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Surviving the Flash Mob

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Within the last couple weeks we’ve seen several teen flash mob attacks on innocent bystanders.  There was an attack perpetrated by a large number of Somali youths armed with hammers at a train stop in Minnesota.  Less than a week later, we saw a mass teenage attack in Baltimore.  Large […]

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
flash mobs, looting, riots View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 31, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Heavily Armed Robbers Utilizing Parked Vehicles as New Concealment Tactic A recent robbery trend that you should be aware of.     Prescription For Violence: The Corresponding Rise of Antidepressants, SSRIs & Mass Shootings […]

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, active shooter, Breach Bang Clear, Buckeye Firearms, carjacking, ccw, chokes, Craig Douglas, Dark Star Gear, Ernest Langdon, extreme close range, firearms training, gunsmithing, health, Hock Hochheim, holsters, John Farnam, Karl Rehn, knife fighting, Legal, Melody Lauer, Michael Bane, open carry, pepper spray, police, Recoil Magazine, road rage, robbery, Ruger, school shootings, shooting drills, snubnose, Spencer Keepers, Steve Moses, survival, Survival Mom, The Revolver Guy, Wim Demeere View Post

Shooting Drill- Justin Dyal’s “Par 5”

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I found this pistol shooting drill in a recent Justin Dyal article in SWAT magazine called STANDOFF HANDGUN DRILLS: Accuracy at Situational Speed. From the article: The purpose of the Par 5 drill is for the shooter to gain an appreciation of the linkage between sight alignment and trigger break […]

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Shooting Drills
Justin Dyal, shooting drills, SWAT magazine View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 24, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Choosing Your First AR-15: A Practical Guide Very valuable information for those of you contemplating buying your first AR-15 rifle.     Elmer Keith On Combat Quick Draw I love studying the history of […]

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, ankle holsters, AR-15, ccw, Cecil Burch, crime statistics, edible plants, family safety, Grant Cunningham, Gun Nuts Media, Henry Holsters, holsters, Jeff Gonzales, Mark Manson, Matt Bracken, medical skills, open carry, partner rescue, police, police shootings, Primary and Secondary, psychology, reloads, robbery, scams, shotguns, third world travel, Zulu Bravo Kydex View Post

What if your Backstop is a Freeway?

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Click the link below and watch the body camera video of a police officer shooting an active killer.   Newly released body cam video shows deadly officer-involved shooting   A suspect shot victims at two different public locations, threatened a hotel employee with a gun, and then ran out onto […]

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, backstop, police, shooting View Post

Guns, Gear, and Training Issues in Last Weekend’s Shotgun Class

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Last Saturday, I taught Active Response Training’s very first open enrollment shotgun course.  It’s kind of odd that I’ve never done one, considering that the very first firearms instructor certification I got was Phil Singelton’s Benelli shotgun instructor class.  I’ve been teaching cops how to shoot shotguns since the year […]

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
firearms training, shotguns View Post

Upcoming Medical Classes

I have two medical classes scheduled in June and July.  Both classes are nine hours long (with a short lunch break).  In addition to the description below, the classes will also cover material on using the new tourniquets most recently recommended by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care.  There will also be a block […]

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
class announcements, medical skills View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 17, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Data on the Rate of Shootings and Accidents in Schools that allow Teachers to Carry Click “download this paper” in the upper left corner of the linked article to get a free full text […]

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AK-47, AR-15, ccw, Chuck Haggard, civilian gunfighter, G4 Personal Safety, Jerking the Trigger, Mark Manson, medical skills, PHLster, police, police gunfights, police training, school shootings, school violence, shotguns, Steve Moses, The Revolver Guy, travel, weapon malfunctions View Post

Tourniquet Musings

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I spent some of my day off today working with three of the new CoTCCC-recommended tourniquets.   I self applied the TMT (Tactical Mechanical Tourniquet), RevMed TX2, and RevMed TX3 to each limb. I was able to achieve full occlusion (no distal pulse) on all applications.   I like the extra […]

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
medical skills, tourniquets View Post

Highlands Ranch Stem Shooting

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   On May 7, 2019 two students conducted an attack on their classmates at the Highlands Ranch STEM School in Colorado.  The shooting was quite unusual and doesn’t fit the normal narrative for an active killer who shoots up a school (that’s probably why the story disappeared from the media so […]

