Greetings Sheepdogs,
"Don't have a gun? Buy one.
Don't know How to use it? Learn.
Don't believe in guns? Get ready to hide behind someone who does."
-- Charlie Daniels
Table of Contents:
Software --
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Hardware --
Gear
Intelligence --
Counter Intelligence
Signals Intelligence
Cryptology
This and That --
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
Oink oink.
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
“To those who have fought for it,
freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”
― P. McCree Thornton
*************************************************************************
Oink oink.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
---
Your shooting should always be a separate intellectual decision.
Your shot should never be part of a presentation or reload or stoppage reduction.
Tap, Rack, Bang! is wrong, on many levels.
It's fine to make the decision to shoot before the presentation. It's fine to
make the decision at some point during the presentation. But the shooting
should never be part of the presentation. So, shooting every time you present
is WRONG. Because such practice engrains firing when you decide to present.
And if you have engrained such, it is impossible to present and not shoot.
That's why the NRA and many gun schools do not teach Tap, Rack, Bang!
Instead they teach Tap, Rack, Assess.
And some schools teach presentation without firing. At Front Sight, they
taught to present to the target, sights lined up, slack out of the trigger.
Getting up to that point should be fast. But a lot can happen / change
between your decision to present and the attainment of your sight picture.
So automatically shooting when presenting is not a good idea.
---
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which, we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
The hunched shoulders are really an attitude problem more than anything else.
Pull your shoulders down, keep your head up and pulled back, and the attitude
will follow. "High chest" as they would say in ballet.
When I studied psychology at Columbia University in New York, we learned
that posture and attitude affect each other, cause each other. So you can use
your posture to control your attitude.
Ballet dancers are not prima donnas because they are smoking hot and athletic
(and usually flat chested). Much of it has to do with the postures they are taught
to maintain for their art.
Columbia wasn't always the flaming liberal school it is today. When I attended,
we had a rifle range in the basement of Ferris Booth Hall. We had a rifle team.
A lot of colleges had rifle teams. We traveled and shot matches all over the area.
---
"Projecting Confidence" by Karen Hunter
Deep truth.
‷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
"Carrying a Gun While Camping and Hiking: Practical Guide" by Jacob Paulsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"Does Castle Doctrine Cover Your Tent or RV?
A common question: if I'm sleeping in my RV, my camper, or my tent,
do I have castle doctrine protection?
In the 37 stand-your-ground states, the question is mostly academic.
There's no duty to retreat anywhere in those states, so whether your sleeping
space qualifies as a “dwelling” doesn't change much.
In the 13 duty-to-retreat states, it matters a lot — because all 13 of those
states have castle doctrine laws that remove the duty to retreat when you're
in a qualifying place. The question is whether a tent, camper, or RV qualifies.
The terms vary by state, most commonly dwelling, premise, or habitation.
Some states define those terms in statute; others leave them to case law.
The reasonable expectation in most states is that a tent, camper, or RV,
anything purpose-built for someone to sleep in, qualifies as a dwelling under
that state's castle doctrine. But “reasonable expectation” is not the same as
“I checked.” Look up your state.
There's a related issue beyond duty to retreat. Some states create a legal
presumption of risk of death when you're inside a qualifying dwelling.
That presumption effectively removes the proportionality requirement,
meaning you don't have to match the threat's level of force the way you
would outside. That's the kind of nuance that can mean the difference
between a clean shoot and a long legal fight.
Our mobile app has the duty-to-retreat status of every state in the laws section.
It's the fastest way to check what category you're in before you head out."
"Bring the gun you'll actually carry. A 9mm on your hip is better
than a .44 Magnum that's too heavy and stays in the truck."
"A ham radio is one of the better backups available, and the entry barrier
is lower than people think. A handheld like the BaoFeng UV-5R runs around $30.
A technician license is a weekend of study and an in-person test.
Once you have it, you can use repeaters that vastly extend the range of a
handheld — in Colorado, the Colorado Connection Repeaters network lets
a handheld in Gunnison reach someone in Denver."
[Now days, you don't need to learn Morse code to get a radio license.
There was a Morse code test when I first got my license. Now days there
are computer programs that will automatically translate your typed text
into Morse code and transmit it, and then receive Morse code and translate
it into text for you to read. Morse code travels much farther than voice and
is much less affected by noise. (Machine Morse was intercepted by our
R Branchers when I was in the tunnels of Kunia, back in 1981. It's been
around a lot longer than that.)
-- Jon Low]
---
I think you ought to sleep with your pistol in its holster on your belt wrapped
around your waist.
If your pistol can't tolerate getting wet when you take a shower, you need to
get yourself a real pistol.
If your bed partner objects to you wearing your belt and holstered pistol
while engaging in coitus, it's time to upgrade your partner.
Don't search with your weapon mounted light! You'll be pointing your pistol
at things you don't intend to shoot.
Your 1000 lumen flashlight should be your primary tool. Nothing can attack
you very well when blinded. Works on snakes.
When I asked for help, Monty responded. Marsha blew me off. John blew me off.
That's why Andy Ogles is trying to pick up John's slack.
A man is known by his actions and the fruit that he bears.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
"To Intervene — Or Not?
Should You Roll The Dice?"
by Ralph Mroz
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"What of the innocent people who are in danger if we don’t intervene?
The obvious question to ask is: Why aren’t they armed and prepared to
protect themselves and their families? Isn’t protection of one’s family
from harm the primary obligation of everyone — and not something to
be outsourced to others?"
---
Anytime I [Jon Low] read of an incident, I ask,
"Why didn't the good guy shoot the bad guy?"
There is NO acceptable excuse.
Illegal to carry a gun in that jurisdiction? As Massad Ayoob says,
"Move. Yes, it is that simple."
[Simple, not easy, simple. -- Jon Low]
"Creativity is not rewarded.
What is rewarded is precision and analytical thinking."
-- Magnus Carlsen
[Precision = knowing how to count and then actually counting.
Number of steps to the edge of the barrier. Magazine check to see how many
rounds you have left. How many of the enemy do you see or hear? How much
time will it take me to present? What is the range to the target?
Analytical thinking = disregarding superstitions, and catchy phrases you
read or heard. And dealing with what you actually see, hear, smell, or feel
(physically, not emotionally), right now.]
"What To Do When No One Is Coming To Save You" by Skillset Staff
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"If you take on this mindset, the more positive growth you undoubtedly will have."
---
Mother hens will take care of their chicks.
Mother bears will protect their cubs.
World of difference.
Which are you? Can you say for sure?
As my friend, Tina, says, "Some chickens (just as some people) are oblivious
and are quickly eaten by predators. While others see something in the sky and
immediately hide in or under the coop." [Such chickens are not cowards.
They are smart. -- Jon Low]
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
Change of mindset.
Slave to master.
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children that the dragons can be killed."
-- G.K. Chesterton
"The Diligent Mindset: The Fight Against Complacency & Justification"
by Jacob Paulsen
‟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.
It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal,
and to let the criminal start worrying about society.
And by "society" I mean you.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
"Courage always gets you dirty, you have to be in the middle of the action
to create action."
-- Dave Ramsey
---
"Cowards can never be moral."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
---
[Not even by accident. -- Jon Low]
"There are no victims, only volunteers.
You volunteer by looking uncertain and afraid.
You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably are,
unprepared to confront the hazards of life."
— Jeff Cooper
"Your actions speak so loudly,
I can't hear what you say."
You can't hear due to auditory exclusion due to the stress.
But you didn't need to hear anything, because your actions
caused the bad guy to flee. Can you do those actions?
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Monthly email by Jeff L. Gonzales (I assume. Maybe someone else wrote this?)
Excerpt:
"Be armed whenever legally possible, . . . "
[Implying that you should not be armed when the government tells you not to be armed?
Why? Will the government protect you? No, there are U.S. Supreme Court rulings
that say the government is not responsible for your protection and cannot be held liable
for not protecting you. So, your estate cannot sue the government if law enforcement
lets the bad guys kill you.
Only you are responsible for protecting you.
-- Jon Low]
". . . be mentally prepared to respond to violence when faced with no other options."
[Implying that you don't have to respond to violence when there are other options?
That strikes me as strange, to put it politely. -- Jon Low]
"The understanding that the wealth is really God's, and you are managing it
not only for yourself, but also for the good of others, frees you."
-- Dave Ramsey
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
"GOOD MEN ARE DANGEROUS" by Jordan Peterson
---
“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
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
---
"How you handle or mishandle your money tells us who you are,
and more importantly, it tells you who you are."
-- Dave Ramsey
“The Man in the Arena”
by Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), 26th President of the United States
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who
does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat.”
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills
are more important than your marksmanship skills.
