Greetings Sheepdogs,
If it's highlighted in yellow, that's me talking.
This why the United States of America is different.
East Tennessee Freedom Festival
Saturday, September 19, 2026
"It is necessary for every American, with becoming energy to endeavor to stop
the dissemination of principles evidently destructive of the cause for which they
have bled. It must be the combined virtue of the rulers and of the people to do this,
and to rescue and save their civil and religious rights from the outstretched arm
of tyranny, which may appear under any mode or form of government."
—Mercy Warren (1805)
“Here for the Party” by Gretchen Wilson and Ella Langley
Live at CMA Fest 2026
The purpose of these blog postings is continuing education for my Defensive
Pistolcraft self-defense students; to stay in contact with my classmates from
SigInt School, Crypto School, and Intel School; and to be a channel and back
channel for those who wish to communicate or just cause trouble.
"Meet the Country Singer Beating Everyone on the Charts" by Ben Shapiro
Shapiro doesn't appreciate Ella's song, but he understands the big picture.
"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
Ella Langley
***** ***** ***** 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
*************************************************************************
“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
------------------------------ 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.
A post turtle is a turtle that is on top of a flat post.
Couldn't get up there by himself, someone else put him up there.
Can't get off the post unless someone helps him by putting him back on the ground.
Be aware of post turtles and beware of those who put them there.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
Criminals are hunting you. Do you know what they are looking for?
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Does the presence of more guns cause more homicides?" by Justin T. Haskins
Hat tip to Maria Bauer Melinn.
Hat tip to Tom Givens.
Put your cursor over the animated graph and see for yourself.
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"The active shooter is not a common street thug, and the same rules do not apply."
by Gabe Suarez
Defense of others is legal and morally correct.
The vast majority of civilian gun carriers in the U.S. are cowards, not because
they want to be, but because the training and insurance company propaganda has
fostered such an atmosphere, to only protect yourself and your loved ones.
"Not my circus, not my monkeys." "I can't possible know what the origination
of the situation was, so won't get involved." Gabe says that's wrong.
I would give Gabe's arguments serious consideration.
[Gabe, like Howard Marbury (federal prosecutor in Florida), thinks that
buying self-defense insurance is a waste of money, because good guys don't
get prosecuted. The prosecutors have so many bad guys to prosecute, they
wouldn't waste their resources prosecuting a good guy. The problem, of course,
is that the cops, the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury were not there to see
you behave as a good guy, and they don't know you from Adam. -- Jon Low]
The guys at Twin Falls, Idaho get an A for courage, but an F for marksmanship.
Being brave isn't enough.
"What is your self-image? What do you want to be? And then live up to it."
". . . 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"
Obama era CDC report --
Hat tip to Tom Givens.
Excerpts:
". . . defensive gun use is “at least as common as offensive uses by criminals.” "
". . . consistently lower injury rates” among victims who used guns defensively
compared with victims who used other self-protection strategies."
"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
‷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
"Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning."
-- Sir Winston Churchill
“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
*************************************************************************
********************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
Zugzwang is a thing. But with situational awareness, you can avoid it.
"Prisoner (Children of Divorce) Exchanges" by tacticalprofessor (Claude Werner)
When I was a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate for children,
appointed by the Family Court), I would accompany foster parents to visitation
meetings with biological parents, children being transferred between divorced
parents, biological parents visiting their children in the hospital, and such. Always
high tension, because the biological parents would attempt to kidnap the children.
It's kidnapping because the court has removed the children from the biological
parent's custody. And rightfully so, extreme abuse and neglect that would make
you sick.
So relaxed alertness is essential, sometimes hypervigilance.
"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone"
– James Madison
"Situational Awareness: Stop Trying to Notice Everything"
by WTF Kristen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
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)
"Practicing Awareness – Part III" by tacticalprofessor
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"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
*************************************************************************
Advanced Firearms Instructor Development Course
Hat tip to Matthew Turner
Hat tip to Matthew Turner
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA)
63% were taken by surprise. Maybe 78%.
You might lose the fight. The other guy may be more skill, stronger, etc.
But you should never be taken by surprise.
If you didn't see it coming, you've got a problem that you MUST fix.
*************************************************************************
"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)
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
Emilia Ivanova
Happy smiles
------------------------------ 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.
“They want us to be afraid. They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes.
They want us to barricade our doors and hide our children. Their aim is to make
us fear life itself!”
-- Kamand Kojouri
"Chaos!" by John Farnam
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
"On Avoidance" by Jeremy Clough
De-escalation only works if the other guy is willing to calm down.
