The time to find out if your defensive tools are up to the task is long before you find yourself in a do-or-die situation. For starters, I would bet that none of you would carry a brand-new, unfired…

I have read quite a few stories of real-life shootings, deadly force incidents and self-defense scenarios. And in each, there are moments when either party can back down, back away or de-escalate. There are opportunities for either party to move out of the red zone instead of continuing the escalation.

As I write this, I am about an hour and a half removed from the range. Immediately after work, I dropped in at the local range to test out the Beretta Model 84 Cheetah that I recently purchased from…

Eye dominance is the tendency to prefer visual input from one eye over the other. In other words, eye dominance determines which eye is providing the most accurate information to your brain. This is…

A tactical flashlight provides target identification and can also be used as a force option. But shooting with a hand-held light can be cumbersome and difficult. The Kel-Tec CL-43 flashlight works to…

In a world of plastic pistols and mouse guns, there’s something grounding about a 1911. A well-made 1911 is a thing of beauty and a reliable carry gun but it requires a bit more care than a plastic…

It is no small thing to cross a continent. Certainly, crossing America is easier than ever before. But who knows? That may not be a good thing. Once upon a time, crossing this continent was a…

There are a host of reasons (or excuses) why ladies don’t flock to the shooting range. From discomfort or fear to lack of experience or even lack of gear, there are many, many “whys” that women have…

Ugh. I detest New Year’s resolutions. I really do. In fact, I don’t think I’ve EVER made a list of resolutions of any kind. It’s not that I’m afraid of them or afraid of not living up to them; I just…

Well … it’s Christmas Day today. Since my blog post doesn’t always come out on the exact holiday, I’m using this special occasion to share something a little bit different. During this time of year,…

Reflecting recently after a long, exhausting week of instruction, I was trying to think through the firearms courses and the students that I’ve been fortunate enough to train. The outcome was a bit…

Sometime last year, when my son was in second grade, he was asked an interesting question: “What does your mommy do?” In most cases, this question is pretty basic, painless and innocuous. But in my…