Greetings Sheepdogs,
If you have taken my Defensive Pistol course, you may remember the students
always getting stuck on the word "shibboleth" in one of the lectures. I noticed
that the word is no longer in my course. Do you remember which lecture that
word was in? I can't find it. Yes, the dementia progresses.
"Your compass is your values; they lead you to the road, which is vision,
and you are able to find your way using the road signs, called goals."
-- Dave Ramsey
I can't find my smallbore and air rifle books. If I loaned them to you, please
let me know. I'm going to need them for coaching the Montgomery Bell Academy
rifle team.
Can't remember shit.
"If ye love wealth better than liberty,
the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom,
go from us in peace.
May your chains sit lightly upon you,
and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"
-- Samuel Adams
"Don't have a gun? Buy one.
Don't know How to use it? Learn.
Don't believe in guns? Get ready to hide behind someone who does."
-- Charlie Daniels
Table of Contents:
Software ---
Prevention --
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention --
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention --
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education --
Legal
Instruction
Hardware ---
Gear
Intelligence ---
Counter Intelligence
Signals Intelligence
Cryptology
Politics and Religion ---
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
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***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
“To those who have fought for it,
freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”
― P. McCree Thornton
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“Then Jesus said to His disciples,
whoever does not have a sword should sell
his coat and buy a sword.”
– Book of Luke 22:36, New Life Version of the Bible
This is a transliteration of an ancient text. The sword was the standard sidearm of
the time.
Jesus is saying that self-defense is more important than staying warm in
the winter. Also,
notice that all of the other disciples already had swords.
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"Principles of Personal Defense" by Jeff Cooper
Click link at bottom of page to download your copy.
YouTube.com videos of Jeff Cooper
"Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning."
-- Sir Winston Churchill
Facebook post from Tom Givens --
We had an armed incident this past weekend involving a Rangemaster
certified instructor. She lives near staff instructor Aqil Qadir, and called
him to report. This is from Aqil:
Paula M------, (was H----- in 2010 when she completed the RangeMaster
Instructor Development Course) was driving to Florida with her husband
and grandchild. They stopped in Morrow, GA to get gas. While her husband
was gassing, she climbed in the back seat to feed the baby. The suspect
knocked her husband down and jumped in the car and attempted to drive
off with her and the baby. She climbed into the front seat, grabbed her pistol,
pointed, and threatened. He suddenly realized it wasn’t his car, got out,
climbed in another car, and led the police on a chase, ultimately running
into a Harley Davidson dealership and totaling the car. He's been charged
with 9 felonies.
This happened this past weekend. She just read the police report to me
over the phone with the details. She's a little thing, and very happy she had
her gun, could access it, and was willing to use it.
Lessons learned:
1. It does not matter that you are on vacation, or it’s broad daylight, etc.
You do not get to pick the time/place, someone else does.
2. Women - just because you are with your husband, that does not relieve
you of your responsibility to carry. You may well be the one who has to
take action to defend loved ones.
3. Drawing a gun in a competent, aggressive manner can often end these
things with no shots fired. Most of these ass-wipes are looking for an easy
victory, not a real fight.
“When you will not fight when you can easily win, without bloodshed,
and when you still will not fight when victory is sure and not too costly,
you may well come to the moment when you will have no choice but to
fight with the odds against you, and you have only a small chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no
hope of victory, simply because it is better to perish as warriors than to
live as slaves.”
-- Winston Churchill
Facebook post from Deron Bo --
Just thought I'd share something fun that happened over the weekend.
We had a men's range day for our church on Saturday morning and we had
a unicorn, of sorts, show up.
This young man (29yo) just moved to the area, just started at our church
not long ago, deathly afraid of guns, never touched a firearm before, but at
the urging of a few friends, was brave and came out just to see what was
going on. Oh yea, and he was left handed, to boot. I ended up spending over
an hour with him and the smile on his face with the, "that was fun, would you
take me shooting sometime?" just made it all worth it.
-- Deron Bo
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Fear is not a gift. And those who think so are fools who share the special link
to those animals upon which the lion feasts."
-- Gabriel Suarez
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total
obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear
has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
-- Frank Herbert, Dune
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
History of dueling.
Do you understand why we don't condone dueling?
It is not self-defense. It is honor killing. We don't let
the Arabs or Indians do it in America. Why would we
let anyone else do it. No, as a matter of fact, stupid
people cannot consent to their own murder by another,
nor can any retard consent to murdering another.
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which, we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"Of course, not all people are interested in such questions. Food, shelter,
sex, and television are enough to keep many happy. But others, aware of the
pervasive natural mysteries, are more strongly obsessed to resolve them than
any business man is to acquire wealth and power."
-- Morris Kline
‷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
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
"Creativity is not rewarded.
What is rewarded is precision and analytical thinking."
-- Magnus Carlsen
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children that the dragons can be killed."
-- G.K. Chesterton
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.
It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal,
and to let the criminal start worrying about society.
And by "society" I mean you.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
"There are no victims, only volunteers.
You volunteer by looking uncertain and afraid.
You volunteer by being, as grass-eaters invariably are,
unprepared to confront the hazards of life."
— Jeff Cooper
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
“The Man in the Arena”
by Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), 26th President of the United States
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who
does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat.”
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
"Nobody is coming to save you.
On the bright side . . . it means
nobody is coming to stop you either."
-- Gabe Suarez
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From John Hearne's email.
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------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"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)
"A Million-Dollar Hit Turned Into A Driveway Gunfight" by Colion Noir
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
Avoiding hypervigilance. Aware (condition yellow) is not hypervigilance,
and certainly not paranoia.
"Forget it: have a short memory" by Orion Taraban
Excerpts:
"It's action that actually heals."
"Understand in order to forgive, in order to forget."
Zugzwang is a thing. But with situational awareness, you can avoid it.
"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone"
– James Madison
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says,
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning to you.
You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack,
so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake,
inoffensive as a dove."
-- The Message (The Bible in Contemporary Language)
"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
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------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
“It is usually impossible to know when you’ve prevented a bad outcome.”
-- Mokokoma Mokhonoana
"Dangerous!" by John Farnam
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
Email from Tim Larkin --
A lion has not eaten in 4 days. A buffalo stands 30 feet away. Meat. Right there.
The lion watches it . . . and walks away. Not because it isn't hungry. Because the
buffalo has horns. In the wild, injury is a death sentence. A lion with a torn shoulder
cannot run. Cannot hunt. It starves.
So every predator lives by 1 rule above all others. Avoid injury at all costs.
Even starving, the lion runs the math on every target. Energy in. Energy out.
Odds of getting hurt.
It does not hunt the strong. It hunts the sure thing.
Now take that off the savanna. Put it in a parking lot. 5 men instead of 1 lion.
They run the exact same math. A group does not want a fight. A fight carries risk.
Someone gets hurt. They did not come to get hurt. They came to take something
at no cost to themselves. So they watch. They read you. And they move only
after they have already decided how it ends . . . after they have decided you are
the buffalo with no horns.
Here is what that means. How well you would fight back does not decide this.
[Because the enemy has no idea how well or poorly you fight. -- Jon Low]
Something else decides it, long before the attack starts. Whether they choose to
start it at all. They base that choice on 1 calculation. The same one the lion runs.
They read it from across a lot, in seconds, before anyone says a word. Most
people never think about it once. They train for the attack. They never train the
part that comes first, the part that decides whether an attack even happens.
You can fail their math. Not with size. Not with a hard face. The buffalo
does not look dangerous. It is dangerous. The predator reads the difference
instantly. It is not what you can do. It is what you appear willing to do.
2 different things. A group reads only 1 of them. Before the attack. Before
anyone raises a hand.
Stay Safe,
Tim Larkin
[Get training and practice, because you cannot bluff competence.
