Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Five Reasons You Should Carry A Fixed Blade: Are Folders Really Cooler?
Proponents of using the knife for self defense will tell you that fixed blade knives are demonstrably better for the task than “pre-broken” folding knives. Besides the reasons on the list here, fixed blade knives are also significantly safer. Most people who cut themselves with folding knives do so when unlocking and closing the blade. The fixed blade does not have this problem.
Concealed Carry Corner: Movement Drills To Help You Succeed
Some great training drills for those of you who train on a range that allows movement from your static firing position.
Best Practices
Some very high quality advice here.
RG101: Revolver Grasp, or How to Hold a Revolver
When I poll students in my shooting classes, I find that only 10-15% of my students ever carry a revolver for defensive purposes. Revolver carry is getting rare enough that I regularly see students who don’t know how to properly hold a revolver. This article teaches two of the most common techniques.
I personally use the “thumbs locked down” technique pictured above. I believe is was Mas Ayoob who described this grip (for a right-hander) as “left thumb print on right thumb nail.”
I know a lot of good revolver shooters (including legendary lawman Chuck Haggard) who shoot with thumbs crossed. It’s good for recoil control, but I am paranoid because I’ve seen so many old revolver shooters tend to duplicate the thumbs crossed grip even when shooting semi auto pistols. The slide bite will cut you deep enough to need sutures to close!
Running the Pump Shotgun One-Handed
If you are a shotgunner, this is a critical skill to master. I include a block of one handed shooting in all my shotgun classes. I teach a different technique (buttstock on the ground) than illustrated in this article, but I think you should figure out a way to shoot your scattergat one handed should you be injured in the fight.
Additionally, shotgun recoil can loosen up almost any accessory. This article provides some tips to prevent that from happening.
The Fallacy Of “Training To The Test”
“Shooting the same course of fire…over and over…will normally make you better at that course of fire, but it may not make you a better shooter if you’re fed a situation that’s different than the course of fire.”
The Importance of Testing Your Ammo
“Broken record time, but you’ve really gotta test your ammo. We rely on guns for protection, and half of that plan involves the ammo. You absolutely need to vet your ammo before you rely on it. Make sure it is reliable, consistent, and actually hits where you aim. A self defense shooting might be the worst part of your life, and you don’t want bad ammo making it any worse.”
Train For Pain
Richard Nance suggests some novel ways to simulate an injury during your range training sessions. If you like this article, check out Rich’s book gunFIGHT!
Criminal (In)Justice: What the Push for Decarceration and Depolicing Gets Wrong and Who It Hurts Most
What I’m reading…
Thanks to John Hearne for the recommendation.
Training Toward a More Complete Skillset
“As you take different classes covering different perspectives, consider your personal experience, and then contrast it to events in the world. You can start to formulate ways of approaching realistic issues with the skillset you are building. As you learn about different problems, assess potential solutions and ways to integrate them into your living and growing system. All of this is a continual process and is why many of us consider ourselves to be perpetual students. We don’t stop taking classes, we don’t stop learning, and we don’t stop assessing ourselves or the world in which we live.”
AAR: Summit Point Training Facility Driving Course
Lots of you occasionally take shooting courses. When is the last time you took a driving course?
How To Care For And Upgrade AR Springs
A lot of good information about some commonly neglected AR-15 parts.
The 1911 for LE and the Armed Citizen w Hany
My friends Bryan and Hany offer insightful commentary about everything good and bad with the 1911/2011 platform. Bryan also has a great Patreon page where he shares a lot of quality content. I’m one of his patrons on the platform and you should be too.
The case for the discreet carry 22
I find myself carrying a .22 Ruger LCP in my pocket quite often.
So, You Have a 9mm Pistol?
Some 9mm varieties you likely haven’t seen before. For more arcane firearms knowledge, read this piece on the Velo-Dog revolver craze.
Toy Guns
An interesting study I stumbled across while researching another topic. It’s from 1990 and details what percent of guns used in crimes are toys, replica firearms, or air guns. The study found that 15% of armed robbers used fake guns or air pistols during the commission of their crimes. I’m just guessing here, but I would estimate that criminals are using even more fake guns in modern times. The high quality replica air soft pistols weren’t available in 1990. Those airsoft pistols look remarkably similar to real guns and my cop friends regularly take them off of criminals.
Opens to PDF.
3 Reasons I Prefer a Full Kydex Over a Hybrid Holster
Why I don’t recommend hybrid IWB holsters.
Robbers Pepper Spray Victims To Rob Them
This tactic isn’t confined to Europe. I’m seeing more and more criminals using pepper spray in their crimes in the USA as well. You should know what to do if the criminal is armed with pepper spray.
Will .22LR work in a .22 Magnum?
Having tried it many times myself, I can definitely answer the question as “maybe.” In my experience, expect about 20% of the rounds not firing. Depending on the gun, there may be very significant accuracy degradation as well.
Dry Firing
An excerpt covering the topic of dry firing from a shooting book published in 1930. The “Langrish Limbless Target” mentioned in the text is pictured above. This was the favored police shooting silhouette target in the 1920s and 1930s. Note the numbered circles or “dots” inside the silhouette for more precise aiming practice. In the 1990s Phil Singelton (then working for the HK Training Academy) brought out a similar silhouette with the numbered dots arranged outside the silhouette. That version of shooting target remains the most popular silhouette used by instructors today.
There’s nothing new under the sun. That target is almost 100 years old.
What are the Differences Among the Glock Generations?
I’ve been in the shooting world long enough to have possessed at least one Glock from every generation. For those of you who are newer to the shooting scene, here is an explanation of the differences between Glock generations.
November Rangemaster Newsletter
The article on muzzle positions by Erick Gelhous in this month’s edition is mandatory reading for anyone who carries a gun. Opens to PDF. You should also read Erick’s piece on Qualification Vs. Training – Part 1.
Revolver Ballistics: 9mm vs 38 Special
Ballistic gelatin results comparing the .38 special and the 9mm, both fired out of three inch barreled revolvers. For more unique gel testing, take a look at this test of .410 shotgun buckshot loads.
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.