My father would always tell me that "You can always walk away." But, I learned
that's not true.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Do you understand?
"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
"South American Crime Prevention Advice" by Greg Ellifritz
Understand this and tell your children.
In Peru there is a saying; “Hay sapos.” Literally it means “There are toads.”
There are spies.
Colombians call it “dar papaya.” The term literally means “to give papaya.”
Making yourself an inviting and easy victim for the criminal predator.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
This is reality.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
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.
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
“It is usually impossible to know when you’ve prevented a bad outcome.”
-- Mokokoma Mokhonoana
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
*************************************************************************
Ida Zeile
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
In training, be careful of words such as "comfortable". As in the instructor
telling you to hold your rifle with your support-side hand as far forward as
comfortable. This is vague. Instruction should NEVER be vague.
Any position will become comfortable and feel natural with enough
practice. The question is, "Is the position structurally sound? Does the position
provide skeletal structural support for the rifle?"
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert’s mind there are few.”
— Shunryu Suzuki
Hat tip to 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
"Your Qualification Score Doesn't Predict Gunfight Performance"
by Pete Blair
Cited article,
"Police handgun qualification:
practical measure or aimless activity?"
by Gregory B. Morrison and Bryan J. Vila
Excerpts:
"Person hit rates ran from 22% to 56% across multiple cities.
Fatality rates among opponents struck by police bullets clustered
around 26-31% across most cities studied, with Dallas (39%) and
Los Angeles (38%) somewhat higher." [Police shooting at suspects.]
"Alpert’s Metro-Dade study (1989, cited by Geller and Scott 1992)
reports “no relation between shots fired that hit their targets and
the officer’s qualifying score.” McGee, then chief firearms instructor
for the NYPD, examined 1970s field shootings and could not find a
“clear connection” between range scores and bullet hit rates either.
Two departments looked, two found nothing."
"The authors’ own conclusion is that qualification, as American departments
practice it, is not a valid measure of gunfighting ability. It tests an officer’s
capacity to shoot a fixed number of rounds at a clearly defined target at a
known distance, with set time limits, and clear and arbitrary threshold.
None of that mirrors what happens in an armed confrontation, and none of
the prevailing doctrine, technique, or threshold-setting was developed by
looking at field-shooting data or evaluated against it after the fact. Their words:
“the rote firing of time-honored courses and their derivatives produces
well-practiced range marksmen, but it does not assess their ability to perform
in gunfights.” "
"On the range, a trainee hears a timer beep or sees a target turn, and then
fires a set number of shots at a piece of paper, which often only vaguely looks
like a person, in a certain amount of time. Then they have to swivel their head
because maybe the instructor is walking behind them holding up a random
number of fingers."
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
The article,
"The Free Low-Light Challenge That Tests If You’re Really Ready for the Dark"
by Jacob Paulsen
The challenge,
The Low-Light Readiness Challenge
The downloadable targets,
https://amedia.concealedcarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/05113403/Low-Light-Performance-Test.pdf
You really need to do this. It's free. Very enlightening.
Thank you very much Jacob Paulsen, Riley Bowman, Dan Brady, et al.
I was using the Brave web browser. Brave prevented the Vimeo embedded
videos from playing. When I switched to the Chrome browser, it worked.
"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
John Hearne says, "Interesting history - go to page 22 to read Jeff Cooper's
discussion of the El Presidente:"
Excerpt:
"The best course for those who are really interested, is to enroll in a formal school
of weaponcraft and acquire the right technique from the ground up. Bad habits are
hard to break."
-- Jeff Cooper
"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
Essay by Jeff L. Gonzales --
Excerpts:
Misses should be diagnostic, not acceptable.
Training should push the edge without abandoning control.
Performance must be measurable and repeatable.
---
This is Mike Pannone's YouTube.com channel,
but I don't know which video Jeff is referring to.
"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
I just got back from the Bullets & Bibles 2026 conference (also known as
Active Self Protection National Conference 2026). They had about half of
normal attendance. I hear other conferences are trending similarly. TacCon
no longer sells out within minutes of opening registration.
I picked up a lot of information in informal gatherings or over meals on
Executive Protection and Venue Security, how they are different, and what
a church security team needs to know about both.
