Greetings Sheepdogs,
"Defensive Pistol" by Jonathan D. Low
ISBN: 9781311454133
Last updated on 12 August 2025 A.D.
Draft2Digital does the formatting. It's beyond my control.
If you would like the original in PDF format send me an email.
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
One of my kind readers informed me that the URL (uniform resource locator)
http://DefensivePistolcraft.com/
had expired. I didn't have the wherewithal to renew it before it expired.
I was able to renew it through Hover.com. So it should be working again.
The newsletter is also available at
https://DefensivePistolcraft.blogspot.com/
Be aware of risk averse cowards. When you ask for help, they won't help you.
When you ask for back up, they won't. You need to know this before the critical
instant.
You can smoke them out. They will make excuses such as "You're causing trouble.",
"They are not on our property.", "That's not our responsibility.", "Police Chief Drake
sent out a memo saying no proactive policing. We can respond to calls, but we can't
initiate anything", etc. (Every wonder why Nashville Police Department is grossly
understaffed?)
Remember you guard orders. Take responsibility for everything in view.
It is unfortunate how such persons are tolerated in the Armed Forces.
I am fortunate to work for a company that will not tolerate such persons.
They are very short staffed. So they will tolerate sleeping on the job, friends or
spouses visiting on the job site, but they won't tolerate cowards.
Frank Serpico wrote about such in the New York Police Department.
Corruption was tolerated, but never cowardice.
“To those who have fought for it,
freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”
― P. McCree Thornton
ARRL Alabama State Convention
at the Huntsville Hamfest
Von Braun Center, 700 Monroe St., Huntsville, Alabama
Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 9 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday, August 17, 2025 | 9 AM to 3 PM
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
Cryptology
Signals Intelligence
Intelligence
Religion and Politics
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Appleseed pistol clinic at Top Gun in Memphis, TN
May I enthusiastically recommend the Project Appleseed rifle and pistol clinics for you?
Find an event near you,
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
Tom Givens' post
Don't be Ignorant, Lazy, Naïve, or Complacent. Because it will get you killed.
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 31 Cases During January 2025"
Please support Crime Prevention Research Center,
I wouldn't ask you to donate, if I didn't.
“My grandfather, a cop and blooded gunfighter, was present one night when
I was a small child and had a nightmare. My parents, of course, were dedicated
to calming me down and included the old canard of "there's no such thing as monsters"
in their assurances. My grandfather later sat me down and told me there were indeed
monsters in the world. "What makes 'em scary," he told me, "is they look like
everyone else. But if you keep your eye on 'em and be on your guard . . . sooner
or later, you'll see the mask slip." ”
-- Jay Winton
Tim McCord's post
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
John Murphy.
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
My [John Farnam] advice: Make decisions and move on. Don't look back.
Merely "deciding not to decide" is almost always contrary to your best interests.
"No Protection!" by John Farnam
“ ‘Cogito, ergo armatum sum:’ I think, therefore I am armed.”
-- John Farnam
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
Jason Crimmins's post
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
‷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
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
-- G.K. Chesterton
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills
are more important than your marksmanship skills.
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
"How to Actually Survive an Armed Robbery" by Tim Makay
Hat tip to Greg Ellifrtiz.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
"Ninjas?" by Clint Smith
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
[I think the reduction in crime is due to the deportation of criminal illegal aliens.
It's hard for me to believe that the situational awareness of the general population
has improved.
-- Jon Low]
"Strike! You're Out!
Look for the places where a bad guy might strike."
by Shelley Hill
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Situational Awareness: Practical Habits for Daily Vigilance"
by Jason Mosher
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Safariland blog,
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Situational Awareness – Everything You Need to Know" by Tom Marlowe
"Situational Awareness in the Time of Masks" by Tammy Bartels
"How to Maintain Your Situational Awareness and Avoid an Ambush"
by Jeff Gonzales
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"Top 4 Most Important Active Safety Systems
A tutorial on active safety systems, and what they do."
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
-- George MacDonald
Our “Unarmed Forces!” by John Farnam
---
"Gun-Free Zones Like Fort Stewart Invite Mass Shootings"
by John R. Lott, Jr.
---
When I was in the Marine Corps, I wore .45 ACP M1911A1s in shoulder
holsters when I worked in the armory, I wore 1911s in duty belt holsters when
I worked in the communications center (the classified kind), I wore the
Beretta 92 FS (military designation M9) in 9mm when I worked as a military
policeman. When I was an artillery forward observer we carried rifles.
When I was in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we were noncombatant advisors.
So we were not supposed to have arms. But everyone did.
So I was fortunate to almost always be armed.
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
"Man Shot by Deputy after Calling 911" by Claude Werner
* Half of the problem is that -
Law enforcement officers are NOT highly trained. Sorry, but that's just the truth.
The agencies that they work for don't have the budget or time to train their officers
to the level that you and I have.
There are officers who train on their own time and their own dime. (I have met
a few.) But they are extremely rare. The vast majority of officers won't attend
training unless their agency orders them to attend and pays for everything (salary,
round trip air fare, hotel, rental car, per diem, etc.). How many agencies are willing
to do that?
* The other half of the problem is that -
Gun owners are NOT highly trained. So the 79 year old man obeyed the orders
of the 911 dispatcher and walked out into sight of the law enforcement officer with
a pistol in his hand. No trained gun owner would do such a thing.
The 79 year old man didn't know what he didn't know (the myriad of things he
would have learned in training if he had attended the training, if he had taken the
time to get training, if he had paid for the training). Much of what he knew was
false (believing that obeying the 911 dispatcher was a good idea or the correct
thing to do). It's good to have the answers before the law enforcement officer
shoots you.
---
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)
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"Using Blanks in Scenario Training" by Greg Ellifritz
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Preventing Police Training Deaths" by Greg Ellifritz
Excerpt:
"The primary problem is that the very nature of police work is changing.