But you can exude it. -- Jon Low]
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
"Not Just The Big Booms – Repeated Blast Pressure"
by Erick Gelhaus
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
An excellent reason to prefer outdoor ranges to indoor ranges.
---
This also applies to Glock knuckle. You won't notice the lump and debilitating
pain and disfigurement until days or weeks later. By then it's too late. You must
undercut and thin your trigger guard where it meets your grip. It must not touch
the knuckle of your firing-side middle finger. Do it now. Ensure your students
do it before shooting the pistol. Ya, as a matter of fact, it is your responsibility.
Leaders assume responsibility for their students.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Easy Ways To Secure Your Home"
by Travis Pike
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before
intervening in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced
your in-hand weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
"The Food-chain!" by John Farnam
Excerpts:
"2) Unarmed humans who find themselves in remote wilderness are on the
bottom of the food-chain! We can’t run very fast. We can’t fight effectively
against aggressive predators. Most predators are not impressed with yelling
and arm-waving, much less with bells. Climbing trees might help (at least
temporarily), but not when bears or mountain lions are involved. And, when
“playing dead,” you’ll usually get your wish!
Unarmed humans are routinely attacked, downed, and killed by pit bulls,
often in their own back yards!"
"3) The prudent accept the foregoing reality, and arrange for themselves
to move from the bottom of the food-chain to the top! One must be
appropriately armed when encounters with dangerous predators are even a
remote possibility. Pertinent weapons must be routinely carried on person,
along with the willingness use them as needed, without hesitation nor apology."
“I'm not upset that you lied.
I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
Sitting in a restaurant. Look around. You should see families. You should see kids,
and babies. Don't see such? Maybe you should leave. Why do you think families
don't go there to eat?
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“It is a profound mistake, a dangerous naïve delusion, to assume that ‘safety’
is something that can be ‘granted’ to you, like a certificate.”
-- Wallace Smedley
"Knives!" by John Farnam
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.
I'm sure you've heard about men shooting their penis and testicles, but here is
an actual case. Is it really worth the risk? I don't think so, so I don't carry appendix
inside the waistband, AIWB. And I advise you not to. As the narrator / victim says,
3 degrees left or right and it would have hit his femoral artery. Even with immediate
medical treatment, it's hard to survive that.
"I lost a testicle to an accidental discharge." by North Wind Aerial
There is actually no such thing as an "accidental" discharge. Any unintentional
discharge is a negligent discharge. Because we never use pistols that can discharge
without a trigger press. (We know some people who do, but they are idiots and
we avoid them, so as not to get shot by there negligent discharges. Because using
a pistol that has a reputation for uncommanded discharges is negligence. Legally
and morally.)
---
Christopher Bean says he sees people putting their fingers on the trigger as the
pistol is coming out of the holster all of the time. Okay, but when it happens
with a holster at 9 o'clock of 3 o'clock, the pistol is not pointing at the femoral
arteries. Significant difference.
The people had not fought the British only to be "brought under despotic rule
under the notion of ‘Strong government,’ or in the form of elective despotism."
-- Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Adams October 5th, 1787
"Armed Citizens Outperform the Police in Stopping Mass Murderers"
by Frank Miniter
Cited paper,
"Do Armed Civilians Stop Active Shooters More Effectively Than Uniformed Police?"
by John R. Lott and Carlisle E. Moody
Good section on description of methodology. This is what a proper scientific
paper looks like.
"Vaporware!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
“Like a ‘chocolate’ in a box, looking well-behaved and perfect in place,
all the while harboring a secret center!”
--Deb Caletti
"Criminals Think Differently – Understand Them & Remain Armed"
Posted on July 13, 2016 by Ben Findley
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
"They Don't Think Like You Do" by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Running Alone? My Concealed Carry and Safety Setup" by Fit4fia
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Fit4fia
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------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
A student in my last class said he couldn't believe he had been carrying
for years without understanding safe gun handling, administrative operations,
basic tactics, basic self-defense law, and such.
Yup, enlightenment is a great thing.
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."
-- Margaret Thatcher
You need training and practice, because you can't bluff your ability to confidently
and easily kill the bad guy. It only comes with training and practice. And if you have
the training, and if you have practiced, you will leak the information. The bad guy
will know. (Otherwise, he would have been killed earlier. There are no second
chances in the thug life.)
No, as a matter of fact, you will not scare the women and children.
Masculinity is not toxic. It is comforting. Because it is just competence.
If you have competence, you will exude competence.
It works much better than pheromones. And works for both sexes and both orientations.
Because competence has well defined meaning in our society.
"The difference between a successful person and others
is not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge,
but rather a lack of will."
-- Vince Lombardi
When I am feeling that I don't want to get out of bed and do what I'm supposed
to do or go where I'm supposed to go, to motivate myself to get up and do it, I think
to myself, "This is my opportunity to meet my next ex-wife."
"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)
"Defensive Firearms Training:
Preparing for the Reality of High-Stress Encounters"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"This is why, for decades now, I have forced my students to shoot with
their hands deliberately trembling to show them that they can do it when
SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan) and still score neutralizing hits."
[How do you induce a student to tremble? -- Jon Low]
"We are unlikely to see that which we are not looking for (inattentional blindness),
nor hear that which we are not listening for (inattentional deafness)."
"selective attention test" by Daniel Simons
[Inattentional deafness is different from auditory exclusion, though both are
psychological effects, not physiological. -- Jon Low]
"In the infamous FBI shootout in Dade County, Florida, on April 11, 1986,
three of the agents experienced severe hand/arm wounds and still needed to
return fire. None had been trained beforehand how to reload or work a pump
shotgun with just one hand. Two men with empty revolvers were helpless
when they were subsequently shot and permanently injured."
---
The third photograph in the article shows a gentleman using a holster with a
retention device that is defeated by pressing with the trigger finger. Using such
a holster is an act of criminal stupidity.
Lots of documented cases of users shooting their legs and feet.
Because the user continues to press with their trigger finger after
the pistol comes out of the holster. [No, this is not a training problem.
It is a design flaw.]
Dirt, sand, snow, etc. will jam the retention mechanism;
now you can't get the pistol out of the holster.
Support-side-hand only presentation using the technique taught at all FLETC's
(turning the pistol around in the holster) will jam the pistol in the holster. Such
holsters are forbidden in all Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers and
just about all other federal law enforcement agencies. [Send me an email and
I will send you a copy of the letter from the Department of the Interior prohibiting
such holsters and explaining why.]
"The Serpa Compendium" by Greg Ellifritz
"Patience is the fruit of endurance that gives you an increased ability to respond
to life, rather than react to it."
-- Dave Ramsey
We always want to respond to the high stress situation in a calm planned way,
rather than to react in a panic.
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
"Comments on open carry" by John Farnam
---
If you open carry, you will be mistaken for a police officer, a courier of high value
items, or a thug from a rival gang. In any criminal scenario, you will be shot first.
Open carry gives up the element of surprise, a huge tactical advantage. No person
in his right mind would give up such an advantage.
Open carry is an act of criminal stupidity. As seen in the article, you will be
convicted. We all know it's not fair, not legal, not Constitutional; but it is reality.
You'll have a much more pleasant life if you operate in reality.
---
"Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry"
by Greg Ellifritz
"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
Context: The student is right-handed and left eye dominant, so he decided
to shoot right-handed and to use his left eye for aiming. He has demonstrated
good marksmanship skills. His pistol is zeroed. His sights are tight and locked
down correctly.
Problem: The student is intermittently missing completely off the target
to the left.
Solution: After consultation with other instructors, we speculate that
as a right-handed shooter using his left eye to aim, he is actually not
completely closing his right eye and is in fact (though he is not aware
of it) using both eyes, and occasionally using the wrong front sight image;
and thus getting misses way off to the left when shooting at ranges of
10 to 15 yards (steel plate range).