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
"Do You See the Threats?" by Steve Tarani
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
Situational awareness is getting through the propaganda to know the situation.
"Deception!" by John Farnam
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
Seeing the guy coming with the rifle made all the difference.
"Defending Your Family From an Armed Attacker: A GA DGU"
by Jacob Paulsen
Zugzwang is a thing. But with situational awareness, you can avoid it.
"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone"
– James Madison
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says,
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning to you.
You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack,
so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake,
inoffensive as a dove."
-- The Message (The Bible in Contemporary Language)
Lauren Marshall
The human on the right.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
“It is usually impossible to know when you’ve prevented a bad outcome.”
-- Mokokoma Mokhonoana
"Bears!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
"When your “conscious deliberation” unfailingly arrives at conclusions
you already believe, you’re not “deliberating.” You’re merely rationalizing!"
"Bears, Cont . . . " by John Farnam
Excerpt:
“Anyone who thinks he knows what a bear will do next is already in trouble!”
-- Elmer Keith
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
"Someone Broke Into Our Home" by John Correia (Active Self Protection Extra)
The significance of this is that John Correia goes to extremes to prevent his
home location from becoming public knowledge. Because he has had problems
in the past. But that didn't prevent a person from breaking into his home.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"Dependence!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
"Last weekend, four widely-separated states (IA, AZ, TX, WA) reported
mass 911-System failures. Curiously, the event garnered scant interest from
the media."
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"What Pasadena’s ‘horseplay’ shooting can teach cops about gun safety"
by Warren Wilson [Hey, I know Warren. -- Jon Low]
---
Greg Ellifritz comments --
Lots of folks sent me this video and asked me to comment. I’m not going to
write a whole article about these jackasses. Warren says most of the stuff I would
have said in this piece. What I will add is that Warren is being generous. I don’t
think this is a training/supervision issue. I think this is primarily a hiring issue.
No one wants to be a cop anymore. Police departments still need bodies.
Officers who would have been instantly disqualified for service 10 years ago are
now being hired because agencies have no other options. They have to hire
jackasses because those are the people who take police tests these days. In three
years, those jackasses who would have never been hired in my day are getting
promotions. Pretty soon they will run the department and all of its training.
Incidents like this will be minor in comparison to where I think the profession
is heading in the next few years.
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
Also note that because the police departments are hiring lower quality /
lower integrity officers, they are much easier to bribe. Attorneys in
Nashville, TN tell me that they can get officers to testify to whatever
they want for a pair of Titan or Predator tickets.
They won't hesitate to make false DUI arrests (because there are huge
financial incentives and promotion incentives). There are thousands of
such false DUI arrests in Tennessee alone.
They won't hesitate to write false speeding tickets (Lack of tickets
means loss of job if in the initial probationary stage of one's career, or loss of
promotion if in later stages of one's career. The instructor at the Citizen's
Police Academy said so in a lecture to the students.)
Such incentives indicate that upper management and the executives are
already fuck up beyond all recognition. As they say in the Marine Corps,
if there's a problem, it's a leadership problem.
*************************************************************************
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before
intervening in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced
your in-hand weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
"The Safety Sin" by SLG
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
The author believes that there are accidents, and that we should not treat
those who have accidents as if they were idiots, because anyone can have
an accident ". . . if you are around guns long enough . . ." I disagree.
There are those who think that there is no such thing as an accident.
Because any unintentional discharge is a negligent discharge, because there
is a well defined chain of actions that led to the mishap. That's why the
Naval Services call them "mishaps", not accidents. You investigate, find
the cause of the mishap, and make corrections, so it doesn't happen again.
The Navy (and Marine Corps) removes a pilot from being a pilot if he is
found to be unsafe / incompetent and cannot be fixed by training (incorrigible).
[Ya, we all know it's different for women.] This is also true for driving trucks.
Unfortunately, this is not true for using small arms. For example,
the U.S. soldiers who killed Pat Tillman were not disciplined (because
the Army found no crime) nor retrained (because the Army found no
training problem). I guess they didn't consider failing to correctly identify
your target a training problem. Violation of Safety Rule 4. Oh, yes, our
safety rules do apply in war.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"Woman attacked at Mobile gas station during attempted carjacking caught on camera"
by WKRG
Hat tip to Claude Werner.
---
Don't chase the bad guy! Your goal is always to get away from the bad guy.
The victim got body slammed. She could have gotten killed or permanently
disabled. Don't chase the bad guy.
Don't get angry. Getting angry makes you do stupid things, like chasing the
bad guy. If you have the chance to run away, RUN AWAY!
"What a cowardly thing to advise."
Running away is the smart thing to do. Regardless of how cowardly it may
appear. Chasing the bad guy is stupid, no matter how brave it may appear.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Armed Man Stopped Seconds Before Attack on Houston Pastor – Eden Church 2026"
by Keith Graves
---
This is why you must screen prospective church security team members to weed
out the incompetent.
This is why you must continually train your church security team members.
And dismiss those not willing to train.
This is why you must ensure communication up and down the chain of command.
Which requires a well defined chain of command, not a bunch of guys wandering
around on their own.
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.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
Martina Di Giovanni
"Married wellness couple tell of terrifying machine gun robbery
just hours after mingling with Oprah in Cannes"
by Ben Ashford
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"Shahab told the Daily Mail he based his family and staff in the chic property
because it promised round-the-clock security.
‘The house was behind two sets of gates. They had their own 24-hour security
guards, dogs, cameras everywhere,’ he said."
---
Just goes to show, you can't buy security. Only you care enough about
you and your loved ones, to protect you and your loved ones.
"Deception!" by John Farnam
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"If you want things you have never had,
you have to do things you have never done."
-- Dave Ramsey
---
[In the context of your goals in life and your training, not robbing banks.
By the way, robbing banks from the comfort of your livingroom with your
computer is exactly the same as robbing banks with a gun and ski mask.
To claim moral superiority because you did it without violence is intellectually
dishonest.
-- Jon Low]
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
Mobility is essential for combat effectiveness. Flexibility and range of motion
gives you mobility. Daily stretching exercises give you flexibility.
Stretching → flexibility → mobility → victory.
"Why Do I Need Training?" by Tiger McKee
---
In answer to the title's question,
"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)
This article was sent to me by American Handgunner, but it must be old,
as I went to Tiger's funeral a while ago.
Excerpt from "The Intro Guide to Shooting,Fighting, and Adapting Under Pressure"
by John Valentine
Most people do not fail because their training is worthless.
They fail because their training creates a bias. A skilled shooter has real capability.
A skilled fighter has real capability. A skilled tactician has real capability.
The problem starts when the student expects the situation to present itself in the
shape their training is prepared to solve. The shooter wants distance, visibility,
access, and time. The fighter wants contact, position, leverage, and a recognizable
exchange. The tactician wants structure, a known role, a clear plan, and a problem
that matches the model. Real pressure does not owe you any of that.
. . .
Your training has to survive the moment when the problem refuses to match
your preference.
. . .
The standard is simple:
Can you perform the skill? Can you perform it against resistance?
Can you explain why it was the right action? That is the work.
. . .
The goal is not to collect more techniques. The goal is to build a person
who can adapt under pressure.
. . .
The core problem in combatives is initiative.
Violence is not a neutral exchange between two people who start at the same time,
from the same distance, with the same information, under the same rules.
In the real world, the person initiating the encounter usually gets to start
the game first.
He chooses the timing.
He chooses the angle.
He hides intent.
He uses deception.
He decides when the situation becomes physical.
He may know it is a weapons fight before you do.
That creates the reactionary deficit.
You are behind in time, information, position, and access.
This is where training bias shows up.
Shooters often believe the gun will solve the fight problem. A gun is a
powerful tool, but it does not solve timing, access, retention, entanglement,
decision-making, or initiative by itself.
Fighters often believe physical skill will solve the close-range problem.
Fighting skill matters, but real encounters rarely begin with equal initiative,
equal awareness, equal armament, or a mutual agreement to fight clean.
Tacticians often believe structure will solve the problem. Structure matters,
but the opposition has tactics too. He has cunning, timing, deception,
resource constraints, experience, and a vote in how the event unfolds.
-- John Valentine
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
Trying to keep things in perspective.
"Does your USPSA classification matter?
In fact, does any action shooting classification matter?"
by Caleb Giddings
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"My two pieces of advice are this.
1) don’t lie to yourself. Don’t say that your classification doesn’t matter to
you when in reality you just hate that you can’t break out of whatever class
you’re stuck in. Be honest with yourself.
2) is related - prioritize your training time. If you’re training to be good at
the shooting sports, train for that. If you’re training to defend your life,
once you reach USPSA B-class/IDPA Expert class, you have pretty much
all the gun skills you could possibly need. Make sure you maintain your
skills, but take some time to work on other weak spots. Combatives,
verbal judo, physical fitness (seriously your physical fitness), driving skills,
etc. If you can get all of those up to B-class, you would be an absolute
MENACE to any threat."
