Greetings Sheepdogs,
NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE! NEVER‼
Everything you say will be taken out of context, distorted, spun, and used against you.
You can't have "inconsistent statements" if you KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
"Warning shots" are illegal everywhere in the U.S. This is an act of stupidity.
"Shooting to wound" is wrong on many levels (tactically, legally, etc.). This is
an act of stupidity.
Not only, must you NEVER do these things, you must never confess to doing
these things. Because, self-defense is an intentional act. If you
accidentally / unintentionally kill the bad guy while firing a 'warning shot' or
'shooting to wound', you're screwed; because your killing was not intentional.
The killing has to be intentional to count as self-defense. Self-defense is an
intentional act, not an accidental or unintentional act. If the killing is accidental
or unintentional, it is "reckless", which is a criminal act.
The police are not your friends. They are not there to catch the bad guys.
That would be dangerous for them. They might get hurt.
They are there to arrest and prosecute you. Because that's easy and safe.
They are not stupid. Their primary objective is to go home. And if they are a good
cop, their secondary objective is to ensure their partner goes home.
If you talk to them, you are stupid. Need an example?
If The Epoch Times gives you a hard time about reading the article, Stephen P. Wenger
kindly gives us this excerpt:
On the night of his arrest, George Alan Kelly told investigators that he had
“no reason to believe” that he shot and killed an illegal immigrant who was later
found dead on his ranch property on Jan. 30, 2023.
“I’ve never been confronted with a situation such as this. I’m still somewhat agitated.
I’m still quite nervous — upset,” Mr. Kelly said during the videotaped interview with
detectives for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. Thirty minutes into the interview
however, Mr. Kelly admitted to firing an AK-47 [!] rifle over the heads of five illegal
immigrants in tactical clothing he believed to be armed and trafficking drugs across his
property.
“ The moral of the story is: You shot. Someone’s dead. ”, Detective Jorge Ainza,
the lead investigator, told Mr. Kelly before his arrest. On April 12, Mr. Ainza testified
it was the defendant’s “inconsistent” statements, demeanor, and behavior that amounted
to probable cause to charge him with first-degree murder. Prosecutors later downgraded
the charge to second-degree murder, which requires proof that Mr. Kelly acted in a
reckless manner that caused the victim’s death . . .
(Two key points here:
First, do not give detailed statements or submit to lengthy interviews without legal
counsel and, preferably, not before three normal sleep cycles.
Second, the claim of having fired “warning shots” can be used to argue
that you knew that you lacked the justification to use deadly force on the person
you claim to have been your assailant.
Seated in the border city of Nogales, Santa Cruz County is one of the four of
Arizona's 15 counties that consistently votes Democratic in presidential elections.
-- Stephen P. Wenger)
I wholeheartedly endorse Greg Kitchens for Sheriff of Charleston County, SC.
Retired Colonel U.S. Marine Corps. I forgive him for being a Cowboy Shooter.
"Social Justice" sounds good to the low information voter,
but as Thomas Sowell explains, it is stupid and destructive.
"THE QUEST FOR COSMIC JUSTICE" by Thomas Sowell
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.
Free law abiding people can't be trusted with firearms? but the government can?
Table of Sections:
Prevention
Intervention
Postvention
Education
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of contents:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
(If you want peace, prepare for war.)
"House of Failure" by John Farnam
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Pathway to Violence" by Steve Tarani
Excerpt:
To increase your odds of avoiding a violent physical threat, it is critical to maintain
visual control of your surroundings by applying your awareness. Situational awareness
must be part of your everyday carry (EDC). Stay alert and maintain both visual and
mental connectivity with your immediate environment allowing you rapid
identification of either potential or active threats along the pathway to violence.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
But why add an extra layer of abstraction by assigning colors?
Better to just use meaningful words.
UNAWARE of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT to a potential threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM by a real threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting the threat. (Red)
COMBAT front sight, press. (Black)
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER
ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
Some get press coverage. Some get none. As a grey man, in life and death,
you should strive for zero press coverage. This not only protects you, it protects
your loved ones. The press is never your friend.
When I worked for Lockheed Martin Middle East Services in Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our name did not appear in the lobby. Our name
did not appear on our doors. If the enemy doesn't know you exist,
they won't attack you.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
" Talking with the 'prickly man' "
Geoff Metcalf interviews personal survival expert Walt Rauch
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"Any gun will do. Any gun. It doesn't matter. It happens to be the best
defensive tool we have available to us in this society. Everything else is second."
"Which law do you want to obey? The law of survival, or the law of the state?"
"People need to find someone who purports to be able to train and then get
references. And get references from the references. You are going to be spending
your time and money and betting your life on his training."
"Unfortunately, American males, by and large, think they are experts at drinking,
driving and making love, and they do poorly at all three without direction or
instruction -- and you can include firearms in that list."
"The Complete Combatant: Recognize Pre-Violence Signals" by [I can't find a author
listed, but the Complete Combatant is Brian and Shelly Hill]
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz. Greg also recommends,
How to keep yourself alive during a traffic stop.
"Excuses!" by John Farnam
Mental illness my ass. Evil is as evil does.
Carry at home. If you want to avoid this sort of thing.
[Yes, as a matter of fact I do carry at home with all of my doors locked.
Someone could climb over the 10 foot concrete wall around your house
(as is common in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) topped with broken glass and
break into your house. And you may have to shoot them to save your
life and the lives of your loved ones. Actually, it is a common occurrence
in the United States. The only reason you don't know about it happening
in your neighborhood is because of the media that you choose to consume
or neglect to consume. -- Jon Low]
"Solar Eclipse!" by John Farnam
"How to Survive (and Prevent) a Carjacking" by Brett and Kate McKay
Relaying words of Mike Seeklander.
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Oh Boy!" by John Farnam
“Fate makes no appointments, nor does it wait!
You have to be alert and ready the instant it arrives.”
-- Anon
"When it’s least expected…!" by John Farnam
"Two kinds of pain: The pain of discipline, the pain of regret.
We can avoid one, but never both!"
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"Free Handgun and Rifle Instructional Training Series" by Mike Seeklander
1 to 7 are for pistol. 8 to 14 are for rifle.
"I’m not a fan of compensators on a self defense pistol. Most folks actually
need to shoot a bit slower in a defensive encounter. Running .15 splits on the
street leads to a situation where you will fire 2-3 extra rounds AFTER your brain
tells you to stop firing."