Howard Marbury says the insurance companies pump out propaganda to
scare you into buying self-defense insurance. He says you don't need to buy
such insurance because real self-defense incidents don't get prosecuted. He
said USCCA has taken only one case to trial. He said CCW Safe has only
taken one case to trial. And they've been collecting premiums for years. He
told us that as a prosecutor he has 2000 cases on his desk, so he's not going
to waste his resources prosecuting a case that is justified self-defense, rather
he is going to prosecute the bad guys. So we should not fear using lethal
force in self-defense.
Kaery Dudenhofer says she has worked on many self-defense cases as
an expert witness where the accused was innocent. So she thinks self-defense
insurance is essential.
Warren Wilson gave a detailed class on how to discriminate between truly
dangerous and merely afraid dogs. Lots of great photos (of dogs, not injuries),
allowing us to see the mental state of the dog based on posture, tail, ears, mouth,
etc. His department was shooting (and killing) too many dogs that didn't need
to be shot. So as a dog lover, he developed this class. You really can accurately
predict the dog's behavior based on observations of the dog. Of course, if the
dog is going to attack, you won't have much time, but you will have certainty
that the dog needs to be shot. The "HALT" pepper spray that the U.S. Postal
Service issues to mailmen is ineffective. Wasp spray is ineffective. (There were
a few others that were ineffective, but I had never heard of them.)
When fighting a dog with your hands, use fists, not fingers. Fingers are easily
bitten off.
John Correia recommends "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Hiadt.
Because when Bill Hayes expressed his concern that shooting and killing an
assailant seemed to conflict with Jesus' command to love your enemies.
John explained that killing the bad guy was a radical act of love. Preventing
the bad guy from committing a sin which would damn his soul for eternity.
It is good and proper to correct people when they are wrong. Sometimes
the only correction available is to kill him. And of course, you are protecting
self or others. Which Jesus also commands you to do. As in get a sword and
if you don't have a sword, sell your coat and buy a sword. Luke 22:36
Dave Reed says, talk, breathe, think. [I think this was, "as opposed to
shooting immediately" or "shooting without thinking". My notes are more
jumbled that I had thought they were. -- Jon Low]
He taught us about sight over bore (the gap between the two lines).
And in drills many discovered that they were shooting into cover
when they thought they were shooting the target. One of many things you
need to pay attention to. Bring a few scarfs to class for students who are
wearing shirts with low neck lines. Got to block the hot brass from going
down the front of their shirts.
Training should not be mimicking what is taught, but rather it should be
self-exploration and self-discovery. You, the student, must experiment and
determine for yourself what works easily for you, what works best for you,
what works reliably for you (not necessarily the same).
-- John Correia (paraphrased)
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
The "Three S" Test
by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Is the technique being taught SIMPLE to execute or perform?
Does it make SENSE? If it doesn’t make sense to you,
talk to the instructor and express concern. If the instructor can’t
address your concern, you’re wise to dismiss the technique.
Is it STREET PROVEN? Has the technique been used in
actual combat of the type you may face? Not just once, but
time and again.
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The Armed but Unprepared:
Why Shooting Skill Isn’t Enough - Lou Ann Hamblin EP 38"
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"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
"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)
Context, an Old Friend and I are shooting pistols on a range.
Me: Your grip is wrong. (So I show and explain how to properly grip his pistol.)
Old Friend: Everyone has their opinion. This works for me.
Me: Well, no, it doesn't work. Having your support-side thumb behind the pistol
runs the risk of cutting your thumb, or in a worst case breaking your thumb.
Old Friend: Well, I don't want my thumb touching the slide. It slows the slide
down and causes malfunctions.
Me: No, it doesn't. If you are getting malfunctions, your recoil spring is weak
or your magazine spring is weak. Change them and you won't get malfunctions.
Old Friend: Change springs? This pistol is rated for 50,000 round. I've shot a
few hundred rounds. I don't need to change springs.
This conversation quickly degenerated into total nonsense. We used to be
peers in handgun competence, but while I pursued further training, he had not.
He simply refused to entertain the possibillity that I knew anything more than
he when it came to pistolcraft.
People who think they know everything, irritate those of us who do. (That's
a joke.)
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
*************************************************************************
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------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
“There are things that you cannot imagine,
but there is nothing that may not happen!”
-- CIA Axiom
Dual attention switching.
"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
"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
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
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
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.
The Tactical Anatomy Summit, $650.00
DESOTO, KS: OCT 3-4, 2026
Mill Creek Rifle Club
7215 Gardner Rd
De Soto, KS 66018
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
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------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attend classes so you know what the best practices are. They change.
It is a mistake of youth to think that the way things are is the way they have always been,
or that they always will be.
