Written by: Greg Ellifritz You can prevail against an active killer even if you are unarmed. One of the most famous cases where unarmed men stopped an active killer was on a train traveling between Amsterdam and Paris a few years ago. Four unarmed Americans and one unarmed Brit teamed up to take […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I occasionally get questions from readers about changing their defensive ammo to better defeat heavier winter clothing in the colder months. People who consider an ammo change generally do it for one of two possible reasons. The most common is that the person misunderstands wound ballistics. He wants […]
It was a sunny autumn afternoon. A woman called police to report a “suspicious person” in a city park. Cops arrive and the woman points out this “suspicious” man. He was simply sitting on a park bench enjoying the sunny day. The woman told police that this conduct was suspicious because he was a […]
*This is a guest post by my friend Steve Moses extolling the importance of leaning how to shoot from a retention position and fight in close quarters with your carry pistol. Steve will be hosting my upcoming Extreme Close Quarters Gunfighting class where we cover those topics in great detail. If this article inspires you […]
In order for a criminal to get close enough to commit his crime, he has to appear non-threatening. If he appears dangerous, his “prey” are likely to spot him earlier and either run away or call for help. Hence, the criminal will close the distance, often using the pretense of asking a question […]
I’ve seen a recent bout of “never talk to the police” advice on my Facebook news feed. I’ve written about my advice regarding speaking to the police after a defensive firearm use before. In this article, I want to describe a real-life incident to which I responded as a police officer. A young CCW carrier […]
If your social media feed looks anything like mine, you’ve been deluged with photos, videos, memes, and speculation regarding the failed assassination attempt against former president Trump. Among my friend group (a lot of cops and firearms instructors) the primary shared discussion has been about the poor weapon handling displayed by a certain female agent […]
Last week I published an article on the difference between “mass shootings” and active killer events. Yesterday, I was scanning my news feed and came across the article linked below. Missouri groom shot in robbery during his backyard wedding In last week’s article, I mentioned how most of the reported recent “mass […]
I spent last weekend in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio going to a couple of concerts and visiting with friends. While I was there, the local news reported a “mass shooting” late Saturday night just a few miles away from where I had been out with friends. 10 people shot in the Short North; […]
With the recent introduction of the Smith and Wesson/Lipseys collaborative snub nose revolvers, I’m seeing more and more folks arguing online about what is “enough” gun for concealed carry. Some folks think that a snub revolver without a reload is perfectly adequate. Other folks, like the author of this article, think that carrying anything less […]
Have you ever been in a public location where someone notices your “concealed” handgun and stares at it for an uncomfortably long period of time? Have you thought about how you might handle such a situation if you encountered it? I was walking around a big outdoor street festival in a neighboring city […]
A couple days ago, a woman in Nashville negligently shot and killed her own daughter with a gun carried in a purse. “According to the release, Dearria’s mother told detectives that she was trying to find her keys inside her purse when her unholstered .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol discharged and shot her daughter once.” […]
My friend Ron Borsch is one of the world’s leading authorities on active killer attacks. He contacted me last week with a request to publish his newsletter. Ron has been publishing a monthly email newsletter for more than two decades. Think of it as a “Weekend Knowledge Dump” on steroids. The links mostly […]
In my 25-year police career, I pointed guns at lots of people. Admittedly, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have pointed guns at all of those folks. In my defense, training doctrines, levels of violent crime, and public scrutiny were very different back in the mid-1990s as compared to our modern age. We were […]
It’s been more than a decade since two officers were shot in a dramatic gunfight in a trailer park in Enon, Ohio. The gunfight was even more remarkable considering that there was a photographer on scene taking photos as the shots rang out. I still regularly think about that photograph (above) of the […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I recently was contacted by a regular reader of this site. She had an interesting request for a specialized article for the non-combatant. To paraphrase the request: “I read all the great advice on your site and try to implement as much of it as I can. But […]
Read this article about a police gunfight that occurred following a traffic stop. Some of the lessons learned have utility for the CCW carrier as well. “I’ve been shot point blank!” “Then, the corporal thought his gun jammed. Actually, he discovered later, he had short stroked it. That is, after pulling the trigger […]
Most people don’t practice integrating flashlight tactics into their self defense training nearly enough. It’s important to be able to use a flashlight correctly if you want to win a fight during the hours of darkness. Improper flashlight use can get you shot very quickly. For both armed citizens and cops, low light […]
Take a look at the photo above. If you were visiting a coffee shop, which seat would you pick? I’ve seen recent articles discussing the topic and decided to weigh in with my opinion. When I am choosing seats in a restaurant, I use the following selection criteria: 1) I prefer tables […]
Everyone recognizes that the world is an out of control dumpster fire right now. It seems like a lot of things are going very wrong at the same time. With that said, I’m seeing two trends right now that worry me more than everything else with regards to criminal victimization. The first is […]
