Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. This guy got lucky. You might not. “Just because it “worked” doesn’t mean it’s worth emulating Let’s look at this incident from a practical standpoint. What if the thief hadn’t obeyed the owner’s commands? […]
The .380 for Police Backup and Off Duty Carry
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I received this question (edited for brevity) from a police firearms instructor last week: “A lot of my guys on the department are going with .380 pocket guns for off duty carry instead of carrying their issued Glock 26 9mm pistols. Our policy will not allow officers […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- June 7, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. How To Safely Decock A Revolver A lot of people have never built a skill set involving the safe handling of a revolver. This is a critical skill to understand and to be able […]
Surviving the Flash Mob
Written by Greg Ellifritz Within the last couple weeks we’ve seen several teen flash mob attacks on innocent bystanders. There was an attack perpetrated by a large number of Somali youths armed with hammers at a train stop in Minnesota. Less than a week later, we saw a mass teenage attack in Baltimore. Large […]
SWAT Raid or Home Invasion?
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last week, a Houston resident foiled a home invasion attempt by a couple criminals trying to impersonate DEA agents. Take a look at the photo below. If they were beating on your door, would you open up or open fire? The resident here made the correct choice and called the […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 31, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Heavily Armed Robbers Utilizing Parked Vehicles as New Concealment Tactic A recent robbery trend that you should be aware of. Prescription For Violence: The Corresponding Rise of Antidepressants, SSRIs & Mass Shootings […]
Shooting Drill- Justin Dyal’s “Par 5”
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I found this pistol shooting drill in a recent Justin Dyal article in SWAT magazine called STANDOFF HANDGUN DRILLS: Accuracy at Situational Speed. From the article: The purpose of the Par 5 drill is for the shooter to gain an appreciation of the linkage between sight alignment and trigger break […]
Shooting Through Doors and Walls
Written by: Greg Ellifritz As I was scanning my news feed last week, I came across yet another mistaken identity shooting where the “defender” fired through a door or wall. Dad mistakes daughter for intruder, shoots her to death According to the article: “Pressley’s father told investigators he fired through a door […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 24, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Choosing Your First AR-15: A Practical Guide Very valuable information for those of you contemplating buying your first AR-15 rifle. Elmer Keith On Combat Quick Draw I love studying the history of […]
What if your Backstop is a Freeway?
Written by Greg Ellifritz Click the link below and watch the body camera video of a police officer shooting an active killer. Newly released body cam video shows deadly officer-involved shooting A suspect shot victims at two different public locations, threatened a hotel employee with a gun, and then ran out onto […]
Guns, Gear, and Training Issues in Last Weekend’s Shotgun Class
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last Saturday, I taught Active Response Training’s very first open enrollment shotgun course. It’s kind of odd that I’ve never done one, considering that the very first firearms instructor certification I got was Phil Singelton’s Benelli shotgun instructor class. I’ve been teaching cops how to shoot shotguns since the year […]
Upcoming Medical Classes
I have two medical classes scheduled in June and July. Both classes are nine hours long (with a short lunch break). In addition to the description below, the classes will also cover material on using the new tourniquets most recently recommended by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care. There will also be a block […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 17, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Data on the Rate of Shootings and Accidents in Schools that allow Teachers to Carry Click “download this paper” in the upper left corner of the linked article to get a free full text […]
Tourniquet Musings
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I spent some of my day off today working with three of the new CoTCCC-recommended tourniquets. I self applied the TMT (Tactical Mechanical Tourniquet), RevMed TX2, and RevMed TX3 to each limb. I was able to achieve full occlusion (no distal pulse) on all applications. I like the extra […]
Highlands Ranch Stem Shooting
Written by: Greg Ellifritz On May 7, 2019 two students conducted an attack on their classmates at the Highlands Ranch STEM School in Colorado. The shooting was quite unusual and doesn’t fit the normal narrative for an active killer who shoots up a school (that’s probably why the story disappeared from the media so […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 10, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Criminals Often Carry Ineffectual Guns that are Broken, Unloaded, or Toys An article about the types of guns carried by criminals, including a link and discussion of my research on the topic. […]
Lock Your Damn Doors- 2019 Edition
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Five years ago, I wrote an article titled Lock Your Damn Doors. In that article I looked at a month’s worth of burglary and theft reports from the city where I worked and tracked how many theft victims had left their houses or cars unlocked before the thefts occurred. […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 3, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. 3 Ways to Escape Zip Ties: An Illustrated Guide An informative infographic about escaping zip tie restraints. This is useful, but the best advice I can provide is to AVOID BEING RESTRAINED! I don’t […]
Compliance Doesn’t Always Ensure Your Safety
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Many of my students tell me that, should they ever be robbed, they plan on complying with the robbers’ demands. While I can’t presume to tell anyone the individual best course of action during a dangerous situation, I can provide some general statistics about past events. Statistically, complying […]
When the Criminal Doesn’t Obey Your Commands
Written by: Greg Ellifritz It’s a rewarding thing to watch my firearms students as they learn and progress. They start with safe gun handling skills, the basics of marksmanship, and learning when it is legally appropriate to shoot someone. If they continue training, they might learn more “tactical” or combative shooting skills. As […]