Hi Sheepdogs,
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Universal Firearm Safety PSA" by CaptainWarren Wilson, Enid Police Department
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7iT-asTvSE
Video explanation of the above rules.
Gun-free-zones are magnets for evil.
"Tucker Carlson speaks with Nikki Goeser about the Dangers of Gun-free Zones"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/06/tucker-carlson-speaks-with-nikki-goeser-about-the-dangers-of-gun-free-zones/
Don't go into gun-free-zones. Don't send your children into gun-free-zones. Yes, it is that
simple. Not easy, simple.
"Put It Away: Safe Handgun Holstering" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/put-it-away-safe-handgun-holstering
"Vehicles Tactics:
Realistic Defensive Techniques for Protecting your Children around Vehicles"
by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/vehicles-tactics-realistic-defensive-children/
Excerpt:
"Don’t want to “feel stupid?”
You will feel more stupid if you are ambushed by criminals
while loading your children into the car."
[I took a class in which the instructor taught us to pull out our flashlight and scan the
parking lot before stepping into the parking lot. Look for people hiding between the cars,
or just loitering. This gives you valuable information and gives the bad guys information.
A person who executes such a maneuver demonstrates a level of training that concerns the
bad guys. The bad guys may not run away, but you go way down on their list of potential
victims. -- Jon Low]
This past Tuesday evening, a Nashville Police Captain and the Director of the Tennessee
Handgun Permitting agency came to the Tennessee Firearms Association meeting and told us
that 4818 pistols were stolen out of cars and about 5000 pistols were stolen out of homes since
the beginning of this year, 2022 A.D. Last year about 10,000 pistols were stolen out of cars
and homes. These pistols end up being used in crimes.
If a person leaves their pistol in their car, they are the problem. If a person leaves his pistol
in his home without sufficient barriers to theft, he is the problem. They are effectively
supplying the criminals with guns. Just as those who buy drugs are voting with their dollars
to increase crime in their neighborhoods, so too are those who allow their guns to be stolen
directly contributing to the use of guns in crimes in their neighborhoods.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
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) -----
"Life’s Not Fair" by Will Dabbs, MD
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/lifes-not-fair/
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
"Body Language Expert Explains How to Show Confidence" by WIRED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRJzvJ5XPQI
This is deep. Confidence is criminal predator repellent.
In public speaking or teaching, know your material. Study it. Rehearse.
Prof. Jordan Peterson says you need to know 10 times as much material as you are presenting.
Because students will ask questions and you have to be able to give cogent answers. You don't
have to go down that rabbit hole or off on that tangent during the class, but you have to be
able to if it is pertinent. You have to be able to fill in the gaps during breaks. Etc.
"Top 10 Self-Defense Myths, Busted" by Kat Ainsworth
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/top-10-self-defense-myths-busted/
Well, I think that stomping on the enemy's instep makes sense. The small bones in the
foot are easily broken. Stomping on toes does not make sense, as the bad guy could be
wearing steel toed shoes.
If you want a list of effective points to strike, read Tim Larkin's book, "When Violence
is the Answer".
". . . attacking rather than retreating, directly incapacitating the human body by shutting off
the brain, and understanding the human body's inherent weak points . . . this is how your
opponent is already thinking, . . . that's how you have to think, . . ."
-- Tim Larkin
"The rules of asocial violence are very simple:
don't make yourself a target,
focus your mind,
know the human body,
act first,
intend to injure, (as opposed to cause pain, because pain does not count)
don't stop until he's incapacitated or dead."
-- Tim Larkin
"Here's the simple litmus test I use:
if there's communication going on -- if the other person is talking to you, even if it's
aggressive or insulting -- you're still in social aggression mode, which means you should
run away, or use your social skills to negotiate your way out of the confrontation.
If there's no communication, or the other person is already in the process of taking
physical action, and there's no available exit, the situation is asocial. You're facing imminent
grievous bodily harm and your only option at that point is to fight back."
-- Tim Larkin
"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."
-- Tim Larkin
"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) -----
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)
Stop wasting your money buying toys (guns)! Spend your money on training.
Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
September 16th - 18th, 2022 in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Gun Club
12465 NE 234th St, Arcadia, OK 73007
$650
[I bought my ticket. I'm staying at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Edmond.
Hope to see you there.]
In your next class, ask questions. You can always ask "Why?"
-- Jeff Gonzalez
The 5th Annual Active Self Protection National Conference
Sept. 23-25, 2022
Outside of Manhattan, KS
Your $600 donation is made directly to Flint Hill Foster Teen Camps and will be used by
them to provide a loving and healing camp experience for foster teens in the area.
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2022/
https://fhftc.org/bullets-bibles-conference-registration-form/
Defensive Training Services, LLC (Warren Wilson)
http://www.defensivetrainingservices.com/
Check out the videos and articles.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Training While Injured" by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/training-while-injured/
Excerpt:
". . . training is something you do in between injuries."
"6 Concealed Carry Skills That Are Truly Necessary" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/concealed-carry-skills/
“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
"Great Self-Defense Handgun Training: Force-on-Force Scenarios" by Richard Nance
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/force-on-force-training/461567
Carefully consider the mistakes that Nance describes that he made.
Excerpt:
Am I legally justified to bring my gun into play? Where is my nearest cover? Do I have a
safe backdrop? Am I dealing with more than one assailant?
What the lack of training will get you.
"Uvalde Updates" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/uvalde-updates
Excerpt:
"Imagine being given the opportunity to instantly stop an active killer event at an
elementary school before anyone got hurt. Then imagine failing to take that opportunity
because you don’t trust your own marksmanship abilities."
[And these were regular officers. I know of a situation with the Dorcherster County
(South Carolina) Sheriff's SWAT team in which the sniper did not take the shot because
he feared hitting the hostage. Because he lacked the confidence. Because he lacked the
marksmanship skill. As in he could not shoot tight groups at 200 yards. Which I
witnessed at the Palmetto Gun Club. You have to train. You have to practice.
On your own time. On your own dime. Because the department will never give you
enough training and practice time. -- Jon Low]
"When Misses Hit- A Look at Real World Backstop Issues" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/when-misses-hit-a-look-at-real-world-backstop-issues
Excerpt:
"There are dozens of really good shooting schools out there. Take a class. You will be
astounded at how much you will learn."
"Hostile or Friendly? Target Discrimination with Paul Howe" by William Lawson
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/hostile-or-friendly-target-discrimination-with-paul-howe/
MSgt. Howe is effectively implementing things as described in the article in the
Education section of this blog posting.
"Well, that's obvious. That's common sense."
Actually, nothing is obvious. It only appears to be obvious in hindsight. MSgt. Howe
and others learned it from experience or from other instructors, who learned it from
experience.
"Asocial violence is random, and unpredictable. Survival is its test."
-- Tim Larkin
Is your training appropriate for this reality?
"HOW READY POSITIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF ENCOUNTERS"
by Steve Moses
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/36313
Excerpt:
"In other words, the time difference between High and Low was slightly over one-tenth
of a second. However, there was a significant difference in the percentage of shots fired at
targets that did not pose a threat."
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
"The Best Handgun Practice Drill Resources" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-best-handgun-practice-drill-resources
All of Greg's articles on drill may be found at
"Shooting Drills" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/category/shooting-drills-2
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
"Using Single-Handed Presentations To Build Confidence" with Brian Hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDMUHeRWyLI
Notice his thumb is low when shooting right handed and his thumb is high when shooting
left handed.
This is why you must have a right and left handed holster in your gear bag. Practicing
both left and right handed is essential. You might have a stroke that disables one side of
your body or just one arm. You might have to have bones removed from your firing side
hand due to rheumatoid arthritis. You might have to have vertebrae fused, limiting your
range of motion. These are just some of the problems that persons in my volunteer security
group at church have suffered. Getting old does not necessarily suck, you just have to
adapt and overcome.
---
"How to Shoot a Pistol One-Handed" by Chris Baker
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/shoot-pistol-one-handed/
Excerpt:
"A tip I got from Tom Givens is to always remember to bend the knee on the leg in front.
That will allow me to really get my weight forward. Simply by shifting my weight, the gun
moves significantly less when it recoils."
---
If the enemy is far enough away that you feel it is safe to extend your arm to use the sights,
I think you ought to grip tight with the thumb high and push the sights into the target. Your
other hand should be grabbing something to prevent it from swinging around (just as in
fencing).
If the enemy is close enough to grab your pistol, you should shoot from a close contact
position, pulling your elbow back away from the enemy. The other hand should be up
protecting your face, in particular your eyes.
"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
"He succeeded because he'd trained to identify targets [on the human body] and to
internalize the mindset that your best targets are the ones you can get, and go after each one in
turn with the intent to create a tunnel of wreckage until your attacker is incapacitated."
-- Tim Larkin
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
"Identify targets. Act first. Give it everything you have. Those principles are what you
should be thinking about when it comes to asocial violence. But how should you be thinking
about them? It's a seemingly complicated question with a surprisingly simple answer:
Think like a bullet."
-- Tim Larkin
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
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
". . . trying to hit an adversary hard wherever you can reach is almost never the best
approach. Heavy force to a specifically vulnerable area should be the goal."
-- Tim Larkin
". . . to use anything less than the full force of your effort is deadly stupidity. Your attacker
has no plans to pull his punches, so neither should you."
-- Tim Larkin
"5 Secrets of Summer CCW Success" by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-secrets-of-summer-ccw-success/
Practice using your middle finger as your trigger finger. Your index finger may become
incapacitated. "Alternate finger drill” by Frank Sharp via John Farnam.
[Not as far fetched as you might think.]
"When It’s Least Expected…!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/when-its-least-expected-3/
Lower positions entail less mobility and more stability, hence better accuracy. Lower
positions allow you to change the trajectory of your bullet to avoid hitting innocent persons.