Those changes have led to lots of well trained officers resigning to take jobs
in the private sector or retiring. Fewer folks are applying for the vacant job
openings. Police agencies are hiring officers that would have been summarily
passed over and rejected for employment even five years ago just because
they need bodies on the street to answer calls. As experienced and capable
officers leave the profession, they are being replaced by untrained and poorer
quality officer candidates. The departments lose lots of “institutional memory”
about best practices in training as those experienced officers and trainers
leave their positions."
The problem is best summarized by Julio Santiago:
“Leadership, like courage, isn’t found in any test and is not easily learned.
It is a quality that can only be evaluated by others possessing the same
quality- and that’s the crunch. There aren’t enough leaders out there. So the
managers and the incompetents are choosing those most like themselves
because that’s what they most easily recognize.”
"Don’t financially support trainers who refuse to take your safety seriously."
"Your cop friends may mean well,
but most don’t have adequate training to ensure that you don’t get shot.
Just say “no.” "
---
"And yet another innocent training participant shot dead in scenario based training –
CLICK LINKS BELOW FOR SAFETY PROTOCOLS TO HELP PREVENT
THESE THINGS"
by Ken Murray
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"WiFi jammers and school security tech
Panic buttons, emergency notification apps, VOIP radios, CCTV cameras, attack drones,
and all types of school security systems depend on having a wifi signal to operate."
by David Riedman
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Greg Ellifritz's comment --
We know that higher end burglary/robbery gangs are already using these to
defeat alarms. Are they going to be the active killer’s next tactical advance?
---
Jon Low's comment --
Real "industrial strength" / "military grade" jammers, especially the Russian jammers
(which have flooded the market), are available on the open market (not black market,
not grey market). So they are easy to get and cheap.
They are the best defense against drone attacks. Ya, I know there are wire guided
drones. But not many have that technology and the wires (fiber optic, fused silicon,
wires ain't that long).
Ya, I know jamming can be defeated by error correction coding, spread spectrum,
frequencies outside the jamming spectrum, etc. But not many have that technology.
Jammers will always be ahead in the arms race, because they are dumb. [That's why
I carry a dumb phone, not a smart phone.]
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Dangerous Places!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
This wanton attack on an innocent couple by a gang of local thugs was nearly fatal,
but as is the case in all blue cities, police response was slow and disinterested.
No ambulance was summoned for the female victim, who was suffering from a
significant head injury.
Police took very few statements from witnesses, then departed. Victims were left
at the scene.
---
"Cincinnati Mayor's Press Conference: VICTIMS Should Be Arrested?!"
by TheDC Shorts
---
In Nashville, TN, the police never show up. They are short staffed. If you're lucky,
they will call on the Sheriff to respond for them. But in Nashville, only the police
handle criminal complaints. The Sheriff deputies only serve papers. You think I'm
joking.
Women for Gun Rights
Excerpt:
Most critically, she notes, “A law-abiding citizen with a firearm stopped the attack
before more people were stabbed . . . a proverbial ‘good guy’ with a gun stopped a
‘bad guy’ with a knife. When seconds count, police are often minutes away, and that
reality was evident in Traverse City.”
---
"Armed Marine veteran stops Michigan Walmart stabbing suspect
Derrick Perry held knife-wielding man at gunpoint without firing
a shot until authorities arrived"
by Stephen Sorace
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
"5 mistakes women make at the range...and how to avoid them 🔫 🛑✋"
by Stav
The physical and emotional. The mindset shift is huge to allow you to
improve.
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
After Action Report on the "Technical Awareness" class taught by John Johnston.
Facebook.com post by Marcin Krzysztof Porwit.
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your drawstroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"Find Your Speed – The Three Keys" by Mike Seeklander
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
Most shooters go to the range with zero plan,
and leave with that same amount of improvement.
"There are three different areas, or disciplines,
in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Each is equally important, and you must be at least
competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
"Self-Defense Myths That Just Won’t Die: 11 Experts Weigh-In"
by Melody Lauer
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
[I don't know why Claude says that Hick's Law is discredited. The original paper
is well written. I don't know of any papers in the literature that conflict with Hick's
paper. (Yes, I have done a literature search.) Hick's conclusions seem obvious to me:
the fewer decisions you have to make, the faster you process,
the fewer options you have to choose from when making a decision, the faster you process.
Hick, W. E. (1952), “On the Rate of Gain of Information”,
Quarterly
Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 4, p11-26.
https://www2.psychology.uiowa.edu/faculty/mordkoff/InfoProc/pdfs/Hick%201952.pdf
-- Jon Low]
“If you want to protect yourself,” says Jackson, “you actually have to learn how to
protect yourself.”
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Adjusting Your Firearms Training As You Age
Failing eyes and aching joints are just two of the obstacles to effective training."
by Anne Marlowe Conrad
“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
"Using Blanks in Scenario Training" by Greg Ellifritz
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men." -- Robert A. Heinlein
I admit the following are not too useful as they decline to identify the instructor
or the school.
---
"Lessons Learned at The Worst Firearms Training Class I’ve Ever Attended"
by Justin
---
"I Walked Out of Class, Here’s Why" by Daniel Reedy
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
Joe Rogan explaining why you must carry and use tools.
You can't avoid the bad guys. You can't prevent the bad guys from killing you.
Unless you have tools (which means you must carry them, always)
and know how to use the tools (which means you must get training and practice).
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
"People don't train" by Ben Stoeger
Get on a program. Establish a goal and work toward achieving it.
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
"Presscheck’s No Fail Pistol" by John Hearne
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
Pete Hegseth.
Training in the civilian world is where you teach the student
to improve the student's performance.
Training in the Armed Forces is a weeding out process to remove
those who cannot cope with the hardships of combat (without subjecting
the student to actual combat).
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"The Way is in Training Podcast Episode 225:
John Holschen - Green Beret and Firearms Instructor"
by Greybeard Actual
Movement is different depending on the purpose.
If you have no experience fighting, you may be measuring the wrong metric.
How to defeat the 2 to 4 second lag time.
How to defeat tunnel vision.
