I needed to get an updated DoD ID card at a time when the need was more immediate than my normal source could support since it was booked beyond my needed time frame. This led me to seek other options. The one I found was through a special arrangement between the program management office and the issuing agency. Off I went on my adventure to a federal building.
 
This building housed several government agencies along with the Navy administration office that would issue my ID card. I knew that I couldn’t take my carry pistol with me. I left it in my truck with my pocketknife. When I got into the lobby, I saw metal detectors and an x-ray machine. I put the contents of my pockets in the tub and proceeded through the metal detector. When the tub got on the other side the guard reached in and pulled out my wallet and keys.
 
I had a credit card knife in my wallet. I had forgotten it was there. My keys had a gadget on them that was a multi-tool. On one side it has a small knife tip that is ½ inch long. The guard looked at me and said “Sir, you cannot bring dangerous weapons in the building. You have to take these back to your car.” I looked at the knife tip, then looked at him, totally flabbergasted. I had never considered that tiny, very dull, knife tip to be a dangerous weapon. I said, “I can put my keys between my fingers and use them as a weapon.” His response was a deadpan, “Then leave them in your car too.”
 
I looked down and saw that heavy grey tub with its thick plastic walls, then over to my right where the velvet rope stanchion was also in arms reach. I started to point out that these two improvised weapons were more dangerous than the gadget on my keys. When I looked back at him good sense took over. I could not reason with this guy, and I really needed the ID card. I went back to my truck and downloaded any “dangerous” metal I had on my person. I got my ID card, but I also started thinking.
 
What is the real dangerous weapon? We are entertained by shows such as MacGyver, James Bond, Mission Impossible, and characters like Reacher and Jack Ryan. These shows are all fantasy. However, there is a concept behind them that applies to more than just the special forces and black ops operators; the ability to use improvised weapons.
 
One definition of weapon is: A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used with intent to inflict damage or harm. (per Wikipedia) That means my observation about the tub or stanchion is correct, when intent is included. Intent is the key that most people discount. The gun free zones completely ignore intent.
 
History, when examined honestly, is packed with mass killings, many of which do not involve firearms. The most people killed in an attack on a school was in 1927 and the perpetrator used explosives. That day 45 people were killed and another 58 injured. Knife attacks in Japan and China are just as horrific as the mass killings in the United States, which also include knife attacks.
 
My point is that a bad actor, intent on hurting as many people as possible will find a tool that will get the job done. That could be as simple as a box cutter.
 
When I see the “No Dangerous Weapons Allowed” signs I look around. There are normally many objects within reach that can be used to “inflict damage or do harm” if someone has intent. This is not intended to be a political stance, even though those signs are motivated more by politics than safety.
 
I saw a cartoon in the early 70’s showing a man surrounded by a circle of men with firearms pointed out. The message was that this was the only way to be protected from terrorism.  I think this concept applies to protecting from bad actors with intent to hurt people.
 
I went to a craft show labeled as “Stranger Things.” Our daughter likes the macabre so it seemed like an event she would enjoy. The event had one of those signs at every entrance. I saw a police officer and told her that I felt that if they were going to make sure I could not defend myself the venue should incur some liability if an attacked happened. She said she agreed, but knowing we had to be disarmed to go inside we could choose to not enter. OK, she had a point.
 
My point is there are areas where our everyday carry may have to be curtailed to a tactical pen. That doesn’t mean we are forbidden from using any object in the environment as an improvised weapon.
 
We should get to the point where we are the weapon, not what we carry. When we are threatened with force from a bad actor, we should consider ourselves as the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s ark and the rain has started. There are no rules in a fight for survival. Dirty tricks only apply to organized contests with formal rules. All tools at our disposal that assist us in our survival or survival of those we are endeavoring to protect are fair game. This includes the metal sign stanchion holding that “No Weapons Allowed” sign.
 
When we are out and about in public our situational awareness should include what tools are available in addition to potential escape routes and threats. That shouldn’t be paranoia, it should be our normal.
 
In training for mass shooter events, we are all taught Run – Hide – Fight. In the fight segment of that training we are taught to throw whatever we have available such as a desktop stapler or coffee mug. Any resistance increases the probability of survival. Pay attention to what you have around you so you are the weapon.
 
 

I’m not interested in being political. I am interested in truth and reality. I am firmly convinced that neither truth nor reality are portrayed in the media, except by accident. I have tried to teach my family to look critically at what they hear and see in their various information sources.

