Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
THE ANYWHERE DEFENSE: IMPACT WEAPON TACTICS
Steve Tarani offers some impact weapon advice.
The Orange Dot Drill
Dave Spaulding shares an incredibly valuable shooting drill that doesn’t need a lot of rounds. And the targets are cheap.
You may also like the 10 Shot Warm-Up Drill with Massad Ayoob and Ken Hackathorn.
Taking a Closer Look at the Rioters
Don’t underestimate the rioters who are causing all the mayhem in our country. In this article, Daisy describes some of the rioters goals taken from their own “manifestos.” You should also read Just cartoon idiots for an even deeper perspective and a prediction of what may be to come.
Defenders & Disciples
A new firearms/training blog that some of you may enjoy.
Seasonings Greeting: Testing Rock Salt Shotgun Shells
It was once a fairly well-known practice to load shotguns with rock salt as a primitive version of “less lethal” ammunition. It’s never been a good idea to do this, but I occasionally hear of it. Here is a ballistic gelatin test of a rock salt round. More than an inch of penetration hardly makes this one “less lethal.”
Hostage Escape Tools and Techniques
When traveling in dangerous areas, I think it’s useful to carry some hidden escape tools. This article covers some of the better options on the market. I have all of the tools recommended and carry them regularly in hazardous situations.
A great idea to add “man on man” shooting competitions to you larger classes without adding a lot of down time.
Common Sense Duty Ammunition Rotation
Winchester’s advice about when to replace defensive ammunition.
Planning for the New Normal
Take a listen to Michael’s latest podcast. He is one of the leading thinkers in this space and his perspective is invaluable.
Less Is More
““Start where you want to end up.”
If your goal is to train a human to use a pistol to protect themselves, does it make sense to start there?
What might happen if you STARTED with shooting another human (with Airsoft or Simunitions)?
If you apply Bruce Lee’s adage “Hack away at the unessential” you get to a principle of design — critical path.”
Marcus is also offering one of his latest books free through Sunday. Pick up SALT. I really enjoyed it.
You can’t improve what you don’t measure.
“If the trainer is not grading your performance, is not measuring your skills against your peers and/or your own performance baseline at the start of the class, it’s generally for one of two reasons:
1. They’re probably not as clueful as they think they are.
2. They don’t want to hurt the feelings of customers because that cuts down on repeat business and good word of mouth.
Sadly, the latter is as common as the former; it’s the “Everybody Gets A Ribbon” culture as applied to gunfighting. Except everybody doesn’t get a ribbon in a gunfight, unless you count a toe tag as a ribbon.”
Survival Fishing: How to Catch Fish When SHTF
Some information about a topic that many of us don’t understand well. With that said, a misspent youth running trotlines in our farm pond to catch snapping turtles might make me better prepared than most.
THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE (SEASON 8, EPISODE 320)
An incredibly informative podcast interview with Sarah Cade Hauptman covering how to make our discussions with others more productive.
“It turns out that being right on the facts doesn’t change behavior, but, there are other things that do. So without arguing a single fact you can actually reduce somebodies support for gun control just by introducing complexity into the conversation. So you don’t have to win any points. You don’t have to prove yourself right. You don’t have to prove them wrong, and they never ever ever have to admit that they’re wrong on anything, but you can still change their behavior and that’s the part that really matters.”
Bang-Bang Boys, Jedburghs, and the House of Horrors: A History of OSS Training and Operations in World War II
What I’m reading…
A history of the OSS training and covert missions during WWII.
HB 614 PASSES: Ohio CHLs extended to June 30, 2021
Great news for my readers who are residents of Ohio. Ohio residents can now also buy hunting and fishing licenses through a phone app.
Ammunition & Velocity – Hot vs. Cold Car
Did you know that your ammunition’s velocity will change depending on how hot or cold the case is? 100 feet per second difference can lead to pretty significant point of impact changes in a precision rifle.
[Complete Guide] Cosmoline Removal: SKS Example
As people start unpacking stored guns (either for use or for sale in this market peak) this knowledge may become useful.
Where Do Good Men Go When They Die?
An interesting discussion of how warrior cultures throughout history have viewed death and some modern practices to help you grieve lost loved ones.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have participated in some traditional shamanic ceremonies in the Amazon designed to allow you to experience your own death. I was “killed” in ceremony twice. Those experiences changed some of my views about the realities of life and death and how those seemingly separate planes of existence are actually much closer than most of us expect.
As my mentor the late don Howard Lawler said: “Dying is easy after you’ve done it a few times. It’s living fully to your potential that is hard.”
Want some more inspirational discussion about death? Watch WHEN WE BECOME ART.
