Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Utah Mall Shooting – After Action Medical Report
Enlightening commentary about handling the medical aspect of an active killer event. Especially note his comment on the nearly useless nature of improvised tourniquets without windlasses.
His idea about using clueless innocent bystanders as alarm systems is also brilliant. “You. Stay here. Face that way. Tell me if the killer comes back or you see anyone with a gun in their hands.”
For the absolute best compilation of tourniquet studies on the internet, check out my article The Tourniquet That Works Like a Zip Tie.
I Made A Huge Mistake While Carrying My Gun. Learn From My Experience.
You should always run at least a few magazines of your chosen self defense ammunition through any new gun before carrying it for defensive purposes. For defensive ammunition you should also stick with one of the well known large ammunition manufacturers rather than choosing a bullet from a “boutique” ammunition supplier.
How Much Ammo Should We Stock?
I’ve written about this topic before. I agree with the author’s conclusion that we should work toward a goal of stockpiling a lifetime supply of practice ammunition for all of our defensive firearms. I want to know that whatever our congress critters do to reduce my access to ammunition in the future doesn’t force me to curtail my personal practice regimen.
Right now I’m shooting around 500-600 rounds a month in practice. I could probably drop that down to around 100 rounds per month and at least maintain a marginal skill set.
100 rounds x 12 months x 30 more years of life (may be optimistic) equals 36,000 rounds. For me, that would be a bare minimum amount to stockpile. Lay in plenty of .22 long rifle ammunition to help you reach that goal. The ammo is cheap and it stores in small containers. Get a .22 conversion kit or a dedicated .22 practice pistol and .22 caliber practice AR-15 that most closely match your chosen defensive weapons.
Cheap practice with a .22 lookalike will carry over to a lot of the aspects of keeping your skills sharp with your chosen defensive firearm.
Man With Persistent Rash
Have you ever heard of “fixed drug eruption?” I hadn’t. Anyone who is into austere medicine should keep this drug reaction in mind if your patient presents with this type of rash when they take NSAIDs.
10 Advanced Handgun-Training Terms You Should Know
Anyone new to the game should probably understand these terms before taking their first shooting class.
38 Different 9mm Loads
A single 50-round group fired by each of 38 different types of ammunition with a gun locked in a Ransom rest. Interesting test results.
A Great Reminder To Always Lock Your Doors
At all costs, you should avoid sitting in a parked car while being distracted (ie sending texts or checking your social media). If you must be distracted in public, make sure your doors are locked and the car is in gear with your foot on the brake for an easy escape.
Men and Weapons: The Quality of Refusal
“We are, each of us, alone. And this is the first law of masculinity. And it is the most important law. Your value is equal to the value which you bring to the tribe. We are not equal. You are not special. Respect is earned, not given. Your brothers will not love you unconditionally for who you are, just being yourself. They will criticise you, push you to your limits, bring out the best in you, and give you their respect when earned. And this isn’t shocking at all. This is common knowledge to any man. Your childhood is over. The boy is dead. It’s time to be a man for the rest of your life.”
― Jack Donovan
Living the Dream?
The Mountain Guerrilla shares some valuable advice about learning skills. You have to do, not just watch.
“Yeah, but John, you’re talking about a lot of money and time to get started! No, I’m not. I’m talking about re-stacking your priorities. If you genuinely believe that difficult times are upon us…or in the near future…or possible within your lifetime..you can sit around and fantasize, and dream about what you would do, or you can start doing things.
Give up an hour of television or video games each night. Stop buying Starbucks on the way to work, and spend that $7-8 on more useful items and materials. Stop dreaming. JUST. DO. IT.”
If you are into permaculture or like Mosby’s writing style, you will also enjoy his article on composting human waste during a collapse scenario.
Hostage Resolution
“Officers generally attempt to do the right thing for the right reasons. I get this. But some field confrontations exceed our capabilities. The ability to comprehend when one is “out of their depth” is essential and requires experienced supervision and instruction to relate to those not so experienced.
The best of intentions do not necessarily translate into successful resolution when the possessed skill sets are not commensurate with the intent.”
The Non-Permissive Environment
A quality analysis of the issues involved when you choose to carry weapons in to a location that really doesn’t want you to have a gun (or knife, or sap…whatever).
“Laws are about ensuring compliance, whereas morality is about living in such a way that creates no victims.”
You can read some of my thoughts on the topic at Deep Concealment Options for the Non-Permissive enviroment.
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
What I’m reading…
Lauren got me this one as a gift after we listened to a fascinating interview with the author. The subject of the book lived 27 years camping in the Maine woods without having a single interaction with a human being. My reclusive side wants to embrace this guy as my hero.