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
Red Dot Sight Handgun Instructor by Sage Dynamics, $700.00
open enrollment
September 23 – 25, 2026 A.D. (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
Royal Range USA, 7741 US-70S, Nashville, TN 37221, USA
Course description:
To register:
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
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.
"Where to Shoot" by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Jessy teaches you how to dry practice.
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
"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
“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
“An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory.”
-- EF Schumacher
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy to escape.
Sometimes you must close with the enemy to
destroy him with fire and close combat.
"Shooting quickly in a staged environment under no stress
does not make you tactically proficient."
-- John Hearne
Shooting in a match is "no stress". Under the stress of a lethal encounter,
it is common to defecate, urinate, shake uncontrollably, suffer extreme tunnel vision,
suffer auditory exclusion (can't hear anything), have false memories, have temporary
amnesia, suffer cramps, suffer sore muscles all over your body (without injury, without
you using those muscles), and all kinds of other strange things. Have you ever suffered
such in a match? Have you ever seen anyone suffer such in a match? Neither have I.
"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
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Engaging Moving Targets with the Handgun" by Tom Givens
Excerpt:
At typical defensive distances, a human target cannot move fast enough
to need any appreciable amount of lead (leed, not led).
"The secret is applying extreme force with the pinkies and
working your way up the rest of the digits."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
Pop the gun to reach the mag release. I love Jessy. She's so cute.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
Jessy explains how to reload.
". . . 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"
"Options!" by John Farnam
---
I do not recommend off body carry, because I think it is too easy to lose control
of the gun. But I understand that in some cases there is no other option, so off
body carry it is. Just make sure there is a steel cable running through the strap
so it cannot be sliced and ripped off your body. Make sure it stays in a position
that you can easily access. Wearing it on your back doesn't make sense to me.
If that's your everyday carry, your instructor ought to let you use it in his class.
Because it is realistic training. Farnam always was a trailblazer (of course, I'm
referring to Vicki.)
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
-- Ben Stoeger
"Breaking Down the Steps to the Fastest Draw: Access and Presentation"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"The deeper the gun is buried, the longer it will take. Surveillance video of the
double murder in the White Settlement, Texas, church a few years ago shows a
tragic example. The church security volunteer took about three seconds to draw.
He was just raising his Springfield XD when the murderer’s 12-gauge slug tore
through his chest and killed him outright.
He normally carried on the hip under a single garment. However, this day he
was seated, his gun holstered at the middle of his back under an untucked shirt
and a jacket.
[The background was that his daughter had given him a new pistol for Christmas.
So he was carrying it. NEVER carry weapon system until you have practiced
with it enough to be competent.
Always carry the same weapon in the same place. Confusion kills!
-- Jon Low]
The killer was instantly dropped a moment later by a .357 SIG bullet
fired by church security leader Jack Wilson."
"Another factor is safety straps or other holster retention devices."
[NEVER use retention devices on your holster. No one will attempt to grab your
pistol, because no one knows that you have a pistol, because you ALWAYS
conceal your pistol and NEVER talk about it.
Defeating a retention device under the debilitating stress of a lethal force
encounter is extremely difficult, unless you have practiced a lot (5000 repetitions
in the last year, 10 repetitions in the last 12 hours) you're fooling yourself about
your ability to deploy your weapon under high stress.
Under stress, easy things become difficult, difficult things become impossible.
-- Jon Low]
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry" by Greg Ellifritz
---
Open carry is an act of criminal stupidity. Don't do it.
The element of surprise is the difference between life and death.
There is no advantage to open carry. You will be mistaken for a policeman
or courier of high value items. In either case, you will be shot first in any criminal
scenario.
Your pistol is a high value item. Criminals and crazy persons will attempt to
steal it from you. And then they will kill you and everyone around you. Actually,
there are a lot of documented cases.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Concealed Carry for Women: Choosing the Right Carry Method"
by Lorraine Crescimanno
"Whatever you leave alone is perfect." -- Brian Enos
"Dark Arts for Good Guys: Break on Through to the other side"
https://straightforwardinacrookedworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/dark-arts-for-good-guys-break-on_19.html
Hat tip to Tom Givens, hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Ramming through road blocks made by parked cars.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"In my strategy the footwork does not change.
I always walk as I usually do in the street."
-- Miyamoto Musashi
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
Jon Low at the Bullets & Bibles conference, aka
Active Self Protection National Conference
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** 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.
