Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.
Criminal Clues: Tips to Avoid Appearing Like a Soft Target
It’s important to understand the criminal victim selection criteria and strive to reduce those “tells” in your daily life.
Dry Practice Safety Protocol | Swift/Silent/Deadly
Dry practice is one of the more dangerous things we do with firearms. Here are some tips to make it more safe.
Two Centuries of Duty Pistols: Guns of the NYPD
A fun look at historical NYPD pistols.
Handguns for Bear Defense: Will Any of Them Stop the Threat?
In last week’s dump, I posted an article discussing using AR-15 rifles for bear defense. Are handguns better or worse?
The Twin Falls In-N-Out Incident
John compiled some of video footage (from different angles) of the recent Idaho active killer attacks. Lots of stuff in this video that you likely haven’t seen in your mainstream news feeds. You may also enjoy Running to the Guns.
Predictable Performance: What 100 Cold Runs Revealed
Jeff conducts a very valuable shooting experiment. You should also read his article titled
Practical Pistol Standard Course of Fire
A shooting drill to try on your next range trip.
Threadlocker How-To // The Glue That Binds Us
Threadlocker facts.
Travel Security Starts with You—The Armed Traveler
Michael Janich has some good information on low key travel weapons.
Magazine Spring Myths – GUNS Magazine
Dispelling some magazine myths.
When the World Breaks
“Understanding how we react during all phases of a disaster is not only intellectually compelling, but crucial for how we approach public safety and disaster preparedness. As natural hazards increase in frequency and urban environments grow denser, the psychology of disaster has become a field of growing importance. Researchers now look closely at the behavioral patterns that arise when danger erupts because these patterns can determine who reacts quickly, who hesitates, and who survives.”
Appendix Carry | Carrying Comfortably While Seated
A brilliant overview of some of the problems with AIWB carry in the seated position and how to mitigate them.
The Art of One-Handed Shooting – The Armory Life
Try some of these modifications during your one handed shooting practice. If the changes make you shoot better, adopt them. If not, discard them.
Trained vs. Untrained: The Physiology of Self-Defense
How trained versus untrained people experience life threatening stress. And while we are on the topic, it’s important to realize 3rd hand knowledge in tactics is not real.
Missing school shootings in the FBI’s 2025 Active Shooter report
“The most likely reason to underreport active shooters is to show a declining trend.”
Is purse carry worst carry?
If you don’t want to carry in a purse, take a look at Best Concealed Carry Fanny Packs & Belt Bags for Women.
Breaking News: Silencer Shop CEO Explains NFA Injunction
There are lots questions about last week’s court decision involving suppressors and short-barreled long guns. In this video, the CEO of Silencer Shop discusses the details. Until this case law is implemented nationwide, please be careful purchasing these items. And if you are going to build a can yourself, read How to avoid ATF’s homemade silencer entanglements.
Why Reality Is Never Enough
“But the market does not respond to predictability. It responds to novelty. It rewards you when you show up in a way it has not already been seen a thousand times.
AND…
When you’re using the same AI models everyone else is using to do your writing / editing / thought-partnering / thinking / marketing strategy / vibecoded webdesign …
Yeah, YOUR stuff is going to look and sound like everybody else’s, and it sure as heck ain’t gonna get the job done.”
Shooting Off the Ruck
I claim no advanced sniper knowledge beyond attending a couple police SWAT sniper schools and getting certified to teach the topic to cops in my former state. I was my agency’s sniper for a long time, but seldom deployed. For what it’s worth, I always shoot better off a ruck than off a bipod.
Your brain was hardwired to copy
Read this and place it in the context of doing skill demonstrations in training.
Jeff Cooper’s Color Code: You’re Doing it Wrong
“Col. Jeff Cooper’s Color Code of Awareness (the “Cooper Color Code”) — you’re very likely doing it wrong. There’s a possibility this article will slaughter a few sacred cows. It is certain to cause some ass pain. That’s okay, though. What we want to do, more than anything else is to get engaged professionals talking whether they agree with the author’s contention or not. Know why? Because discussion, disagreement, and civil discourse are where learning occurs.”
You might also find How to Read a Room Before You Sit Down – Option Gray informative.
50 or 100 Yards? The Zero Distance Debate, Settled – Tactical Fitness Austin
I can make a good argument for either distance. For me, my red dot sighted rifles have 50 yard zeros. My rifles with magnified optics get 100 yards zeros.
Bullet Construction Matters
Please don’t use these lightweight varmint bullets for self protection. I personally investigated a shooting at my former agency where a varmint round didn’t penetrate a car windshield from about 20 feet away. I also have a police officer friend who shot a man with one of these rounds. The guy he shot ambushed him, firing a few missed shots. Upon receiving return fire from my friend, the suspect jumped up and started running toward more substantial cover. The officer hit the guy in the butt with a varmint round as he was running away.
The suspect fell. The bullet liquefied a section of the glute muscle, but did no serious damage. The suspect was out of the hospital with a bandage in two hours.
Quote to Ponder:
“Assume life will be really tough, and then ask if you can handle it. If the answer is yes, you’ve won….
Life is very likely to provide terrible blows, unfair blows. Some people recover, and others don’t. And there I think the attitude of Epictetus helps guide one to the right reaction. He thought that every mischance in life, however bad, created an opportunity to behave well. He believed every mischance provided an opportunity to learn something useful. And one’s duty was not to become immersed in self-pity, but to utilize each terrible blow in a constructive fashion.”
– Charlie Munger
Some of the above links are affiliate links. I earn a small percentage of the sale price from qualifying purchases.