Going to a lower position reduces the probability of you being seen, because you are below
eye level. No, really it's true. Remember the context we are operating in; fast moving chaotic
situation. And if the enemy doesn't see you, he won't shoot at you.
Squatting (This is the fastest position to get in and out of, but requires flexibility). From
your bladed standing position, bend your knees to drop straight down. (Don’t move your
feet.) Keep your feet flat on the ground. (Don’t let your heels come off the ground.) Rest the
back of your support side upper arm against the front of your knee cap, just as in the kneeling
position. The upper body and arms are in the same Weaver position as in standing. Pivot
around the ball of your firing side foot to adjust your natural point of aim.
Using a curb as cover. Present your pistol to the target first. Lie flat on your back on the
street using the curb as cover. Turn your feet to get your toes down, so they are behind the
curb. Shoot over the curb to your right using a left handed Weaver position. Shoot over the
curb to your left using a right handed Weaver position. Pull your head up as necessary to get
your aiming eye behind the sights. You'll expose less of your head if you use your left eye
when shooting left handed and your right eye when shooting right handed.
Some curbs are concrete, some are basaltic rock (as in Hawaii), etc. In Tennessee, there is
often a drainage ditch running parallel to the road (even better cover). Depending on the
standard in the area, the curbs may be 8 inches above the road. Anything that hits in front of
you is going to ricochet over you.
I've had students who refused to get into lower positions because they felt it was
undignified or they didn't want to get their clothes dirty.
"But, that's okay. Because in a life or death situation, I'll be able to do it."
Really?
The body cannot go where the mind has never been. And the body will not go there
quickly, unless the body has been there many times before.
Consider moving behind the cover of parked cars. Can you high crawl? (on your hands
and knees) You don't know, if you haven't tried recently. Maybe your knees or wrists won't
tolerate the pain.
Consider moving on a road using the curb as cover. Can you low crawl? (sliding your
belly on the ground, using your elbows, knees, and feet to push you along) If you've never
done it before, how do you know? Maybe you can't get your elbows over your head?
"I seem to have range of motion limitations."
Well, that's a terrible thing to discover in combat.
"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
"Warren Wilson on Working with Phobic Shooters" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoqilD3bLUw
Teach. Teach your friends. Teach your relatives. You don't need credentials. There are a
lot of people who will never pay for expert training. Better you teaching than nothing.
Think of all the injury you are preventing. Think of all the lives you are saving. No one
will ever thank you, because no one will every notice the lack of mutilation and death.
"6 Ways to Turn Off a New Gun Owner" by Heidi Lyn Rao
https://www.nrawomen.com/content/6-ways-to-turn-off-a-new-gun-owner/
Excerpt:
Teach and train at their [your student's] level.
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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
*************************************************************************
----- Safety ----- (How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.)
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Universal Firearm Safety PSA" by CaptainWarren Wilson, Enid Police Department
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7iT-asTvSE
Video explanation of the above rules.
Gun-free-zones are magnets for evil.
"Tucker Carlson speaks with Nikki Goeser about the Dangers of Gun-free Zones"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/06/tucker-carlson-speaks-with-nikki-goeser-about-the-dangers-of-gun-free-zones/
Don't go into gun-free-zones. Don't send your children into gun-free-zones. Yes, it is that
simple. Not easy, simple.
"Put It Away: Safe Handgun Holstering" by Richard A. Mann
https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/put-it-away-safe-handgun-holstering
"Vehicles Tactics:
Realistic Defensive Techniques for Protecting your Children around Vehicles"
by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/vehicles-tactics-realistic-defensive-children/
Excerpt:
"Don’t want to “feel stupid?”
You will feel more stupid if you are ambushed by criminals
while loading your children into the car."
[I took a class in which the instructor taught us to pull out our flashlight and scan the
parking lot before stepping into the parking lot. Look for people hiding between the cars,
or just loitering. This gives you valuable information and gives the bad guys information.
A person who executes such a maneuver demonstrates a level of training that concerns the
bad guys. The bad guys may not run away, but you go way down on their list of potential
victims. -- Jon Low]
This past Tuesday evening, a Nashville Police Captain and the Director of the Tennessee
Handgun Permitting agency came to the Tennessee Firearms Association meeting and told us
that 4818 pistols were stolen out of cars and about 5000 pistols were stolen out of homes since
the beginning of this year, 2022 A.D. Last year about 10,000 pistols were stolen out of cars
and homes. These pistols end up being used in crimes.
If a person leaves their pistol in their car, they are the problem. If a person leaves his pistol
in his home without sufficient barriers to theft, he is the problem. They are effectively
supplying the criminals with guns. Just as those who buy drugs are voting with their dollars
to increase crime in their neighborhoods, so too are those who allow their guns to be stolen
directly contributing to the use of guns in crimes in their neighborhoods.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
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) -----
"Life’s Not Fair" by Will Dabbs, MD
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/lifes-not-fair/
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
"Body Language Expert Explains How to Show Confidence" by WIRED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRJzvJ5XPQI
This is deep. Confidence is criminal predator repellent.
In public speaking or teaching, know your material. Study it. Rehearse.
Prof. Jordan Peterson says you need to know 10 times as much material as you are presenting.
Because students will ask questions and you have to be able to give cogent answers. You don't
have to go down that rabbit hole or off on that tangent during the class, but you have to be
able to if it is pertinent. You have to be able to fill in the gaps during breaks. Etc.
"Top 10 Self-Defense Myths, Busted" by Kat Ainsworth
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/top-10-self-defense-myths-busted/
Well, I think that stomping on the enemy's instep makes sense. The small bones in the
foot are easily broken. Stomping on toes does not make sense, as the bad guy could be
wearing steel toed shoes.
If you want a list of effective points to strike, read Tim Larkin's book, "When Violence
is the Answer".
". . . attacking rather than retreating, directly incapacitating the human body by shutting off
the brain, and understanding the human body's inherent weak points . . . this is how your
opponent is already thinking, . . . that's how you have to think, . . ."
-- Tim Larkin
"The rules of asocial violence are very simple:
don't make yourself a target,
focus your mind,
know the human body,
act first,
intend to injure, (as opposed to cause pain, because pain does not count)
don't stop until he's incapacitated or dead."
-- Tim Larkin
"Here's the simple litmus test I use:
if there's communication going on -- if the other person is talking to you, even if it's
aggressive or insulting -- you're still in social aggression mode, which means you should
run away, or use your social skills to negotiate your way out of the confrontation.
If there's no communication, or the other person is already in the process of taking
physical action, and there's no available exit, the situation is asocial. You're facing imminent
grievous bodily harm and your only option at that point is to fight back."
-- Tim Larkin
"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."
-- Tim Larkin
"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) -----
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)
Stop wasting your money buying toys (guns)! Spend your money on training.
Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
September 16th - 18th, 2022 in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Gun Club
12465 NE 234th St, Arcadia, OK 73007
$650
[I bought my ticket. I'm staying at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Edmond.
Hope to see you there.]
In your next class, ask questions. You can always ask "Why?"
-- Jeff Gonzalez
The 5th Annual Active Self Protection National Conference
Sept. 23-25, 2022
Outside of Manhattan, KS
Your $600 donation is made directly to Flint Hill Foster Teen Camps and will be used by
them to provide a loving and healing camp experience for foster teens in the area.
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2022/
https://fhftc.org/bullets-bibles-conference-registration-form/
Defensive Training Services, LLC (Warren Wilson)
http://www.defensivetrainingservices.com/
Check out the videos and articles.
"Take training from different instructors.
We are all wrong about something."
-- John Farnam
"Training While Injured" by Steve Tarani
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/training-while-injured/
Excerpt:
". . . training is something you do in between injuries."
"6 Concealed Carry Skills That Are Truly Necessary" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/concealed-carry-skills/
“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
"Great Self-Defense Handgun Training: Force-on-Force Scenarios" by Richard Nance
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/force-on-force-training/461567
Carefully consider the mistakes that Nance describes that he made.
Excerpt:
Am I legally justified to bring my gun into play? Where is my nearest cover? Do I have a
safe backdrop? Am I dealing with more than one assailant?
What the lack of training will get you.
"Uvalde Updates" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/uvalde-updates
Excerpt:
"Imagine being given the opportunity to instantly stop an active killer event at an
elementary school before anyone got hurt. Then imagine failing to take that opportunity
because you don’t trust your own marksmanship abilities."
[And these were regular officers. I know of a situation with the Dorcherster County
(South Carolina) Sheriff's SWAT team in which the sniper did not take the shot because
he feared hitting the hostage. Because he lacked the confidence. Because he lacked the
marksmanship skill. As in he could not shoot tight groups at 200 yards. Which I
witnessed at the Palmetto Gun Club. You have to train. You have to practice.
On your own time. On your own dime. Because the department will never give you
enough training and practice time. -- Jon Low]
"When Misses Hit- A Look at Real World Backstop Issues" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/when-misses-hit-a-look-at-real-world-backstop-issues
Excerpt:
"There are dozens of really good shooting schools out there. Take a class. You will be
astounded at how much you will learn."
"Hostile or Friendly? Target Discrimination with Paul Howe" by William Lawson
https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/hostile-or-friendly-target-discrimination-with-paul-howe/
MSgt. Howe is effectively implementing things as described in the article in the
Education section of this blog posting.
"Well, that's obvious. That's common sense."
Actually, nothing is obvious. It only appears to be obvious in hindsight. MSgt. Howe
and others learned it from experience or from other instructors, who learned it from
experience.
"Asocial violence is random, and unpredictable. Survival is its test."
-- Tim Larkin
Is your training appropriate for this reality?