“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
"Before You Need That Phone Call:
Understanding Self-Defense Legal Plans and Insurance"
by Robyn Sandoval
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Interesting that Attorneys On Retainer is not listed.
I was surprised that Joseph Chiarello & Co., Inc. was listed, because they are
a small company. John Farnam had recommended them to me. I use them for
my instructor insurance, 2 million in general liability and 1 million in professional
liability (if I get sued for something that I taught a student).
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
Concerning USCCA and the Kayla Giles case --
Mike Seeklander sent me an email and invited my attention to
Read the section on "Kayla Giles Retrial".
Mike Seeklander sent me an email concerning Alan Colie --
Our talking points are as follows:
"I can assure you that coverage in the Alan Colie case has not been denied.
There was never a denial of Mr. Colie’s claim, or denial that he acted in
self-defense. The insurance company, Universal Fire and Casualty Insurance
Company (UFCIC) is now and continues to be in contact with Mr. Colie.
Mr. Colie is currently represented by an attorney whose fees are being paid
for thanks to his USCCA Member benefits, and who is seeking an appeal."
[Ya, but why did Colie get convicted in the first place? He called USCCA and left a messge.
USCCA did not return his calls, did not contact him in jail. So he had to use a public defender.
You get as much justice as you can afford in America. You need the money in full up front.
Because no attorney in his right mind will work any other way. Paying for an appeal doesn't
mean much. Colie has already been convicted. -- Jon Low]
“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
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
I took a Trauma 2 class taught by Joey Story, EMT-P, and his wife at the
Strategic Edge Gun Range in Chapel Hill, TN on 16 August 2026. We learned:
needle decompression (after applying all kinds of chest seals), locating and
inserting between the 2nd and 3rd ribs, locating and inserting between the
5th and 6th ribs, because at these locations you won't puncture the lung,
how deep to go, etc.;
nasal airway clearing (always use a water based lubricant), bevel toward septum,
twist to follow curvature;
oral airway clearing (blind insertions airway clearing, et al);
how to use a wide variety of tourniquets, advantages and disadvantages of each;
CPR, lots of details to be aware of;
suction devices (every house that has children should have a Life Vac,
they cost about $100);
how to drill into bone to inject fluids, medicines, and such into bone marrow
(as opposed to an IV), sometimes you can't find a vein, druggies have collapsed
all their veins;
how to administer an IV (saline and lactated ringers, because saline thins the
blood and doesn't carry oxygen);
how to clean and stitch up cuts (sutures, staples, zipper stitches, etc.), how to
tie a surgeon's knot with hemostats (you want to use hemostats, as opposed to
forceps, because that locking mechanism makes a world of difference).
We got to practice on some very realistic dummies and big chunks of meat
(ribs, later to be cooked for dinner). Can you identify the bones in a rack of
ribs from the meaty side?
I highly recommend!
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
"Surgeon Reacts:
.223 vs 9mm Wounds Are Not What You Think"
by Dr. Chris Raynor
"Category error."
Dr. Raynor does an excellent statistical analysis.
Deep medical analysis.
The gel tests are not the problem. The problem is what we think the gel tests mean.
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"Trauma Kit List: Essential First Aid Gear for Severe Bleeding"
by Ken Jorgustin
Hat tip to Docent.
"Tourniquets Suck for EDC: Carry This Instead" by Swift/Silent/Deadly
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"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
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
--Benjamin Franklin
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
Ella Langley
***** ***** ***** 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
Jess Mauro
Jessy has an Instagram channel where she teaches what she believes to be correct.
I don't agree with a lot of what she teaches. But she is teaching from a competitive
perspective, and she's cute.
She was a team shooter for Beretta. So she's the real thing and knows what
she's talking about.
---
Jessy explains how to clean your gun.
The first technique really only works for cute girls.
Jessy suggests brake cleaner. Ya, we used to use carburetor cleaner
when I was in the Marine Corps (though we were forbidden from doing so).
---
Deep truth.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Langdon Tactical Technologies.
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
SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWSLETTER
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
"DOJ Says Law-Abiding Americans Can Carry Guns in Public Post Offices"
by John Crump
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"The United States Department of Justice has released a formal
Office of Legal Counsel memorandum opinion clarifying that law-abiding
Americans may carry constitutionally protected firearms into publicly
accessible post offices for self-defense without violating federal criminal law.
The opinion, dated August 12, 2026, and authored by
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lanora C. Pettit,
interprets 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), the longstanding prohibition on possessing
firearms or other dangerous weapons in federal facilities, as not reaching
ordinary self-defense carry in post offices open to the public. Section 930(a)
makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess a firearm in a federal facility,
defined as a building or portion thereof owned or leased by the federal
government where federal employees regularly perform official duties.
