“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
whoever does not have a sword should sell his coat and buy a sword.”
– Book of Luke 22:36, New Life Version of the Bible
Please note that this is not said by some prophet or apostle.
This is said by the Lord.
Please note that this is not a suggestion. This is a command.
In the Marine Corps we are taught that anytime a commanding officer
suggests a thing or asks you a thing, you should understand it to be
a direct order. Would you do any less for your Lord?
Hi Sheepdogs,
************* Most important thing in this blog posting! *****************
"If there is one common thread to all the surveillance videos of male-on-female attacks
that I have studied over the years, it is the presence of headphones on the woman's head."
-- Tim Larkin
************* Most important thing in this blog posting! *****************
"The simple step of a courageous individual is to not take part in the lie."
-- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
1. The purpose of self-defense is to prevent your injury.
No law requires you to suffer the first blow before defending yourself.
If you allow your enemy to strike first, you will be down on the ground
getting stomped to death, unable to defend yourself or your loved ones.
You must strike preemptively. To be able to do this, you must be aware.
So, you must be able to recognize the pre-assault indicators. (Take a
class and read Greg Ellifritz' articles on pre-assault indicators at
ActiveResponseTraining.net.)
There are many documented incidents of a person being killed by
a single punch. You should document as many of these as you can.
And use them as justification for your preemptive strike. You may need
to help your attorney, because if you don't have a lot of money or a good
self-defense insurance policy, you won't be able to afford a very good
attorney. In American, you get as much justice as you can afford.
2. If you failed to avoid, evade, or escape the attack, the purpose of
self-defense is to stop the attack before you get injured anymore.
We are shooting to immediately stop the attack, so that we don't get
hurt anymore. We are not shooting to kill. Yes, the bad guy may die,
but that was his decision, not yours. You wouldn’t be shooting at him in
the first place unless he forced you to. The condition of the bad guy is
incidental to your purpose of stopping the attack.
---
To immediately stop the attack, you must either zero the enemy's blood
pressure by placing multiple bullets in his thorax destroying his heart and
lungs, or you must break his central nervous system by placing a bullet into
his brain or spinal cord above his arms to prevent his arms from working.
---
Shooting in self-defense is a low probability event. So, you must aim
to the target that gives you the highest probability of a hit, that would be
the center of mass of the target, the center of the thorax, mediastinum.
For a thorax shot from the front, the target is the center of the triangle
defined by the notch at the top of the sternum and the nipples.
From the side, the target is the top of the arm pit. (So, your cartridge
must be powerful enough to break through the bone of the enemy's upper
arm or shoulder.)
From the back, the target is between the shoulder blades.
Student: "I would never shoot anyone in the back."
You may need to shoot the bad guy in the back. If he is shooting people in
the theater, shopping mall, or your church, why would you hesitate to shoot
him in the back? You are not police. You have no obligation to give a verbal
warning. You have no duty to ask the bad guy to surrender. If you do,
he will turn and shoot you. Then you will be dead, and he will continue
shooting innocent persons.
---
The chest shots may be ineffective, because the assailant is wearing armor,
high on drugs, or dedicated. In such a case, the target is the brain.
For a brain shot from the front, the target is the T formed by the eyes and
nose (cranial-ocular cavity), behind which are holes in the skull.
From the side, the target is the ear hole (external auditory meatus).
From the back, the target is the spinal column at the base of the skull.
Since there is no hole in the back of the skull, we are attempting to break
the spinal column.
Your pistol ammunition is ballistically deficient compared to rifle or
shotgun cartridges and probably will not penetrate the skull, which is the
hardest strongest bone in the body. So, you must shoot through a hole
in the skull to get a bullet into the brain. What you see in TV and movies
is not real.
3. If the assailant has finished beating and raping you and is walking
away, if you shoot him, it is not self-defense. Self-defense can only be
used to prevent the attack or to stop the attack. Shooting the assailant
after he has finished the attack and no longer presents an imminent threat
cannot be justified as self-defense. You would be charged with aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon. If he dies, the charge would be manslaughter
or murder, depending on how good your attorney is.
4. Firing a warning shot is an act of criminal stupidity. It is illegal in
every state. You will be prosecuted for reckless endangering. You will not
be on a multi-million-dollar range with soft dirt berms to catch your bullets.
There is no safe direction to fire a warning shot. The bullet will ricochet
off the concrete sidewalk or asphalt road or rock in the ground, and cause
injury, maybe to you. Any bullet you shoot into the air will come down on
someone's head, maybe killing them.
5. Shooting to wound is an act of criminal stupidity. Shooting to the
center of mass in combat is a low probability event. (National average for
police is 15% to 20% hits on intended targets, depending on the department.)
Shooting at a leg or arm is a zero-probability event, no matter what you've
seen on TV or in the movies. So, if you shoot to wound, you will miss.
Every miss is an unintended hit, that will damage property, injure innocent
bystanders, maybe kill them.
6. Any violent crime is not a first offense. Shoplifting is a first offense.
The conditional probability that the person attacking you has a long violent
criminal history is extremely high given that he is attacking you.
The defendant (you) generally cannot bring the assailant's criminal record
into evidence at trial because the defendant did not know about it before
the incident. But you might be able to, because you can testify that your
instructor told you that your assailant has a long violent criminal record.
Statistically speaking.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, innocent bystanders, and those who
don't need to be shot.)
"Situational Awareness: Nice Guys vs. “Nice Guys”
They may look the same, but they’re not. Here’s how to tell them apart."
by Wendy LaFever
https://www.nrawomen.com/content/situational-awareness-nice-guys-vs-nice-guys/
Excerpt:
"Your Number One clue that you’re dealing with an NG is that he will tell you how nice he is."
NG = a person who appears to be a nice guy, but isn't. The wolf in sheep's clothing.
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Whether the right course of action is de-escalation, or fighting for your life, your reactions
need to be automatic -- but they also have to be correct."
-- Tim Larkin
I have had instructors teach me that if you have to think about whether or not to shoot,
you probably should not shoot. Larkin says, if you have to think about whether or not
you should punch the guy, the probable answer is no.
If you read the after action reports of persons who shot righteously, they generally say
things like, "I just shot. I didn't think about it. I was scared to death." Being scared of
death or in fear of serious injury is justification for shooting or striking. Being angry is not.
Generally speaking, you're not going to have time to contemplate whether or not to shoot.
You're just going to shoot.
If you have time to contemplate, you have time to escape.
"3 Gun-Handling Fictions (That Are Actually Facts)
The very foundation of gun safety lies in accepting
these metaphorical concepts as bedrock fact."
by Wendy LaFever
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/3-gun-handling-fictions-that-are-actually-facts/
Excerpt:
"Game wardens can enter private property at any time without a warrant
(and that is a plain fact, not a metaphor)."
Primary source,
https://www.fws.gov/policy/445fw1.html
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Part 445: Searches, Seizures, Detention, Arrests, and Evidence
The NRA's Three Rules of Gun Safety:
ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
Looking around doesn't cost anything and is a health habit.
-- Joe Foss
"Philadelphia robbery kidnapping and sort of home invasion" by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2022/04/23/philadelphia-robbery-kidnapping-and-sort-of-home-invasion/
Fake cops is a real thing. I remember in Hawaii several women were stopped by a fake
cop in an unmarked car (lots of the Honolulu Police Department cars are unmarked,
as they let the officers use their personal cars), kidnapped, raped, and murdered. So you
must verify the identity of the police officer before submitting to arrest. Ya, you'll probably
be charged with resisting arrest, but your attorney can fight that; and it's better than being
dead. Just sit in you locked car with your windows rolled up and call 911 to verify.
In the Marine Corps, the protocol was to tell the person to place their credentials on
the ground and to step back 10 paces. You then walk forward, pick up, and inspect the
credentials. If they charge you, you shoot them. [I will refrain from telling war stories.]
If you have a good attorney, she can articulate the suspicious behavior that the police
officer displayed that caused you to reasonable believe that the person was not a police
officer. Your attorney should be able to argue that impersonating a police officer is a
lethal force attack, because the only reason to impersonate a police officer is to arrest you,
which will result in death or grave bodily harm.
You should keep record of such reported incidents should it become necessary to justify
your actions. Just as recording incidents of one punch kills will help to justify your
whoever does not have a sword should sell his coat and buy a sword.”
– Book of Luke 22:36, New Life Version of the Bible
Please note that this is not said by some prophet or apostle.
This is said by the Lord.
Please note that this is not a suggestion. This is a command.
In the Marine Corps we are taught that anytime a commanding officer
suggests a thing or asks you a thing, you should understand it to be
a direct order. Would you do any less for your Lord?
Hi Sheepdogs,
************* Most important thing in this blog posting! *****************
"If there is one common thread to all the surveillance videos of male-on-female attacks
that I have studied over the years, it is the presence of headphones on the woman's head."
-- Tim Larkin
************* Most important thing in this blog posting! *****************
"The simple step of a courageous individual is to not take part in the lie."
-- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
1. The purpose of self-defense is to prevent your injury.
No law requires you to suffer the first blow before defending yourself.
If you allow your enemy to strike first, you will be down on the ground
getting stomped to death, unable to defend yourself or your loved ones.
You must strike preemptively. To be able to do this, you must be aware.
So, you must be able to recognize the pre-assault indicators. (Take a
class and read Greg Ellifritz' articles on pre-assault indicators at
ActiveResponseTraining.net.)
There are many documented incidents of a person being killed by
a single punch. You should document as many of these as you can.
And use them as justification for your preemptive strike. You may need
to help your attorney, because if you don't have a lot of money or a good
self-defense insurance policy, you won't be able to afford a very good
attorney. In American, you get as much justice as you can afford.
2. If you failed to avoid, evade, or escape the attack, the purpose of
self-defense is to stop the attack before you get injured anymore.
We are shooting to immediately stop the attack, so that we don't get
hurt anymore. We are not shooting to kill. Yes, the bad guy may die,
but that was his decision, not yours. You wouldn’t be shooting at him in
the first place unless he forced you to. The condition of the bad guy is
incidental to your purpose of stopping the attack.
---
To immediately stop the attack, you must either zero the enemy's blood
pressure by placing multiple bullets in his thorax destroying his heart and
lungs, or you must break his central nervous system by placing a bullet into
his brain or spinal cord above his arms to prevent his arms from working.
---
Shooting in self-defense is a low probability event. So, you must aim
to the target that gives you the highest probability of a hit, that would be
the center of mass of the target, the center of the thorax, mediastinum.
For a thorax shot from the front, the target is the center of the triangle
defined by the notch at the top of the sternum and the nipples.
From the side, the target is the top of the arm pit. (So, your cartridge
must be powerful enough to break through the bone of the enemy's upper
arm or shoulder.)
From the back, the target is between the shoulder blades.
Student: "I would never shoot anyone in the back."
You may need to shoot the bad guy in the back. If he is shooting people in
the theater, shopping mall, or your church, why would you hesitate to shoot
him in the back? You are not police. You have no obligation to give a verbal
warning. You have no duty to ask the bad guy to surrender. If you do,
he will turn and shoot you. Then you will be dead, and he will continue
shooting innocent persons.
---
The chest shots may be ineffective, because the assailant is wearing armor,
high on drugs, or dedicated. In such a case, the target is the brain.
For a brain shot from the front, the target is the T formed by the eyes and
nose (cranial-ocular cavity), behind which are holes in the skull.
From the side, the target is the ear hole (external auditory meatus).
From the back, the target is the spinal column at the base of the skull.
Since there is no hole in the back of the skull, we are attempting to break
the spinal column.
Your pistol ammunition is ballistically deficient compared to rifle or
shotgun cartridges and probably will not penetrate the skull, which is the
hardest strongest bone in the body. So, you must shoot through a hole
in the skull to get a bullet into the brain. What you see in TV and movies
is not real.
3. If the assailant has finished beating and raping you and is walking
away, if you shoot him, it is not self-defense. Self-defense can only be
used to prevent the attack or to stop the attack. Shooting the assailant
after he has finished the attack and no longer presents an imminent threat
cannot be justified as self-defense. You would be charged with aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon. If he dies, the charge would be manslaughter
or murder, depending on how good your attorney is.
4. Firing a warning shot is an act of criminal stupidity. It is illegal in
every state. You will be prosecuted for reckless endangering. You will not
be on a multi-million-dollar range with soft dirt berms to catch your bullets.
There is no safe direction to fire a warning shot. The bullet will ricochet
off the concrete sidewalk or asphalt road or rock in the ground, and cause
injury, maybe to you. Any bullet you shoot into the air will come down on
someone's head, maybe killing them.
5. Shooting to wound is an act of criminal stupidity. Shooting to the
center of mass in combat is a low probability event. (National average for
police is 15% to 20% hits on intended targets, depending on the department.)
Shooting at a leg or arm is a zero-probability event, no matter what you've
seen on TV or in the movies. So, if you shoot to wound, you will miss.
Every miss is an unintended hit, that will damage property, injure innocent
bystanders, maybe kill them.
6. Any violent crime is not a first offense. Shoplifting is a first offense.
The conditional probability that the person attacking you has a long violent
criminal history is extremely high given that he is attacking you.
The defendant (you) generally cannot bring the assailant's criminal record
into evidence at trial because the defendant did not know about it before
the incident. But you might be able to, because you can testify that your
instructor told you that your assailant has a long violent criminal record.
Statistically speaking.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, innocent bystanders, and those who
don't need to be shot.)
"Situational Awareness: Nice Guys vs. “Nice Guys”
They may look the same, but they’re not. Here’s how to tell them apart."
by Wendy LaFever
https://www.nrawomen.com/content/situational-awareness-nice-guys-vs-nice-guys/
Excerpt:
"Your Number One clue that you’re dealing with an NG is that he will tell you how nice he is."
NG = a person who appears to be a nice guy, but isn't. The wolf in sheep's clothing.
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Whether the right course of action is de-escalation, or fighting for your life, your reactions
need to be automatic -- but they also have to be correct."
-- Tim Larkin
I have had instructors teach me that if you have to think about whether or not to shoot,
you probably should not shoot. Larkin says, if you have to think about whether or not
you should punch the guy, the probable answer is no.
If you read the after action reports of persons who shot righteously, they generally say
things like, "I just shot. I didn't think about it. I was scared to death." Being scared of
death or in fear of serious injury is justification for shooting or striking. Being angry is not.
Generally speaking, you're not going to have time to contemplate whether or not to shoot.
You're just going to shoot.
If you have time to contemplate, you have time to escape.
"3 Gun-Handling Fictions (That Are Actually Facts)
The very foundation of gun safety lies in accepting
these metaphorical concepts as bedrock fact."
by Wendy LaFever
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/3-gun-handling-fictions-that-are-actually-facts/
Excerpt:
"Game wardens can enter private property at any time without a warrant
(and that is a plain fact, not a metaphor)."
Primary source,
https://www.fws.gov/policy/445fw1.html
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Part 445: Searches, Seizures, Detention, Arrests, and Evidence
The NRA's Three Rules of Gun Safety:
ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
Looking around doesn't cost anything and is a health habit.