"HOW READY POSITIONS CAN INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF ENCOUNTERS"
by Steve Moses
https://ccwsafe.com/blog/36313
Excerpt:
"In other words, the time difference between High and Low was slightly over one-tenth
of a second. However, there was a significant difference in the percentage of shots fired at
targets that did not pose a threat."
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
"The Best Handgun Practice Drill Resources" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-best-handgun-practice-drill-resources
All of Greg's articles on drill may be found at
"Shooting Drills" by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/category/shooting-drills-2
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
"Using Single-Handed Presentations To Build Confidence" with Brian Hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDMUHeRWyLI
Notice his thumb is low when shooting right handed and his thumb is high when shooting
left handed.
This is why you must have a right and left handed holster in your gear bag. Practicing
both left and right handed is essential. You might have a stroke that disables one side of
your body or just one arm. You might have to have bones removed from your firing side
hand due to rheumatoid arthritis. You might have to have vertebrae fused, limiting your
range of motion. These are just some of the problems that persons in my volunteer security
group at church have suffered. Getting old does not necessarily suck, you just have to
adapt and overcome.
---
"How to Shoot a Pistol One-Handed" by Chris Baker
https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/shoot-pistol-one-handed/
Excerpt:
"A tip I got from Tom Givens is to always remember to bend the knee on the leg in front.
That will allow me to really get my weight forward. Simply by shifting my weight, the gun
moves significantly less when it recoils."
---
If the enemy is far enough away that you feel it is safe to extend your arm to use the sights,
I think you ought to grip tight with the thumb high and push the sights into the target. Your
other hand should be grabbing something to prevent it from swinging around (just as in
fencing).
If the enemy is close enough to grab your pistol, you should shoot from a close contact
position, pulling your elbow back away from the enemy. The other hand should be up
protecting your face, in particular your eyes.
"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
"He succeeded because he'd trained to identify targets [on the human body] and to
internalize the mindset that your best targets are the ones you can get, and go after each one in
turn with the intent to create a tunnel of wreckage until your attacker is incapacitated."
-- Tim Larkin
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, and Escape
"Identify targets. Act first. Give it everything you have. Those principles are what you
should be thinking about when it comes to asocial violence. But how should you be thinking
about them? It's a seemingly complicated question with a surprisingly simple answer:
Think like a bullet."
-- Tim Larkin
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
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques (ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics) -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
". . . trying to hit an adversary hard wherever you can reach is almost never the best
approach. Heavy force to a specifically vulnerable area should be the goal."
-- Tim Larkin
". . . to use anything less than the full force of your effort is deadly stupidity. Your attacker
has no plans to pull his punches, so neither should you."
-- Tim Larkin
"5 Secrets of Summer CCW Success" by Brad Fitzpatrick
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/5-secrets-of-summer-ccw-success/
Practice using your middle finger as your trigger finger. Your index finger may become
incapacitated. "Alternate finger drill” by Frank Sharp via John Farnam.
[Not as far fetched as you might think.]
"When It’s Least Expected…!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/when-its-least-expected-3/
Lower positions entail less mobility and more stability, hence better accuracy. Lower
positions allow you to change the trajectory of your bullet to avoid hitting innocent persons.
Going to a lower position reduces the probability of you being seen, because you are below
eye level. No, really it's true. Remember the context we are operating in; fast moving chaotic
situation. And if the enemy doesn't see you, he won't shoot at you.
Squatting (This is the fastest position to get in and out of, but requires flexibility). From
your bladed standing position, bend your knees to drop straight down. (Don’t move your
feet.) Keep your feet flat on the ground. (Don’t let your heels come off the ground.) Rest the
back of your support side upper arm against the front of your knee cap, just as in the kneeling
position. The upper body and arms are in the same Weaver position as in standing. Pivot
around the ball of your firing side foot to adjust your natural point of aim.
Using a curb as cover. Present your pistol to the target first. Lie flat on your back on the
street using the curb as cover. Turn your feet to get your toes down, so they are behind the
curb. Shoot over the curb to your right using a left handed Weaver position. Shoot over the
curb to your left using a right handed Weaver position. Pull your head up as necessary to get
your aiming eye behind the sights. You'll expose less of your head if you use your left eye
when shooting left handed and your right eye when shooting right handed.
Some curbs are concrete, some are basaltic rock (as in Hawaii), etc. In Tennessee, there is
often a drainage ditch running parallel to the road (even better cover). Depending on the
standard in the area, the curbs may be 8 inches above the road. Anything that hits in front of
you is going to ricochet over you.
I've had students who refused to get into lower positions because they felt it was
undignified or they didn't want to get their clothes dirty.
"But, that's okay. Because in a life or death situation, I'll be able to do it."
Really?
The body cannot go where the mind has never been. And the body will not go there
quickly, unless the body has been there many times before.
Consider moving behind the cover of parked cars. Can you high crawl? (on your hands
and knees) You don't know, if you haven't tried recently. Maybe your knees or wrists won't
tolerate the pain.
Consider moving on a road using the curb as cover. Can you low crawl? (sliding your
belly on the ground, using your elbows, knees, and feet to push you along) If you've never
done it before, how do you know? Maybe you can't get your elbows over your head?
"I seem to have range of motion limitations."
Well, that's a terrible thing to discover in combat.
"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
"Warren Wilson on Working with Phobic Shooters" by Lee Weems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoqilD3bLUw
Teach. Teach your friends. Teach your relatives. You don't need credentials. There are a
lot of people who will never pay for expert training. Better you teaching than nothing.
Think of all the injury you are preventing. Think of all the lives you are saving. No one
will ever thank you, because no one will every notice the lack of mutilation and death.
"6 Ways to Turn Off a New Gun Owner" by Heidi Lyn Rao
https://www.nrawomen.com/content/6-ways-to-turn-off-a-new-gun-owner/
Excerpt:
Teach and train at their [your student's] level.
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
"Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." -- Brené Brown
"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
"Shoot or Don’t Shoot?
Tactical Gaze Control and Visual Attention Training
Improves Police Cadets’ Decision-Making Performance
in Live-Fire Scenarios" by Benedikt Heusler and Christine Sutter
Frontiers in Psychology, ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.798766/full
National Library of Medicine archive
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8905363/
Nice to see the scientific method applied to our field of interest.
Note that the authors hail from the
Institute of Traffic and Engineering Psychology, German Police University, Münster, Germany.
I haven't seen many peer reviewed journal articles that touch on our field.
I was surprised that they named the reviewers. That's not common in the geophysics journals.
This result is implemented by MSgt. Paul Howe in his article cited above at the end of
the "Training" section.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- 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
"I can talk to the responding officers. Explain what happened to prevent them from
arresting me."
No, you can't. And if you believe you can, you're a damn fool.
Just ask for your attorney and shut up. Don't talk to the police. Don't answer their questions.
Don't listen to their lies. Oh, yes, they will lie to you. Several U.S. Supreme Court rulings
say that it is perfectly fine for the police to lie to you. On the other hand, if you lie to the
police, that's a felony crime. They will lie to you to elicit a response from you, which will
be used against you.
"The police would never do that."
If you believe that, you're a damn fool.
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".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
“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
"Supreme Court Strikes New York Gun Law in Major Ruling" by Jeffrey Rodack
https://www.newsmax.com/us/supreme-court-guns-new-york/2022/06/23/id/1075748/
Easy reading.
For those who don't read but want the details.
"Lawyer Explains US Supreme Court 2A Decision!" by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHefXgxxsBs
The meat starts at 7:00.
---
Tests of constitutionality:
Means ends scrutiny. (The ends justify the means. The Constitution be damned.)
Rational basis. (Anything is Constitutional.)
Intermediate scrutiny. (Just about anything is Constitutional.)
Strict scrutiny. (None of the gun control laws are Constitutional.)
---
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER
554 U.S. 570, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008)
LawOfSelfDefense.com/heller
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/district-of-columbia-v-heller-554-u-s-570-us-supreme-court-2008/
McDonald v. Chicago
524 U.S. 742 (US Supreme Court 2010)
LawOfSelfDefense.com/mcdonald
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/mcdonald-v-chicago-524-u-s-742-us-supreme-court-2010/
NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen, 2022
LawOfSelfDefense.com/bruen
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/ny-state-rifle-pistol-assoc-v-bruen-2022-u-s-lexis-3055-us-sup-ct-2022/
Geographic boundaries of Federal Circuits
LawOfSelfDefense.com/dope
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/recording-the-police-resources-page/
This is reality. Pay attention.
"The Self-Defense Acquittal of Rondale King:
Live Interview with Public Defender Rosemarie Peoples!"
with Rosemarie Peoples and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTTwWogkUI
Lots of examples of why you should never talk to the police. Say, "I want my attorney."
and shut up! Please SHUT UP! Multiple interviews with police over two weeks! NO! NO!
Never talk to the police! If King had not talked to the police, the police would not have
had the evidence to prosecute him.
The police are NOT there to help you.
The pressure to take a plea is enormous. Florida's 10-20-Life ensures a life sentence
if convicted of a crime where the victim dies. Mr. King refused to plea bargain. Bravo!
Confessing to a crime that you did not commit is a sin.
One shot was fatal. Charged with 2nd degree murder.
Stay on scene. Don't flee. Fleeing is consciousness of guilt.
No one will testify for you. No one will "remember" what happened. No one wants to
get involved.
You have no duty to render aid to the guy you just shot. If you get close enough to render
aid, he's close enough to kill you. And he will try to kill you, because he has already tried to
kill you.
---
30 days to have the bond hearing. 44 days in jail. Could you survive over a month in
a county jail? [There are a lot of people in jail who have nothing better to do than beat you
and sodomize you. The tough guys will make you their bitch. Do you have the hand-to-hand
skills to kill them? They have the means to kill you. Lots of people die in prison everyday.]
Lost his job when he got out, because he hadn't shown up for 44 days.
The vast majority of people in the U.S. cannot come up with the money for bail.