Post offices clearly qualify under this definition. However, subsection (d)(3)
creates an explicit exception for the “lawful carrying of firearms or other
dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other
lawful purposes.” The OLC concludes that self-defense constitutes a
paradigmatic “lawful purpose.” Critically, the opinion holds that no special
nexus is required between the reason a person enters the post office and
the reason for carrying the firearm. Simply entering a public post office
while lawfully armed for self-defense falls within the statutory exception.
The memorandum further determines that the longstanding Postal Service
regulation at 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l), which imposes a blanket ban on firearms
on postal property, cannot be enforced against individuals covered by the
statutory exception. A congressional statute prevails over an agency regulation.
Therefore, neither federal prosecutors nor the Postal Service may impose
criminal penalties under § 930(a) or the regulation against otherwise
law-abiding citizens who carry for self-defense in post offices generally
open to the public."
---
"DOJ Says Lawful Gun Owners Can Carry in Post Offices"
by Jacob Paulsen
https://www.concealedcarry.com/court-decisions/doj-says-lawful-gun-owners-can-carry-in-post-offices/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"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)
Gun Law Database
"Andrew Branca: In-n-Out Active Shooter Twin Falls, ID."
Defense-of-others has a lot more ambiguity than a self-defense.
Bad guys use rifles. Defenders do not generally carry rifles, so defenders have
pistols. But at the ranges of self-defense or defense-of-others the advantage is
not significant, as we see.
Police and other armed civilians could shoot the good guy, because nobody
knows anyone else at the scene.
"Transferred intent". An argument, that does not always win on merit.
"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
"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
“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
*************************************************************************
Milena Ioanna
Squatting on a rigid platform.
In such a position, can you easily draw from a holster in an appendix position?
Do you see her pistol at 9 o'clock?
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
“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
"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
“Pick a lane, master that lane, and stay in it.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
************************************************************************
----- Students -----
"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
“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
*************************************************************************
----- 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
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
"Too much? Too little?" by John Farnam
A proper pair of boots will not allow you to twist your ankle.
"I Never Took Defensive Flashlights Seriously. Until One Was Used Against Me"
by Mitch Goerdt
Excerpts:
"The Best Defensive Tool Might Be the One You Can Use Before the Gun"
"There are certain lessons in firearms training that make perfect sense when
someone explains them.
Then there are lessons you don't fully understand until you experience them."
"To Zero or Not to Zero" by Rich Grassi
Excerpt:
". . . but I could be wrong."
[Well, it's not that he could be wrong, the problem is that the essay is confusing.
-- Jon Low]
---
At any rate, you can use the cited Sight Height Calculators to great advantage.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Silencer Myths: Part 2
Subsonic, Measure and Mice"
by Tom McHale
The advantage of using a subsonic pistol round is that the bullet never transitions
between supersonic and subsonic, so it never passes through its own shock wave.
The effective range of a rifle bullet, for instance, is the distance at which the bullet
is still supersonic.
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Shoot Steel Targets"
by Tom McHale
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
I think double action only (DAO) pistols are fine, because every trigger
press is the same.
I object to double action / single action (DA/SA) pistols, because they
have two very different trigger presses. Which means the shooter must have
practiced two different trigger presses. (2000 correct repetitions to make
the trigger press automatic. Thus, 4000 correct repetitions to make the
DA/SA automatic for both trigger conditions.)
I think this over complicates the manual of arms. I think every trigger
press should be the same.
First round hits are critically important. (because if you can stop the fight
with one shot, you eliminate the possibility of collateral damage with the
subsequent shots) So, the first press should be the easiest, not the hardest.
Making the first trigger press long and heavy is not conducive to accuracy.
Accuracy is more important than safety when in the process of engaging
an enemy.
The reason the DA/SA shooter had to fire more than one shot is because
he missed with the first shot. Because the first shot had a long heavy trigger
press that he could not stage, that he could not control as well as the single
action trigger press.
Docent also points out the the first shot in a DA/SA pistol has a much
longer reach (pull length). Some people can't reach the trigger for the first
shot.
Handicapping yourself because you fear shooting yourself or having a
negligent discharge is wrong.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
Jessy explains single action and double action.
The purpose of a high capacity magazine is NOT to let you shoot more;
it is to let you reload less.
-- Tom Givens
Jessy explains how not to look like a retard when inspecting a trigger.