He is strongly left eye dominant in pristine conditions. But eye
dominance is psychological, not physiological. So, it changes with stress,
attention, and other things. So his dominant eye is picking up the front
sight and lining it up with the target, but because his right eye is open,
his right eye is attempting to align his sights with the target. The front
sight image from his left eye will be off to the right of the image from
his right eye. So because the left eye is dominant, he moves the image
from his left eye over the target, moving the point of impact to the left.
I remember him telling me that he caught yourself aiming with his
right eye while shooting around the right side of the tree (barrier).
[I think using the right eye when shooting right handed and using the
left eye when shooting left handed is fine.] But in order to ensure
a single sight image, you must clamp the non-aiming eye shut, just for
the fraction of a second it takes to run through your shot process.
I suggested the student concentrate on ensuring the non-aiming
eye is closed during dry practice. I think this will solve the problem
of shots missing off to the left.
Cheers,
Jon
[If you, dear reader, have other suggestions or analysis, please let me know.]
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"12 Ways to Get More Out of Your Next Firearms Training Class"
by Jacob Paulsen
"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
Sia Vlasova
"Hey, I'm a super model."
What I learned at several coaching classes at the Olympic Training Center
in Colorado Springs, CO. (I've gone for archery, riflery, and pistol.
And sometimes just to help out and eat the free food.)
If you have had good training and practice a lot, your marksmanship
is just as good as the world-class Olympic athletes.
"Then why do they shoot higher scores than I do?"
Because they have executed deliberate scientific practice sufficient
to elevate their kinesthetic awareness to the point where they can
feel / recognize when something is wrong with the shot process. At that
point, they abort the shot, bring the gun down, take a breath, revert to
fundamentals, and start the shot process over from the beginning.
You have not practiced enough (and may never, because other things
in life are more important to you: family, friends, career, chasing skirts,
etc.) to have developed the kinesthetic awareness. So you can't tell when
the shot will be bad. So you shoot the bad shot, instead of aborting it.
As John Farnam says, "Your misses are not a marksmanship error.
Your misses are a judgment error."
---
(From USMC Special Operations Command seminar in Tampa, Florida.
Though I hear it has moved since I was there.)
"Do high level combat operators abort bad shots?"
Yes, they do. They don't have time to bring their gun down and take
a breath. They just psychologically start the shot process over.
There is no physical sign that they are doing that. It's all mental. That's
why they don't miss. They choose to not fire the bad shot that would
have missed. This is a matter of self-discipline. Most people are
undisciplined.
Every miss is collateral damage, maybe the death of innocent civilians.
---
Practice does not make you better. All practice does is to elevate your
kinesthetic awareness. This allow you to recognize that you are doing
something wrong. Before your awareness, you were oblivious to your
errors, so you didn't think you were making any errors; so you couldn't
understand why you were missing / not getting tight groups / etc.
Once your kinesthetic awareness is appropriate for your activity, you will
correct what you feel is wrong, often automatically, often subconsciously.
So, you won't have any sensation of improvement or advancement.
But that's okay, because your coach will notice, your peers will notice;
and of course your journal will reflect the data, so you will have empirical
evidence of improved performance. The one thing all world-class athletes
have in common is that they keep a highly detailed journal. This allows
them to have the data necessary to allow them to apply the scientific method
to their activity to force improvement in performance.
I will regularly look at my athlete's journals. I will not waste my time
with athletes that refuse to keep a highly detailed journal. Because without
the journal, I cannot figure out what's going on inside their head. More
importantly, the athlete cannot figure out what's going on in his head (without
his journal giving him data that he can review). Memory isn't that good.
Feelings are useless. Only the journal will work.
"Give us an example, Staff."
The pistol shooter is shooting with a two handed grip. He thinks his grip
is correct (because he hasn't practiced enough to feel that it's wrong). But
his support-side index finger is not pressed firmly against the bottom of the
trigger guard. So the recoil is different. So the point of impact is different.
Consistency is accuracy. Indexing causes consistency. If the support-side
index finger is not pressed firmly against the underside of the trigger guard,
where is it? A quarter inch gap? An eighth inch gap? The difference will
cause a different point of impact.
"But, I've heard instructors say, that if you press the trigger without
disturbing the sights, you will get a good hit."
That is not true. It is not sufficient to hold the pistol still. The grip must
be the correct. A different grip will create different forces on the pistol.
Which will result in a different recoil. Which will result in a different point
of impact. This, of course, can be mitigated by follow-through. Consistent
follow-through will encourage consistent recoil. Follow-through means
keep pressing on the trigger, keep aiming at the point in the target that you
wish the bullet to impact after recoil has pushed your sights off the point.
Don't do anything else during follow-through. In particular, don't be looking
for your bullet hole, don't be looking for your next target, don't be resetting
your trigger. Stay on the target, keep aiming, trap the trigger to the rear.
You can reset your trigger, after you have acquired the sight picture, after
the shot.
"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
"Glock Knuckle"
You MUST undercut your trigger guard where it meets the grip of your
pistol. You MUST thin your trigger guard where it meets the grip of your
pistol (on both sides). The trigger guard must never come in contact with
the joint of your firing-side middle finger, which is indexed by pressing it
firmly against the bottom of the trigger guard.
If you don't do this, you will develop a nasty painful disfiguring lump
on your middle finger where the trigger guard had hit it with every recoil
of your pistol. This repetitive stress injury is not something your wife or
girlfriend will forgive you for.
If you fire a 1000 rounds in a week of training, you won't notice this
injury until a day or week after the shooting.
Clearly, if you fire less than a 100 rounds in a year, you may never suffer
this injury. So, I'm not talking to you.
On the other hand, if you have tender hands, you may notice this injury
after 50 rounds. Remember the Princess and the Pea?
"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
Notice there is no rear sight on his rifle.
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"Running A Pistol Slide: Clam Shell, Sling Shot, or Slide Release? Or Who Cares?"
by Dave Bahde
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"It’s much the same in my fifty-plus years of martial arts training.
Lots of time spent on things that win matches but don’t work for real."
---
You must get into the habit of racking the slide, because sometimes the slide does
not lock back on an empty magazine. You must engrain techniques that work under
all conditions, not just the pristine conditions of the air conditioned indoor range.
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
The following is okay for a beginner learning for the first time.
But is not okay for self-defense operations.
---
"Common Pistol Malfunctions: A Beginner’s Guide to Safe Gun Handling"
by Tatiana Whitlock
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"The gun stopped. Good! Now you have time to think."
---
I beg to differ. I think immediate action should be automatic. You don't have
time to think. Nor should you.
If you have suffered a squib load, the ASSESS of
TAP, RACK, ASSESS
is the time to resolve it. Shooting is always a separate intellectual decision. Shooting is never
part of an automatic process.
---
"Pistol Malfunctions: Recognize. Diagnose. Respond."
by Tatiana Whitlock
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Modern semi-auto pistols cannot double feed. This is a failure to extract
malfunction.
---
"When the Gun Stops" by Tatiana Whitlock
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
*************************************************************************
Sterre Meijer
*************************************************************************
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
"Stop Shooting in a Straight Line: The Case for Target Depth Training"
by Travis Pike
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"Stop leaving your targets in one comfortable, flat line.
Add some depth to your next range session and watch your
shooting skills grow."
“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
Email from Jeff L. Gonzales --
Training naturally draws our attention to mistakes. I have a terrible habit
on focusing on the bad—the missed shot, the slow draw, the poor decision,
or the repetition that falls apart under pressure. Those failures need to be
acknowledged and corrected, but they should not become the sole measure
of the session. Productive training also requires recognizing what worked,
understanding why it worked, and learning how to reproduce it consistently.
Here are four simple cheat codes I use that can help you get more from
every training session.
First, find the evidence. Before dissecting the mistake, identify the parts
of the performance that held up. If I'm running a Bill Drill, I could focus
on the one missed shot, or I could focus on the 5 that hit and analyze why.