"You only need to come up with 10%."
No, that is false. The truth is that a bail bondsman will take collateral exceeding the amount
specified by the court and on top of that will charge you 10% of the bail amount, which the
bail bondsman will keep.
Show up, dressed to impress. So, the judge doesn't worry about you showing up.
---
Criminals have a criminal history, are not employed, etc. Good guys have no criminal
history (never been arrested, all arrest records have been expunged). Yes, it counts a lot.
"spoliation jury instruction" this is significant. You can bet the prosecutor and police
will make exculpatory evidence disappear. Happens all the time.
Jury selection is false. The attorneys have a very limited ability to deselect jurors.
This is significant! Florida, 6 person jury. All persons who could not consider self-defense
where the defender has a weapon and the assailant is unarmed, were removed from the jury
for cause. All female jury. All gun owners or gun owner adjacent (lived with or grew up
with gun owners). Florida has the most gun owners per capita in the U.S.
The narrative was compelling.
Facing 30 years for defending himself? Why was he prosecuted? Because prosecutions
are political. Sorry, that's reality.
You're not going to have that perfect shot that you practiced on the range. It's going to be
a messy contorted awkward shot that's not going to hit where you intended.
Mr. King, the defendant, testified at trial. Very dangerous, but often necessary in self
defense cases.
"Lawyer up!" That means ask for your attorney and SHUT UP!
The audience of the judge. The audience of the jury. The audience of the appealate court.
You might not understand, because you're not the intended audience.
"On One America News:
‘Red Flag Laws Remove All Due Process Protections’ For Gun Owners"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/06/on-one-america-news-red-flag-laws-remove-all-due-process-protections-for-gun-owners/
Who is going to be the target of Red Flag Laws? YOU!
No due process. Only one side of the story is told to the judge.
No mental health expert is involved.
"If you carry a gun, so you're hard to kill, know the law, so you're hard to convict."
Free infographic on the 5 elements of self-defense. Free download.
https://LawOfSefDefense.com/elements/
Free one hour webinar, every Wednesday at 13:00 Central Time, register at,
https://www.hardtoconvict.com/
"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."
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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
This is important. Please read.
"Unprepared!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/unprepared/
Stop wasting your money buying toys (guns)! Spend your money on training.
"THE BEST BAD CHOICE | When Is Something Tactically Unsound?" by Ralph Mroz
https://americancop.com/the-best-bad-choice-when-is-something-tactically-unsound/
I was practicing with a Glock 21 (full size, 45 ACP) at an indoor range (Shooters Gun
and Ammo), because it's just too hot to play outside. Every time I shoot a Glock, I appreciate
what a good design it is. Reliable (goes bang and cycles, even with suboptimal ammo, every
time), consistent (accuracy is consistency).
I'm going to have to grind off the protrusions on the front strap that separate the fingers.
I don't know how their design engineer could have thought that that was a good idea.
I'm going to have to grind out some space at the top of the tang to avoid rubbing and
blisters when used by students who have arthritis or protruding sesamoid bones.
I'm going to shave off some of the plastic on the sides of the magazines. They are just too
tight. I think you ought to be able to eject the magazine by twisting your forearm in a snappy
motion, roll the pistol (as opposed to pitch or yaw), using centripetal acceleration to force
the magazine out. Of course, if it dropped free with gravity that would be better.
Aidan has already:
Machined out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch to allow for use in low light
conditions. They are the steel tritium glow in the dark Glock sights.
Made the maritime modified, which means the cups around the striker have been
cut to allow water to drain out in the event of the pistol being submerged. Otherwise, you
might get a hydraulic action retarding the striker.
Machined serrations in the sides of the slide to allow grip to perform a chamber check.
Ya, I know some instructors teach against the practice of doing a chamber check at all. And
some teach against performing a chamber check by reaching under the pistol and grabbing
the sides of the slide with the pads of the fingers. And of course if you have a weapon
attached light under your barrel, you might not be able to do such a chamber check. But,
I teach against weapon mounted lights. And I like doing a chamber check this way. Ya,
I know it gets your fingers too close to the muzzle. [I'm conflicted. I have psychological
tension. I suffer from bureaucratic inertia.]
Polished all trigger bearing surfaces.
Smoothed and rounded the sear in the frame that holds the striker back.
It came from the factory as a sheet metal stamping and so was rather rough and mis-shapen.
I find myself buying a lot of hollow point ammo for my pistols. I don't understand why.
I don't shoot that many people at work. Anyway, I got some Sierra Sport Master 45 Auto,
185 grain, jacketed hollow point, ballistic coefficient 0.110. They function fine. They hold
tight groups. I'm happy.
I was shooting some Hornaday Critical Duty in 45 ACP which is marked +P.
After two rounds, my hands hurt. When they say +P they really mean it.
"A Year Long Experiment with a Pistol Optic" by Warren Wilson
https://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=16978
Excerpts:
"Chasing the dot," is a term I first heard from firearms instructor Todd Louis Green of
Pistol-Training.com. Unlike holographic sights mounted on rifles, the MRDS pistol shooter
will lose sight of the optic during recoil. There’s just no way around it. Acquiring and
re-acquiring the dot on a pistol is more difficult than finding one’s front sight. After a few
hundred repetitions, it gets better.
Another potential disadvantage to some reflex sights is that the batteries will eventually fail.
"Have You Done These 3 Things to Your Holster? You Should." by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/gear/3-things-you-should-do-to-your-holster/
Test Fit.
Adjust Position, Ride-Height, Cant, and Retention.
Lock it All in Place.
"The Gear Dilemma
There’s nothing wrong with owning the latest and greatest products,
but your skill level is the real game-changer." by Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/the-gear-dilemma/
Excerpt:
When we talk about personal defense, it’s not about what you have, it’s all about what
you can do with it. The goal of the defensive shooter should be to become skillful in
handling the defensive firearm. That includes the presentation, speed loading, tac loading
and dealing with whatever malfunctions might be common to the gun being used.
In short, the “latest and greatest” gear cannot make up for poor gun handling and bad
marksmanship.
By the same token, fancy gear will not make up for poor tactics.
Gun handling and marksmanship are one thing;
being able to win a fight with the firearm is a whole different endeavor.
It is one thing to know how to shoot;
it is another thing entirely to know when to shoot.
And, it is even more important to know how to survive without having to shoot.
Good gear will enhance one’s ability, but it won’t make up for the lack of ability.
One might be well advised to take some of the money that would be spent on
new gear—just some of it, mind you—and spend it instead on a good training school.
I had been using Perry suspenders
https://www.perrysuspenders.com/online-store/Ruf-N-Tuf-c25452201
for many years to help distribute the weight of the pistol and ammunition on my belt to my
shoulders. Some of my female students would reverse (front to back) the suspenders that
I gave them so that the suspender straps would not irritate their breasts. So, the Y would
be in the front instead of the back. I received an advertisement for "Hikers" suspenders,
https://hikersco.com/
which accomplishes the same thing.
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 --
FN 509 and others
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 H&K 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 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
Global Ordnance Arex Delta Generation 2M
Striker action. MSRP $535
https://globalordnance.com/arex-delta-gen-2/
https://globalordnance.com/arex/
The MASADA from IWI US. The trigger is nice. MSRP $480.
Striker action.
Standard version,
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
Tactical version,
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17t/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide stop --
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols. MSRP $440 - $568
Louis Awerbuck recommended the XD in 45 ACP.
Striker action.
https://www.springfield-armory.com/xd-series-handguns
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
For those with small hands, or short trigger fingers, or weak hands and arms,
Walther PDP F-Series, MSRP $699.
https://waltherarms.com/pdp-f-series/
The S&W M&P's. MSRP: $ 665. Striker action.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-m20
For those with small hands, or short trigger fingers, or weak hands and arms,
M&P® SHIELD™ EZ®
https://www.smith-wesson.com/9ez
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.)
CraftHolsters.com
5% off everything, use code
LUCKY5
I sent the following email to Al at Craft Holsters. Al takes care of feedback from customers.
He replied, telling me that that holster was being removed from the catalog and that a new
holster will be taking its place. He also assured me that the changes will be brought to the
attention of the CEO.
Hi Al,
I received my "Open Top IWB Holster - Lynx" for my Glock 21 from you.
Thank you very much.
I had to cut it to allow my thumb to get a proper grip on the pistol.
The holster must allow for a high thumb grip before the pistol is drawn out of
the holster.
I had to cut it to allow my fingers to get a proper grip on the pistol.
The holster must allow for the middle finger to get up tight under the trigger
guard before the pistol is drawn from the holster.
Please make these corrections in the design of the holster. Very few people
are going to take the time and expend the effort to make the necessary
corrections to this holster.
Cheers,
Jon
[Not only did I have to cut the leather to get a proper grip while the pistol was still in the
holster, I had to burnish the cut edges with my Dremel tool, and then dye the edges, and
then polish the edges. So, there was a lot of work to make the holster usable and presentable.]
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"The Spring’s the Thing" by Tamara Keel
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/the-spring-s-the-thing/
Excerpt:
Using either a heavier or lighter spring may be OK for competition,
but for personal protection it’s best to stay with the factory-provided version
or a spring of the same rating.
"9mm vs .40 Cal vs .45 ACP . . . Cinder Block Test" by Langley Outdoors Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peSxf07p0gY
The 9mm and 40 S&W penetrated one side of the cinder block.
The 45 ACP did not. These were all copper jacketed lead bullets.
Internal ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves inside the barrel of the firearm.
External ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves from the muzzle to the target.
Terminal ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves inside the target.