[Physical fitness includes stretching exercises. Increase your range of
motion to increase your mobility. Stretch your muscles so you don't tear
muscles when under stress.
"I'm never going to do a split. So I don't need to practice that."
Completely FALSE! On a slippery floor in combat, you may be forced
into a split. If your muscles tear, you are now immobile on the floor. Or,
do you get up and continue fighting? -- Jon Low]
Photo from a video in which Nala stretches over time until achieving her goal.
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their gunfighting skills
as opposed to a quest for trophies, must be willing to bleed ego on
the match results to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"Felon Snatches Gun Off Open Carrier’s Hip Inside Crowded Tulsa QuikTrip"
by Luke McCoy
Hat tip to Gabriel Suarez.
Open carry is an act of criminal stupidity.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"How a 2-Minute Trailer Destroyed a $197,846,067 Movie" by AbelFrames
Do you see why this is in the training section?
"There are three different areas, or disciplines,
in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Each is equally important, and you must be at least
competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
"Firearms Training or Trends?" by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"By being simple, it is easier to learn, master and anchor into one's skills,
thus it is more physiologically efficient."
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
"When the Pace Goes Up" by SLG
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
The author says ". . . resetting to the “click” is a terrible idea . . ."
But he doesn't say what a better idea would be. So what is the reader to do?
See,
"Is The Trigger Reset Obsession Making You Slower?" by Tom McHale
in the Techniques Section below.
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
This is Colion Noir's video.
"Why You Don’t Shoot For The Head In Self-Defense" by Colion Noir
You should shoot at the center of mass of the body instead of the head
because you have a greater chance of hitting your target; less chance of
missing and causing collateral damage.
This is Gabe Suarez's response to Colion Noir's video.
"IGNORANT KNOWLEDGE" - HEAD SHOTS by Gabe Suarez
You shoot at the head, because it is common for the enemy to be
wearing body armor (pistol bullets will not penetrate) or an explosive vest
(pistol bullets will detonate vest).
Gabe's recommendations for where to aim your head shots:
From the front, the eye brows to the notch at the top of the sternum,
down the center line.
From the side, ear hole or neck.
From the back, spine below the skull.
Gabrielle Opro
I always wondered why girls take bathroom selfies.
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
Bottom Line Up Front --
Bad guy with SKS is shooting up Jewish neighborhood.
Police officer taking cover behind a concrete planter.
When the innocent bystander, running from the bad guy, comes around
the corner of the concrete planter behind the police officer, the police officer
turns and shoots him (he dies).
---
"A Police Officer Shot the Wrong Man in Montreal.
Your Church Team Could Do the Same.
A debrief of the active shooter in a Jewish neighborhood in Montreal"
by Keith Graves
Today a police officer in Montreal shot and killed an innocent man
during an active shooter call, and church security people are already
lining up to criticize her. I am going live to say what most of them do
not want to hear: a lot of you would have done the exact same thing.
I will break down what happened, why that officer fired on the wrong
man, and how the same selection and training failures are sitting on
church security teams right now. We will end in the Word on the one
thing that keeps you from killing the wrong person.
What we will cover:
What happened in Montreal this morning, and what the official
statements are careful not to say.
Why that officer shot the wrong man, from thirty years of reading
footage like this.
The hard reason this keeps happening: wrong people in the role,
never trained.
Why owning a gun is not the same as being ready to use it.
The church security people criticizing this officer who would get
the same result.
What you are really doing when you fill a slot instead of building
a protector.
“I would rather be shot than shoot the wrong person,” and why
discernment is built, not issued.
Hebrews 5:14, and how trained discernment is the difference
between saving a life and taking the wrong one.
Excerpt:
"Discernment is not handed to you with a badge and a gun. Discernment
is built with training and study."
---
Montreal Shooting! Has DEI Killed YET AGAIN?" by Andrew Branca
A man armed with what appears to be an SKS rifle begins taking two police
officers—one male, one female—under fire along a Montreal sidewalk. The male
officer is hit with rifle fire, crawls a short, bloody distance, and dies in the street.
The female officer beside him hides behind a large cement planter, seeking cover
from the rifleman’s fire.
A civilian fleeing the gunman runs up to the female officer, presumably also
seeking cover from the rifleman, and appears to be panic shot by that female officer.
The rifleman advances along the sidewalk towards the female officer, and when
he closes within feet she flees for safety, reportedly struck by his rounds in the process.
Shortly thereafter the rifleman is shot and disabled by police, handcuffed, and
ultimately dies of those gunshot wounds.
. . .
Montreal Shooter Manifesto (no watermark),
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"The Smith & Wesson Academy Reopens" by American Rifleman Staff
---
Smith & Wesson Academy
1852 PROFFITT SPRINGS RD
MARYVILLE, TN 37801
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Self-Defense Classes:
What They Teach & Why You Should Take One"
by Joel T. Nadler
Excerpts:
"The importance of training is to make sure the skills and knowledge needed,
once learned, are correct and will lead to better practice."
". . . if you are ever in a defensive encounter, having evidence you devoted
time and effort to structured classes will further your defensive case. Taking the
time to hone your knowledge and skills will make a solid argument that you
knew what you were doing, understood the laws, and took the right to
self-defense seriously."
"Finally, taking classes from different sources will further your own
understanding of these important issues, and help you better articulate the
choice you have made regarding gear, techniques, and when to use force."
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard
at work worth doing."
-- Teddy Roosevelt
---
So train hard, because your life and the lives of your loved ones are worth it.
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
"Performance Metrics vs Complete Capability" by Jim Shanahan
Exccerpt:
". . . subconscious competency allows the mind to focus on solving the larger problem."
“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
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
“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.)
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
Care enough to continue your training.
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
*************************************************************************
Carmella Rose
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"The cherry blossoms/bloom and fade in a season/the wind carries all"
Wednesday, June 17th, 2026
One of my favorite models of masculinity is the Japanese samurai.
In the samurai, we see a profound harmony between the masculine and
the feminine on an intrapsychic (as opposed to interpersonal) level.
This affords us a template on how we might reconcile the two tendencies
within ourselves.
The samurai – while an extremely masculine archetype – does not
seek to repress or eradicate the feminine within itself. On the contrary,
samurai intentionally cultivate feminine traits like sensitivity, awareness,
and emotional feeling – and they protect their existence with their
masculine strength and discipline.
Given the nature of his work, a thinking samurai is often a dead
samurai. In a duel, for example, a samurai is called upon to make
split-second decisions without deliberation. To do this, he seeks to
purify and clarify his feeling apparatus, so that it might reliably guide
him when he has most need of it. Once we arrive at a state of mastery,
it is often in our best interests to surrender to our emotional impulses
and get out of our own way. And the samurai devotes decades to the
process of attaining to this state.
This week's behavioral experiment:
How reliable are your feelings as a guide for action? Examine what
prevents them from being more trustworthy.
Warmly,
Orion
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
"The Strangest Style In Sports History" by Chalked Up (Ai Mori)
Composure.
Resource management.
Choosing to enjoy the training and practice. Actually knowing how to enjoy.
Learning to enjoy. Enjoyment vs. results. [Deep, subtle, worth your study. -- Jon Low]
Efficiency, not strength.
The "Quiet Eye". Gaze fixation.
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Study Solves the Mystery of Why Humans Are Mostly Right Handed"
by Anton Petrov
Which brain hemisphere should you be using to shoot?
Right hemisphere controls the left side of your body.
Left hemisphere controls the right side of your body.
Much faster reaction time.
Situational awareness.
"The past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it."
-- Rafiki in "The Lion King"
---
In every experience God gives you lessons.
It is up to you to learn from them, or to waste them.
*************************************************************************
Rachel Cook
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
There is nothing worse than teaching obsolete shit. Because your
students don't know any better.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
Security Operations Summit 2026, $150.00
July 23-25, 2026 A.D.
With hands-on pre-event options on Wednesday, July 22nd!
Southeast Christian Church
920 Blankenbaker Parkway
Louisville, KY 40243
3rd Annual GOALS Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, USA
August 1st and 2nd, 2026 A.D.
Welcome to Prepper Camp™
The #1 Self-Reliance, Homesteading, Off-Grid-Living, and
Preparedness Conference – Anywhere.
August 14, 15, and 16, 2026.
At Tryon International Resort, Mill Spring, NC
Bullets & Bibles 2026 (The registration fee is a tax deductible charitable donation).
Friday, August 21, 2026 A.D. – Sunday, August 23, 2026 A.D.
Hosted at Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
Food and lodging included in registration price.
