Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Crazy Guy Beats Officer Over the Head With Pepper Spray!
Why I advocate that cops (and anyone else who carries pepper spray) should be exposed to it in training before they have to fight through it on the street. This officer was covered in OC, but was able to fight through it until the suspect was handcuffed. You can see how badly it affected him after the bad guy was in cuffs. My guess is that the officer had been exposed to the chemical before and knew he could fight through it as long as necessary.
If you carry OC spray, you should know that you can fight through the effects as well.
Are You Ready For A Gun Fight?
Into which category would you fall? Do you have plans to move up a step in 2020? Don’t be a “shooter who doesn’t shoot.”
West Freeway Church of Christ Shooting Analysis
Joshua Gideon and Grant Cunningham have written a very thorough 11-page analysis of this recent church shooting. Anyone interested in security of public buildings in general and church security in particular should take the time to read it.
One more church security article. Check out this compilation of advice put together by Semper Verus.
Combat Medical NPA
The basics of using an NPA.
Horrifying moment an off-duty cop shoots and kills father-of-six who pulled out his gun
My friend John Hearne asserts that one of the primary roles that training provides is the “removal of novelty.” The first time you see a criminal use a novel technique should be in training and not when he uses it against you. This article describes a fairly novel technique and you should be aware of it.
The news article is intentionally sensational. Ignore that. Take a look at the photos and read the facts. Two men (one an off duty cop and the other a convicted felon) got into an argument over a restaurant parking space. The cop got the space and the felon was angry. The felon blocked the cop’s vehicle in with his own mini-van.
The felon then lifted the hood of his van and retrieved a gun (identified as a semi-automatic pistol with a 30-round magazine) from the engine compartment. He then concealed the gun with a rag and started walking towards the cop. The cop drew his own gun and shot the felon, killing him.
The important thing to note is that occasionally violent criminals will hide their guns in a car’s engine compartment because most cops don’t search that area on a traffic stop or arrest. Be extra cautions when you see someone with an otherwise functional vehicle raise the hood to access something.
The criminal here kept the gun covered up with a cloth rag to further hide the fact that he is armed. That’s very similar to the “bag trick” I’ve previously written about.
I would imagine that many of you have never considered that a bad guy could be carrying a gun under his vehicle hood or concealing it in his hand using a cloth rag. Now that you are aware of these concepts, I’ve removed some element of novelty from your life. Training has occurred.
Effectiveness of the Combat Application Tourniquet for Arterial Occlusion in Young Children
CAT tourniquet is 100% effective (on both arms and legs) in children aged two to seven in real-life surgical applications.
Do not carry a cheap elastic tourniquet because you erroneously believe it’s more effective for small-limbed children.
There are now several studies showing that the CAT and the SOFT-T tourniquets work reliably on pediatric patients. See my tourniquet research article for more details.
How Prepared Are We For Medical Emergencies? [SURVEY RESULTS]
One more medical article for you today.
This is some interesting research on medical preparedness. Keep in mind there is selection bias at play here. The respondents likely do not form a representative sample of the population at large.
Of all the stats, the one I find most surprising is that 78% of people feel competent in their ability to apply a tourniquet. I bet if we drilled down a bit, that number would drop.
-What tourniquet? Putting on a SWAT or RATS tourniquet is an entirely different skill set than applying a CAT.
-Commercial tourniquet or improvised?
-On what part of the body? In a freely moving patient who responds to your commands or on someone who is unconscious dead weight? What about on someone thrashing in pain?
-On yourself or on someone else? Big difference there.
-In a sterile classroom or while someone is shooting at you?
I’m not criticizing this study or the effort the author took to undertake it. It provides a valuable look at what people are thinking about.
With that said, I think Dunning-Kruger is going to bite a lot of these respondents in the ass the first time they see real trauma.
I carry a gun every day
Good perspective here.
The Lazy Man’s Guide to Cleaning Revolvers
The first time I’ve ever seen “chore boy” used for something other than smoking crack.
When Corruption Is a Job Perk
A lot of the cops I know truly believe in the “broken windows” theory of policing.