Perceptual speed. Can you perceive the things in the environment? If not,
you're going to be shooting friendlies and bystanders.
Shooting speed vs. decision making speed. Shooting is much faster than decision making.
If you are using iron sights and front sight focus, you won't see the visual stimulus.
This is true. I have noticed it when I was using the Nuro System with Dustin Salomon
and when I was using Nuro with John Holschen. But this is not just iron sights and front
sight focus. With any pistol, your field of view is blocked by your hands and pistol when
shooting the bad guy. So you can't see his waistline or his hands if they are hidden by your
hands and pistol.
Changing your mind and what you teach for good reason is growth. It's all about
growth, not dogma. That's why it is so important to take classes from other instructors.
[Take classes from Matt Little.
As he says, he only has 4 or 5 years left. I assure you
that taking a class from him (and his wife who assists him) will be well worth your time.
I traveled to the Guardian Conference to take a class from him. -- Jon Low]
The YouTube.com channel,
---
West Coast Armory North, John Holschen
---
Dustin Salomon
---
"Building Shooters:
Applying Neuroscience Research to Tactical Training System Design and
Training Delivery"
by Dustin Salomon
ISBN-10 : 195259409X
ISBN-13 : 978-1952594090
"Mentoring Shooters:
The Gun Owner's Guide to Building a Firearms Culture of Safety and
Personal Responsibility"
by Dustin P. Salomon and Mark Walters
ISBN-10 : 0692890564
ISBN-13 : 978-0692890561
"On Training: Volume 1" by Dustin Salomon
"On Training: Volume 2" by Dustin Salomon
"Hitting in Combat: The Brain Science of Training to Win Gunfights" by Dustin Salomon
"Becoming Shooters: A Guide For New Gun Owners" by Dustin Salomon
ISBN-10 : 195259412X
ISBN-13 : 978-1952594120
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
"Awareness, Agility, and De-Escalation" by Dustin Salomon
"Be the Bull of the Herd: A Better Warrior Metaphor
The failure of the sheepdog model—and what evolution really says about protectors"
by Matt Larsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Gun Derangement Syndrome, or GDS, is a severe mental disorder
characterized by irrational beliefs and behaviors despite objective evidence."
by Virginia Citizens Defense League
Do you know someone suffering from Gun Derangement Syndrome?
Gun Derangement Syndrome, or GDS, is a severe mental disorder characterized
by irrational beliefs and behaviors despite objective evidence. There is no age, sex,
race, or other demographic characteristics that predispose someone to this disorder.
This insidious disorder can affect anyone. However, individual susceptibility can
occur with other irrational beliefs such as: criminals are the victims, the police cause
crime, the First Amendment includes government censorship, or disarming someone
makes them safer.
To receive a diagnosis of GDS one must meet 3 of the following diagnostic
criteria for at least 21 days.
A belief that merely owning a gun can turn any good, honest person into a
deranged killer.
A belief that a gun can plan a crime and carry it out by walking to a victim’s
location, aiming itself, and pulling its own trigger.
An obsession with firearms such that they use a gun-centric vocabulary.
For example, if they use “gun violence,” but not machete violence, beating
violence, or strangling violence. Or they use “gunman,” but not macheteman,
beatingman, or stranglingman.
A belief that the gun, and not the criminal holding the gun, is responsible
for shooting someone, while also believing that a police officer, and not his gun,
is responsible for shooting someone.
A belief that all gun owners are “gun nuts.”
A belief that guns are so easily obtained that guns are found lying in the street.
Or they believe that guns are easier to obtain than a book. Or they believe that
guns are only designed to kill humans as fast as possible.
Having anger-management issues and falsely projecting that character flaw
onto peaceful gun-owners.
Knowing absolutely nothing about guns, including how they work, but claim
to be an expert on “gun safety.” They usually believe that guns “just go off”
on their own. They often call for a ban on “assault weapons” or “barrel shrouds”,
but they can’t give you a definition of either one. They use gun word-salads,
like banning “high-velocity magazine clips,” to attempt to hide their ignorance.
Stating that an openly carried gun makes them afraid but then say that a gun
carried concealed makes them afraid.
Holding innocent gun owners to blame for the misuse of guns by criminals,
while not holding themself to blame for owning a car, which drunk drivers use
to create horrible carnage on our roads.
Stating a magazine limitation of “X” rounds is safe, but they are unable to
explain how having “X+1” rounds would be dangerous.
Complaining about the loud noise coming from a neighbor’s shooting range
but stating that suppressors should be outlawed because they make guns quieter.
Additional Note: This diagnosis may coincide with other personality disorders
and maladaptive personality traits. Individuals meeting the diagnosis of
Gun Derangement Syndrome may be strongly influenced by other irrational
sub-cultural beliefs. Resistance may be very strong during treatment.
The good news is that GDS is not necessarily a lifetime disorder! A person
with GDS can cure themself by getting to know a few gun owners, getting
educated on guns and gun safety, and making a trip to the range! Alternatively,
you can reach out to someone with GDS to help free them from GDS’s grip.
---
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"A question of perfection." by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Wednesday, August 13th, 2025
One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God is actually very simple.
It goes like this: since existence is more perfect than non-existence, and since
God is the most perfect of all beings, it is inconceivable that He could be both
perfect and non-existent. Ergo, God exists.
It's an interesting little argument that – to me – carries a number of practical
lessons. Foremost among these is a learned preference for what actually is over
and above what is ideal. And since what actually is often falls short of the ideal,
it's also a learned preference for the imperfect – which has the benefit of existing
– over the imperfect – which is slightly ironic, given the argument from which it
was derived.
This is important news for perfectionists. Sometimes it is better for something
to be done than for something to be perfect. Putting something out into the world
– warts and all – is often preferable to waiting to action until we've arrived at some
form of perfection. And that could be due to the fact that perfection only arises in
the act of becoming something.