Most of the time, when I zero in on what worked, I can feel when things are
not working and correct in real time. These are not small victories to dismiss.
They are evidence of skills that can be strengthened and connected to the
areas that still need work.
Second, diagnose without drama. A poor repetition is information, not
a judgment of your ability. That one missed shot from the Bill Drill is not
a reflection of my overall skill. It's an error and nothing more. The key is
after I've reflected on what I did right, I often recognized what happened.
For me, it usually means I muscled the trigger. Determine the actual cause
of the problem and address the most important issue first. Trying to correct
everything at once usually creates more confusion than progress.
Third, repeat success on purpose. When a repetition goes well, do not
simply move on. Pay attention to what you saw, what you felt, and what
you did differently. The goal is not to produce an occasional great run,
but to understand the process well enough to repeat it. Confidence should
come from proven performance rather than hope or memory.
Fourth, finish with proof. Once you make a correction, validate it.
The last drill of my training session was outstanding. I was focused on
the good and replicated it on the final drill. Ending with a clean and
accountable performance reinforces the lesson and gives you a clear
starting point for the next session.
Whether the pistol is carried concealed or worn as part of your
professional responsibilities, training has to produce more than clean
repetitions on a controlled range. The goal is not a flawless session;
it is consistent performance you can recognize, repeat, and call on when
the conditions are working against you."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
Makes you wonder if the training scars from video simulators are worth the
potential learning.
"The Fidelity Farce" by Dustin Salomon and Justin Smith, Ph.D.
Excerpt:
"However, the direct association of stress response generation with effectiveness
as a training tool belies a fundamental misunderstanding of human cognitive
architecture and function, its impact on learning and memory, and the role and
value of fidelity in training environments."
"For example, a trainee who must prepare to ascend a multi-level staircase
during real-world operations would not experience environmental fidelity
without access to a multi-level staircase during training. Similarly, a trainee
who must traverse hundreds of yards of open urban terrain during real
operations could not experience environmental fidelity inside the confines
of a small room."
"For example, the use of both tasers and firearms during scenarios—where
the appropriate tool is selected by the trainee based on evaluation of dynamic
environmental stimuli and exhibited subject behavior."
"These stimuli and methods characterize attempts to create environmental
fidelity. While the results are often technologically impressive and can indeed
overwhelm the sensory and processing systems, the way that these tools are
commonly applied often provides little in the way of either environmental or
performance fidelity. Improper application of these tools may also
compromise training value, learning value, and operational performance.
It may even potentially cause unintended psychological injury to students."
"For example, while incredibly important in tactical settings, spatial and
angular relationships do not exist in a video projection. Therefore, some
relevant scene-related spatial processing and terrain-based spatial- and
angle-driven mobility cannot be performed."
"As a result, most tactical simulation that is conducted within video simulators
involves trainees predominantly standing stationary, waiting to either apply
deadly force or not, or moving abstractly simply for the purposes of avoiding
the known tactical training scar of standing still by default. This contrasts starkly
with operationally optimal tactical performance in many, if not most, real-world
cases."
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Tension Destroys Your Shooting Performance. Here's How to Manage It."
by Steve Tarani
---
Look at the photographs of the man presenting from holster to the target.
Do you see where the pistol is pointed? Are you willing to take that completely
unnecessary risk? Murphy's Law says, anything that can go wrong, will go
wrong, at the worst possible time. The only way to defeat Murphy's Law is
to eliminate anything that can go wrong, especially anything that can hurt you.
There is no reason necessitating the use of an appendix inside the waistband
holster (AIWB). So you should never use it.
"I lost a testicle to an accidental discharge." by North Wind Aerial
My students would never use a AIWB holster, because my students are smart.
"You've got no business dictating gear to your students."
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I have a duty to my students to tell them that
certain gear is unsafe. I forbid such gear in my classes, and so should you.
AIWB holsters are not okay for women, because women have femoral arteries.
Анастасия Клепнева
Anastasi Klepnjova
"I have two femoral arteries and I intend to keep them intact.
So I will follow Jon's advice."
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
"What’s the Future of Firearms Training?
Let’s Ask 3 Guys Who Should Know"
by Kevin Creighton
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
Care enough to continue your training.
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment
to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
-- Vince Lombardi
I thought you would appreciate this,
"Just be yourself: the best and worst advice" by Orion Taraban
because this is what you are doing.
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
This is deep truth that you need to understand. Orion explains the
difference between a slave and a free person. It's psychological, not physical.
Some slaves are very proud of the badge of slavery that they wear.
"Smart people are happy: understanding intelligence" by Orion Taraban
Excerpt:
"Simple, not easy. The rest is vanity."
"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
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
There is nothing worse than teaching obsolete shit. Because your
students don't know any better.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
Welcome to Prepper Camp™
The #1 Self-Reliance, Homesteading, Off-Grid-Living, and
Preparedness Conference – Anywhere.
August 14, 15, and 16, 2026.
At Tryon International Resort, Mill Spring, NC
Bullets & Bibles 2026 (The registration fee is a tax deductible charitable donation).
Friday, August 21, 2026 A.D. – Sunday, August 23, 2026 A.D.
Hosted at Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
Food and lodging included in registration price.
To register,
If you have already pre-registered,
We're carpooling from Summerville, SC and Nashville, TN if you would
like to join us.
The Guardian Conference, $800
September 18th - 20th, 2026 A.D.
in Oklahoma City, OK.
Gun Rights Policy Conference, Second Amendment Foundation, $25
September 25–27, 2026 A.D.
in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel.
Click on the link to book a hotel room for $159.00 per night.
2026 Combatives Summit, $897
When:
Range Day: October 22, 2026
Conference: October 23, 24, and 25, 2026
Where: American Top Team
10380 Auto Mall Pkwy, D'Iberville, MS 39540
Rangemaster Tactical Conference
Friday-Sunday, April 2-4, 2027 A.D.
Dallas Pistol Club; Carrollton, TX
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attend classes so you know what the best practices are.
"The Truth About Low Light"
Free live webinar · Thursday, August 13, 2026
Intensive Pistol Skills, $ 495
Sat, Aug 22, 2026 – Sun, Aug 23, 2026
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Royal Range, 7741 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN, USA
Gunsite – 250 Defensive Pistol, $2,135
Royal Range, Nashville, Tennessee
Monday, August 24, 2026 - Friday, August 28, 2026
Duration: 5 Days
Prerequisite: None
Ammunition: 1000 rounds ball (ball, in this context, means copper jacketed round nose bullets)
available for purchase on-site.
The student will also have to purchase approximately 1 box of Simunitions
from Royal Range for the indoor simulators.
Firearms Instructor Development Course by Tom Givens, $ 795
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT – Sun, Sep 20, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Georgia Gun Club, 1951 Braselton Highway, Buford, GA, USA
Firearms Instructor Development Course by Tom Givens, $ 795
Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT – Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
17 South Rod & Gun Club, Fleming, GA
Church Security Team Critical Skills, $200.00
October 10, 2026 A.D.
8:30AM-5:00PM
Dallas Pistol Club
1830 W Belt Line Rd
Carrollton, TX 75006
Register at
Protective Pistolcraft Instructor, 5 Days, $ 1350
Mon, Nov 2, 2026 – Fri, Nov 6, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST
Last Resort Firearms Training, 4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR, USA
This is the 3-day Firearms Instructor Development Course and
the 2-day Advanced Firearms Instructor Course given in 5 days.
Taught by Tom Givens, Tiffany Johnson, Aqil Qadir, and John Hearne.
No prerequisites. Includes a night shoot and much more.
Defensive Handgun by John Farnam, $850
14 - 15 November 2026 A.D.
Description of course at
Deer Hollow Range, White House, TN
"The Tactical Anatomy Summit", $650.00
January 30-31, 2027 A.D.
Lakeland Training Center
1421 Fish Hatchery Rd
Lakeland, FL
Time: 8 a.m - 6 p.m.
