Weekend Reading

The weekend is almost over and I'm just getting to this. Geez! 

First up is Greg Elifritz's Weekend Knowledge Dump at Active Response Training. He has links to quiet a few articles this week, including links to articles on: tips for calling 911 after a defensive shooting; a list of things that give away the fact that you are carrying a concealed weapon (including things like patting yourself, tugging your shirt down, not swinging your arm as much on the side the weapon, and more); a short article on several different types of traumatic battlefield injury (although I do quibble with the author equating "shell shock" to a TMJ because the term was historically used for psychological trauma and would probably be described as PTSD now); an article with tips on situational awareness and zones of heightened danger; running the charging handle and bolt release on an AR style weapon; and more. A few that I especially want to highlight are:

• Greg links to a video from Active Self Protection on the topic of your firearm is not a talisman that magically wards off the violent offender. As Greg comments: "I wish more people understood that criminals are generally not scared of or impressed by your firearm." In other words, it isn't the firearm that puts the fear of God into criminals, but whether they believe you will use it on them. And even then, they might not care. But the other important point from the video is that the person with the firearm was openly carrying it (at least, open enough that the other criminals saw the weapon) in a manner that didn't properly retain the weapon making it easy to snatch.
  
• Massad Ayoob recommends buying ammo now. The war in Ukraine has drawn off much of the manufacturing capacity for both powders and ammunition which will act to drive up prices, but because Trump won the election, there is a lull in demand from the public, providing a temporary dip in prices. 
• And simply because I use a pocket pistol, an article testing various types of .380 in both bare gel and a heavy clothing test. The best all around cartridge was the Federal Hydro Shok Deep which had good expansion in bare gel, but didn't have excess penetration through the heavy clothing even though it (like all the others) didn't expand. 

    Next up, Jon Low has posted a new Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter yesterday.  Jon always has a great number of links as well as commentary. But a few that I want to highlight:

• An article from Force Science on "Mind Over Matter: How Your Mindset Affects Performance Under Stress" by Dr. Martin Greenberg. The article is oriented toward law enforcement, emphasizing the need for realistic training scenarios ("By engaging officers in dynamic environments where they’re encouraged and ultimately prepared to view scenarios as challenges, trainers reinforce a mindset that promotes more adaptive physiological responses."),  achieving automaticity ("Automaticity here refers to the level of skill where actions can be executed without conscious thought, allowing officers to allocate mental resources toward situational awareness and tactical judgment rather than focusing solely on mechanics.") and "learn[ing] how to use stress to heighten awareness and concentration." The article does not describe how to reach these goals, but merely sets out the goals. 
• An excerpt from an article called "Violence is Golden" by Jack Donovan. The gist of the excerpt is that "law and order" relies on violence. As one of my professors put it, every law and every court order is backed up by big men with guns. The article, perhaps more eloquently, explains:

     A rule not ultimately backed by the threat of violence is merely a suggestion.  States rely on laws enforced by men ready to do violence against lawbreakers. Every tax, every code and every licensing requirement demands an escalating progression of penalties that, in the end, must result in the forcible seizure of property or imprisonment by armed men prepared to do violence in the event of resistance or non–compliance.  Every time a soccer mom stands up and demands harsher penalties for drunk driving, or selling cigarettes to minors, or owning a pit bull, or not recycling, she is petitioning the state to use force to impose her will.  She is no longer asking nicely.  The viability of every family law, gun law, zoning law, traffic law, immigration law, import law, export law, and financial regulation depends on both the willingness and wherewithal of the group to exact order by force.  

This is probably the best argument for limiting government and the proliferation of laws. And if you don't believe that someone should be killed to enforce a proposed law, then you shouldn't be backing that law. 

• I noted above that Greg linked to an article providing tips on what information to provide when you call 911. However, Jon suggests that there may be situations where you need to just walk (not drive) away after an armed encounter without making any call. He also notes that the Chicago PD makes arrests in less than 25% of murders. 
• A link to video about the failure of pepper spray. As Jon notes, "Only debilitating injury works (destroying eyes, breaking joints and bones, etc.).  Pain does not work." Well, it probably would work on me. But you can't depend on it working in every case. Police that use pepper spray, Tasers, or other less lethal weapons generally have a partner or other officer on scene that is prepared to use a firearm. If you are in a life or death situation, do you have the time to transition to a firearm if your less lethal option doesn't work? 
• "Despite rhetoric about gun shows, firearms purchased from gun shows are the least likely to be used in crimes (0.8%), and those purchased from an FFL dealer by the offender are used in only 1.3% of crimes."