Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
2-RDS or not 2-RDS… That is the Question
Do you need a red dot on your defensive handgun? For more info on the topic, catch Lee Weems’ interview with Shane Gosa. They discuss red dots and lots of other hot button industry issues.
Don’t Do These Things with Your 1911!
Massad Ayoob shares some 1911 tips.
Thoughts on Instruction and Conflict
Dave has some great thoughts about what to look for in a combative firearms instructor.
“A person who has faced physical danger willingly possesses a level of personal knowledge that someone who has merely taken a training course or read a book cannot comprehend. You see, most anyone can share what they have been told, but only those who have faced a life threatening situation can share it in the first person…re-telling someone’s war story is not the same.”
You may also like Dave’s thoughts on weapon mounted handgun lights.
Firearm Production Figures
Very interesting statistics.
The Days That Communities Fought Back Against Evil
Your history lesson for the week.
Self-Defense Snake Oil: Just Say No
I really hope my readers are smarter than this.
Do We Train to Assure Officer Success or to “Check the Box?”
A four-part article looking at the effectiveness of various police training methods.
“These studies consistently inform us that the average officer, within months of leaving an academy, will only be able to describe how a given suspect-control technique should be used, but the officer will have little ability to actually apply it effectively in “a dynamic encounter with a defiantly resistant subject.” Even simple skills like baton strikes may be ineffectively delivered in a static environment in as soon as two months after completing the training. Other clinical skills, including communication and decisions skills, taught in the same fashion, appear to deteriorate as rapidly.”
Read parts two through four (links at bottom of the first article) as well.
Also on the topic of police training, read Fancy Words Are Destroying Law Enforcement.
Competition as a Training Tool
While competition isn’t training, it does habituate you to the skill of handling a weapon under stressful conditions. I fail to see how this couldn’t help but improve your performance in life threatening encounters as well.
AN EFFECTIVE TUCKABLE HOLSTER: What to Look For
I have structured my life in such a manner that I rarely have to tuck in my shirt. As such, I don’t wear tuckable holsters. If your life situation is a bit different than mine, you might find the information herein to be useful.
Why the Best Snub Nose Caliber is .32
This article is almost enough motivation to get my little I-frame S&W Model 3o out of the gun safe. The new .32 magnum Lispey’s/Smith and Wesson collaboration guns might be he ultimate expression of this idea.
Fanny Pack Mother Lode
Mark just updated his amazing analysis of fanny pack carry with a couple more recommended bags to consider.
Talisman or Tool?
“The training industry has only existed for 30 years or so and people have been successfully defending themselves with handguns for a lot longer than that. Maybe the talisman does work. Or maybe people are just smarter and more capable of taking care of themselves than we give them credit for.”
COOL ON THE RANGE, DEAD ON THE STREET: A Hard Look at Shooting Techniques, Part II
Common sense firearms training advice.
Study Quantifies Dramatic Rise in School Shootings and Related Fatalities Since 1970
No matter which inclusion criteria you consider, the numbers of school shootings are not dropping.
Firearm Retention Failure Ends in Disaster
My police readers must understand how quickly weapons disarms can happen.
FBI Practical Pistol Course (1946)
Karl Rehn looks back on what law enforcement firearms training looked like almost 80 years ago. You may also like the 1929 shooting target he dug up.
The Retardation of the Firearms Industry
“Most of the people you see promoting the industry today have no experience, no background, and no idea how to properly test, evaluate, or describe the proper application of a product. Keep that in mind as you research your next purchase. Experts are there. They’re just sitting quietly in the corner and not running around like a five year old in a toy store, drooling over each item they see in fancy packaging. Be smart and take some time to learn who’s helping you make decisions about YOUR needs.”
Forty-Two Officers, Forty-Two Responses, One Scenario
Are you familiar with the concept of “shared cognition?”
Avoid the Taxi Scam
I think more foreign tourists get scammed in taxis than in any other location.
Skills Check: Bolt-Running Speed Drill
A shooting drill to help you increase the speed of operating your bolt action rifle. Since we are focusing on drills for something other than your carry handgun, you may also want to try the Reedy Practical Shotgun Skills Test. If you are still trying to come up with a pistol drill, try the Wilson 5 x 5 or Tim Herron’s Balance Assessment Drill.
Trust the Trainer
“Trust the trainer that knows how to provide practical, responsible, and SAFE, training, even if it hurts your feelings. Hurt feelings are one thing, shooting your balls or your pecker off is a different kind of feeling. I expect someday I’ll have another negligent discharge, because humans – gun writers, firearms trainers, and Internet heroes – tend to do stupid shit. If I’m doing my job – being safe – I’ll be pointing the gun in a safe direction when it happens, and embarrassment will be the worst thing to come of it.”
There’s No Such Thing as a Dangerous Neighborhood
After a quarter century of police work, I’ve come to believe that the “broken windows” theory of crime is seriously flawed and may cause more harm than good. This long form article explains some of the reasons why “broken windows” policing isn’t really the best model to embrace.
The Empirical Fighter: Rules for the Serious Combatant
“Choose what supports your end aims—trim the rest.”
Building Warrior Women with Lou Ann Hamblin
Lou Ann Hamblin is teaching at one of my favorite host’s venue later this month. All my Ohio female readers should attend.
Another class you Ohioans should check out is Ed Monk’s upcoming Active Killer lecture hosted by Buckeye Firearms. If you are unfamiliar with Ed’s work, listen to this podcast interview with him.
Both of these folks are friends and I have paid my own money to take training classes from each of them. You should too.
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.