To register,
If you have already pre-registered,
We're carpooling from Summerville, SC and Nashville, TN if you would
like to join us.
The Guardian Conference, $800
September 18th - 20th, 2026 A.D.
in Oklahoma City, OK.
Gun Rights Policy Conference, Second Amendment Foundation, $25
September 25–27, 2026 A.D.
in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel.
Click on the link to book a hotel room for $159.00 per night.
2026 Combatives Summit, $897
When:
Range Day: October 22, 2026
Conference: October 23, 24, and 25, 2026
Where: American Top Team
10380 Auto Mall Pkwy, D'Iberville, MS 39540
Rangemaster Tactical Conference
Friday-Sunday, April 2-4, 2027 A.D.
Dallas Pistol Club; Carrollton, TX
*************************************************************************
Caleigh Haetten
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attend classes so you know what the best practices are.
Gateway Instructor Development Course (Nashville), $ 450
Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 8:00 AM CDT – Sun, Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM CDT
Firearms Pharmacy, 705 Briskin Lane, Lebanon, TN
Preparing to Counter the Active Shooter with a Handgun
When: July 16th, 2026 | 8:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM CT
Where: Online Webinar (Approx. 90 minutes)
Cost: $5 (Free for Guardian Nation Members)
Intensive Pistol Skills, $ 495
Sat, Aug 22, 2026 – Sun, Aug 23, 2026
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Royal Range, 7741 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN, USA
Gunsite – 250 Defensive Pistol, $2,135
Royal Range, Nashville, Tennessee
Monday, August 24, 2026 - Friday, August 28, 2026
Duration: 5 Days
Prerequisite: None
Ammunition: 1000 rounds ball (ball means copper jacketed round nose bullets)
available for purchase on-site.
The student will also have to purchase approximately 1 box of Simunitions
from Royal Range for the indoor simulators.
Protective Pistolcraft Instructor, 5 Days, $ 1350
Mon, Nov 2, 2026 – Fri, Nov 6, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST
Last Resort Firearms Training, 4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR, USA
This is the 3-day Firearms Instructor Development Course and
the 2-day Advanced Firearms Instructor Course given in 5 days.
Taught by Tom Givens, Tiffany Johnson, Aqil Qadir, and John Hearne.
No prerequisites. Includes a night shoot and much more.
Defensive Handgun by John Farnam, $850
14 - 15 November 2026 A.D.
Description of course at
Deer Hollow Range, White House, TN
"The Tactical Anatomy Summit", $650.00
January 30-31, 2027 A.D.
Lakeland Training Center
1421 Fish Hatchery Rd
Lakeland, FL
Time: 8 a.m - 6 p.m.
*$35 per day Range Fees will Apply at Location
Suggested Lodging: Best Western Auburndale
Last Resort Firearms Training (Ed Monk)
Agile Training and Consulting (Chuck Haggard)
Thunder Ranch (Clint Smith)
Classes,
ConcealedCarry.com (Jacob S. Paulsen et al)
Project Appleseed
Gunsite Academy
Lee Weems
Massad Ayoob Group
West Coast Armory North, Martha Holschen
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics, Bill Armstrong
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Mike Seeklander
Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor
Tatiana Whitlock - Training in Context
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
NRA Instructors and their classes.
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
There's a happy smile.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.
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
"Dry Fire Routine" by ToddG
"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
"Shooting quickly in a staged environment under no stress
does not make you tactically proficient."
-- John Hearne
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"Dry Practice Gear: Ready Up Gear Dummy Ammo" by Swift | Silent | Deadly
Excerpt:
"Dry practice allows you to work on things like sight picture and
trigger control without distractions. Things like recoil anticipation become
immediately apparent - and readily correctable - without blast and recoil
being distractions. We also tend to break habits like looking for our bullet
holes when shooting dry. Dry practice - as opposed to dry fire - allows
you to practice every single skill you need to run a firearm effectively,
with the exception of recoil management. You can practice draws/presentation,
work on transitioning to a red dot, work malfunctions, reloads,
SHO and WHO [Shame on the author for using acronyms. I have no idea
what they mean. Using jargon is wrong on many levels. -- Jon Low],
rifle-to-pistol transitions, and just about everything else."
"The more recently you have performed a task,
the more readily available it is in your brain."
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Your speed [in mastering the art and science of your discipline] doesn't matter.
Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
-- Aristotle
"Maybe you can't achieve it in one day.
But you can achieve it one day."
-- Nala Knight
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
"Calluses are a status symbol that money can't buy."
-- Jim Beaumont
*************************************************************************
Milena Vatsik
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it.
Generally speaking, you want to escape.
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy to escape.
Sometimes you must close with the enemy to
destroy him with fire and close combat.
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for
habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States,
"The Wilderness Hunter", 1893
"What is Tactical?" by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
"House of Worship Security Team and Risky Shots" by Steve Moses
Advance on the enemy to reduce range to increase probability of hitting.
Difficult to do when being shot at, but it works to ensure your hits.
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
The enemy's retreat is a tactical maneuver. The purpose of retreat is to move to
a position of tactical advantage. Such as:
Behind cover, any barrier that will block your bullets, including human
shields. Because unlike the enemy, we don't shoot through innocent
bystanders.
Or, a position of concealment, such as shadows, thick brush, a
cluttered background, crowds of humans etc. All of which will make
seeing the enemy difficult, if not impossible.
Or, to higher ground, so the enemy can attack down on you.
Or, to access weapons.
Retreat is not surrender. Retreat is not withdrawal from the fight.
Retreat is not fleeing from you.
So shooting the enemy in the back during his retreat is justified,
because he is still a threat. He may be shooting at you as he is running
away from you, or pointing his gun at you, either of which is a threat.
Or, you can run away.
---
Retreat is a tactical maneuver. Retreat is not surrender. If the enemy
drops his weapon and raises his hands, while his buddies surround you,
that's not surrender. If the enemy drops his weapon and approaches
you, telling you that he will not hurt you, that is malice. You are very
close to being kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered. SHOOT!
Or run away.
---
If the bad guy is attacking others, shooting the bad guy in the back is justified.
If you order him to surrender, he will attack you, and then continue attacking others.
Lots of documented cases. If he is not attacking you, this is your opportunity
to run away.
---
I remember my dad telling me, "You can always walk away." And that's
usually true. You won't be hurt, if you're not there to be hurt. On the other
hand,
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
I did a ride along with my cousin, who was a Honolulu Policeman at the
time. We were chasing a suspect. And then we weren't. I asked my cousin
why we stopped chasing. He said, "We know who he is. We know where
he lives. We can always pick him up later." To the vast majority, it's just a
job. The goal is to go home at the end of the shift, not to the hospital or
worse. And if you're a good cop, you make sure your partner goes home
too.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
*************************************************************************
Miranda Lambert and Ella Langley
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
From an email from Gabe Suarez --
"UNRAVELING THE RED DOT GORDIAN KNOT" by Gabe Suarez
When Alexander the Great marched into the city of Gordium, he was shown
an ancient ox-cart that belonged to the city's founder, Gordias. The cart's yoke
was lashed to a pole by an incredibly complex knot, with the ends hidden.
An oracle prophesied that whoever could unravel the elaborate knot was
destined to become the ruler of all of Asia.
Alexander drew his sword and sliced the knot in half with a single, decisive stroke.
Today we have similar situations in the world of combat studies. Shooting an
adversary with a firearm is a very brutally simple matter . . . like hacking through
rope with a sword. But instead, we see literal volumes written, and hours of video,
over complicating the skill and the act.
Take the very simple skill of using a dot-equipped pistol. We have been
teaching people how to do this since 2010. If you have the traditional iron sight
skill set, including a refined and trained draw sequence, it is a very simple
matter to integrate the use of the dot and off you go. If one could visually
acquire the irons, the dot is right there as well so there is no difficulty in
locating it at all.
We've shown Army Rangers and soccer moms how to do that in about ten
minutes - and then have them hitting steel out to 100 yards consistently - without
the need to give them a course on eye anatomy.
I was discussing this with an associate this morning while we discussed a
new book he read that ostensibly solves all the red dot issues ever conceived
by anyone. It sounded interesting, but at the end of the day was offering
nothing of value to unraveling the knot.
We agreed that people today do not believe in simple solutions, and want
to be bombarded with facts and studies, which while meaningless to any
actual solution, make them feel like they are learning great things.
So here is the Alexander Solution
1). Properly set up sighting system on the pistol - low slide mount with back up
sights mutually zeroed to the same point of impact - or as we say co-witnessed.
Co-witness means concurrent visibility. It does not mean concurrent alignment
prior to firing. The objective is to have the irons usable in the event the dot fails,
not to align them in conjunction with the dot, and confirm it before firing.