*$35 per day Range Fees will Apply at Location
Suggested Lodging: Best Western Auburndale
Last Resort Firearms Training (Ed Monk)
Agile Training and Consulting (Chuck Haggard)
Thunder Ranch (Clint Smith)
Classes,
ConcealedCarry.com (Jacob S. Paulsen et al)
Project Appleseed
Gunsite Academy
Lee Weems
Massad Ayoob Group
West Coast Armory North, Martha Holschen
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
This appears to be a new web site for Rangemaster classes,
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics, Bill Armstrong
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Mike Seeklander
Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor
Tatiana Whitlock - Training in Context
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
NRA Instructors and their classes.
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford
"Where to Shoot" by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Finding a place to live fire. Because you can always dry practice in your bedroom.
"7 Habits Every Responsible Concealed Carry Permit Holder Should Practice"
by Megan Postol
"The first requirement of success is the ability to apply your physical
and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary."
-- Thomas Edison
"You don't have time or brain power to worry when you are focused on work."
-- Dave Ramsey
"Work is doing it. Discipline is doing it everyday.
Diligence is doing it well every day."
-- Dave Ramsey
Training is not an event that we experience and file away. It is the beginning
of a process. By daily practice, we execute the process, striving for excellence.
“An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory.”
-- EF Schumacher
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
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"Shooting quickly in a staged environment under no stress
does not make you tactically proficient."
-- John Hearne
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Your speed [in mastering the art and science of your discipline] doesn't matter.
Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
-- Aristotle
"Maybe you can't achieve it in one day.
But you can achieve it one day."
-- Nala Knight
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
"Calluses are a status symbol that money can't buy."
-- Jim Beaumont
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it.
Generally speaking, you want to escape.
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
"Tense Driveway Standoff Captured On Security Cam" by Active Self Protection
If you can't escape. You must drive the threat off. (Holding anyone at
gun point is a terrible idea. Attempting to restrain anyone is a horrible idea.
Let the bad guy go.)
Carrying a gun without a round in the chamber is foolish. Racking the slide
had no effect on the bad guy's behavior. If the bad guy had attacked at the
given distance, the home owner would not have had time to chamber a round.
The bad guy knew exactly what he was doing and exactly how far he could
go without triggering an articulatable threat. Not his first rodeo. Probably has
a long violent criminal history (as opposed to a criminal record).
Better to hold the flashlight like an ice pick with thumb on the pressure
switch.
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Checkmate in 9 moves.
Some people can see that far into the future. It's a skill you can acquire.
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy to escape.
Sometimes you must close with the enemy to
destroy him with fire and close combat.
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
"Defeating the Covert Accomplice: Part II" by George Hupp
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
“Always anticipate at least one more offender.” -- Charles Remsberg
---
"Detecting the Covert Accomplice" by George Hupp
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"DEESCALATION IS A TOOL - NOT AN OBJECTIVE
I have found that better timing, and the certain obvious promise of swift
and terminal violence, coupled with the sort of smile that would chill
Lucifer's heart, is the best form of de-escalation."
-- Gabriel Suarez
---
"De-escalation is the new, repackaged “Verbal Judo” of the early 90’s.
De-escalation is the new excuse to do nothing, and get praised for it."
-- Shawn Pappas
---
De-escalation only works if the other guy is willing.
Otherwise, you've got to shoot him. If you have a gun. If you have the will.
If you have the training and practice to hit your target on the first shot. Because
missing means hitting innocent bystanders, maybe killing them.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for
habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States,
"The Wilderness Hunter", 1893
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"In my strategy the footwork does not change.
I always walk as I usually do in the street."
-- Miyamoto Musashi
"Strong-Side Carry: A Practical Guide"
by Sarah Hauptman
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"Improving Your One-Hand Shooting" by Kevin Estela
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"What you’ll discover is that one-hand shooting actually makes you much
better at two-handed shooting. Once you learn to isolate the fundamentals
with one hand, having a helping/supporting hand will make you wildly accurate."
---
The third photograph shows a right hand gripping a 1911 type pistol.
The grip is wrong. The thumb must always be on top of the thumb safety.
Otherwise, in combat, something (like your thumb) will bump the safety
and the pistol won't fire. You think I'm joking? Don't find out the hard
way. Keep your thumb on top of the safety. That is the correct grip for
this pistol.
Photograph 8 is not correct either. The thumb is floating in space.
The thumb must be resting on the safety, to hold the safety in the firing
position.
"The secret is applying extreme force with the pinkies and
working your way up the rest of the digits."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
Анастасия Клепнева
Squatting is the fastest shooting position to get into and out of.
Learn it. Use it.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"Tactical Pens: Ultimate Covert Defensive Tool?"
by Steve Tarani
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
". . . 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"
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
-- Ben Stoeger
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Whatever you leave alone is perfect." -- Brian Enos
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of sections:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
"No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions.
He had money as well."
-- Margaret Thatcher
Go and do likewise.
“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 --------------------------------
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
The ticks, fleas, chiggers, etc. are out in force. Take precautions!
I recommend,
Permethrin Fabric Treatment
Turn pants inside-out, spray, turn pants right-side-out, spray, let dry.
Spray socks. Spray shoes. Spray concealment garment.
Problems avoided are far better than problems solved. Bug bites can cause nasty
infections. PREVENTION!
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
"Gunshot Wounds to the Chest
Three Life-Threatening Problems.
One Priority: Get to Surgery."
by Paul Strauss MD
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"When Active Shooter Medical Doctrine Fails at the Point of Wounding"
by Stephen P. Wood, DMSc, ACNP, FAWM, FNAP
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
--Benjamin Franklin
"The best time to plant an oak tree is twenty years ago,
the next best time is now."
-- David Chilton
How do we get physically fit? Start exercising 2 decades ago and continue every day.
Run 3 miles a day in 30 minutes. Walk 20,800 steps per day (that's about 4 miles).
My friend Tina is now able to do one pull up. That's how it starts.
By not starting, you are choosing not to start. An easy and devastating choice.
"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
Milena Ioanna
I go to yoga class twice a week. The scenery never fails to impress.
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
"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 sections:
Legal
Instruction
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rangemaster AUGUST 2026 NEWSLETTER
"Rangemaster family tend to be smarter, happier, and better looking than other people."
Videos from Langdon Tactical Technologies.
John Hearne's NEWSLETTER FOR JULY 2026
Gun University
"Defensive Use of Firearms" by Stephen P. Wenger
Get on his emailing list for his newsletter,
Greg Ellifritz's reading list,
American Rifleman
and American Hunter
are now online free of charge.
Practical Eschatology
2nd Amendment News & Articles
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
YouTube.com channel
Blog posts,
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
Active Self Protection, John Correia
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Make sure to check out the Weekend Knowledge Dumps.
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
******************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
"Gas Station Fight Leads To Prison Sentence" by Active Self Protection
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
---
Greg Ellifritz comment --
"The most frustrating thing I have to explain to new concealed carriers is
the fact that a punch or two does not generally rise to the level of “deadly force”
under most state laws. Don’t believe me? Ask the guy who is now spending
20 years in prison."
-- Greg Ellifitz
---
I beg to disagree. There are lots of documented cases where a single punch
killed the person. So a single punch can be lethal force. And it is reasonable
for the defender to assume the punching attack is lethal force or will continue
in duration or intensity to constitute lethal force. The defender has no way of
knowing when the punching will stop.
If the husband had shot the guy before the guy punched him, that would be
self-defense. Self-defense can be used to prevent the attack.
If the husband had shot the guy while the guy was punching him, that would
be self-defense. Self-defense can be used to stop the attack.
After the attack, when there is no longer an imminent threat, there is no
self-defense. If you shoot the guy after the attack, it cannot be justified as
self-defense. That's the law. That's reality. It is always better to operate in reality.