"How Terminal Ballistics Helps You Choose the Right Ammunition" by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/how-terminal-ballistics-helps-you-choose-the-right-ammunition/
Excerpt:
. . . the shock wave from bullet impacts greater than 2,000 feet per second (f.p.s.) may
create a temporary wound cavity in the tissue of a live target. The higher the bullet's striking
velocity, the larger the temporary wound cavity . . . which can stretch or tear blood vessels,
nerves and other tissues outside the bullet track.
"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)
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
"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
". . . kings, bishops, and even fathers could be tyrants when they abused their
legitimate authority."
". . . tyrannicide against evil kings could be a moral obligation."
-- "Policraticus" by John of Salisbury circa 1159 A.D.
[That's why we have the 2nd Amendment.]
---
". . . overthrowing a tyrant was a moral duty, because tyranny was itself a form of
sedition against a justly-ordered society."
-- "Summa Theologica" by Thomas Aquinas
[I remember reading this in college.]
---
"As the Dark Ages gave way to the Middle Ages, the use of force to resist a tyrant
was changed from a sin into a holy obligation."
"Yet by the middle of the thirteenth century, the intellectual foundation for a right of
revolution against tyranny—a right which Americans exercised in 1776 and safeguarded
in 1789—had been solidly established."
-- David B. Kopel
[1776 American Revolutionary War, 1789 ratification of the U.S. Constitution]
---
"THE CATHOLIC SECOND AMENDMENT" by David B. Kopel
https://davekopel.org/Religion/Catholic-Second-Amendment.pdf
Traces the philosophical and religious origins of the 2nd Amendment.
Things I have heard concerning Brandon:
"He is the embodiment of weaponized incompetence."
"He has delusions of adequacy."
"Freedom!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/freedom/
“When secular belief systems take on the fervor of religion,
more people are murdered than at any other time.”
-- Steven Pinker
Anyone who claims that the police will rescue you is a fool.
" 'He put the lives of officers before the lives of children':
Texas' top cop issues blistering denouncement of Uvalde's police chief and
calls him an 'abject failure' as he admits gunman could have been stopped
in THREE MINUTES" by Alex Hammer
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10938229/Uvalde-victims-families-call-police-chief-fired-heated-school-board-meeting.html
Cited because of the photos and details.
"Texas DPS official: LEOs had the firepower to stop Uvalde gunman sooner
Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety,
called the police response an “abject failure” " by Suzie Ziegler
https://www.police1.com/uvalde-school-shooting/articles/texas-dps-official-leos-had-the-firepower-to-stop-uvalde-gunman-sooner-6BmZ7hqscmY21J9L/
Cited because of the video.
Excerpted from Stephen P. Wenger's email, because there is a pay wall blocking the primary
source article.
Reports from Uvalde Keep Getting Worse:
Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at
Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in the 77 minutes between the time a gunman entered
the rooms and massacred 21 people and officers finally stormed in and killed him,
according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation. Investigators believe the
18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at the school on May 24 could
not have locked the door to the connected classrooms from the inside, according to the
source. All classroom doors at Robb Elementary are designed to lock automatically when
they are closed so that the only way to enter from the outside is with a key, the source said.
Police might have assumed the door was locked, but the latest evidence suggests it may have
been open the whole time, possibly due to a malfunction, the source said. The surveillance
footage indicates gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, was able to open the door to classroom 111
and enter with an assault-style rifle, the source said. Another door led to classroom 112.
Ramos entered Robb Elementary at 11:33 a.m. that day through an exterior door that a
teacher had pulled shut but that didn’t lock automatically as it was supposed to, indicating
another malfunction in door locks at the school. Police finally opened the door to
classroom 111 and killed Ramos at 12:50 p.m. Whether the door was unlocked all along
remains under investigation. Regardless, officers had access the entire time to a “halligan”
– a crowbar-like tool that could have opened the door to the classrooms even if it was
locked, the source said. Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief
and the on-scene incident commander, has said he spent more than an hour in the hallway
of the school. He told the Texas Tribune that he called for tactical gear, a sniper and keys
to get inside. He said he held officers back from the door to the classrooms for 40 minutes
to avoid gunfire. When a custodian brought a large key ring, Arredondo said he tried
dozens of the keys but none worked. But Arredondo was not trying those keys in the door
to classrooms 111 and 112, where Ramos was holed up, according to the law enforcement
source. Rather, he was trying to locate a master key by using the various keys on doors to
other classrooms nearby, the source and the Texas Tribune article said.
(Our side has quipped for years, “when seconds count, police are minutes away.”
Sometimes it's actually hours away, if at all. Tragically, the school police had actually
undergone so-called “active shooter” training recently. Some list members may recognize
the Halligan tool as a device carried by firefighters. While it would make sense to put one
in most police vehicles, that won't guarantee that it would be used. Of course, all the usual
suspects – including the two major teachers' unions – will continue to argue for keeping
teachers and other school employees disarmed and relying on the “professionals” for
protection.)
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-classroom-doors-17251116.php
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
"Ron DeSantis DESTROYS Tampa Bay Rays After Woke Gun Control Virtue Signal
Pulls $35M In Funding!" by Sports Wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRGTUuoS9QU
POTUS DeSantis?
"Women Like Her Are DANGER To Our Society" by Jordan Peterson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPsle2vMKQ
Playing with guns, aiming and shooting with any object, etc. are instinctive; part of
being a male. Parents who try to supress this instinct are WRONG!
"Israeli Rabbi shows how the Bible is Pro-2nd Amendment" by David Sidman
https://www.israel365news.com/270139/israeli-rabbi-proves-the-bible-is-pro-2nd-amendment/
Excerpt:
“The point is that gun control has is and always was the way of Israel’s oppressors,”
Rabbi Grossman asserted, adding that “of course, we can appreciate the wisdom of a
second amendment.” [referring to the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution]
A missionary (female, age 23, operating in a Central American country)
that I support asked me a question. The following was my response.
Hi . . . ,
Ephesians 3:20-21 says that God is able to do more than we could
hope or imagine. But, the Bible does not say that he will necessarily
do miracles for us. We still have to do the work. We still have to sow
and reap. We still have to plan intelligently. Otherwise, we have as
Luke 14:28-30.
I have seen many church plants and missionary ventures fail. I have
heard persons say "God will provide.", "Leave it in God's hands.", etc.
By saying these things, they were just being lazy. They neglected to do
the planning and the work to accomplish the mission.
Afterwards, they say things like, "I guess it just wasn't God's will."
Nonsense, it was poor planning and under capitalization.
"Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals talk logistics." -- Napoleon
I am proud of the fact that I accomplished every mission that I was tasked with in the
Marine Corps, and that I have never suffered a subordinate to be lost, captured, or killed.
That's not luck. That's good planning.
Plan well and succeed! A decade from now, you will be proud to say,
I accomplished my mission.
In Christo,
Jon
"What’s in the Sack?" by Will Dabbs, MD
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/whats-in-the-sack/
Excerpt:
“If you’re not willing to go all the way you shouldn’t be doing the job.” Indeed.
[I am impressed that American Handgunner allows Dr. Dabbs to publish such articles.
-- Jon Low]
A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:
'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year
old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'
So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'
She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'
The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady:
'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'
She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.
Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the
same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other
one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would
be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'
The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'
'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that
was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced
the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's
still in the womb. The crime is the same!
-- Karen Stanton
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0P4FwGTLuxWjSgzUqCGuVUBmJciYYxjTJ6Cesvr2isWrceuiv33BwjXTsJEqLjZhZl&id=100011174952414
"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
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
"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
"Shoot or Don’t Shoot?
Tactical Gaze Control and Visual Attention Training
Improves Police Cadets’ Decision-Making Performance
in Live-Fire Scenarios" by Benedikt Heusler and Christine Sutter
Frontiers in Psychology, ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.798766/full
National Library of Medicine archive
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8905363/
Nice to see the scientific method applied to our field of interest.
Note that the authors hail from the
Institute of Traffic and Engineering Psychology, German Police University, Münster, Germany.
I haven't seen many peer reviewed journal articles that touch on our field.
I was surprised that they named the reviewers. That's not common in the geophysics journals.
This result is implemented by MSgt. Paul Howe in his article cited above at the end of
the "Training" section.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- 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
"I can talk to the responding officers. Explain what happened to prevent them from
arresting me."
No, you can't. And if you believe you can, you're a damn fool.
Just ask for your attorney and shut up. Don't talk to the police. Don't answer their questions.
Don't listen to their lies. Oh, yes, they will lie to you. Several U.S. Supreme Court rulings
say that it is perfectly fine for the police to lie to you. On the other hand, if you lie to the
police, that's a felony crime. They will lie to you to elicit a response from you, which will
be used against you.
"The police would never do that."
If you believe that, you're a damn fool.
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".
Or, the direct link is,
http://defensivepistolcraft.blogspot.com/p/self-defense-insurance.html
“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
"Supreme Court Strikes New York Gun Law in Major Ruling" by Jeffrey Rodack
https://www.newsmax.com/us/supreme-court-guns-new-york/2022/06/23/id/1075748/
Easy reading.
For those who don't read but want the details.
"Lawyer Explains US Supreme Court 2A Decision!" by Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHefXgxxsBs
The meat starts at 7:00.
---
Tests of constitutionality:
Means ends scrutiny. (The ends justify the means. The Constitution be damned.)
Rational basis. (Anything is Constitutional.)
Intermediate scrutiny. (Just about anything is Constitutional.)
Strict scrutiny. (None of the gun control laws are Constitutional.)
---
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER
554 U.S. 570, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008)
LawOfSelfDefense.com/heller
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/district-of-columbia-v-heller-554-u-s-570-us-supreme-court-2008/
McDonald v. Chicago
524 U.S. 742 (US Supreme Court 2010)
LawOfSelfDefense.com/mcdonald
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/mcdonald-v-chicago-524-u-s-742-us-supreme-court-2010/
NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen, 2022
LawOfSelfDefense.com/bruen
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/ny-state-rifle-pistol-assoc-v-bruen-2022-u-s-lexis-3055-us-sup-ct-2022/
Geographic boundaries of Federal Circuits
LawOfSelfDefense.com/dope
which resolves to
https://lawofselfdefense.com/recording-the-police-resources-page/
This is reality. Pay attention.
