Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
What To Look For In A Good Knife
Steve Tarani’s thoughts on good knives.
What is Really Demoralizing Your Police Officers
Eve is telling the truth. In 25 years as a police officer, I never had a single felony case go to a jury trial.
Cop Talk: Weapon Retention is a Life-and-Death Concern
Massad Ayoob’s thoughts on police weapon retention. Mas likes manual safeties. I don’t. I’d prefer more physical weapon retention training. Changing equipment to remedy a training problem seldom yields an optimum solution.
Is Slow Smooth and is Smooth Fast?
Smooth can create “fast,” but “slow” doesn’t always mean “smooth.”
Holster Retention Deep Dive – How To Test Retention (and How NOT to)
High quality information from my friends at PHLster.
Hero Security Guard Perfectly Disarms Attacker
It’s actually easier to disarm long guns than handguns (assuming they aren’t slung).
My Revolver Stopped Revolving
Having just returned from teaching at Gunsite’s Revolver Roundup, this article seems pertinent. Contrary to popular belief, revolvers can “jam” too. And when they do, they often need tools and a gunsmith to fix.
PERSONIFICATION OF THE PERFECT PACKIN’ PISTOL THE .38 SPECIAL WRITTEN BY JOHN TAFFIN
Some more information for you revolver fans. The revolver is also the best alternative for those of you who feel the need to carry chamber empty.
Tips on Reducing Lead Exposure from Indoor & Outdoor Shooting Ranges
Good advice on lead poisoning prevention. At one point in time, my blood lead level was over 30 when I taught daily on an indoor range that was constructed in the 1950s. It’s an issue all shooters should be cautious of.
Thoughts on Instructor Certifications
“I put little stock in instructor certifications when it comes to firearms training. As in, zero. Thinking of all the people who I have trained with in the past, never once did I ask, care, or even wonder about, what certifications they have. Rather, I care very much how good they are at the craft, how good they are at teaching the craft, and how much professional training they have done themselves with other instructors.”
Officers Shoot Off-Duty Deputy In 3AM Gunfight-Saratoga Springs | New York Concealed Carry
In my police and armed citizen active shooter response classes, I stress the point of holstering or dropping your gun as soon as you no longer need it and being prepared to immediately obey the responding cops’ commands. Doing anything different than that will likely get you shot be responding officers.
Blend or Bleed: Will You Make the Right Choice?
Blending is better than bleeding.
Covert Backup Knife Tip
I’ve previously posted about sneaky ways to carry weapons past “security” inspection points. Here is an older video that describes an excellent technique using the TDI Ka-Bar LDK knife that I designed. If you regularly wear a rigger’s belt, this technique is a no-brainer. Just be advised, a clueful security guard is going to be suspicious of you carrying weapons when he sees you wearing a belt like this and you may face heightened scrutiny.
My Favorite Defunct Gun Blogs
I regularly linked to all of these blogs in past editions of the Knowledge Dump. There is still useful information to learn from each of them.
6 Ways To Enhance “The Experience” At Your Range
Quality tips for those of you who own or work at public shooting ranges.
The Missouri DPS Handgun Qualification
A shooting drill to test your handgun proficiency. You may also want to try the The CCW Basic Proficiency Test.
Student Handgunner: A/B Testing: A Smart Approach to Better Shooting
Split testing is a very useful way to find out what works best for you. Just last weekend, I taught two classes at the Gunsite Revolver Roundup that employed A/B testing to optimize performance. I got tremendously positive feedback from the students about the process I used to help them shoot better.
The Blunderbuss and Thanksgiving
Learning about the pilgrim blunderbuss.
Frank Hamer’s Sweetwater Fight: Lessons Learned
The life of Frank Hamer is an fascinating case study for anyone who is interested in how the historic gunfighters of yesteryear operated. Mr. Hamer was the man who organized the ambush killings of Bonnie and Clyde. He got in a whole bunch of other shooting “scrapes” as well. This article describes one of them.
Frank Hamer is worthy of study for anyone interested in the art of gunfighting. I recommend the books Texas Ranger and I’m Frank Hamer as sources of additional reference material about this legendary Texas Ranger.
Hick’s Law and the Quagmire: Understanding Decision Making in Law Enforcement
Hick’s Law has essentially ZERO applicability to law enforcement decision making.
Walls, Wire, Bars and Souls
What I’m reading…
Knife Vs. Gun: Which One Wins?
“In the future, don’t discount the guy with the knife and assume that merely having a gun will magically solve the problem. Weapons do not do the fighting; People do. It boils down to the people involved in the incident. Calmer heads usually prevail, and sheer determination is often the deciding factor.”
Why Won’t the Ruger Mini-14 Just Die? [Part 1]
When I wrote about the negative aspects of the Mini-14, I caught hundreds of hateful email messages. This crappy gun has a cult following like no other.
Greg Ellifritz – Active Response Training – Close Quarters Pistol Gunfighting-Burro Canyon Shooting Park
I’m bringing my two-day Extreme Close Quarters gunfighting class to California for the first time. We need some more students to ensure it isn’t cancelled. If you are in Cali and want to train with me, here’s your opportunity!
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.
