Written by: Greg Ellifritz A would-be victim of last month’s London Bridge terrorist stabbing attack used a fire extinguisher to distract/disorient the terrorist as another person stabbed the man with a narwhal tusk to end the attack. Seeing the photo below got me thinking about how best to use a fire extinguisher as a […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz A friend sent me the following question last week: “Greg, I have been shopping on eBay and Craigslist lately and it brought some concerns to mind. I was wondering if you have any safety advice regarding buying items on eBay/Craigslist. My two main issues are: 1) Personal safety when […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz After Monday’s guest post about the need to have a self defense shotgun, I received a few questions about the 20 gauge. Here is one: “Nice article on the shotgun for defensive use. Good to see the old stand by’s discussed from time to time. Question: what’s the 20 […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got a question from a friend and student last week. I think the answer will help all my readers better understand terminal ballistics and choose an optimal bullet for self protection. Here’s the question: “Quick question: What’s your suggestion for 9mm carry ammo? I’m about to replace my near […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this interesting question through Facebook last week: “Greg, have you found any good sources of alternative techniques when overcoming physical disabilities? I have reduced neck mobility and no left scapula control, from a radical neck dissection, Extending the left arm out or up is both difficult and unstable. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last week, I received the following question from one of my readers: “I have discussed ‘what to do’ after a successful ‘stop the threat’ shoot. Some have said that they would leave the scene rather than be subjected to the legal hassle, or additional danger, (depending on the circumstances). Please […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Trying to figure out why a criminal chooses to commit a crime can be a bit tricky at times. Most crimes have very clear motivations. The one we see most often is that you simply have something the criminal wants and he thinks he can take that thing (your money, […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I received this question (edited for brevity) from a police firearms instructor last week: “A lot of my guys on the department are going with .380 pocket guns for off duty carry instead of carrying their issued Glock 26 9mm pistols. Our policy will not allow officers […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I recently got this question from a reader: “Here’s a topic I’d love to see hear your opinion on: For someone new to training and looking to get the most out of defensive handgun courses, should I use the smaller pistol that I carry (P365) or larger bedside pistol (P320) […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Last week, I got the following question from a friend on my Facebook page. He inquired: “I carry appendix IWB, but usually remove it while driving because I’ve always been afraid of the personal damage the seat belt would do going across my gun. I figure I’m more likely to […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz A reader recently contacted me with a very simple question: “What Red Dot would you recommend for my 9mm pistol caliber carbine?’ The pistol caliber carbine (PCC) has been the new hotness in recent years. Small carbines with folding or collapsing pistol “braces” allow rifles to essentially be labeled as […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz A reader recently emailed me a question: “What have you found that works best to keep cool while keeping dry (sweating), when wearing a vest? I find myself wearing a vest for as long as 12-hours a day.” It’s a great question. As temperatures broke 80 degrees here last week, […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz I got the following question from a reader last week. As I think this answer has a universal appeal, I chose to answer it here so that all of you can benefit as well. Here’s the question: “I want to assemble/integrate your suggestions for practice sessions, but I’m overwhelmed by […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I posted on Facebook the fact that during last week’s horrific Borderland Bar shooting in California there were at least six unarmed off duty police officers in the crowd. Presumably, had those officers been carrying their weapons, the tragedy would have resulted in a much smaller number of victims. That […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Handgun Bullets: How Do They Penetrate in Home Materials? is an interesting study evaluating how deeply modern defensive handgun rounds penetrate in common building materials. The data is useful. The author’s opinions and analysis are less so. Let’s cut to the chase. We should not be choosing our handgun ammunition based […]
I’ve been getting about five messages a day for the last week asking me about this new STAT “Ziptie” Tourniquet. Since I cannot deliver a throat punch via the internet, let’s have a little discussion about it. Here’s my take on the STAT Tourniquet. I have no direct experience at all with this product. […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I recently received this question from a reader. Considering the popularity of the snub nose revolver as a carry pistol, I figured it would be useful if I answered the question in a blog post: “I’m looking to pick up a S&W 340PD here soon as a backup or […]
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 There has been a relatively recent resurgence of interest in the defensive use of Traditional Double Action (Also called TDA or Double-Single) autopistols for defensive purposes. I think this resurgence is being driven by two primary factors: 1) The development of lighter, shorter double action triggers. Guns like the Langdon […]
Written by Greg Ellifritz Last week I re-posted an article I wrote a couple years ago on my Facebook page. That article generated a lot of questions from my readers. Most of the questions were something along the lines of: “If I get stopped by a cop in a state where I have […]