With that being said, let’s look at what a defensive gun use, it is likely the first thought that comes to mind is shooting someone in self-defense. While that is definitely a defensive gun use it isn’t the only kind. It is possible that a threat can be dissuaded by merely announcing the possession of a gun. It is also possible that the treat is mitigated by drawing the firearm without pointing it at the threat. Pointing your firearm at the threat does require pressing the trigger, but will be a strong motivator to disengage the attack.

As you can see there is a spectrum of possible responses to a threat that does not include discharging and injuring or killing the threat. Unfortunately, the defensive gun use we hear about in the various media sources are narrowed down to someone using a gun and shooting an attacker.  It gets more coverage when the attempt to stop the attacker results in an innocent bystander getting injured or killed.

The media doesn’t cover the many times a crime in progress is terminated or a crime prevented altogether. This might be to avoid weakening their agenda. But that is not the only reason we don’t hear about them.

The biggest reason is that when the mere presence of a firearm prevents a crime, such as a mugging, the victim usually doesn’t report it to law enforcement. This might be due to a very miniscule possibility that the crime would be investigated and even smaller possibility the perpetrator would be prosecuted. It is more likely the potential victim is relieved to have survived the encounter and goes on with their intended activity.

How do we know how many times an armed citizen protects themselves? One type of source are the various gun magazines such as Concealed Carry, from the USCCA, or Shooting Illustrated by the NRA to name two. These magazines have a feature that lists times an armed citizen defends themselves. If one does the math, the 12 or so listed in the July Concealed Carry could equate to 144 times reported by that one magazine alone. The June Shooting Illustrated lists only 7. If that is consistent then we could add another 84 times giving a total reported through those two magazines as 228 times

These are only two sources, and my math may not be correct since I took a snapshot of two issues. There are more firearms magazines being distributed. Those are the two I get. With just those two sources there are more than 200 times a year that guns are used in self defense.

What is the real number? How many times are guns used in self defense? On 10 December 2020, the American Journal of Criminal Justice published an article: What Do CDC’s Surveys Say About the Prevalence of Defensive Gun Use?  (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09562-0)
 
The plurality of survey indicates the CDC did many surveys, 21 to be exact. The surveys were taken over a three-year period from 1996 – 1998. The raw numbers were weighted to adjust the sample population numbers to reflect total population of gun owners. I am not a statistician and cannot explain or defend their numbers. Like you, I am accepting them at face value.
 
Here is where it gets interesting. We are starting with the idea that the numbers reported by the two referenced magazines were in the neighborhood of 220 times a year. The CDC numbers are significantly higher. To quote the report “There is currently no feasible way to measure the prevalence of DGU other than with surveys. Certainly police data cannot provide meaningful estimates given the unwillingness of most crime victims to even report their victimizations to the police (Hart & Rennison, 2003), never mind the controversial fact that they had threatened or attacked another person with a firearm during the crime event.”
 
Surveys rely upon accurate reporting by the participants. As such the skeptic can dismiss the results altogether. I know if my primary care physician asks me if I have firearms in my home, he will get a ‘none of your business’ answer or an evocation of my 5th amendment rights. Let’s get to the CDC numbers now.  
 
- 1996 the weighted total cases were 5,336,378
- 1997 the weighted total cases were 5,835,973
- 1998 the weighted total cases were 5,869,842
 
That is an average of 5.6 million times a year that a gun owner is reporting using a firearm in self-defense! Since those surveys were taken there has been an explosion of new gun purchases. In 2000 there were 8 million NICS checks. They peaked at 39 million in 2020 and dropped to 31 million in 2022. There were more than 22 million concealed carry permit holders by August of 2023. It is reasonable to believe the number of defensive gun uses have gone up also. However, violent crime has dropped over the period between 2000 and 2019. We must keep in mind that the crimes numbers don’t include those instances where a crime was stopped or prevented, but not reported.
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I have heard a range of 500,00 to 3,000,000 quoted. We know that it is difficult to know the real number for the many factors already mentioned. That does not dismiss the reality that firearms are used many more times to stop a crime and save a life than they are to take a life.

For 40 years police departments trained their officers in the Weaver stance. When videos of officers in firefights revealed the stance was dropped.