-- Joe Foss
"Philadelphia robbery kidnapping and sort of home invasion" by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2022/04/23/philadelphia-robbery-kidnapping-and-sort-of-home-invasion/
Fake cops is a real thing. I remember in Hawaii several women were stopped by a fake
cop in an unmarked car (lots of the Honolulu Police Department cars are unmarked,
as they let the officers use their personal cars), kidnapped, raped, and murdered. So you
must verify the identity of the police officer before submitting to arrest. Ya, you'll probably
be charged with resisting arrest, but your attorney can fight that; and it's better than being
dead. Just sit in you locked car with your windows rolled up and call 911 to verify.
In the Marine Corps, the protocol was to tell the person to place their credentials on
the ground and to step back 10 paces. You then walk forward, pick up, and inspect the
credentials. If they charge you, you shoot them. [I will refrain from telling war stories.]
If you have a good attorney, she can articulate the suspicious behavior that the police
officer displayed that caused you to reasonable believe that the person was not a police
officer. Your attorney should be able to argue that impersonating a police officer is a
lethal force attack, because the only reason to impersonate a police officer is to arrest you,
which will result in death or grave bodily harm.
You should keep record of such reported incidents should it become necessary to justify
your actions. Just as recording incidents of one punch kills will help to justify your
preemptive strike. At trial, you may submit evidence that informed your state of mind.
Jury member: "Wow! Look at all these cases of a guy getting killed with one punch.
I guess it was reasonable for the defendant to shoot the assailant before the assailant
punched the defendant."
Jury member: "Wow! Look at all these cases of people getting killed by fake cops
(eg. Saint Valentine's Day Massacre). I guess it was reasonable for the defendant to think
these cops could have been fake."
"Here's another reason to walk away whenever possible: when you escalate a situation
into the realm of serious physical harm, no one -- and that emphatically includes you --
can predict the outcome. You're risking your own life, . . . -- and you're also risking
delivering far more harm than you intended."
-- Tim Larkin
"Serious Mistake – Chasing and Shooting" by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2022/04/17/serious-mistake-chasing-and-shooting/
Excerpt:
"Girl, 9, shot at mall while awaiting Easter bunny; police say shopkeeper fired at thieves"
---
CHASING AFTER THE END OF A CONFRONTATION
When a criminal confrontation ends and the criminal flees, there’s a strong instinct to chase
the attacker and continue the conflict. Armed Citizens need to recognize that this instinct
exists and resist the urge to chase. Instinctive as it might be, chasing and prolonging the
confrontation can result in legal problems and has the possibility of a tactical failure.
-- Claude Werner, "Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make"
---
Primary source -
"Girl, 9, shot at mall while awaiting Easter bunny; police say shopkeeper fired at thieves"
by Rene Ray De La Cruz and Charlie McGee
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/04/12/mall-evacuated-after-shooting-leaves-one-injured-another-hospitalized-victorville/7299326001/
If you accidentally shoot someone, call 911, render aid, and stay at the scene.
If you run away, crossing into another state, you have demonstrated consciousness of guilt.
You're going to be found, because you have no training in evasion, assuming a new
identity, and such. You've never been through SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance
and Escape ). You haven't prepared a new identity to slip into. If you were skilled in the
tradecraft, you would hide in your own city or one you knew well. Because you would
not stick out like a sore thumb. You would know the local attire, the customs, etc.
Running takes a lot of preparation. Setting up a new identity takes a lot of preparation.
You would need to find someone who was born about the same time as you were and
died shortly after birth. Request a birth certificate (claiming to be the person is the easiest
way), and use it to get a Social Security Card, driver's license, etc. and open bank accounts
and such. It's a really involved process.
You're going to be arrested. If you're smart, you won't resist.
You're not going to get bail. Because at the least the charge is going to be aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon, plus using a gun in the commission of a crime. (It's a
crime, not an accident, because you ran.)
I remember a case from a few years ago. A lady was driving her car and accidentally
hit a guy. The guy got stuck in her windshield. If she had called 911 it would have been
ruled an accident and she would have been okay. If she couldn't reach 911, she could
have driven to the nearest emergency room. She would have been okay. But, she panicked.
She drove home, parked in her garage, and failed to report the incident. By the time the
cops got to her house, the guy was dead. But the medical examiner said that he was alive
for a long time after getting hit. She was convicted of murder because of acts of stupidity
after a perfectly innocent accident for which she would not have been charged with anything.
Our prisons are full of stupid people. Don't be stupid. If you're involved in an incident,
report it immediately. Stay out of prison. Prof. Jordon Peterson says there is no correlation
between low IQ and criminal behavior. But our criminal justice system can't distinguish
between criminal behavior and stupid behavior. Irrational panicked behavior is stupid
behavior. In a high stress situation, STOP!, take long deep breaths. This will lower your
blood pressure and pulse rate. Your judgment will improve drastically.
"Guest Shot: Fear and Slaughter in Progress" by Dave Spaulding
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/38f568ef-73a3-461c-9c11-09408b90de13
"Role player shot in stomach after friendly fire incident
during Taylor Auxiliary Police training exercise"
by Jessica Dupnack , Camille Amiri, and Jack Nissen
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/one-shot-in-stomach-after-friendly-fire-incident-during-taylor-police-training-exercise
If they don't pat everyone down before your force-on-force training, STOP! Go home.
Don't play with them. It's not safe.
No, it was not an "accidental firing". It was a negligent firing.
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
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
Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.
~Henry Ford
"The rules of asocial violence are very simple:
don't make yourself a target, [obey Farnam's rules listed below]
focus your mind, [this is not automatic, it takes practice, so practice]
know the human body, [know enough anatomy to make intelligent choices as to where and
how to strike, for instance, punching to the head is stupid, so don't do it]
act first, [strike preemptively, worry about justifying it later, you'll only need to justify
if you're alive]
intend to injure, [if you're too squeamish to put your fingers through his eyes, you've made
the decision to participate in your own murder]
don't stop until he's incapacitated or dead."
-- Tim Larkin
The text in brackets is Jon Low's 2 cents. I know that I should not disrupt Mr. Larkin's
text, but his speech is so terse, I felt I had to. When he writes, he assumes you've read the
material in his books or have watched his pod casts or YouTube.com videos.
". . . attacking rather than retreating, directly incapacitating the human body by shutting
off the brain, and understanding the human body's inherent weak points -- may be unpleasant
or counterintuitive. But in situations of life-or-death violence, this is how your opponent is
already thinking -- and if that's how they are thinking, that's how you have to think, as well.
If you can wrap your head around why it works, you can learn how to use it to your
advantage. And you will quickly come to realize that it is the most effective means of
protecting yourself."
-- Tim Larkin
"What Poliquinn understands is that criminals and felons come from a world defined by
an entirely different social contract than yours or mine -- a world where you can't afford
to disrespect each other without the risk of real violence."
-- Tim Larkin
"Potential: Jordan Peterson at TEDxUofT"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLteWutitFM
Do you see how this will help you with your endeavor.
Fascinating discussion of pathological belief systems. Prof. Peterson doesn't mention
them by name, but he is obviously referring to communism (eg. Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) and fascism (eg. National Socialist aka NAZIS), which are both branches of
socialism. The liberals like to claim that fascism is on the right side of the political
spectrum, but that is a lie.
If you know the "why", you can bear[2] any "how".
Follow what you're interested in.
---
[2] American Heritage Dictionary,
https://ahdictionary.com/
first form of the word "bear", verb transitive, definition 3b.
As opposed to verb intransitive, third definition.
I note this be cause Prof. Peterson's speech is sometimes very subtle.
If you want to direct a symphony, you have to turn your back on the crowd.
The crowd / the culture / your peer group may advise you to do X. But, you must always
do God's will. I have never found the two to coincide.
You can't predict the future.
You can 't predict when some drunk or distracted driver will ram you. So, you always
wear your seat belt when driving. And you always make sure your passengers are
wearing their seat belts before moving.
You can't predict when a fire will start in your abode. So, you always keep a fire
extinguisher in plain view in your residence.
You can't predict when a criminal will attack you. That's his choice, not yours.
So, you always carry your pistol on your body with a round in the chamber. You're not
going to have time to load your gun. You're not going to have time to get your gun from
where ever you stored it. So, you have to carry your loaded gun on your body at all times.
The gunfight will probably be over in 2 seconds. Which means you have to do all
your thinking before the fight. Which means you have to do all your practice before your
thinking in order to think correctly. Which means you have to do all your training before
your practice, otherwise you won't be practicing the correct things (thoughts).
Andrew Branca says,
". . . the moment you engage in a fight you've just incurred two risks you were not
incurring a moment before:
A greater than zero risk of dying in that fight.
A greater than zero risk of spending much of the rest of your life in a cage surrounded
by unpleasant and dangerous people, and away from everything that makes life worth living."
---
So, you need to decide now, what is worth that risk; and what is not. Because I guarantee
you won't have time to decide when the incident starts.
Andrew considers the risk worth taking when you are facing death, maiming, rape of
yourself or someone you have a duty to protect.
When I was in the Marine Corps, we had a duty to protect classified material. We had a
duty to enforce operational security, counter intelligence, and physical security. A Marine
once told me that if the Colonel's daughter ran the gate, he would not shoot her. So, I
replaced that Marine. I had to have Marines on my guard force that would shoot anyone
who ran the gate.
You have to make the hard decisions as to what you will or will not kill for. And then
you have to stick to your decision. Indecisiveness (or dithering as Col. Jeff Cooper would
say) gets the good guys killed.
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
*************************************************************************
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
September 16th - 18th, 2022 in Oklahoma City
$650
Tactical Conference
https://taccon.info/
March 24-26, 2023 in Dallas, Texas
$565
A Girl and A Gun, National Conference
https://www.agirlandagun.org/conference/
April 28 – May 1, 2022 in Grand Junction, CO
$400
Girlz N Guns Annual Training Weekend
https://www.girlznguns.com/annual-training-conference
October 1st and 2nd 2022 in Gap, PA
$??? registration opens May 1st, 2022
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Tactical Training Scenario- A Reanimated Active Killer" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/tactical-training-scenario-a-re-animated-active-killer
Excerpt:
"This phenomenon [re-animation] happens fairly regularly and few people consider it
in their response plans. People drop unconscious after being shot due to a rapid loss in
blood pressure. Not enough blood is getting to the brain to sustain function. When they
fall, the heart no longer has to fight gravity to get oxygenated blood to the brain. Even
with a lower blood pressure, the brain again becomes perfused with oxygenated blood.
People then “wake up” and are often fully capable of sustaining violent action for a short
period of time."
Primary source,
"Houston Police Shoot Suspect At a Mall After He Allegedly Shot A Deputy"
by Law&Crime Network
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82mx73Ukpg
Notice how many people are still wandering around the shopping mall while an active
killer is shooting persons. Such is reality. There are going to be lots of no-shoot targets
that you have to avoid or protect. The exact opposite of an IDPA or IPSC match where
just about all of the targets are shoot-targets, and zero, one, or two might be no-shoot
targets.
“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
After action analysis.
"The NYC Subway Active Shooter Attack" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-nyc-subway-active-shooter-attack
---
Lessons learned: Don't go into gun-free-zones. All mass attacks occur in gun-free-zones.
Don't go into New York City (a gun-free-zone), avoid the Sullivan Laws.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"Visualize Success
Peak performance starts with seeing what success with the mind's eye."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/visualize-success/
While the Sheriff may not be able to explain the underlying psychology of visualization,
the experts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO can and do.
It would be worth your time to take a coach's course there. Just about all of the courses
are open enrollment. I have taken their archery, riflery, and pistol courses. They all
go into detail about visualization, how to use it, how to teach it, what it does, what it doesn't
do.
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)
Did you see the muzzle flash? It's a bright orange flash. The answer is yes or no;
there is no in-between. If you didn't see the flash, it is because you closed your aiming
eye when you fired the shot. You closing your eye is a reaction to the report and recoil.
You can train yourself to keep your eye open by looking for the muzzle flash. Yes, it
will be visible, even in bright daylight. If you don't keep your aiming eye open, you
won't see where your sights are pointed when you release the shot. So, the bullet won't
go where you think you aimed it. Yes, keeping your aiming eye open is essential to
marksmanship. You must watch your sights through the shot process, all the way
through your follow-through. You must see how your sights move, so that you can
call your shots. So, that you will know where your bullet hit. Because the target won't
tell you. There will not be a visible hole. There will not be a visible blood mark.
The target will not convulse and cover the hole you made in him. He might not even
notice the hole. Such is reality. Accept it. Accommodate it.
Care enough to continue your training.
Chris Sajnog says, if you focus on your front sight, you will automatically center
it in the rear sight. You will automatically level the top of the front sight with the top
of the rear sight. If you focus on the front sight.
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Enjoyable Defensive Handgun Training" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/handguns/enjoyable-defensive-handgun-training
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
"Amazing Powers of Observation" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/amazing-powers-of-observation/
Excerpt:
"The simple fact is that we are all guilty of looking without seeing. It is, however,
a fault that we can work to correct. And, make no mistake about it, it is critical to
your personal defense."
Slow is smooth (because you can control what you're doing).
Smooth is efficient (because elegance automatically removes inefficiencies).
Efficient is fast (because there is no wasted motion).
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it, which tactics to use) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Who says we're using your rules?"
-- Tim Larkin
"What is your objective? Escape!
The pistol is just one of many emergency rescue tools to use in your escape
and the escape of your loved ones." -- Massad Ayoob (paraphrased)
"Sometimes, it is easier to kill the wolf."
[than to defend the sheep or teach the sheep how to defend themselves.]
-- Marcus Wynne
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"A target is an anatomical structure that can be crushed, ruptured, broken, or otherwise
rendered useless, thereby rendering your opponent useless."
-- Tim Larkin
"Beginning and End" by Rich Grassi
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/4defa26f-6a18-44a5-a4be-f500040ab483
Excerpt:
"While I was certifying gun retention instructors for the National Law Enforcement
Training Center, we received data that showed that fully fifty percent of gun grab
attempts were made on guns that were already drawn. The other half were attacks on
holstered handguns."
"Because the draw is well-practiced with a well-trained officer, the difference
between coming up from the holster and getting a hit, and doing the same from
low ready, is small, sometimes less than a tenth of a second . . ."
---
Levels of readiness in order of decreasing time to shoot.
Hands up in front of you.
Support-hand up in front of you, firing-hand establishing correct grip on your pistol.
Support-hand up in front of you, pistol in hand behind your back, buttocks, or thigh.
[You haven't crossed into Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon yet.]
[The following allow shooting the target without using the sights.]
Support-hand up in front of you, pistol at close contact position. (Elbow pulled back
as far as possible. Bottom of grip pressed against rib cage. Top of pistol tilted away
from the body, so the slide will not foul against your shirt or breast.) Where the pistol
is pointed depends on the occasion.
Two handed close contact position. Forearms pressed tight against your body.
Where the pistol is pointed depends on the situation.
[The following allows shooting the target while using the sights.]
One or two handed position with arm extended in low ready (pointed down at the
ground in front of you) or urban ready (pointed to the side of the target).
[At this point you cross into Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon if you can't justify.]
One or two handed position with arm extended pointing at the target.
From an email that I wrote to a friend -
. . .
In Marine Corps Recruit Training, we fired the M-16 in auto mode. The exercise
was to demonstrate to us that automatic fire is effectively uncontrollable, so that
we would never use it. That's why later versions had a 3-round burst, instead of
auto mode.
The only automatic rifle or submachinegun that really makes sense is the Uzi,
because the rate of fire is slow enough to allow the user to modulate the trigger.
