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“Survivalist Lite”- Survival Book Recommendations for Reluctant Spouses and Families

Written by Greg Ellifritz   My obsession started early.  As a teenager in the 1980’s I would annoy my school teachers by using class time to catch up on my fictional reading.  The late Jerry Ahern’s “Survivalist” series was always a favorite.  Ahern wrote entertaining stories about living in the USA  following a nuclear bombing […]

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Book Reviews
books, survival View Post

Modifying the Rangemaster 6/5/4 Drill

I haven’t given you any new shooting drills for awhile, so I thought I’d write up one that I shot last week.   I got the drill from Tom Givens’ most recent Rangemaster monthly news letter (opens to PDF).       It’s called the 6/5/4 Drill.  Tom’s drill instructions follow:   “You will need […]

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Shooting Drills
Ernest Langdon, Glock, Rangemaster, Ruger, shooting drills, Tom Givens View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 15, 2022

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   ANOTHER ROUND OF LOW LIGHT CONSIDERATIONS Things you should know about “tactical” flashlights.  You should also read CAN ANY ONE FLASHLIGHT TECHNIQUE LOWER YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING SHOT?     Jon Hauptman Talks PHLster […]

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, American Cop, Brian Hill\, Caleb Giddings, ccw, civilian gunfighter, Erick Gelhaus, firearms training, flashlights, force on force training, Karl Rehn, Legal, Marcus Wynne, Massad Ayoob, Michael Bane, open carry, Paul Martin, PHLster, Rangemaster, Recoil Magazine, Ruger, senior self defense, shooting drills, survival, The Tactical Wire, Warren Wilson View Post

Free Books- Part 249

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 14, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Uncategorized
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The NYC Subway Active Shooter Attack

I’ve written about the phenomenon of active killer attacks for more than two decades.  One of the most important themes I’ve identified is the fact that active killers want a large body count and are willing to constantly alter or change their tactics in order to achieve that goal.   Yesterday’s mass shooting on a […]

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
active killer, active shooter, explosives, New York City View Post

Teaching Tip- “I Can’t Do It”

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   If you’ve been teaching for any time at all, you will have undoubtedly had a frustrated student who has uttered the phrase “I can’t do it.”  How do you deal with this problem?   The first thing to recognize is that the “I can’t” response comes from the emotional brain.  […]

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Teaching Tips
firearms training, psychology, teaching View Post

Tactical Training Scenario- A Reanimated Active Killer

I haven’t written a new Tactical Training Scenario post in quite a while.  I missed providing quality analysis of real-life criminal attacks and giving you folks good advice about how best to avoid or survive those attacks.  The idea of this series of posts (see Tactical Training Scenarios links to other similar articles) is to […]

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Tactical Training Scenarios
active killer, active shooter, police shootings View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 8, 2022

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Some thoughts on speeding up that mount! Mike Seeklander provides some quality advice.       3 Practical Pistol Drills for People Who Don’t Go to the Range Enough You need to shoot more […]

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, Annette Evans, civilian gunfighter, CRKT, dry fire, Glock, Gunsite, Jerking the Trigger, John Mosby, Karl Rehn, knives, Lucky Gunner, Mike Seeklander, Recoil Magazine, robbery, shooting drills, shotguns, Steve Tarani, weapon lights View Post

2022 Rangemaster Tactical Conference Round Up

I spent last weekend teaching at the Rangemaster Tactical Training Conference in Dallas.  I’ve now taught at the last nine Tactical conferences and my TacCon blocks are regularly the most fun classes I teach every year.  The conference is three days of material taught by 40 different world-class instructors.  Each instructor teaches blocks on a […]

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
Annette Evans, Dave Reichek, firearms training, John Daub, KR Training, On Her Own, Rangemaster, Shivworks View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 1, 2022

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 World War III This is phenomenally sound advice that I urge you all to read. Paul is doing a lot of quality work in the preparedness community. “Note […]

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, Brian Hill\, Buckeye Firearms, Cecil Burch, Defenders and Disciples, dry fire, Erick Gelhaus, firearms training, flashlights, gelatin testing, Grant Cunningham, ground fighting, home security, John Hearne, Ken Hackathorn, knives, Massad Ayoob, medical, Mountain Man Medical, Off Duty/On Duty Podcast, Paul Howe, Paul Martin, Rangemaster, Recoil Magazine, revolvers, Richard Mann, robbery, school safety, shooting drills, situational awareness, suppressors, survival blog, Tactical Defense Institute, The Complete Combatant, The Revolver Guy, The Tactical Wire, vehicle tactics 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

Free Books- Part 248

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 30, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Uncategorized
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

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 25, 2022

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   You Weren’t Built for Safety “Life isn’t about risk elimination, it’s about risk management. Some rewards are worth the risk, and we instinctually know that. When as society values safety over everything else, then […]

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
AK-47, ammunition, Breach Bang Clear, Chris Fry, Claude Werner, firearms training, fitness, Larry Mudgett, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, shotguns View Post

Celebrating 10 Years of Blogging

I’ve been so busy teaching on the road (in nine different states so far since February) that I forgot my blogging anniversary.   Last week marked the completion of 10 full years of blogging about self defense, firearms, and personal safety topics.  I started this website on March 18, 2012 and have posted 2248 total […]

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
View Post

Your Tactical Training Scenario…Position of Disadvantage

  You are walking home from the grocery store and carrying several bags of food. Two men are walking behind you and yell out to you: “Hey Johnny!”   You turn and tell them your name isn’t “Johnny” and that they have mistaken you for someone else. They apologize and you continue walking home.   […]

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Tactical Training Scenarios
position of disadvantage, robbery, stabbing, training View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 18, 2022

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Thinking About Deep Concealment I agree with Michael here.  Most of my time I’m either armed with a very compact 9mm or my .22 mag J-frame.  I’m finding myself carrying the full sized 9mm […]

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AR-15, Brian Hill\, ccw, Clint Smith, concealed carry, Dave Spaulding, Everyday Marksman, Force Science Institute, GAT Daily, history, Hock Hochheim, holsters, home security, Karl Rehn, knife fighting, Lucky Gunner, malfunctions, Massad Ayoob, Michael Bane, Paul Martin, pepper spray, Personal Defense Network, police, Prepared Gun Owner, Primary and Secondary, Recoil Magazine, revolvers, shooting drills, snubnose, survival, Swift Silent and Deadly, The Armory Life, Tiger McKee View Post

Free Books- Part 247

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 17, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Uncategorized
View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 11, 2022

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Using Your Environment to Prevail Breaking down some of the components of situational awareness.     Elbows in Close Combat Kelly McCann offers a masterful 10-minute class on how to make your elbow strikes […]

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
AK-47, American Cop, AR-15, church security, civilian gunfighter, edible wild plants, Erick Gelhaus, firearms training, flashlights, Gun Mag Warehouse, Havok Journal, John Hearne, Justin Dyal, Kelly McCann, Ken Hackathorn, Kevin Creighton, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, medical skills, Mountain Man Medical, Pew Pew Tactical, revolvers, shooting drills, situational awareness, statistics, Steve Tarani, The Armory Life, Tiger McKee, William Aprill View Post

Home Defense Shotgun Questions Answered

A reader from California recently sent me some questions about long gun use for home protection.  Due to his state’s restrictive gun laws, he can’t legally own a “normal” AR-15 and is considering using either a pump shotgun or lever action rifle for home protection.  His questions (edited for clarity)  are below.  I get these […]

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Greg Ellifritz in Reader Questions
Blue Force Gear, Darryl Bolke, Magpul, shotguns, slings, Streamlight, Surefire, Viking Tactics View Post
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