They transitioned to the isosceles stance instead. This stance gives the shooter a stable platform and 200 degrees of swing without moving their feet.

I have had some students draw and get into a crouch before firing. This is how that student was taught to shoot. The problem is it took him two seconds to get into the crouch. We were doing concealed draw and fire training for a self defense event. 

The Weaver stance has been around a long time. Many shooters were trained to use that stance and continue to use it today. That is the law of primacy, what is learned first sticks. It is tough to retrain yourself after years of doing something a particular way.

Weaver or isosceles doesn’t really matter when doing marksmanship shooting. Both are effective. However, self defense shooting is different. 

Self defense events are quick. Your favorites stance may not be practical, or possible. You have to be trained and prepared to shoot from where the event presents itself.

Consider your personal circumstances when thinking about the need for a personal and home protection plan. Most people take concealed carry training thinking solely about physical protection. Self-protection is a much broader subject.

Physical - Self-protection certainly starts with physical protection. You must be proficient with the defensive tools you have readily available. This could be every day carry items, or staged items in your office, home or vehicle. You must also be in a situational awareness condition yellow. That means you are aware of your surroundings and potential threats.

 Legal – Knowing the rules for the legal use of force will prevent going to prison after surviving a self-defense event. You need to make sure all five elements for the use of deadly force are met before you employ that level of force. A prosecutor only needs to trip you up on one of the five to get a conviction. Knowing and following the law is essential to staying out of prison.

Financial – Even if you have done everything right there is a high probability you will be charged with a crime and end up in court. Posting bail takes money. Your defense requires a lawyer. The lawyer should do their own investigation. Your defense may also require expert testimony that is never free. A successful defense can cost several hundred thousand dollars. You need self-defense insurance to protect yourself from this financial crisis.

Moral – Shooting another person can come with some serious remorse and feelings of guilt. By being properly trained and following that training you know you have done everything you could to avoid the violent encounter. You were left with no other choice than deadly force.

These four aspects apply to any self-defense situation. Being out in public verses being in your home present different considerations.

You have more resources and options in your home. You can prepare in advance with some simple preparations.
The first is change the 3/8 inch screws in your entry doors with 3-inch screws. This makes the door much more difficult to break down. Most home break-ins are through the front door. This simple step can be enough to dissuade a home invasion.

Trim bushes back to expose the windows. A burglar can use the cover of landscaping to break in through a window. Trimming the bushes back denies the cover.

Install motion sensor lighting. A light coming on can be very effective in chasing burglars away.

You can stage firearms. A staged firearm is loaded and in battery. They are stored in locked containers to deny access to unauthorized persons. They should have their trigger guard covered to prevent a hurried recovery causing an inadvertent discharge.

You should create and discuss an emergency response plan with those that live in the home. Designate gathering points in the home and rooms to use as safe rooms. Those rooms should have sturdy lockable doors.
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There is much more that can be done to prepare yourself for personal and home defense. Attend a quality training program such as the USCCA Concealed Carry and Home Defense class.

Today we celebrate our nations independence from British rule. This independence was made possible by citizen-soldiers that brought their own firearms and ammunition.

Those same firearms and ammunition were perceived as a threat by the British, who made an unsuccessful attempt to confiscate them. Those firearms were in the possession of the people as tools to obtain food and as weapons to defend families against various threats from wildlife to hostile natives to the criminal element.

Times were different then. Those firearms were tools that were as critical to survival as the horses and plows they used to plant their crops or the axe they used to harvest lumber. They were a normal part of everyday life.

As part of everyday life their owners were proficient in their use. They were single shot arms that had to be reloaded by assembling the components; powder, patch and ball, then percussion cap or frizzen pan charging. A hunter often only had one chance to harvest game before it ran off. Many hunters knew making that one shot count meant eating meat that night or not.

As our nation grew our society changed. We moved from rural areas to cities as manufacturing was replacing farming. Hunting became less of a necessity and more of a hobby. Firearms also became less of a necessity.
Then our nation became contentious and tensions rose to the point that a civil war broke out. As people were drafted to support the war it became evident that our societal evolution had a hidden consequence, marksmanship had dropped off.

This led to the birth of the NRA in New York and the range at Creedmore. The primary purpose was marksmanship. Youth marksmanship programs began shooting. Schools had firearms training and gun ranges.
One could look at that as a clandestine plot by the government to make sure the next military draft got people who could accurately shoot a rifle as they showed up for service.