One can fire one, two, or three round bursts (with practice). The MP-5 rate of fire
is so fast you can't control it. The M-16 is too fast.
I don't know of any gun schools or military training that teaches full auto fire
with small arms. Because you end up shooting the friendlies and innocents.
Cheers,
Jon
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task or skill in support of your tactic) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Shooting from Retention: A Necessary Skill for Armed Citizens?" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/shooting-from-retention/
The author does not describe the retention position, so I will.
One-handed:
Elbow pulled back as far as possible. Bottom of the pistol grip pressed tight against your
rib cage. Top of the pistol tilted away from your body, so the slide or hammer won't get
fouled in your garment (or hit your breast).
Two-handed:
Two-handed grip. Forearms and wrists pressed tight against your rib cage. The pistol
should be to the firing side of your body, so the slide doesn't hit your body when the action
cycles, fouling the action and causing a malfunction.
Do you see in the photograph where the pistol is relative to the shooter's face? That is
why it is criminal stupidity to use a ported barrel. Hot gas, smoke, and burning powder
will be thrown up into your face. Instructors hawking[1] ported barrels as self-defense
pistols are WRONG!
[1] 2nd form of the word "hawk", American Heritage Dictionary,
https://ahdictionary.com/
I mention this because my proofreader recommended using the word "hocking",
citing the third form of the word "hock", first definition. I confess, the sentence had the
wrong structure and wrong word usage before proofreading.
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART I | Vital Shot Placement In Dire Circumstances"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-i-vital-shot-placement-in-dire-curcumstances/
Excerpt:
". . . shoot the high mediastinum first . . ."
"But, if the GSW involved the atria or great vessels, the chance of survival is almost zero."
[GSW = Gun Shot Wound] [So, the target is the blood vessels above the heart.]
---
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART II | Ethics Of Deadly Force Training"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-ii-ethics-of-deadly-force-training/
Excerpt:
"Contrary to Hollywood mythology, a subject shot here won’t reflexively shoot
the bystander he holds at gunpoint. His muscles will go limp and he will collapse."
---
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART III | Gunfight Realities"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-iii-gunfight-realities/
Excerpt:
“Teaching our people to shoot two, then assess is gonna get them killed.”
[This is the exact opposite of what was taught at Front Sight in 1996. Theory changes,
practice changes. We have a duty to teach best practices. -- Jon Low]
As with your car, you drive your pistol. You don't ride your pistol.
-- Tom Givens
"REALITY CHECK II | Drawing?" by Clint Smith
https://americancop.com/reality-check-ii-drawing/
Ya, the article is for cops, but it applies to you if you drive a car.
---
Mr. Smith says, "Carrying a pistol should be comforting, not necessarily comfortable."
I disagree. In this day and age there is a holster that will allow you to carry comfortably.
You just have to put in the effort to find it.
When you are finished shooting, immediately start your after action drills,
and continue until you are satisfied that there are no threats. This is a very important
habit to engrain. The behavior makes you look competent. This will cause the other
casual / lazy criminals to break off contact. Because they are there for the easy money
or submissive sex. A fight is way more than they bargained for. The dedicated
criminal is a different situation. He will require more force, that you must be
willing to apply. The after action drills prepare you for him.
“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.)
Another option for lateral movement and fire:
Instead of side stepping and keeping the feet apart (never crossing), walk normally
(toward cover hopefully).
If the enemy is on your support side, two handed Weaver position and shoot them.
If the enemy is on your firing side:
One handed aimed fire (push the sights into the target).
Or, transfer the pistol into your support side hand, assume a support side Weaver
position and fire across your body. (Thanks to Mike Bain, DefensiveSpecialties.com)
Or, keep your firing side two handed grip and go into a support side Weaver position.
Yes, this is awkward at first, but with practice, it will become comfortable and natural.
(Thanks to John Holschen.) [For a right hander, right-handed two hand grip. Extend
left arm. Bend right elbow and pull it down, not out to the side. Now you can shoot
across your body to your right.]
If you can't see well (Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Cataracts, Floaters, injury,
or perhaps it's too dark for your cone cells in the center of your field of view to function)
try looking to the side of the target. If you are able to get a clear spot of vision, use it
to line up your sights. (The rod cells which give you black and white images in low
light conditions are all around the center of your field of vision.)
"Efficiency Vs Speed
Pressing the trigger quickly is one thing.
Getting effective hits quickly is another." by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/efficiency-vs-speed/
This appears to be an easy read, but it's not. You have to read carefully, because
Mr. Tarani speaks of things that are subtle.
Excerpt from an email from Mike Ox -- concerning the sub-second draw --
My goal with a shooter is to get their draw and presentation as EFFICIENT, CONSISTENT,
and AUTOMATIC as possible. Striving for a sub-second draw is just a means of achieving
this. (paraphrased)
"Quick Draw Stroke Mastery Video Tip: “Don’t Wrist-Rock It” " by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/quick-draw-stroke-mastery-video-tip-dont-wrist-rock-it/
Excerpts:
". . . going straight to your gun isn’t always the best answer. Sometimes a punch to the
throat can help you create the time and distance you need to do a full draw stroke & presentation.
The perceived need to always go to your gun may be an indication that you’ve got some low
hanging opportunities for improvement in the areas of situational awareness and empty-hands
skills."
". . . some people think that we should have one draw stroke technique that works for every
situation. There may be some validity to that, but what if we applied that same thinking to
malfunctions?
Think about a hard malfunction like a double feed where you
tap, rack, assess/press, rip, rack, rack, rack, reload, rack, assess/press.
Why don’t we also use that same technique when we have a soft malfunction where the gun
goes click instead of bang? Or when the slide doesn’t lock back on an empty chamber?
The reason we have multiple techniques for different malfunctions is because it is pretty
common to encounter a soft malfunction and the solution is quick. Hard malfunctions are
relatively rare but fixing them takes much longer. It’s not worth doing a hard malfunction
drill every time we have a malfunction because it adds extra time the majority of the time.
Same with the draw and presentation. In an ideal world, we’d have one technique that
worked equally well for all situations . . . but we live in reality. The vast majority of the time,
you can create the time and space necessary to safely get your pistol to a low-ready position,
if not at full extension . . . and our technique should reflect that by being optimized for
shooting from anywhere between low-ready and full-extension. That doesn’t mean that we
should necessarily ignore retention shooting, but there’s very little benefit in incorporating
a retention shooting position into every single rep we do."
[I disagree. I think the retention shooting position is a natural part of the presentation
from the holster to the target. And therefore should be incorporated into every repetition
of presentation from the holster to the target. -- Jon Low]
"Gun Skills: Focus on Follow-Through" by Ed Head
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/gun-skills-focus-on-follow-through/
One way to know that you are following through is to see the muzzle flash. If you look
for it, you will see it. If you don't see it, you are closing your eyes, instead of watching
your sights through the shot process. A common mistake, which you can correct by forcing
yourself to keep your aiming eye open and watch your sights through recoil and back onto
the target you just shot (not the next target, the target you just shot).
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
"Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"Deliberate Coaching with Brian Hill" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHj6UCCyALI
Watch TED talks to see examples of effective speakers.
You have to demonstrate everything.
Explain, demonstrate, get the student to do it. Repeat.
You can be right or you can be certain, but you can't be both at the same time.
I apologize at the beginning of each class, because I know I'm wrong about something;
I just don't know what.
Instructors become competent at between 50 to 60 years of age. Because it is then that
they have the maturity. (Assuming that they have been teaching for the past 30 years.
So they have the experience.) [This is a deep truth. -- Jon Low]
Detailed explanation of stress and how to deal with it.
I taught a class at a small church. A student had a pistol that she could not field strip.
She did not have the manual for the pistol. I had never seen this type of pistol before.
So, one of the assistant instructors pulled out his smart phone and found a YouTube.com
video of the disassembly of the pistol. Win!
In your next class, ask questions. You can always ask "Why?"
-- Jeff Gonzalez
I read "The New Rules of Marksmanship" by Chief Petty Officer Chris Sajnog.
On page 18 it says, "Today we have NEW technology where we have satellites
in geosynchronous orbit allowing us to use our personal GPS devises to get
to where we want to go easier and faster . . . "
GPS satellites are not in geosynchronous orbit. The GPS satellites are in
low Earth orbit and move pretty fast relative to Earth's surface.
I think he's confusing them with the MilStar communication satellites which
are in geosynchronous orbit.
This is why it is so important for instructors to stay in their lane. If you start
talking about stuff that you're not competent to talk about, you're going to make
mistakes. And that compromises the credibility of everything else you say.
---
Response from Chris.
"Thank you for correcting me! Always love learning."
Chris Sajnog
---
That's why I recommend the Chief Petty Officer. Everyone makes mistakes. How the
person, especially the instructor, reacts to correction is the measure of the person.
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Andragogy -----
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
" Teaching Tip- “I Can’t Do It” " by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/teaching-tip-i-cant-do-it
“But it works for me!” by Annette
https://onherown.life/but-it-works-for-me/
Saying things like "you know", "um", "ahh", etc. hurts your presentation. Doesn't matter
whether or not you believe me. It's still true. Silence is better than filler words. If you say,
"duh", your audience will think you're stupid. If you are silent, they will think you are in
deep thought considering what you're going to say.
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Well, actually light reading rather than education. But there are lots of pretty high
resolution color pictures.
"Concealment" magazine
https://cmgemail.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/premium/concealment/Recoil_Concealment_25.pdf
Monica Newman wrote a nice article.
"Gun Digest" magazine
https://cmgemail.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/premium/gundigest/GunDigest+-+Plinking+to+Precision.pdf
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"BUILDING A MISSION-BASED FIREARMS SYSTEM |
Part 1-Your Primary Firearm System" by Darryl Bolke
https://americancop.com/building-a-mission-based-firearms-system-part-1-your-primary-firearm-system/
Darryl Bolke made the pistols fit his hand. Yes, it is expensive, but it is essential.
Mr. Bolke does not mention in his article, but it is also possible to move the trigger to
accommodate the length of your trigger finger. Yes, a competent gunsmith can move
your trigger. This too is essential. I would never sell a pistol to a client unless the grip
fit her hand and the trigger (when the slack is out) is in the correct position for her
trigger finger. The trigger finger has to press the trigger straight to the rear, no lateral
pressure.
Open carry screams "SHOOT ME FIRST!"
Don't open carry. You will assumed to be a cop or a courier of high value items.
In any criminal scenario, you will be the first one shot.
"Guard Ambushed For His Gun" by John Correia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnzqHN6Y_NQ
If you have to open carry, wear a retention holster, take a class on weapon retention.
Pay attention to who is around you and what they are doing!
"CONCEALMENT TRICKS AND TIPS, VOL. 3: THE “SHOOT ME LAST” VEST"
by Robert
https://civiliangunfighter.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/concealment-tricks-and-tips-vol-3-the-shoot-me-last-vest/
Gabe Suarez says that red dot sights are parallax free, so it doesn't matter whether or not
you can see your co-witnessed iron sights in the window. As long as you can see the dot,
you can make the hit. For all intents and purposes that's true at self-defense distances and
human size targets.
As we know from our work with high quality rifle scopes designed for long range
shooting, the user has to focus the scope on the target (which tells the scope the distance
to the target) to eliminate parallax. Pistol red dot sights have no focus. The focus is
assumed to be at infinity. Which is where normal human eyes focus when relaxed. So,
there is no parallax at infinite range.
I will stop at this point, rather than going down this rabbit hole. But, you get the idea.
"5 Reasons You Shouldn NOT Double Up Your Ear Protection" by FRANK MELLONI
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-reasons-you-shouldn-t-double-up-your-ear-protection/
If you can't hear the range commands, that's a real problem.
If you can't hear the difference between a failure to fire, a squib, and a normal shot;
you've got a real problem.
When using foam ear plugs, you have to roll them between your fingers to compress
them into a long thin form. And then insert it deep into your ear canal. If the ear plug
is sticking out of your ear, you are WRONG! If inserted correctly, you will feel congested.
You will hear your heart beat. If not, pull them out and try again.
"4 Must-Have Concealed Carry Upgrades (2022)" by Elwood Shelton
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/4-concealed-carry-upgrades
Grips
Magazine Holder
Night Sights
Gun Belt
The idea of a “car gun” is WRONG! Your gun will be stolen out of your car if you
leave a gun in the car. Also, your car will be stolen, which includes your gun.
Carry bans increase the likelihood that burglars will find firearms inside parked vehicles.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA (paraphrased)
I had prepared a complete set of equipment for a student. The holster was not new,
as my son had used it for a while before returning it to me because he felt it was too large,
too bulky for an inside the waistband holster. (So, apparently my son had not used the
holster very much before returning it to me.) Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) the
student dropped out of the class before the class started. So, I tried on all of the
equipment before setting it up for another student. To my surprise, the holster was so
tight, I could not get the pistol out of the holster. I had to remove the tensioning screw
completely to make the holster usable. This would have been very bad, if I had given
this set of equipment to the student.
Lesson learned: test all equipment in a set before giving it to a student. Just because
the parts work individually does not mean they work together.
I will not sell pistols to beginners, because the novice buying from me inevitably acquires
the wrong holster, belt, and accessories. Making a mess of the endeavor. When I sell
equipment to neophytes, I sell complete weapon systems to ensure everything works and
that the buyer will have a good experience. I am preparing a system for an elderly lady.
Her range of motion is limited and asymmetric. So, her equipment must accommodate.
She is right handed, but left eye dominant and so is trying to learn to shoot left handed,
by choice.
I do not sell new equipment. I sell reliable equipment that works, that is broken in,
that is tested under real conditions (not pristine conditions).
The contents of the box will be:
Ruger American in 45 ACP because it is ambidextrous.
(Much machining and gunsmithing went into this pistol to make it reliable.)
Tape for wrapping the handle of tennis rackets, used to wrap her grip.
(The backstrap was removed, because even the smallest backstrap made the grip
too big for her hand. So, we wrapped the bare frame with the tennis racket tape,
and it fit her hand. Surprisingly, once this was done, we did not have to move the
trigger. Everyone has different proportions.)
Five 10-round magazines.
(They are not California magazines. Ruger compromised between a single
stack and a double stack, and ended up with a 10 round magazine for 45 ACP.)
Magazine pouch for 2 magazines by Gould.
Leather inside the waistband holster by Craft Holsters, left handed.
Hybrid inside the waistband holster by Alien Gear, right handed.
Leather inside the waistband holster by Falco, right handed.
Belt by Craft Holsters.
Suspenders by Perry.
Rechargeable flashlight by Streamlight.
Flashlight pouch by Safariland.
Five dummy rounds by Zoom.
UpLULA loading tool by Maglula.
Ear muffs.
Ear plugs.
Shooting glasses.
1000 rounds of Federal brass cased practice ammo,
230 grain copper jacketed round nose bullets.
The sale of the weapon system also includes:
20 hours of theory, lectures, hands on manipulation with dummy ammo, etc.
20 hours of practicum, live fire exercises, tactics, etc.
5 hours of tactical scenarios done at a local IPSC or IDPA match.
4 hours of force-on-force training by Bob Allen done at Royal Range.
8 hour Law of Self Defense live online class by Andrew Branca.
16 hour Tactical Combat Casualty Care by Greg Ellifritz.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to convince her that she needs training.
Economically, it's a big win for me. But very disappointing.