-- Greg Ellifritz
[May I add that when shooting from a close contact position, a compensator
or ported barrel will shoot high pressure, high speed, hot gas, and partially burnt
powder into your eyes? -- Jon Low]
Next year’s Tac-Con will be in the same place
Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Texas
and is scheduled for 28-30 Mar 2025 A.D. (Fri-Sun)
It will be fully subscribed very fast.
Serious students of the Art need to plan on being there!
-- John Farnam
Registration at
"Tac-Com 2024" by John Farnam
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
"Guns for Granny - Choosing A Gun for the Elderly or Infirm"
by Daniel Reedy
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
Arthritis had set in, keeping some modern gripping techniques out of her reach,
and increasing her sensitivity to recoil. Additionally, grandma is on a fixed income,
keeping her budget extremely tight. Taking regular classes, or even multiple range
trips a month wasn't financially feasible. [A good instructor never argues with reality.
-- Jon Low]
Granny isn't showing up with a Staccato, so these will be guns your grandma
already owns, or can pick up relatively inexpensively. [This is why you should
continuously be searching the pawn shops and gun clubs for appropriate pistols that
you can give, trade, or sell to students. Personal transfers are still legal in
Tennessee, and other free states. -- Jon Low]
Grandma also had difficulty with the heel magazine release . . .
[Such mag release mechanisms are inappropriate for self-defense (combat) purposes
because they cannot be operated one-handed. -- Jon Low]
Rangemaster newsletter
You need to read this, especially Col. Cooper's statement at the end.
Rangemaster Protective Pistolcraft class. Here is an after action report on the 5-day class.
"AAR: Rangemaster Protective Pistolcraft IDC"
by Justin
---
This seems to be quite different from the Gunsite Academy 250 Defensive Pistol Class.
I'm surprised that Gunsite forbids inside the waistband holsters.
Like many, they forbid the SERPA holsters.
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand weapon
retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
When was the last time you practiced your holstered weapon retention skills?
Seven years ago at Tac Con? Better get on it.
"The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mastery" by James Altucher
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"The typical answer is: “I study four hours a day”.
Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion, said the maximum he would
study chess is three hours a day. That’s a guy who was a world champion.
Then, when he wasn’t in tournaments, he’d spend the rest of the day exercising,
studying languages, doing other things to balance out his life."
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"One-Handed Survival Shooting Techniques – Necessary or Fluff?"
by Mike Seeklander
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"This takes time and dedicated training and absolutely must be done to ensure
you don’t end up having to figure this stuff out during an actual fight!"
"However, you will need to learn several because certain ones simply will
not work in all situations. I always teach multiple techniques and discuss with
students when each might be used during our one-handed survival shooting class."
---
One of the reasons many schools teach firing-side-hip carry, is that if your firing-side
hand is not available, you can reach around the front or rear with your support-side hand
to get your pistol. Something you can't do with appendix carry. With appendix carry,
you can only reach across the front of your body. If you can't imagine when reaching
around your back would be advantageous, you have no imagination. [Actually,
Thomas Jefferson said, if you don't know several ways to spell a word, you have no
imagination. Same thing.]
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Distance Shooting: Myth of the Average Engagement" by Patrick A. Rogers
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"Front Sight Focus: Myth or Mandatory?" by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"After looking at several popular sight configurations, he commented,
“You’re trying to line up straight edges, right? Then why have you placed
round dots on the sights? It’s optically confusing.” "
---
Yes, contrast is essential for aligning sights with the target.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"You CAN Get Killed" by Clint Smith
"Guidelines To Save Your Life
10 Rules of Concealed Carry"
by Lindsey Bertomen
Excerpts:
"Don’t misunderstand this point. Any quality gun can shoot this accurately.
However, I can’t do this with every gun, just one that agrees with me."
"Obviously, if you are not in the right, do not even attempt to use a firearm."
[The problem is everyone thinks he is "right". It is common for the defendant to
say to his attorney, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted! It was obviously
self-defense." At which point the attorney has to explain to the untrained
(neglected to ever take a class beyond the state carry permit class) and
uneducated (neglected to ever take a law of self-defense class) defendant
that as a matter of law, it was not self-defense.
The defendant is just another TV and movie educated citizen who doesn't
know anything about self-defense or self-defense law.
-- Jon Low]
"If you notice, I started the statements with a hard “D” sound, rather than
saying “Stop or I’ll shoot” or something similar. Use a “G” or a “D” sound
for verbal commands rather than an “S” or an “F” sound, like “Stop!” or “Freeze!”
In the psychology of the moment, verbal commands using the stoppage or quick
release of air get the attention better."
"Emotional health is addressed before one gets into an overwhelming circumstance,
not after."
"Emotional inoculation is a long-term mental health plan. Before you carry a gun,
discuss “what if” situations with family members. Make certain you have whatever
insurance coverage is recommended to protect you in the aftermath. Make sure your
relationships include someone in whom you can confide and trust."
[Recommended by who? Writing in the passive voice is bad English. Because the
writer avoids revealing who committed the action. In this case, who recommended
the insurance?
-- Jon Low]
"I am a serial plinker. I often shoot for the pure pleasure of moving lead from
one side of a range to the other.
Practice, however, has to have a training goal."
“When the only tool you carry is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
[This is backwards thinking. Every threat IS a lethal threat, until you determine
that it is not. If you assume that the threat is not a lethal force threat, when
it escalates you won't have time to get your pistol. If you assume the threat
is lethal and it diminishes, you don't have to fire. Any striking attack is a lethal
force attack. A single punch could kill you. A single strike could knock you off
balance, causing you to fall and hit your head on the ground, which would kill you.
Humans are easy to kill, especially old ones like me. As Tim Larkin says, the
Earth is the best impact weapon and it is always available.
-- Jon Low]
"If you are known to lose your cool, please pick another means of defense."
From an email from Mike Ox --
Yesterday evening, a story hit the news about a local crazy who had pledged
allegiance to ISIS and was planning on using guns, knives, and fire to attack
churches on Sunday in Coeur d’Alene . . . 2 days ago.
That’s where we go to church. And our church would be a likely target.
Fortunately, he was arrested on Saturday.
But his stated intentions and ability are a reason why, when I help with
training for our security team, we train with laser pistols and 3D targets . . .
sometimes set up BETWEEN members of the security team so that they get
used to knowing what’s beyond their target and shooting while getting off-the-x.
The targets hang flat or stand on their own, so we set them up on tables,
chairs, backs-of-chairs, and other surfaces so that the team can have practice
working together to engage targets in the environment where they’ll be
dealing with threats together.
Which walls are cement and bullet resistant?
Which walls are just 2 layers of sheetrock with people behind them?
When there are multiple attackers, innocents, or other security, how do
you work the angles to minimize excess risk and maximize the chances
of success?
