Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever considered that you may be practicing too much situational awareness? I was out on a date a few weeks ago. We were eating at a local restaurant. She knew that I am a retired cop. During dinner she said: “I’m really kind of surprised. You […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever thought about how you would rescue a friend, partner, or loved one who was engaged in a life or death struggle with a criminal? It may be a little more complex than you have imagined. A while back a concealed carry permit holder named Perry […]
*This is a guest contribution from my friend Ron Borsch. You’ve seen his writings on my page in the past. Ron is a retired police trainer and one of the foremost worldwide authorities in the field of active killer attacks. He draws an important distinction in this piece. Look for a companion article from me […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I recently did a drill in class where there was a high likelihood that some of my students would accidentally drop their unloaded guns. Instead of letting them potentially damage their pistols, I passed my gun around and let them use it instead. One of the students asked: […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz In Colorado last week, an active killer shot a police officer and then began to fire his shotgun at other targets in the crowded downtown area. After running out of ammo, the killer then went to his vehicle and swapped his shotgun out for an AR-15 rifle and continued firing. […]
I taught this year’s first “home defense shotgun” class at the excellent Blackwing Shooting Center last week. It was a fun new offering for me. Blackwing had a large demand for the class and wanted to increase the number of students who could attend. I modified the class so that it could be taught on […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I’m noticing an alarming trend of violent acts occurring nationwide. Both the perpetrators and victims of these violent attacks are generally teens gathered in large groups. A couple incidents in my home state of Ohio focused my awareness of the issue and caused me to do more research. I […]
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 Rory Miller and Marc MacYoung often talk about social dynamics and what they call an “Educational Beatdown.” The best description of this phenomenon is found in Rory Miller’s article More About Violence Dynamics. Rory says: “Most of the people reading this will be comfortable products of comfortable homes with […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Many people consider flight to be a prime option for dealing with criminal violence. In some cases, it’s a good plan. In other cases, not so much. Before relying solely on your sprinting skills to keep you safe, honestly assess your abilities. When is the last time you actually […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I investigated a recent break in and the victim told me “I’m going to get a big dog. This will never happen again.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the presence of a dog may or may not prevent a burglary. The dog may also […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Read the story below. It’s a prime example of everything that shouldn’t happen in a fight, but sometimes does anyway. Victim at WIBW-TV hangs on to attacker despite punishment The story describes a situation where an irate man attacked several people who were working at a TV news […]
I’ve seen lots of internet commentary on Saturday’s fatal shooting at a large protest rally in Denver. If you haven’t seen the story, check out the link below for details. TV crew’s Pinkerton security guard shoots ‘Patriot Muster’ protester dead after he fired mace at him Details about the shooting continue to emerge. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I find it endlessly fascinating to listen to my students’ thoughts about the “best” course of action to take in a crisis situation. Especially when teaching female students, I hear a one very common response. Whenever I ask the students how they would respond to a challenging and dangerous situation, […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Jeff Chudwin is a firearms instructor and retired police chief from whom I’ve taken a couple training classes. He is amazingly knowledgeable and readily shares the wealth of information he possess. Jeff compiled a list of maintenance checklists for AR-15 style rifles and sent them out to […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz With almost two months of non-stop rioting in Portland and lots of other big demonstrations in other parts of the nation, lots of folks have contacted me about re-posting some of my riot survival articles. Here is my best advice… Stay away from any scheduled protests, riots, uprisings, […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I’ve been getting a few questions from readers about the 10mm auto for self protection. With the current ammo shortage primarily affecting the common defensive calibers, some readers are seeing 10mm ammo still available online and in gun stores. Is it worthwhile to own a 10mm defensive handgun in […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz People are losing their shit. It’s almost like the world has been turned completely upside down in a very short period of time. In my police job, the calls about erratic behavior, mental illness, and alcohol/drug abuse have increased significantly in the last couple months. There are a lot of […]
I’m guessing that most of you who are active in the firearm-related blogosphere have seen this story. If you haven’t, please check it out: Gun fell out of man’s sweatpants and discharged, fatally striking woman outside Trend Bar in St. Paul Manslaughter charge for man accused of fatally shooting woman outside St. Paul bar […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Earlier this week, I wrote an article covering issues involved in the use of weapon mounted lights. I had a couple readers write me to request some clarification on my position. Here are two examples of the questions they asked me. “When I’m searching my house, most often, my […]