Warmly,
Orion
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
Stagnation is complacency. Complacency kills.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
The Bulletproof House of Worship Safety Conference
Poster,
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO, SEPTEMBER 18 - 20, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, OCTOBER 17, 2025
TFALAC’s 2025 Annual Event
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Farm Bureau Expo Center at the
James E. Ward Agricultural Center on the
Wilson County Fairgrounds.
945 East Baddour Parkway
Lebanon, Tennessee 37087
Bullets & Bibles Conference, $750
Friday, September 12, 2025 – Sunday, September 14, 2025
Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
For more information about lodging (free lodging in the dorms) on site or
meals (3 meals a day included in registration fee) or
if you have any questions regarding the event,
contact our Bullets & Bibles Conference Coordinator,
Vonda Copeland
director@fhftc.org
or call 785-293-2449.
Guardian Conference, $800
September 19th - 21st, 2025
in Oklahoma City, OK.
40th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference! Free.
Sept. 26 - 28 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the
Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek.
Combatives Association Summit, $899.00
October 24 - 26, 2025
D'Iberville, Mississippi
Register at
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, $639
TacCon26 is scheduled for
March 27-29, 2026
at the Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Texas
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required to avoid teaching
obsolete material, and to ensure you are teaching best practices.
Free Law of Self Defense seminar
August 16 at 1PM Eastern.
Firearms Instructor Development, $795
Fri, Aug 22, 2025, 9:00 AM CDT – Sun, Aug 24, 2025, 6:00 PM CDT
Royal Range, 7741 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN, USA
Applied Defensive Handgun Skills - Ogden UT, John Holschen
Date: August 30-31, 2025
Facility: Weber Country Shooting Sports Complex
Location: 2446 Rulon White Blvd, Ogden UT 84404
Cognitive Conclave, $550
Erick Gelhaus, John Hearne, John Holschen, and Lee Weems
Date/Time: October 25-26, 2025. 8:00am - 5:00pm
Facility: Red Hill Range
Location: 2238 Toms Creek Rd, Martin GA 30577
"Just Get Home!" by John Murphy, $495.00
use code "JGH HOME RANGE" for $95 discount, total $400.
Saturday - 11/1/2025 to Sunday - 11/2/2025
Time: 0830-1700
Duration: 5 hours video "view ahead", 16 hours practical experience and range time
Location: Citizen-Defender Home Range (Culpeper, VA)
"Advanced Defensive Handgun" by John Farnam
08 - 09 November 2025 A.D.
Nashville, TN (well, actually a bit north in Cross Plains, TN)
Venue: Deer Hollow Fire Arms Training
https://deerhollowfirearmstraining.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paladin Tower Tactics (Scott Willey)
Massad Ayoob Group
Blog
West Coast Armory North, John Holschen
Law of Self Defense, live online class upcoming dates
September 27, 2025
TFI Academy (Keith Tyler)
Training in Context (Tatiana Whitlock)
Active Response Training (Greg Ellifritz)
Upcoming Classes- August and September 2025
Make taking a class from Greg a high priority on your list. Because,
he has deep insight.
Modern Warriors
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Virginia Private Firearms Training (for private lessons), John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Classes,
Mike Seeklander
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.
"Your speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Practice your shooting by doing exactly the same thing,
exactly the same way, every time, until it is completely automatic."
-- Duaine Zeitz
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
Everyone wants to win. Few are willing to put in the practice to ensure their win.
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
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
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory."
-- Jeff Gonzales
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- Sara Ahrens, ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it.
"Never let fear decide your fate." -- Nicola Cavanis
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided at all costs
and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand
weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest
gun for you to access, if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
“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.)
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"Bell Curve for Trigger Techniques" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Fastest, least accurate - "trigger slap", the finger completely releases the trigger,
losing contact with the trigger.
Medium - "trigger weld", releasing the trigger to the forward stop position,
never losing contact with the trigger.
Slowest, most accurate - "catching the sear", releasing the trigger just enough
to reset the trigger, finger never loses contact with the trigger, trigger does not
go all the way forward to the stop position.
---
Mastering these techniques is far more difficult than you might expect.
It takes a lot of practice before you are doing what you think you are doing.
High speed video will reveal the difference between perception and reality.
So be patient with yourself and expect 2000 diligent intentional repetitions
of dry practice.
In order to get your pistol to "fire" in dry practice and "reset", you must
hold your slide out of battery with shims. The amount is different for every
pistol (not just ever type of pistol). This may take a lot of experimentation.
My Springfield Armory XD Tactical requires 2 sheets of standard writing
paper between the chamber and the face of the slide at the top of the ejection
port. My Ruger American requires a paper clip wrapped around the end of
the recoil spring guide rod, about an eighth of an inch out of battery. My
Glock 21 requires a 2 / 1000th inch steel shim. Don't expect your out of
battery measurement to be anywhere close to mine. Every pistol is different,
because mass produced pistols do not have close tolerances.
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"Why This Old-School Trick Drops Even the Biggest Opponents"
by Tim Larkin
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"A Quick History Of Modern Pistol Stances" by Kevin Creighton
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
Yesterday, Friday, 8/8/2025, I took an Appleseed pistol class. Beside the pistol
instruction, a lecture on Revolutionary War history was given during the lunch break.
We did a drill where someone else randomly charged your magazine with 3 or 4
live rounds and 3 or 4 dummy rounds. So the student didn't know where the dummies
were. (To convince the student that he was flinching, in case he had decieved himself
into thinking that he didn't flinch.)
We then did a drill where the students charged their magazines with alternating
live and dummy rounds. So the student knew were the dummies were.
We then did a live fire drill where the instructor told us to pretend / believe /
shoot as if, the round in the chamber were a dummy round. The psychological
effect was astounding. I highly recommend you try this drill. Don't skip any steps.
"Denn jedes Mal, wenn was geht, ist Platz für Neues.
Und wenn es gestern nicht sein soll, dann klappt es heut 🦋"
-- Nicola Cavanis
There are many techniques for doing any given task.
Search and experiment until you find one that works for you.
