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The “Freeze” Response

  Written By Greg Ellifritz   Last weekend I presented a block of instruction at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference.  When I wasn’t teaching, I tried to attend as many classes as I could.  In many classes, the topic of fear and “freezing” came up.  I saw a couple of “freeze” moments while observing the force […]

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Articles
psychology, training View Post

Happy Five-Year Blog-iversary!

Written by Greg Ellifritz   Today marks the completion of five full years of blogging about self defense, firearms, and personal safety topics.  I started this website on March 18, 2012 and have posted nearly 1100 total articles since then.   Over the course of the last five years, the website has seen more than […]

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in What's New
View Post

Weekend Knowledge Dump- March 17, 2017

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.   Armed at Home: Strategic Realities Everyone who owns a firearm should read this interview with Massad Ayoob. Bad things can happen when you answer the door with a gun in your hand.     […]

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in Weekend Knowledge Dump
Active Self Protection, AR-15, Dave Spaulding, Hock Hochheim, home defense, ITS Tactical, Jack Donovan, knife attack, knife fighting, Lucky Gunner, Massad Ayoob, MDTS, optics, police, Raven Concealment, Recoil Magazine, revolvers, shooting drills, Short Barrel Shepherd, shotguns, survival, TDI View Post

Police Training Tragedy

Written by: Greg Ellifritz   Did you read about last year’s negligent shooting in Florida where a police officer shot and killed a member of his community during a training demonstration?  According to THIS ARTICLE here’s how it happened:   “There is no evidence that Officer Coel intended to use lethal ammunition while participating in […]

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice
police, police training View Post

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
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