The lack of understanding that point is a huge part of why some people say
they cannot use dots well.
2). Empirical practice on the range to determine which eye has greater acuity
and use that one for sighting. Just get to the damn range and try it. There are
only so many possibilities. Left eye aims, right eye aims, or both eyes aim
concurrently. There is no rule about when or why and the eyes and hands
work independent of each other thus a left handed operator can use the right
eye and vice versa. Figuring this out is an afternoon on the range, and does
not require a concurrent course in Neuro visual physics to determine.
3). Repetitive work on the draw to insure the pistol ends up in the same place
every single time it is presented. This is the boring part that modern Americans
abhor - the hundreds of cumulative repetitions in dry practice, and
live fire - building procedural (muscle) memory via repetitions, that leads to
mindless execution under duress. That is the hated part that leads consumers
to seek a more complicated and scholarly way to unravel the knot that
Alexander cut.
There it is - an Alexandrian solution to the red dot gordian knot . . . and in
only 600 words.
-- Gabe Suarez
"In my strategy the footwork does not change.
I always walk as I usually do in the street."
-- Miyamoto Musashi
The trigger press is a smooth controlled continual backward motion.
It is NOT a convulsive jerk. You must dry practice enough to feel the
difference. Because the report and recoil of live fire will hide everything.
Then you must practice enough to ensure you always execute a smooth
press. It may be fast or slow, but never convulsive.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask for help. It really makes
a world of difference. But of course, first you must be able to recognize
what you are doing.
Well, ya, it may be obvious to you, or it may not. You might not know
what you're doing. You might not understand what you're doing. Sorry,
that's just reality. Sometimes we don't know what we don't know.
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
I think the Sul position is a bad idea, because you don't have a two-handed
firing grip and only one hand is holding the pistol. The support-side hand is
against the chest, palm to your chest. So, it's not helping retention.
There is a retention Sul position, where the support-side hand is over the
pistol. So now you have two hands retaining the pistol. Better, but still no
two-handed firing grip.
I think you ought to maintain your two-handed firing grip, pull the pistol
in close to your body, and pivot at the elbows to point the pistol down to the
ground in front of yourself.
I think Sul is part of a stylized dance. "saliently artistic rather than naturalistic",
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition
copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ya, I know a lot of big names teach it. But that doesn't make it best practice.
Appeal to authority is a logical fallacy.
"The secret is applying extreme force with the pinkies and
working your way up the rest of the digits."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"Mastering correct return" by Ben Stoeger
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"If you are capable of shooting tight groups,
your misses (during scenarios or combat) are not marksmanship errors.
Your misses are judgment errors."
-- John Farnam
[You're misjudging the target to be closer than it really is.
You're misjudging the target to be moving slower than it really is.
You're misjudging the target to be bigger than it really is.
-- Jon Low]
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which, we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
"Handguns for Church Security Team Members" by Steve Moses
---
The grip is your interface with the pistol. If you can't get all of your fingers
on the grip, the grip is too small for you. Get a proper pistol. You won't be
able to shoot accurately under the debilitating stress of combat, if you can't
grip the pistol correctly.
If you don't understand this (or don't believe me), take a real class to learn
how to shoot your pistol and you will understand, if not believe.
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
-- Ben Stoeger
"Is The Trigger Reset Obsession Making You Slower?" by Tom McHale
The first picture in the article is wrong. When using a 1911, the firing side thumb
must be on top of the thumb safety, holding the thumb safety down, always!
Otherwise, something (like your thumb) will bump the thumb safety and the
pistol won't fire. The second picture is correct. The firing side thumb is on
top of the thumb safety holding it down where it needs to be.
“To manage the reset or not to manage the reset? That is the question.”
Well, if you believe Ben Stoeger,
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
So, it makes sense not to manage the reset. Just ignore it.
On the other hand, if you believe the Front Sight instructors, not managing
the reset creates a lot of wasted motion, hence wasted time. So it's better to
release the trigger to reset and then take out the slack for the next shot. While
never losing contact with the trigger. Yes, as a matter of fact, there will be
some slack after reset, whether you notice it or not.
If you don't train to do a particular thing (like resetting the trigger),
what will you be doing? Perhaps, something different every time. Consistency
is accuracy.
I like being in control of everything. But that's just me.
"Your body will be dumping adrenaline, and your fine motor skills will be
degraded. Your focus will be entirely on shooting fast, not the subtle
mechanical feedback in your trigger finger. You’re going to press that trigger,
and your finger is going to fly forward far enough to reset whether you’re
“riding the reset” or not." I disagree. With training and practice you will be
able to stay in your rational mind, you will be able to remain calm. I never
witnessed a Marine having such problems. And many of them did not have
much training. And some of them were rocks. It doesn't take much training
to prevent a person from panicking, from losing control of one's self. It just
takes a good mindset.
“Your body will reset the trigger on its own if you just let it do its thing.”
This assumes the "body" knows how to reset the trigger. Which is a fine
motor skill. If you train to do it a certain way, you will do it that way in
combat. That's what training is for. Nothing happens "on its own". Everything
is the result of training. Shooting is not a natural nor instinctive skill.
Hey, I know Tom. I consider him a friend. I've been to his house in
South Carolina. I just don't agree with everything he says.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Could You Weak-Hand Draw If You Had To?" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Daily stretching will increase your range of motion. Which will allow you to
perform these draws. Or maybe physical therapy.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Whatever you leave alone is perfect." -- Brian Enos
*************************************************************************
Sophia Rose Baser
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of Sections:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
"The Drill!" by John Farnam
Please read this carefully and understand. If you don't understand, please ask.
You can always send me an email. If I can't answer, I will refer you to someone
who can answer, or I will ask others and get back to you.
---
Ask your question NOW! You need the answer now, to use the information
on what you are working on now. If you wait till the end of the class or end
of the day, you will forget the question; and the opportunity for learning,
yours and your fellow student's, is lost.
---
“Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts;
for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in
ignorance.” – William Wirt
“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
Very important! Please view this and pay attention.
"Should innocent people talk to the police?" by Elephants in Rooms - Ken LaCorte
NO! Never. Talking to the police is an act of criminal stupidity.
"What To Do After A Defensive Shooting" by Alex Ooley
Excerpts:
"A civil complaint later alleged that the officer had observed Hurley for
nearly 10 seconds before pulling the trigger and still could not distinguish
the good guy from the bad guy."
"You cannot assume the cops know you’re the good guy. You have to
prove it quickly through every signal available to you."
"The moment the threat is stopped and the scene is reasonably safe,
holster your firearm or drop your firearm upon police arrival."
"Don’t touch the bad guy’s gun unless you have a specific,
urgent reason—such as another threat reaching for it or a situation that
forces you to move. Otherwise, leave it. A responding officer or bystander
seeing you handle a rifle at a shooting scene will not think “concerned citizen;”
they will think something far more dangerous."
"There is a cognitive trap that kills good people in these situations.
It’s the tendency to think, I know I’m the good guy, so everyone else
must see it, too. This is not how it works. Officers rolling onto a shooting
scene see a person with a gun standing over a body. That is all they see."
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
"Civil Liability After Self-Defense" by Alex Ooley
Excerpt:
"A person who uses force in self-defense may satisfy the legal standard
for criminal justification and still be found civilly liable for the same conduct.
The underlying facts do not change, only the framework through which
they are evaluated."
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“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
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
DEFEND SYSTEMS
https://www.defendsystems.com/
(615) 480-7758
"What Kind of Bleeding Requires a Tourniquet?"
by Dr. Frank Butler, Dr. John Holcomb, and Dr. Warren Dorlac
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"16 Top Tier First-Aid Kits on the Market" by Skillset Staff
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"Survival is not based solely on technique.
Survivability may hinge on the use of the correct technique
appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
--Benjamin Franklin
"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
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
*************************************************************************
Stephyn Wilfawn
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gun University
"Defensive Use of Firearms" by Stephen P. Wenger
Get on his emailing list for his newsletter,
Greg Ellifritz's reading list,
American Rifleman
and American Hunter
are now online free of charge.
Practical Eschatology
2nd Amendment News & Articles
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
YouTube.com channel
Blog posts,
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
Active Self Protection, John Correia
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Make sure to check out the Weekend Knowledge Dumps.
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
Emma Mankova
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America
National Right to Carry,
"The Legal Boundaries of Defense of Property in the United States"
by Andrew C. Marcantel
See table at end of article.
Gun Law Database
Email from Andrew Branca --
Austin TX police officer Christopher Taylor shot and killed Mauris DeSilva
in 2019 when DeSilva stepped out of an elevator with a knife in hand and
advanced on police. He would be convicted by jury of deadly conduct by
discharging a firearm.