*********************************************************************
|
|
*********************************************************************
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
In case you don't understand what is happening in the United Kingdom.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
You must 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
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Survival is not based solely on technique. Survivability may hinge on the use
of the correct technique appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"Weekend Knowledge Dump- August 15, 2025" by Greg Ellifritz
Armed Lifestyle
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"William Aprill Tribute Page" by Personal Defense Network Editors
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical 12ga Autoloading Shotgun"
by John Farnam
Can you figure out the technique? Compare your answer to the one in John's
video.
Women for Gun Rights Newsletter - July 2025
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
Active Self Protection, John Correia
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
"Weekend Knowledge Dump- August 8, 2025"
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
“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
Free Law of Self Defense seminar
August 16 at 1PM Eastern.
" ‘Shoot first, kill first’- Trinidad Defence Minister
advises gun owners to deal harshly with intruders"
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
Defence Minister Wayne Sturge is advising constituents and citizens that during
a home invasion, they can shoot first and “explain yourself after.” He says that
provision, among others, will be available under the proposed stand-your-ground
legislation the United National Congress Government is seeking to enact. He says
another measure would allow a victim to defend themselves against an intruder
before they are even physically attacked. Sturge made the stunning comments
during a stand-your-ground consultation at the Sangre Grande Civic Centre on Tuesday.
“You don’t have to wait to see what the attacker is going to do. You don’t have to
wait to see if he pulls a gun or a cutlass or anything like this. You can, once you
honestly believe that you are under attack, or that an attack is about to take place,
or is imminent — as they say here — once you believe an attack is imminent,
you can strike first. You can strike first and kill first,” Sturge said.
"Victory for attorneys who waved guns at BLM protesters
as they are rewarded after five-year battle"
by Samantha Rutt
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"FANTASTIC BREAKING NEWS:
MASSIVE TRUMP LEGAL WIN ROCKS WOKE LEFT..."
by Mark W. Smith
BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard.
Anti-trust proxy votes. Destroying the coal industry. Index funds.
"4 men arrested following failed ATM theft in Murfreesboro that led to deadly shooting"
by Colleen Guerry
I mention this because it is local to me and that unlike Murfreesboro, Nashville
forbids license plate readers. Nashville is very pro-criminal. That's why crime is so
high in Nashville.
"Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Homemade Guns Don’t Require Serial Numbers"
by Benjamin Owen
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"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
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
"Conducting a First-Time Class for Beginner Female Shooters" by Robert McLeod
Yesterday, Friday, 8/8/2025, I took an Appleseed pistol class. Beside the pistol
instruction, a lecture on Revolutionary War history was given during the lunch break.
We did a drill where someone else randomly charged your magazine with 3 or 4
live rounds and 3 or 4 dummy rounds. So the student didn't know where the dummies
were. (To convince the student that he was flinching, in case he had decieved himself
into thinking that he didn't flinch.)
We then did a drill where the students charged their magazines with alternating
live and dummy rounds. So the student knew were the dummies were.
We then did a live fire drill where the instructor told us to pretend / believe /
shoot as if, the round in the chamber were a dummy round. The psychological
effect was astounding. I highly recommend you try this drill. Don't skip any steps.
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
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
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"You don't have to memorize formulae.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
[So teach principles, not formulae.]
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
"Your curriculum needs to be recent, relevant, and realistic."
-- Austin Killmer
*************************************************************************
----- Students -----
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Yesterday, Friday, 8/8/2025, I took an Appleseed pistol class. Beside the pistol
instruction, a lecture on Revolutionary War history was given during the lunch break.
We did a drill where someone else randomly charged your magazine with 3 or 4
live rounds and 3 or 4 dummy rounds. So the student didn't know where the dummies
were. (To convince the student that he was flinching, in case he had decieved himself
into thinking that he didn't flinch.)
We then did a drill where the students charged their magazines with alternating
live and dummy rounds. So the student knew were the dummies were.
We then did a live fire drill where the instructor told us to pretend / believe /
shoot as if, the round in the chamber were a dummy round. The psychological
effect was astounding. I highly recommend you try this drill. Don't skip any steps.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
[If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you. If you are vague, no one can help you.]
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
"Self-Defense is Open Division"
-- Jeremy Clough
"Handguns for Women and Men With Small Hands"by Travis Pike
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Ported barrels will shoot hot gas and burning powder into your face when fired
from a close contact / retention position.
Small hand size probably means using a 9mm single stack pistol. That's okay.
Proper grip means accuracy, which is more important than number of rounds carried
or power of the rounds carried.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Pairs and Spares
Sometimes, one handgun just isn’t enough"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"If you’ve had to use your defensive handgun for its intended purpose,
it’s going into evidence and it’s going to be there for a while."
---
I, Jon Low, usually have 3 (sometimes as many as 5) Springfield Armory XD
Tacticals in 45 Auto. (I buy police trade ins from OfficerStore.com.) Because,
there is so much I have to do to get it in condition to carry. A mass produced
pistol will not fit you, because you are different from every other human on this
planet. I don't know what you will need to do.
The following is what I must do:
Grind the trigger guard to under cut and thin where it meets the grip, to avoid
Glock knuckle. If you don't shoot much, you'll never notice this. But if you do
shoot a lot in a short time (a one-day Appleseed class for instance), it will be very
painful and disfiguring. [Some people are proud and brag of this painful lump
on their middle finger joint. That is just stupidity.]
Grind the tang under the beaver tail to avoid irritation of the sesamoid bone
at the base of the firing-hand thumb. Especially necessary for persons with arthritis.
Machine out the rear sight by 2 hundredths of an inch (20 thousandths of an inch),
a hundredth on each side, to allow enough light to get around the front sight to be
usable in low light conditions. (Self-defense pistols come from the factory for use
in well lit air conditioned indoor ranges or outdoor ranges in day light conditions.)
