Weekend Reading

 Jon Low has a new Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter up at his site, now including a few memes. One of the important points he makes, both in his comments and articles he cites, is that the best way to avoid being a victim of a violent crime is to not look like a victim. A couple points in this regard, he quotes or summarizes others as follows:

      Tuck your chin and pull your head back.  Don't slouch.  Head jutting forward is bad posture, putting stress on your neck, and bad body language, making your look like a good victim. 

Jon went to the 2024 Guardian Conference and has notes and tips from the several classes he took. For instance, and in the same vein as the point above about not looking like a victim:

 

     Stranger assaults usually occur in transitional spaces.  Violent Criminal Actors (VCA) do not chase their prey.  They sit and wait for victims.  Just as the lions sit and wait at the watering holes for the slow, lame, old, and disabled animals.  Don't limp.  Where a brace.  Do whatever you have to do to avoid the appearance of limping.  William Aprill interviewed such a VCA.  The VCA told Dr. Aprill that he looked for shoes with Velcro straps, indicative of persons who cannot tie shoe laces.  And targeted those persons.  Don't wear shoes with Velcro straps.  If you look like food, you will be eaten. 

 

And some good advice he picked up about running a weapon mounted light on your handgun:

     Don't run your weapon mounted light with your trigger finger.  Lots of documented cases where the police officer fired the pistol when they meant to turn the weapon mounted light on or off.  Technical term "task saturation confusion".  Always operate the WML with your support side thumb.  When holding a pistol, the only task your trigger finger does is press the trigger to fire. 

 

And be sure to check out his notes from the "Sniper Pistol - Extreme Precision Handgun for the Guardian Citizen" class from Kaery Dudenhofer, particularly on using a mantra when working on the surprise trigger break. And he has notes from several other classes as well, all with good tips.

 

    In addition to the above, he has lots of other links and information, including sharing an email from Jeff Gonzales on a training regimen for rifles which is fairly detailed. He also spends some time looking at some current event items, including why Hong Kong has become a nexus for the international arms trade.  So be sure to read the whole thing.

    And, as always, Greg Ellifritz has posted a new Weekend Knowledge Dump. A few notable links:

• A collection of several links to issues that come up in the aftermath of a natural disaster like Hurricane Helene.
• For the tactical minded, some tips for using a rifle around an automobile. 
• A video on developing verbal agility.
• A link to the October Rangemaster Newsletter, including a glossary of terms used in the firearms training community.
• A link to a Suited Shootist video on the best shirt patterns for concealed carry.

Be sure to check it out.