Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Best Body Armor [2019 Tested]: Hard Plates & Soft Armor
As restrictions on body armor may soon be enacted, you might consider picking some up. Here is a decent review of they different types, styles, and brands. For even more information, read The best bulletproof body armor when SHTF.
Children’s School Book Bag Protection from Gunfire
Continuing on the topic of armor, this article explores how well school books stop ballistic projectiles.
The Box O’ Truth #29 – The Helmets O’ Truth
One more armor article. Have you ever wondered what type of bullets a Kevlar helmet might be able to repel? Check out the article and find out. When we got a bunch of surplus helmets at the PD about 15 years ago, I did a similar test, with similar results. Mine also repelled 00 buck shot as well.
5 Best 9mm Self Defense Rounds
I would have zero reservations about carrying any of these five loads. Keep in mind, however, that they are talking about what to carry in a Shield. For guns with full size barrels, I would drop the 115 grain offerings and go for the 147 grain HST.
Long barrels mean more velocity. More velocity means more expansion and less penetration. In a 4.5″ barrel, some of the 115 grain loads might struggle to meet minimum penetration standards.
Here’s How to Avoid Getting Pickpocketed While Traveling
Sound advice for those of you who want to avoid one of the most common crimes committed against tourists worldwide.
Announcing You Are Armed
Important things to think about.
Considerations for Handling the Police Response
Long time readers of this site should already understand the concepts this article describes. With that said, a good review is in order. You really don’t want to be the guy with a gun in his hand at the scene where cops are responding to an active killer call.
Patreon Says They Control YOUR Brand – We Are LEAVING!
In the last two Knowledge Dumps, I’ve discussed issues of “de-platforming” of various gun related content creators. Here is yet another example. In this case, even if you own the method of distribution, they can cut off your funding source if they don’t like what you have to say.
10 Tips & Tricks to Enhance Your Home-Defense Shotgun
A few pointers that will help you run your defensive shotgun more effectively.
Why You Need to Make a ‘When I Die’ File—Before It’s Too Late
Most of you are reading this blog to acquire information that may save your life someday. That’s awesome. I’m glad you are committed to your personal survival. No matter what knowledge and skill sets you master, there will be a point where all of your study becomes moot. You WILL die someday. Make life easier for your surviving loved ones by following this author’s advice.
The Trial of Michael Drejka … So Far
More information about this shooting is coming out during the defendant’s criminal trail. Read all the details. Make an effort to improve your skill set in order to ensure that no one prosecutes you following a shooting. Mas Ayoob has more details about this case in his article Confluence of Fools.
The Undoctored case against diuretics
A lot of my readers are likely taking diuretics for blood pressure control. They might not be as innocuous as your doctor thinks they are.
Tragedy Strikes On A Russian Playground
Here is a scenario to consider. If you witnessed this event and were armed, what would you do?
Suicide By Cop: 15 warning signs that you might be involved
A very good article for my cop friends about some of the warning signs that someone might be trying to commit “suicide by cop.”
Last week an officer I know was approached by an individual armed with a BB gun who wanted the cop to kill him. I can’t reveal the details of the event because of the nature of the ongoing investigation. I will say that the officer skillfully resolved the situation without the use of force and that the suspect is currently getting the mental health treatment he needs.
During during the incident, the individual discussed his contemplation of doing his suicide by cop at a local school. These folks know that the report of a person armed with a gun in a school will get a lot of cops responding very quickly. What better way to ensure that you get quickly shot by the police than to threaten school children with something that looks like a real gun?
I think we might see more “suicide by cop” situations masquerading as active killer events in the future.
AVOIDING DISASTERS
While we certainly have to be prepared for the “suicide by cop” situations mentioned in the last link, more commonly we will encounter a more garden-variety version of suicidal person. Massad Ayoob talks about some of the warning signs of a suicidal individual that all gun owners (and especially those who work in a gun store or commercial shooting range) should recognize.
Keep Yer’ Head Down Pardner- When The Movies Used Live Ammo!
Fascinating stuff. I had no idea that the ricochet bullet impacts in old western movies were actually real bullets fired in close proximity to the actors. The big western stars employed their own “personal sharpshooters” that they trusted to fire .22 bullets right next to their bodies. How do I get a job like that?
Jeff Cooper’s First Article
Karl Rehn takes a look at the legendary Jeff Cooper’s very first published magazine article and suggests a 100 round practice session based on Cooper’s writing.
Urban Survival Tips – Bus
James LaFond provides some survival tips for riding public transportation in an urban war zone.
