Last night I joined Chuck Haggard, Wayne Dobbs, and Darryl Bolke for a roundtable discussion of police training issues on Civilian Carry Radio. I haven’t done a podcast or radio interview for a few years. I honestly don’t enjoy them all that much and have been turning down any podcast requests. I promised CCR […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I had a long time reader write to ask the following questions: “My wife (who is not a fan of guns, concealed carry, etc.) and I were talking about self-defense the other day, and she asked what percentage of self-defense incidents happen on a person’s property (house/yard/garage/etc) versus anywhere […]
You are walking down the street when you are approached by a man. He asks you if you have a lighter. How would you respond? A Baltimore man was recently confronted with that same scenario. When he reached into has pocket to grab his lighter to help the man out, the suspect […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Situational Awareness – Everything You Need to Know A very comprehensive look at situational awareness. You should also read Situational Awareness in the Age of Masks and How to Maintain Your Situational Awareness and […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Dan Ariely’s book The Upside of Irrationality is a book about making rational and irrational decisions. Books like these are a goldmine of information for firearms and combatives trainers. We regularly see people making irrational decisions in the context of self defense. It’s nice to figure out why they are doing […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. What’s the Best 38 Special Ammo for Self-Defense? Although I wouldn’t put the Lehigh Defense cartridge into my list of the “top loads,” the author’s ballistic testing results provide very useful information for any […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Jeff Chudwin is a firearms instructor and retired police chief from whom I’ve taken a couple training classes. He is amazingly knowledgeable and readily shares the wealth of information he possess. Jeff compiled a list of maintenance checklists for AR-15 style rifles and sent them out to […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz With almost two months of non-stop rioting in Portland and lots of other big demonstrations in other parts of the nation, lots of folks have contacted me about re-posting some of my riot survival articles. Here is my best advice… Stay away from any scheduled protests, riots, uprisings, […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Short Barreled Rifles vs Pistol Braces A high quality analysis of the issues involved with having a short barreled “pistol” with a stabilizing brace. I think these are exceptionally handy. When I’m driving out […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I’ve been getting a few questions from readers about the 10mm auto for self protection. With the current ammo shortage primarily affecting the common defensive calibers, some readers are seeing 10mm ammo still available online and in gun stores. Is it worthwhile to own a 10mm defensive handgun in […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz People are losing their shit. It’s almost like the world has been turned completely upside down in a very short period of time. In my police job, the calls about erratic behavior, mental illness, and alcohol/drug abuse have increased significantly in the last couple months. There are a lot of […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Hold Tight To The Past “The upshot of all this? Ain’t much new under the sun. Sometimes we need to get away from being explorers of new shooting worlds and become archaeologists instead, digging […]
I’m guessing that most of you who are active in the firearm-related blogosphere have seen this story. If you haven’t, please check it out: Gun fell out of man’s sweatpants and discharged, fatally striking woman outside Trend Bar in St. Paul Manslaughter charge for man accused of fatally shooting woman outside St. Paul bar […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz When listening to experts describe how to flee from an attacker who is shooting, the most common statement heard is “Don’t run in a straight line.” Many people advocate running in a zig-zag pattern or running in a crouched position instead. A target that is small or that moves randomly […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Avoiding The Ambush Excellent counter-ambush advice from Jeff Chudwin. Three Videos Of Robberies Teach Us Different Lessons “No one is coming to save you.” Smith & Wesson: A History Very interesting […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Earlier this week, I wrote an article covering issues involved in the use of weapon mounted lights. I had a couple readers write me to request some clarification on my position. Here are two examples of the questions they asked me. “When I’m searching my house, most often, my […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I spent all of last week attending Massad Ayoob and Marty Hayes’ Deadly Force Instructor class as a student. We spent some time discussing the use of weapon mounted lights and the safety concerns associated with them. It caused me to realize that I haven’t written about this topic […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz As we see more officers attacked by rioters and more police stations under siege, I’m getting this question more often. If you want to help a cop under attack, this is how to do it. And be sure to read PART TWO, how you can help a cop even if […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Is Hollowpoint the Best Defensive Ammo for Concealed Carry? In most calibers, you should be carrying hollowpoint bullets for defensive purposes. One can argue that solid bullets have advantages in .22, .25, .32, .38, […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I was working day shift police patrol when a call went out at about 9:00 a.m. I was dispatched to a very large house in a nice neighborhood. The dispatcher said that the resident had called to report suspicious activity. The resident said that she had heard someone banging on her […]
