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Should I Provide First Aid to the Attacker I Just Shot?

Written by Greg Ellifritz I had an interesting question posed to me by a student in a recent Systems Collapse Medical Class I taught.  He asked me: “If I have to shoot a criminal in a gunfight, should I provide first aid before the paramedics arrive?”   It’s a good question.  I’m probably going to […]

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Reader Questions
home defense, medical skills, tactical first aid View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 14, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Anatomy of a Port Load An intelligent analysis of shotgun port loading methods.  I’m still an “over the top” guy, but I encourage my students to try both ways.  But even more important is to […]

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, ballistics, Claude Werner, Dave Spaulding, Everyday Marksman, exercise, GAT Daily, gelatin testing, gun digest, Gun Mag Warehouse, Guns Magazine, history, John Hearne, Karl Rehn, Kelly Starrett, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, Michael Bane, Michael de Bethencourt, Pew Pew Tactical, Primer Peak, Riley Bowman, shooting drills, shotguns, That Shotgun Blog, The Art of Manliness View Post

2023 Rangemaster Tactical Conference Round Up

Two weeks ago, I spent three days teaching at the Rangemaster Tactical Training Conference in Dallas.  I’ve now taught at the last ten Tactical conferences and my TacCon blocks are regularly the most fun classes I teach every year.       The conference consists of three days of material taught by 40 different world-class […]

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Bryan Eastridge, Caleb Giddings, Erick Gelhaus, Hany Mahmoud, John Daub, John Farnam, Lee Weems, Mark Fricke, Massad Ayoob, Rangemaster, Tamara Keel, That Weems Guy, Tom Givens View Post

October Classes in North Carolina

In October, I will be teaching three classes at the Apache Solutions facility in Yadkinville, North Carolina. If you would like some more information about Apache Solutions and the trainers they bring in, check out the link below. https://youtu.be/yIykhzlkKi4         The registration links are below.     October 13, 2023- Snub Nose […]

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
Apache Solutions, class announcements View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 7, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Are We There Yet? Quality information and analysis from Paul Martin.  You should buy his book.        Best knife sheath for EDC ever! Craig gave me one of his El Nino push […]

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, American Cop, Bill Jordan, body language, Civilian Defender, Erick Gelhaus, exercise, fitness, John Daub, Kathy Jackson, Legal, medic scribe, medical skills, Mountain Man Medical, Pat McNamara, Personal Defense Network, Pew Pew Tactical, Phil Elmore, physical fitness, Primer Peak, Recoil Offgrid, revolvers, school shootings, school violence, Shelley Hill, Sherman House, shooting drills, situational awareness, Tier Three Tactical, vehicle tactics View Post

Free Books- Part 270

Amazon has a tremendous number of FREE ebooks on their website.  You can find thousands of free kindle books on Amazon’s site every day.  These books can be downloaded to a Kindle reader or a free App on your phone or personal computer.  Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free […]

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Uncategorized
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Upcoming Classes: April-June 2023

Here are all the open enrollment classes I am teaching between now and the end of June.   In mid-April, I will be traveling to Davie, Florida (near Ft. Lauderdale)  to teach three different classes.   On Friday night (April 14), I’m teaching a three- hour lecture class called Armed Citizen Response to the Terrorist […]

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
class schedule View Post

Choosing a Buckshot Load for Home Defense

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Although I’m not well known for it in the commercial arena, I really enjoy teaching shotgun classes.  In fact, the first firearms instructor school that I attended was a Benelli shotgun instructor school taught by Phil Singleton (of SAS and HK fame) way back in 1999.  I taught police shotgun […]

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Gear Reviews
buckshot, home defense, Rangemaster, shotgun, Tom Givens View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 31, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Training Red Flags: What to Look Out for When Choosing Instructors Fewer than 1% of gun owners seek professional training beyond a CCW class.  My readers might be the exception.  Keep an eye out […]

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
.380 acp, ACLDN, Active Self Protection, American Cop, Ammoland, AR-15, Erick Gelhaus, exercise, family safety, firearms training, GAT Daily, gelatin testing, Karl Rehn, Pew Pew Tactical, police, Primer Peak, psychology, Rangemaster, Rory Miller, shooting drills, Survival Mom, The Armory Life, The Art of Manliness, Tier Three Tactical, weapon mounted lights View Post

Something to Consider

Two weeks ago, I attended a large weekend music festival in Tampa, Florida.  Almost all of these festivals have some type of security screening with either pat down searches or metal detectors.   I’ve written in the past about how to smuggle defensive weapons past security checkpoints in places like these, where “no guns” signs […]

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
active killer, active shooter, ccw View Post