There’s no end to the training we can do with them.
And there’s no end to the training you can do with them…at church,
at work, or at home.
"Don't just train hard. Train smarter than the other guy!"
Stay safe and God Bless,
Mike (Ox) Ochsner
"Switching Sides (Drawing With Your Support Hand)" by Mike (Ox) Ochsner
--- Start of Classes ---
Law of Self Defense ADVANCED Live Online Course, $149
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9AM-4PM Mountain time
Trident Concepts
Rangemaster
Defensive Training International
FPF
Active Response Training
Harris Combative Strategies
Just a quick update for everyone. The April TN/GA/AL Training Group training
day will be on Sat April 27 at The Ridge in Dayton TN . We will be doing Pistol
and RIFLE ! The pistol will be primarily "get off the X and defend yourself" type
shooting . . . mostly on the move. The rifle shooting will be out to 100+ yards
since we have the rifle range there to use. I'm also planning to run everyone thru
the Diplomatic Security Service Rifle Qual and we will finish up the day as usual
with a man vs man duel at the end. Info is here . . .
Subject: Carbine and Pistol Combo Day !
We will be working with both the Pistol and Carbine (can be rifle caliber or
pistol caliber). We will focus on reactive shooting with the pistol - Get off the X
and defend yourself. And then we will focus on 100+ yard shooting with the rifle.
We will start out zeroing your carbine and then move right into the shooting drills
to help smooth out your shooting and manipulations. So bring your rifle and your
pistol and we will give them a workout!
Instructor: Randy Harris
Location: The Ridge Shooting Range 11534 US Hwy 27, Dayton, TN 37321
Time: 9:00 to 3:30pm EASTERN
Price: $80 + a $10 range fee. (range fee needs to be cash paid at class)
You can pay through Eventbrite or save the Eventbrite fees and pay at
class by cash or check or Electronic payment by paypal or venmo
(friends and family option) or by credit card (contact Randy by phone
423 827 9133 or by email at randy@harriscombative.com for CC payment).
If you plan to pay at class you need to call and RSVP with Randy.
What you need to bring: Pistol , at least 1 spare magazine (or speed loader if you bring
a revolver), Carbine, at least one spare magazine, 100 rounds of carbine ammo,
100 rounds of pistol ammo , holster, eye and ear protection, clothing appropriate
for the weather. Please bring 1 extra EMPTY carbine magazine. Leave one empty
so you do not have to unload it to start.
Eventbrite - Eventbrite Link
Paypal – Randy@harriscombative.com
Venmo – www.venmo.com/Randy-Harris-47
and then on June 1 in Gallatin TN ......
Harris Combative Strategies
Primary Skills for the Armed Citizen
The street knowledge, gun handling and marksmanship material that your
Carry Permit class should have covered but didn't.
Location : Sumner Gun & Supply, LLC 526 West Main Street Gallatin, TN. 37066
Instructor : Randy Harris (Randy's Bio )
This class is the street knowledge, gun handling and marksmanship class that your
Carry Permit class should have covered but didn't. After a brief discussion on legal,
moral and ethical considerations we cover dealing with unknown persons that approach
you on the street, recognizing the cues of impending criminal assault, taking appropriate
action for the situation, use of empty hand techniques, use of pepper spray, drawing from
concealment, delivering fight stopping hits with your pistol, reloads, malfunction clearance
and we look at dealing with police after the action is over.
Equipment Required: Pistol and at least 2 magazines , carry gear, Eye and Ear Protection
Ammo count: 200 Rounds.
Price: $200 (Plus a $20 range fee payable to the range at class)
Payments can be made through Eventbrite or by by cash or check or Electronic
payment by paypal or venmo (Use Friends and Family option or add 3% if you
pay it as a Goods and Service) ) or by credit card (contact Randy by phone
423 827 9133 or by email at randy@harriscombative.com for CC payment).
This will also be listed on Eventbrite if you prefer to sign up there but you can
save the Eventbrite fees and tax that they charge by paying me directly.
Eventbrite -Eventbrite Link
Paypal – cruelhandluke2000@yahoo.com
Venmo – www.venmo.com/Randy-Harris-47
Randy Harris
Harris Combative Strategies
MeadHall Newsletter April 2024
Hello folks,
Welcome to April. Unfortunately because at the time of this newsletter I am
still working on day job stuff I will keep this short. I have added links for
Lone Star Medics class ( Sign up for Medical dang it 😊 ), John Holschen’s
class in Nov and Simon Golob’s class in June. I hope everyone has a safe and
happy April and I hope to see some of you in Presscheck’s classes 😊
2024 Schedule (including prelim)
Presscheck Consulting – Chuck Pressburg – 18-21Apr2024
No Fail Pistol 18-19Apr2024
No Fail Rifle 20-21Apr2024
Dr. James Williams – Shooting with Xray Vision Instructor – 4-5May2024
Apache Training Solutions – Full Spectrum Defensive Pistol - 17-19May2024
Pistol-Training.com – Simon Golob – Bring the Heat: Performance on Demand – 8-9Jun24
Lone Star Medics – Caleb Causey – TacMed EDC – 29Jun2024
Sentinel Concepts – Steve Fisher – 2 day Handgun – 28-29Sept2024
RangeMaster – Tom Givens – Master Instructor Development – 4-6Oct2024
Agile Training and Consulting – Chuck Haggard – 19-20Oct2024 (waiting on date confirm)
19Oct Pocket Rockets
20Oct OC Instructor
Tim Herron Shooting – Practical Performance – 26-27Oct2024
Citizens Defense Research – Melody Lauer and Chris Cypert – 8-11Nov2024
8-9Oct The Armed Parent/Guardian
10-11Oct Contextual Handgun: Public Encounters
John Holschen – Applied Defensive Handgun Skills – 16-17Nov2024
Cougar Mountain Solutions – Erick Gelhaus – 6-8 Dec 2024
Red Dot Instructor Course
As usual Will Andrews will be out here as well during the times of the year
he prefers to teach 😊
KR Training
--- End of Classes ---
"You often don't know where the bad guy is, who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
Some of the things that I learned at the classes that I took at Tactical Conference 2024 --
---
"Tactical Civics" by Lee Weems
---
"Movements During Lethal Force Encounters" by Phillip Groff
White paper available at
In real world non-military gunfights --
Use natural movement. Don't train specialized movements.
Train shooting one-handed while running away.
You often don't know where the bad guy is, who is shooting at you.
Be critical. Don't accept training as correct just because that's the way you were taught.
Malfunctions are caused by a bad grip and the body not being behind the pistol.
