Written by: Greg Ellifritz Compared to the average American, I read a massive number of books. I try to read between around 10-15 books a month. I accomplish this because I don’t have TV in my house and I carry a book wherever I go. Whenever I have a few spare moments, I spend […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 27, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. What To Do if Someone Is Following You Quality tips and reference videos here. The Spyderco Sharpmaker The Spyderco Sharpmaker is my favorite knife sharpener as well. The Best Revolvers […]
Shooting Drill- Dot Assessment Madness

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I got this drill from Ballistic Radio’s Facebook page. Dot Assessment Madness AKA D.A.M. Is a 55-round assessment fired on the excellent Langdon Tactical, Inc. target. John Johnston describes the drill as follows: “At 3 yards Start with no more than 15 rounds in the gun or […]
The Springfield XD- A Polemic

Written by: Greg Ellifritz A recent discussion on my Facebook page prompted me to write an article to explain why I really don’t care for the Springfield XD pistol. I’ve seen hundreds of the guns go through my classes in the last decade. I remain unimpressed. The gun’s main selling point seems to […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 20, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. 4 Qualities Your Concealed Carry Gun Must Have “Reliability is the single most important element in the selection of a personal defense weapon. The only justification for firing a weapon at a human being […]
Training vs. Experience

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Many of my students are serious practitioners of the art of self-protection. They’ve graduated from numerous shooting schools and hold black belts in various martial arts systems. Although they generally enjoy the training process in general, their ultimate goal is to become better fighters. They are hoping that the skills they […]
Timing…a Missing Component in Training

Written by Greg Ellifritz One of the hardest things I do as a firearms and self defense trainer is convincing people that their lives are worth defending. Many students come to my classes with an attitude that displays an extreme lack of self worth. It’s hard for me to comprehend, but many people do […]
Lessons Learned from a Successful Use of Pepper Spray

Watch the excellent surveillance video of a store owner and his wife fighting two robbers armed with knives. The store owner is able to access a large can of pepper spray and blast his attackers. He then holds one attacker down on his counter while his wife kicks the dude in the face. Nicely […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 13, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Getting Friends and Family (Slightly) More Prepared How to gently steer reluctant friends and family members in the direction of being better prepared for emergencies. Factory 6.5 Creedmoor Ammunition Accuracy Velocity and […]
Shooting Drill- The Humbler

Written by Greg Ellifritz This shooting drill is one of the hardest I’ve ever attempted. I got it from Kyle Defoor’s page. It is a 70 shot drill with 700 possible aggregate points. Allegedly, no one has ever shot a perfect score. I certainly haven’t ever even come close. I’m happy if I […]
Choosing a Gun for the Woman in your Life

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Reading the article The Right Gun for a Woman, According to Women got me a little fired up. Go check it out before you continue here. Female Shooters On: Semi-Autos vs. Revolvers As most of you know, I’m not a woman. I don’t purport to […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 6, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. When You Can’t Pull the Trigger I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ignorant gun owners make the statement “I’ll just shoot him if he grabs my gun.” It isn’t quite that […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 29, 2019
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Shooting from Retention A discussion about in-fight weapons access, timing errors, dominant positioning, shooting from the “two,” and the dangers of floating the gun. These are the factors that are commonly misunderstood by well-meaning […]
Timing School Shootings for Higher Body Counts

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Early in 2017, I published an article titled “When Do School Shootings Occur.” I studied every American active killer school shooting over a three year time period from 2013 until the end of 2016. Interestingly enough, I determined that 43% of the school shootings I studied occurred outside of official […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 22, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. What is The Best Revolver Speedloader? Justin did a massive amount of work and shot a whole bunch of rounds to provide you with this useful data. Throw a buck in his Patreon account […]
The Saugus High School Shooting

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Details are starting to come out about last Friday’s shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. If you haven’t seen any of the details, you can read a brief summary here. This was a school shooting that would be categorized as pretty “typical.” There was nothing exceptional […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 15, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. 3 Techniques Predators Use to Hunt Women “Having studied this platform of evidence-based “real world” violence, particularly where the victim has been a female, I have identified three techniques that criminals consistently use to […]
Kung-Fu for the Concealed Carrier

This is a guest post from my friend Steve Moses, owner of Palisade Training Group. He was the guest author of a very well-received article on shotguns for home defense I posted last week. Since you all liked Steve’s contribution, I’m going to publish this one as well. It covers a topic that many CCW […]
5 Tips for Making Online Sales Transactions Safer

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 […]
Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 8, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. FSI Investigates Unintentional Discharges: When Are You At Greatest Risk? Force Science takes a look at where police unintentional discharges take place and what we can do to prevent them. Federal Syntech […]