Ambidextrous pistols: (updated list)
Because, being right handed doesn't mean you're going to be right handed in combat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are truly ambidextrous --
The latest FN pistols are ambidextrous, but they are expensive, FN 509
MSRP: $719.00. They're good out of the box, but the grip doesn't fit my hand
and in my opinion the triggers are not smooth and crisp.
Double action / single action.
https://fnamerica.com/products/pistols/fn-509/
The latest H&K pistols are ambidextrous. They have the magazine release lever,
as opposed to the button. The VP9 retails for around $600.00.
It's good out of the box and the grip fits my hand nicely. Trigger is smooth and crisp.
Striker action.
https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/vp9/
The Ruger American pistols are ambidextrous. But, they take a bit of gunsmithing
to make them reliable. For me it was worth it because the grip fit my hand and the
angle of the grip fit my wrist. The trigger is ok. MSRP:$669.00.
Striker action.
https://www.ruger.com/products/rugerAmericanPistol/models.html
The MASADA from IWI US, the U.S. based arm of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)
is ambidextrous. The trigger is nice. MSRP $480.
Striker action.
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide stop --
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols have ambidextrous magazine releases.
You can press it from either side to release the magazine. But the slide
lock is only on the left-hand side of the pistol.
Jury member: "Wow! Look at all these cases of a guy getting killed with one punch.
I guess it was reasonable for the defendant to shoot the assailant before the assailant
punched the defendant."
Jury member: "Wow! Look at all these cases of people getting killed by fake cops
(eg. Saint Valentine's Day Massacre). I guess it was reasonable for the defendant to think
these cops could have been fake."
"Here's another reason to walk away whenever possible: when you escalate a situation
into the realm of serious physical harm, no one -- and that emphatically includes you --
can predict the outcome. You're risking your own life, . . . -- and you're also risking
delivering far more harm than you intended."
-- Tim Larkin
"Serious Mistake – Chasing and Shooting" by the Tactical Professor
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2022/04/17/serious-mistake-chasing-and-shooting/
Excerpt:
"Girl, 9, shot at mall while awaiting Easter bunny; police say shopkeeper fired at thieves"
---
CHASING AFTER THE END OF A CONFRONTATION
When a criminal confrontation ends and the criminal flees, there’s a strong instinct to chase
the attacker and continue the conflict. Armed Citizens need to recognize that this instinct
exists and resist the urge to chase. Instinctive as it might be, chasing and prolonging the
confrontation can result in legal problems and has the possibility of a tactical failure.
-- Claude Werner, "Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make"
---
Primary source -
"Girl, 9, shot at mall while awaiting Easter bunny; police say shopkeeper fired at thieves"
by Rene Ray De La Cruz and Charlie McGee
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/04/12/mall-evacuated-after-shooting-leaves-one-injured-another-hospitalized-victorville/7299326001/
If you accidentally shoot someone, call 911, render aid, and stay at the scene.
If you run away, crossing into another state, you have demonstrated consciousness of guilt.
You're going to be found, because you have no training in evasion, assuming a new
identity, and such. You've never been through SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance
and Escape ). You haven't prepared a new identity to slip into. If you were skilled in the
tradecraft, you would hide in your own city or one you knew well. Because you would
not stick out like a sore thumb. You would know the local attire, the customs, etc.
Running takes a lot of preparation. Setting up a new identity takes a lot of preparation.
You would need to find someone who was born about the same time as you were and
died shortly after birth. Request a birth certificate (claiming to be the person is the easiest
way), and use it to get a Social Security Card, driver's license, etc. and open bank accounts
and such. It's a really involved process.
You're going to be arrested. If you're smart, you won't resist.
You're not going to get bail. Because at the least the charge is going to be aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon, plus using a gun in the commission of a crime. (It's a
crime, not an accident, because you ran.)
I remember a case from a few years ago. A lady was driving her car and accidentally
hit a guy. The guy got stuck in her windshield. If she had called 911 it would have been
ruled an accident and she would have been okay. If she couldn't reach 911, she could
have driven to the nearest emergency room. She would have been okay. But, she panicked.
She drove home, parked in her garage, and failed to report the incident. By the time the
cops got to her house, the guy was dead. But the medical examiner said that he was alive
for a long time after getting hit. She was convicted of murder because of acts of stupidity
after a perfectly innocent accident for which she would not have been charged with anything.
Our prisons are full of stupid people. Don't be stupid. If you're involved in an incident,
report it immediately. Stay out of prison. Prof. Jordon Peterson says there is no correlation
between low IQ and criminal behavior. But our criminal justice system can't distinguish
between criminal behavior and stupid behavior. Irrational panicked behavior is stupid
behavior. In a high stress situation, STOP!, take long deep breaths. This will lower your
blood pressure and pulse rate. Your judgment will improve drastically.
"Guest Shot: Fear and Slaughter in Progress" by Dave Spaulding
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/38f568ef-73a3-461c-9c11-09408b90de13
"Role player shot in stomach after friendly fire incident
during Taylor Auxiliary Police training exercise"
by Jessica Dupnack , Camille Amiri, and Jack Nissen
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/one-shot-in-stomach-after-friendly-fire-incident-during-taylor-police-training-exercise
If they don't pat everyone down before your force-on-force training, STOP! Go home.
Don't play with them. It's not safe.
No, it was not an "accidental firing". It was a negligent firing.
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset (figuring out the correct way to think) -----
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
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
Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.
~Henry Ford
"The rules of asocial violence are very simple:
don't make yourself a target, [obey Farnam's rules listed below]
focus your mind, [this is not automatic, it takes practice, so practice]
know the human body, [know enough anatomy to make intelligent choices as to where and
how to strike, for instance, punching to the head is stupid, so don't do it]
act first, [strike preemptively, worry about justifying it later, you'll only need to justify
if you're alive]
intend to injure, [if you're too squeamish to put your fingers through his eyes, you've made
the decision to participate in your own murder]
don't stop until he's incapacitated or dead."
-- Tim Larkin
The text in brackets is Jon Low's 2 cents. I know that I should not disrupt Mr. Larkin's
text, but his speech is so terse, I felt I had to. When he writes, he assumes you've read the
material in his books or have watched his pod casts or YouTube.com videos.
". . . attacking rather than retreating, directly incapacitating the human body by shutting
off the brain, and understanding the human body's inherent weak points -- may be unpleasant
or counterintuitive. But in situations of life-or-death violence, this is how your opponent is
already thinking -- and if that's how they are thinking, that's how you have to think, as well.
If you can wrap your head around why it works, you can learn how to use it to your
advantage. And you will quickly come to realize that it is the most effective means of
protecting yourself."
-- Tim Larkin
"What Poliquinn understands is that criminals and felons come from a world defined by
an entirely different social contract than yours or mine -- a world where you can't afford
to disrespect each other without the risk of real violence."
-- Tim Larkin
"Potential: Jordan Peterson at TEDxUofT"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLteWutitFM
Do you see how this will help you with your endeavor.
Fascinating discussion of pathological belief systems. Prof. Peterson doesn't mention
them by name, but he is obviously referring to communism (eg. Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) and fascism (eg. National Socialist aka NAZIS), which are both branches of
socialism. The liberals like to claim that fascism is on the right side of the political
spectrum, but that is a lie.
If you know the "why", you can bear[2] any "how".
Follow what you're interested in.
---
[2] American Heritage Dictionary,
https://ahdictionary.com/
first form of the word "bear", verb transitive, definition 3b.
As opposed to verb intransitive, third definition.
I note this be cause Prof. Peterson's speech is sometimes very subtle.
If you want to direct a symphony, you have to turn your back on the crowd.
The crowd / the culture / your peer group may advise you to do X. But, you must always
do God's will. I have never found the two to coincide.
You can't predict the future.
You can 't predict when some drunk or distracted driver will ram you. So, you always
wear your seat belt when driving. And you always make sure your passengers are
wearing their seat belts before moving.
You can't predict when a fire will start in your abode. So, you always keep a fire
extinguisher in plain view in your residence.
You can't predict when a criminal will attack you. That's his choice, not yours.
So, you always carry your pistol on your body with a round in the chamber. You're not
going to have time to load your gun. You're not going to have time to get your gun from
where ever you stored it. So, you have to carry your loaded gun on your body at all times.
The gunfight will probably be over in 2 seconds. Which means you have to do all
your thinking before the fight. Which means you have to do all your practice before your
thinking in order to think correctly. Which means you have to do all your training before
your practice, otherwise you won't be practicing the correct things (thoughts).
Andrew Branca says,
". . . the moment you engage in a fight you've just incurred two risks you were not
incurring a moment before:
A greater than zero risk of dying in that fight.
A greater than zero risk of spending much of the rest of your life in a cage surrounded
by unpleasant and dangerous people, and away from everything that makes life worth living."
---
So, you need to decide now, what is worth that risk; and what is not. Because I guarantee
you won't have time to decide when the incident starts.
Andrew considers the risk worth taking when you are facing death, maiming, rape of
yourself or someone you have a duty to protect.
When I was in the Marine Corps, we had a duty to protect classified material. We had a
duty to enforce operational security, counter intelligence, and physical security. A Marine
once told me that if the Colonel's daughter ran the gate, he would not shoot her. So, I
replaced that Marine. I had to have Marines on my guard force that would shoot anyone
who ran the gate.
You have to make the hard decisions as to what you will or will not kill for. And then
you have to stick to your decision. Indecisiveness (or dithering as Col. Jeff Cooper would
say) gets the good guys killed.
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
*************************************************************************
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
----- Training (figuring out the correct tasks to learn) -----
Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
September 16th - 18th, 2022 in Oklahoma City
$650
Tactical Conference
https://taccon.info/
March 24-26, 2023 in Dallas, Texas
$565
A Girl and A Gun, National Conference
https://www.agirlandagun.org/conference/
April 28 – May 1, 2022 in Grand Junction, CO
$400
Girlz N Guns Annual Training Weekend
https://www.girlznguns.com/annual-training-conference
October 1st and 2nd 2022 in Gap, PA
$??? registration opens May 1st, 2022
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Tactical Training Scenario- A Reanimated Active Killer" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/tactical-training-scenario-a-re-animated-active-killer
Excerpt:
"This phenomenon [re-animation] happens fairly regularly and few people consider it
in their response plans. People drop unconscious after being shot due to a rapid loss in
blood pressure. Not enough blood is getting to the brain to sustain function. When they
fall, the heart no longer has to fight gravity to get oxygenated blood to the brain. Even
with a lower blood pressure, the brain again becomes perfused with oxygenated blood.
People then “wake up” and are often fully capable of sustaining violent action for a short
period of time."
Primary source,
"Houston Police Shoot Suspect At a Mall After He Allegedly Shot A Deputy"
by Law&Crime Network
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82mx73Ukpg
Notice how many people are still wandering around the shopping mall while an active
killer is shooting persons. Such is reality. There are going to be lots of no-shoot targets
that you have to avoid or protect. The exact opposite of an IDPA or IPSC match where
just about all of the targets are shoot-targets, and zero, one, or two might be no-shoot
targets.
“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
After action analysis.
"The NYC Subway Active Shooter Attack" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-nyc-subway-active-shooter-attack
---
Lessons learned: Don't go into gun-free-zones. All mass attacks occur in gun-free-zones.
Don't go into New York City (a gun-free-zone), avoid the Sullivan Laws.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"Visualize Success
Peak performance starts with seeing what success with the mind's eye."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/visualize-success/
While the Sheriff may not be able to explain the underlying psychology of visualization,
the experts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO can and do.
It would be worth your time to take a coach's course there. Just about all of the courses
are open enrollment. I have taken their archery, riflery, and pistol courses. They all
go into detail about visualization, how to use it, how to teach it, what it does, what it doesn't
do.
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)
Did you see the muzzle flash? It's a bright orange flash. The answer is yes or no;
there is no in-between. If you didn't see the flash, it is because you closed your aiming
eye when you fired the shot. You closing your eye is a reaction to the report and recoil.
You can train yourself to keep your eye open by looking for the muzzle flash. Yes, it
will be visible, even in bright daylight. If you don't keep your aiming eye open, you
won't see where your sights are pointed when you release the shot. So, the bullet won't
go where you think you aimed it. Yes, keeping your aiming eye open is essential to
marksmanship. You must watch your sights through the shot process, all the way
through your follow-through. You must see how your sights move, so that you can
call your shots. So, that you will know where your bullet hit. Because the target won't
tell you. There will not be a visible hole. There will not be a visible blood mark.
The target will not convulse and cover the hole you made in him. He might not even
notice the hole. Such is reality. Accept it. Accommodate it.
Care enough to continue your training.
Chris Sajnog says, if you focus on your front sight, you will automatically center
it in the rear sight. You will automatically level the top of the front sight with the top
of the rear sight. If you focus on the front sight.
Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice (how to get good at that task) -----
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Enjoyable Defensive Handgun Training" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/handguns/enjoyable-defensive-handgun-training
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
"Amazing Powers of Observation" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/amazing-powers-of-observation/
Excerpt:
"The simple fact is that we are all guilty of looking without seeing. It is, however,
a fault that we can work to correct. And, make no mistake about it, it is critical to
your personal defense."
Slow is smooth (because you can control what you're doing).
Smooth is efficient (because elegance automatically removes inefficiencies).
Efficient is fast (because there is no wasted motion).
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy (deciding on the end state and how to achieve it, which tactics to use) -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Who says we're using your rules?"
-- Tim Larkin
"What is your objective? Escape!
The pistol is just one of many emergency rescue tools to use in your escape
and the escape of your loved ones." -- Massad Ayoob (paraphrased)
"Sometimes, it is easier to kill the wolf."
[than to defend the sheep or teach the sheep how to defend themselves.]
-- Marcus Wynne
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics (tasks that you should strive to be able to do in support of your strategy) -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"A target is an anatomical structure that can be crushed, ruptured, broken, or otherwise
rendered useless, thereby rendering your opponent useless."
-- Tim Larkin
"Beginning and End" by Rich Grassi
https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/4defa26f-6a18-44a5-a4be-f500040ab483
Excerpt:
"While I was certifying gun retention instructors for the National Law Enforcement
Training Center, we received data that showed that fully fifty percent of gun grab
attempts were made on guns that were already drawn. The other half were attacks on
holstered handguns."
"Because the draw is well-practiced with a well-trained officer, the difference
between coming up from the holster and getting a hit, and doing the same from
low ready, is small, sometimes less than a tenth of a second . . ."
---
Levels of readiness in order of decreasing time to shoot.
Hands up in front of you.
Support-hand up in front of you, firing-hand establishing correct grip on your pistol.
Support-hand up in front of you, pistol in hand behind your back, buttocks, or thigh.
[You haven't crossed into Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon yet.]
[The following allow shooting the target without using the sights.]
Support-hand up in front of you, pistol at close contact position. (Elbow pulled back
as far as possible. Bottom of grip pressed against rib cage. Top of pistol tilted away
from the body, so the slide will not foul against your shirt or breast.) Where the pistol
is pointed depends on the occasion.
Two handed close contact position. Forearms pressed tight against your body.
Where the pistol is pointed depends on the situation.
[The following allows shooting the target while using the sights.]
One or two handed position with arm extended in low ready (pointed down at the
ground in front of you) or urban ready (pointed to the side of the target).
[At this point you cross into Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon if you can't justify.]
One or two handed position with arm extended pointing at the target.
From an email that I wrote to a friend -
. . .