Then something extremely unusual happened. The appellate court
reviewing his conviction not only found it to be unjust. They then took
the rare step of not simply sending the case back for a new trial, they
outright acquitted the officer, relieving him permanently of any criminal
liability for this shooting.
I often caution that appeals are for losers, and that even the meaningful
relief realized in less than 1% of appeals is often not all that great, and that
it virtually never happens that an appeal will result in a straight-forward
"not guilty."
This, however, is one of those rare cases, so let's take a look at the appellate
court decision of Taylor v. Texas out of the Court of Appeals for the
7th District of Texas out of Amarillo.
-- Andrew Branca
"CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR, APPELLANTV.THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE"
Excerpt:
"We reverse and acquit."
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry, Inc.
"Andrew Branca on Tennessee’s Defense of Property Change"
“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
"The Emmett Till Story You've Heard Your Whole Life Is A Lie." by Matt Walsh
Hat tip to Docent.
Propaganda is deep and strong. Be careful.
"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
"Ballot Initiative Would Criminalize Hunting and Fishing in Oregon
The measure would also outlaw farming and ranching activities
along with routine pest control" by Travis Hall
Hat tip to Van Evans.
Oregon Initiative Petition 28 (IP28), also known as the PEACE Act,
is a ballot measure that would outlaw hunting, fishing, trapping, and
conventional farming by removing legal exemptions for these activities
under the state's animal abuse statutes. The initiative will appear on the
November 2026 ballot.
Just when you thought the libs couldn't get any crazier.
“When you will not fight when you can easily win, without bloodshed,
and when you still will not fight when victory is sure and not too costly,
you may well come to the moment when you will have no choice but to
fight with the odds against you, and you have only a small chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no
hope of victory, simply because it is better to perish as warriors than to
live as slaves.”
-- Winston Churchill
"Federal judge cancels Adamiak’s resentencing hearing" by Lee Williams
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
" “Accordingly, the Court is precluded from considering, and will not hear,
any evidence or argument on the objections at the resentencing hearing,”
Judge Wright Allen wrote. [Appointed by Obama and doing her best to
protect the ATF. -- Jon Low]
The move stunned Adamiak, his friends and his
father. “We are disappointed to a certain degree because this case involved
lies and tampering with evidence, and now they’re not allowing it to come out.
They’re still trying to protect
[ATF Firearms Enforcement Officer Jeffrery] Bodell,
who was involved in the case. He actually lied to the judge, lied to the jury
and did not show the proper evidence. This case involved perjury and
tampering with evidence by the ATF."
---
It's important to call out the scum bags by name. Otherwise, they hide in the
faceless nameless bureaucracy, Jeffrery Bodell.
“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore,
be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not
to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean
everything or nothing at pleasure.”
— Thomas Jefferson (1823)
"What is Castle Law and how does it affect self-defense?" by Karen Hunter
Every state is different. Check the laws in your jurisdiction.
"Defense of Property – Texas Law" by Andrew Branca
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
The process is the punishment.
This is why it is so hard to recruit good cops. Good people don't want to
work with corrupt incompetent cops.
"#231: Rock Hill, SC" by Good Guy with a Gun
Hat tip to Claude Werner.
Gun Owners of America reports --
Gun Owners of America defeated ATF's tyrannical
"Engaged in the Business" rule, where a federal judge
vacated the rule in its entirety. Gun owners nationwide
can breathe a sigh of relief that the rule is now dead.
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 last week that the
federal government cannot prosecute someone solely
because they use marijuana while owning a firearm.
This is a massive win for gun rights, and a huge rebuke
to the federal government, who attempted to preserve
their ability to prosecute otherwise law-abiding gun
owners who use marijuana.
And finally, we worked last week to highlight a
case out of Texas where a gun owner — who happens
to be NBA player James Harden — was arrested over
a technicality in Texas law, having a handgun outside
a holster while in a vehicle. Even in "pro-gun" states
like Texas, where constitutional carry is the law of the
land, ridiculous gun control laws like these jail gun
owners unjustifiably and often. We're demanding that
Texas abolish this unconstitutional law. [Such laws
are a problem, because there will always be those
jackass officers who enforce unconstitutional laws.
It's not like Sunnyvale, CA where the starting salary
was $100,000 per year back in 1996. With that salary,
they get the cream of the crop. (Mature, emotionally stable,
with a good understanding of the Constitution and
law in general, etc.) -- Jon Low]
Support Gun Owners of America,
"Should innocent people talk to the police?" by Elephants in Rooms - Ken LaCorte
NO! Never.
"Why do so many murderers get away with it?" by Elephants in Rooms - Ken LaCorte
"The Problem With Fingerprint Analysis" by Veritasium
Tennessee Firearms Association:
Update on appeal of ruling declaring "intent to go armed" unconstitutional
Case history,
"Supreme Court strikes down State gun law in massive Second Amendment win"
by Facts Matter with Roman Balmakov
The ruling,
"At Real Clear Investigations: Gun Safety:
Violent Crime Drops as More Americans Pack Heat"
by Dr. John Lott
Subscribe to CPRC
"Two Armed Civilians Stopped What Likely Would
Have Been a Mass Public Shooting in Missouri"
by Dr. John Lott
Submit a comment to ATF,
Thanks to GOA’s lawsuit, a federal judge in Texas vacated Biden’s
“Engaged in the Business” rule in its entirety.
ATF wants to keep the worst parts of the "Engaged in the Business Rule"
That rule tried to twist the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to impose
backdoor universal background checks by redefining who counts as a “dealer.”
Now, ATF has proposed a replacement rule that claims to “rescind” the
Biden rule, but in reality keeps key parts of its legal framework in place and
leaves gun owners exposed.
*************************************************************************
Sia Vlasova
It's nice to be able to take a girl out for dinner.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
"The limited time you spend with students
may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
I accompanied a student to try several pistols, and to buy one. We found that
she could not cause some pistols to fire. Because the range of motion of her
trigger finger was not sufficient to cause the trigger to move back far enough to
fire. I had never witnessed this before. She could move her trigger finger with
strength, but she could not curl it far enough to, for instance, make a fist.
Be careful.
“Pick a lane, master that lane, and stay in it.”
-- Chuck Haggard
Please remove "you know" and "does that make sense" from your vocabulary.
It makes you sound stupid. While you're at it, please remove all filler words from
your vocabulary. Because if you use such words in your normal speech, you will
use them in classes, which will degrade your communication. When you teach,
you must be crystal clear.
Speak with a loud clear voice. Refusing to do so degrades communication.
Take a speech class. Join Toastmasters, and participate.
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
"The Key to HOSTING a Healthy Class" by Shelley Hill
https://www.thecompletecombatant.com/articles-by-brian-or-shelley/the-key-to-hosting-a-healthy-class
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
"Teaching The First Shots: Handgun" by Tim Kelly
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
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
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended
by those it has deceived, because those who are so easily deceived
are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"You don't have to memorize formulae.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Your curriculum needs to be recent, relevant, and realistic."
-- Austin Killmer
************************************************************************
----- Students -----
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Wow! You need to read this.
"Experience, Not Attendance, Defines Competence" by Jeff Gonzales
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"Real-World Context Matters
There’s also the issue of context. A lot of training exists in controlled conditions.
Predictable drills. Planned execution. Limited variables. That’s not how things
unfold outside of a range. Instructors with real-world experience understand
that gap. They’ve seen what happens when plans fall apart. When conditions
aren’t ideal. When performing at your best is replaced by reacting under the
worst. When decision-making matters more than mechanics. That experience
shapes how they teach. It changes what they prioritize. It changes what they
ignore. It changes how they define “good enough.” It also keeps them honest.
Reality has a way of cutting through theory. You don’t replace that by stacking
certificates."
"A good instructor never stops learning. That doesn’t mean they’re always
sitting in someone else’s class."
"4 Training Principals To Improve Your Shooing Skills" by Trident Concepts, LLC
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy) -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
Elizaveta Genich
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
The purpose of a high capacity magazine is NOT to let you shoot more;
it is to let you reload less.
-- Tom Givens
"The Rideout Arsenal Dragon: Thinking Way Outside The Box" by Jeremiah Knupp
Innovative, but at $3,600 it's way outside my means.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Honest EDC: A Realistic Assessment of Your Concealed Carry Kit
Make sure you’re being truthful when assessing your everyday-carry needs."
by Jeff Gonzales
Excerpt:
Do you have enough capacity in the gun itself?
If you run out of ammunition, or have a magazine-related malfunction,
can you reload efficiently?
Are you accurate enough at all realistic distances with what you carry?
Can you run the gun with one hand? What about using only your
support hand to run the gun?
Are there truly optimal, proven holster options for carrying every single day?