This same principle is why the FCC protects the amateur radio frequency bands. The nation, actually the world, has amateur radio operators who pay for, and maintain, radio equipment that they eagerly operate in disciplined networks during emergencies. The world has an emergency communications network paid for by the unpaid volunteers who will operate that network.

Fast forward to today.

Our world has drastically changed from the days of hunting to survive. Its population has exploded. Urban areas have spread so far that the distinction between one city to be next is only discerned by sineage. People are crammed into high density housing.

Gone are the days when the community came together to build homes and barns for their neighbors. The neighbor helping neighbor has been replaced by government welfare as poverty has increased. Along with increased poverty come increased violence.

Firearms have a different purpose today. Rather than being used to acquire food and defend against animal predators they are for defense against criminals.

Some in our world believe the need for firearms has long passed. Unfortunately, the criminal elements in our world will always have firearms. Our failure to stop alchohol during prohibition and drugs today expose the inability to effectively prohibit anything.

There is one aspect of our great nation that makes us unique. It wasn’t formed by one nations conquest of another. It was formed by the people who took up arms against an oppressive government. The citizens fought for self rule. They formed independent states that joined together to make what we now recognize as The United States of America.

They wrote a bill of rights and constitution that clearly indicate this nation is “by the people and for the people” sending a message that its citizens are not and will never become subjects.

It is this concept that has driven the protection of the 2nd amendment. It is this concept that drives the protection of our right to own any number or type of firearm we want. I know people who own cannons, tanks and so on.

We have people who have the resolve to take up arms against the government. In recent past ranchers stood against armed BLM agents over cattle grazing rights proving it is possible to do as the founding fathers said.
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As we watch the parades and fireworks we should contemplate the sacrifice of those who came before us. We must also recognize the example they set for us and the responsibility laid at our feet.

Those who shoot firearms get a thrill from the noise, the smoke and for some even the recoil. The pinnacle of the shooting experience is hitting the intended target. Most of us know the thrill of hitting and seeing a glass bottle give us the feedback of an accurate shot. As we grew, we may have started hunting. The thrill of the glass breaking was replaced by an accurate shot that minimized the suffering of the harvest. We may have taken up skeet or trap shooting where the reward was and exploded clay. Or, maybe we gained a love for the sound of projectile hitting the steel targets.

My posts are from the perspective of self-defense. Here the reward of a successful deployment of your firearm is your bodily fluids remain in your body, and you survive another day.  From this perspective the dry fire practice with a laser cartridge or pistol only rewards us with a microsecond duration red dot on the target. Then it is your memory that reinforces being accurate or not.

There are better solutions. I’m not saying your memory isn’t trustworthy, just that there are many solutions that will track that red dot for you.

The simplest and cheapest (as in free) are smartphone apps. They use your phone camera to track where the dot lands. Pew Pew Tactical did a review (https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-laser-training-apps/) on several laser training apps.

I have several starting with iTarget.

iTarget (https://www.itargetpro.com/) from Train Smart Inc. not only tracks your shots it tracks your progress. The basic version tracks and reports shots on a target.  After each round the target is saved for review. There are two more modules that can be purchased and several other training tools on their web site.
laserHIT (https://www.laserhit.com/) , like iTarget tracks your shots and saves the results for analysis. It has several modes with the ability to train from 10 to 100 yards and out to 1600 yards using a scaled target. Two modes are in the free version, Free Target Practice and Black Steel Practice. Other tools such as Top Score and Quick hit require a purchase.

Strikeman (https://www.strikeman.io/) is an app that is part a training system. While the app is free to download it is part of the Strikeman system and looks for their target for calibration. However, any target can be used. This is a comprehensive tool that allows for many training scenarios and competition.

In addition to those, mostly free, apps I use Lasr X (https://www.lasrapp.com/) which is a comprehensive training system. It uses a camera on your phone, tablet or laptop to view the target area. The system can run various drills to include competition with others. They have targets (additional purchase) that can give you the opportunity to do drills in your home that simulate action shooting with multiple targets at multiple distances. It also does analysis to help the shooter recognize muzzle movement during firing.
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Any of these tools can give you feedback on how well you are employing your training and where you need improvement. Dry fire does not replace live fire training. However, it can help us ‘sharpen the saw’ without breaking the bank in ammunition and range costs.