In Marine Corps Recruit Training, we fired the M-16 in auto mode. The exercise
was to demonstrate to us that automatic fire is effectively uncontrollable, so that
we would never use it. That's why later versions had a 3-round burst, instead of
auto mode.
The only automatic rifle or submachinegun that really makes sense is the Uzi,
because the rate of fire is slow enough to allow the user to modulate the trigger.
One can fire one, two, or three round bursts (with practice). The MP-5 rate of fire
is so fast you can't control it. The M-16 is too fast.
I don't know of any gun schools or military training that teaches full auto fire
with small arms. Because you end up shooting the friendlies and innocents.
Cheers,
Jon
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task or skill in support of your tactic) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Shooting from Retention: A Necessary Skill for Armed Citizens?" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/shooting-from-retention/
The author does not describe the retention position, so I will.
One-handed:
Elbow pulled back as far as possible. Bottom of the pistol grip pressed tight against your
rib cage. Top of the pistol tilted away from your body, so the slide or hammer won't get
fouled in your garment (or hit your breast).
Two-handed:
Two-handed grip. Forearms and wrists pressed tight against your rib cage. The pistol
should be to the firing side of your body, so the slide doesn't hit your body when the action
cycles, fouling the action and causing a malfunction.
Do you see in the photograph where the pistol is relative to the shooter's face? That is
why it is criminal stupidity to use a ported barrel. Hot gas, smoke, and burning powder
will be thrown up into your face. Instructors hawking[1] ported barrels as self-defense
pistols are WRONG!
[1] 2nd form of the word "hawk", American Heritage Dictionary,
https://ahdictionary.com/
I mention this because my proofreader recommended using the word "hocking",
citing the third form of the word "hock", first definition. I confess, the sentence had the
wrong structure and wrong word usage before proofreading.
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART I | Vital Shot Placement In Dire Circumstances"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-i-vital-shot-placement-in-dire-curcumstances/
Excerpt:
". . . shoot the high mediastinum first . . ."
"But, if the GSW involved the atria or great vessels, the chance of survival is almost zero."
[GSW = Gun Shot Wound] [So, the target is the blood vessels above the heart.]
---
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART II | Ethics Of Deadly Force Training"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-ii-ethics-of-deadly-force-training/
Excerpt:
"Contrary to Hollywood mythology, a subject shot here won’t reflexively shoot
the bystander he holds at gunpoint. His muscles will go limp and he will collapse."
---
"SHOOTING WITH X-RAY VISION PART III | Gunfight Realities"
by James S. Williams MD
https://americancop.com/shooting-with-x-ray-vision-part-iii-gunfight-realities/
Excerpt:
“Teaching our people to shoot two, then assess is gonna get them killed.”
[This is the exact opposite of what was taught at Front Sight in 1996. Theory changes,
practice changes. We have a duty to teach best practices. -- Jon Low]
As with your car, you drive your pistol. You don't ride your pistol.
-- Tom Givens
"REALITY CHECK II | Drawing?" by Clint Smith
https://americancop.com/reality-check-ii-drawing/
Ya, the article is for cops, but it applies to you if you drive a car.
---
Mr. Smith says, "Carrying a pistol should be comforting, not necessarily comfortable."
I disagree. In this day and age there is a holster that will allow you to carry comfortably.
You just have to put in the effort to find it.
When you are finished shooting, immediately start your after action drills,
and continue until you are satisfied that there are no threats. This is a very important
habit to engrain. The behavior makes you look competent. This will cause the other
casual / lazy criminals to break off contact. Because they are there for the easy money
or submissive sex. A fight is way more than they bargained for. The dedicated
criminal is a different situation. He will require more force, that you must be
willing to apply. The after action drills prepare you for him.
“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.)
Another option for lateral movement and fire:
Instead of side stepping and keeping the feet apart (never crossing), walk normally
(toward cover hopefully).
If the enemy is on your support side, two handed Weaver position and shoot them.
If the enemy is on your firing side:
One handed aimed fire (push the sights into the target).
Or, transfer the pistol into your support side hand, assume a support side Weaver
position and fire across your body. (Thanks to Mike Bain, DefensiveSpecialties.com)
Or, keep your firing side two handed grip and go into a support side Weaver position.
Yes, this is awkward at first, but with practice, it will become comfortable and natural.
(Thanks to John Holschen.) [For a right hander, right-handed two hand grip. Extend
left arm. Bend right elbow and pull it down, not out to the side. Now you can shoot
across your body to your right.]
If you can't see well (Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Cataracts, Floaters, injury,
or perhaps it's too dark for your cone cells in the center of your field of view to function)
try looking to the side of the target. If you are able to get a clear spot of vision, use it
to line up your sights. (The rod cells which give you black and white images in low
light conditions are all around the center of your field of vision.)
"Efficiency Vs Speed
Pressing the trigger quickly is one thing.
Getting effective hits quickly is another." by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/efficiency-vs-speed/
This appears to be an easy read, but it's not. You have to read carefully, because
Mr. Tarani speaks of things that are subtle.
Excerpt from an email from Mike Ox -- concerning the sub-second draw --
My goal with a shooter is to get their draw and presentation as EFFICIENT, CONSISTENT,
and AUTOMATIC as possible. Striving for a sub-second draw is just a means of achieving
this. (paraphrased)
"Quick Draw Stroke Mastery Video Tip: “Don’t Wrist-Rock It” " by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/quick-draw-stroke-mastery-video-tip-dont-wrist-rock-it/
Excerpts:
". . . going straight to your gun isn’t always the best answer. Sometimes a punch to the
throat can help you create the time and distance you need to do a full draw stroke & presentation.
The perceived need to always go to your gun may be an indication that you’ve got some low
hanging opportunities for improvement in the areas of situational awareness and empty-hands
skills."
". . . some people think that we should have one draw stroke technique that works for every
situation. There may be some validity to that, but what if we applied that same thinking to
malfunctions?
Think about a hard malfunction like a double feed where you
tap, rack, assess/press, rip, rack, rack, rack, reload, rack, assess/press.
Why don’t we also use that same technique when we have a soft malfunction where the gun
goes click instead of bang? Or when the slide doesn’t lock back on an empty chamber?
The reason we have multiple techniques for different malfunctions is because it is pretty
common to encounter a soft malfunction and the solution is quick. Hard malfunctions are
relatively rare but fixing them takes much longer. It’s not worth doing a hard malfunction
drill every time we have a malfunction because it adds extra time the majority of the time.
Same with the draw and presentation. In an ideal world, we’d have one technique that
worked equally well for all situations . . . but we live in reality. The vast majority of the time,
you can create the time and space necessary to safely get your pistol to a low-ready position,
if not at full extension . . . and our technique should reflect that by being optimized for
shooting from anywhere between low-ready and full-extension. That doesn’t mean that we
should necessarily ignore retention shooting, but there’s very little benefit in incorporating
a retention shooting position into every single rep we do."
[I disagree. I think the retention shooting position is a natural part of the presentation
from the holster to the target. And therefore should be incorporated into every repetition
of presentation from the holster to the target. -- Jon Low]
"Gun Skills: Focus on Follow-Through" by Ed Head
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/gun-skills-focus-on-follow-through/
One way to know that you are following through is to see the muzzle flash. If you look
for it, you will see it. If you don't see it, you are closing your eyes, instead of watching
your sights through the shot process. A common mistake, which you can correct by forcing
yourself to keep your aiming eye open and watch your sights through recoil and back onto
the target you just shot (not the next target, the target you just shot).
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
"Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"Deliberate Coaching with Brian Hill" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHj6UCCyALI
Watch TED talks to see examples of effective speakers.
You have to demonstrate everything.
Explain, demonstrate, get the student to do it. Repeat.
You can be right or you can be certain, but you can't be both at the same time.
I apologize at the beginning of each class, because I know I'm wrong about something;
I just don't know what.
Instructors become competent at between 50 to 60 years of age. Because it is then that
they have the maturity. (Assuming that they have been teaching for the past 30 years.
So they have the experience.) [This is a deep truth. -- Jon Low]
Detailed explanation of stress and how to deal with it.
I taught a class at a small church. A student had a pistol that she could not field strip.
She did not have the manual for the pistol. I had never seen this type of pistol before.
So, one of the assistant instructors pulled out his smart phone and found a YouTube.com
video of the disassembly of the pistol. Win!
In your next class, ask questions. You can always ask "Why?"
-- Jeff Gonzalez
I read "The New Rules of Marksmanship" by Chief Petty Officer Chris Sajnog.
On page 18 it says, "Today we have NEW technology where we have satellites
in geosynchronous orbit allowing us to use our personal GPS devises to get
to where we want to go easier and faster . . . "
GPS satellites are not in geosynchronous orbit. The GPS satellites are in
low Earth orbit and move pretty fast relative to Earth's surface.
I think he's confusing them with the MilStar communication satellites which
are in geosynchronous orbit.
This is why it is so important for instructors to stay in their lane. If you start
talking about stuff that you're not competent to talk about, you're going to make
mistakes. And that compromises the credibility of everything else you say.
---
Response from Chris.
"Thank you for correcting me! Always love learning."
Chris Sajnog
---
That's why I recommend the Chief Petty Officer. Everyone makes mistakes. How the
person, especially the instructor, reacts to correction is the measure of the person.
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Andragogy -----
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
" Teaching Tip- “I Can’t Do It” " by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/teaching-tip-i-cant-do-it
“But it works for me!” by Annette
https://onherown.life/but-it-works-for-me/
Saying things like "you know", "um", "ahh", etc. hurts your presentation. Doesn't matter
whether or not you believe me. It's still true. Silence is better than filler words. If you say,
"duh", your audience will think you're stupid. If you are silent, they will think you are in
deep thought considering what you're going to say.
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Well, actually light reading rather than education. But there are lots of pretty high
resolution color pictures.
"Concealment" magazine
https://cmgemail.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/premium/concealment/Recoil_Concealment_25.pdf
Monica Newman wrote a nice article.
"Gun Digest" magazine
https://cmgemail.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/premium/gundigest/GunDigest+-+Plinking+to+Precision.pdf
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"BUILDING A MISSION-BASED FIREARMS SYSTEM |
Part 1-Your Primary Firearm System" by Darryl Bolke
https://americancop.com/building-a-mission-based-firearms-system-part-1-your-primary-firearm-system/
Darryl Bolke made the pistols fit his hand. Yes, it is expensive, but it is essential.
Mr. Bolke does not mention in his article, but it is also possible to move the trigger to
accommodate the length of your trigger finger. Yes, a competent gunsmith can move
your trigger. This too is essential. I would never sell a pistol to a client unless the grip
fit her hand and the trigger (when the slack is out) is in the correct position for her
trigger finger. The trigger finger has to press the trigger straight to the rear, no lateral
pressure.
Open carry screams "SHOOT ME FIRST!"
Don't open carry. You will assumed to be a cop or a courier of high value items.
In any criminal scenario, you will be the first one shot.
"Guard Ambushed For His Gun" by John Correia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnzqHN6Y_NQ
If you have to open carry, wear a retention holster, take a class on weapon retention.
Pay attention to who is around you and what they are doing!
"CONCEALMENT TRICKS AND TIPS, VOL. 3: THE “SHOOT ME LAST” VEST"
by Robert
https://civiliangunfighter.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/concealment-tricks-and-tips-vol-3-the-shoot-me-last-vest/
Gabe Suarez says that red dot sights are parallax free, so it doesn't matter whether or not
you can see your co-witnessed iron sights in the window. As long as you can see the dot,
you can make the hit. For all intents and purposes that's true at self-defense distances and
human size targets.
As we know from our work with high quality rifle scopes designed for long range
shooting, the user has to focus the scope on the target (which tells the scope the distance
to the target) to eliminate parallax. Pistol red dot sights have no focus. The focus is
assumed to be at infinity. Which is where normal human eyes focus when relaxed. So,
there is no parallax at infinite range.
I will stop at this point, rather than going down this rabbit hole. But, you get the idea.
"5 Reasons You Shouldn NOT Double Up Your Ear Protection" by FRANK MELLONI
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-reasons-you-shouldn-t-double-up-your-ear-protection/
If you can't hear the range commands, that's a real problem.
If you can't hear the difference between a failure to fire, a squib, and a normal shot;
you've got a real problem.
When using foam ear plugs, you have to roll them between your fingers to compress
them into a long thin form. And then insert it deep into your ear canal. If the ear plug
is sticking out of your ear, you are WRONG! If inserted correctly, you will feel congested.
You will hear your heart beat. If not, pull them out and try again.
"4 Must-Have Concealed Carry Upgrades (2022)" by Elwood Shelton
https://gundigest.com/handguns/concealed-carry/4-concealed-carry-upgrades
Grips
Magazine Holder
Night Sights
Gun Belt
The idea of a “car gun” is WRONG! Your gun will be stolen out of your car if you
leave a gun in the car. Also, your car will be stolen, which includes your gun.
Carry bans increase the likelihood that burglars will find firearms inside parked vehicles.
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA (paraphrased)
I had prepared a complete set of equipment for a student. The holster was not new,
as my son had used it for a while before returning it to me because he felt it was too large,
too bulky for an inside the waistband holster. (So, apparently my son had not used the
holster very much before returning it to me.) Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) the
student dropped out of the class before the class started. So, I tried on all of the
equipment before setting it up for another student. To my surprise, the holster was so
tight, I could not get the pistol out of the holster. I had to remove the tensioning screw
completely to make the holster usable. This would have been very bad, if I had given
this set of equipment to the student.
Lesson learned: test all equipment in a set before giving it to a student. Just because
the parts work individually does not mean they work together.
I will not sell pistols to beginners, because the novice buying from me inevitably acquires
the wrong holster, belt, and accessories. Making a mess of the endeavor. When I sell
equipment to neophytes, I sell complete weapon systems to ensure everything works and
that the buyer will have a good experience. I am preparing a system for an elderly lady.
Her range of motion is limited and asymmetric. So, her equipment must accommodate.
She is right handed, but left eye dominant and so is trying to learn to shoot left handed,
by choice.
I do not sell new equipment. I sell reliable equipment that works, that is broken in,
that is tested under real conditions (not pristine conditions).
The contents of the box will be:
Ruger American in 45 ACP because it is ambidextrous.
(Much machining and gunsmithing went into this pistol to make it reliable.)
Tape for wrapping the handle of tennis rackets, used to wrap her grip.
(The backstrap was removed, because even the smallest backstrap made the grip
too big for her hand. So, we wrapped the bare frame with the tennis racket tape,
and it fit her hand. Surprisingly, once this was done, we did not have to move the
trigger. Everyone has different proportions.)
Five 10-round magazines.
(They are not California magazines. Ruger compromised between a single
stack and a double stack, and ended up with a 10 round magazine for 45 ACP.)
Magazine pouch for 2 magazines by Gould.
Leather inside the waistband holster by Craft Holsters, left handed.
Hybrid inside the waistband holster by Alien Gear, right handed.
Leather inside the waistband holster by Falco, right handed.
Belt by Craft Holsters.
Suspenders by Perry.
Rechargeable flashlight by Streamlight.
Flashlight pouch by Safariland.
Five dummy rounds by Zoom.
UpLULA loading tool by Maglula.
Ear muffs.
Ear plugs.
Shooting glasses.
1000 rounds of Federal brass cased practice ammo,
230 grain copper jacketed round nose bullets.
