Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
With the upcoming presidential election, the current worldwide military conflicts, and the extensive damage done by recent storms, the USA is in a very turbulent place right now. Until things calm down, I’m going to start each week’s knowledge dump with a few articles covering current events and how you can best avoid becoming a victim.
Check out the links below for some excellent advice related to our world’s crazy current events.
Post-Election Predictions: This Time, Violence May Be Worse Than 2016
Disaster Preparedness: 72-Hour Food Supply Considerations – Swift | Silent | Deadly
Chaos Blankets the World and Leaves No Easy Answers
Emergency Gas Shut Off. Valuable Info In A Civil Unrest Situation.
Doug Casey’s Top 3 Predictions for Post-Election America
Winter is Coming: Are We Running Out Of Gunpowder? – The Truth About Guns
2024 Key Insights: What Countries Will Be in World War 3?
This Isn’t Just About The Wolf Anymore.
The Myth of Poisoned Halloween Candy And Hidden Needles
November Newsletter
Rangemaster’s excellent monthly training newsletter.
The Courts and Training
Erick details the relevant court case law governing police training. Unfortunately, despite the well established legal requirements, I don’t know of any police agency in the country that truly meets the supreme court’s guidelines concerning police training best practices.
Lethal Dangers in Extreme Close Quarters Defense
Mike Boyle illuminates some of the issues involved with gunfights at extremely close range.
6 Real-Life Cases That Highlight the Dangers of Open Carry
Openly carrying your firearm is a very poor tactical decision in most situations. In this article Massad Ayoob provides six examples which should give you pause. Not enough evidence for you? Read Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry and see nearly 100 cases where open carriers were either disarmed or attacked for their firearm.
29 Lessons From 150 Million Podcast Downloads
There’s some damn good life advice here.
Handgun Training, DIY-Style
A relatively easy handgun shooting qualification to test baseline skills. Want something harder? Try Skills Check: Pistol Standard Quebec. And if you need to improve your shooting skills, try the suggested drill progression in Accuracy vs. Speed Part Deux.
Ruger Mark Series: The Evolution of a .22 Caliber Icon
Learning about a series of gun that makes the “iconic” descriptor seem somewhat understated.
Ayoob Files: Lessons From Gunfighter Bud Ballew
A history lesson from Uncle Mas educating us about a famed Oklahoma gunfighter from the turn of the last century. For some additional Okie gunfighter history, read Jelly Bryce Oklahoma Shootist.
Elderly man accosted and robbed. What can we learn?
As you age and/or become more infirm, you might face more problems like this. Have you considered how your self defense plans might change as you age? What if you were a witness in the convenience store? Would you allow this crime to happen? Although I agree with John and Neil that the “right thing” to do would be to intervene to protect the older guy, I don’t know that I would in this particular scenario. Are you willing to be arrested or financially ruined by an encounter with the legal system to prevent an old man you don’t know from being pushed and getting his cane stolen? All of these are important questions to sort out before you have to make them on the street.
The Trials and Tribulations of the RevolverGuy
Some of the challenges involved with selecting and carrying a revolver for self protection. If you are considering revolver reloads, Amazon has the Safariland Comp II speedloaders on sale for 25% off this week.
Care and Maintenance of Lightweight Revolvers
One more revolver article for you this week. Grant describes exactly what goes wrong in small revolvers, how to diagnose the problem, and how to fix it. If you carry a revolver, the author’s Book of the Revolver is required reading.
Endurance Contests, Skills Tests and Training
Rich Grassi ponders police qualification courses from years past.
Assessing The M1 Carbine In Combat
A large number of historical anecdotes describing how the venerable M-1 carbine performed on the battlefield.
Guns of ISG: Running the AK
While we are on the topic of battlefield rifles, here is an in-depth look at the performance and optimal use of the AK family of rifles.
How to Spot Armed Suspects
Some things to be considering as you evaluate people nearby in any public location. And more importantly, check yourself. If you are doing any of these things, the skilled criminals know you have are armed. You don’t want to give up that ace up your sleeve.
The Great Unplugging v1.0: How to Save the World From the Coming AI Apocalypse
What I’m reading…
Rotating Steel Targets: Benefits and Options
John Hearne shares his wisdom with regard to rotating steel target systems.
Leveraging Tech for Better Personal Safety
Screenshot
Being a bit of a Luddite, I found the interview about how you can use technology to enhance your home safety to be fascinating.
Event Analysis
“Just because something’s possible, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.” That ways of systems thinking meshes well with the ideas presented in this episode of the Human Behavior podcast.
The Importance Of Carrying With A Round In The Chamber
If you don’t feel comfortable carrying your pistol with a round in the chamber, I firmly believe that your defensive shooting needs would be better served by carrying a revolver.
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