Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Carrying At Home
“In the end, you are pretty much left with two options. Improvised weapons strategically staged throughout your home. Or, you can carry on body. Truthfully, I encourage you to do both. Most of the time, the improvised weapons already are in place, you haven’t looked at them in this manner before. They are benign objects. Now is the time to consider how they may be used in a deadly force incident within your home. These can be just about anything, use your imagination. The fact you have worked through some scenarios might be all you do, but it would be nice to have a plan in place just in case.”
Fingers Vs. Cylinder Gap ***DESTRUCTION!!!***
Take a look at this one. If you shoot a revolver in a caliber more potent than .38 special, you should be extra careful to ensure your thumbs are as far away from the barrel/cylinder gap as possible.
While on the topic of revolvers, you revolver enthusiasts should definitely check out Caleb’s video on revolvers vs. autoloaders as well as Darryl Bolke’s piece on “Fitz Special” revolvers.
How to Shim a Door…and Protect Yours
Basic lock bypassing knowledge that everyone should know. Want more lock information? Read Lock Security: A Locksmith’s Tips for Protecting Your Valuables. If you are really interested in the topic, Practical Lock Picking is the definitive text to read.
Budget Shank
A lot of you work in areas with security screenings. If you are looking at a weapon with no metallic signature, my friend Morgan is making these. Buying one would be a useful addition to your armory.
Churchill’s “K.B.O.” (Or something like that.)
“What makes it so challenging is that human nature was not built to operate this way. We were made in times of peril to close ranks, to take up our posts shoulder to shoulder.
That won’t work today.
We have to, now, maintain solidarity with our brothers and sisters in a crazy, solitary, self-distancing way. We’re forced in our day-to-day lives to operate inside our own heads, to define our goals entirely by our own criteria (which may be very different from what we believed a few days ago), to determine our best practicable methods of seeking them, and then to self-motivate, self-validate, self-reinforce as we go forward … and keep doing it today and tomorrow and the day after, with no credible terminus in sight.
These are writer’s virtues, and artists’ and soldiers’ and mothers’ and entrepreneurs.
I don’t have a name for this, but we all need it and we need it now.”
Q-Tips: An alternate way to install an AK cover
John Benner from TDI showed me this method of replacing the dust cover on an AK almost two decades ago. I’ve used it ever since. They key factor is not seating the rear of the recoil spring all the way in the notch where it belongs. Only place it about half as deep as you normally would, put the dust cover on, and run the bolt.
COVID-19 Handgun Purchasing Boom
“Thus, in this time of uncertainty, the desire for personal safety is driving people toward handgun purchases over long-gun purchases, though even Joe Biden recognizes a long-gun can be useful for home defense.”
You should also read the Doctor’s thoughts on Gun Culture 2.0.
How to Use a Pump-Action Shotgun
Buying your first pump shotgun because of the pandemic? Please read this.
SHTF Armorer: 10 Basic Items For Your Armorer’s Kit
I like to be able to fix any gun that I carry. Here is a good listing of basic armorer’s supplies you need to have in your workshop.
Digital Security Primer Part III: Cloud Stored Data
“Once again we’re going to focus on behavior rather than tools. Whether we realize it or not, we have a massive ability to control information that is “out there” about us. There are a few steps we need to take to do that.”
You should also read the author’s thoughts about ways to vary your dryfire practice.
9mm Micro Shootout – Sig P365 vs. Glock 43 vs. S&W Shield
A detailed comparison of three of the most popular CCW guns on the market. For what it’s worth, of the three, I prefer the S&W Shield.
The Handgun as an Impact Weapon
The fine art of pistol whipping. I cover this topic in all of my extreme close quarters shooting classes. Malfunctions are commonplace when shooting in the clinch. Sometimes it’s faster to incapacitate your attacker by hitting them with your jammed gun than it is to clear the malfunction.
Removing stuck choke tubes
Those of you with old, rusty shotguns will undoubtedly find the information in this article to be incredibly useful.
Tragic Scene In Thailand Shopping Mall
John analyzes an active shooting/robbery in Thailand.
The Super Ego, or Why Men are Afraid to Train
“You are probably reading this in the United States of America and you still have the freedom to do as you please. Life is full of choices make your own decisions. In the end, the self-taught shooter is much like the self-taught motorcycle rider. They are an accident waiting to happen. The self-taught rider and shooter can get by on nominal instruction and luck as long as they maintain low speeds and never face a challenge. However, if forced to accelerate and negotiate the obstacles fate sometimes puts in their path, both are doomed to injury and failure.”
Anterior Shoulder Dislocation
I’m betting most of you would do anything possible to avoid going to a hospital during this pandemic. What if you dislocate your shoulder? Here are some techniques for getting things back in place.
Newhall Shooting: The Initial Shots
This week marked the 50th anniversary of the Newhall shooting. This event prompted the “officer survival” movement in the 1970s and led to many innovations in both training and equipment. Read about the first shots in the engagement here and then pick up Mike’s book for the rest of the story.
Vertical Fight Operating System – Overview
Craig describes the entire system that he developed in this stunningly simple overview video. You’ll also want to watch Wrestling – Limb Attachments: Hooks & Ties. Link opens to Facebook video.
Tactical Pistol Shooting: Your Guide to Tactics & Techniques That Work
What I’m reading…
You Can’t Always Be There, or “Situational Awareness Skills For Kids”
My friend Marcus Wynne shares a valuable drill that parents can do with their children to help them resist predators.
The 2-3-4 Rule
Lee provides an introduction of some of the key legal components of police/citizen interaction.
Shooting the Georgia state police qualification course of fire
Karl Rehn analyses the Georgia state police qualification course. Give it a try and see if you pass. If you can’t pass this one, you definitely need more training before you should be willing to carry your gun in public.
Ralph Mroz
Ralph was one of the first folks to write about how traditional firearms training wasn’t adequate for real-life shooting in very close quarters environments while under physical attack. His work and influence paved the way for many other instructors to develop a more functional curriculum in their shooting/fighting classes.
Ralph originally published a couple books through Paladin Press. Paladin went out of business, so Ralph re-released his original books on Amazon. He also compiled two decades worth of blog posts into three new e-books introduced this week. Ralph is a keen observer and excellent writer. I’ve enjoyed his work for years. If you’ve never heard about him, please check out his new books. You won’t be disappointed.
Some of the above links (from Amazon.com) are affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn a small percentage of the sale price from qualifying purchases.
If you would like to further support my work, head over to my Patreon page.
