Written by: Greg Ellifritz The next time you see a police officer, take a look at the pockets in his or her pants. It’s likely you’ll notice the majority of them have a folding knife clipped there. But what about fixed blade knives? There’s a good chance you won’t see anyone carrying a […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz It hasn’t been long since movie theaters re-opened after being closed for nearly a year during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Predictably, shortly after re-opening we’ve seen our first movie theater shooting. On Monday night, a suspect shot two people in the head during a screening of, wait […]
*Last week I was talking to my old friend Andy Stanford on the phone. For those of you new to the shooting game, Andy was a pioneering instructor in the 1990s and 2000s. He focused a lot of his classes on handgun skills and operating in a low light environment. Back in the days […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Here’s the short version of the article: the environment wins. A few years ago, I had serious stomach surgery and couldn’t carry my normal carry guns during my recovery. I had seven incisions in my belly and the biggest one was directly behind my normally appendix carry G-19. There […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz If you want a small taste of how many police executives (the ones running the show) are astonishingly corrupt and inept, read this short article by my friend Kevin Davis (linked below). It highlights some of the egregious acts of misconduct he personally experienced in his career. Remember, this is […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Recently in my city, a man carrying his infant child in a car seat was accosted by an armed robber. The robber demanded the victim’s wallet. The victim set the car seat on the ground and knelt in front of it to protect his baby as he complied […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Yesterday I wrote an article about an “Educational Beatdown.” The article was extremely well received and generated more than 10,000 pageviews. If you haven’t read the article, go back and check it out before reading further. In the article, I stated: “It isn’t a black/white thing. The same type […]
This is a guest article written by a friend who has more than 25 years experience as a Federal law enforcement officer, supervisor, and firearms instructor. He would like to remain anonymous. -Greg A common discussion when cops talk is how it seems that those at the higher levels of the organization are […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Since the worldwide pandemic began last year, we Americans have been relatively lucky in some regards. Both terrorist attacks and active killer events declined precipitously. That decline is coming to an end. Within the last few weeks, we’ve seen a huge resurgence in the number of active killer attacks nationwide. […]
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. […]