The sale of the weapon system also includes:
20 hours of theory, lectures, hands on manipulation with dummy ammo, etc.
20 hours of practicum, live fire exercises, tactics, etc.
5 hours of tactical scenarios done at a local IPSC or IDPA match.
4 hours of force-on-force training by Bob Allen done at Royal Range.
8 hour Law of Self Defense live online class by Andrew Branca.
16 hour Tactical Combat Casualty Care by Greg Ellifritz.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to convince her that she needs training.
Economically, it's a big win for me. But very disappointing.
Ambidextrous pistols: (updated list)
Because, being right handed doesn't mean you're going to be right handed in combat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are truly ambidextrous --
The latest FN pistols are ambidextrous, but they are expensive, FN 509
MSRP: $719.00. They're good out of the box, but the grip doesn't fit my hand
and in my opinion the triggers are not smooth and crisp.
Double action / single action.
https://fnamerica.com/products/pistols/fn-509/
The latest H&K pistols are ambidextrous. They have the magazine release lever,
as opposed to the button. The VP9 retails for around $600.00.
It's good out of the box and the grip fits my hand nicely. Trigger is smooth and crisp.
Striker action.
https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/vp9/
The Ruger American pistols are ambidextrous. But, they take a bit of gunsmithing
to make them reliable. For me it was worth it because the grip fit my hand and the
angle of the grip fit my wrist. The trigger is ok. MSRP:$669.00.
Striker action.
https://www.ruger.com/products/rugerAmericanPistol/models.html
The MASADA from IWI US, the U.S. based arm of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI)
is ambidextrous. The trigger is nice. MSRP $480.
Striker action.
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide stop --
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols have ambidextrous magazine releases.
You can press it from either side to release the magazine. But the slide
lock is only on the left-hand side of the pistol.
$565
Louis Awerbuck recommended these pistols.
Striker action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following have ambidextrous slide stops, but not ambidextrous magazine releases --
(being able to move the magazine release to the other side is not the same as being
ambidextrous)
The latest Glocks. ~$600 to $700. Striker action.
https://us.glock.com/en/pistols/g17
The latest Walthers. MSRP: $649. Striker action.
https://waltherarms.com/pdp-full-size-5/
The S&W M&P's. MSRP: $ 665. Striker action.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-m20
The Remington RP, $349.00. Striker action.
https://remingtonarmsusa.com/remington-rp9-9mm-striker-fired-pistol/
(May need lots of work to make it reliable. You get what you pay for in this world.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"Understanding the Slide Stop
Knowing how your pistol operates can help you get your gun back into action more quickly."
by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/understanding-the-slide-stop/
Here's something you can do to improve your trigger without too much risk of messing
things up. Get some polishing compound. Apply a small dab on the bearing surfaces of
the striker and the sear. Using your Dremel tool and a soft cotton, felt, or wool wheel
polish the surfaces. Use high speed and low pressure. Get the surfaces smooth and glassy.
I think you'll notice the difference.
Gabe Suarez reports from his students in his classes that, "It was unanimous that the
green dot was far more visible and eye comfortable than the red. They felt their eyes
were more relaxed than with the red dot. Interesting point that we should study deeper."
"5 Fast, Affordable Gun Upgrades You (Yes, You) Can Do by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-fast-affordable-gun-upgrades-you-yes-you-can-do/
The author is correct about magazine springs. If it doesn't feel strong, change it.
Brownells
https://www.brownells.com/
Numrich
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/
Search for "magazine springs".
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
(capitalization as in the original document, militia refers to YOU)
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath ----- (You have to be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.)
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
Xinsurance, recommended by The Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/second-amendment-foundation-welcomes-xinsruance-as-gold-corporate-sponsor/
Concealed carry insurance -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/firearms-and-concealed-carry/
Bail Enforcement Agent or Bounty Hunter -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/insurance-for-bail-enforcement-agents/
Liability insurance -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/liability-insurance/
Professional liability insurance - in case you get sued for something you taught
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/professional-liability/
Security Guard insurance - for those of us who work in the industry
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/security-guard-insurance/
You've got to fill out a form and submit it. They think about it, crunch the numbers,
and get back to you with a quote. I requested 2 million dollars of general liability and
1 million dollars of professional liability because that's what I carry through the NRA.
Their response was,
"Minimum premium for personal use firearm liability with liability limits of
$100,000 per person / $200,000 per accident / $400,000 aggregate will start
$599 - $1250+ per year. If you are looking for coverage at limits of $2Million
as indicated on the application we are going to be several thousand dollars a year."
-- Bailey Giles, Underwriter
The insurance I get through the NRA costs me $300 a year. There may have been a
misunderstanding, as I just filled out the online form. I never talked to anyone. The
email response that I received was obviously a form letter.
CCW Safe
LawOfSelfDefense.com/ccwsafe
Use code "LOSD10" for a 10% discount
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Updated as of this blog posting.
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
Because self-defense insurance is essential. Just like auto insurance, life insurance,
kidnap insurance, home owner's insurance, travel insurance, etc.
Self-Defense Gun Owner Insurance Programs Compared
https://www.concealedcarry.com/self-defense-gun-owner-insurance-programs-compared/
This chart is updated regularly. Or download the PDF file at
https://amedia.concealedcarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/28121136/Self-Defenese-Insurance-Comparison-12.7.21.pdf
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Legal ***** ***** *****
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"To ban guns because the criminals use them
is to tell the law-abiding that their rights and liberties
depend not on their own conduct,
but on the conduct of the guilty and lawless."
-- Sysander Spooner
"Self Defense Myths
Knowing the laws of the land is just as important as knowing how to shoot."
by ED HEAD
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/self-defense-myths/
This is critically important, because as Claude Werner says,
"Much of what you know is false."
Much of what your friends know is false. So, you have to educate them.
Yes, as a matter of fact, it is your duty. Are you a responsible human or not?
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook/
The book is free of charge. Just pay shipping, so you don't have to drive to Colorado
to pick it up.
"Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."
Andrew Branca says (before he became a purely consulting attorney and actually
had individual clients, as opposed to law firm clients) that his clients would say things
like, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted. The shooting was completely justified.
It was self-defense."
Because the client did not know self-defense law, and what the client knew of self-defense
law, the client did not understand.
Andrew speaks of a client who says that the instructor in the state concealed carry
class taught the law and cited the law as shown in the official state web site. So, it must
be correct. But, as Andrew teaches, the "black and white letter of the law as written"
does not matter. All that matters is "case law", that is how the appellate and supreme
courts have interpreted the law. Which can be entirely different from how the law is
written.
As Andrew says, "Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."
"Alcohol, Drugs, & Guns | U.S. LawShield LIVE Ep. 6"
Richard Hayes and Emily Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNiLQPfnw8U&list=PLumAa9DG0KOwQIOaV5adyeKaDGexvxPQG&index=14
You don't lose your 2nd Amendment rights just because a doctor has prescribed
psychotropic medicine for you. Unless you take enough to become intoxicated.
The vast majority of events occur as follows: driving while drunk and carrying your
pistol. Don't drive while drunk! Don't carry while drunk! (Simple solution: Don't
consume alcohol.)
Just about all crime is drug related. The speakers estimate 95%.
I'm sure glad the Marine Corps lost my medical records. Armed Forces medical records
will be admitted into evidence. (unless the prosecutor is incompetent, which is often
the case)
Invoke your rights and SHUT UP!
If you are not intoxicated, request a blood test. Otherwise, the prosecutor will insinuate
that you were intoxicated.
Don't do crime. If you use force while you're committing a crime, you can't claim
self-defense.
The jury instruction document is IMPORTANT! An error in that document is just about
the only way to win an appeal.
* You don't want trained gun people on your jury. * They will understand all the things
you did wrong. They will think, "I wouldn't have done that." They will judge you harshly.
Even if it is legal to consume alcohol while carrying in your state, DON'T! You're
going to get hammered in the civil trial.
Even if it is legal to consume marijuana while carrying in your state, DON'T.
Federal law forbids marijuana use for persons who possess firearms.
“No one rises to the occasion. That's just a myth.
They sink to the level of training that they have mastered.”
-- Ken Alexandrow, Agape Tactical
https://agapetactical.com/about-us/
"Georgia becomes the 25th state to enact permitless or constitutional carry.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) promised to sign the bill if it came to him and he
did it this afternoon in Douglasville, Georgia. With the addition of Georgia,
over 36% of all Americans reside in a state with unrestricted or permitless
concealed carry."
https://onlygunsandmoney.com/2022/04/12/every-picture-tells-a-story-part-xvii.html
Great graphics.
"WA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS STATE PREEMPTION IN
SAF LAWSUIT v. CITY OF EDMONDS" by Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/wa-high-court-upholds-state-preemption-in-saf-lawsuit-v-city-of-edmonds/
Excerpt:
" Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Steven C. González stated,
“We hold that the plaintiffs have standing and that this ordinance is
preempted by RCW 9.41.290. We affirm the Court of Appeals and
remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with
this opinion.” "
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
"At Real Clear Politics:
NY Subway Shooting Raises Stakes in SCOTUS Decision" by John Lott
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/04/at-real-clear-politics-ny-subway-shooting-raises-stakes-in-scotus-decision-ny-subway-shooting-raises-stakes-in-scotus-decision/
All mass murders / mass violence occur in gun-free-zones. Stay away from gun-free-zones.
Yes, it is that simple. Stay out of the New York subway system. Stay out of New York City.
62-year-old Frank James of Philadelphia had a long violent criminal history including
sexual assaults. So he was prohibited from possessing guns. New York is a gun-free-zone.
The New York subway system is a gun-free-zone. So why did Frank James have a gun in
the subway train?
Believing that gun control laws prevent gun possession or reduce crime is criminal
stupidity. The only purpose of such laws is to criminalize the behavior of political opponents,
so that Democrat administrations can arrest, imprison, and disenfranchise gun owners.
Law-abiding gun owners are obviously going to vote Republican, so the Democrats have to
take away gun owner's right to vote.
"NY Subway Shooting Raises Stakes in SCOTUS Decision" by John R. Lott Jr.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/04/20/ny_subway_shooting_raises_stakes_in_scotus_decision_147492.html
Excerpt:
"Ron Noble, the secretary general of INTERPOL from 2000 to 2014, has extensive
experience trying to stop terrorist attacks and cautioned that even with “extraordinary
security,” it is virtually impossible to keep weapons out of soft targets. He notes that
gun-free zones mean that only the terrorists will have weapons. Creating gun-free zones
just disarms law-abiding permit holders who follow the rules. They actually serve as
magnets for those intent on killing as many people as possible, because they know that
their victims are defenseless."
Blaming inanimate objects for violence is the height of stupidity.
"Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision In Firearm Confiscation Case!!! Settlement Forced!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HsBY0Ppe3g
Primary source,
CANIGLIA v. STROM ET AL .
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-157_8mjp.pdf
Notice, "Unanimous Decision".
Excerpts from Law of Self Defense, Defense of Property by Andrew Branca --
In most states to get the benefit of a presumption of reasonableness when defending in
your home the intruder has to be there unlawfully and has to force entry (meaning he had
to break something to get in). So lock your doors!
If the repairman who was given the wrong address and was told that the residents will
not be home, walks in through an open door, your shooting him will be unreasonable
because he didn't have to break anything to get in.
---
If you "rescue" a child who is being "kidnapped", but the "kidnapper" was the legal
guardian of the child (and bore no family resemblance to the child), your shooting the
"kidnapper" will not be considered a "taking of a person", no matter what the child was
screaming.
---
. . . experienced investigators will be well aware of the kinds of things the defender
might say that are inconsistent with self-defense, whereas the defender is unlikely to
understand how his own words, however well-intentioned, might be used against him.
It's for this reason that no one involved in a use-of-force event should speak with police
investigators without legal counsel present. [Even better, DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE.
-- Jon Low]
---
Jon Low's comment --
That's why you have to take a law of self-defense class. The law is complicated and
specific to a given jurisdiction. I have dealt with many attorneys. They all tell me that their
clients always say, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted. I'm the good guy. I was defending
the innocents." Or other words to that effect. Doesn't matter what you thought you were
doing. All that matters is "Was your conduct legal?" That's why you have to take a law of
self-defense class. You really don't know what you don't know.
"The Hunt for Red Manslaughter: Alec Baldwin’s Damning Police Interview"
by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3GbRpyvmrA
This is why you never talk to the police without your attorney present.
This is why all guns are loaded.
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
You never take someone's word that the gun is unloaded. You always check; chamber check,
magazine check. You need not be impolite, but you dare not take anyone's word.
"Video shows backyard shooting of intruder ruled self-defense" by Lou Raguse
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/video-shows-minneapolis-backyard-shooting-of-intruder-ruled-self-defense/89-482f4984-46fc-4bb5-8eae-2a9731bf9802
Firing warning shots is an act of criminal stupidity. It is an act of reckless endangering
with a deadly weapon. (Whether they get charged with that or not.) Those bullets that they
fired into the air came down somewhere. Maybe on someone.
Firing warning shots is tactically wrong. It depletes your ammunition supply. Did you
notice how many "warning shots" they fired. They were not counting. They could easily
have run out of ammo before they attempted to shoot the bad buy.
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
"Teaching Situational Awareness to Kids" by PREPAREDNESS MAMA
https://preparednessmama.com/teaching-situational-awareness-to-kids/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz
"Fear!" BY JOHN FARNAM
https://defense-training.com/fear/
I forwarded this email to my children in California, when John sent it to me. I urged
them to be like the smart Jew before World War II. Get out now. Before you are forced
to escape, if you can. Albert Einstein was smart enough to move to Switzerland before
the Nazis arrested the Jews and shipped them off the concentration camps.
Jews have a history that they understand. So, they are moving from Los Angeles to
Nashville. I meet them where I work at the community center, the elementary school,
and when I do security details at the synagogues. This is real. Please take it seriously.
Please remember, it was the Democrats who fought for slavery during the American
War of Northern Aggression. The Republicans under President Abraham Lincoln fought
to free the slaves.
The Democrat administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt arrested and imprisoned
American citizens of Japanese ancestry during the second World War. The Democrat
controlled Supreme Court approved the arrests and imprisonment.
During Hurricane Katrina, the Democrat administration in New Orleans confiscated
guns from law abiding citizens, leaving them defenseless against the looters, rapist,
and murderers.
No, Republicans would never have done such a thing. And have never done such
a thing. People may lie about history, but history does not lie.
"5 Tips for Flying with Guns – Staying Out of Trouble with TSA" by CALEB GIDDINGS
https://www.tactical-life.com/lifestyle/5-tips-for-flying-with-guns/
These are attitude tips, not technical tips.
Warrior Life Blog
https://warriorlife.com/
All kinds of survival tips. Prepping for disasters.
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** War Stories, History, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Rest in Peace, Ranger.
I used to work with Ranger. Then he got a job with a gun company. They sent
him to Mexico to train Mexican army troops. He got seduced by money and such.
He went to work for others, training their people.
A Mexican army officer approached him and said, you're under contract to us,
what the hell are you doing?
Ranger responded, it doesn't work that way.
I'm sure it never crossed Ranger's mind that the Mexican army officer would
summarily execute Range in a fancy restaurant in Mexico City while he sat with his
narco buddies.
As Tim Larkin says, "Who says we're playing by your rules?"
