-manufacturing-capabilities/
     That's okay.  The Marine Corps has disbanded most of its artillery units (and all of its tank
units, and most of its helicopter units, and all of its Scout Sniper units [including the Scout
Sniper school]).  What could go wrong?  
 
"Tech Giant Oracle Cuts Ties with Foreign Disinformation ‘Experts’ GDI"
by Allum Bokhari
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/04/21/tech-giant-oracle-cuts-ties-with-foreign-disinformation-experts-gdi/
     I always liked Larry.  I did some database stuff for him when I worked
in Silicon Valley.  Oracle won the database wars because it was theoretically
correct, which resulted in faster look ups.  
     He would land his plane at the San Jose Airport late at night and just pay the fines.  
It's nice to be rich.  
     He owns most of the island of Lanai in Hawaii.  Fond memories. 
     When Military Systems Group was looking for software, Larry offered to modify Net Suite
for us.  But MSG management wasn't interested.  Oh well.  
 
     “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious
conviction.”
-- Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 — 19 August 1662)
     " The leftist “religion!” " by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/the-leftist-religion/
     If you don't understand what John is talking about, consider this.  The massacre in Haditha,
Iraq was the fault of Gen. James Mattis.  He could have accepted responsibility (as any
leader would) and quashed the witch hunt, but instead he let the out of control Judge
Advocate General proceed.  Hence, the Haditha 8 were charged.  All charges were
eventually dropped, except for SSgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who was forced to accept a
plea deal to avoid the vindictiveness of the JAG and even more prison time for doing
his duty as a Marine.  (The Marine Corps may have reduced SSgt. Wuterich to Private,
but I will always refer to him as Staff Sergeant.)  
     Mad Dog was never a good man.  Too bad it took Trump so long to figure it out.  
 
"2017 Personality 18: Biology & Traits: Openness/Intelligence/Creativity I"
by Jordan B. Peterson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Kn5p7TP_Y
     At what resolution should your data be perceived?  Common cultural background assumed.  
Can you abstract?  Can you manipulate your abstractions?  Can you visualize with sufficient
accuracy to eliminate the stupid?  Can your unit?  Do you need to bypass the officers in order
to?  
     Intelligence as abstract actions, not abstract representation.  Do you see how you can use
this?  
     What you see can cause you to act, without understanding or being conscious of the imagery.  
Short circuiting the OODA loop.  Beating the enemy to the draw.  
     Cocaine, alcohol, etc. cause super learning.  Craving, etc.  That's why drugs are so dangerous
to us.  They destroy our intelligence.  That's why it is so effective to pump drugs into the
enemy country.  You can shift the normal distribution of the intelligence of the population
way down.  Why do you think China and Mexico are flooding our urban centers with drugs?  
Sure there is the profit motive.  It's always nice to make money while advancing your agenda.  
Why did the Taliban kill all the heroine producers in Afghanistan?  Oh, didn't you know that?  
Shame on you for believing the U.S. mass media.  
     Poverty does not cause crime.  Relative poverty is correlated with male homicide.  
     IQ of 85 is 15% of the population.  IQ of less than 83 cannot be inducted into the
U.S. Army.  
     The series of lectures is at
https://www.youtube.com/@JordanBPeterson
 
"The United States Dominates Signal Intelligence" by Peter Zeihan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjeGLc9kmeg
 
"Prigozhin: Wagner Group will leave Bakhmut, Russian defense officials to blame"
by DW News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRofbJxJgYU
 
"Nuclear Physicist EXPLAINS - What are Thorium Reactors?"
by Elina Charatsidou
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=148NI9j23Kg
     Paper -
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1441542/FULLTEXT01.pdf
     CV -
https://elinacharatsidou.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CV_Elina_Charatsidou-1.pdf
     Web site -
https://elinacharatsidou.com/
     Elina wishes you pleasant dreams.  
---
National Nuclear Data Center
Brookhaven National Laboratory
https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat3/
 
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
 
*************************************************************************
 
     "You can’t truly call yourself 'peaceful' unless you are capable of great violence.  
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.  
Important distinction." -- Stef Starkgaryen
 
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email:  Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio:  KI4SDN

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