Written by: Greg Ellifritz Just a few short years ago, the cool kids in the gun game didn’t like shotguns. The modern disdain for the scattergun ran afoul of the most common expert advice I learned in my youth. When I was growing up, a pump shotgun was universally recommended as the best […]
Last week in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio police officers had to shoot an armed patient in a local hospital. Officers recorded the entirety of the close range shooting with their body cameras. The shooting was unusual both by happening in a hospital and requiring a close quarters empty hand response to a lethal threat. […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz In my former job as the police department’s armorer, it was my responsibility to dispose of all the old ammunition that people brought in to the department. You would be shocked at the amount and type of old ammunition I saw. Rarely did a week go by that I didn’t […]
This is a guest post from my friend Darryl Bolke. Darryl is currently writing a book about the history of formal firearms training throughout the 20th century. I’m very excited to read his book when he gets it on the market. Until then, follow Darryl’s writing at DB’s Shooting Adventures on Facebook. -Greg […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I was recently listening to a podcast where the host was interviewing noted author and speaker James Howard Kunstler. Mr. Kunstler is well known in the fields of permaculture, architecture, and sustainable living. He has written several excellent books, with The Long Emergency and World Made By Hand likely […]
This is a guest post from my friend Steve Moses, owner of Palisade Training Group. I’ve taken several of Steve’s classes at the Rangemaster Conferences we’ve both taught at over the years. Steve is a very thoughtful and competent instructor and I recommend his material highly. If you are down in Texas, check out some of […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz As the nation continues to cry out for police reform and the creation of a kinder/gentler law enforcement presence, school safety drills are being increasingly criticized and abandoned. After Columbine and several other high visibility school shootings, the public clamored for more cops in schools. They demanded emergency preparation drills. Now […]
This post is a guest article written by my friend Ron Borsch. Ron is a Viet Nam veteran, (1965-66 U.S. Army paratrooper 101st Airborne) and is retired from two careers, 30 years as a police officer including SWAT and 17 years as a police trainer. Supported by seven SEALE Chiefs of Police, he founded, managed […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Ohio has some of the most vague and confusing knife laws in the country. When I teach a knife class, I generally have to take more than 30 minutes to explain the intricacies of the legal requirements in the state. Despite all that explanation, I still can’t guarantee to keep […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz In my book Choose Adventure- Safe Travel in Dangerous Places I have a section of advice discussing how to assess whether an area is “safe” or not in a foreign country. I wrote: “Given the massive differences in culture, customs, and income, how can you tell if the neighborhood […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz The news headline was inflammatory: “Homeowner tasered by police as he fought fire spreading from house next door”. I came across it as I was scanning my Facebook news feed. The story described a man who was using a garden hose to prevent a neighbor’s house fire from spreading. […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Terrorists worldwide use bombs as their weapons of choice. Occasionally, these bombs will be supplemented by sniper fire, grenades, or active shooters but it’s the bombs that get media attention. Many of my readers have been to numerous shooting schools and have trained in martial arts for years. How many […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last week, I posted an article linking to my most popular posts in 2020. In that article, I discussed how my “most popular” articles were not the same as my “best” articles. I liked many of the most popular articles (ranked by page view), but I think other […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Seth Godin made a very powerful statement in a recent blog post. “My most popular blog posts this year…weren’t my best ones. As usual, the most popular music wasn’t the best recorded this year either. Same for the highest-grossing movies, restaurants and politicians doing fundraising. “Best” is rarely the […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz There are more competent firearms instructors teaching quality classes than ever before in human history. None of us has a corner on the market. Just like I’ve trained with dozens of top instructors over the years, my students will also train with other teachers. That’s a good thing. In […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Air travel is starting to increase from the nadir of the Covid-19 pandemic. As more and more people feel comfortably flying, I’ve seen a huge number of incidents where violent or erratic passengers have disrupted airline flights in the past few weeks. Before reading further, check out the articles below […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz The US presidential elections are happening right now. My American readers should be prepared for violent protests and street attacks when the results get counted. There is constant low-level internet chatter about rioting, looting, and mayhem being planned by different groups depending on which political party wins most […]
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you are undoubtedly familiar with the writings of Justin White from Mad Science Defense. Justin recently contacted me about running a few of his most successful articles as guest pieces on my blog. He is closing down the Mad Science Defense site and is focusing […]
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you are undoubtedly familiar with the writings of Justin White from Mad Science Defense. Justin recently contacted me about running a few of his most successful articles as guest pieces on my blog. He is closing down the Mad Science Defense site and is focusing […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I had an unusual experience at the range today. The gun I was shooting blew up in my hand. In a 20+ year career as a full time firearms instructor, I’ve seen a few guns blow up. I blew up a Kahr PM-9 once (stupidly) shooting reloads from an unknown […]
