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Back from Iceland!

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   It was Lauren’s birthday last week, so I took her to Iceland for a long weekend to celebrate.  It was a country that both of us were interested in visiting and one that neither of us had already traveled to.  She found a whirlwind four-day tour of the country and […]

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
Iceland, travel View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 10, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Former Green Beret Reveals #1 Shooting Drill You Aren’t Doing Right (or Enough!) This may be the single most important drill to practice with either a handgun or rifle.     Specimen   Rory […]

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AR-15, Ballistic Radio, Chris Fry, firearms training, ITS Tactical, John Mosby, malfunctions, Marc MacYoung, Massad Ayoob, MDTS, medical skills, Pew Pew Tactical, Prepared Gun Owners, Rory Miller, shooting drills, Short Barrel Shepherd, Survival Sullivan, TDI, Tony Blauer, William Aprill View Post

Five Lessons Learned from the California Chicken Plant Shooting

  Written by Greg Ellifritz:   On the morning of November 6, 2012, an employee at a California chicken processing plant drew a gun and shot four of his co-workers (killing two) before shooting himself.  Initial reports classified this as an active shooter event, but upon further investigation it seems that the people who were […]

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
active shooter, shootings, workplace violence View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 3, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   EMPTY LOADS Clint Smith drops some knowledge about reloading an AR-15 rifle.     Appendix Carry vs. Hip Carry: Weighing the Pros and Cons Massad Ayoob talks about advantages and disadvantages to carrying a […]

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, appendix carry, AR-15, ccw, civilian gunfighter, Clint Smith, Dave Spaulding, G4 Personal Safety, Gabe Suarez, gel testing, Glock 43, knives, Massad Ayoob, Primary and Secondary, riots, Ron Avery, Survival Mom, Tamara Keel, Tom Givens, travel View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- February 24, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Math for Marksmen: The Speed Vs. Accuracy Equation The Mountain Guerrilla weighs in on what he thinks is the optimal balance between speed and accuracy.  You should also read his followup article on Calling […]

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AK-47, AR-15, concealed carry, health, holsters, John Mosby, knives, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, medical skills, Morgan Atwood, Paul Gomez, police, Prepared Gun Owners, Primary and Secondary, reloading, statistics, Tim Larkin, women's carry View Post

#Don’tDigTheRig- Part 8

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 February 21, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Gear Reviews
ccw View Post

Civilian Gunfighter Blog Reviews Two Recent Classes

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Last weekend, John Murphy of FPF Training hosted me for two training classes near Washington D.C.  I taught a Saturday Tactical First Aid class followed up by a Tactical Groundfighting class on Sunday.  Both classes were fun and Murphy’s students are always a joy to teach.   I was happy […]

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
civilian gunfighter, class reviews View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- February 17, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Armed Citizen Considerations in the Time of the Active Killer Some things you should be considering before engaging an active killer.     Chinese Tokarev Pistols–Military And Commercial Models Everything you could possibly want […]

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, AK-47, Bearing Arms, body language, Grant Cunningham, Jeff Gonzales, medicine, Paul Sharp, police, police training, Primary and Secondary, revolvers, shotguns, snubnose View Post

Hardwired Tactical Snubby Super Test

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I got this drill from Wayne Dobbs and Darryl Bolke at the Hardwired Tactical Facebook page.  Wayne and Darryl are both experienced retired police officers and firearms instructors.  They put out top-notch information.   This is the drill they developed for testing one’s competency with a snubnose revolver.   Here […]

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Shooting Drills
Hardwire Tactical, revolver, shooting drills, snubnose View Post

More Thoughts on Shooting Demonstrations During Training

Written by Greg Ellifritz   A couple weeks I wrote an article encouraging instructors to do shooting demonstrations in front of their classes.  I think the best learning for the student occurs after he or she actually has a visual model of the drill the instructor is asking the student to perform.  Visual models created […]

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Teaching Tips
teaching View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- February 10, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   A Stark Reminder to Keep Your Defensive Firearm Chambered For those of you who carry chamber empty, watch the video. Here is video evidence of a man shot by robbers as he attempts to […]

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
active killer, Active Self Protection, Concealed Nation, John Mosby, Melody Lauer, OC, Paul Sharp, police, Prepared Gun Owners, school shootings, Short Barrel Shepherd, statistics, training, Vuurwapen Blog View Post

The Reality of the Knife Attack

Written by: Greg Ellifritz     I was recently watching the video Real Fight: Belt vs Knife on the Active Self Protection website.  In that video, one man attacks another with a belt.  The victim here responded by drawing a knife and stabbing the attacker one time in the neck.  The man who was stabbed […]

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
Active Self Protection, knife attack, knife training View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- February 3, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Using an Inner Tube as a Knife Mount A handy option for mounting a low-profile fixed blade to your belt.  Read his updated suggestion as well.     Skill Set: Knives for Self-Defense I […]

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
.380 acp, Active Self Protection, Dave Spaulding, Gabe Suarez, Kelly McCann, knife attack, knives, Massad Ayoob, medical skills, open carry, police, pre-assault indicators, Rangemaster, Short Barrel Shepherd, terrorism, third world travel, travel View Post

Teaching Tip- Shooting Demonstrations

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   If you are a shooting instructor, do you demonstrate your shooting drills in front of your class?  I strongly believe that you should.  If you disagree, you might want to check out an article I recently read:   Six Things You Should Know About How Your Brain Learns   The […]

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Teaching Tips
firearms training View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- January 27, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Small Of The Back Carry: Easy Concealment Or Injury Waiting To Happen? Carrying your gun in the small of your back is almost always a mistake.  In addition to the points mentioned in the […]

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, art of manliness, bombings, ccw, Gabe Suarez, holsters, ISIS, police, Short Barrel Shepherd, shotguns, terrorism, travel View Post

When Do School Shootings Occur?

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Last week we had another school shooting.  When I read that the West Liberty High School shooter chose to initiate his attack before classes officially began for the day, it got me thinking.  It seemed that a lot of recent school attacks have been happening not during the school day, […]

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
active killer, active shooter, school shootings View Post

SHOT Show 2017 Roundup

Written by: Greg Ellifritz If you have been vacationing off the planet, you may not realize that the world’s largest trade show for shooting enthusiasts was held in Las Vegas last week.  The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) show is the second largest trade show in Las Vegas every year.  70,000+ shooting industry professionals […]

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- January 20, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Skills And Drills For Saving Lives Ralph Mroz suggests some reasonable performance standards for the defensive shooter.     The Book of the Pistol and Revolver The full text of a 1917 book on […]

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, civilian gunfighter, Ernest Langdon, holsters, Karl Rehn, Max Velocity Tactical, Michael Bane, multiple attackers, Ralph Mroz, Recoil Magazine, robbery, Robert Young Pelton, scams, travel View Post

#Don’tDigTheRig- Part 7

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 January 18, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Gear Reviews
ccw, holsters View Post

Best Backpacking Gun?

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   I recently had a reader write me to ask my opinion about the best gun for hiking or backpacking:   “What do you recommend for concealed carry while backpacking? I usually backpack with a 1980’s era frame pack with metal hip bars and a strap that would preclude most usual […]

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Reader Questions
backpacking, ccw, hiking, revolver View Post
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