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Lucas Botkin interview on gun industry bs" by Ben Stoeger
"Taking random questions after the lucas interview" by Ben Stoeger
I love Ben because he loves drama.
"DON’T DO IT: Birdshot For Defensive Use" by Swift | Silent | Deadly (Justin)
Excerpt:
"You wouldn’t hunt deer or try to stop a mountain lion with birdshot . . .
so why would you trust it to defend you against a tweaking meth-head
with a gun who is trying to take your life?"
---
With a 12 gauge shotgun, with a 16" cylinder bore barrel, with 0-0 buckshot,
you can expect your pattern increase in diameter by 1" for every yard increase
in range from zero to twenty yards. So at 20 yards the diameter of your pattern
is about 20 inches. Some people are not 20 inches wide. So beyond 20 yards,
you won't be able to keep your pattern on a human sized target. Which means
collateral damage caused by the pellets that miss the target.
Your mileage may vary.
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
Facebook.com post by Karim Manassa --
Some interesting Gen 6 Glock tidbits I picked up during today's Glock Armorer
course for my recertification.
Every Glock part, large or small, is tested to 40,000 rounds by engineering
before being released for production.
Attributes unique to Gen 6:
Tighter manufacturing tolerances
Scalloped area around slide lock to make grasping the tabs and pulling down easier
Striker pin spring assembly now comes with maritime spring cups
No striker pin channel liner
Barrel has a step chamber design that holds the cartridge tighter
Barrel has a cutout for more clearance for the trigger bar
-- Karim Manassa
"When Your Gun Safe Goes Bad" by Todd Woodard
The pitfalls of electronic (as opposed to mechanical) safe locks.
"Getting sketched out about triggers" by Ben Stoeger
"Don't go down that road (of modifying your pistol)."
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Stop Using Your Car as a Holster: 6 reasons" by Matthew Maruster
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Your pistol must always be in a holster and attached to your body with a
sturdy gun belt. Any other condition is WRONG!
Having your pistol mounted anywhere in your car is an act of criminal stupidity.
"The Dangers Of Bullet Setback" by Richard A. Mann
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
When I worked at McDonalds, they taught us to rotate the stock.
Same idea.
Keep your gun on your body! Do not leave your gun in your car.
The primary source of guns used in crimes is cars. Criminals steal guns
from cars.
"DADBODD First Impressions" by Two Pillars Training (John Hearne)
I couldn't see the visual stimuli. I'm wondering how visible it would be to
students.
PMO = Pistol Mounted Optic, as used by John Hearne.
Acronym that he use in a previous article. He took a while to get back to me.
Authors should never use acronyms, because the readers don't know what they mean.
Provost Marshal's Office, Project Management Office, Put Me On, Pisses Me Off,
and those are a sampling of the non-pornographic meanings.
Do it yourself suppressors, the 3-d printed type, or you can buy the completed item,
Down load the files for your 3-d printer.
Remember to fill out the ATF forms. The price for the tax stamp is $0.00.
3-d printer designs from Hoffman Tactical,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ammo sources:
Unlimited Ammo
Target Sports USA
GunMag Warehouse
SGAmmo
True Shot Ammo
The Mag Shack
If you know of any others, please let me know.
Parts sources:
Numrich Gun Parts
Wolff gun springs
Brownells
Midway USA
*************************************************************************
Islamova Kseniia
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source. There is always some conspiracy theorists who has said
what you want to say. Quote him. Everyone will understand.
"Why a Good Story Beats Good Data"
"Psychology of Intelligence Analysis" by Richards J. Heuer
ISBN-10 : 1684224128
ISBN-13 : 978-1684224128
"This CIA Manual Trains the World's Sharpest Analytical Minds" by Stephen Petro
Mirror Imaging. Many firearms instructors teach, "The bad guys don't think like you do.
Assuming they think as you do, will get you killed."
Satisficing. Confirming what you already believe. And the question to break this trap.
Analysis of Competing Hypotheses. The surviving hypothesis is the one with the least
disconfirmations, not the one with the most confirmations.
The Vividness Criterion. Vivid stories override data. Always trust signals intelligence.
Especially Traffic Analysis.
The Information Paradox. Wrong models.
---
Note the questions that the narrator poses.
From Soldier Systems --
** Commentary
------------------------------------------------------------
You've seen the movie. What happens when the machines malfunction
or run amok and automatically kill humans even without our permission?
As weapons become more sophisticated, this has always been a danger.
Now someone has done it deliberately.
It was bound to happen, and to be honest, likely already had before this
disclosure of a fully autonomous attack by Ukrainian forces. Some are
going to feel that as a species, we have crossed the Rubicon, allowing a
weapon to make its own decision to take a human life. However, we’ve
been batting this idea around for decades, both excited and apprehensive
about the day it would come. As the technology of war has improved,
it has allowed man to become more and more removed from the actual
engagement. Not to say that hand-to-hand combat still doesn’t happen,
but the spear was designed to give some distance between the combatants.
Today, we have missiles that once released, can wipe out millions of humans
on the other side of the planet within a matter of minutes.
War is a human endeavor and this autonomous action further
dehumanizes it. Killing the enemy can be necessary, but it must be a
reasoned decision. I believe that a human must make the call to end the
life of another. I don’t want a machine to do that for us, it will just become
too easy for a decision maker to abrogate their task to a machine.
Unfortunately, once someone does it, and in particular the enemy does
it to us, we are going to end up doing it ourselves and it will likely be
necessary as we become overwhelmed by superior numbers.
May God forgive us.
[The Intel units that I have operated in never used bombs, because they are
indiscriminate, causing collateral damage. We've never accepted collateral
damage.
I guess one could argue that the artillery units that I have been in caused
collateral damage. But we always had forward observers. So we never
intentionally or knowingly killed non-combatants.
I imagine it would be difficult for a robot to determine non-combatants
in real time. The Waymo driverless cars in Nashville hit things all the time.
-- Jon Low]
"B-52 bomber crashes at Edwards Air Force Base in California" by Grace Toohey
There aren't that many left, 58 fully operational, and they are out of production.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Counter Intelligence
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Institute for the Study of war
The Dispatch
Strategy Page
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
Soldier Systems
Executive Order 12333
*************************************************************************
Because squatting is an essential part of your shooting / combat repertoire.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Warfare,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
I saw this shit at the NSA. She speaks the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R1-L1pxNuxU
You let these freaks into the NSA and this is what you get.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
-- George Washington
From Soldier Systems --
In the new SWJ Field Report:
“Distributed Combat Power:
How Ukraine is Redefining Fires, Electronic Warfare, and Air Defense at the Tactical Level
ㅤWhat happens when Squads start running their own kill chains?”
CPT Van de Wall breaks down how Ukraine has redistributed fires, electronic warfare,
and air defense to the squad and platoon level.
A few things worth pondering:
Ukrainian junior NCOs build, operate, and employ UAS systems organically.
They don't request fires from a higher echelon; they're executing them.
Roughly 60–70% of Russian equipment losses have been attributed to drone
strikes. Small units are producing that effect.
Spectrum awareness has become a baseline soldier skill. Checking jammers
before leaving a position. Identifying incoming UAS on dedicated detectors.
Understanding which frequencies are contested and what that means for the
next 60 seconds.
Ukraine trains reacting to drones the way other armies train reacting to
indirect fire. Over 600 drone attacks per day will do that.
Van de Wall points out that decentralization at scale introduces real risk in
synchronization and legal authorities.
The more useful question he poses: where along the centralization spectrum
does adaptation make sense. That decision carries urgency.
"None of this requires new doctrine or additional resources. It only requires
the decision to begin."
Lots of fake www.linkedin.com invitations,
usually with a picture of a pretty girl.
Be careful!
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To get the IP address you are presently using,
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
Soldier Systems
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Carolina Stein
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***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"Crypto-Gram June 15, 2026" by Bruce Schneier
In the article "Laurie Anderson Is Quoting Me"
Excerpt:
"If you think cryptography can solve your problem,
you don’t understand your problem and
you don’t understand cryptography."
-- Roger Needham or Robert Morris, each claims attribution to the other.
Paraphrased by Bruce Scheier to
“If you think technology will solve your problems,
you don’t understand technology and
you don’t understand your problems.”
In the article "GPS As a Key Distribution Platform"
Excerpt:
"The U.S. military has likely been quietly broadcasting codes for its global
encryption network using public GPS for nearly 20 years, turning each satellite
into a hidden “numbers station,” . . . "
[Ya, Bruce is a flaming lib, but sometimes he publishes good stuff.
-- Jon Low]
"You don't have to memorize theorems.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Method of Images" by Elliot Schneider
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"We're 99.9% sure this pattern is true, but no one can prove it" by Veritasium
They weren't at the meeting, so they didn't know that it was impossible.