Gun Law Database
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry, Inc.
“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
"How a bill becomes law." by Mike Rafi
"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
"After 99 Years, You Can Mail a Handgun Again. Here’s What That Actually Means."
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore,
be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not
to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean
everything or nothing at pleasure.”
— Thomas Jefferson (1823)
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
"The feeling that one must be an authority in a subject to say anything about
it is unfounded. We are all laymen outside the field of our own specialty, and
we should not be ashamed to point this out to our students. In contiguous areas
we are merely giving indications of ideas that students may pursue further in other
courses or in independent reading."
-- Morris Kline
“Pick a lane, master that lane, and stay in it.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“Professional” Attire for Firearms Instructors
by Greg Ellifritz
“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
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended
by those it has deceived, because those who are so easily deceived
are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"You don't have to memorize formulae.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Your curriculum needs to be recent, relevant, and realistic."
-- Austin Killmer
"The limited time you spend with students
may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
************************************************************************
----- Students -----
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"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
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy) -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
Toni Marie Graham
"Don't I look like an elegant married woman?"
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
Using a ported barrel or a compensator on your self-defense pistol is an act
of criminal stupidity. And those who advocate such are doing you a grave
disservice. In a close contact position, used during close quarter combat, such
a pistol will blow hot gas and burning propellent up into your eyes. Also, the
concussion may disorient you. (Some persons enjoy the concussion, just as
some enjoy rollercoasters. There's no accounting for taste.) You don't need
that shit during combat. You've got more than enough to deal with.
"Gear Is A Crutch Without Capability"
Buying a firearm, carrying a medical kit, or stocking emergency equipment
does not make you prepared. It makes you an equipment owner.
Real capability requires disciplined, structured training—and a commitment
to personal responsibility.
-- American Warrior Society
The purpose of a high capacity magazine is NOT to let you shoot more;
it is to let you reload less.
-- Tom Givens
Facebook.com post from Tom Givens --
"Preventive Maintenance of Pistol Mounted Optics"
I teach 30+ classes a year and I see a lot of preventable problems with
Pistol Mounted Optics (PMO). These are generally caused by user error,
not something inherently wrong with PMO’s. Here is the short summary:
1. PMO’s must be mounted properly. As a last resort, if all else fails,
read the directions. Here is a good step-by-step guide:
2. Thread locker is vital. We have moved away from Loc-Tite for this
application, and recommend Vibra-Tite VC3. Use it a few days before
class, not the night before, so it can cure.
3. Witness marks are crucial. A small dab of paint or fingernail polish can
warn you if something is starting to shift.
4. Before a high round count, three or five day long class, put a new
battery in the PMO. Be sure to check your zero after a battery change.
5. Zero with the ammunition you intend to use. At 5-7 yards, different
ammo will hit pretty close to the same place. However, at 25 yards there
may be a significant shift with different bullet weight, muzzle velocity, etc.
6. Zero at 20-25 yards. A 10 yard zero is just like using a bore-sight
collimator to get a hunting rifle “on the paper” before you actually zero
it at 100 yards, saving time and ammo. With a PMO, the 10 yard zero
is just the same—it is a preliminary zero to get you close. Then, tweak
the adjustments at 20-25 yards. Not all pistol engagements are at room
ranges or on big targets. A good zero will help.
If you follow this advice you are far less likely to have a problem
with your optic during class. This will allow you to concentrate on learning,
instead of fighting your gear.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Does This Gun Actually Fit You?" by Tatiana Whitlock
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"Unfortunately, comfort and fit are not the same thing."
---
When the barrel is inline with the bones of your forearm, the firing-side thumb
should lay flat against the side of the pistol, the middle finger should press tight
against the bottom of the trigger guard, the web between the thumb and index
finger should be up high and tight in the tang of the pistol, and the tip of the middle
finger should point back toward the shooter.
The support-side hand should have the bases of the thumbs firmly pressed
against each other, the index finger up tight against the bottom of the trigger
guard, both thumbs should be high (not pointed forward), both wrists should
be straight (not bent to point the thumbs forward).
Straight wrists are required for a strong grip. Straight wrists will cause the thumbs
to point up, not forward.
The grip must be long enough to have all of your fingers on the grip without
a magazine inserted. If you can't get all of your fingers on the grip, you won't
be able to control your pistol. If your grip is too short, you will pinch your skin
between the pistol frame and the magazine when loading. This will cause blood
blisters, bleeding, and training scars.
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The More You Know:
Living With Astigmatism When Using Red Dot, Holographic and Prismatic Optics"
by Pete
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
Email from Ben Owens --
". . . the new Factory Glock 43x/48 mags have come out. These new ones
are all steel instead of the standard polymer with steel reinforcements. Glock
has claimed that you don't have to change the mag catch. However for some
reason the steel mags are essentially shredding the polymer mag catch that is
the factory installed. This is causing the mags to come out under firing conditions
and/or not retain the new metal magazines. This is happening at different rates
as well, one student got through almost 200 rounds before the issue started, and
for some it's happening in the first few mags through their gun. I have personally
seen it happen to 4 different guns in the past few weeks. We've had students
reach out to Glock so they are aware of the issue and have sent the student a
replacement. However on all of them the catch is so chewed up the original
polymer mags will no longer retain."
-- Ben Owens
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
A student in my present class was doing the in-holster weapon retention
exercises and his holster kept coming off his belt. Learn from this. Get a
holster that cannot be ripped off your belt.
If you can conveniently put your holster on your belt and remove it
easily from your belt, you should do some weapon retention exercises.
If you have to thread your belt through loops in your holster, you're
probably okay. But, if those loops snap on and off, you might have a
problem.
"Tips for Babywearing and Conceal Carry [2026]" by Ally Corless
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Toni Marie Graham
"Don't I look like a little girl?"
"How To Shoot Handguns At Long Distance" by Richard A. Mann
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"You also need to know the trajectory of the load you’re shooting.
As an example, let’s use a common load, like Nosler’s 115-grain ASP JHP
with a ballistic coefficient of 0.109 from a Browning Hi-Power. Out of my
Hi-Power, it has an average muzzle velocity of 1,133 fps, and zeroed at 10
yards, it will drop about an inch at 50 yards, about 4.5 inches at 75 yards
and about 10 inches at 100 yards. If you’re shooting at a torso-sized target,
you should be able to hold center and hit near the bottom of the target at
100 yards. Out to about 130 yards, a hold on the head of the torso should
allow a hit near the bottom of the target, but beyond that you’ll need to
hold on air instead of hair—over the head of the target—to get a hit."
---
Let's fill in the blanks, because the author left a lot out.
You can use any online ballistic calculator. I used
Range Drop (the distance from the line-of-sight,
- is below the line-of-sight, + is above the line-of-sight)
0 yards -0.5 inches (The center of the muzzle is 0.5 inches
below the top of the front sight.)
10 yards 0.0 inches (Because the pistol is zeroed at this distance.
The bullet is crossing the line-of-sight going up.)
10 to 35 yards +x.x inches (From 10 to 33 yards, the bullet is above the
line-of-sight, so you must aim low, below
the intended point of impact, to hit. Not
much, at most 0.2 inches.)
22 yards +0.2 inches (Apogee.)
35 yards 0.0 inches (The bullet is crossing the line-of-sight
going down.)
50 yards -1.0 inches
75 yards -4.5 inches
100 yards -10.0 inches
---
Note that this 9mm has a very flat trajectory compared to a standard
45 ACP (230 grains, 850 feet per second) fired from a pistol.
The second zero for the 45 ACP is usually at 100 yards. And the apogee
is at around 50 yards.
Note that the 9mm used in the article transitions from supersonic to
subsonic between 10 and 15 yards. That means the bullet is in its own
shockwave in this range. Bullets are not stable after they make this transition
because the turbulence in the shock wave causes them to yaw, pitch, and
sometimes tumble. That's why the "maximum effective range" of a weapon
system is the range at which the bullet is supersonic (in front of its shock wave).