[If you are scattering your shots horizontally, it may be that your rear sight is too
narrow. You can't center your front sight in your rear sight. But because your sights
are constantly wobbling, you don't notice the fact that when the front sight is
centered in the rear sight notch, there is no light on either side of the front sight.
So you are unconsciously wiggling the pistol side to side to see light on both sides
of the front sight. Your brain is accommodating for the rear sight being too narrow.
This has to do with your vision, the length of your arms, the sight radius (distance
between the front and rear sight), and lighting conditions.]
Replace all magazine springs. Because the ones that come from the factory
with the pistol are junk (got to keep the price point low enough for you to decide
to buy the pistol in the first place). Wolff is a good replacement. They are usually
about 10% stronger than the ones that come with the pistol, and last much longer.
(Well, actually Glock magazine springs are good from the factory, if you buy the
magazines separately from the pistol.)
Machine serrations (or stippling) on the sides of the slide to ensure purchase
when you need to manipulate the slide; especially when the slide is slippery from
fresh blood (or soapy water in class) or sticky from drying blood (or honey in class).
Marine modification (that's what the Glock armorers in the military call it).
[Yes, some guys in the military use Glocks, because they can use whatever they
want to. When I was in, they used the Glocks in 45 Auto and the Kimbers in 45 Auto.]
Machine the internals of the firing mechanism to ensure that the pistol will fire
after being submerged in water (or other fluids). Basically, cut grooves to allow
water to drain and not obstruct the firing mechanism.
Grind the front bottom of the grip to ensure enough of the magazine is exposed
to allow reliable extraction of the magazine. No, as a matter of fact, the magazine
will not always drop free by itself under the acceleration of gravity nor under
centripetal acceleration (no matter how hard you snap your wrist).
You might be upside down. Your pistol might have fine sand in the magazine well.
Your pistol grip might have been crushed by an amtrack (amphibious tractor,
not the train) running over it.
I could go on for pages, but you get the idea.
Check out police trade ins at Grab-A-Gun.
In preparation for the Bullets and Bibles conference in Manhattan, KS
I was cleaning my gear. I noticed that my Glock 21 (45 caliber full size) magazines
felt soft compared to a new magazine that I had bought a couple of days ago.
So I changed all the magazine springs. Yes, I keep lots of replacement springs on
hand, not just for me, student malfunctions are often the fault of the magazine spring.
I keep the springs in the original package from Wolff, so I know which magazine the
springs are for (same with ammunition, keep it in the original box).
Then I noticed that some of the followers would get stuck and not go all the way
up after the last round was expended. Upon inspection, I found that the plastic,
molded around the steel, was protruding into the magazine body. So I took a box
cutter and trimmed the excess plastic around the mouth of the magazine.
When I was in the Marine Corps, we would often sit around and clean our weapons.
It was obvious which Marines had been in combat and which had not.
Clean and inspect your gear as your life depends on it. Set the example.
"Understanding Holster Retention Levels
What do the different levels of holster retention mean, and which level is right for you?"
by Jo Deering
"A Simple Guide to Red-Dot Footprints
Why doesn’t every red-dot site fit on every gun? What do I need to buy?"
by Jo Deering
Explosive: New Patent Claims Fix For "Incomplete, Unsafe" 320 Design
by Protraband
"18/650,917 | AST-2L:FIREARM SAFETY WITH SEAR BLOCK"
Patent document,
Search for US-20250164203-A1 here; (make sure to use the Basic Search "For" field)
---
"Sig's Troubles Get Worse | Bans, Secret Documents" by Liberty Doll
Liberty Doll will be at the GOALS event this Saturday at 11:00 at the Ammo Squared
booth and of course at the panel discussion meeting.
---
"The Document Sig Sauer Doesn’t Want You to See About the P320"
by Practical Shooting Insights
Hat tip to Liberty Doll.
---
"The Smoking Gun: Is THIS The Document SIG Sauer Does Not Want You To See?"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
Jared gives the names of the corrupt government bureaucrats that approved the
Sig P320 contract. Outstanding! 18:36.
Steffanie Easter, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics, and Technology.
Col. Steven Power, Project Manager for Armament Systems /
Project Manager of Medium and Large Caliber,
Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition.
(Lt. Col. at the time he signed the documents.)
---
"P320 scandal gets worse: Did the Pentagon hide deadly flaws?"
by Legally Armed America
Steffanie Easter, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics, and Technology.
Col. Steven Power, Project Manager for Armament Systems /
Project Manager of Medium and Large Caliber,
Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition.
(Lt. Col. at the time he signed the documents.)
---
Effective 8/8/2025, Project Appleseed has suspended all variants of the
SIG-Sauer P320/M17/M18 pistols from our Pistol Clinics.
---
IDPA's post banning the Sig P320
---
Email from Stephen P. Wenger, dated 1 August 2025 A.D. --
Meanwhile, yesterday in Massachusetts:
“A Cambridge police officer and his legal team convinced a federal jury that the
SIG Sauer P320 pistol was defectively designed and caused him injury when it
unintentionally discharged while on-duty, but he won’t receive the damages he
sought in the case. Jacques Desrosiers won’t receive any “actual, compensatory,
and punitive damages” after the jury sided with SIG that the officer “voluntarily
and unreasonably used the P320 pistol knowing that it was defective and
dangerous,” according to the verdict form.
[Wait a minute! That means Sig argued in court that Jacques Desrosiers “voluntarily
and unreasonably used the P320 pistol knowing that it was defective and dangerous”.
-- Jon Low]
“While we are disappointed he won’t be getting any compensatory damages,
we are happy that a jury now for the third straight time has found the P320 is
defectively designed and those defects caused Officer Desrosier’s injury,” said
attorney Robert W. Zimmerman, of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, which represents
hundreds of injured SIG Sauer gun owners. Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky said
“the Cambridge, Mass., Police Department had four unintended discharges after
the department switched to the P320. According to the complaint, Desrosiers had
his department-issued P320 secured to his belt when it unintentionally discharged
while walking toward the police station in October 2019.”