Intellectual Humility
“It is important as trainers that we read books and listen to talks or interviews that will challenge the way we think and challenge us to examine our beliefs regarding the content and delivery of our training. It is also important to have interactions with people who are willing to ask you the tough questions and challenge your thinking and beliefs. It will quickly reveal our blind spots and whether or not we can articulate our beliefs or whether we just get mad and flustered when someone keeps asking us questions.”
A Not-So-Quiet Professional
The Suited Shootist discusses the importance of verbal agility in confrontation. Not enough trainers cover this material. I’m convinced that a lot of folks in the gun community turned to defensive firearms out of fear and inability to manage social interactions. Lots of shooters would be better off spending time at a public speaking class or a Toastmasters group than taking another carbine course.
Dental Kits Off The Grid
A lot of folks have survival medical kits. Have you considered that you may have to treat dental issues as well?
Defensive Shotgun Ammunition Selection
I honestly can’t believe that those of us in the firearms field have to constantly explain that birdshot is not a proper defensive load for a shotgun. For some real life stats about how effective birdshot ISN’T, please check out my article Bird Shot for Self Defense and Some Stopping Power Statistics.
If you want the ultimate shotgun stopping power, you can always load it with slugs. My home defense shotgun is loaded with a tightly patterning eight-pellet 00 buck load. The spare ammo carried on the shotgun consists solely of rifled slugs. Read How to Shoot Shotgun Slugs Accurately for some more information on that topic.
I’m Feeling Apocalyptic…
My late friend Marcus Wynne’s emergency preparedness checklists and a plan to improve your disaster readiness. A short and worthwhile read for anyone.
How Emotionally Intelligent People Wisely Deal With Their Problems
“When was the last time you addressed yourself in a real way and took responsibility for your life?
What are your problems? Which of your problems are you rationalizing? Are you shifting blame to someone or something when it’s really on you (it’s almost always on you)?
When you lean in, you build emotional muscles that grow as a result of the stress that comes with truly dealing with a problem. Not only can you produce a better outcome, but you get to put a deposit into your confidence & resilience account.
Do this often enough, and you’ll have the reward of being able to say “I’m someone who can handle my life.”
California instructor accidentally shoots man in leg during gun safety course
One of the biggest problems in the training industry is the fact that the most naive of our students lack the ability to differentiate between one instructor’s qualifications and another instructor’s qualifications. Most actually don’t care. They are in the class just to tick the box they need to get a CCW permit. After all, most of these folks have “been shooting all my life.”
The problems is that if you don’t really vet your instructor, you could very easily get killed in class. Firearms are damned dangerous things to be toying with.
There is a tremendous difference between an instructor who has 20 years of teaching experience and thousands of hours of documented firearms training and the local CCW “instructor” who got “certified” in a weekend class.
Poseurs who teach
Even worse than the “weekend certification” instructors I mentioned above are those who lie about their shooting resume. My advice to instructors is post your (accurate) credentials on your website. If you need more credentials, seek more training/experience; don’t make shit up.
My full resume, list of training courses completed, and CV are posted on my site. Students know exactly what they are getting (and the lineage of my techniques) when they take my classes. If your instructor doesn’t share such information, maybe you should look for someone who does.
10 Best Ballistic Calculator Apps
Although I was once my police department’s only qualified sniper, it’s been a long time since I’ve been up on the latest and greatest in terms of precision rifle shooting. I don’t have or use any of these apps, but the article seems to be a pretty good review of what’s on the market.
Retrieving the rifle: an overlooked skill
Grant brings up a couple of points that are worth considering.
SELF-DEFENSE TWEAK #6 – “Submissions”
In last week’s Knowledge Dump, I linked to the first five articles of Cecil’s excellent series. Number six is worth a read as well.
Not really having this argument
I think this podcast shares a perspective that may be very useful for those of you who get frustrated arguing with your political opponents. Seth discusses the difference between “belief” and “truth.” If you thrive on “truth” and are making arguments from that perspective, you aren’t likely to sway a person who is making a decision based on “beliefs” instead. It’s worth your time to listen.
Guns and Self-Defense: 23 Inspirational True Crime Stories of Survival with Firearms
What I’m reading…
This is the latest installment of Robert Waters’ series of books describing individual violent criminal attacks and how the victim prevailed. Reading all of his books will give you lots of things to think about. Understanding how armed citizens defeated criminals in dozens of superbly narrated chapters helps me to hone my own self defense skills.
You can read some more information about this book HERE.
5 Common Mistakes in Bleeding Control
“Bleeding control is about pressure and not absorption.”
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