Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Got a Light? Weaponlights, Handhelds, and Concealed Carry
Chris Cypert shares his thoughts on lights.
Basic Two-Handed Shooting Stances
The primary handgun shooting stances and the differences between each.
9 Week Sprinting Program for Crossfitters
I was once talking to a mentor who has vast experience killing lots of our country’s enemies over a very long period of time. I asked him what he thought the single most useful thing to practice if one wanted to increase one’s chances of surviving a gunfight. His answer was “20 yard sprints.” Being able to quickly escape a bad scene or move to cover is far more useful in combat than a sub-second draw.
Even though I’m getting older and no longer chasing bad guys for a living, I still sprint a couple times per week. More of you should be doing something similar. This is a good program to start if you have a decent level of baseline fitness. If you aren’t fit, cut way back on both volume and intensity.
Measuring Shooting Skill: Are You Above Average?
Shooting tests to assess your competency. Want more drills? Try the Drill of the Month: Pushing the Envelope or Top 5 Range Drills: Be Accurate, Be Fast!
Lessons From The Past
Massad Ayoob goes back in time to explain why having a backup weapon is occasionally useful. For Mas’ thoughts in a slightly more modern context, read Don’t Do These Things with Your 1911!
Non-Confrontational Stance: An Essential Defensive Skill
In a lot of my classes that contain force on force or role playing scenarios I regularly see students communicating with the “bad guy” with hands down. It’s an almost universal problem among folks with minimal empty hand fighting experience.
Push the Mower – Smart Teaching Concepts
This is a valuable skill for instructors to cultivate. Your instruction will “click” better if you can find a similarity between the skills you are teaching and other activities the students do in their daily life.
Jeff Cooper’s Three? Rules of Gun Safety
An interesting historic tidbit of knowledge.
Behavioral Cues Can Get You Out of the Fight Before You Get Into it
This article summarizes a lot of the concepts popularized by the book “Left of Bang.” I find these ideas to be tremendously valuable. The book covers the fine points and particulars not included in the article.
District Court VACATES the ATF’s Pistol Brace Rule, Ending Enforcement of the Ban Nationwide
Good news for those of you who own braced “pistols.”
Dry Fire Part 4: It’s Time to Get a Shot Timer
Part four of Uncle Zo’s article series on optimizing your dry practice routine. You might also like the author’s article Unintentional Discharge Incident: Lessons for Firearm Safety and Emergency Response.
Developing a Pre-Disposition For Effective Violence
“The archaeological and historical record is amply clear that there is NO inherent genetic resistance to stabbing a motherfucker in the face, chopping his head off with sword or axe, or burning his house down around his ass. If you can manage to practice the six aspects of developing a pre-disposition towards effective violence, then dropping the hammer, fist or firearm, will not be an issue when the need arises.”
Episode 134. Active Shooter Response with Ed Monk
Ed Monk lays out the active killer problem in a concise and descriptive manner.
Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy: A Cold Case Investigation
What I’m reading…
I picked up the book after I listened to an impressive podcast interview with the author.
Five Tips for Being Better at Appendix Carry (AIWB)
If you’ve had problems with AIWB carry, this article will provide you with some helpful tips. Also on the topic of holsters, you may want to read Holster Retention and How It Affects Draw Speed.
Ballistics learning lab for emergency residents: Winchester Ranger 9 mm ballistic results
Our friend Dr. Andy Anderson educates new resident doctors about how ballistic trauma changes with bullet velocity.
.25 ACP vs .22LR: Which is Better for CCW?
With tiny guns firing either caliber, the point of aim should be the bad guy’s face. I’m going to postulate that if the dude takes one of these rounds to the eyeball, he’s not likely to feel a difference between the .22 and the .25.
The Underappreciated .32 Magnums
I’m seeing lots of folks buying and carrying the new S&W/Lipseys .32 snub. For those of you new to the caliber here are some gelatin and accuracy tests using a of a variety of .32 Magnum cartridges. Read this article for a similar approach to .357 magnum ammo out of a snub.
Is The Snubby “Enough Gun?”
Continuing on the topic of snubby revolvers, this post covers advantages and disadvantages of the little revolvers for defensive use. When you finish the article linked above, read my thoughts on “Enough Gun.”
5 Best Revolver Speed Loaders: Their Pros and Cons
One last piece of revolver content for you today. This is a solid review of the most common revolver speedloaders on the market.
HAVE I FALLEN ON THE KNIFE? BIG MISTAKES I HAVE MADE TEACHING MY KNIFE COURSE OVER THE DECADES
Hock shares some “inside baseball” about some of the business aspects of teaching firearms and combatives classes on the road for a living.
Why Do I Need Training?
“Using firearms for self-defense is a martial art. Developing the physical and mental skills necessary to fight with the firearm will require training, just like any traditional fighting discipline. Most of the skills and principles used with firearms are contrary to our natural instincts, making it difficult if not impossible to learn on your own. You’re gonna have to get some training from a professional instructor.”
The need for additional training doesn’t stop once you’ve been certified as an instructor. Read this article. Your instructor course was inadequate. It did not prepare you to teach. You need to learn more, lots more, before you will ever become a good instructor. Many of you instructors will get defensive and deny this statement. That’s fine. The smarter among you will heed Kathy’s advice in the linked article and do the work. I got my first instructor certification in 1997. Since then, I’ve taken more than 4000 hours of additional training. Even though I’ve been teaching gun classes full time for longer than some of my readers have been alive, I still try to get at least 80 additional hours of firearms/combatives training every year.
Some of the above links are affiliate links. I earn a small percentage of the sale price from qualifying purchases. It does not cost you any money.