Statistically, 0 reloads in real world civilian gunfights.
---
"How to Write a Lesson Plan"
by Tiffany Johnson and Aqil Qadir of Citizens Safety Academy
Handout at
---
"Becoming The Civilian Defender: Philosophy and Best Practices"
by Dr. Sherman House
You can't buy skill.
"Experience is a difficult teacher because she gives the test first and then the lesson."
---
"25-Yard Pistol Diagnostic Techniques" by Jeff Gonzales
What did I feel? What did I see? What did I do?
We work on our weaknesses. Non-serious person only work on their strengths,
because it feels good. Recognizing and working on your weaknesses takes a great
deal of self-discipline.
Grip tension must be constant. It is a common error to increase tension as you
press the trigger.
Follow through, don't look for the bullet hole. Don't lift your head to see where
the bullet hit. Don't drop your pistol to see where the bullet hit. KEEP AIMING!
Zero at 25 yards, because your POI will be close to POA at closer ranges;
if you zero at 10 yards, the POI will be high at 25 yards.
Trigger finger must not touch the frame.
Strive for awareness of what's going on around the target,
as opposed to fixating on the target.
Is your training defensible in court?
Then you better not reset until after your follow through (after attaining a second sight
picture after the shot). Many instructors teach their students to immediately reset
after the shot. This can cause premature firing, resulting in shots at 12, 1, or 2 o'clock
(for a right handed shooter). Which showed up on many targets of shooters trained
to reset immediately after the shot (as opposed to resetting after follow through).
Okay in competitions. But in combat, it means hitting innocent bystanders. Just a
little stress will induce this. We saw ample evidence of this in class.
Bring sights up to your line of sight; Don't bend your head down to your LOS.
At self-defense ranges, there is no advantage to red dot sights. The advantage
is at longer ranges. Such as defense of others.
Minimize exposure. Maximize fire.
Failure is a great teacher. Push yourself in training until you fail. Then work on
your weaknesses.
Be intimately familiar with your trigger: slop, free travel, slack, sear wall, squeeze.
Jeff gave us all kinds of errors that might cause various windage and elevation
errors to help us analyze our students.
---
"Recent Research Studies" by Erick Gelhaus and John Hearne
Pracademic
Experience trumps skill.
Teach "stop shooting" as a skill.
Train on moving targets.
Artificially induced stress does not work to inoculate the student to real world stress.
Distress vs. Eustress
Proactive mindset keeps you ahead, as opposed to a reactive mindset.
All gains take place during sleep (high quality sleep).
Two Pillars Training (John Hearne)
Cougar Mountain Solutions (Erick Gelhaus)
---
"Principles of Effective Instruction" by John Farnam
Your two goals should be: die of old age and don't spend time in a penitentiary.
Don't be afraid to tell your students, all that stuff I taught you last year was wrong,
here is the correct / better / non-obsolete stuff.
[I hate going to Tac Con because when I get home, I have to revise my lesson plans.
Because I learn better ways to teach the stuff that is still correct. And I learn that what
I was teaching (which was best practices in the past) is no longer best practices. So
I have to change my curriculum. -- Jon Low]
"You decide when to carry. The bad guy decides when you use it."
-- Tom Givens
John told us of one of the deputies in his department. When asked how many
shot he fired, he responded, "I shot once, then moved and fired 3. So, I fired 4 rounds."
He had actually fired 48 rounds (including several reloads).
John told us of another police officer who when asked how many rounds he had
fired, responded, "I did a mag dump on him." Meaning that he had fired until slide lock.
He had actually fired 0 (zero) rounds.
The point is that under stress, you mind does not work correctly. So keep your
mouth shut. Because you don't know what happened. No matter what you think
you know.
---
"Under-Trained Concealed Carry Tactics" by Gabe White
Shot trajectory mitigation. Move laterally to avoid endangering the innocent bystanders
in the background behind the intended target, or move vertically by squatting, kneeling, etc.
Throw that object in your hand to gain time, layered on top of you moving (to the
enemy's outboard) to gain time, layered on top of verbal misdirection, might well be
enough to let you win.
Holster ready. Get you hand on your pistol in a proper grip. This will cut your time from
stimulus to first shot by half. Not a big deal if you have a sub-second draw to first shot.
But, a real big deal if you have a 3 second draw to first shot. Makes all the difference in
the world. You have the rest of your life to make that shot.
I told Gabe that I would steal all of his drills. He said great, that's what he teaches for.
Of course, I will give him credit in my lecture note handouts and when presenting the
lecture.
Random practice vs. block practice. Block practice is to learn or hone a particular
skill. Random practice is to integrate several skills into a fluid transition;
to use them together in a logical, tactically correct manner.
Practice your fence position. Be able to draw quickly and confidently from this position.
Fence and verbalize.
Your ready position should give you unobstructed view of the enemy's hands and waist.
Your ready position should not have your pistol pointing up in the air. It should be pointing
down in front of you. Your ready position should have your trigger finger in the register
position.
---
"Ballistics Lab" by Chuck Haggard
Chuck shot various rounds (including many of the student's rounds) through
16" blocks of Ballistic gelatin [donated by Lucky Gunner, Chris Baker]
(as opposed to Ordinance Gelatin, because OG melts, rots, and is hard to make),
with and without three layers of denim.
My Hornady Critical Duty in 45 ACP +P performed as advertised. 14" penetration
in both cases. Complete expansion in both cases. The red polymer cavity insert
was recovered in the case of 3 layers of denim. It did in fact prevent the denim from
clogging the cavity and squished to initiate expansion. I am happy!
---
"Perception Cognition Decision Cycle" by John Holschen
Unfortunately, the training equipment was not ready for prime time.
Still in beta testing.
Some of the people at Tac Con are there for bleeding edge (as opposed to cutting edge)
training technology, but some of the people are there for first class instruction.
This class was definitely bleeding edge. Demonstration of what could be, if the
equipment works properly.
Your trigger finger should only be in one of two places: at home (register position)
or at work (correctly placed on the trigger). It should only be on the trigger when the
sights are on the target and you've made the decision to fire. [This conflicts with other
instructors who teach to get the finger on the trigger as soon as possible and to
prep the trigger during follow through. Shooting prematurely isn't a problem in
competitions, but it's a real problem in combat, especially when the background and
foreground are awash with innocent bystanders. -- Jon Low]
---
I saw lots of YouTube.com celebrities at Tac Con 2024.
Extremely useful video.
"Ben Stoeger Full Class Practical Shooting Washington" by Ben Stoeger
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
When Ben says "practical shooting", he means competitive practical shooting sport,
not combat, not self-defense. Though of course, much is applicable.
