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Articles

Stupid Active Killer Advice

  I just finished the book Be a Hero.  It was a very good book, full of useful information about how to successfully survive an active killer attack.  There was one section, however, with which I profoundly disagree.  The authors talk about setting off fire alarms, breaking bottles full of slippery liquids in hallways, and […]

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, school shootings View Post

Weapon Malfunctions in an Active Shooter Event

Written by Greg Ellifritz   The 2022 school shooting in St. Louis has provided an excellent illustration of a fact I have been noting for years.  Active killers often have weapon malfunctions during their attack.   Read this witness statement:   “All I heard was two shots and he came in there with a gun,” […]

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active shooter, school shootings, weapon malfunctions View Post

Hip-Pocket Medical Drills

  This is a guest post from Caleb Causey, owner of Lone Star Medics.  Caleb is an experienced Army medic who provides top notch trauma medical training to law enforcement agencies and armed citizens alike.  Caleb intended this article to be a list of potential medical training scenarios for police roll-call training sessions.  These drills […]

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Caleb Causey, guest author, Lone Star Medics, medical skills View Post

Mindset vs. Hardware

    I have a confession to make. I like guns and gear. If you are reading this website, then you probably do as well. Nothing wrong with that. Guns are cool. Having the latest and greatest new gear makes people happy and drives growth in an industry where many of us make our living. […]

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Breach Bang Clear, ccw, firearms training, police View Post

Are Those Really Gunshots?

When I research active killer attacks all around the world, I nearly always see that victims rationalize the sounds of the gunfire as some more innocuous noise.   Read this article about the 2016 San Bernardino active killer attack.  The article summarized the attack which eventually led to 14 people being killed an 22 more […]

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter View Post

The Reality of Modern Criminal Attacks

I recently saw this video and it caused me to think about how common criminal attacks are fundamentally changing.  Take a few seconds and watch the clip.   Surveillance video shows brutal attack on cashier in gas station robbery   Watch the latest video at foxnews.com   Traditionally, the most likely criminal attack most folks […]

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles, News and Tactical Advice
Dr. William Aprill, Michael Bane, multiple attackers, pepper spray, psychology, robbery, Rory Miller, The Organic Prepper, Zero Hedge View Post

Precious Foreknowledge to Recognize Threats

*This is a guest post from my friend Ron Borsch.  Ron is a retired police officer/trainer who is one of the world’s leading experts on the behavior of active killers.  In his article below, he shares the most well-researched list of common active killer personality traits and pre-incident behaviors that I have seen.  Becoming aware […]

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, guest author, Ron Borsch, school shootings View Post

Timing School Shootings for Higher Body Counts- Updated

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Way back in 2013, I began noticing a trend.  School shootings were starting to happen outside of classrooms and outside the normal operating hours of the school.  To avoid lockdowns, killers were attacking large public areas that couldn’t be easily defended during lunch breaks, before school and after dismissal.   […]

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, school security, school shooting View Post

Weaponizing Fire

In  a world filled with rioters armed with Molotov cocktails and commercial fireworks, we have to consider fire as a weapon used against us.  I’ve given advice to police officers facing flammable liquids.  I’ve also written about dealing with thrown Molotov cocktails.  Today’s installment will take a look at a more pedestrian use of fire […]

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
arson, fire View Post

Field Medicine for Terrorist Attacks- Bleeding Control and Chest Injuries

  While I recommend that everyone should take a basic first aid and CPR class, that standard Red Cross class won’t be enough when it comes to mass casualties, bomb injuries, and gunshot wounds.  With ever increasing rates of active killer events and terrorist attacks, the average citizen needs to start thinking more about battlefield […]

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
bombings, gunshot wounds, medical skills, medicine, TCCC, terrorism View Post

The Best Free Medical References Available- Updated

  It could evolve as medical systems are stressed after a natural disaster.  It could be caused by a terrorist attack.  It could even be the result of a societal or economic collapse.  Have you ever thought about what might happen if our current health care system (EMS, Doctors, Hospitals, Pharmacies) ceased to function normally? […]

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
book reviews, Lifehacker, links, medicine, Mountain Man Medical, Practical Eschatology, survival, TCCC, training View Post

Why Won’t My Revolver Cylinder Turn?