"The Self-Defense Acquittal of Rondale King:
Live Interview with Public Defender Rosemarie Peoples!"
with Rosemarie Peoples and Andrew Branca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTTwWogkUI
Lots of examples of why you should never talk to the police. Say, "I want my attorney."
and shut up! Please SHUT UP! Multiple interviews with police over two weeks! NO! NO!
Never talk to the police! If King had not talked to the police, the police would not have
had the evidence to prosecute him.
The police are NOT there to help you.
The pressure to take a plea is enormous. Florida's 10-20-Life ensures a life sentence
if convicted of a crime where the victim dies. Mr. King refused to plea bargain. Bravo!
Confessing to a crime that you did not commit is a sin.
One shot was fatal. Charged with 2nd degree murder.
Stay on scene. Don't flee. Fleeing is consciousness of guilt.
No one will testify for you. No one will "remember" what happened. No one wants to
get involved.
You have no duty to render aid to the guy you just shot. If you get close enough to render
aid, he's close enough to kill you. And he will try to kill you, because he has already tried to
kill you.
---
30 days to have the bond hearing. 44 days in jail. Could you survive over a month in
a county jail? [There are a lot of people in jail who have nothing better to do than beat you
and sodomize you. The tough guys will make you their bitch. Do you have the hand-to-hand
skills to kill them? They have the means to kill you. Lots of people die in prison everyday.]
Lost his job when he got out, because he hadn't shown up for 44 days.
The vast majority of people in the U.S. cannot come up with the money for bail.
"You only need to come up with 10%."
No, that is false. The truth is that a bail bondsman will take collateral exceeding the amount
specified by the court and on top of that will charge you 10% of the bail amount, which the
bail bondsman will keep.
Show up, dressed to impress. So, the judge doesn't worry about you showing up.
---
Criminals have a criminal history, are not employed, etc. Good guys have no criminal
history (never been arrested, all arrest records have been expunged). Yes, it counts a lot.
"spoliation jury instruction" this is significant. You can bet the prosecutor and police
will make exculpatory evidence disappear. Happens all the time.
Jury selection is false. The attorneys have a very limited ability to deselect jurors.
This is significant! Florida, 6 person jury. All persons who could not consider self-defense
where the defender has a weapon and the assailant is unarmed, were removed from the jury
for cause. All female jury. All gun owners or gun owner adjacent (lived with or grew up
with gun owners). Florida has the most gun owners per capita in the U.S.
The narrative was compelling.
Facing 30 years for defending himself? Why was he prosecuted? Because prosecutions
are political. Sorry, that's reality.
You're not going to have that perfect shot that you practiced on the range. It's going to be
a messy contorted awkward shot that's not going to hit where you intended.
Mr. King, the defendant, testified at trial. Very dangerous, but often necessary in self
defense cases.
"Lawyer up!" That means ask for your attorney and SHUT UP!
The audience of the judge. The audience of the jury. The audience of the appealate court.
You might not understand, because you're not the intended audience.
"On One America News:
‘Red Flag Laws Remove All Due Process Protections’ For Gun Owners"
https://crimeresearch.org/2022/06/on-one-america-news-red-flag-laws-remove-all-due-process-protections-for-gun-owners/
Who is going to be the target of Red Flag Laws? YOU!
No due process. Only one side of the story is told to the judge.
No mental health expert is involved.
"If you carry a gun, so you're hard to kill, know the law, so you're hard to convict."
Free infographic on the 5 elements of self-defense. Free download.
https://LawOfSefDefense.com/elements/
Free one hour webinar, every Wednesday at 13:00 Central Time, register at,
https://www.hardtoconvict.com/
"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."
“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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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
This is important. Please read.
"Unprepared!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/unprepared/
Stop wasting your money buying toys (guns)! Spend your money on training.
"THE BEST BAD CHOICE | When Is Something Tactically Unsound?" by Ralph Mroz
https://americancop.com/the-best-bad-choice-when-is-something-tactically-unsound/
I was practicing with a Glock 21 (full size, 45 ACP) at an indoor range (Shooters Gun
and Ammo), because it's just too hot to play outside. Every time I shoot a Glock, I appreciate
what a good design it is. Reliable (goes bang and cycles, even with suboptimal ammo, every
time), consistent (accuracy is consistency).
I'm going to have to grind off the protrusions on the front strap that separate the fingers.
I don't know how their design engineer could have thought that that was a good idea.
I'm going to have to grind out some space at the top of the tang to avoid rubbing and
blisters when used by students who have arthritis or protruding sesamoid bones.
I'm going to shave off some of the plastic on the sides of the magazines. They are just too
tight. I think you ought to be able to eject the magazine by twisting your forearm in a snappy
motion, roll the pistol (as opposed to pitch or yaw), using centripetal acceleration to force
the magazine out. Of course, if it dropped free with gravity that would be better.
Aidan has already:
Machined out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch to allow for use in low light
conditions. They are the steel tritium glow in the dark Glock sights.
Made the maritime modified, which means the cups around the striker have been
cut to allow water to drain out in the event of the pistol being submerged. Otherwise, you
might get a hydraulic action retarding the striker.
Machined serrations in the sides of the slide to allow grip to perform a chamber check.
Ya, I know some instructors teach against the practice of doing a chamber check at all. And
some teach against performing a chamber check by reaching under the pistol and grabbing
the sides of the slide with the pads of the fingers. And of course if you have a weapon
attached light under your barrel, you might not be able to do such a chamber check. But,
I teach against weapon mounted lights. And I like doing a chamber check this way. Ya,
I know it gets your fingers too close to the muzzle. [I'm conflicted. I have psychological
tension. I suffer from bureaucratic inertia.]
Polished all trigger bearing surfaces.
Smoothed and rounded the sear in the frame that holds the striker back.
It came from the factory as a sheet metal stamping and so was rather rough and mis-shapen.
I find myself buying a lot of hollow point ammo for my pistols. I don't understand why.
I don't shoot that many people at work. Anyway, I got some Sierra Sport Master 45 Auto,
185 grain, jacketed hollow point, ballistic coefficient 0.110. They function fine. They hold
tight groups. I'm happy.
I was shooting some Hornaday Critical Duty in 45 ACP which is marked +P.
After two rounds, my hands hurt. When they say +P they really mean it.
"A Year Long Experiment with a Pistol Optic" by Warren Wilson
https://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=16978
Excerpts:
"Chasing the dot," is a term I first heard from firearms instructor Todd Louis Green of
Pistol-Training.com. Unlike holographic sights mounted on rifles, the MRDS pistol shooter
will lose sight of the optic during recoil. There’s just no way around it. Acquiring and
re-acquiring the dot on a pistol is more difficult than finding one’s front sight. After a few
hundred repetitions, it gets better.
Another potential disadvantage to some reflex sights is that the batteries will eventually fail.
"Have You Done These 3 Things to Your Holster? You Should." by Matthew Maruster
https://www.concealedcarry.com/gear/3-things-you-should-do-to-your-holster/
Test Fit.
Adjust Position, Ride-Height, Cant, and Retention.
Lock it All in Place.
"The Gear Dilemma
There’s nothing wrong with owning the latest and greatest products,
but your skill level is the real game-changer." by Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/the-gear-dilemma/
Excerpt:
When we talk about personal defense, it’s not about what you have, it’s all about what
you can do with it. The goal of the defensive shooter should be to become skillful in
handling the defensive firearm. That includes the presentation, speed loading, tac loading
and dealing with whatever malfunctions might be common to the gun being used.
In short, the “latest and greatest” gear cannot make up for poor gun handling and bad
marksmanship.
By the same token, fancy gear will not make up for poor tactics.
Gun handling and marksmanship are one thing;
being able to win a fight with the firearm is a whole different endeavor.
It is one thing to know how to shoot;
it is another thing entirely to know when to shoot.
And, it is even more important to know how to survive without having to shoot.
Good gear will enhance one’s ability, but it won’t make up for the lack of ability.
One might be well advised to take some of the money that would be spent on
new gear—just some of it, mind you—and spend it instead on a good training school.
I had been using Perry suspenders
https://www.perrysuspenders.com/online-store/Ruf-N-Tuf-c25452201
for many years to help distribute the weight of the pistol and ammunition on my belt to my
shoulders. Some of my female students would reverse (front to back) the suspenders that
I gave them so that the suspender straps would not irritate their breasts. So, the Y would
be in the front instead of the back. I received an advertisement for "Hikers" suspenders,
https://hikersco.com/
which accomplishes the same thing.
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 --
FN 509 and others
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 H&K 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 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
Global Ordnance Arex Delta Generation 2M
Striker action. MSRP $535
https://globalordnance.com/arex-delta-gen-2/
https://globalordnance.com/arex/
The MASADA from IWI US. The trigger is nice. MSRP $480.
Striker action.
Standard version,
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17/
Tactical version,
https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17t/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has an ambidextrous magazine release, but not ambidextrous slide stop --
The Springfield Armory XD type pistols. MSRP $440 - $568
Louis Awerbuck recommended the XD in 45 ACP.
Striker action.
https://www.springfield-armory.com/xd-series-handguns
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
For those with small hands, or short trigger fingers, or weak hands and arms,
Walther PDP F-Series, MSRP $699.
https://waltherarms.com/pdp-f-series/
The S&W M&P's. MSRP: $ 665. Striker action.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-m20
For those with small hands, or short trigger fingers, or weak hands and arms,
M&P® SHIELD™ EZ®
https://www.smith-wesson.com/9ez
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.)
