Written by: Greg Ellifritz
Last week, I posted an article linking to my most popular posts in 2021. In that article, I discussed how my “most popular” articles were not the same as my “best” articles.
I liked many of the most popular articles (ranked by page view), but I think other articles that I wrote were better. Not necessarily better written, but more valuable overall. Many other articles contained far more useful information than the ones deemed “most popular.”
What I consider my “best” are articles where I provide the most unique and valuable advice on a given topic. My “best” is doing what others cannot. All of my “best articles” contain ideas, tactics, or opinions that you won’t find anyplace else on the internet. I think my best articles contain information and analysis that is superior and unique when compared to other writings in the field.
Below is a list of just that…articles that I think were most useful and valuable for my average reader. I didn’t rank them in any type of order or preference. I think all of them are extremely useful.
One more thing…
Here’s a little “behind the scenes” look at what goes on with my website.
Only about 22% of my visitors come to the site directly. The vast majority (72%) of my readers arrive at my site from either a social media link or a search engine.
The social media giants are notoriously anti-gun. The largest search engines are regularly directing searches away from websites with lots of firearms or self-defense related content. This “shadow ban” is very real.
My website pageviews peaked in the year 2016. In that year, I had 5,120,608 page views. Coincidentally, that was the year that search engines and social media sites began their effort to “de-platform” content they don’t like. My site is filled with content that the large social media giants hate.
I went from over five million pageviews in 2016 down to 2.6 million pageviews in 2021. I’m only getting half as many reads as I got five years ago.
Why am I telling you all this stuff?
You need to know about it because you probably find my writing via social media feeds or search engines. If you continue to rely on those methods to obtain my content, you will be seeing fewer and fewer of my articles in the future.
There’s a real good chance that you missed some of the articles listed below. Check them out. Even if you follow my site diligently, I predict there will still be some articles on my list that your social media feeds didn’t promote.
If you don’t want to miss any of my content, sign up to support my Patreon page. For as little as around $5 a month, you will get an email from me whenever I post new articles. The email contains the ad-free full text of each post. For those of you who like to copy and save my material, this is the easiest format from which to do that.
Without further ado, I present the best of 2021. These are the 20 most important articles I wrote this year in no particular order. I thank you all for continuing to consume my content.
Back From Brazil
Assessing Neighborhood Safety- Gang Graffiti
Cross Draw Holsters
Be Smart
Low Round Count Shooting Drills
The St. Ann’s Hospital Shooting
Shotguns for Home Protection
Shoot Better in 15 Minutes
A “Car Gun” for Riot Defense
Places to Avoid this Summer
Traditional Double Action Autopistols for CCW Carry
Back from Ecuador and my Covid-19 Experience. Part One. Part Two. Escape from Ecuador.
The Sub-Second Draw
Lessons Learned After Two Months With Covid-19
Two Different Kidnappings- Would You Intervene?
Too Much Situational Awareness?
Your Tactical Training Scenario- Pharmacy Dangers
Don’t Be a Crime Scene Tourist
Ambush Prevention Strategies for Patrol Officers