Category: Personal Defense

As a Corpsman, my job in the military was to put band-aids on Marines and hold them when they felt sad. I received a decent amount of medical training during that time and also had a small bit of hands-on experience (mostly treating wounded Iraqi children and inept terrorists). I was not a SARC and did not go through the 18D pipeline. Before joining the Navy, I worked in an emergency room as a physician's scribe. These experiences have shaped my outlook on emergency medicine and the equipment I carry… Read More

I wear flip flops almost every day and have done so for nearly my entire life. Therefore, I wear flip flops while shooting. This seems to upset some people when I post photos or videos online, so I'll take a moment to explain further. Train How You Fight I have said this a few times lately, but it really is important to "train how you fight." A long time ago, I was working on the "Lifesaving" merit badge. I had the fastest rescue time in part due to my ability… Read More

There are too many people in the firearm world - especially when it comes to "real world" or "defensive" use of firearms - who hide behind the word "tactical" as an excuse for poor technique or performance. Today I would like to discuss reloading, both of handguns and rifles. Basically, anything with a magazine. There are many things to discuss when it comes to reloads, and this is a topic I plan on covering in detail in the future. To be specific, I believe that looking at the firearm during… Read More

I think gun owners can and should play a role in identifying potential mass killers. We're the people who will in some way encounter a lot of murderers before they act, and we know what stands out. When it's appropriate, we need to discuss relevant facts with the proper authorities. That's not to say we should report anyone and everyone for anything that looks mildly odd, but if you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, you should act on that feeling.

In some circles, attention is focused on a few skills (shooting, primarily, but emergency/trauma medicine also) which are indeed crucial - at times - but are also among the sexier of the skills which might come in handy in some sort of crisis. In fact, if you have some of the below skills, you might not have to use the ones named above. Side note - I have used "post-apocalyptic" in the title because it will attract attention. These things also come in handy in today's world. Tracking If you… Read More

I'm sure I have managed to anger a few people with the title of this article alone. That's not my intention. As the saying goes, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar - although in this case, putting out carb-rich food wouldn't be the best course of action. I don't know you and can't say what, if anything, you are preparing for. What I can say is that almost anything you might be preparing for by going to carbine/pistol training courses or taking an active interest in blogs… Read More

I have met a number of instructors in the, for lack of a better term, "tactical" world. I have the benefits of being a constant shooter and several years' experience teaching in classroom settings to form opinions of instruction and training for real-world firearms use. And I have had the opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of various instructional techniques with professional military and law enforcement individuals who were willing to speak frankly and did not hold anything back in their assessments. All of this has led me to the conclusion… Read More

It's really popular for gun people to talk about needing a reliable gun for every day carry or duty use, but I don't hear many gun people talking about having a reliable phone. So that's what I'll talk about today. No matter where I am in the world, the likelihood that I will need to use a "communication device" of some sort to summon help from others is greater than the likelihood that I will need my "three pound" to bust a cap in someone's rear end. Car accidents and… Read More

Whenever I mention that I carry Glock pistols, I am asked what sort of modifications I have done to them - sights, trigger, grip reductions, and so on. When I say that my Glocks are entirely stock, more questions follow - most relating to the word "why." Glocks are similar to AR-15s in terms of popularity, and the number of companies offering every part imaginable for both platforms are too numerous to count. Many of these parts are intended to make the firearm more practical for real-world use, or so… Read More

Whenever the possible uses for a firearm are discussed, defense against wild creatures is mentioned seemingly without fail. Indeed, I have carried firearms in wilderness areas ever since I was old enough to handle and control them. I continue to do so. However, I do not relish the thought of shooting animals unnecessarily, and I take many steps to avoid confrontations with wild animals and reptiles. Here's why. Most of the time, wild animals will leave you alone if you leave them alone. I have encountered bears, big cats, wolves,… Read More