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My Best Writing 2017

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Last week, I posted an article linking to my most popular posts in 2017.  In that article, I discussed how my “most popular” articles were not the same as my “best articles.”  I liked many of the most popular articles (listed by page view), but I think other articles that […]

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
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Back from Antarctica (and Chile)!

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I returned last week from an epic two-week trip to Antarctica (via Chile).  Why Antarctica?  Because it was on our continent bucket list.  Both Lauren and I have been to all of the other continents in the world.  Antarctica was the last one.  So we went.   The trip started with […]

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
third world travel, travel View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 29, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   5 Critical Elements Of A Handgun Training Program “If you want to go to man camp and spend five days crawling on the ground, shooting thousands of rounds through your AR or AK, that’s […]

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AR-15, Bombs, Doom and Bloom, firearms training, Gabe Suarez, gelatin tests, Grant Cunningham, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Mark Hatmaker, medical skills, Mike Seeklander, police, police training, scopes, shooting drills, Tom Givens View Post

The Firearms Manifesto Part Two…Expanding the Arsenal

    After people choose their first firearm, become comfortable with the idea of owning a gun, and perhaps gain a little proficiency with their gun handling skills, they will often want to add more guns to their collection.  What guns should they buy next?   If you haven’t read part one of this series, […]

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
guns View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 22, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   The 10mm Auto: Cooper’s Big Bore A very thorough history of the development and evolution of the 10 mm auto cartridge.     COUNTER SURVEILLANCE: CARRYING WEAPONS WITHOUT TELLING EVERYONE Some good tips for […]

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, AR-15, backup gun, Breach Bang Clear, ccw, Gabe Suarez, gelatin tests, Massad Ayoob, Mike Seeklander, optics, police, precision rifle, psychology, rape, scopes, situational awareness, TDI, Todd Green View Post

Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2017

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Seth Godin made a very powerful statement in a recent blog post. “My most popular blog posts this year…weren’t my best ones. As usual, the most popular music wasn’t the best recorded this year either. Same for the highest-grossing movies, restaurants and politicians doing fundraising. “Best” is rarely the same as […]

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
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Your Tactical Training Scenario- Juvenile Violent Criminals

  Written by: Greg Ellifritz     Lots of my readers prepare for a situation where they might be attacked.  Many practice shooting their firearms, a lot practice some type of martial arts or combatives, even more mentally plan what they may do in the event that they are victimized by a criminal.   This […]

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Tactical Training Scenarios
juvenile, psychology View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 15, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Good Guys Win! Tamara Keel pens a nice monthly column in SWAT Magazine.  It’s full of short narratives (Like the NRA’s “Armed Citizen”) about armed citizens defeating criminals.  It’s good to read these scenarios […]

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, Chris Fry, concealed carry, ITS Tactical, Karl Rehn, Kyle Lamb, Massad Ayoob, Paul Sharp, police, Rangemaster, scams, school shootings, Selco, statistics, SWAT magazine, Tamara Keel, The Revolver Guy, travel View Post

The Best 1911?

  Written by Greg Ellifritz I will state this right off the bat:  I’m not a 1911 guy.  I was fairly fond of them at one point.  That was back before I actually learned how to shoot.  My first year working at TDI cured me of desire to carry one defensively.   In the beginning […]

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
1911, concealed carry View Post

The New Normal in Police Tactics

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   If you are at all interested in police training (or in seeing how poorly trained many cops are), you owe it to yourself to spend a few minutes reading this article and watching the two videos contained within.   Video shows Florida deputy fatally shooting man who was in a […]

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
police, police shootings, police training View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 8, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Interview with a Mexican hitman A vital insight into criminal psychology. Read about this man’s attitudes about killing and torture and understand that many of the criminals you might encounter on a daily basis […]

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AR-15, ballistics, Dave Spaulding, exercise, firearms training, holsters, ITS Tactical, Karl Rehn, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Marty Hayes, Nick Hughes, open carry, police, Primary and Secondary, psychology, Rangemaster, Raven Concealment, Rex Applegate, shooting drills, situational awareness, taser, Tom Givens View Post