Celebrating 11 Years of Blogging

Last week marked my 11-year  blogging anniversary.   Eleven full years of blogging about self defense, firearms, and personal safety topics.  I started this website on March 18, 2012 and have posted 2416 total articles since then.   The average novel is somewhere around 100,000 words.  In the last 11 years I’ve written a total […]

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
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Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 24, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   So You’ve Decided To Prepare For Civil Unrest Paul’s thoughts on how best to prepare for any upcoming civil unrest.  When discussing civil unrest, it’s useful to take a look at current trends.  Read […]

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Area Ocho, chokes, Crime Prevention Research Center, Gun Mag Warehouse, Hock Hochheim, James Altucher, Massad Ayoob, medical skills, mind4survival, Nick Hughes, Offgrid Survival, Paul Martin, Pew Pew Tactical, pistoltraining.com, police training, red dot sights, Rory Miller, shooting drills, shotguns, Spotter Up, SWAT magazine, Tamara Keel, Tiger McKee, travel View Post

Free Books- Part 269

Amazon has a tremendous number of FREE ebooks on their website.  You can find thousands of free kindle books on Amazon’s site every day.  These books can be downloaded to a Kindle reader or a free App on your phone or personal computer.  Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free […]

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Uncategorized
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Involuntary Hand Clenches Leading to Accidental Discharge

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Cops and armed citizens shoot themselves with alarming frequency.  One recent story discussed how a police officer shot himself after slipping on the ice while serving a warrant.  That type of accidental shooting is far more common than you might think.  It’s critical as tacticians that we understand how it […]

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
firearms training, Massad Ayoob, Paul Gomez View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 17, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   The Perils Of Carrying An Unusual Pistol Tamara brings up an important point that many new gun owners fail to consider when making a firearms purchase.     Guest Shot: My 9mm Journey Dave […]

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
88 Tactical, ACLDN, Active Self Protection, Annette Evans, Caleb Giddings, Carry Trainer, ccw, Chris Fry, civilian gunfighter, Claude Werner, ConcealedCarry.com, Dave Spaulding, firearms training, GAT Daily, gelatin testing, Jared Reston, Jeff Gonzales, Ken Hackathorn, Larry Vickers, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Mark Manson, medic scribe, medical skills, open carry, Priority Performance, Reflex Handgun, shooting drills, snubnose, Tamara Keel, The Armory Life, The Tactical Wire, tourniquets, women's carry View Post

AR-15 Maintenance and Repair- Five Tips from Armorer’s School

  In the course of my 13-year stint as weapons armorer for the police department where I worked, I attended numerous AR-15 armorer schools.  Recently, I was looking back at my notes from one of the classes I attended (it was put on by Colt) and thought the information I learned would be useful for […]

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
AR-15, Colt, gunsmithing View Post

Conducting Quality Force-on-Force Training

Daniel Coyle is the author of the book The Talent Code.  He conducts outstanding research in the field of enhancing human performance.  His blog post, Your Best Training Session Ever, got me thinking about how a lot of firearms and combatives force-on-force training could be dramatically improved.   Read Daniel’s account of a trauma surgeon […]

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Daniel Coyle, force-on-force, scenario training View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 10, 2023

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Thoughts On The Snub Mindset Important considerations for those of you who choose to carry a snub revolver.     The Significance of the Spencer Repeating Carbine Marlan gives us all an excellent history […]

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Aaron Cowan, Active Self Protection, American Handgunner, Brian Hill\, Caleb Giddings, Chris Cerino, Chris Cypert, church security, gelatin testing, Gun Mag Warehouse, handgun stopping power, James Howard Kunstler, John Murphy, Jordan Peterson, Lucky Gunner, Marcus Wynne, Primer Peak, red dot sights, Rory Miller, Sage Dynamics, school violence, Shelley Hill, shooting drills, Stephem Kotler, Steve Moses, Terry Trahan, The Art of Manliness, The Revolver Guy, Tiger McKee, travel View Post

Upcoming Classes: March-May 2023

Here are all the open enrollment classes I am teaching between now and the end of May.     My next class  will be Tactical First Aid and System Collapse Medicine at Blackwing Shooting Center on  March 12, 2023 in Delaware, Ohio.  Registration details HERE.  As of today, there is only one open slot.  Register  quickly […]

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
Blackwing Shooting Center, class announcements, firearms training, FPF Training View Post

Tactical Training Scenario- Attacked While Seated

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Have you ever considered what you might do if you were attacked while in a seated position?  When most of us train to fight, we do so while standing, but how many hours of the day do we spend sitting down?  There’s a good chance that you may be seated […]

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Greg Ellifritz in Tactical Training Scenarios
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Recent Posts

  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 16, 2025
  • Shooting Drill- Bill Wilson’s 5 x 5 Skill Test
  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 9, 2025
  • Free Books- Part 318
  • 2025 Rangemaster Tac Con Roundup
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