The High Standard Sentinel R-103
As a guy who appreciates the utility of both the .22 cartridge and the snubby revolver, I’m surprised I haven’t ever seen one of these in person. It’s a neat little gun and is less than half the price of a new .22 S&W J-frame. If this one intrigues you, check out this article for even more information.
And while we are on the topic of snubby revolvers, you might be interested in a bit of the history behind the snub-nosed revolver.
The NAA Mini Revolver: You Can Do Better
One more article on tiny .22s for you this week. Lucky Gunner shares a very useful perspective on the mini-revolver. It is rarely a good choice for a defensive pistol. I find that most people who carry these guns, don’t have a realistic idea about how slow or awkward a pocket draw with a tiny pistol can be in the stress of a physical struggle. Look at the Lucky Gunner tests here. All of the other guns tested performed demonstrably better.
Umarex Nails The Air Rifle With Hammer .50-Caliber
Here’s yet another “unconventional” weapon. Did you know they can make airguns that shoot a .50 lead bullet at 1000 feet per second? This dude actually went bear hunting with what is essentially a very big pellet gun.
If I ever lost my gun rights, this would probably a great choice for extended range home defense.
Violence
How do you know if you are going to “pass the test?” Mike Pannone has some enlightening commentary on the issue.
Recognizing the Signs and Signals of Crime and Danger
The article contains a lot of useful information if you can tolerate the grammatical errors and the somewhat rough writing style. If you haven’t seen my article about the same topic, I think it will be worth your while to read.
Home Defense Considerations: Answering the Door
Criminals will very often approach initially by the front door. Do you have a tactical plan for answering a knock at your door? I think you should. The author’s suggestion for the proper way to verbally dissuade the criminal is a very sound strategy. Don’t open your door and make it easy for a criminal to get into your house.
The Bladed Hips Problem at Close Contact Range
In the event you didn’t get the memo, top trainers stopped teaching the “interview stance” or “gun side back” more than 20 years ago. There are lots of problems with blading the hips while within arms’ reach of your opponent. Cecil covers them in this video.
Cecil’s analogy of “pushing the car” is a great way of illustrating the power advantage of squared hips.
For more of Cecil’s wisdom, check out his interview with Michael Bane.
Mythbusting: Bug Out Bag and Bugging Out
Some painful truths about “bugging out.”
Carbine Setup for Civilians – 2019 Edition…
Detailed information on some best practices for setting up your defensive carbine.
Playing “What If…?”
Thinking through possible scenarios in your head and coming up with good solutions to potential problems is a useful exercise. There is a potential downside, however. If you use some of the enhanced visualization techniques like trying visualize the situation so intently that you truly see, feel, and hear what’s going on, you could set yourself up for a bad case of PTSD.
The very definition of paranoia is when we see, feel, and hear imaginary things that we believe are going to harm us. That’s what you are doing when you employ active visualization techniques to hazardous situations. You are trying to feel imaginary harmful things. That’s a quick route to become paranoid.
The active visualization you use to create ideal performance in a specific skill set is different from this kind of visualization. If you want to play the “what if” game, do so without trying to truly experience every negative outcome you could possibly foresee happening. Just think through possible scenarios and cogitate on the best way to solve the problems.
Spotter Up Review! Hygenall LeadOff
Lead poisoning is a very real concern for those of you who spend a lot of time shooting. When I was working daily at a very poorly ventilated indoor range, my lead levels were tested 25X higher than normal. Since then, I’ve practiced better hygiene and make sure I clean my face, arms, and hands after every shooting session. These wipes make it easy. Pick up 45 wipes for $10.99 on Amazon. That’s a year’s supply of safety for most shooters for a very inexpensive price.
The Off Duty Death Spiral
I still see way too many cops and firefighters working way too much overtime and off duty jobs to pay for a lifestyle they can’t truly afford. That money can disappear incredibly quickly if you get injured. It’s best not to rely on it for your living expenses.
When I worked off-duty jobs, I earmarked the money for my vacations. I never relied on it to pay my bills.
Now, I don’t work any overtime or off-duty cop jobs. I teach, I consult, I write, and I do expert witness work instead. It’s always better to have an income source from outside of your primary job. Too few cops take the time to build that, and every year I see more and more of them who regret that they spent so much time working transient off-duty details instead of building a more sustainable future
The Anatomy of a Self-Defense Shooting, Pt. 2
One of the articles in this month’s edition of the ACLDN newsletter highlights some of the post-shooting problems you will encounter, both with the police and with the courts. Join the ACLDN for the most reasonably priced self-defense “insurance” plans offered. $135 a year won’t seem like much when you are facing a $50K legal bill when your case goes to trial.
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.
