Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
How to Master the Double Action Trigger
“The common thing that I see with most people when it comes to a double action trigger pull is they want to pull the trigger pull like they would a single action. What that means is they want to put their finger on the trigger all the way fully extended and then try to hammer through that trigger all at one time like it was a single action pull. And that’s very difficult to do.”
The Trainer, The Practicer, and The Gun Collector
The three types of gun people.
Be Prepared: Training your kids for emergencies
A structured learning progression of age-related survival skills for your kids.
COP STUFF
“Experienced law enforcement officers and law-abiding armed citizens should be natural allies – and, for the most part, they are.”
Stealth & The Home-Defense Shotgun
This article contains what may be some of the worst self protection advice I have ever seen in print. If you think it’s the best tactic to remain silent during a burglary in progress, you are absolutely wrong. You are not a ninja. Your goal is to protect your family not to silently assassinate a burglar.
As soon as you are aware that someone is in your house, you should loudly vocalize that you have called the police and are armed. You want the burglar to leave. You don’t want to shoot someone who doesn’t need to be shot. You don’t want to accidentally shoot someone who turns out to be a friend or family member making an unexpected visit. Finally, you don’t need the legal hassle or the clean up costs after you silently stalk a burglar and dispatch him with a contact distance shot with your 12 gauge.
Come on folks. We need to do better than this.
How to reload a concealed carry revolver
Caleb covers some best practices for revolver reloads. The Speed Beez speedloaders are expensive, but they are a quality product. I like mine a lot. Speed Beez is also one of the few speedloader manufacturers who make speedloaders for .22 caliber revolvers.
It may cost you not to pay attention
Matt Jacques shares some words of wisdom about situational awareness.
My Mistakes in the Knife World.
Knife classes became popular in the 1990s because the folding knife with a pocket clip was just starting to get popular. People could carry knives in an accessible manner and wanted training about how to use them defensively. I’ve taken knife classes from Hock and every other “old school” knife trainer he mentions in the article. If you are a training junky, you will enjoy this perspective.
Time and Training — What You Make It
“Spirited training and good work will engage the mind. Results in training are in proportion to the time spent. Habits are difficult to change and applying time to training is an adjustment. Advancing in marksmanship and tactical movement requires some sacrifice and a great deal of volition. There are 24 hours in each day. Many of these moments are frittered away in boredom. Many others are wasted with bad cinema and poor entertainment.”
Optimizing One-Handed Shooting
I’ve found that the “best” one-handed shooting techniques are different for every person. Some folks will shoot better with the gun canted. Some will shoot better if the gun is oriented straight up and down. You’ll have to pick a drill with a measurable standard and try it both ways to see which technique works best for you.
Old Friend Calling Scam
The latest telephone scam going around. I know you all say “I’d never fall for one of those scams.” I can tell you from personal experience that many people do fall for such an obvious ruse. We get at least one report a week in my city of residents being scammed out of thousands of dollars.
These scams explicitly target the elderly. Make sure the older folks in your family know how to recognize and avoid swindles like this.
To Counter-Ambush You Must Be Prepared
Have you ever taken a defensive shooting course (beyond your CCW permit class)? Watch this video to see why training is important. Based on the way this victim was handling his weapon, it is evident that he was not well trained. That cost him his life when he wasted time cocking the hammer of his revolver and firing, only to miss his attacker from about three feet away. Don’t be like this guy. If you are going to carry a gun, get some real training.
Sharpen Your Red Dot
A simple technique to use at long range if you notice your red dot is getting “fuzzy.”
UNTIL LAMBS BECOME LIONS
“Moreover, as much as some wish it, evil men will not disappear from the earth. Nor will firearms ever disappear from the earth. Both are here to stay and in large numbers. But there is something that can be done. It is really simple, but it will be the hardest thing to accomplish because it requires a change in the paradigm of modern life. It is a simple thought process.
- You are on your own. No matter if you are a soccer mom or a retired soul snatcher. No matter what they promise you, nobody is ever coming to help you in time.
- Site security will fluctuate with the collective will, but your attention to your own security must not. If that means breaking the rules, then get good at breaking rules.
- No matter what you think, you will not be able to maintain focus and attention everywhere and at all times. But you can generally plan for those times with general practices.”
You may also enjoy Myths Believed by Gun People.
Adventurous. Alone. Attacked.
“The more we tell women not to travel alone and the more we send the message that the world is very dangerous, in a way, we are also supporting that belief,” Ms. Gavios said. “Rather than horrifying people, I want people to go into it with a little more bravery and a little more knowledge.”
The Devil Drill with Larry Vickers
A fun shooting drill. Six shots (with a slide lock reload) at six yards in six seconds. All rounds in the black of a B-8 target.
Baselines
How would you define baseline competency with a rifle? This seems like a reasonable standard.
“The Evolution of Body Armor” by Michael Z. Williamson
A very interesting deep dive into the worldwide history of body armor.
Want To Be Better Competitive Shooter?
If you agree with me (and the article above) you might as well be good if you are going to compete! Here are 10 tips from Mike Seeklander to become a better competitive shooter. His companion piece covering tips for defensive shooting is HERE. If you want to read more, I highly recommend his books.
scared rabbit syndrome
“If your self-defense protocols & training are making you more suspicious, more hostile, and less comfortable in social environments – your protocols and training aren’t helping make your life better.
