Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Critical Thinking About Defensive Shooting
This is a topic about which I’ve changed my mind over the years. Early in my instructor journey, I bought into the whole “gross motor skills” slide racking debate. As this article describes, that’s a dumb justification. If you don’t have the fine motor skills to hit a slide release, how are you going to pull your trigger or hit your mag release button?
Now, I don’t care how people release their slides. Overhand, great. Slingshot, great. Slide release, great. I personally use the (Glock extended) slide release.
Early MMA Fight analysis
Think MMA started out with the UFC in 1993? Think again. Read Cecils’s commentary on a videotaped match between a boxer and a wrestler in 1937.
Civilian Carry Radio 070 – Tim Chandler
If you are interested in defensive shotgun use, this podcast interview of my friend Tim Chandler will get you started on the right path.
6 Trees Every Survivalist Should Know
Great survival information that everyone should learn. On the same topic, please read How to Find and Identify 13 Wild Winter Edibles.
Bad Practice: Bad Holsters
High quality holster advice. Pay attention here.
The Assassination of William McKinley: Of Hopeless Causes and One Seriously Pathetic Pistol
Fascinating history of the assassination of a president, by a killer who used a .32 revolver covered by a handkerchief.
Choosing A Flashlight for Every Day Carry
Chris Fry has some great advice about everyday carry flashlights. I like all his recommendations and personally carry the Fenix PD35 that he mentions both on and off duty.
Top 5 Weapon Mounted Lights Compared
One more light article for you this week. This one is a comparison of features between some of the more popular weapons mounted lights on the market. I carry a light on my duty gun at work and I have one on my bedside home defense pistol. I don’t carry a WML on any of my concealed carry guns. For me, a larger light isn’t a detriment. I like the 1000 lumen Surefire X300U with the DG Switch.
Man Bites Dog: Defending Yourself Against Dog Attacks
I like dogs and prefer not to kill them. That’s why I carry pepper spray wherever I go. It works well against almost all dogs and is a great way to deter an attack. If that doesn’t work, knowing these techniques might be valuable.
Legendary Sniper Duels
These guys and gals did an unfathomable amount of work from the shadows.
God Bless the Warrior
“Maybe if the warriors begin to live openly again, our children will learn by example that somewhere between submission and aggression is the desired path of self-reliance.”
Seeking Sustainability in Preparedness
“We need to stop looking at “survival,” and start looking at “Sustainability.”
Inside the Minds of Cartel Hitmen: Hannibal Lecters for Hire
A fascinating look at the psychological motivations of Mexican drug cartel hitmen. Violent criminals in the USA often have similar motivations. Want more info about the criminal mind? Read Dr. Aprill’s recent article Laughing in the Face of Death.
Coat Hanger Machine Gun DIAS (Drop In Auto Sear)
Some forbidden knowledge that a few of you will find interesting.
Benefits of Private Instruction
When people want to be better skiers, tennis players, or golfers, it is common to see them take private lessons with a pro. Why isn’t this part of the culture in the firearms world?
.22 Magnum is Pretty Good
A nice article about one of my favorite cartridges, the .22 Magnum. I carry my Smith 351C quite often and have almost stopped carrying my J-frame .38 snubs. The 351C has similar bullet performance to the lower level .38 loads, but the gun has zero recoil, is two ounces lighter, and carries seven rounds instead of five. The downside is the heavier trigger (as mentioned in the article) and the fact that brass cases often stick to the cylinder of the gun when it warms up. It makes reloading a little slower.
I also have an older (1970) Smith and Wesson model 51. It’s a J-frame with a square butt, adjustable sights, and a 3.5″ barrel. The extra barrel length and sight radius adds significant velocity and improves accuracy. It’s a wonderful small game pistol and kills things far better than the .22 long rifle.
[How To] Disassemble, Clean, & Lube a Remington 870
I’m betting that most of you readers have an 870 at home. Do you know how to detail strip and clean it?
Equipment Review: Tau Development Group Striker Control Device
This is a piece of equipment you Glock owners should consider. I’ve probably had a dozen students bring guns equipped with the gadget to my classes. I’ve never seen any issues with them.
