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If you tuned into Training Talk last night at 6:pm and found nothing happening, I must apologize — we ran late!
Normally I start on the dot at 6:pm, but last night we had some technical problems that took us some time to resolve. We finally did, though, and started the show at about 6:16.
And what a show it was! Attorney Jim Fleming did ...
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A couple of weeks ago I talked about how the “I won’t go anywhere I can’t carry a gun” attitude affects the lives of those who pretend to put it into practice.
The people who say things like that also have a tendency to insist that everyone can carry all the time, and fail to understand that some people really, truly can’t. It just isn’t ...
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Is it Wednesday already? Wow, how time flies when you’re busy collecting great self defense and preparedness articles to share!
Something that the gun world often gets wrong is the difference between training and practice — and it’s not just a semantic argument, either. Training is where you learn new things, new skills; practice is where you rehearse and replay ...
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Today I’m proud to announce my latest book, one which I’ve wanted to write for some time — Protecting Your Homestead: Using a Rifle to Defend Life on Your Property!
This book is an outgrowth of my Perimeter Defense Rifle course, which looks at using a rifle in defense of life beyond what is normally considered handgun range. ...
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It’s Wednesday, and this week I have a particularly good selection of articles for your perusal!
Tomorrow evening, April 5, be sure to tune into Training Talk on Personal Defense Network. My special guest expert this week is Joshua Gideon, and we’ll be talking about active killers: what can we do to stop them? We’ll be looking at the ...
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Another Wednesday, another collection of great articles to inform and educate about self defense, family protection, and preparedness!
There was a time when I was a die-hard GPS hater, but as the technology improved (and I learned how to use it most effectively) I changed my mind. There are times when compass triangulation doesn’t work, and times when ...
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For at least a decade I’ve subscribed to the idea that a teacher needs to be open to change, and that in fact one of the best ways to gauge the quality of a teacher is to ask what he (or she) has changed their mind about. If they’re learning, if they’re growing, they’ll experience evolution in ...
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Last week I talked about the mistaken notion of seeing self defense and personal safety as a battle to be won, because such a mindset can lead to bad decisions. Today let’s look at a related topic: your view of the place for your concealed carry gun might be affected by some mistaken training notions.
Shortly after I wrote last week’s article someone sent me ...
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It’s almost the Ides Of March, but I’m not going to stab you in the back — instead, my new camel caravan has brought information to keep you from being stabbed by the sharp knives of misfortune of all kinds!
Preparedness is more than just guns; I advocate an approach that recognizes the wide range of hazards you face, and ...
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In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a fan of macho nonsense. And I don’t particularly care where it comes from.
So much of the defensive training world is built around the lifestyles of people who spend all their free time on the range or at the gym; some shooting instructors quite literally live at the shooting range. Surprisingly few of them have ever held ...
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It’s the last day of February and I’m finishing out the month with more great resources for your health and safety!
It’s probably fitting that, in some circles, I’m known as “The Revolver Guy”. I’ve written what have been called the “standard works” on the topic, teach one of the few national revolver-centric courses ...
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Ever heard of “defensive gun use porn”? It’s a term to describe a genre of stories where good guys use their guns to beat the bad guys. Such stories are a staple of many firearms-centric blogs and news sites, and they serve not so much an educational role as they do a cheerleading one.
You’ll notice you don’t see a lot of that ...
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If it’s Wednesday, this must be the awesome collection of personal safety and preparedness articles known as the Hump Day Reading List. What do you know — correct on both counts!
Those who’ve read Prepping For Life know that I make incessant fun of the “two is one and one is none” philosophy; it’s usually nothing more than a ...
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A few quick notes of interest:
— On last Thursday’s Training Talk, martial arts and combatives expert Cecil Burch and I talked about defensive use of the knife. Cecil may be known as “the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Guy”, but he also has multi-decade experience in several edged weapon disciplines. He’s taken that knowledge and applied it to plausible self defense for the rest of ...
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are some Hump Day articles to help keep you and your Valentine safe, secure, and happy!
It’s not exactly a secret that my concealed carry autoloading pistol-of-choice is a Steyr S9-A1. I started carrying its predecessor, the S9, more than a decade and a half ago; it’s reasonable to say that between the two ...