Ranger did have the good sense to have a life insurance policy to take care of his
family. Best wishes and condolences to them.
"Exclusive: ATF Acting Director Demoted, Replaced" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/exclusive-atf-director-demoted-new-acting-director-incoming/
While Biden promises to put a Black Woman (who can't define the word "woman") on
the U.S. Supreme Court, he removes a Black man from Director of the ATF. Note that
Richardson is not a political hack. Much to the contrary, he is a career ATF agent who
had worked his way up from Field Agent to Acting Director. That's like going from
Private to General.
Well, let's see now, Acting Director Marvin Richardson is out.
Acting Deputy Director Thomas Chittum is "leaving in the next few weeks".
Acting Assistant Director George Lauder is "considered moving on as well".
Sounds like a purge to me.
---
"Black Gun-Rights Group Slams ATF Director Demotion,
Questions Racial Motivations of Biden Nominations" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/black-gun-rights-group-slams-atf-director-demotion-questions-racial-motivations-of-biden-nominations/
---
"Black ATF Agents Speak Out After Biden Demotes Acting Director" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/black-atf-agents-speak-out-after-biden-demotes-acting-director/
Photo and caption concerning ghost guns.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159535026745967&set=a.40336455966&type=3
"Guns, bomb shelters and anti-radiation meds:
More people in Finland prepare for war with Russia"
by Tami Abdollah
https://theworldnews.net/us-news/guns-bomb-shelters-and-anti-radiation-meds-more-people-in-finland-prepare-for-war-with-russia
Militias are not unique to America. The Finns mock the rest of Europe, because they
know that they are on the front lines against Russia, and it is they who prevent the
Russians from aggressing into Europe.
"DC Project Releases Video to Combat Gun Control Lies - We're on Offense Now"
(press release) by PRNewswire
https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/22/04/n26685307/dc-project-releases-video-to-combat-gun-control-lies-were-on-offense-now
"We're On Offense Now" (video) by DC Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqf1HBTTU8s
"Behold, I Make All things New!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/behold-i-make-all-things-new/
“XM5,” chambered for SIG’s version of the new military 6.8mm cartridge, called the
6.8×51 to become the new rifle for our armed forces. Notice that SIG was the only big gun
maker not sued by Mexico and the anti-gun groups. Notice that SIG was the only gun maker
that was in competition for this contract. The others were defense contractors, not gun
makers. SIG will license and subcontract out to the other defense contractors to share the
spoils and maintain good will. The defense contractors will sub out to machine shops.
"Winchester Awarded $145M US Army Pistol Ammunition Contract" by Jim Grant
https://www.ammoland.com/2022/04/winchester-awarded-145m-us-army-pistol-ammunition-contract/
The standard sidearm of the U.S. Armed Forces is 9mm. Many of the "Special" units use
the 45 ACP, because it's more massive (deeper penetration) and subsonic (suppressor friendly).
Who in the Armed Forces uses the .38 caliber? I assume they are talking about the 38 Special.
I remember having a few in the armory when I was battalion armorer for 1st Radio Battalion
in 1981. This strikes me as odd.
Kari Grayson of "License2Kari"
https://www.license2kari.com/
https://www.license2kari.com/podcast/
License2Kari on YouTube.com
interviewed me. She told me it won't be published for a couple of months, because she has
other things in the pipeline and the post production work needs to be done.
We discussed the purpose of self-defense and my recommendations on how to handle
the aftermath of a criminal encounter (that you survive, not because you're the good guy,
but because you are better trained and more practiced). I disagree with Massad Ayoob and
Andrew Branca. And I explain why. If you're cool, calm, and collected it might make
sense to talk to the responding officers at the scene of the incident. But, I have never
experienced a cool, calm, and collected victim. They are always upset, to put it mildly.
They are never in control of their emotions. So, ask for your attorney and remain silent.
High stress will cause you to have false memories and temporary amnesia. So your
statements won't match the physical evidence. Which makes you look like a liar.
Which is evidence of consciousness of guilt. It's going to cost you tens of thousands of
dollars to get an expert witness to explain your false statements to the jury. You won't
have that kind of money to waste. Because:
* You have to pay for private investigators to find witnesses and evidence for you.
The police ain't going to do it for you.
* You have to pay for consulting attorneys because your attorney doesn't know everything.
* You have to pay for expert witnesses to explain why the bullet entered the bad guy's back,
even though you shot him when he was facing you. Yes, it happens all the time. Do you
understand the physics and psychology? Even if you do, you still have to hire an expert to
explain it to the jury. There will be all kinds of things that will require expert witnesses
to explain.
The cop in an officer involved shooting won't give a statement for a couple days,
allowing for 2 sleep cycles. So, why would you give a statement at the scene? If you
think that you're smarter than the cops, you're a damn fool.
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology stuff ***** ***** *****
"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
[Remember, cryptosystems are considered "arms" by the U.S. government and federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
"Why Quantum Mechanics Is An Inconsistent Theory | Roger Penrose & Jordan Peterson"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSBOBJsdEuY
Measurement causes the wave function to collapse.
Measurement by a conscious being causes the wave function to collapse.
Measurement by a conscious being does not cause the wave function to collapse.
The absence of a conscious being doesn't affect the universe.
---
If Quantum Theory is inconsistent, why would you base a cryptosystem on it?
Could you prove the security of a system based on an inconsistent theory?
"Asking A Theoretical Physicist About The Physics Of Consciousness |
Roger Penrose & Jordan Peterson"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi9ys2j1ncg
Penrose interpretation of the Godel Theorem.
"When to Chillax (According to Computer Science)" by Jade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60VYfwc-lB4
Relaxation Theory. "Relaxing" the constraints of a problem statement actually changes
the problem statement. But what you going to do when the problem is intractable?
Intractable does not mean you can't solve the problem. It means you can't solve the
problem in polynomial time and linear space.
"What is The Quantum Wave Function, Exactly?" by Jade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmNQuK-E0kI
Schrödinger's inspiration is prevalent. Feynman would do his thinking in gentleman's
clubs. I confess I have used the technique, especially when grading papers (Feynman's
technique, not Schrödinger's).
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intel stuff ***** ***** *****
"The Changing Character of War" at the Maneuver Center of Excellence
by Peter Zeihan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0CQsifJrMc
Thinking that the officer corps is anywhere near the center or apolitical is farcical
considering the Obama purge of politically incorrect officers. (No, as a matter of fact,
Trump did not conduct a purge of the woke officers.) It even reached down into the
Staff NCO ranks. A colonel, who came through our artillery unit in Chattanooga, TN
with an inspection team, told me, "Staff, get with the program or you're out." The colonel
was referring to homosexuals in the armed forces, women in combat, and especially
women in our artillery unit. And sure enough, when came time for reenlistment, I was
not allowed to reenlist.
"Prof. Peterson / Prof. Loury: A Politically Incorrect Conversation about IQ"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUlVXKFeT6w
Hard work matters, but it doesn't matter as much as intelligence. Knowing which way
to go matters. Being able to drive your convoy 400 miles in a day only matters if you
know which way to go.
A reliable Christian scholar who recently escaped from Shanghai told me
that the ChiCom actions in Shanghai are not about Covid-19. The ChiComs
are hunting enemies of the state. There is a strong Christian anti-government
faction based in Shanghai. The ChiComs fear they will attempt to overthrow
the government (with external help). A lot of these guys are business men
who have gotten screwed over by the economic policies of the ChiComs
(confiscating their stuff) and they are looking for pay back. Apparently, their
counter intel was not good enough. So the ChiComs are going house to house
arresting and executing them.
There are still a lot of families who believe that they are going to overthrow the
communists and take back their lands and businesses that they lost when the communists
took over. Strong institutional memory. [I'm talking about the Chinese in Singapore and
the United States (especially those in Hawaii, check out the statue of Sun Yat Sen at the
Honolulu Airport), not the Taiwanese. Monitor the chatter. Where do you hear
Shen Kai Shek (Chiang Kai-shek) spoken of with reverence?]
*************************************************************************
My 4 month old grand daughter was cooing at me. It made me think about my friends who
had been killed before they saw their first child, before they got to play with their grand
children. I hope they know their sacrifice was worth it and appreciated. I will make sure to
tell them when I get to heaven. You might want to mention it to them, if you beat me there.
The Warrior's Prayer
Dear God,
Please give us discernment to distinguish
friend from foe from innocent bystanders.
Give us clear vision so our aim is true.
Give us calm so we execute correctly.
Give us spiritual maturity so that we stop the enemy's attack
without excessive force, without revenge.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Louis Awerbuck recommended these pistols.
Striker action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following have ambidextrous slide stops, but not ambidextrous magazine releases --
(being able to move the magazine release to the other side is not the same as being
ambidextrous)
The latest Glocks. ~$600 to $700. Striker action.
https://us.glock.com/en/pistols/g17
The latest Walthers. MSRP: $649. Striker action.
https://waltherarms.com/pdp-full-size-5/
The S&W M&P's. MSRP: $ 665. Striker action.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-m20
The Remington RP, $349.00. Striker action.
https://remingtonarmsusa.com/remington-rp9-9mm-striker-fired-pistol/
(May need lots of work to make it reliable. You get what you pay for in this world.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"Understanding the Slide Stop
Knowing how your pistol operates can help you get your gun back into action more quickly."
by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/understanding-the-slide-stop/
Here's something you can do to improve your trigger without too much risk of messing
things up. Get some polishing compound. Apply a small dab on the bearing surfaces of
the striker and the sear. Using your Dremel tool and a soft cotton, felt, or wool wheel
polish the surfaces. Use high speed and low pressure. Get the surfaces smooth and glassy.
I think you'll notice the difference.
Gabe Suarez reports from his students in his classes that, "It was unanimous that the
green dot was far more visible and eye comfortable than the red. They felt their eyes
were more relaxed than with the red dot. Interesting point that we should study deeper."
"5 Fast, Affordable Gun Upgrades You (Yes, You) Can Do by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-fast-affordable-gun-upgrades-you-yes-you-can-do/
The author is correct about magazine springs. If it doesn't feel strong, change it.
Brownells
https://www.brownells.com/
Numrich
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/
Search for "magazine springs".
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
(capitalization as in the original document, militia refers to YOU)
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath ----- (You have to be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.)
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
Xinsurance, recommended by The Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/second-amendment-foundation-welcomes-xinsruance-as-gold-corporate-sponsor/
Concealed carry insurance -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/firearms-and-concealed-carry/
Bail Enforcement Agent or Bounty Hunter -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/insurance-for-bail-enforcement-agents/
Liability insurance -
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/liability-insurance/
Professional liability insurance - in case you get sued for something you taught
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/professional-liability/
Security Guard insurance - for those of us who work in the industry
https://www.xinsurance.com/blog/category/security-guard-insurance/
You've got to fill out a form and submit it. They think about it, crunch the numbers,
and get back to you with a quote. I requested 2 million dollars of general liability and
1 million dollars of professional liability because that's what I carry through the NRA.
Their response was,
"Minimum premium for personal use firearm liability with liability limits of
$100,000 per person / $200,000 per accident / $400,000 aggregate will start
$599 - $1250+ per year. If you are looking for coverage at limits of $2Million
as indicated on the application we are going to be several thousand dollars a year."
-- Bailey Giles, Underwriter
The insurance I get through the NRA costs me $300 a year. There may have been a
misunderstanding, as I just filled out the online form. I never talked to anyone. The
email response that I received was obviously a form letter.
CCW Safe
LawOfSelfDefense.com/ccwsafe
Use code "LOSD10" for a 10% discount
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
https://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/never-talk-to-police.html
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Updated as of this blog posting.
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
Because self-defense insurance is essential. Just like auto insurance, life insurance,
kidnap insurance, home owner's insurance, travel insurance, etc.
Self-Defense Gun Owner Insurance Programs Compared
https://www.concealedcarry.com/self-defense-gun-owner-insurance-programs-compared/
This chart is updated regularly. Or download the PDF file at
https://amedia.concealedcarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/28121136/Self-Defenese-Insurance-Comparison-12.7.21.pdf
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Legal ***** ***** *****
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"To ban guns because the criminals use them
is to tell the law-abiding that their rights and liberties
depend not on their own conduct,
but on the conduct of the guilty and lawless."
-- Sysander Spooner
"Self Defense Myths
Knowing the laws of the land is just as important as knowing how to shoot."
by ED HEAD
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/self-defense-myths/
This is critically important, because as Claude Werner says,
"Much of what you know is false."
Much of what your friends know is false. So, you have to educate them.
Yes, as a matter of fact, it is your duty. Are you a responsible human or not?
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
https://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook/
The book is free of charge. Just pay shipping, so you don't have to drive to Colorado
to pick it up.
"Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."
Andrew Branca says (before he became a purely consulting attorney and actually
had individual clients, as opposed to law firm clients) that his clients would say things
like, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted. The shooting was completely justified.
It was self-defense."
Because the client did not know self-defense law, and what the client knew of self-defense
law, the client did not understand.
Andrew speaks of a client who says that the instructor in the state concealed carry
class taught the law and cited the law as shown in the official state web site. So, it must
be correct. But, as Andrew teaches, the "black and white letter of the law as written"
does not matter. All that matters is "case law", that is how the appellate and supreme
courts have interpreted the law. Which can be entirely different from how the law is
written.
As Andrew says, "Educate yourself. So, you don't spend the rest of your life in a cage."
"Alcohol, Drugs, & Guns | U.S. LawShield LIVE Ep. 6"
Richard Hayes and Emily Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNiLQPfnw8U&list=PLumAa9DG0KOwQIOaV5adyeKaDGexvxPQG&index=14
You don't lose your 2nd Amendment rights just because a doctor has prescribed
psychotropic medicine for you. Unless you take enough to become intoxicated.
The vast majority of events occur as follows: driving while drunk and carrying your
pistol. Don't drive while drunk! Don't carry while drunk! (Simple solution: Don't
consume alcohol.)
Just about all crime is drug related. The speakers estimate 95%.
I'm sure glad the Marine Corps lost my medical records. Armed Forces medical records
will be admitted into evidence. (unless the prosecutor is incompetent, which is often
the case)
Invoke your rights and SHUT UP!
If you are not intoxicated, request a blood test. Otherwise, the prosecutor will insinuate
that you were intoxicated.
Don't do crime. If you use force while you're committing a crime, you can't claim
self-defense.
The jury instruction document is IMPORTANT! An error in that document is just about
the only way to win an appeal.
* You don't want trained gun people on your jury. * They will understand all the things
you did wrong. They will think, "I wouldn't have done that." They will judge you harshly.
Even if it is legal to consume alcohol while carrying in your state, DON'T! You're
going to get hammered in the civil trial.
Even if it is legal to consume marijuana while carrying in your state, DON'T.
Federal law forbids marijuana use for persons who possess firearms.
“No one rises to the occasion. That's just a myth.
They sink to the level of training that they have mastered.”
-- Ken Alexandrow, Agape Tactical
https://agapetactical.com/about-us/
"Georgia becomes the 25th state to enact permitless or constitutional carry.
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) promised to sign the bill if it came to him and he
did it this afternoon in Douglasville, Georgia. With the addition of Georgia,
over 36% of all Americans reside in a state with unrestricted or permitless
concealed carry."
https://onlygunsandmoney.com/2022/04/12/every-picture-tells-a-story-part-xvii.html
Great graphics.