The gist of the “broken windows” idea is that when cops ignore minor criminal infractions and “quality of life” issues, the environment becomes more disordered. The theory posits that disordered environments foster more crime.
Proponents of the theory think that when criminals see minor infractions going unpunished, it encourages those criminals to escalate to more serious or more violent crimes in the future.
Some cops utilize the theory to mentally justify a heavy-handed “crackdown” against petty criminal activity. Some of them really think that if we start locking people in cages for infractions like jaywalking, loitering, littering, minor vandalism, and relatively inconsequential “victimless” crimes, neighborhood safety will improve.
Interestingly enough, a lot of cops supporting the “broken windows” theory don’t see any problem with giving their family members a “courtesy card” that might get them out of a speeding ticket. It’s a “minor” ethical violation to use one’s government position to give friends and family members special treatment in terms of a “get out of jail free” card.
Under the “broken windows” theory, arresting or citing people for minor criminal infractions reduces major crimes in the future. How does that same idea track in terms of ethical violations?
If we think that minor criminal infractions should be rigorously prosecuted in order to prevent more serious crime in the future, how should we deal with minor ethical violations (like giving the courtesy card)?
If “broken windows” supporters were intellectually consistent, they would think that cracking down on minor ethical violations would prevent major ethical violations from happening in the future.
I don’t see many cops refusing to hand out their yearly allotted numbers of “courtesy cards” to friends and family.
Clearly they don’t think that minor ethical transgressions will lead to bigger ethical problems down the line. Yet the same people think that they are reducing robbery rates by vigorously enforcing jaywalking laws.
Cognitive dissonance much?
100 Expert Travel Tips After 20 Years Of Travelling The World.
Some very solid traveling tips here. Please do not place any credence in his advice about improvised weapons. Hairspray and keys may be legal to carry, but they are useless in a fight. The rest of his advice is pretty spot on.
On the same topic, you might also like The Blonde Abroad’s 20 Things Every Traveler Should Know.
One Small Thing A Day
Great advice from Cecil Burch.
The Dad Joke of Warbelts
Morgan provides a suggestion that may be many times more practical than a “war belt” for home defense.
Off Duty Capability
Massad Ayoob talks about off-duty carry. Surprisingly, despite the rise in active killer events and terrorist attacks, I see fewer of my fellow officers carrying their guns off duty than in years past.
Becoming an Expert Learner
Valuable advice for anyone taking a fighting or combatives class.
The Revision CV Ammo Pod Speedloader
A revolver speed loader option that I hadn’t seen before. They seem to be priced pretty reasonably at less than $7 each.
Class Review: Active Response Training Tactical First Aid & System Collapse Medicine
Interested in what happens in my medical class? Thank you to William for the thorough review.
Guide to 1st-3rd Gen S&W Semi-Autos
I have to admit having a real affinity for S&W autopistols. The 4506 was the first gun I carried on duty. The guns are great, but the model numbers used to describe them are incredibly complex. Here’s an easy explanation for you.
Antibiotic Chart To Guide Acquisition
This would not be a bad chart to print out and store with your medical supplies. Please keep in mind that over time, these recommendations change. Certain bugs become resistant to the recommended antibiotic selection and different antibiotics become first line treatments. I would recommend that you purchase a book like the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy and update it every few years for a more in-depth treatment plan.
Use of Force: Time to “Geek It Up”
My cop friends should read this article. Most don’t actually know as much about the “academics” of use of force as they should if they want to successfully make it to their retirement date. Most of the issues would also be extremely useful for the armed citizen to know as well.
The Proper Wearing of Body Armor
A lot of people have never been taught how to properly position and wear their body armor.
Building Rapport with Your Larger Community
In any long term social or economic collapse, it isn’t the people who “head for the hills” by bugging out alone who are the survivors. The survivors are those who are part of an established community that supports its members. Read this article and the earlier piece he linked to. It’s good information. I’m a hermit and admit that I don’t do this well. Pay attention to the author’s tactics.