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What’s great about Wednesday, you ask? Why, the great articles on self defense and preparedness that I have for you, of course!
Man sees teenager rifling through his car and goes out with his gun to confront said teenager. He decides to hold the teenager at gunpoint while they wait for the cops to arrive, and when the ...
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A popular concept taught in many defensive shooting courses (including mine) is movement off the line of attack. It’s variously referred to as “getting off the X” or “lateral movement”, and probably some other terms I’m not remembering, but the concept is pretty consistent: make it harder for the bad guy to hurt you by getting out of his way.
It’s Wednesday again, and here are more great self defense, travel safety, and preparedness articles for you to peruse while you wait for Friday to arrive!
Probably not, as John Farnam explains. I’ll deviate from his recommendations just a bit, though, and suggest that having fewer but higher quality lights is really the way ...
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If you have a concealed carry firearm, and you use that firearm against another person, the chances of the police seizing that gun for evidence are very high. If your attacker is injured or dies, it’s a certainty that your gun will end up in the evidence locker.
Once in evidence, your gun will not be returned to you until after all legal proceedings are ...
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While everyone else is at SHOT Show this week, I’m hard at work bringing you great self defense and preparedness information!
This is a pretty good article that looks at some of the reasons defensive shooting instruction often doesn’t deliver what it promises (or is expected) to deliver. I’m in particular agreement with #3.
In both the self defense and prepping communities, people talk about preparing — training and equipping — for “the worst case scenario”. “We train for the worst case”, schools brag (and their students claim).
What, actually, is the worst case?
If you were to take a little time (or perhaps watch an apocalyptic movie or two) I’m sure you could imagine an absolute ...
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If you saw this announcement earlier, we’ve changed the date to take advantage of the low airfares before Spring Break.
When we checked airline tickets, we discovered that in the week before our original dates the prices dropped by more than half (in many cases)! If you were holding off because of travel costs, delay no longer and get ready to join my in ...
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The first Training Talk episode of 2018 was like throwing a lit match into a dynamite factory: Should you use lethal force to protect your property?
My special guest Aaron Israel of Fundamental Defense and I discussed a Christmas Eve incident where a man shot and killed his 22-year-old son, mistakenly believing that he was a car thief stealing the man’s pickup.
It was ...
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Christmas is coming, and I’m bringing lots of joy in the form of personal safety and preparedness information!
Most of these self defense myths have disappeared from the mainstream, but they seem to crop up whenever ill-informed relatives gather for a holiday meal. Jim Wilson explains three old saws that your Uncle might bring up over the mashed potatoes, and ...
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November is winding down, but the great information in the Hump Day Reading List never ends!
On Monday I said I was looking to teach in more parts of the country during 2018, and invited you to host one of my classes. I’m sure more than a few people wondered just what that entails and how to ...
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With the recent attack on a church in Texas, in which 26 people were killed and dozens injured, many people are looking for ways to prevent or respond to such attacks. And there are others ready to prey on that need with bad or incomplete information. Everyone, it seems, is suddenly a “Church Security Consultant”.
As a result you can find lots of misguided articles and ...
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Any preparations you’ve made for your safety and protection — whether physical skills, gear and equipment, or storage commodities — need to be maintained to be useful. There is a cost to maintenance, and it’s one we often ignore in our zeal to always acquire more.
That cost may affect your ability to respond efficiently ...
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I didn’t intend for this to be Revolver Week, but I did find several good revolver-related items — plus information on surviving wildfires, con men, shooting out of fear, why some people put off training, and more!
This is the first of two articles I’m sharing about lessons learned from the recent wildfires in California. These fires, pushed along ...
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More great articles to help you and your family stay safe and sound!
…but do you know how to use it? Caleb Causey from Lone Star Medics shows you the basics of applying a tourniquet properly.
…but have you practiced applying it to yourself under a realistic scenario? Caleb’s back, this time with ...
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Ever heard the old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? It should be engraved on concealed carry licenses all across the country.
You’re always better off taking small precautions (regular immunizations, checkups, and eating properly) to prevent getting sick than you are spending lots of money trying to get well after the fact.
In self defense terms, it means that ...
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