I like his articulation of controlling recoil, not preventing movement of the pistol
on recoil. Just ensuring that the pistol comes back to the same position every time.
Just look at a spot, the gun will come back to the spot automatically. You don't have
to force the gun back to the spot. In fact, forcing the gun back to the spot is WRONG!
Some of his demonstrations are subtle. You have to observe very carefully to see
the difference. And of course, much of the difference is in his head, so you can't see
anything different. Hence, the need for his explanations, which are well articulated.
Practice should be frequent, but not long in duration.
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
"How to know if your dryfire is wrong" by Ben Stoeger
Hey, there are ladies who orgasm when doing yoga. Oh, ya, that's a thing.
I've never heard of guys achieving such during yoga. But, maybe dry practice.
I've heard of guys getting erections and ejaculating during combat. Ya, as
a matter of fact, that's a real thing. So, never let anyone tell you that any sort
of training or competition is anything like combat. I've never seen anyone
at a match urinate, defecate, or vomit on themselves. Though it is common
during combat.
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat
whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens
"How to Dry-Fire Your Gun Safely
Whether you call it "dry practice" or "dry-fire,"
dropping the hammer on an empty chamber has its own set of rules."
by Jim WIlson
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
Practice dry until you have muzzle discipline.
Practice both from a close contact position (bottom of grip pressed tight
against rib cage, top of pistol tilted away from your body to prevent the slide
from getting fouled by your clothing, elbow pulled back as far as possible)
and from a position where you are using the sights to aim.
If you fire from a close contact position one handed, you will probably be shooting
through your concealment garment. So, go by Goodwill and get a few disposable
concealment garments. Getting into the habit of clearing the concealment
off of your pistol is a bad training scar.
1) Drawing your pistol from concealment, support side hand only,
reaching around the back of your body (this is the preferred method because
it keeps the pistol away from the enemy and out of sight of the enemy).
And firing with support side hand only. Firing side arm may be disabled,
or holding a high value object (baby), or protecting your head, or controlled
by the enemy, or . . . Practice all cases. [Can't do this with appendix carry.]
2) Drawing your pistol from concealment, support side hand only,
reaching around the front of your body. And firing with support side hand only.
Firing side arm may be disabled, or holding a high value object (baby),
or protecting your head, or controlled by the enemy, or . . . Practice all cases.
3) Drawing your pistol from concealment, firing side hand only.
And firing with firing side hand only. Support side arm may be disabled, or
holding a high value object (baby), or protecting your head, or controlled by
the enemy, or . . . Practice all cases.
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Skills Check: Break Time
Speed up those splits."
by Jeff Gonzales
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Four Key Systematic Drills for Handgun Skill Developement" by Mike Seeklander
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
Table of contents:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes walking away.
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Home Carry
Wear A Gun In The Safety Of Your Own Home?
Here’s Why It’s A Good Idea."
by Massad Ayoob
Excerpt:
"The gun on at home is, . . . , simply a solid understanding of the time and space
continuum and how rapidly a home invasion can go down."
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Prepping vs Slapping" by Ben Stoeger
I don't agree. But what do I know?
If in close (holding the pistol in a close contact position, not using the sights),
I think you should press quickly.
If far enough away from the target to use the sights, I think you should take the
slack out of the trigger before starting the press to release the shot, striving for a
surprise trigger break.
Not because it works for me, but because I believe it will work for you.
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"Handgun - DRAW Speed!" by Mike Seeklander
So, how do we draw faster? And more importantly, with more consistency?
I will break down my thoughts on:
• Hand position and movement
• The three key index points
• Common errors shooters make when drawing
• How to practice your draw
---
Scooping draw vs. Indexing draw.
"Prepping" means taking the slack out of the trigger,
feeling the hard stop before sear movement.
As Mike says, the fast draw is useless if you take a long time to aim and fire.
I have found that at:
close contact - pistol indexed to your rib cage, no aiming, just pressing
at 3 yards - pistol pointed at target, kinesthetic, even if I can't see the pistol
at 5 yards - back plate of pistol [window of optic, even if you can't see the dot]
at 7 yards - sights visible, maybe front sight is enough [dot in window]
beyond 7 yards - sights aligned, front sight on target [dot on target]
for me to hit a human sized torso without stress.
---
Tuning yourself to listen for the beep to initiate action is very different from
internally initiated action. The instructor / commander giving you any type of go
signal is creating the same sort of training scar. In self-defense, you must initiate
action; hopefully pre-emptive action, so you don't get injured.
---
As Mike Seeklander says, grip first, then press.
[Otherwise, you're going to be squeezing the grip tighter while you press the trigger,
which will cause a bad shot. -- Jon Low]
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the direct address
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the direct link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
If you carry a pistol for self-defense, but you don't carry any self-defense insurance,
something is wrong with your thinking. Even if you are rich, and can afford the bail
money, attorneys, private investigators, expert witnesses, subject matter experts,
assisting attorneys, etc. you still need the correct lead attorney, which the insurance
company will find for you. Ineffective counsel is a real problem.
If you think the guy who has been taking care of your speeding tickets is appropriate
for defending you against charges of murder, I would suggest you might be wrong.
He might be useful for a referral to an appropriate attorney.
A real self-defense case is extremely rare. The vast majority of self-defense claims
are false. The criminal is just claiming self-defense as a legal strategy. So the number
of experienced defense attorneys who are competent to handle your case is extremely
small. Which makes such attorneys hard to find. Andrew Branca for instance will only
take the cases of members of his program. Just about all attorneys competent to handle
your case will only represent you if you have the attorney on retainer or your insurance
company has the attorney on retainer. Or, you've got the cash to pay the $500,000 up
front in full. Zimmerman's legal expenses ran over a million dollars. No attorney in
his right mind is going to take your case without payment in full up front. Because
there is no incentive for the client to pay afterwards, and huge incentive not to pay.
As with any insurance company, there is huge financial incentive for them not to pay.
So do your due diligence. Your insurance company must have a stellar record of paying
up front in full. And no record of refusing to pay, for any reason. There are many
insurance companies whose policy is to refuse payment until sued, and only pay if
they lose the law suit. The insurance company is only obligated to pay to the limit
of coverage. And because they have attorneys on staff (not just on retainer), they are
happy to fight your claim. They usually win. Which means they don't pay anything.
It's easy for them. Read the fine print on your insurance policy. See all the exemptions
and exclusions?
But there are good insurance companies. Nothing is as good as a personal
recommendation.
