Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever thought about what you would do if a criminal lunged for your gun as you were holding him at gunpoint? That happened to a police officer last week with very serious consequences. The cop and another citizen were both shot. Read about the incident at the link […]
Back from Africa!

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I recently returned from an epic two-week trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. I had previously been to Africa twice. I went to Egypt in 2005. I returned in 2008 to climb Kilimanjaro, visiting both Kenya and Tanzania. I got really sick climbing Kili (high altitude cerebral edema) […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- January 3, 2020

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. NO POLITICS Initial Analysis of Murders in White Settlement TX Church Last weekend’s church shooting in Texas has the internet abuzz. There is quite a bit of bad information regarding the attack floating around […]
Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2019
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Seth Godin made a very powerful statement in a recent blog post. “My most popular blog posts this year…weren’t my best ones. As usual, the most popular music wasn’t the best recorded this year either. Same for the highest-grossing movies, restaurants and politicians doing fundraising. “Best” is rarely the same as […]
Church Security Resource Compilation

Written by: Greg Ellifritz After Sunday’s active killer attack on a church in Texas, I thought some of you might be looking for resources to determine “best practice” recommendations for your house of worship. Here are more than a dozen highly informative articles/videos covering the topic: Church Safety On Active Shooters […]
The Best of What I Read- 2019

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Compared to the average American, I read a massive number of books. I try to read between around 10-15 books a month. I accomplish this because I don’t have TV in my house and I carry a book wherever I go. Whenever I have a few spare moments, I spend […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 27, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. What To Do if Someone Is Following You Quality tips and reference videos here. The Spyderco Sharpmaker The Spyderco Sharpmaker is my favorite knife sharpener as well. The Best Revolvers […]
Shooting Drill- Dot Assessment Madness

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this drill from Ballistic Radio’s Facebook page. Dot Assessment Madness AKA D.A.M. Is a 55-round assessment fired on the excellent Langdon Tactical, Inc. target. John Johnston describes the drill as follows: “At 3 yards Start with no more than 15 rounds in the gun or […]
The Springfield XD- A Polemic

Written by: Greg Ellifritz A recent discussion on my Facebook page prompted me to write an article to explain why I really don’t care for the Springfield XD pistol. I’ve seen hundreds of the guns go through my classes in the last decade. I remain unimpressed. The gun’s main selling point seems to […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 20, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. 4 Qualities Your Concealed Carry Gun Must Have “Reliability is the single most important element in the selection of a personal defense weapon. The only justification for firing a weapon at a human being […]
Training vs. Experience

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Many of my students are serious practitioners of the art of self-protection. They’ve graduated from numerous shooting schools and hold black belts in various martial arts systems. Although they generally enjoy the training process in general, their ultimate goal is to become better fighters. They are hoping that the skills they […]
Timing…a Missing Component in Training

Written by Greg Ellifritz One of the hardest things I do as a firearms and self defense trainer is convincing people that their lives are worth defending. Many students come to my classes with an attitude that displays an extreme lack of self worth. It’s hard for me to comprehend, but many people do […]
Lessons Learned from a Successful Use of Pepper Spray

Watch the excellent surveillance video of a store owner and his wife fighting two robbers armed with knives. The store owner is able to access a large can of pepper spray and blast his attackers. He then holds one attacker down on his counter while his wife kicks the dude in the face. Nicely […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 13, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Getting Friends and Family (Slightly) More Prepared How to gently steer reluctant friends and family members in the direction of being better prepared for emergencies. Factory 6.5 Creedmoor Ammunition Accuracy Velocity and […]
Shooting Drill- The Humbler

Written by Greg Ellifritz This shooting drill is one of the hardest I’ve ever attempted. I got it from Kyle Defoor’s page. It is a 70 shot drill with 700 possible aggregate points. Allegedly, no one has ever shot a perfect score. I certainly haven’t ever even come close. I’m happy if I […]
Choosing a Gun for the Woman in your Life

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Reading the article The Right Gun for a Woman, According to Women got me a little fired up. Go check it out before you continue here. Female Shooters On: Semi-Autos vs. Revolvers As most of you know, I’m not a woman. I don’t purport to […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 6, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. When You Can’t Pull the Trigger I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ignorant gun owners make the statement “I’ll just shoot him if he grabs my gun.” It isn’t quite that […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 29, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Shooting from Retention A discussion about in-fight weapons access, timing errors, dominant positioning, shooting from the “two,” and the dangers of floating the gun. These are the factors that are commonly misunderstood by well-meaning […]
Timing School Shootings for Higher Body Counts

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Early in 2017, I published an article titled “When Do School Shootings Occur.” I studied every American active killer school shooting over a three year time period from 2013 until the end of 2016. Interestingly enough, I determined that 43% of the school shootings I studied occurred outside of official […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 22, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. What is The Best Revolver Speedloader? Justin did a massive amount of work and shot a whole bunch of rounds to provide you with this useful data. Throw a buck in his Patreon account […]