The Dangers of Looking “Tactical” When the SHTF
If you are wearing 5.11 pants in any location outside a shooting range, you are not “tactical.” Even at the shooting range, most people think you look like a douche.
Toxic masculinity: American Psychological Association says it’s bad to be a man
I think this position will prove extremely problematic in the future.
“In the APA’s “first ever” set of guidelines to help psychologists work with men and boys, the association states that “traditional masculinity is psychologically harmful,” and “causes damage that echoes both inwardly and outwardly.”
But what is ‘traditional masculinity’ anyway? The APA says traditional masculinity is defined by “stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression.” It’s found in men’s resilience in the face of adversity and insistence on “looking tough” despite mental suffering, and in their tendency to handle emotional strain with anger.”
We certainly don’t want are men to be stoic or competitive. It’s much better that men get anxiety when using the postal service. No, we definitely want to suppress all of the attributes that have allowed men to thrive in uncertain environments and live to pass their genes on to the future.
Ignore this silliness. If you want a correct look at masculinity, I would suggest reading The Way of Men by Jack Donovan and Deida’s The Way of the Superior Man.
Once you become more informed, fight back. Read 5 Things To Do About Our Culture’s Antagonism Against Men and Toxic Masculinity: Don’t knock it ’til you try it.
Lafayette Officer Injured By Partner
John provides quality commentary on a very regrettable incident. A police officer shot his partner during a building search when he was startled by a dog inside the house. Fast forward to about the 3:30 mark to see the actual shooting on body cam. The officer doing the shooting demonstrated really piss poor firearms handling throughout the whole incident. I wish I could say that the average cop is better trained than this guy was, but that wouldn’t be truthful. Most cops don’t get nearly as much firearms training as they should.
I carry a weapon mounted light on my police duty pistol. When I am searching a house, I have the gun in my dominant hand and a second flashlight in my off-side hand. The flashlight in my off hand does all the searching. If I find a bad guy or start taking rounds, I will drop the handheld and go two hands onto my pistol. Handheld flashlights are for searching. Weapon mounted lights are what you use when you are actually shooting or are covering a potentially lethal threat.
Also note the complete lack of adequate first aid. None of the cops had any med gear on their person or knew how to treat such a wound (get all her gear off and visualize the injury, find out if there are other injuries that aren’t as obvious, cover the wound with a chest seal, put patient in recovery position with injured side down.)
It’s inexcusable to see cops today who are not up to speed on battlefield first aid tactics. Failing to carry med gear on your person as a cop is inexcusable as well. I have a couple of big med kits in my police car, but I also carry a bandage, hemostatic gauze, a chest seal, and a tourniquet on my person every single day at work.
Meet the Anarchists Making Their Own Medicine
Have you heard about “Pharma-Hacking”?
“I think it’s absolutely imperative that information about how to make your own medicines should be as easily accessible as possible to everyone who might have even a passing interest,” Laufer told me. “The goal of the group is to make it possible for people to be able to do these things on their own. The idea that someone could download the instructions, read the list of materials, order them, read the instructions for how to assemble it and program it, upload the code, order precursor chemicals, and then manufacture medicine.”
This might be even more important after the coming trade war with China. China imports a lot of the drugs we need in this country.
The Telephone Game and the Training Industry
The Tactical Professor discusses some persistent myths in the training community.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
What I’m reading….
Yuval Harari might be one of the smartest men in the world. I like learning things from smart people. If you want a preview, check out his podcast with James Altucher.
Should You Even DARE Use a Knife to Defend Yourself?
“I will leave you “never-ever-knife” folks with this thought. This question. It’s 4 am and you hear two thugs breaking into your back door. Your spouse and kids are asleep. Presuming you are unfortunate enough not to have a gun handy, do you reach for the biggest kitchen knife you can find? Will they get yours first instead, as so many home invaders and rapists do? If you don’t even think about getting a knife in that very dark moment? You may have a thinking disorder.”
How To Overcome Cross-Eye Dominance When Shooting
Some strategies to deal with cross-eye dominance.
The Best Timed Counters in MMA
A very interesting look at how professional fighters read their opponents’ “tells” and plan their counters. Thanks to Hock Hochheim for posting.
Train at a Higher Level With Tactical Breathing
Everyone should be familiar with “tactical” or “box” breathing.
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.