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
The Real "Lord of the Flies" by Docent
Cited article,
"The real Lord of the Flies:
what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months"
by Rutger Bregman
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
John Farnam's Quips
Practical Eschatoloty
The Tactical Professor
"Weekend Knowledge Dump" by Greg Ellifritz
Rangemaster newsletter
The Reload
Sign up for their newsletter.
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Legal -----
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
Law of Self Defense ADVANCED Live Online Course, $149
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9AM-4PM Mountain time
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay for shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
"We DEFUNDED The ATF!" by Gun Owners of America
Excerpt:
We helped pass a $122,000,000 cut to the ATF's budget!
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
"Self-Defense and the Law: 6 Cases that Illustrate Liabilities of a Hair Trigger"
by Massad Ayoob
You can't claim self-defense if the shooting was an accident. So never say anything.
In particular, NEVER say, "it was an accident", "the gun just went off", "I didn't mean
to shoot him", etc.
Self-defense is ALWAYS an intentional act.
Keep your mouth shut! You ain't that smart. You ain't that cool. You won't be
able to control what you're saying. If you don't believe me, you've never been in
such a high stress situation. It's a different reality.
Mas didn't make it to Tac Con this year. So sad.
"The 5 Elements of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca (free of charge)
Because I was born and raised in Hawaii. OOH RAH!!
"Hawaii Concedes CCW Fight in Blake Day vs Hawaii"
by F Riehl, Editor in Chief
"There is no such thing, constitutionally, as 'reasonable' gun control."
by John Harris
Excerpt:
Paul Harvey on Guns
Are you considering backing gun control laws? Do you think that because you may
not own a gun, the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment don’t matter?
CONSIDER;
In 1929 the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953,
approximately 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
and exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915-1917, 1.5 million Armenians,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews,
gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally ill, and others, who were unable to defend
themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political
dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million
“educated” people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
That places total victims who lost their lives because of gun control at approximately
56 million in the last century. Since we should learn from the mistakes of history,
the next time someone talks in favor of gun control, find out which group of citizens
they wish to have exterminated.
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced to surrender
640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed, a program costing the government more
than $500 million dollars. The results Australia-wide;
Homicides are up 3.2%
Assaults are up 8 %
Armed robberies are up 44%
In that countries’ state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300%.
Over the previous 25 years, figures show a steady decrease in armed robberies and
Australian politicians are on the spot and at a loss to explain how no improvement
in “safety” has been observed after such monumental effort and expense was
successfully expended in “ridding society of guns.” It’s time to state it plainly;
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws
only affect the law-abiding citizens.
Take action before it’s too late, write or call your delegation.
"Biden Moves to Expand Licensing Requirements for Used Gun Sellers"
by Stephen Gutowski
"Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Requiring Gun Safety Lessons in Schools"
by Jake Fogleman
Dear Jonathan:
We have some new research that I think is really important. While the American news
media has been working overtime to convince people that violent crime is dramatically
falling and castigating Americans for falsely believing that crime is increasing, our new
research shows that Americans are right and the media is wrong. Arrest rates have
plummeted since COVID, with only 20% of reported violent crimes and 4.5% of reported
property crimes in cities with over one million people in 2022 resulting in an arrest.
As arrest rates have fallen, people have been less likely to report crimes to police, and
criminals have been committing more crime as they have little to worry about, so reported
crimes have fallen even as total crimes have risen. To show how law enforcement is
collapsing, in these large cities, only 8% of all violent crimes and 1.4% of property crimes
result in an arrest. I hope you will look at this, and that it gets a lot of attention, so please
share it.
Our other research shows that over 92% of violent crimes over the last eight years
have not involved guns. It doesn't exactly fit the frequent claim that violent crime is a
gun problem.
-- John R. Lott, Jr.
President
Crime Prevention Research Center
P.O. Box 2293, 1100 W Kent Ave, Missoula, MT 59801
(484) 802-5373
" New ATF Rule Can Send you to PRISON for Selling “A Single Gun” "
by Facts Matter with Roman Balmakov
8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
----- Instruction -----
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"Don’t let that instructor title go to your head" by Todd Fletcher
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"Modeling behavior . . . "
". . . so instructors should take great care in how we speak, act and treat others
in their company."
"Teach them diligently . . . "
-- Deuteronomy 6:7
“This ain’t free, ya know.” by Adam Winch
"Treating our material as trademarked
that ONLY paying attendees can see a little bit of
is both pretentious and indicative of other deeper issues.
Just be respectful and kind out there, to strangers, to our students, and to each other.
We instructors owe it to our profession to portray the positive side of both our craft
and of humanity."
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"Instructor gig still isn't easy" by Ben Stoeger
Excerpt:
"What I like about what I do is that it self selects people who are motivated and interested."
Ben says, you must have the experience. You have to have walked the road that the
student wants to walk.
Do you want repeat customers? Or, is your expectation that you will never see the student
again? If you only teach an entry level class, it is reasonable to expect to never see the
student again, because you are encouraging the student to seek further instruction elsewhere,
with other instructors. Nothing wrong with that.
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
----- Students -----
"Dealing With “That Guy” And Thoughts On Celebrity Instructors With Dave Spaulding"
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
"Why Is Police Training So Awful?" by Dustin P. Salomon
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
The links are embedded in the text, but very difficult to distinguish from the text.
Scan your cursor over the text to find the links.
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Fatal PDP Flaw Revealed by Red Shirt" by Ben Stoeger and Chris Palmer
This is important!
I had a chance to play with this pistol at Music City Pawn down the street from my
home. I can attest to the truth / correctness of this analysis.
What a cool idea on how to paint your sights to get more information from them.
"Improving Snub Sight Visibility, Again" by Claude Werner
"RDOs" by John Farnam
Losing the target against the background.
Learn from the experience of others.
"Purse Carry" by Greg Ellifritz
If you must carry in a purse, follow the given instructions.
You'll be avoiding lots of negative outcomes.
Having broken two sight drifters while trying to move a Springfield Armory XD
rear sight, I really appreciate this.
"Sight Punch Vs. Sight Drifter" by Roy Huntington
"Confessions Of A New Red-Dot Shooter" by P.E. Fitch
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
". . . I’ve concluded that dots aren’t really that complicated."
". . . the lack of proper mounting protocol is actually one of the largest
frustrations new shooters face with dots, especially in terms of reliability
and confidence in their gear."
[I cannot imagine how Fitch uses iron sights with a target focus. I find that only
focusing on the front sight works with iron sights. Decades of coaching has taught
me that athletes are often doing things other than what they think they are doing.