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, school shootings View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 10, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Criminals Often Carry Ineffectual Guns that are Broken, Unloaded, or Toys An article about the types of guns carried by criminals, including a link and discussion of my research on the topic.     […]

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
.32, Active Self Protection, art of manliness, Caleb Giddings, ccw, Craig Douglas, drugs, edible plants, handgun stopping power, holsters, knives, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, medical skills, Michael Bane, open carry, pepper spray, police, Primary and Secondary, Rangemaster, Sam Harris, Shivworks, shooting drills, terrorism, Tom Givens, travel View Post

Lock Your Damn Doors- 2019 Edition

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Five years ago, I wrote an article titled Lock Your Damn Doors.  In that article I looked at a month’s worth of burglary and theft reports from the city where I worked and tracked how many theft victims had left their houses or cars unlocked before the thefts occurred.   […]

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
burglary, crime prevention, crime statistics, home security, theft View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 3, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   3 Ways to Escape Zip Ties: An Illustrated Guide An informative infographic about escaping zip tie restraints.  This is useful, but the best advice I can provide is to AVOID BEING RESTRAINED!  I don’t […]

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
1911, active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, ambush, AR-15, art of manliness, backup gun, crime statistics, escape, gunsmithing, Hock Hochheim, Integrated Skills Group, Jeff Gonzales, John Mosby, Karl Rehn, knives, Kyle Lamb, Larry Vickers, Limatunes, Marcus Wynne, Massad Ayoob, police, Range Hot, reloads, revolvers, scams, shooting drills, snubnose, statistics, The One Right Tool, The Revolver Guy, travel View Post

Compliance Doesn’t Always Ensure Your Safety

Written by: Greg Ellifritz     Many of my students tell me that, should they ever be robbed, they plan on complying with the robbers’ demands.  While I can’t presume to tell anyone the individual best course of action during a dangerous situation, I can provide some general statistics about past events.   Statistically, complying  […]

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
compliance, resistance, robbery View Post

When the Criminal Doesn’t Obey Your Commands

  Written by: Greg Ellifritz   It’s a rewarding thing to watch my firearms students as they learn and progress.  They start with safe gun handling skills, the basics of marksmanship, and learning when it is legally appropriate to shoot someone.  If they continue training, they might learn more “tactical” or combative shooting skills.  As […]

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
ccw, verbalization View Post

Drawing Attention Away From Your Concealed Carry Gun

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   There are a lot of folks who say that deep concealment of your carry pistol isn’t necessary.  Those folks will tell you that people aren’t very observant and that most of the humans you encounter as you go about your daily life wouldn’t notice if you were open carrying a […]

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
ccw, holsters, Spencer Keepers View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- April 26, 2019

Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. DIY Revolver Grip Modifications If you want to reload your revolver with speed loaders, you may have to break out the Dremel tool to reduce your grips. Speaking of revolver modifications, you will definitely be […]

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, ccw, Cecil Burch, exercise, firearms training, G4 Personal Safety, gelatin tests, Growing Up Guns, Integrated Skills Group, John Farnam, John Lott, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Marcus Wynne, medical skills, Michael Bane, Mike Seeklander, open carry, Pew Pew Tactical, police, Recoil Magazine, revolvers, Seth Godin, shooting drills, snubnose, Steve Moses, Survival Sullivan, Tamara Keel, travel View Post

Shooting Drill- Diminishing Dots

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Different sized targets require a differing level of precision with regards to sight alignment.  This issue is often described by instructors as “seeing what you need to see to make the shot.”    When shooting at a human torso at five feet, no sights are even necessary.  When shooting at a […]

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Shooting Drills
Ron Avery, shooting drills View Post

Greg Goes to the Gun Store

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I made a rare trip to the gun store last week.  I decided to replace what Recoil Magazine calls “the ugliest gun on the planet” with a new Gen 5 model 19.  I’ve been carrying the old ugly 19 since 2001 and have almost 70K rounds through it.  I have […]

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
View Post

Don’t Dig the Rig- Special Pocket Holster Edition

Written by Greg Ellifritz   When the weather is nice, I like to get out of my police car and do some foot patrols as often as possible. Every day (if calls allow) I’ll do at least one foot patrol around a shopping center, park, or school.   Last week, a school in my patrol […]

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Greg Ellifritz in Gear Reviews
ccw, holsters, pocket carry View Post
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