Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Surviving a Riot
Solid riot survival information. If you want an even more in depth look at the issue, my book has an entire chapter on the topic.
Concealed Carry Corner: Carry Tips That Make A Big Difference
Making your concealed carry experience a bit more comfortable.
WHAT’S THE STORY ON THE GLOCK SWITCH?
Massad Ayoob explains the current gun accessory of choice for the violent criminal. For more content from Mas, read Justified Use of Lethal Force.
CHAIR QUAL:Barricade Skills Using a Folding Chair
I did this drill for the first time almost 25 years ago in an NRA patrol rifle instructor class taught by the now-departed Clive Shepherd. I used it every couple of years when I was doing rifle training for the police department. I also used large wooden picnic tables for the same purpose, with one shooter working each side of the table.
One final stage I like to add (that the author doesn’t mention) is to stand next to the chair, pick it up with your weak hand, and fire the rifle strong handed only while holding the chair. Repeat on the other side, firing the rifle weak side only.
It’s fun to see old things become new again.
For a few more shooting drills, revolver shooters should check out Rediscovering the Wheel: Revolver Drills To Improve Shooting and Shot Timer Fun: Five Drills to Measure Your Skills.
37 Pieces of Career Advice I Wish I’d Known Earlier
This is excellent life advice. My cop and fire friends need to really think about the last point.
Situational Awareness: How to Stay Safe
Pat Mac’s thoughts on situational awareness.
Let’s Talk About Human Predators
Having great situational awareness is almost useless unless you understand how predators work.
Can You Fire .32 ACP in a Revolver?
With the popularity of the new Smith and Wesson and Taurus .32 snub revolvers, it’s probably a good idea to re-visit this post. If you are interested in .32 ballistic testing information read S&W Ultimate Carry: Ballistic Testing. Need a revolver shooting drill? Try Claude Werner’s Pence Drill or The Rangemaster Defensive Revolver Qualification.
A Revolver-Buyer’s Checklist
I have a couple more revolver links for you this week. This one covers the things to look for when buying a used revolver. This one discusses the use of full and half moon clips in revolvers. Finally, you might want to improve your revolver’s grip texture.
Deep Carry guns: What works? Why?
Rhett shows us what is possible after a lot of work practicing “deep carry.”
Let Them Shine
Very important advice for my police friends. Every single commercially successful firearms instructors I know has been seriously fucked by his/her agency, myself included. Outshining the master in an environment when the “master” is mediocre at best is very easy for the talented trainer to do. With that said, when my agency removed me from my training position when I threatened to sue the police chief and the city manager, it prompted me to double down on growing a business that is very successful today. I doubt I would have worked so hard on my outside training business had I remained my police department’s “golden boy.” Most of my retired cop friends who now teach commercially had remarkably similar issues with their police agencies.
CCW Training: Are We Practicing the Wrong Skills?
Have you ever stopped to think about why you are practicing the skills that you practice? Maybe you should.
For another take on the subject, read Mark Luell’s article Meta : Critical Skills and Goals for Personal Protection.
Defensive Shooting Indoors: The Overpenetration Problem
A lot of people are rightfully concerned about this issue. In my opinion, the way to mitigate the risks is to train more to ensure you hit your target (pass through hits with modern defensive ammunition tend to create relatively minor wounds) and to set up safe lanes of fire in your house. All bullets that are effective in flesh will penetrate a couple of walls. The answer isn’t to handicap yourself with a less effective bullet. The answer is to shoot better and think more.
The author recommends using a light weight Hornady V-Max style of bullet in a home defense shooting. I categorically disagree with this approach. My agency had a shooting with this round and it performed very poorly. A student I trained from another agency also shot a guy with this round. It temporarily dropped the guy, but the criminal remained fully functional and was released from the hospital in less than two hours. Don’t rely on the V-Max or TAP .223 rounds for home protection just because they penetrate fewer walls than more effective rounds.
WHY I NO LONGER CARRY A SPARE MAGAZINE
A nuanced-filled argument that demands some deeper thinking. If you feel better carrying a spare mag, go for it. If you don’t think it’s necessary, don’t. In my retirement these days, I’m becoming less dogmatic about always carrying a spare mag, especially when I am carrying my Glock 19. The lack of logic around this issue baffles me. Why should I feel well armed if I am carrying a J-frame revolver and two speed loaders full of extra ammo (15 total rounds) but “undergunned” with my Glock 19 (16 rounds of ammo) and no spare reload?
For nearly a century, American cops hunted very bad men carrying a revolver and two spare speedloaders or 12 extra rounds in cartridge loops. My modern auto pistol holds that same capacity in a single magazine. There aren’t many domestic gunfights that will require more than 15-18 rounds to prevail if you can actually shoot.
School threat assessment toolkit now available to schools for violence prevention
A lot of my readers are interested in the topic of school security. This new free resource might be useful for folks looking to better secure their community’s schools.
Choosing the Right Buffer for Your AR-15
Confused about all the different AR-15 buffers? This will sort things out for you.
How To Improve Pistol Skills with Rimfire Handgun Training
I think a lot of people would be very well served by using a rimfire copy of their defensive carry gun to facilitate more frequent and less expensive practice sessions.
Ernest Langdon
My friend Ernest Langdon is retiring from his teaching business. I’m eternally grateful that I have been able to train with him a couple times over the years. I would urge you all not to wait if you really want to take a class from a certain instructor. Ernest is still young. Not many people expected his “retirement.” A lot of other notable trainers are aging out of the profession and won’t be around forever. Train with as many of these folks as you can before they stop teaching or pass on.
Ohio Supreme Court Declares Warning Shots Can Be Lawful Self-Defense
Lots of folks have been contacting me about this recent supreme court case in my former state. The supreme court’s logic here actually makes very good sense to me. In this video, Andrew Branca explains all of the relevant issues. I still don’t think warning shots are a good idea in most scenarios, but I’m happy to see that if someone successfully uses a warning shot to halt a criminal attack, they won’t automatically be prosecuted.
Dry Practicing Safely
Most of us should dry practice more often. Here’s how to do it without blowing a hole in your house or your body.
The Night’s Watch: Choosing The Best Shotgun For Home Defense
Thoughts on choosing a defensive shotgun. From my personal experience, I would choose one of the following:
Beretta 1301
Beretta A-300
Remington 870
Benelli M-4
Mossberg 590
There are lots of other shotguns that will work most of the time, but these are the ones I see with the fewest overall problems.
THE CONCEALED CARRY TRAP – ARE YOU CAUGHT IN IT?
Mike Seeklander provides 10 questions you should ask yourself in order to assess if you have adequately prepared for a life-threatening defensive encounter.
ETQ (tourniquets) by Snakestaff Systems. Hit or HARD PASS?
My friend Jonathan Willis is a very knowledgeable retired paramedic and fire department lieutenant. He has lots of experience in trauma medicine. Here is his evaluation of a newer tourniquet design that is easier to carry than some of the other available options.
Patrol rifle malfunctions are easier to fix than you thought: Part 1
I’m glad someone finally said it. Making students learn an arbitrary label (Type One or Type Two, etc) for each malfunction they experience is pedantic bullshit that makes instructors seem more intelligent than they are. Labeling these malfunctions with an artificial numeric designation only slows the students’ learning process and serves no significant purpose beyond making explanations easier for the egotistical instructor.
Don’t even get me started on the “four count drawstroke.” The goal is to communicate clearly with our students. Why not just use descriptive plain language and cut out all the silly numerical designations that few students understand?
Some of the above links are affiliate links. If you purchase these items, I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