It's really easy to deceive yourself. Which is a feature. The human mind (not brain)
is a complicated piece of extremely high tech.
-- Jon Low]
"Our sensory and information processing systems are downright spooky sometimes."
-- Dustin P. Salomon
"Skill Set: Optics, Night Vision, Thermal Imagers for Personal Protection?"
by Rich Grassi
Excerpt:
"The question is when does the gear outrun the use?"
". . . please, don’t search with a gun-mounted optic."
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
OfficerStore.com grading system.
Weapon Grade
Grade 1: The gun is in very good to excellent condition.
Grade 2: The gun is in good to very good condition.
Grade 3: The gun is in fair to good condition.
I have been pleased with their products and customer service.
I always buy used law enforcement trade ins. Just as I always buy
used cars. Function is all that matters.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
Enantiomorph / enantiomer / optical isomer.
Remember the "Mirror Visitor" by Christelle Dabos. Translated by Hildegarde Serle.
"La Passe-miroir" by Christelle Dabos
In French, but you can read French. It's not that hard.
"Le Passe-muraille" by Marcel Aymé
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
covered by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems.
"Strange Pattern in symmetries - Bott periodicity" by Loop
Primary source paper,
"The Stable Homotopy of the Classical Groups" by Raoul Bott
[That's why you must have a library card. They are free at your local library.
Or, you could teach a class at your local college to get on the faculty as an
adjunct to get a library card. Buying reprints can get expensive.]
Commentaries,
"The Bott Periodicity Theorem" by Jonathan Block
"Bott periodicity" by Caleb Ji
"Bott Periodicity" by Peter May
[Ya, I know they are hard to read, as they don't define all of the symbols that they
use. Such people write to impress their peers or advisors, not to educate the
layman. Not even to educate the specialist in their field.]
---
O(n) is the orthogonal group in n dimensions.
SO(n) is the special orthogonal group in n dimensions.
---
The homomorphisms that allow for operating on "encrypted" data.
Hey remember,
Data in time domain → Fourier Transform → Data in frequency domain →
Convolution → Inverse Fourier Transform → Resultant data in time domain ?
(You can change 'time' to 'space'.)
Well, it's the same thing. (You can change "Fourier Transform" to other interesting
transforms, too.) As Neil Frazer says, nothing can change the frequency of a signal.
(If you could, you'd have causality problems. Which we might have. I've been
noticing glitches in the Matrix. Or maybe it's my dementia.)
[Wow, an entire YouTube.com channel just to give me something to cite.
How nice of Loop.]
---
Here is another homomorphism.
"0^0: A 200+ Years Debate" by Ron & Math
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"Conway's IRIS and the windscreen wiper theorem" by Mathologer
The group of points on a circle is interesting. But what of the group of points
on a constant diameter closed curve associated with that circle in the way
Prof. Burkard constructs? Do you see the homomorphism between the circle and
the curve of constant diameter?
"Curves of Constant Diameter" by M. J. Kearsley
Constant diameter objects exist in 3-dimensions. Does that help us?
Notice that we are connecting circular arcs in Burkard's video, so higher derivatives
are not smooth. Can you imagine curves that are not composed of circular arcs. Oh yes,
they exist. You don't need to pivot about points. Such pivoting is a crude way to
approximate spirals. But what happens in real spirals? Logarithmic spirals in particular.
---
"How to Find the Partner Gear For Any Shaped Given Gear" by Morphocular
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have
perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must
believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing
must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"Lie algebra: the math of rotations" by Mathemaniac
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
***** MOS 2651 *****
Rest In Peace, Ross Anderson.
"Security Engineering — Third Edition" by Ross Anderson
The 15 instructional videos, the 1st edition, and the 2nd edition are free online.
"new linux exploit is absolutely insane" by Low Level Learning
Note links listed below video.
Primary sources,
"Flipping Pages:
An analysis of a new Linux vulnerability in nf_tables and hardened exploitation techniques
A tale about exploiting KernelCTF Mitigation, Debian, and Ubuntu instances with a
double-free in nf_tables in the Linux kernel, using novel techniques like
Dirty Pagedirectory. All without even having to recompile the exploit for
different kernel targets once.
by Notelwyn Lau
"Universal local privilege escalation Proof-of-Concept exploit for CVE-2024-1086,
working on most Linux kernels between v5.14 and v6.6, including Debian, Ubuntu,
and KernelCTF. The success rate is 99.4% in KernelCTF images."
by Notelwyn Lau
From an email from Layer 8 Security,
Critical Security Advisory |
XZ Utils Data Compression Library Reported To Have Embedded Malicious Code
Overview --
Our team has been monitoring recent news regarding malicious code found in a
XZ Utils Data Compression Library commonly used in Linux distributions.
XZ serves as a data compression format aiding in in the compression of large files
for easier sharing by companies.
On Friday March 29, 2024, Red Hat released a critical alert warning users of
malicious code in specific versions of XZ Utils—versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1.
Impact --
According to Red Hat, the malicious code could, "under the right circumstances,"
allow remote, malicious actors to break SSHD authentication and gain unauthorized
access to the entire impact system.
Per the Red Hat Advisory, “The malicious injection present in the XZ
versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 libraries is obfuscated and only included in full in the
download package - the Git distribution lacks the M4 macro that triggers the
build of the malicious code."
"The second-stage artifacts are present in the Git repository for the injection
during the build time, in case the malicious M4 macro is present. The resulting
malicious build interferes with authentication in sshd via systemd. SSH is a
commonly used protocol for connecting remotely to systems, and sshd is the
service that allows access.”
Recommendation --
Layer 8 Security recommends the following CISA's guidance to downgrade
XZ Utils to an uncompromised version, such as XZ Utils 5.4.6 Stable.
Administrators should check the version they are using before downgrading.
If you are using 5.4.6 Stable or earlier, then no action is likely required.
If you have any questions or concerns relating to this Critical Security Advisory
or believe your organization may have been impacted, please contact
Layer 8 Security at
Respectfully,
The Layer 8 Security Team
References/Additional Links
CISA Notice re: XZ Utils
Red Hat Advisory
CVE-2024-3094
"The Redneck Radio Solution to a High Tech Problem" by Grunt Proof
Always be aware of traffic analysis. There might be someone smart on the other side.
"AES GCM (Advanced Encryption Standard in Galois Counter Mode)" by Computerphile
An Englishman butchering the French name Galois.
"41 Radio Frequencies for Preppers to Memorize" by Tom Marlowe
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"The SHOCKING Method That FBI Uses To Track Your Every Move"
by Roman Balmakov
Stingray. 4th Amendment. Presidential Policy Directive 28.