So they proved it was possible. What a heart warming story.
Sometimes it pays not to know everything. Working with a lack of information.
What does that remind you of?
---
"Primes Have a Bias Nobody Saw for 200 Years" by Euclidea
This is really bad math. The math is done in base 10 and is specific to base 10.
It is unfortunate that this kind of rubbish appears on YouTube.com. Be careful.
"Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of
producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin."
-- John von Neumann
"Why should you move to 4d? Regular polytopes explain" by inQEDible!
by Daria Ivanova
18:12 / 18:29 gives neat explanation of why 4-d is special.
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"The Most Controversial Puzzle in Probability" by YATAQi
Procedure for obtaining the information.
Conditional probability.
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
Plain text → data compression → encryption → error correction coding
→ transmission (storage) → reception (recalling from storage) →
error correction decoding → decryption → decompression → plain text
"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
"Something Strange Happens When You Trust Quantum Mechanics"
by Veritasium
Genetic Algorithm (or Simulated Annealing or . . . )
The search space is the crypto-key space.
The population is a selected sample of the search space. (space time constraint)
The fitness function is the entropy (ya, I know, relative entropy)
of the decryption of the cyphertext under the crypto-system
and a crypto-key from the present population.
"Wait a minute, Staff, the crypto function is not supposed to allow this sort of
relationship."
Theoretically, but if information is conserved, what can you deduce?
Crossover and mutation as per the literature (and your innovation).
The genetic algorithm drives the population to a local minima of entropy.
In the next stage, the various local minima keys are collected into a new population.
You make the big bucks by devising the appropriate crossover and mutation
based on the fitness function results of this and previous generations. You're
solving a multi-generational feedback problem. Good luck!
Remember, nothing can change the frequency of a signal. Your signal is a fixed
bit position of the input key. The frequency is the rate at which you change that
bit. Some would argue that it must work because the physics is correct. But,
the math is correct independently of any real world physics.
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arXiv is a free distribution service and an open-access archive for nearly
2.4 million scholarly articles in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer
science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance, statistics, electrical
engineering and systems science, and economics.
Materials on this site are not peer-reviewed by arXiv. [And yet, there is
less fraud than on many peer reviewed sites. -- Jon Low]
Sci-Hub.Pub
Explanation,
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
*************************************************************************
Erica Rhodes
*************************** Politics and Religion *****************************
TFA 2026 Candidate Survey for Tennessee Governor
The purpose of war is not to die for your country.
The purpose of war is to ensure that the other guy dies for his country.
— George S. Patton
Nick Freitas
It's 50% in the U.S. Navy. In the surface fleet, the ship should still be combat
effective with 50% of personnel incapacitated.
In the units that I served in, during deployments, everyone knew the
commander's intent. So theoretically, one person should be able to accomplish
the mission, and would be expected to.
Elon Musk's company SpaceX went public on Friday [13 June 2026 A.D.],
with shares at $150 on the Nasdaq exchange and rising above $160 by market
close. SpaceX's market capitalization quickly surpassed $2 trillion, making it
the largest IPO in history. Even more headline-grabbing was the IPO's impact
on Musk's overall wealth, as he became the first person in history whose wealth
surpassed $1 trillion.
"African-American Becomes First Trillionaire" by Thomas Gallatin
"Why are we expending resources protecting him and his family? He's a
trillionaire. He can afford his own security."
The truth is, just as money can't buy love, money can't by security.
Who else has the intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination
resources that we do? Can't buy it for love or money. Trump asks us
to protect him, so we do.
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
My friend Michelle Reneau received an A grade on the
Tennessee Legislative Report Card
Yeah!
Young adults do not have a shorter attention span than past generations.
That is a false narrative. The truth is that they have developed an intolerance
for low information density in the videos that they consume. As John Farnam
says, "Make your point and then shut up." There is nothing worse than a
person who drones on after making their point, just to hear himself talk.
The vast majority of pod casts and videos are painfully verbose.
Reels (30 second videos) are popular because the creators make their
point in 30 seconds and then end the video. There is usually a link, in case
the audience member wishes to view the full pod cast or video.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump on TruthSocial.com
The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented,
William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved
by the Dumocrats. However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings
of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA.
Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the
Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke
the Deal. In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald,
must be confirmed and blue slipped. Because of the ridiculous views of
Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not
be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved,
and I don’t want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until
Jamie is in place. Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good
of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without
THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually,
the Republicans fell into a trap. Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot,
Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will
not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney.
In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National
Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
President DONALD J. TRUMP
Jun 17, 2026, 2:54 AM
"Tell Us What You Really Think . . ." by Docent
Excerpt:
"I think this should be a reminder that police are like sheep dogs;
and just like sheep dogs, they work for the shepherd, not the sheep.
If the police failed to protect these children on the scale that the report
indicates, it is because it was government policy."
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
"Inside the World’s Most Unconventional Prison | El Salvador Prisons" by Nick Shirley
Note the CPR training is on humans, not dummies.
Note the haircuts.
There is an article in the Wall Street Journal,
"Trump Can Restore Standards to Federal Hiring" by Charles Murray
June 19, 2026 at 5:12 pm ET
In which the author advocates for restoring the civil service exam for federal
employment. I hadn't known that that the U.S. government had stopped
administering the civil service exam in 1981. (Because it weeded out
incompetent persons. Who are in general loyal Democrats.)
The author notes that when the universities stopped using the SAT and ACT
tests for admissions, the result was that incompetent students flunked out in
one year. (A grave disservice to the students.) But, incompetent civil servants
remain employed until retirement.
I know from first hand experience (I was an adjunct professor of physics.)
that Middle Tennessee State University accepts anyone (no admission requirements).
The result is that 16% of the entering students graduate in 4 years. MTSU
doesn't care that only 16% of the entering freshman graduate in 4 years. All they
care about is the federal and state money they get for each body they enroll.
Just like Covid-19, $65,000 of federal and state money to the hospital for
each Covid diagnosis or cause of death. Huge financial incentive.
Just like DUI arrests, $20,000 of federal and state money to the police
department for each DUI arrest. Doesn't matter if the charges later get dropped.
The police department already got the state and federal money.
Betraying one's own people by neglecting to pay them.
Oh, my mistake. They were never his people.
Raised by a flaming liberal white woman until her death,
then raised by flaming liberal haole grandparents in Hawaii.
"Minimum Wage Fail" by John Stossel
Can you believe there are still people who believe in minimum wage?
There is no economic model in which it works.
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Writing her jokes.
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************* Psychology **************************************
“Just like Doritos and Mountain Dew wreck your body,
push notifications and memes wreck your mind.
And like junk food, the more you consume, the worse you feel.
People like to make excuses for why their attention is fractured,
but the truth is, your attention isn’t being stolen—you’re just
giving it away without a fight.
If you don’t take control of your environment, you’ll spend
your entire life becoming a data point for mega-corporations
to package up and sell to the highest-bidding advertiser.
When I write nowadays, I leave my phone at home, block
everything on my laptop, and force myself to sit in painful,
empty space before I can write.
Your life is nothing more than the diet of your mind.
What are you feeding it today?”
– Mark Manson
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
In 1996, I removed all TV's from my house. In 2026, God killed the AM/FM radio in my car.
I only have my shortwave and ham radios. I wasn't getting any useful information from those
sources. My life is much better.
Children did not become expensive, they became unnecessary.
************* End of Psychology section*********************************
This is pretty deep on many levels.
How do you know if it's time to leave your state?
Polk County Sheriff explaining to libtard journalist that armed carjacking is a
crime justifying lethal force, and no, a weapon is not required, force and violence
is sufficient.
If you think Trump was convicted of 34 felonies, consider this,
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
My siblings would complain to my parents about giving them bad genes.
"Why Women Are Stripey" by Veritasium
But now it appears all ancestors contribute to epigenetics, not just parents.
Consider what this means for genetic algorithms. As in searching high
dimensional spaces for local optima.
I always thought my parents gave me good genes, because I did well in
standardized test (SAT, ASVAB, etc.), and IQ is genetically determined.
Neither I nor my children or grandchildren have any genetic defects or
genetic diseases. My daughter and son-in-law did the testing before they
had children. No previous generation of our family had ever done such
testing.
“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
Martina Di Giovanni
My buddy tells me he can't meet me and the kids and grand kids for
breakfast because he is going to West Virginia to watch his cousin race dirt bikes.
I think he is going for the scenery.
Martina Di Giovanni
"Annie Sanders 🇺🇸 | Athlete of the Week" by World Climbing
Check out the toe and heel hooks.
"Citizen Vigilante"
Oh, you mean it's illegal to kill illegal aliens?
Happy 21st Birthday!
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Making snow angels.