If you yell PERVERT, every time someone brushes against you in densely populated situations, your protocols and training are building fear and anger.
The last thing we need right now are more angry, frightened humans. Train (if you do) to be strong. Strength is marked by your ability to know most people don’t care to harm you – most people don’t even notice you exist, to be honest. They are too wrapped up in their own personal goals & problems to notice you. Rude? Maybe. Self-absorbed? Maybe. Assault precursors? Not typically.
Train so you can discern the difference between self-centered “man spreading” and a predator testing you to see if you are a good target. Train to trust that should the time ever arrive in which the situation warrants defense – you can defend you yourself.”
IHOP Incident Leads To Lessons Learned
A good video to look at if you have kids. John gives some advice for bystanders in close proximity of a shooting incident and particularly how to position your child for optimal safety.
Glock G43: A 2,000-Round Test
Tamara Keel fires 2000 rounds through a Glock 43. There were zero gun malfunctions in those 2000 rounds. Is your carry gun that reliable? If not, why are you carrying a gun that jams?
The Arizona Cardinals Now Give Their Players Phone Breaks
When are we going to realize that modern technology and social media use can create a true addiction for a lot of people?
“Part of growing into a meaningful and impactful adult life is developing the ability to replace what’s fun with what’s important. This process is hard, and therefore requires, for lack of a better word, some good coaching.”
We aren’t providing good coaching on how to avoid the pitfalls of modern technology.
Basic Tactics: Have a Plan Before Clearing Danger Areas
Basic room clearing principles.
KeyMod vs. M-LOK
A great article explaining the difference between the two accessory mounting systems and how to use each.
Three Prepper Guns That Won’t Get Banned
This is a topic that doesn’t get enough discussion among gun owners. Lots of us think that future gun control efforts will mirror past legislation. Some type of weapon (like a semi-automatic rifle) will be banned, but currently owned weapons of that type will be “grandfathered” under the law. That’s how the “assault weapons” ban in the 1990s worked.
I think future legislative efforts will outright ban entire classes of weaponry like what was done with bump stocks and what is being done with semi automatic rifles in New Zealand right now. Stockpiling AR-15 rifles won’t do you any good if they are suddenly banned with the stroke of a pen. All that money you spent on 80% lowers as an “investment” was wasted.
I think that if you are looking for a good investment, you should be acquiring 4″ .38 revolvers or pump shotguns. They are never likely to be banned. When crime increases in the future, lots of people who don’t currently own guns will be in the market for a home defense weapon. I can’t imagine a better choice for the novice shooter than a 4″ K-Frame Smith and Wesson revolver. I’ve been stocking up on these weapons for the last decade. When all of the semi-auto pistols and rifles have been banned, give me a call. I’ll hook you up with a 4″ model 10…for the right price.
How America Killed Play—and What We Can Do to Bring it Back
“I think that’s part of the reason we’re finding a lot of lack of resiliency today, we’re finding a lot of people falling apart when something difficult happens in their life. Because they haven’t practiced this kind of play where they’re deliberately putting themselves into difficult positions and learning how to deal with that.”
THE DANGERS OF INTERVENTION
I’ve talked a lot recently about intervening in third party criminal acts. Chuck Haggard shared this gem of advice written by Evan Marshall on an old handgun stopping power message board. His advice is still useful almost 20 years after he wrote it.
Failing (In) Craig Douglas’s Extreme Close Quarters Concepts (ECQC) Course, Part 1
I congratulate Dr. Yamane for making it through “Fight Club,” the Shivworks ECQC class. I went through this class way back in 2004 and followed up by attending Craig’s EWO and In-Extremis knife courses. I’ve also done similar coursework from the other members of the Shivworks Collective (Chris Fry, Cecil Burch, Larry Lindenman, and Paul Sharp) over the years. All of the classes are very physical. In two decades of this work, I’ve only taken one other course that was more physically demanding than ECQC.
If you aren’t afraid of some very hard work and some very painful lessons, taking a Shivworks class can be absolutely transformative. Read more in Part Two of Dr. Yamane’s report.
Want even more of Craig’s excellence? Check out Lucky Gunner’s report on Craig’s class at the Rangemaster Tac/Con.
Fewer than 1 percent of state prison inmates obtained their guns at the time of offense from gun shows, costs of regulations exceed benefits
How do criminals get their guns? Research definitively indicates that it is not by buying them at gun shows.
Beneath the Radar
Many of my current readers are unfamiliar with Ed Lovette. Besides having a career as a special forces soldier and a decade of domestic police experience, Ed is best known for his work as a CIA paramilitary officer working undercover in South America and Africa for most of his career. Ed wrote a column in Combat Handguns in the 1980s and 1990s. He, Dave Spaulding, and Massad Ayoob were who I depended on for good information in the years before the internet.
I met Ed about 15 years ago and happily call him a friend. He has a lot of information on the topic of awareness and crime prevention. He shares some of his tips in this interview with the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network.
I’m a proud member of the ACLDN and think it’s one of the best bargains in the self defense “insurance” industry. If you want to compare their benefits with the other companies, please check out this informative chart.
Rangemaster April Newsletter
Tom’s excellent monthly newsletter is even excellent-er this month because it contains one of my articles on criminal body language! Tom’s article on ankle holsters is spot on as well. Opens to PDF.
Some of the above links (from Amazon.com) are affiliate links. If you purchase these items, I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
