Category: Personal Defense

A few days ago, I saw Weapon Outfitters link to a post on guns.com regarding concealed carry and homeless people. The topic of that article was a video by YouTuber MrColionNoir. Enough links? "Dabneybailey," the guns.com writer, criticizes Se±or Noir's video by saying that the latter's attitude towards the homeless is bigoted. MrColionNoir's statements are certainly strong at times, but I dislike the word shifts used by the guns.com writer. I would prefer that you read the article and watch the video in their respective entireties in order to discern… Read More

I shoot a lot - probably too much at times. This shooting includes various disciplines, from smallbore rifle shooting to service pistol and carbine training to hunting - mostly unicorns and kittens. My first exposure to high volume training was under the guidance of a USMC SNCO who had just come from SOTG. For those who were lost at USMC, this means that my platoon leader was an experienced sergeant - not a commissioned officer - who had recently been an instructor at the Marine Corps' Special Operations Training Group,… Read More

It's easy to fall into a rut in any sort of activity - a comfortable place where you only practice the things you're good at, and therefore think you're good at the activity as a whole. This could apply to shooting, driving, flying, running, waterskiing, etc. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. I was shooting with Mike Pannone a week or so back and shot a new drill he is working on which forces the shooter to do things he or she normally wouldn't do (for practice purposes) at… Read More

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a long time, yet upon which I have not really spoken to anyone except for a few close friends. I have heard (and read) back and forth discussions about whether it is better to pay for training from a former military or law enforcement shooter - say, someone who spent a long time in a special operations unit of some kind - or from a shooter who has won multiple national titles in something like NRA Action Pistol/Steel Challenge/USPSA/IDPA/IPSC etc.… Read More

In this video, I relate some of the lessons I've learned about performance under stress, and how to improve my chances of survival in a dangerous situation. In order to provide a background for the opinions I have formed, I describe a few of the stressful situations I have encountered. I do not include them in order to boast or brag - they are the cornerstones of my experience regarding performance under stress. As you will see, I have learned as much - or more - from failure as I… Read More

For quite some time, I have been thinking about the way training is approached in, for lack of a better phrase, the "tactical firearm community." In my opinion, there is an over emphasis on weapons training in the community. You might say "Well, duh. The firearms community is going to have a heavy emphasis on firearms training over other subjects." This is certainly true. And I'm not suggesting that people who want to own and use semi automatic rifles or pistols for various purposes should not be intimately familiar with… Read More

Every month, MDTS puts out a short video. They've had good things to say in the other videos I've watched, but this month's video will help just about anyone. I've tried to get across similar points in my blog posts - mainly, avoid confrontation whenever possible, and pay attention to your surroundings - but this is an excellent description of a thought process that might one day save your life.

If you've been in a gun store at least once, you've probably heard an opinion about a firearm, good or bad. You've probably also heard some outlandish stories, too. I tried working in a gun store, and I could only take it for about six months. There's an incredible amount of misinformation out there, and if you're new to the world of shooting, it's going to be next to impossible for you to sort through the bad and find the good. I wouldn't dream of trying to put every bit… Read More

I enjoy teaching folks how to shoot, but in my experience, women make the best students. Besides being a welcome change from the grumpy old men I normally encounter at the range, women approach firearms differently than men. Even though a guy may have no hands-on firearms experience, he's probably seen action movies or gangster TV shows, and has incorrect ideas about weapons safety and handling. A lot of guys are out to show how cool they are at the range. Conversely, women don't have anything to prove. They know… Read More

I'm a big proponent of concealed carry. I carry everywhere that I legally can. However, I'm not of the opinion that simply carrying a gun means that I'm "covered", that I'm "safe". Yes, Rule 1 of a gunfight is "Bring a gun". However, my personal defense philosophy is based on the concept of avoiding, or reducing, confrontation. If you haven't heard the phrase "the mind is the final weapon", you need to start wrapping your head around it. Your mindset will mean the difference between success and failure in a… Read More