CraftHolsters.com
5% off everything, use code
LUCKY5
I sent the following email to Al at Craft Holsters. Al takes care of feedback from customers.
He replied, telling me that that holster was being removed from the catalog and that a new
holster will be taking its place. He also assured me that the changes will be brought to the
attention of the CEO.
Hi Al,
I received my "Open Top IWB Holster - Lynx" for my Glock 21 from you.
Thank you very much.
I had to cut it to allow my thumb to get a proper grip on the pistol.
The holster must allow for a high thumb grip before the pistol is drawn out of
the holster.
I had to cut it to allow my fingers to get a proper grip on the pistol.
The holster must allow for the middle finger to get up tight under the trigger
guard before the pistol is drawn from the holster.
Please make these corrections in the design of the holster. Very few people
are going to take the time and expend the effort to make the necessary
corrections to this holster.
Cheers,
Jon
[Not only did I have to cut the leather to get a proper grip while the pistol was still in the
holster, I had to burnish the cut edges with my Dremel tool, and then dye the edges, and
then polish the edges. So, there was a lot of work to make the holster usable and presentable.]
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
----- Technical / Maintenance -----
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"The Spring’s the Thing" by Tamara Keel
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/the-spring-s-the-thing/
Excerpt:
Using either a heavier or lighter spring may be OK for competition,
but for personal protection it’s best to stay with the factory-provided version
or a spring of the same rating.
"9mm vs .40 Cal vs .45 ACP . . . Cinder Block Test" by Langley Outdoors Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peSxf07p0gY
The 9mm and 40 S&W penetrated one side of the cinder block.
The 45 ACP did not. These were all copper jacketed lead bullets.
Internal ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves inside the barrel of the firearm.
External ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves from the muzzle to the target.
Terminal ballistics is a study of how the projectile behaves inside the target.
"How Terminal Ballistics Helps You Choose the Right Ammunition" by NRA Staff
https://www.nrafamily.org/content/how-terminal-ballistics-helps-you-choose-the-right-ammunition/
Excerpt:
. . . the shock wave from bullet impacts greater than 2,000 feet per second (f.p.s.) may
create a temporary wound cavity in the tissue of a live target. The higher the bullet's striking
velocity, the larger the temporary wound cavity . . . which can stretch or tear blood vessels,
nerves and other tissues outside the bullet track.
"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)
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Personal Security, Medical, Survival, etc. ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
"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
". . . kings, bishops, and even fathers could be tyrants when they abused their
legitimate authority."
". . . tyrannicide against evil kings could be a moral obligation."
-- "Policraticus" by John of Salisbury circa 1159 A.D.
[That's why we have the 2nd Amendment.]
---
". . . overthrowing a tyrant was a moral duty, because tyranny was itself a form of
sedition against a justly-ordered society."
-- "Summa Theologica" by Thomas Aquinas
[I remember reading this in college.]
---
"As the Dark Ages gave way to the Middle Ages, the use of force to resist a tyrant
was changed from a sin into a holy obligation."
"Yet by the middle of the thirteenth century, the intellectual foundation for a right of
revolution against tyranny—a right which Americans exercised in 1776 and safeguarded
in 1789—had been solidly established."
-- David B. Kopel
[1776 American Revolutionary War, 1789 ratification of the U.S. Constitution]
---
"THE CATHOLIC SECOND AMENDMENT" by David B. Kopel
https://davekopel.org/Religion/Catholic-Second-Amendment.pdf
Traces the philosophical and religious origins of the 2nd Amendment.
Things I have heard concerning Brandon:
"He is the embodiment of weaponized incompetence."
"He has delusions of adequacy."
"Freedom!" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/freedom/
“When secular belief systems take on the fervor of religion,
more people are murdered than at any other time.”
-- Steven Pinker
Anyone who claims that the police will rescue you is a fool.
" 'He put the lives of officers before the lives of children':
Texas' top cop issues blistering denouncement of Uvalde's police chief and
calls him an 'abject failure' as he admits gunman could have been stopped
in THREE MINUTES" by Alex Hammer
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10938229/Uvalde-victims-families-call-police-chief-fired-heated-school-board-meeting.html
Cited because of the photos and details.
"Texas DPS official: LEOs had the firepower to stop Uvalde gunman sooner
Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety,
called the police response an “abject failure” " by Suzie Ziegler
https://www.police1.com/uvalde-school-shooting/articles/texas-dps-official-leos-had-the-firepower-to-stop-uvalde-gunman-sooner-6BmZ7hqscmY21J9L/
Cited because of the video.
Excerpted from Stephen P. Wenger's email, because there is a pay wall blocking the primary
source article.
Reports from Uvalde Keep Getting Worse:
Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at
Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in the 77 minutes between the time a gunman entered
the rooms and massacred 21 people and officers finally stormed in and killed him,
according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation. Investigators believe the
18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at the school on May 24 could
not have locked the door to the connected classrooms from the inside, according to the
source. All classroom doors at Robb Elementary are designed to lock automatically when
they are closed so that the only way to enter from the outside is with a key, the source said.
Police might have assumed the door was locked, but the latest evidence suggests it may have
been open the whole time, possibly due to a malfunction, the source said. The surveillance
footage indicates gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, was able to open the door to classroom 111
and enter with an assault-style rifle, the source said. Another door led to classroom 112.
Ramos entered Robb Elementary at 11:33 a.m. that day through an exterior door that a
teacher had pulled shut but that didn’t lock automatically as it was supposed to, indicating
another malfunction in door locks at the school. Police finally opened the door to
classroom 111 and killed Ramos at 12:50 p.m. Whether the door was unlocked all along
remains under investigation. Regardless, officers had access the entire time to a “halligan”
– a crowbar-like tool that could have opened the door to the classrooms even if it was
locked, the source said. Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief
and the on-scene incident commander, has said he spent more than an hour in the hallway
of the school. He told the Texas Tribune that he called for tactical gear, a sniper and keys
to get inside. He said he held officers back from the door to the classrooms for 40 minutes
to avoid gunfire. When a custodian brought a large key ring, Arredondo said he tried
dozens of the keys but none worked. But Arredondo was not trying those keys in the door
to classrooms 111 and 112, where Ramos was holed up, according to the law enforcement
source. Rather, he was trying to locate a master key by using the various keys on doors to
other classrooms nearby, the source and the Texas Tribune article said.
(Our side has quipped for years, “when seconds count, police are minutes away.”
Sometimes it's actually hours away, if at all. Tragically, the school police had actually
undergone so-called “active shooter” training recently. Some list members may recognize
the Halligan tool as a device carried by firefighters. While it would make sense to put one
in most police vehicles, that won't guarantee that it would be used. Of course, all the usual
suspects – including the two major teachers' unions – will continue to argue for keeping
teachers and other school employees disarmed and relying on the “professionals” for
protection.)
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Uvalde-classroom-doors-17251116.php
-- Stephen P. Wenger, W2MRA
"Ron DeSantis DESTROYS Tampa Bay Rays After Woke Gun Control Virtue Signal
Pulls $35M In Funding!" by Sports Wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRGTUuoS9QU
POTUS DeSantis?
"Women Like Her Are DANGER To Our Society" by Jordan Peterson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPsle2vMKQ
Playing with guns, aiming and shooting with any object, etc. are instinctive; part of
being a male. Parents who try to supress this instinct are WRONG!
"Israeli Rabbi shows how the Bible is Pro-2nd Amendment" by David Sidman
https://www.israel365news.com/270139/israeli-rabbi-proves-the-bible-is-pro-2nd-amendment/
Excerpt:
“The point is that gun control has is and always was the way of Israel’s oppressors,”
Rabbi Grossman asserted, adding that “of course, we can appreciate the wisdom of a
second amendment.” [referring to the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution]
A missionary (female, age 23, operating in a Central American country)
that I support asked me a question. The following was my response.
Hi . . . ,
Ephesians 3:20-21 says that God is able to do more than we could
hope or imagine. But, the Bible does not say that he will necessarily
do miracles for us. We still have to do the work. We still have to sow
and reap. We still have to plan intelligently. Otherwise, we have as
Luke 14:28-30.
I have seen many church plants and missionary ventures fail. I have
heard persons say "God will provide.", "Leave it in God's hands.", etc.
By saying these things, they were just being lazy. They neglected to do
the planning and the work to accomplish the mission.
Afterwards, they say things like, "I guess it just wasn't God's will."
Nonsense, it was poor planning and under capitalization.
"Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals talk logistics." -- Napoleon
I am proud of the fact that I accomplished every mission that I was tasked with in the
Marine Corps, and that I have never suffered a subordinate to be lost, captured, or killed.
That's not luck. That's good planning.
Plan well and succeed! A decade from now, you will be proud to say,
I accomplished my mission.
In Christo,
Jon
"What’s in the Sack?" by Will Dabbs, MD
https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/whats-in-the-sack/
Excerpt:
“If you’re not willing to go all the way you shouldn’t be doing the job.” Indeed.
[I am impressed that American Handgunner allows Dr. Dabbs to publish such articles.
-- Jon Low]
A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:
'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year
old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'
So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'
She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'
The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady:
'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'
She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.
Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the
same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other
one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would
be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'
The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'
'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that
was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced
the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's
still in the womb. The crime is the same!
-- Karen Stanton
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0P4FwGTLuxWjSgzUqCGuVUBmJciYYxjTJ6Cesvr2isWrceuiv33BwjXTsJEqLjZhZl&id=100011174952414
"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
[Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law.
ITAR, International Traffic in Arms Regulations]
Philosophy is composed of many overlapping fields. One of which is mathematics.
Mathematics is composed of algebra (operating on discrete objects) and
analysis (operating on continuous objects). Cryptology is a branch of algebra.
Science is composed of many overlapping fields. One of which is information theory.
