Written by Greg Ellifritz A Massachusetts woman was stabbed and her young child was briefly held hostage by a knife-wielding criminal outside of a grocery store. The entire incident was caught on surveillance video. Before reading any further, click on the link below and watch the short video. This crime was tragic, but […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I’ve heard people refer to a “Bug Out Bag”. I’ve even heard of a “Get Home Bag”. I’ve written about both HERE and HERE. I thought I knew my bags. So I was surprised when reading a SWAT magazine article by Pat Rogers and learned that there was […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last year, there was a high profile shooting outside of a juvenile courtroom in my county. While details are still somewhat sketchy, it seems that a deputy sheriff working security for the court was attacked by one of the juvenile offenders appearing in the courtroom. Members of the juvenile criminal’s […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever thought about using a backup gun to arm a companion who may not be inclined to carry a weapon himself? What about arming a person who isn’t legal to carry in a particular environment. As a cop, I can carry guns almost everywhere. My girlfriend (who is […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Cops have dramatically changed the way they handle active killer attacks in the last two decades. It may be time for yet another fundamental change in police response tactics. I was reviewing some of the recent articles about the Borderland Bar shooting in California. During that shooting, the killer […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Read this article: Jefferson County man charged with murder, sex crimes in Catholic Supply store attack. “Bruce entered the store on Monday afternoon pretending to be a customer, left, and then re-entered with a gun, charges say. He ordered the three women in the store to the back of the […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I saw this article last week and I felt intensely disappointed. Police across the country are growing beards to help fight cancer In the last few years, November beard growth has become a trend in police departments all across the country. While I admire the officers’ efforts towards […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz We all know that it is often harder to get accurate hits with smaller pistols as compared to full-sized guns. If you aren’t aware of this fact, read Karl Rehn’s study comparing shooters’ scores on a qualification test using both pocket pistols and full sized guns. If you don’t […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Sex sells. People are usually more curious about ways they can improve their sex/dating life than than they are about ways they can protect themselves from crime. But what if those two goals aren’t mutually exclusive? I found this video on a male dating/relationship advice site. It’s made by […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Last week I was reading a forum post about the utility of the flanking maneuver in a battlefield context. Flanking is a critical battle strategy and even the greenest of soldiers understands its importance. Yet the idea is generally not taught in a law enforcement context. Ask a cop […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I was reading a news account of a defensive gun use yesterday when I was struck by two things. Before I get to my insights, read the short article: Armed Portland Woman Fends Off Flasher High on Crystal Meth. The article talks about a woman who drew a […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Concealed Nation has a regular feature on its website called #DIGTHERIG. It consists of reader submitted photos about their individual chosen concealed carry weapon and holster choices. A huge variety of guns and holsters are featured. Real people carry each of these gun and holster combinations. Unfortunately, some of […]
I was recently reviewing an older Club Orlov article titled: Understanding Organizational Stupidity. In the article, Orlov attempts to answer the question “Why Are We Being So Fucking Stupid?” He is speaking about stupidity regarding American Economic policy, but I see the same problems in the way most police organizations function. I know […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Tom Givens, firearms trainer and owner or Rangemaster Shooting School made an important observation in a recent class I attended. To paraphrase, Tom said “The average person gets most of his education about firearms and gunfights from television and the movies.” It’s an important idea…and it’s important that we as […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz With my two most recent articles being about using the .22 for self defense, someone is bound to want to know about the .22 Magnum. Here are my thoughts on the defensive application of that particular little cartridge. For what it’s worth, I have my 351 in my pocket as I […]
After posting yesterday’s analysis about using the .22 for self defense, I’ve decided to re-post this article that discusses some of the “how” questions that go with yesterday’s “why” questions. -Greg I’ve recently received quite a bit of feedback on carrying and using the .22 as a self defense weapon. I had no idea […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Since my handgun stopping power study was published last month in American Handgunner Magazine, I’ve received several questions from readers about my data. I expected to be castigated by all the big bullet aficionados for reporting honest data about the “mouse gun” calibers. That wasn’t what I received. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last Saturday I attended Larry Lindenman’s excellent class on the use of saps and blackjacks for personal defense (full review out later this week). During the class, a student asked if the sap would break a side car window. No one in the class knew the answer. Today […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Shooting is a damn dangerous activity. In the last couple weeks, I’ve seen accounts of four different incidents where shooters have been hit by ricochet rounds coming off of garbage in the backstop, dangerous steel targets, or direct fire from a poorly placed target array. Let’s take a look at […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Think about your last firearms training session. From which distance did you spend the majority of your time shooting? Next question… When you visualize possible scenarios when you might have to defend yourself with a firearm, how far do you imagine the criminal shooting at you will be? […]