The 45 ACP never makes a sonic transition, because it is subsonic from muzzle
to target.
So the author's idea of "long range" with a pistol is 50 yards to 100 yards
(and academically much more), where the bullet has passed its second
crossing of the line of sight (like a rifle).
My idea of long range is 25 yards. So with a 45 ACP, I must aim low,
5 inches at 25 yards, 9 inches at 50 yards, because that's how much my bullet
is above my line-of-sight.
Non-metallic knife.
"Defensive Shotgun Upgrades & Accessories" by Justin Carroll
Bottom Line Up Front --
If your shotgun didn’t come with a Magpul SGA stock or a youth stock,
you probably need a new stock. Get a Magpul SGA.
You need a white light because target ID is very important. Solutions
vary depending on what kind of gun you have.
You need sights. If your shotgun has a bead sight, you’re probably good,
but better sights are . . . better. I like optics, but you probably don’t need
an optic.
Remington 870s can use a bigger safety button.
Extra ammo is cool but optional.
Don’t put a bunch of other junk on there.
“U.S. Military Unveils "Drone Killer" Rifle Cartridges”
by Guy J. Sagi
Shooting at flying objects with rifles is an act of criminal stupidity.
The morons who advocate this should all be fired.
Where will the projectile come down if it hits or misses the target?
Do you understand why skeet and trap ranges limit the size of the
shot that may be used?
The solution to flying drones is electronic warfare, not projectile weapons.
Much cheaper, much more effective, no risk to humans, live stock, wild life,
or property.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tools to Track Ammunition Prices:
Ammo Seek
BulletScout
Caliber King
AmmoSquared Inc.
Ammo sources:
Lucky Gunner
Boro Bullets (manufactured in Murfreesboro, TN)
Unlimited Ammo
Target Sports USA
GunMag Warehouse
SGAmmo
True Shot Ammo
The Mag Shack
If you know of any others, please let me know.
Parts sources:
Numrich Gun Parts
Wolff gun springs
Brownells
Midway USA
*************************************************************************
Sia Vlasova
Yes indeed, you are.
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source. There is always some conspiracy theorists who has said
what you want to say. Quote him. Everyone will understand.
"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises."
-- Samuel Butler
Description of intelligence analysis.
"Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens, and the Conspiracies that Collapsed" by Nick Freitas
"Trump's Address About Election Integrity And Implications" by Docent
U.S. Intelligence (including U.S. Law enforcement) clearly isn't working
for the U.S. People.
"'Inside Job' - Trump Assassination Bombshell Rocks Secret Service
With Earth Shattering Claim"
by Explain America
Knee jerk reactions.
25,000,000 illegal aliens entered under President Biden.
"Houthis Declare Naval Blockade On Saudi Arabia" by Docent
Cited article,
"Yemen’s Houthis declare naval blockade on Saudi Arabia,
widening threat to global oil supplies"
by David DeTurris
"VIDEO: China's Population Is Collapsing" by Docent
---
Social trends in China --
"Lying flat" (tǎngpíng) and "letting it rot" (bǎilàn) are Chinese youth movements
rejecting hyper-competitive work culture and traditional markers of success due to
economic stagnation and high unemployment.
Lying flat, emerged in 2021, representing a passive retreat where individuals do
the bare minimum to survive, prioritizing psychological well-being over material
ambition.
Letting it rot, a darker evolution gaining prominence in 2022, signifies active
nihilism and surrender to deteriorating circumstances, reflecting a belief that
success is unattainable regardless of effort.
Key drivers of these trends include:
Economic Pressure: Youth unemployment reached a record 21.3% in
June 2023, alongside soaring housing costs and the grueling 996 work schedule.
Cultural Shift: The movements challenge Confucian values of striving,
with youth viewing the "Chinese Dream" as unreachable amidst social immobility.
Government Response: Authorities have criticized these attitudes as threats
to national growth, with the Cyberspace Administration of China mandating
censorship of such "negative worldviews" on social media by 2025.
---
This is the result of Communism.
"Why Now? JD Vance BREAKS From White House On Epstein Files | Ep. 4"
by John Kiriakou
Not Pakistan, the abandoned Soviet ICBM base in north-east Kyrgyzstan.
The base commander had to pay their troops. They had to get their troops home.
"SHOCKING: New Footage of Lindsey Graham Moments Before Death | Ep. 5"
by John Kiriakou
"Why Ukraine Is Now Attacking Iran" by Cappy Army
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Counter Intelligence
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Institute for the Study of war
The Dispatch
Strategy Page
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
Soldier Systems
Executive Order 12333
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Warfare,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
"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
Crypto-Gram July 15, 2026 by Bruce Schneier
Ghost fonts / images to defeat AI.
Apes Crave Slop
An alt-news outlet.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cover Your Tracks
To get the IP address you are presently using,
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
Soldier Systems
*************************************************************************
Sterre Meijer
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
"When one door closes, another opens;
but we often look so long and so regretfully
upon the closed door that we do not see the
one which has opened for us."
-- Alexander Graham Bell
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.
"Our culture worships information,
but information without application is an empty deity."
-- Dennis Rainey
Information theoretic entropy is thermodynamic entropy.
All is conserved in reversible processes. Information is conserved
in reversible operations. See "Thermodynamics" by Enrico Fermi,
Chapter 5.
"Information is conserved." -- Prof. Preskill
"Reinventing Entropy | Compression is Intelligence Part 1" by 3Blue1Brown
"But what is cross-entropy? | Compression is Intelligence Part 2" by 3Blue1Brown
"Hey Staff, you're searching for low entropy in the decrypted 'plaintext' but the
enemy can do a data processing [if there is no crypto-key it's data processing,
if there is a crypto-key it's encryption] operation to increase the entropy of the
'plaintext' like flipping every other bit in the file [in UNIX everything is a file].
So, the genetic algorithm won't find the low entropy plaintext, because it has
been data processed into a higher entropy 'plaintext'."
Then the data processing has to be incorporated into the fitness function.
"You don't have to memorize theorems.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"Giving is an amazing process because it violates common sense,
which tells us if we let go we will have less, not more."
-- Dave Ramsey
Do you understand why this quote is in this section?
"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
"Why does every mammal get 1 billion heartbeats in their life?" by Veritasium
"Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of
producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin."
-- John von Neumann
"Math News: The Additivity Conjecture in Knot Theory is FALSE!"
by Dr. Trefor Bazett
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
What are the regular polyhedra in the non-Euclidean geometries?
Elliptic, hyperbolic, projective, finite, point set, etc. Yes, it effects the curves that
we use. Elliptic-curve cryptography, etc.
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
"It seems necessary to counter the students' impression, resulting no doubt
from elementary and high school instruction in mathematics, that whereas
history texts are to be read, mathematics texts are essentially reference books
for formulas and homework exercises."
-- Morris Kline
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
‟There is an interesting story told by former President Charles W. Eliot
of Harvard [University] which illustrates the likelihood of introducing
unwarranted premises.
He entered a crowded restaurant and handed his hat to the doorman.
When he came out, the doorman at once picked Eliot's hat out of the
hundreds on the racks and gave it to him. He was amazed that the
doorman could remember so well and asked him,
"How did you know that was my hat?"
"I didn't," replied the doorman.
"Why, then did you hand it to me?"
The doorman's reply was, "Because you had handed it to me, sir." ”
-- Morris Kline
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
From "Mathematics for the Nonmathematician" by Morris Kline --
Alexandrian Greek, Eratosthenes (275 - 194 B.C.) calculated the
circumference of the Earth as follows.
At the summer solstice, the sun shone directly down into a well at Syene.
This meant that the Sun was directly overhead. At the same time in the
city of Alexandria, 500 miles north of Syene, the direction of the Sun was
measured at 7 and ½ degrees to the vertical, which means
7½° / 360° = 1 / 48 of a circle.