Cryptology is a branch of information theory.
If you want to play the game, you really ought to read:
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot, and Scott A. Vanstone
https://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/hac/
CRC Press
ISBN: 0-8493-8523-7
October 1996, 816 pages, Fifth Printing (August 2001)
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin",
Second Edition, by Paul C. van Oorschot. Springer, 2021.
If you want to play the game, you really ought to read:
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot, and Scott A. Vanstone
https://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/hac/
CRC Press
ISBN: 0-8493-8523-7
October 1996, 816 pages, Fifth Printing (August 2001)
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin",
Second Edition, by Paul C. van Oorschot. Springer, 2021.
https://people.scs.carleton.ca/~paulv/toolsjewels.html
2nd Edition ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"Algebra" by Thomas W. Hungerford
ISBN-10 : 0387905189
ISBN-13 : 978-0387905181
"A Course in Number Theory and Cryptography", 2nd Edition by Neal Koblitz
ISBN-13: 978-0387942933
ISBN-10: 0387942939
"The Art of Computer Programming" by Donald Knuth
ISBN-13: 978-0321751041
ISBN-10: 0321751043
Knuth has made so many editions and fascicles that I have lost track.
"Introduction to Finite Fields and Their Applications" by Rudolf Lidl and Harald Niederreiter.
ISBN: 0-521-30706-6
QA247.3.I.54
"Differential Cryptanalysis" by Eli biham and Adi Shamir.
ISBN: 0-387-97930-1
ISBN: 3-540-97930-1
QA76.9.A25B54
"Cryptography and Data Security" by Dorothy Elizabeth Denning.
ISBN: 0-201-10150-5
QA76.9.A25D46
"The Theory of Numbers" by Ivan Niven and Herbert S. Zuckerman.
ISBN: 0-471-02851-7
QA241.N56
"Primality and Cryptogrphy" by Evangelos Kranakis.
ISBN: 0-471-90934-3
QA76.9.A25
This book has a beautiful chapter on pseudorandom generators.
And pretty proofs of Blum-Blum-Shub theorems.
"Journal of Cryptology" by International Association for Cryptologic Research
https://www.springer.com/journal/145
I have the first few years in paper. I just can't throw them away.
"Applied Cryptology, Cryptographic Protocols, and Computer Security Models"
Proceedings of the Symposia in Applied Mathematics, American Mathematical Society,
volume 29
ISBN: 0-8218-0041-8
QA76.9.A25A66
International Association for Cryptologic Research
https://www.iacr.org/
Of course, it may take some course work and other readings in order to be able to read
the preceding. And of course, these suggestions are from my limited experience.
"I have learned through countless firefights that the difference between being a coward
and a hero is not whether you are scared, but what you do when you are scared.
Stay in the fight!" -- Frank E. White
Hi Clare,
The book is "La Passe-miroir" by Christelle Dabos
"Les Fiancés de l'hiver"
"Les Disparus du Clairdelune"
"La Mémoire de Babel"
"La Tempête des échos"
You can let your children read it when you're finished with it.
[There is an English version translated by Hildegarde Serle.
But, it won't work as your code book. Sorry wrong semantic level.]
Diophantine equations.
The symbol "^" means "raised to the power", exponentiation.
27^5 + 84^5 + 110^5 + 133^5 = 144^5 Lander et al, Math. Comp. 21 (1967).
2,682,440^4 + 15,365,639^4 + 18,796,760^4 = 20,615,673^4 Noam D. Elkies of Harvard.
95,800^4 + 217,519^4 + 414,560^4 = 422,481^4 Roger Frye of Thinking Machines Corp.
An article in "Science" claimed that Frye's solution is the smallest known solution.
Really? In what sense?
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intel stuff ***** ***** *****
“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.)
If your briefing includes words to the effect, "Take credit cards. You might have to find
your own way home.", take gold coins. Because there are many places where your credit
cards won't work. Your U.S. dollars might not work either.
If some officer tells you, "No weapons." and prevents you from checking weapons out
of the armory, well, you remember the movie "Aliens"? Check with the senior enlisted.
He should have weapons pre-positioned for you or stashed somewhere along the route.
If the command won't let you keep a copy of your orders, make sure your life insurance
is paid up. Get a ransom insurance policy. My parents always carried ransom insurance
when they traveled. Most missionary organizations forbid their missionaries from carrying
ransom insurance. The insurance companies are competent. You don't want some emotionally
distraught relative negotiating for your release or the return of your remains. You don't want
the U.S. State Department negotiating for your release. Their agenda rarely coincides with
your best interest. And they are forbidden by law from negotiating with a lot of people.
If your cover is stupid. Have at least one in reserve. Even if your cover is solid, you
should be prepared to change it once in country. There are a lot of spies. Even if there are
no spies, there are stupid incompetent lazy complacent bureaucrats who will leak information
(And believe that they will go to heaven for doing so. It's easy for libs to believe that they
are whistle blowers, not spies. Edward Snowden sits in Moscow collecting awards.).
"I'm sorry if this all conflicts with your world view."
-- MarForPac G-2 (a long time ago)
[The Colonel was speaking to a Lt. Gen. at an intel briefing at Camp Smith.
There are actually general grade officers who believe they can change reality by giving a
direct order to a subordinate. So, you see, this woke stuff is nothing new.]
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
2nd Edition ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"Algebra" by Thomas W. Hungerford
ISBN-10 : 0387905189
ISBN-13 : 978-0387905181
"A Course in Number Theory and Cryptography", 2nd Edition by Neal Koblitz
ISBN-13: 978-0387942933
ISBN-10: 0387942939
"The Art of Computer Programming" by Donald Knuth
ISBN-13: 978-0321751041
ISBN-10: 0321751043
Knuth has made so many editions and fascicles that I have lost track.
"Introduction to Finite Fields and Their Applications" by Rudolf Lidl and Harald Niederreiter.
ISBN: 0-521-30706-6
QA247.3.I.54
"Differential Cryptanalysis" by Eli biham and Adi Shamir.
ISBN: 0-387-97930-1
ISBN: 3-540-97930-1
QA76.9.A25B54
"Cryptography and Data Security" by Dorothy Elizabeth Denning.
ISBN: 0-201-10150-5
QA76.9.A25D46
"The Theory of Numbers" by Ivan Niven and Herbert S. Zuckerman.
ISBN: 0-471-02851-7
QA241.N56
"Primality and Cryptogrphy" by Evangelos Kranakis.
ISBN: 0-471-90934-3
QA76.9.A25
This book has a beautiful chapter on pseudorandom generators.
And pretty proofs of Blum-Blum-Shub theorems.
"Journal of Cryptology" by International Association for Cryptologic Research
https://www.springer.com/journal/145
I have the first few years in paper. I just can't throw them away.
"Applied Cryptology, Cryptographic Protocols, and Computer Security Models"
Proceedings of the Symposia in Applied Mathematics, American Mathematical Society,
volume 29
ISBN: 0-8218-0041-8
QA76.9.A25A66
International Association for Cryptologic Research
https://www.iacr.org/
Of course, it may take some course work and other readings in order to be able to read
the preceding. And of course, these suggestions are from my limited experience.
"I have learned through countless firefights that the difference between being a coward
and a hero is not whether you are scared, but what you do when you are scared.
Stay in the fight!" -- Frank E. White
Hi Clare,
The book is "La Passe-miroir" by Christelle Dabos
"Les Fiancés de l'hiver"
"Les Disparus du Clairdelune"
"La Mémoire de Babel"
"La Tempête des échos"
You can let your children read it when you're finished with it.
[There is an English version translated by Hildegarde Serle.
But, it won't work as your code book. Sorry wrong semantic level.]
Diophantine equations.
The symbol "^" means "raised to the power", exponentiation.
27^5 + 84^5 + 110^5 + 133^5 = 144^5 Lander et al, Math. Comp. 21 (1967).
2,682,440^4 + 15,365,639^4 + 18,796,760^4 = 20,615,673^4 Noam D. Elkies of Harvard.
95,800^4 + 217,519^4 + 414,560^4 = 422,481^4 Roger Frye of Thinking Machines Corp.
An article in "Science" claimed that Frye's solution is the smallest known solution.
Really? In what sense?
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intel stuff ***** ***** *****
“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.)
If your briefing includes words to the effect, "Take credit cards. You might have to find
your own way home.", take gold coins. Because there are many places where your credit
cards won't work. Your U.S. dollars might not work either.
If some officer tells you, "No weapons." and prevents you from checking weapons out
of the armory, well, you remember the movie "Aliens"? Check with the senior enlisted.
He should have weapons pre-positioned for you or stashed somewhere along the route.
If the command won't let you keep a copy of your orders, make sure your life insurance
is paid up. Get a ransom insurance policy. My parents always carried ransom insurance
when they traveled. Most missionary organizations forbid their missionaries from carrying
ransom insurance. The insurance companies are competent. You don't want some emotionally
distraught relative negotiating for your release or the return of your remains. You don't want
the U.S. State Department negotiating for your release. Their agenda rarely coincides with
your best interest. And they are forbidden by law from negotiating with a lot of people.
If your cover is stupid. Have at least one in reserve. Even if your cover is solid, you
should be prepared to change it once in country. There are a lot of spies. Even if there are
no spies, there are stupid incompetent lazy complacent bureaucrats who will leak information
(And believe that they will go to heaven for doing so. It's easy for libs to believe that they
are whistle blowers, not spies. Edward Snowden sits in Moscow collecting awards.).
"I'm sorry if this all conflicts with your world view."
-- MarForPac G-2 (a long time ago)
[The Colonel was speaking to a Lt. Gen. at an intel briefing at Camp Smith.
There are actually general grade officers who believe they can change reality by giving a
direct order to a subordinate. So, you see, this woke stuff is nothing new.]
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
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