---
"Gun Engineers Reveal True Cause Of The P320 Uncommanded Discharges"
by TriggerSmart
"Ultimate Car Holster Test | THE TRUTH!" by PHLster
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"Gun guys and car guys aren't too intelligent."
---
A car holster is a really bad idea.
Antiques that are not classified as firearms.
"US Marshals Service Drops SIG P320"
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News (Jared Yanis)
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"For out of olde feldes, as men seith,
Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere;
And out of olde bokes, in good feith,
Cometh al this newe science that men lere."
-- Chaucer
"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
"If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it;
for it is hard to be sought out, and difficult."
-- Heraclitus
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"A counter example to the Mizohata-Takeuchi Conjecture - OARS"
by Hannah Cairo
The paper,
"A Counterexample to the Mizohata-Takeuchi Conjecture"
by Hannah Cairo
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"Bright and dark states of light: The quantum origin of classical interference"
by Celso J. Villas-Boas, Carlos E. Maximo, Paulo J. Paulino, Romain P. Bachelard,
and Gerhard Rempe
---
"Did We Get the Double Slit Experiment All Wrong?" by Sabine Hossenfelder
---
States of the light particle, as opposed to wave superposition. Get it?
"They say that habit is second nature.
Who knows but nature is only first habit?"
-- Blaise Pascal
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"There is nothing more profitable for a man than to take good counsel with himself;
for even if the event turns out contrary to one's hopes,
still one's decision was right even though fortune has made it of no effect;
whereas if a man acts contrary to good counsel, although, being lucky, he gets what he
had no right to expect, his decision was not any the less fallacious."
-- Herodotus
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
Excerpt from "Mathematics and the Imagination" by Edward Kasner and James R. Newman --
The Chevalier de Méré, euphemistically called a "gaming philosopher" of the seventeenth
century, desired some information about the division of stakes at games of dice. He directed
his inquiries to one of the ablest mathematicians of all time --- the gentle and devoutly
religious Blaise Pascal. Pascal, in turn, wrote to an even more celebrated mathematician,
the Parliamentary Town Councilor of Toulouse, Pierre de Fermat, and in the correspondence
that ensued, the theory of probability first saw the light of day.
Pascal could not forbear from a mild rebuke of De Méré, not because he was a gambler,
but for the more serious reason that De Méré was not a mathematician:
“Car, il a trés bon esprit,” (Pascal wrote to Fermat) “mais il n’est pas géomètre; c’est
comme vous savez un grand défaut.”
[Translation by Shelly,
"Because he has great spirit but it's not a survey; it's as you know, a big flaw."
Shelly did not know the context. She did not know what question was being
answered. Translation is a very difficult thing.]
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
Sir Isaac Newton and Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz independently developed
the differnetial and integral calculus. Conflicting claims of priority raged in Europe for
more than a century.
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
Music Theory
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
--George Washington
"Spilling the tea: why men will walk away" by PsycHacks (Orion Taraban, Psy.D.)
Excerpt:
"I hope the irony isn't lost on you."
---
Do you understand why this is in the Sig Int section. Yes, this app is a copy
from the U.S. SigInt community. Yes, there are bureaucrats that stupid. And
they are still working in the community. They haven't been fired. They have
been promoted. Taraban is trying to out them.
---
What is the result of the "Me Too" movement (and other movements like it),
the TEA app (and apps like it), and similar such things? To reduce the number
of men asking women out on dates. Which reduces relationships resulting in
procreation. Which reduces the birthrate. Which changes the population make
up (number of persons in each age group).
---
"TEA APP info leaked and the women that judge men sure are . . . SPECIAL"
by Better Bachelor
"WiFi jammers and school security tech
Panic buttons, emergency notification apps, VOIP radios, CCTV cameras, attack drones,
and all types of school security systems depend on having a wifi signal to operate."
by David Riedman
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Real "industrial strength" / "military grade" jammers, especially the Russian jammers
(which have flooded the market), are available on the open market (not black market,
not grey market). So they are easy to get and cheap.
They are the best defense against drone attacks. Ya, I know there are wire guided
drones. But not many have that technology and the wires (fiber optic, fused silicon,
wires ain't that long).
Ya, I know jamming can be defeated by error correction coding, spread spectrum,
frequencies outside the jamming spectrum, etc. But not many have that technology.
Jammers will always be ahead in the arms race, because they are dumb. [That's why
I carry a dumb phone, not a smart phone.]
"Crypto-Gram August 15, 2025"
by Bruce Schneier
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
"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
"Ukrainian raid behind enemy lines kills 330 Russian troops" by Billy Roberts
Note unit designations. Always cite open source, even when the indirect correlation
is questionable. No sense getting accused of leaking.
"Russia Just Responded to Trump’s Nuclear Submarine Deployment" by Stephen Silver
There is no journalism, there is only propaganda. Note the tone.
"Ukraine says it stole intel from the Russian Navy and
found weak points in its newest nuclear missile submarine"
by Jake Epstein
Hat tip to Docent.
May I invite your attention to
"Donald Trump brokers a peace plan in the Caucasus" by The Economist
Sorry, I can't find a free URL.
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
The Dispatch
"StrategyPage"
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Religion and Politics ***** ***** *****
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
Dave Chappell explains.
Andrew Branca points out the difference between the parties.
Primary source,
"Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans" by Sydney Sweeney
(Compilation to Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ads.)
* Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans.
"Sydney Sweeney Shows Off Her Skills at the Shooting Range |
Taran Tactical Innovations" by Sydney Sweeney
* Sydney Sweeney has Great Aim.
"SYDNEY SWEENEY has great SPLITS"
by Taran Tactical
* Sydney Sweeney has Great Splits.
"Sydney Sweeney outrage taken to NEW LEVEL" by Fox News
* Sydney Sweeney is a Great Republican.
In case you don't understand Al Gore.
'Real Time' Crowd Goes Quiet as Bill Maher Puts Al Gore In His Place
by The Rubin Report
Have you heard of Al Jazeera?