So the circumferance of the Earth must be 48 × 500 miles = 24,000 miles.
(Which is very close to 24,902 miles, the modern estimate.)
Strabo, a Greek geographer who lived in the first century B.C. realized
that one could sail past Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to India.
But this was not the distance the Christopher Columbus used. He thought
the circumference of the Earth was about 17,000 miles, based on the estimates
of Poseidonius (first century B.C.) and Ptolemy (second century A.D.), because
humans make mistakes.
That's why Columbus thought he had reached India, when he had reached
North America.
Plain text → data compression → encryption → error correction coding
→ transmission (storage) → reception (recalling from storage) →
error correction decoding → decryption → decompression → plain text
"So far as the theories of mathematics are about reality, they are not certain;
so far as they are certain, they are not about reality."
-- Albert Einstein
"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
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Arχiv (pronounced "archive", it's the Greek letter chi, pronounced kai)
Sci-Hub.Pub
Explanation,
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
*************************************************************************
Miranda Lambert
She carries because she understands that she is responsible for her protection.
*************************** Politics and Religion *****************************
"Monty Fritts Second Amendment Interview" by Tennessee Firearms Association
"Hope is the fuel that when ignited turns you,
the rocket, loose with intensity, and all the while
accountability is your guidance system that will
keep you between the ditches."
-- Dave Ramsey
Democratic Socialists of America, the party platform.
The purpose of war is not to die for your country.
The purpose of war is to ensure that the other guy dies for his country.
— George S. Patton
Bad ideas come from the social science and political science departments of universities,
because they are decoupled from reality.
"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
"Does Entropy Explain Why Crime Is Dropping?" by Jeff Asher
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
This paper is non-sense. The reason for crime going down is that there are more
vigilantes and they are more effective. Because, in the time period in question, it has
become easier to acquire and use the tools to eliminate the criminals. Read
"More guns, less crime" by John Lott.
---
Dear Jonathan:
Our newest research shows that just 2% of U.S. counties accounted for 54%
of all murders in 2024. Even within those counties, murders clustered in
remarkably small areas, with most occurring within roughly 10-block sections.
By contrast, 53% of counties recorded no murders at all, and another 16%
recorded only one. In total, nearly 70% of U.S. counties accounted for just
3% of all murders."
In still other related work, we document the growing number of Democratic
politicians who advocate defunding the police, abolishing prisons, and
eliminating ICE and the Border Patrol.
-- John Lott
"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
"The Diversity Report #34" by Docent
A selection of articles showcasing the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion.
"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
"The end of thought: you can't talk to some people" by Orion Taraban
Excerpts:
"It's all a sham performance."
"The weaponization of therapeutic language allows people to assume moral
superiority in the very act of attacking others."
---
This is what liberals do. Don't fall for it. Yes, as a matter of fact, liberalism
is a mental disorder. This is the essence of liberal politics.
UK Police Tell Citizens To Run, Hide, and call the police
How American Healthcare REALLY works.
"The Fauci Facts File — Never Again"
“Never again should we allow politicians and
mad scientists to shut down our mighty economy.”
by Mark Alexander
*************************************************************************
Sophie Simnett
"Hey, I'm a serious actress."
************* Psychology **************************************
"Work keeps us from three evils: boredom, vice, and poverty."
-- Voltaire
"Obedience: a model for women" by Orion Taraban
"Paying to play: the two exceptions" by Orion Taraban
"Love cheats: the unfaithful spouse" by Orion Taraban
"Gambling is a tax on stupidity."
-- Voltaire
Leaving an abusive relationship.
"The gift of your absence: if you can't leave" by Orion Taraban
Grey Rock technique. Very useful for dealing with angry aggressive people.
You know someone in an abusive relationship. Pass this along. You may
be saving their life.
---
The cited video,
"The GIFT of your ABSENCE:
how to increase your perceived value in relationships"
by Orion Taraban
"Update to “The GIFT of your ABSENCE„ :
responding to your comments at 100,000 views"
by Orion Taraban
Deep truths.
"Haters are good: how being disliked helps you" by Orion Taraban
Ideas that work and accord with reality.
It's not enough to be true, it must also be needful.
"She'll wait: why she won't forget about you" by Orion Taraban
A woman who loves you will wait. If she doesn't wait, she never loved you.
She was just pretending for the goodies.
Because ultimately, she is more loyal to her feelings. Emotional states of love
and attraction are much better predictors of female behavior than an explicit
agreement (marriage vows, etc.).
Very deep.
"The Cashier Girl Phenomenon" by The Memeologist
It is absolutely true that when viewed in person, supermodels look strange. They have stark
facial features and are emaciated because they are clothes hangers.
Please view this video. It's very important.
"The court does not deal in trifles: most things aren't worth your time"
by Orion Taraban
************* End of Psychology section*********************************
Sophie Simnett
I don't love spaghetti.
*************************************************************************
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
A friend asked me to protect some villagers in a third world pit.
They had been forced out of their village into refugee camps in India by
the civil war in Burma. The government in Burma said that it was safe for
them to return to their village, so they did. Now they are getting killed.
My friend told me not to kill anyone. I asked her what alternate universe
she was living in that she thought we could protect the villagers in a civil war
without killing anyone. She got mad (which is a defense mechanism persons
often use when they are speaking nonsense) and told me to leave the project
if I was just going to go in and shoot the place up.
I asked her what she wanted me to do. She said she wanted me to help
the villagers, work with the villagers, give them agency, empower them. I told
her I didn't understand what she was saying and asked her to clarify. She
got angry and told me that If I didn't know how to work with people, I should
drop out of the project.
I told her that I don't speak their language, so I can't really work with them.
And they had already demonstrated that they were unwilling to take up arms
to defend themselves. So the best I could do would be to kill their enemies.
I asked her to get me the names of the decision makes, the political leaders,
the commanding officers, etc., and I would negotiate with them. She told me
not to kill anyone. I asked her how she expected to negotiate without any
leverage, without any threat. She got angry again and told me to just go away
if all I could do was kill people. I told her that I understood that she wanted
to keep her hands clean, and I would take care of things in country. She got
angry again.
Moral of the story: never try to do favors for former lovers.
"[TV sets] are stealing our quality time. They are not evil and you can tell by my
familiarity that they are in our home; but we are not afraid to turn them off --- nor
should you be."
-- Dave Ramsey
The TV gave me no useful information. And my first ex-wife used it as a baby
sitter, turning the kids into zombies. So, I removed the TV's from my house in 1995.
It greatly improved my life and the lives of my children. My children told me how
the other kids at school thought they were weird because they didn't know about all
the things on TV. I thought that was a good thing.
In early 2026, God caused my car radio to die. Now my drives are much more
pleasant. I hadn't realized how much noise the radio broadcasts were pumping into
my brain. The purpose of music, songs, news (propaganda), and commentary is to
cause an emotional reaction. Best not to have such emotions when dealing with the
road rage of others.
“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
"When it comes to the people we love, love is spelled T-I-M-E."
-- Gary Smalley
My pastor at Sunnyvale [California] Presbyterian Church told me that
love is action. Love is the things we do. For instance,
"She died and I had never told her that I loved her."
She knew you loved her by the things you did for her and her children.
"The More I See . . ." by Greg Ellifritz
---
Retrospect is a bitch.
What is the first step in solving a problem?
Engineer: determine initial and boundary conditions. (budgetary constraints,
time constraints, resource constraints, government regulation constraints,
engineering compromises that must be determined based on needs and wants
of the customer)
Scientist: decide whether or not the underlying assumptions are correct.
Mathematician: prove that a solution exists.
Ballast.
Man rules.
Consider.
The Best Babysitter Ever
Transitioning from military to civilian.
Family first always.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Willow Hand
Hot humid summer in Nashville.
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