At the Bullets & Bibles conference (also known as the Active Self Protection
National Conference), I had fired about 200 rounds left-handed with my Glock 21
when I noticed a painful lump at the joint between the middle phalanx and the
proximal phalanx of my middle finger of my left hand. Yes, Glock Knuckle.
It's a real thing and must be avoided by thinning the trigger guard where it meets
the grip of the pistol. Otherwise, you may develop a painful, permanent,
lump on your middle finger due to a repetitive stress injury. Every time you fire,
your pistol's trigger guard will rub your proximal interphalangeal.
No, changing your grip to avoid this repetitive stress injury is not the correct
solution. Changing your grip to fit your hand is the correct solution. It's easy,
take your Dremel tool and undercut the trigger guard, and thin, and smooth the
trigger guard where it meets your grip.
If you're reluctant to do this, because you fear being unable to resell your
pistol, your priorities are all screwed up.
"1986 VS 2026: Guns And Ammo Pricing" by Jacob Long
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sight Height Calculators
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
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
"Ukraine Is Pulling Off Something Impossible In Crimea"
by The Domino Effect
"John Kiriakou Dismantles Seal Team 6 Leaker Who Set Him Up"
by Jamesons Travels
Kiriakou's video was previously cited in this DefensivePistolcraft.com blog.
"Israel Is Going After Me for My Show: I'm Not Backing Down"
by John Kiriakou
Food shortages and unsanitary conditions are something I never saw during
my time in the U.S. Armed Forces. So this is very disappointing.
Foreign armed forces have these problems all the time.
"Russians Surround Bradley—They Regret It (Combat Footage)"
by Cappy Army
"Someone’s Assassinating All Their Enemies" by Cappy Army
Abuse of intelligence gathering technology.
"The NOT SO SECRET Moscow Mission: Why the CIA is in Russia | Ep.14"
by John Kiriakou
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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
"New tech adds phone tracking to license plate readers,
associating devices with identifiable cars"
by Nicole M. Bennett
Hat tip to Docent.
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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
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"The Integral That Changed Mathematics Forever" by Gaurav Kannaujiya
"You don't have to memorize theorems.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
When the prevailing crypto-currency protocols were being developed,
I said the math / logic was wrong. I thought that would be the end of it.
But marketing defeats all logical arguments. (Tobacco companies convinced
millions to pay money for a product that would kill the customer. Stupidity
raised to a higher level.)
Now that the protocols are widespread and lots of stupid people are
squandering their money buying crypto-currencies, colleagues tell me that
I should be screaming from the roof tops. I don't think I have the reputation
for that to work.
Before you buy crypto-currency, do the thought experiment (assuming you
know how your crypto-currency system works), if 5 "banks" collude to verify
a transaction (whether you made it or not), will the transaction be processed?
Is there any way to reverse said transaction? The answer to your thought
experiment should be enough.
"So next time a teacher hands you a differential equation to solve,
your first question back ought to be: "With what boundary conditions?!"
-- Elliot Schneider
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of
producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin."
-- John von Neumann
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
Plain text → data compression → encryption → error correction coding
→ transmission (writing to storage) → communications channel (environmental noise) →
reception (reading from storage) → error correction decoding →
decryption → decompression → plain text (or so we would hope)
"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
Sci-Hub.Pub
Explanation,
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CAfwn4106Z0
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
*************************************************************************
Anna Cramling
*************************** Politics and Religion *****************************
Email from John Lott --
My new piece at The Federalist
illustrates how broadly calls to defund the police and prisons and abolish ICE
and borders have spread throughout the Democratic Party. Democrats say
they care about Black lives, but I argue that these policies will produce more
Black murder and violent-crime victims.
Jessy's views on things.
"Ella Langley - Wildflower Heart (Official Video)
"AR-15s and abortion"
New Jersey Democrat Governor Mikie Sherrill signed another law
protecting abortion. This one prevents extradition of those responsible for
murdering unborn babies. However, signing it was clearly not enough.
"In the past four years," she lamented, "13 states . . . have enacted total abortion
bans. It's easier to get an AR-15 in the United States than it is to get an abortion."
That statement is untrue — far more Americans live in states
where they are prohibited from buying so-called "assault weapons" than live in
states where they can't murder their babies. Worse, Sherrill alludes to the delusion
that rifles kill more people than abortions do. The real numbers:
In 2024, rifles of any type were used to kill 401 people.
That same year, abortion claimed the lives of more than one million babies.