It’s a myth that your revolver will never malfunction.   Revolvers commonly have malfunctions, but the malfunctions are quite different from those seen in semi-automatic pistols.   As my friend Chuck Haggard says: “Revolvers will tolerate neglect.  They won’t tolerate abuse.”   If I had to take a gun to a 1000-round a day shooting […]

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Chuck Haggard, revolvers View Post

Breaking Auto Glass- The Right Tool for the Job.

*This is a guest post from my friend Jonathan Willis.  I’ve trained with Jonathan for more than a decade now.  He is a retired paramedic and fire officer who currently teaches classes for Gunset Training Group.  I think this information is valuable and few people give it enough consideration.  I have the Resqme tool Jonathan […]

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
guest author, Jonathan Willis, vehicle tactics View Post

Seven Things You Don’t Know About Body Armor

Written by: Greg Ellifritz My friend John Johnston (host of the excellent radio program Ballistic Radio) suggested that I write an article about body armor and fitness.  He was doing some PT while wearing plate armor in order to improve his fitness for an upcoming firearms training class and thought that a post concerning the […]

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Ballistic Radio, body armor, bulletproof vest View Post

Bad Decisions

The news article below got me thinking of some things.  Read it and we’ll discuss some of the implications.   ExxonMobil sued over clerk who locked door in Detroit gas station shooting   In summary, a gas station clerk remotely locked a thief inside the gas station store to detain him for shoplifting $4.00 worth […]

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
police, robbery View Post

The “Confidence Gap” and How it Relates to Training

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I was recently reading a very interesting article titled “The Confidence Gap.”   The article described how in general, women had far less self-confidence than men.  A couple of examples cited are:   – In a British managerial study “Half the female respondents reported self-doubt about their job performance and careers, […]

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
crime prevention, psychology, Tony Gentilcore View Post

Movie Theater Safety Tips

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I like going to movies in a theater.  A couple weeks ago, I saw the latest John Wick movie.  With all the gunfights in that flick, I’m thinking that I can write off my tickets as a tax deductible training expense.   In any event, my recent foray to the […]

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, ccw, movie theater, terrorism View Post

The Best Tourniquets- A Research Review

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   With the growing number of commercially made tourniquets, an increase in availability of medical courses focusing on gunshot wounds, a greater chance of getting caught up in an active killer event, and the classes like Stop the Bleed being offered everywhere, the issue of tourniquets is on many of my […]

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
medical skills, Paul Gomez, Steve Fisher, tourniquets View Post

SEX TRAFFICKING AND WHY NO FAMILY MAY BE IMMUNE

*This is a guest post by my friend Steve Moses from Palisades Training.  Despite the extent of the problems with human trafficking, I haven’t addressed it much here on my blog.  I dealt with it a bit during my police career (note Columbus, Ohio is one of the top trafficking cities), but I don’t feel […]

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
guest author, human trafficking, Steve Moses View Post

2023 Rangemaster Tactical Conference Round Up

Two weeks ago, I spent three days teaching at the Rangemaster Tactical Training Conference in Dallas.  I’ve now taught at the last ten Tactical conferences and my TacCon blocks are regularly the most fun classes I teach every year.       The conference consists of three days of material taught by 40 different world-class […]

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Bryan Eastridge, Caleb Giddings, Erick Gelhaus, Hany Mahmoud, John Daub, John Farnam, Lee Weems, Mark Fricke, Massad Ayoob, Rangemaster, Tamara Keel, That Weems Guy, Tom Givens View Post
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Recent Posts

  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 8, 2023
  • Stupid Active Killer Advice
  • Shooting Drill- “The Double & 1”
  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 1, 2023
  • Free Books- Part 285
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