Bad Survival Math: Fail to Recognize Assaultive Behavior + Denial =Throat Cut

Written by: Greg Ellifritz I found the article linked below.  It covers a random stabbing where an unknown man cut a woman’s throat on a busy street in New York City.  The article is quite instructive as both the attacker and victim acted predictably.  Read the short article below: Slashing Victim Detail Terrifying Moment a […]

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
pre-assault indicators, psychology View Post

How to Stay Safe While Holiday Shopping

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Here’s a little weekend bonus content.   Instead of a text article, I’m sharing some good advice via audio.  Carrie Lightfoot from the Women’s Gun Show podcast interviewed me a couple days ago.  We had a great conversation about the best way people can stay safe while doing their holiday […]

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
burglary, crime prevention, family safety, robbery View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 1, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Is Your Defensive Firearm Actually a Woobie? My guess is that even for this generally clueful audience, most of you carry your gun like a lucky rabbit’s foot.  Listen to what John has to […]

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, ankle holsters, Breach Bang Clear, Cecil Burch, Close quarter shooting, Craig Douglas, crime statistics, flashlights, history, Hock Hockheim, holsters, Kevin Davis, Legal, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, Michael Janich, Paul Sharp, Pew Pew Tactical, revolvers, terrorism, The Revolver Guy, vehicle attacks View Post

Lessons Learned from the Egyptian Mosque Attack

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Last week we witnessed one of the largest terrorist attacks in recent history.  Members of the Islamic State attacked a Sufi Mosque in Egypt’s northern Sinai region.  The terrorists killed 305 and wounded 128 more in the attack.  For details, check out this CNN article.  To understand why ISIS would […]

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
ISIS, terrorism View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 24, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   My Revolver Stopped Revolving Contrary to popular belief, revolvers can “jam” too.  And when they do, they generally need tools and a gunsmith to fix.     A Post On Situational Awareness Training Marcus Wynne […]

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, appendix carry, AR-15, Bombs, building search tactics, ccw, Chuck Haggard, church shootings, crime statistics, exercise, LDK, Lucky Gunner, Marcus Wynne, medical skills, psychology, revolvers, Ryan Holiday, Short Barrel Shepherd, situational awareness, terrorism, Tony Blauer View Post

Identifying Criminals from the Contents of their Shopping Carts

Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last week at work, I filed warrant paperwork for a shoplifter who had stolen items from a grocery store.  I realized that we have been seeing the same things stolen from grocery stores for the last couple years and wrote up a quick post on Facebook alerting folks to the trend.  […]

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
theft View Post

A New Active Killer Trend and Eight Ways to Counter It

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Within the past couple weeks, we’ve seen two active killer incidents with large body counts.  Interestingly, the killers in both events started shooting OUTSIDE their target location.   Reading about the shooting last Tuesday, I stumbled across the following quote: “Because there were a series of gunshots about a quarter […]

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, school shootings View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- November 17, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   The T.A.B.B.E. Test – Erik Kondo This seems like a reasonable metric with which to judge the merits of a particular fighting technique.     Can Loaded Magazines Stop Bullets or Increase the Effectiveness […]

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, active shooter, AR-15, Ballistic Radio, body armor, Breach Bang Clear, ccw, Conflict Research Group, Dan John, Dave Grossman, edible plants, exercise, flashlights, Gabe Suarez, gelatin tests, Jeff Gonzales, leadership, Lucky Gunner, Pew Pew Tactical, police, revolvers, Richard Nance, rifles, Rory Miller, Sherman House, snubnose, Tamara Keel, terroism, third world travel, women's carry View Post

Don’t Dig the Rig #14

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Concealed Nation has a regular feature on its website called #DIGTHERIG.  It consists of reader submitted photos about their individual chosen concealed carry weapon and holster choices.   A huge variety of guns and holsters are featured.  All are carried by someone.  Unfortunately, some of the choices are less than […]

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
ccw, Concealed Nation, Fobus, holsters, Taurus View Post
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Recent Posts

  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- January 9, 2026
  • The Best of What I Read-2025
  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- January 2, 2026
  • My Best Writing- 2025
  • Weekend Knowledge Dump- December 26, 2025

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