Primary source documents cited below the video.
Do you all follow the Linked In group, Marine Corps Cyberspace Warfare Group?
"Crypto-Gram April 15, 2024" by Bruce Schneier
"Declassified NSA Newsletters" by Bruce Schneier
“Tales of the Krypt,” from 1994 to 2003
The redactions are huge and irritating.
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** MOS 0231 ***** ***** *****
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
The art and practice of Intelligence is an arm protected by the 2nd Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. Never let anyone infringe upon your God given right
to keep and bear intelligence. (The enemy will try to dumb you down. Resist!)
"The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mastery" by James Altucher
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"The typical answer is: “I study four hours a day”.
Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion, said the maximum he would
study chess is three hours a day. That’s a guy who was a world champion.
Then, when he wasn’t in tournaments, he’d spend the rest of the day exercising,
studying languages, doing other things to balance out his life."
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, get a sword
and whoever does not have a sword
should sell his coat and buy a sword.”
– Book of Luke 22:36, New Life Version of the Bible
You may have heard of Auto-Tune,
Have you heard of Melodyne?
Do you remember Taylor Swift singing and playing for tips in the hotel lobbies?
Have you heard her recently? A miracle? No, technology.
Since 2010, such software has been used on every piece of music
commercially produced.
When I worked on JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) the bit rate
had to be high enough to allow the persons, pilots in particular, to recognize
the voices of the others in their unit. Voice recognition was their
authentication process. Bit rate doesn't matter anymore. With modern
software, an audio engineer can make you believe that that voice on the
radio is your Commanding Officer. The audio engineer can beat the
voice recognition software used in many high end security systems.
Get a few minutes of real audio to work from and you can make the
person say anything you want.
I spent the last few hours watching a young lady do it. She is going to
graduate in a few weeks with a degree in audio engineering. Ostensibly
to work on music and video productions. But the enemy will pay her
three times what she would be making in the U.S.
---
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $171,500 and
as low as $29,500, the majority of Audio Engineer salaries currently range
between $50,000 (25th percentile) to $113,000 (75th percentile) with top
earners (90th percentile) making $151,500 annually across the United States.
---
And to think, I thought it was amazing that we were learning how
to make atomic bombs in nuclear physics class when I was in college.
Bombs are grossly indiscriminate. Information is precise. And it would
be easy to impersonate the POTUS.
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"The Shocking TRUTH Is Coming Out About Russia "ISIS" Terror Attack" by Russell Brand
What do you see? Can't see it? Take a step back. Now, what do you see?
"Kratos Demonstrates XQ-58A Electronic Warfare Capabilities for United States Marine Corps"
by (no author cited)
Get it?
"F-15 Electronic Warfare System Completes Operational Testing, IOC Looms"
by John A. Tirpak
"cognitive EW solutions", what a fascinating euphemism. Or, is it a euphuism.
"Striking sonar images show collapsed Baltimore bridge underwater
The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to reopen the shipping channel by May."
by Luis Martinez
Video byJulian Kim and Emmanuelle Saliba
Long term effects? Short term effects?
"🔷 Death Spiral" by The Merge
U.S. Air Force in decline.
Operational Security.
"China’s New ‘Ethnic Specific’ Bio-Weapons Target Specific Races Based on DNA"
by Roman Balmakov
"The Merge"
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** After Thoughts ***** ***** *****
Rest In Peace, Ross Anderson.
Press release --
"Supercharging Fuel Cells with Caffeine" by
Paper --
"Enhanced oxygen reduction reaction on caffeine-modified platinum single-crystal electrodes"
by Nagahiro Hoshi, Masashi Nakamura, Ryuta Kubo, and Rui Suzuki
Willing to share their data. That's a green flag.
Hat tip to Sabine Hossenfelder.
"The Media BLACKOUT that Fueled Industrial-Scale Forced Organ Harvesting"
by Roman Balmakov
This is why you should never buy anything from China. You effectively vote with
your dollars. Don't vote for horror.
My friend Lauren Freebird (stage name) sang with Blackwater Down last night,
3/29/2024 at the Cobra in Nashville, TN. No libretto, so I couldn't understand
the lyrics.
Interesting venue (dive), no seating, everyone stands. The tickets were $10.
Eventually they will be $1000. I can't afford such. So, I only attend the up and
coming.
This morning, a friend at work told me that the Cobra was a ruffie (Rohypnol) hot spot.
Wish I had known before I went.
Santa Rosa, Florida.
You're welcome to shoot home invaders.
We'll give you a class so you shoot better.
Save the tax payer some money.
The Giga Parts Store.
"You Won't Believe What All They Offer" by KM4ACK
In Huntsville, Alabama. What a great place!
What a great place to take the kids.
I-65 (heading south into Alabama), left on Route 72,
on your right at the intersection with Route 255.
Why capitalism works.
"Neural Networks" by 3 Blue 1 Brown
---
"But what is a GPT? Visual intro to Transformers | Deep learning, chapter 5"
by 3 Blue 1 Brown
---
I first learned neural nets in college at the University of Hawaii (~1985 A.D.).
I first practiced the art while working for ORINCON (before it was acquired
by Lockheed Martin) in Hawaii (~1987 A.D.) for the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor.
We were distinguishing between biologic sonar (whales) and Soviet sonar
(imitation whale sounds). Even though the Soviet subs would record and play
back whale sounds, the neural nets were still able to distinguish to a 95%
confidence level in the lab, a little lower in the field. Lot of noise in the SOFAR
channel. A lot of modification to make the biologic sonar work for Soviet
purposes.
The trick is getting good data to train on. The feedback algorithms are well
known. Hence, towed arrays of hydrophones → time series data → digital signals
processing → Discrete Fourier Transform → frequency domain data →
analysis by neural nets. A ship can tow an array of hydrophones, but a ship can
also toss sonobuoys in the water (they're cheap) and the Navy can have every
ship on the ocean tossing sonobuoys for them, especially university research vessels.
The University of Hawaii had three such vessels. I only worked on the Manoa Wave.
We instrumented Loihi (an underwater volcano, next in the Hawaiian Island chain,
due to hit the ocean surface in 33,000 years) by dropping magnetometers, gravitometers,
and seismometers. We picked up a lot more than the volcanic activity.
"Dominion Voting Machine Fraud?" by WolvesAndFinance
Why would Fox News present no evidence that what the people that Fox reported
said was in fact true? Why would Fox ask for a summary judgment that they should
have known would be decided against Fox? Very fishy.
Why did you change?
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’
unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful,
you’re harmless. Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
