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Articles

Skill Development- When Are You Good Enough?

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   “I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent efficiency level.  To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me.  Once I reach that 80 percent level I like to go off and do […]

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Dan John, Jeff Cooper, Paul Sharp, psychology, Seth Godin, training View Post

Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2022

Seth Godin once made a very powerful statement in a 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 same as “popular.”  Which means […]

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles, What's New
View Post

The Body Language of Deceit

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   During my police career, my  department sent me to several schools covering criminal interview and interrogation tactics.  Most of the classes I took involved what is known as “Reid Interviewing.”  The Reid Method teaches a very specific interview method that won’t be useful for most of you.  However, some of […]

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
body language, criminology, psychology View Post

Revolver Reliability- Part 2

    This is a guest post from my friend Darryl Bolke.  It is a followup to the Thoughts on Revolver Reliability post he contributed last week.  The original is published on Darryl’s Facebook page DB’s Shooting Adventures.  Darryl is the co-owner of Hardwired Tactical and a very well-established firearms instructor.  All of you revolver […]

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
ccw, Darryl Bolke, guest author, revolvers View Post

Thoughts on Revolver Reliability

This is a guest post from my friend Darryl Bolke.  Darryl is the co-owner of Hardwired Tactical and a very well established firearms instructor.  I saw this posting on Darryl’s Facebook page DB’s Shooting Adventures.  In the piece, Darryl discusses his view of revolvers as defensive sidearms.  All of you revolver shooters and instructors should […]

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Darryl Bolke, guest author, revolvers View Post

Post Election Violence?

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Unless you have been hiding under a rock you’ll know that tomorrow marks the day of the mid-term political elections in the United States.  As a result of the election, congress may soon be under the control of a different political party.  That often creates some cultural friction.   Most […]

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
flash mobs, looting, riots View Post

Weapon Malfunctions in an Active Shooter Event

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Today’s 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,” Gholston […]

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active shooter, school shootings, weapon malfunctions View Post

Active Killer Response Options for Armed Citizens

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I’ve been thinking a lot lately about active killer events.  I’m convinced that it is getting incrementally more and more dangerous to intervene in such an attack.  A study came out last week stating that 8% of Americans have a CCW permit/license.  Unlicensed carry is also completely legal in 24 states.  […]

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, ccw, terrorism View Post

Backup Guns vs Hideout Guns

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I’ve seen some recent articles on the internet talking about citizens with CCW permits carrying more than one gun in public.  While I carry two pistols in uniform every day, I rarely carry a second pistol when I am off duty and on my own time.  I have nothing against […]

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
backup gun, ccw View Post

Confronting the Mobile Killer

*After the recent Canada active stabbers and the shooter in Memphis yesterday, I think I need to re-post this one. -Greg   Anyone researching the tactics of active killers is quickly confronted with the fact that killers study police response tactics.  Being informed by their research, the killers adapt their own tactics in order to […]

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, police training, school shootings View Post

“I’m in Fear for My Life!”

Written by Greg Ellifritz “I’m in fear for my life!”   I’ve heard this phrase pop up a couple of times in the last month.   The first time was during a close quarters shooting class I was teaching.  The students were working a weapon retention drill and I had instructed them to use loud, […]

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
language, Legal View Post

I Worry That Masks Are Coming Back

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and am seeing a gradual increase in public mask wearing across the country and worldwide.     I was in Colombia last month.  There were no mask requirements when I arrived.  In less than three weeks, masks were required in the airport and on all flights to and from […]

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Covid-19, travel View Post

Trigger Finger Positioning, Hand Clenches, and Accidental Discharges

    Ten years ago, an experienced handgun instructor contacted me  to help him reconstruct the events of an accidental shooting.  This instructor shot himself while reholstering after doing a demonstration during a basic concealed handgun class.   I know what you are thinking….   “He shouldn’t have had his finger on the trigger when […]

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
accidental discharge, Force Science Institute, Massad Ayoob, Paul Gomez, training View Post

What Do I Say After a Shooting?

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   You’ve just shot the criminal who broke into your house and threatened you with a weapon. The threat has been neutralized and police have been called.  You’ve read my articles in the past, so you know it’s not a good idea to have a gun in your hand when the […]

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
police, shootings View Post

School Safety- What We CAN Do

*This is a guest article from a friend and reader who recently took a couple of my courses.  Barry is retired from both the FBI and a job as a police chief.  He managed high threat event security for many years in his FBI position.  He provides some suggestions on best practices for school security. […]

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
guest author, school safety, school shootings, school violence View Post

Weapon Handling in an Active Killer Event

Written by Greg Ellifritz   I’ve taught a lot of active killer response classes over the years.  One of the key learning points I regularly discuss is how to avoid being mistaken for the killer if you choose to draw your pistol and respond during an active killer event.  Last year’s police shooting of Johnny […]

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, TDI View Post

Analysis of the Uvalde School Shooting and Implications for the Future

This is my analysis of the Texas tragedy designed to explain the pertinent issues to those who don’t have a background on the topic of active killer response.  Additionally it should provide police agencies and school staff with some best practice guidelines to prevent such a disaster in the future.   This article is based […]

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, police, police shootings, school shootings View Post

The Definitive Guide To Flying With Guns

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I travel quite a bit.  Most of my adventures take place in third world countries where I can’t carry my gun.  But whenever I travel anywhere in the United States, I bring a couple pistols, even when traveling by air.    As I was going through the airline firearms check […]

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
ccw, travel View Post

Shooting Through Bags and Purses

Although I generally don’t advise my students to carry their firearms off body,  I recognize that lots of folks carry guns in purses and bags.   One of the stated “advantages” of such a carry method is the fact that you can fire the gun from inside the bag or purse without removing it in […]

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Apache Solutions, ccw, Chuck Haggard, firearms training, holsters, purse carry, Rangemaster View Post

Situational Awareness for Concealed Carry

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Now that most states have a process allowing citizens to legally carry concealed handguns, many of you may be carrying a firearm more frequently, or just starting to carry for the first time.  A common mistake I see with a great number of my students is an obsessive focus on […]

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
awareness, ccw, Dave Spaulding, Ed Lovette, Jeff Cooper, situational awareness, Tom Givens View Post
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