The Right Kind of Crazy: Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell
What I’m reading…
As a former Eagle Scout, I embrace the “Boy Scout from Hell” moniker.
Identify before you shoot
The Tactical Professor puts the proverbial “bump in the night” into proper perspective.
“Looking at it this way makes a very strong case for why we have to positively identify before we shoot. It is 32 times more likely that the sound or shadow is a member of the household than it is an intruder. Las Vegas would really like those odds. If we’re going to be the slightest bit responsible, we have to look at ALL the possibilities, not just the ones that scare us the most. Shooting through the door without doing any kind of identification is just plain wrong.”
Situational Awareness: Tips To Stay Frosty
“Remember, extreme violence can happen anytime, anywhere. It is up to you to develop the mindset to do what is necessary to protect yourself and your loved ones. Keep in mind, the body won’t go where the mind has never been. Do your research and study past scenarios, so when the time comes you might recall a situation you read about and know how to react. Don’t be the person that says, “I never expected that to happen!”
KELLY McCANN – The Jugular Notch
I’ve used this technique a couple times at work. It’s fairly effective if you do it correctly and doesn’t look bad when the cameras are rolling. In followup reports the technique is described as a “chest push followed by a jugular notch pressure point control tactic.”
It’s just an extra spicy “chest push.”
You Can Be Freer in A Less Free Country
I’ve mentioned this in past writing, but it bears revisiting. As far as individual freedom goes, you can exercise much more of it in supposedly more restrictive countries than you can here in the USA.
It all depends on what you want to do. In many countries with seemingly more tyrannical governments, law enforcement of drug, alcohol, prostitution, and public nuisance laws are virtually non-existent. There are no restrictive zoning laws or HOAs to deal with. Taxes on foreign residents are minimal. The governments don’t have the resources to actually enforce all the laws they have on the books.
You may not be able to publicly criticize government officials, but in many other aspects of your life, you’ll actually be freer than in the USA.
I’ve visited more than 50 different countries in the last 15 years. In many of them, street level, practical freedom was embraced far more by the residents and tourists than here in America.
Victorinox Swiss Army Rescue Tool Pocket Knife with Pouch
Speaking of foreign travel, I recommend this to travelers visiting areas where weapons are restricted. This isn’t a weapon. It’s a rescue tool. And it’s a Swiss Army knife.
But take note of the blade. Unlike other SAK offerings, this one has a thumb hole for quick deployment and a liner lock to keep it from closing on your hand.
See the “window breaker” on the end? That makes an excellent fist load impact weapon even without opening the blade.
May not be kosher in the UK because of blade length and lock, but in any other country customs officials and cops will ignore this one (unless you try to smuggle it onto an airplane or past a metal detector).
Handgun Stopping Power- What Really Matters?
A realistic assessment of the contentious “handgun stopping power” issue. The paragraphs below are important to understand:
“Handguns, of any kind, caliber or bullet configuration, suck at rapidly incapacitating an aggressive human being. The only way to reliably incapacitate an attacker instantly is to hit the central nervous system or upper spine. That’s it. You can shred someone’s heart, liver etc, and they might not die fast enough to save your ass. There is no magic gun, caliber or bullet that can change this. Under stress against a moving target it’s fantastically hard to reliably hit the skull or spine.
While handguns aren’t very good at incapacitating a determined assailant, they are moderately good at stopping an aggressive human being, if by ‘stopping’ you mean getting them to quit doing whatever it was that made it necessary to shoot them. They might drop in their tracks, drop after running a hundred yards or walk into an emergency room three hours later, but the important thing is that they stopped doing what they were doing, I.E. trying to harm or kill you or another innocent.
In civilian self-defense that is the goal- make them stop. They can fall over dead, run away or surrender; it really doesn’t matter which. If they do any of these things you have achieved the goal.”
You may also like the author’s advice on Concealed Carry Pistols.
Pistol Access – Building Grip Minutia
Deep thoughts on the optimal way to grasp a handgun while drawing to maximize speed and security. This topic is often overlooked by even serious practitioners of the gunfighting arts.
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