Al Gore is responsible for Al Jazeera's expansion into our television networks.
Al Jazeera is sponsored by Qatar. Qatar generates their wealth by selling oil.
Do you see the hypocrisy?
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer at his best.
Explaining the difference between a democracy and a republic.
Rewriting history, because it was politically incorrect (God you know).
In case you don't understand NPR.
Never let anyone tell you that the FBI is corrupt as all get out.
Email from Patriot Post --
FBI firings: Critics call it a "purge," while others point out that the FBI director
can make personnel decisions as he sees fit. Either way, if there is corruption in
the FBI, it needs to be rooted out, and Kash Patel was appointed for that reason.
Former Acting Director Brian Driscoll is one of three FBI officials being let go.
The other two are Walter Giardina, who played a role in the investigation of former
Trump trade official Peter Navarro, and Steve Jensen, who served as acting director
of the Washington Field Office and was directly involved in the January 6
investigations. Although no official reasons have been given for the firings,
several sources tied it to their involvement in J6 prosecutions. More ousters are
expected at the bureau soon.
Email from Patriot Post --
Tennessee National Guard mobilized to help ICE: Patriotic state governors are
sending their National Guard units to assist ICE agents as mass deportations seem
to be ramping up.
Over 78,000 applications have been submitted to ICE since launching a
recruitment drive in late July, and now, even more support is on its way as
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has mobilized the National Guard to assist with mass
deportations. The mission is still being planned, but Guardsmen will aid with
administrative and clerical duties, as well as fingerprinting and DNA swabbing.
Florida is sending 200 National Guard personnel to back up nine ICE offices
in the state, with the first 25 already on the job. The National Guard in as many
as 20 states is poised to assist ICE in similar ways.
Email from Patriot Post --
Media runs interference for Fort Stewart attacker: Americans around the nation
are thankful that the assailant at Fort Stewart was subdued quickly on Wednesday
and that the victims are expected to recover, but the media coverage exposes their
priorities. CNN, CBS, ABC, NPR, the AP, and many other outlets rushed to cover
the story, but despite an early release of the attacker's mugshot, they didn't feature
it in any cover images. Not the Bee asks the question,
"Why are mainstream outlets unwilling to show the attacker?"
Conservatives and other observers will already know the answer:
the race of the attacker doesn't fit the desired narrative. Indeed, the sergeant was
a black man. Coverage of these kinds of attacks should be fairly uniform regardless
of race, but the Leftmedia often seems giddy to inform the public when the shooter
is white, or even "possibly white."
"DEI Fail: Why Black Women Are Leaving the Workforce in Droves
Maybe the DEI initiatives actually hurt minorities more than they helped them,
and now, the weaknesses in the woke system are coming to light."
by Caroline Downey
Government bureaucrats getting fired.
---
This trend is simultaneous with Black Women as the fastest growing demographic
of new gun owners. Do you understand?
"NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.)
Applauds President’s Executive Order Ending Banking Discrimination"
by Mark Oliva
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"India to issue gun licenses in Bangladesh border areas amid tensions"
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"Trust The Science" by Docent
Do you understand why this is in the Politics section? Don't kid yourself. It's political.
"Why There Are No Entry Level, Part Time Jobs For High Schoolers And College Students"
by Docent
In case you don't understand why we don't have supersonic commercial jet lines
(Noise? That's a silly, verging on stupid, argument.) and why there are no flights to
the moon (Actually, there is lots of stuff on the Moon that we could exploit.).
President Trump orders Pentagon to attack Mexican Drug Cartels.
This effectively means we are going to war with Mexico, since a
drug cartel put the present Mexican president in office.
D.C. Police Chief Doesn't Know Meaning Of "Chain of Command"
by Docent
"Ex-CIA Officer Reveals Why Jeffrey Epstein’s Death Was No Coincidence"
by Jason Hanson
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
"History teaches us that history teaches us nothing." -- James Bachmann
Rest In Peace Dave Harrington.
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
***************************** Begin Psychology ***********************
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"What would you do?"
Wednesday, August 6th, 2025
There are two excellent questions you can ask yourself in order to get some
perspective on your life. Both queries will recalibrate you toward what is important
and what you truly desire – which can deceptively difficult to determine.
The first question is, “what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?”
This line of thought is useful, as it reveals the extent to which you may be
held back by self-limiting beliefs and your own fearful expectations. People
often hide what they really want from themselves, because they've already
decided that it's not possible to attain. While this may defend you from pain,
it comes at the cost of confusion with respect to your priorities. It's generally
better to know what you want first, and then make a reality-based determination
as to whether you can get it – instead of the other way around.
The second question is, “what would you do if you knew you couldn't succeed?”
This sounds strange on the surface. However, the truth is that some things in life
are still worth striving for – even if you can't fully achieve them. The answer to
this question reveals where your deepest purpose lies and where the meaning of
your life is to be found. Find the highest mountain you can climb. Even if you
don't reach the summit, the ascent will justify the struggle.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Ask yourself the two questions. Listen to your answers.
-- Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Why men lose interest in sex: Habituation; or, the allure of the new"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Pet or partner?: you can't have it both ways" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
A partnership formed by persons of unequal competence or effort cannot succeed.
Superordinate goal, as opposed to a subordinate goal. Sometimes you have to
listen very carefully. Orion's prose are pretty dense (information density).
"Why men lose interest in sex: Love; or, where men love they do not desire"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Truth is difficult to find and usually expensive to get. That's why free news
broadcasts are worth what you paid for them. That's why peer reviewed journals
are so expensive (that's why you have to go to the library to read them). You
ever try to get access to a real intelligence report? Unless you're on the inside,
it's very expensive.
***************************** End Psychology ************************
Sydney Sweeney
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
The Warrior's Prayer
Dear God,
Please give us discernment to distinguish
friend from foe from innocent bystanders.
Give us clear vision so our aim is true.
Give us calm so we execute correctly.
Give us spiritual maturity so that we stop the attack
without excessive force, without revenge.
Amen
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