What’s the difference between tasks and skills in defensive shooting training? Does it matter?
“Practicing your skills out of context, out of the conditions under which you can reasonably expect to need them, isn’t practicing realistically. Start with the task you want to achieve, and practice the skills you need in — as close as you can — the same types of circumstances in which you’re likely to use them.
Start your path to more realistic training now, by looking at your practice regimen and the skills you’re working on. Look at each skill, and ask yourself: a) how likely is it that I’ll need this skill; b) what task does this skill support; and c) am I practicing in a way that’s congruent with how I expect to actually use it?”
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Japanese Jujitsu: A Comparison
I might be dating myself a bit, but I trained in Judo and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu in college back before most people even knew Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu existed. Here is a good comparison of the two styles.
The Modern Fighting Revolver
This is not your grandfather’s revolver.
Project: Understand the Insurrection Act
A valuable primer about how the Insurrection Act functions.
Why Improvised Tourniquets Don’t Work (But Why You Should Still Learn How)
I’m convinced that most of the people “saved” by improvised tourniquets probably didn’t need a tourniquet in the first place. For some formal data, check out my Tourniquet Research Compendium.
Management of Venomous Snake Bites in North America:
Separating the Evidence from Medical Folklore
In my medical classes, I always get questions about snake bites. I’m convinced that there is more mythology present in the ideas people have about treating snakebites than with any other medical topic. I don’t spend much time on snakebites in my class because they kill fewer than five people a year in the USA. If you are interested in the state of the art with regard to treatment of venomous snake bites, here is a great article.
How to Defend Against a Carjacker: A Navy SEAL’s Advice
I find it interesting to see the different solutions for this problem.
I drive with my doors locked. I don’t pick up hookers. I don’t do drug deals in my car. Thus I don’t spend a lot of time working this problem because I can’t see many scenarios where I’m going to have a lethal force threat in my passenger seat.
I first saw the strike he throws from Dave Spaulding, who taught it to the undercover officers in his agency in the 1990s. Craig Douglas has worked on the positional aspects of car fighting that are displayed here for decades as well. This isn’t a new problem.
Please don’t employ the “floated gun” shooting position that he advocates. Keep the gun in a solid thumb/pectoral index. Notice how he drops the gun when it hits the head rest in one of the demos? That would be prevented if he maintained a better shooting position.
On Walking
The biggest life change I’ve made since retiring last month has been to increase the amount of time I’ve spent walking. I’m trying to walk/hike one to two hours a day now, most of which is done in the woods at several different local parks. I am truly enjoying my rambles. They are often the highlights of my day.
If you are walking in remote or dangerous areas you should also read Hiking Emergency & Recovery Protocol.
Testing the Duckbill Choke with Matt Haught
Very curious shotgun stuff. If I was shooting at large groups of people hiding in jungle foliage, this might be a viable option with the right ammunition.
How to Sharpen an Axe
Useful information here.
Why You Shouldn’t Keep the Gun On the Night Stand
The bottom line is that keeping your gun in a quick access safe instead of on your night table will add two to three seconds to your response time. I think that is a good balance of risk versus reward. My bedroom has a solid core door with a deadbolt. That should buy me enough time to open the safe. Because I’ve had issues with batteries in past gun safes, I now prefer the safes that use the Simplex mechanical locking mechanisms. They are expensive, but are far less likely to fail.
William Aprill
We lost my friend Dr. William Aprill way too soon. Practically Tactical has compiled all of their interviews with Dr. Aprill and combined them on this page. Many of you will find this information useful.
Don’t Do it Wrong! How to Properly Wear Body Armor
Too many people wear their body armor too low on their chests.
Taking The Mystery Out Of Astigmatism
An eye doctor writes about the effect astigmatism will have on your shooting. On the range, the biggest complaints I gets from students with great astigmatism is that their red dot optic is very “fuzzy” or has tracers. If shooting a rifle, flip up your co-witnessed backup iron sights. Looking through both sights at the same time sharpens the dot in about 75% of my students.
Dear White Man
“I wrote this letter because we have a problem. We’re more divided than ever, and some folks like it. You know, there’s power in segregation, hate, bigotry, and fear. Those who spread it, share it, joke about it, help it. Everybody who’s gone through something, it has changed them in a way they should never go back to the person they once were. Everybody.”
LAPD Officer/Instagram Influencer Takes The Shot
I’m often critical of police officers who fail miserably at doing their jobs. I also like to highlight the positive actions of police officers who handle business in a stellar way. This shooting is an example of the latter. The officer (and competitive shooter) handled the situation exceptionally well. She was cool under pressure, made good tactical decisions and prevailed. Nice work here.
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