-- The Patriot Post
Mothers murdering their children is as bad as it sounds.
"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
Historically, it is very strange that Blacks and Japanese are predominantly
Democrats. The Republicans freed the slaves. Remember Abraham Lincoln?
The Democrats arrested the Japanese and put them in camps during World
War 2. I guess those groups are easily brainwashed. As are many others.
"Communism In America - Part 1
From someone who knows the evils communism firsthand"
by Gabriel Suarez
"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
Another wakes up.
"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
"Dithering!" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
"Thus, leftists will ever harass, persecute, denigrate society’s heroes,
and what’s left? A society filled with paralyzed, self-declared “victims,”
career losers, beggars who accomplish nothing and spend their pitiable
tenure with their hand out, inventing lame excuses, squandering away
the only life they will ever have!"
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
Liars got to lie.
"[Democrats] say they want to abolish ICE. . . .
So you want to abolish an agency that found 151,000 children.
You want to abolish an agency that seized enough fentanyl to
kill every American three times over again. You want to abolish
an agency that is attacking sex trafficking."
—Border Czar Tom Homan
The Patriot Post
"Ella Langley — My Cramps (Official Music Video)"
“Public policy generated by a handful of crazies is never sensible
and isn’t the norm in American life. We don’t limit food distribution
because of bulimics, we don’t limit car distribution because of terrible
drivers, and we don’t limit bridges because a few people jump off them.”
– Marty Klein
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
*************************************************************************
************* Psychology **************************************
"Work keeps us from three evils: boredom, vice, and poverty."
-- Voltaire
"Love is hard: why it is rare" by Orion Taraban
Estrus
Cited paper,
"Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers:
economic evidence for human estrus?"
by Geoffrey Miller, Joshua M. Tybur, and Brent D. Jordan
in the journal "Evolution and Human Behavior"
Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2007, Pages 375-381.
Statistically significant. Women use this.
"Cervantes Knew Something We Still Don’t Understand Today" - Jordan Peterson
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"Save some for yourself." Wednesday, August 19th, 2026
Comedian Patrice O'Neal once said that he has a rule of only loving a
woman 90% of the way. His argument was that if he were to love fully and
completely, and she were to leave, he would be left with nothing. And
considering that women initiate a disproportionate number of breakups and
divorces, this isn't especially hypothetical.
I actually think this is a really good rule. Let's be honest. If anyone
deserves 100% of your love and devotion, it's God – and that's a tall order
even for the devout who wish to follow. Loving a human being fully and
completely could even be considered a form of idolatry.
Certainly, it's a good idea to be largely invested in your long-term
relationships. Otherwise why are you there? But keeping some for yourself
also creates the opportunity for conditionality and insecurity – both of which,
for better or for worse, keep people on the straight and narrow. So if you
want to maintain good relationships over time, make sure they're contingent
on continued good behavior.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Where might you be inappropriately investing in your life?
Experiment with pulling back.
Warmly,
Orion
"Gambling is a tax on stupidity."
-- Voltaire
The scenery in the free yoga classes at the public library is fine and the women
are very approachable.
The scenery in the expensive yoga classes in the private studios is not better.
The women are skinnier and have smaller breasts, as is common to "higher" value
women. The women are more difficult to approach. One must have significant
wealth. Which is not something that one can bluff. As Margret Thatcher said,
having power is like being a lady, if you have to tell someone you are, you're not.
On the other hand, one must keep one's house, girlfriend, kids, and cars in
the country. A modest humble apartment in the city with older (even damaged)
cars would be best. Drawing attention to one's wealth is an act of criminal
stupidity; criminals and gold diggers. Remember the Hot vs. Crazy graph.
It may be a meme, but it's also true.
Deep truth.
"Women are the brakes: men drive progress" by Orion Taraban
"Emotions are resources: what players understand" by Orion Taraban
************* End of Psychology section*********************************
*************************************************************************
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
Avoid poverty.
"Farming Gunbunny Drama with FullMetalJessy" by Ben Stoeger
Ben loves the drama. Jessy is the real thing. It's just so funny.
Followers on Instagram are not shooting school clients. Two entirely
different audiences.
"Impress bitches with splits." [Impress girls with your split times
(time between shots) while shooting multiple targets.] Stop and think
about that.
Jessy's t-shirt "MY EX IS GAY"? What? [or as our German friends would say, Was?]
---
Jessy's sense of humor.
“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
Very useful hack.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon@DefensivePistolcraft.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Isabella Erickson and Analise Erickson
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