"WA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS STATE PREEMPTION IN
SAF LAWSUIT v. CITY OF EDMONDS" by Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/wa-high-court-upholds-state-preemption-in-saf-lawsuit-v-city-of-edmonds/
Excerpt:
" Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Steven C. González stated,
“We hold that the plaintiffs have standing and that this ordinance is
preempted by RCW 9.41.290. We affirm the Court of Appeals and
remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with
this opinion.” "
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA.
"At Real Clear Politics:
NY Subway Shooting Raises Stakes in SCOTUS Decision" by John Lott
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/04/at-real-clear-politics-ny-subway-shooting-raises-stakes-in-scotus-decision-ny-subway-shooting-raises-stakes-in-scotus-decision/
All mass murders / mass violence occur in gun-free-zones. Stay away from gun-free-zones.
Yes, it is that simple. Stay out of the New York subway system. Stay out of New York City.
62-year-old Frank James of Philadelphia had a long violent criminal history including
sexual assaults. So he was prohibited from possessing guns. New York is a gun-free-zone.
The New York subway system is a gun-free-zone. So why did Frank James have a gun in
the subway train?
Believing that gun control laws prevent gun possession or reduce crime is criminal
stupidity. The only purpose of such laws is to criminalize the behavior of political opponents,
so that Democrat administrations can arrest, imprison, and disenfranchise gun owners.
Law-abiding gun owners are obviously going to vote Republican, so the Democrats have to
take away gun owner's right to vote.
"NY Subway Shooting Raises Stakes in SCOTUS Decision" by John R. Lott Jr.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/04/20/ny_subway_shooting_raises_stakes_in_scotus_decision_147492.html
Excerpt:
"Ron Noble, the secretary general of INTERPOL from 2000 to 2014, has extensive
experience trying to stop terrorist attacks and cautioned that even with “extraordinary
security,” it is virtually impossible to keep weapons out of soft targets. He notes that
gun-free zones mean that only the terrorists will have weapons. Creating gun-free zones
just disarms law-abiding permit holders who follow the rules. They actually serve as
magnets for those intent on killing as many people as possible, because they know that
their victims are defenseless."
Blaming inanimate objects for violence is the height of stupidity.
"Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision In Firearm Confiscation Case!!! Settlement Forced!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HsBY0Ppe3g
Primary source,
CANIGLIA v. STROM ET AL .
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-157_8mjp.pdf
Notice, "Unanimous Decision".
Excerpts from Law of Self Defense, Defense of Property by Andrew Branca --
In most states to get the benefit of a presumption of reasonableness when defending in
your home the intruder has to be there unlawfully and has to force entry (meaning he had
to break something to get in). So lock your doors!
If the repairman who was given the wrong address and was told that the residents will
not be home, walks in through an open door, your shooting him will be unreasonable
because he didn't have to break anything to get in.
---
If you "rescue" a child who is being "kidnapped", but the "kidnapper" was the legal
guardian of the child (and bore no family resemblance to the child), your shooting the
"kidnapper" will not be considered a "taking of a person", no matter what the child was
screaming.
---
. . . experienced investigators will be well aware of the kinds of things the defender
might say that are inconsistent with self-defense, whereas the defender is unlikely to
understand how his own words, however well-intentioned, might be used against him.
It's for this reason that no one involved in a use-of-force event should speak with police
investigators without legal counsel present. [Even better, DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE.
-- Jon Low]
---
Jon Low's comment --
That's why you have to take a law of self-defense class. The law is complicated and
specific to a given jurisdiction. I have dealt with many attorneys. They all tell me that their
clients always say, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted. I'm the good guy. I was defending
the innocents." Or other words to that effect. Doesn't matter what you thought you were
doing. All that matters is "Was your conduct legal?" That's why you have to take a law of
self-defense class. You really don't know what you don't know.
"The Hunt for Red Manslaughter: Alec Baldwin’s Damning Police Interview"
by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3GbRpyvmrA
This is why you never talk to the police without your attorney present.
This is why all guns are loaded.
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
You never take someone's word that the gun is unloaded. You always check; chamber check,
magazine check. You need not be impolite, but you dare not take anyone's word.
"Video shows backyard shooting of intruder ruled self-defense" by Lou Raguse
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/video-shows-minneapolis-backyard-shooting-of-intruder-ruled-self-defense/89-482f4984-46fc-4bb5-8eae-2a9731bf9802
Firing warning shots is an act of criminal stupidity. It is an act of reckless endangering
with a deadly weapon. (Whether they get charged with that or not.) Those bullets that they
fired into the air came down somewhere. Maybe on someone.
Firing warning shots is tactically wrong. It depletes your ammunition supply. Did you
notice how many "warning shots" they fired. They were not counting. They could easily
have run out of ammo before they attempted to shoot the bad buy.
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
"Teaching Situational Awareness to Kids" by PREPAREDNESS MAMA
https://preparednessmama.com/teaching-situational-awareness-to-kids/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz
"Fear!" BY JOHN FARNAM
https://defense-training.com/fear/
I forwarded this email to my children in California, when John sent it to me. I urged
them to be like the smart Jew before World War II. Get out now. Before you are forced
to escape, if you can. Albert Einstein was smart enough to move to Switzerland before
the Nazis arrested the Jews and shipped them off the concentration camps.
Jews have a history that they understand. So, they are moving from Los Angeles to
Nashville. I meet them where I work at the community center, the elementary school,
and when I do security details at the synagogues. This is real. Please take it seriously.
Please remember, it was the Democrats who fought for slavery during the American
War of Northern Aggression. The Republicans under President Abraham Lincoln fought
to free the slaves.
The Democrat administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt arrested and imprisoned
American citizens of Japanese ancestry during the second World War. The Democrat
controlled Supreme Court approved the arrests and imprisonment.
During Hurricane Katrina, the Democrat administration in New Orleans confiscated
guns from law abiding citizens, leaving them defenseless against the looters, rapist,
and murderers.
No, Republicans would never have done such a thing. And have never done such
a thing. People may lie about history, but history does not lie.
"5 Tips for Flying with Guns – Staying Out of Trouble with TSA" by CALEB GIDDINGS
https://www.tactical-life.com/lifestyle/5-tips-for-flying-with-guns/
These are attitude tips, not technical tips.
Warrior Life Blog
https://warriorlife.com/
All kinds of survival tips. Prepping for disasters.
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** War Stories, History, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
Rest in Peace, Ranger.
I used to work with Ranger. Then he got a job with a gun company. They sent
him to Mexico to train Mexican army troops. He got seduced by money and such.
He went to work for others, training their people.
A Mexican army officer approached him and said, you're under contract to us,
what the hell are you doing?
Ranger responded, it doesn't work that way.
I'm sure it never crossed Ranger's mind that the Mexican army officer would
summarily execute Range in a fancy restaurant in Mexico City while he sat with his
narco buddies.
As Tim Larkin says, "Who says we're playing by your rules?"
Ranger did have the good sense to have a life insurance policy to take care of his
family. Best wishes and condolences to them.
"Exclusive: ATF Acting Director Demoted, Replaced" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/exclusive-atf-director-demoted-new-acting-director-incoming/
While Biden promises to put a Black Woman (who can't define the word "woman") on
the U.S. Supreme Court, he removes a Black man from Director of the ATF. Note that
Richardson is not a political hack. Much to the contrary, he is a career ATF agent who
had worked his way up from Field Agent to Acting Director. That's like going from
Private to General.
Well, let's see now, Acting Director Marvin Richardson is out.
Acting Deputy Director Thomas Chittum is "leaving in the next few weeks".
Acting Assistant Director George Lauder is "considered moving on as well".
Sounds like a purge to me.
---
"Black Gun-Rights Group Slams ATF Director Demotion,
Questions Racial Motivations of Biden Nominations" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/black-gun-rights-group-slams-atf-director-demotion-questions-racial-motivations-of-biden-nominations/
---
"Black ATF Agents Speak Out After Biden Demotes Acting Director" by Stephen Gutowski
https://thereload.com/black-atf-agents-speak-out-after-biden-demotes-acting-director/
Photo and caption concerning ghost guns.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159535026745967&set=a.40336455966&type=3
"Guns, bomb shelters and anti-radiation meds:
More people in Finland prepare for war with Russia"
by Tami Abdollah
https://theworldnews.net/us-news/guns-bomb-shelters-and-anti-radiation-meds-more-people-in-finland-prepare-for-war-with-russia
Militias are not unique to America. The Finns mock the rest of Europe, because they
know that they are on the front lines against Russia, and it is they who prevent the
Russians from aggressing into Europe.
"DC Project Releases Video to Combat Gun Control Lies - We're on Offense Now"
(press release) by PRNewswire
https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/22/04/n26685307/dc-project-releases-video-to-combat-gun-control-lies-were-on-offense-now
"We're On Offense Now" (video) by DC Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqf1HBTTU8s
"Behold, I Make All things New!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/behold-i-make-all-things-new/
“XM5,” chambered for SIG’s version of the new military 6.8mm cartridge, called the
6.8×51 to become the new rifle for our armed forces. Notice that SIG was the only big gun
maker not sued by Mexico and the anti-gun groups. Notice that SIG was the only gun maker
that was in competition for this contract. The others were defense contractors, not gun
makers. SIG will license and subcontract out to the other defense contractors to share the
spoils and maintain good will. The defense contractors will sub out to machine shops.
"Winchester Awarded $145M US Army Pistol Ammunition Contract" by Jim Grant
https://www.ammoland.com/2022/04/winchester-awarded-145m-us-army-pistol-ammunition-contract/
The standard sidearm of the U.S. Armed Forces is 9mm. Many of the "Special" units use
the 45 ACP, because it's more massive (deeper penetration) and subsonic (suppressor friendly).
Who in the Armed Forces uses the .38 caliber? I assume they are talking about the 38 Special.
I remember having a few in the armory when I was battalion armorer for 1st Radio Battalion
in 1981. This strikes me as odd.
Kari Grayson of "License2Kari"
https://www.license2kari.com/
https://www.license2kari.com/podcast/
License2Kari on YouTube.com
interviewed me. She told me it won't be published for a couple of months, because she has
other things in the pipeline and the post production work needs to be done.
We discussed the purpose of self-defense and my recommendations on how to handle
the aftermath of a criminal encounter (that you survive, not because you're the good guy,
but because you are better trained and more practiced). I disagree with Massad Ayoob and
Andrew Branca. And I explain why. If you're cool, calm, and collected it might make
sense to talk to the responding officers at the scene of the incident. But, I have never
experienced a cool, calm, and collected victim. They are always upset, to put it mildly.
They are never in control of their emotions. So, ask for your attorney and remain silent.
High stress will cause you to have false memories and temporary amnesia. So your
statements won't match the physical evidence. Which makes you look like a liar.
Which is evidence of consciousness of guilt. It's going to cost you tens of thousands of
dollars to get an expert witness to explain your false statements to the jury. You won't
have that kind of money to waste. Because:
* You have to pay for private investigators to find witnesses and evidence for you.
The police ain't going to do it for you.
* You have to pay for consulting attorneys because your attorney doesn't know everything.
* You have to pay for expert witnesses to explain why the bullet entered the bad guy's back,
even though you shot him when he was facing you. Yes, it happens all the time. Do you
understand the physics and psychology? Even if you do, you still have to hire an expert to
explain it to the jury. There will be all kinds of things that will require expert witnesses
to explain.
The cop in an officer involved shooting won't give a statement for a couple days,
allowing for 2 sleep cycles. So, why would you give a statement at the scene? If you
think that you're smarter than the cops, you're a damn fool.
"Your character is what you do when no one is looking."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology stuff ***** ***** *****
"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
[Remember, cryptosystems are considered "arms" by the U.S. government and federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
"Why Quantum Mechanics Is An Inconsistent Theory | Roger Penrose & Jordan Peterson"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSBOBJsdEuY
Measurement causes the wave function to collapse.
Measurement by a conscious being causes the wave function to collapse.
Measurement by a conscious being does not cause the wave function to collapse.
The absence of a conscious being doesn't affect the universe.
---
If Quantum Theory is inconsistent, why would you base a cryptosystem on it?
Could you prove the security of a system based on an inconsistent theory?
"Asking A Theoretical Physicist About The Physics Of Consciousness |
Roger Penrose & Jordan Peterson"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi9ys2j1ncg
Penrose interpretation of the Godel Theorem.
"When to Chillax (According to Computer Science)" by Jade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60VYfwc-lB4
Relaxation Theory. "Relaxing" the constraints of a problem statement actually changes
the problem statement. But what you going to do when the problem is intractable?
Intractable does not mean you can't solve the problem. It means you can't solve the
problem in polynomial time and linear space.
"What is The Quantum Wave Function, Exactly?" by Jade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmNQuK-E0kI
Schrödinger's inspiration is prevalent. Feynman would do his thinking in gentleman's
clubs. I confess I have used the technique, especially when grading papers (Feynman's
technique, not Schrödinger's).
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intel stuff ***** ***** *****
"The Changing Character of War" at the Maneuver Center of Excellence
by Peter Zeihan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0CQsifJrMc
Thinking that the officer corps is anywhere near the center or apolitical is farcical
considering the Obama purge of politically incorrect officers. (No, as a matter of fact,
Trump did not conduct a purge of the woke officers.) It even reached down into the
Staff NCO ranks. A colonel, who came through our artillery unit in Chattanooga, TN
with an inspection team, told me, "Staff, get with the program or you're out." The colonel
was referring to homosexuals in the armed forces, women in combat, and especially
women in our artillery unit. And sure enough, when came time for reenlistment, I was
not allowed to reenlist.
"Prof. Peterson / Prof. Loury: A Politically Incorrect Conversation about IQ"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUlVXKFeT6w
Hard work matters, but it doesn't matter as much as intelligence. Knowing which way
to go matters. Being able to drive your convoy 400 miles in a day only matters if you
know which way to go.
A reliable Christian scholar who recently escaped from Shanghai told me
that the ChiCom actions in Shanghai are not about Covid-19. The ChiComs
are hunting enemies of the state. There is a strong Christian anti-government
faction based in Shanghai. The ChiComs fear they will attempt to overthrow
the government (with external help). A lot of these guys are business men
who have gotten screwed over by the economic policies of the ChiComs
(confiscating their stuff) and they are looking for pay back. Apparently, their
counter intel was not good enough. So the ChiComs are going house to house
arresting and executing them.
There are still a lot of families who believe that they are going to overthrow the
communists and take back their lands and businesses that they lost when the communists
took over. Strong institutional memory. [I'm talking about the Chinese in Singapore and
the United States (especially those in Hawaii, check out the statue of Sun Yat Sen at the
Honolulu Airport), not the Taiwanese. Monitor the chatter. Where do you hear
Shen Kai Shek (Chiang Kai-shek) spoken of with reverence?]
*************************************************************************
My 4 month old grand daughter was cooing at me. It made me think about my friends who
had been killed before they saw their first child, before they got to play with their grand
children. I hope they know their sacrifice was worth it and appreciated. I will make sure to
tell them when I get to heaven. You might want to mention it to them, if you beat me there.
The Warrior's Prayer
Dear God,
Please give us discernment to distinguish
friend from foe from innocent bystanders.
Give us clear vision so our aim is true.
Give us calm so we execute correctly.
Give us spiritual maturity so that we stop the enemy's attack
without excessive force, without revenge.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
