Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.

Michael Bane discusses how to remain the “gray man” while still being prepared for workplace violence.

The Firearms Blog recently started posting incredibly valuable videos about field stripping common guns. They start out with the Mossberg 500 pump shotgun. These are so common that everyone should learn how to take them apart. The series continues with:

The HK MP-5 and clones

The Browning Hi-Power and copies

The Walther P99

The Sig P365

The H&K USP

The M1 Carbine

Some of the information in this article is great. Some of it is horrible. A police defensive knife would ideally be a small. concealed fixed blade carried centerline and accessible to either hand. I carry a Fred Perrin LaGriffe hidden behind my magazine pouches. I carry a waved Spyderco Endura clipped to my left pocket primarily as a utility blade. I also carry a hidden Ka-Bar LDK in my glove pouch in the center of my back (in case my hands are tied or taped behind my back.

Don’t rely on a folder for weapon retention. Although officers have used them in the past (the article lists one instance, I have records on about a dozen), deploying a folder under life-threatening attack is far from a sure thing. The fixed blade is far more accessible. If you are forced to carry a folder, make sure it can be opened with either hand. And unlike the advice in the article, a liner lock is probably the worst choice. Frame locks, back locks, compression locks, and Axis locks are all less likely to fail than a liner lock.

A few different responses to the proverbial “bump in the night.”

Three different variations on a very valuable shooting drill.

“The .22 LR isn’t the best choice out there, but for some people it’s the only handgun they can shoot accurately—or at all. It is surprisingly effective in street studies, and when push comes to shove, Mark Moritz’s “First Rule of a Gunfight” applies—have a gun!”

The author shows poor judgement by quoting the research of some dude named Ellifritz, but otherwise it’s a pretty good article.

Yet another example of open carry deterring crime. If you would like the details on more than 50 additional attempted open carry disarms in the last five years, please take a look at this link.

One of the contraindications for using a nasal-pharyngeal airway in an unconscious patient is the presence of a basal skull fracture. Here’s a very good article on how to identify if your patient has one.

A perspective worthy of your consideration.

“A Princeton University study by Gilens and Page performed a regression analysis on over a thousand public policy decisions, and determined that the effect of public opinion on public policy is nil. That’s right, nil. It doesn’t matter how you vote, it doesn’t affect the outcome in any measurable way. By extension, that also goes for protesting, organizing, dousing yourself with gasoline and setting yourself on fire on the steps of the US Senate, or whatever else you may get up to. It won’t influence those in power worth a damn.”

This is the ghetto version of the inflatable air wedge I use as a lockout tool.

Thinking about night vision? This is a definitive guide about the topic.

How magazines affect the feeding cycle of a 1911 pistol.

The use of vertical foregrips on rifles is controversial. Some like them. Some don’t. Here are some justifications for the VFG that you may not have considered.

Speaking of death, read this brief article on CPR. Students in my medical classes often have a skewed understanding of what they are trying to accomplish with CPR. By doing it, you aren’t fixing the problem; you are just buying time. If the heart has stopped beating, it needs an electric shock from an AED/Defibrillator and/or cardiac drugs to restore a normal rhythm. Doing CPR without those interventions has less than a 5% success rate. That success rate drops to 0% when the casualty has a trauma-induced heart stoppage (had bled to death or has sustained penetrating injury to the heart itself).

Lots of useful edible plants that are often found in urban areas.

There are lots of issues to discuss after watching this footage (positioning, verbal commands, etc.), but I want to focus on the issue of the malfunction. Speedy reduction of malfunctions is a skill I see almost universally lacking in “casual” shooters. That’s a problem. Because of hurried grips, lots of movement, clothing fouling the draw, or your opponent’s body contact, malfunctions are more prevalent in gunfights than they are when you are shooting on the range. A well trained tactician will know how to clear malfunctions without thought, diagnosis, or analysis.

I cover the issue of using “expired” drugs in my medical classes. Most drugs remain at full potency six to 10 years beyond their expiration date if stored properly. That advice does not generally hold true for liquid preparations or injectables. With the ever-increasing costs of Epi-Pens, this is a useful topic for discussion.

Epi-pens are expensive. Can you use them if expired? This article tests blood concentrations of epinephrine, comparing in date epi-pens with expired ones. As long as the liquid in your pen is not discolored and does not contain particulates, it probably retains some potency. It’s better to use an epi-pen that is in date, but in an emergency when nothing else is available, it’s likely that you would obtain some degree of effectiveness when using an expired one.

This looks like a great option for those of you prohibited from using the DG switch.

This might be useful information for those of you who have all the proper permits and licenses.

Speaking of AR-15 rifles, here is an authoritative review of the popular low-powered variable optic you can mount on your rifle.

Despite the introductory photo, this video has nothing to do with psychedelic drugs. It’s all about the idea of proactively creating an “Inverse PTSD” with awe and wonder to avoid ever having to suffer from depression or PTSD following traumatic incidents.

My first responder friends should be paying attention. Un-diagnosed PTSD is rampant in the police, fire, and EMS fields. It’s important to understand how our “lenses of perception” affect PTSD and how to change those lenses when they no longer serve our purposes.

Learn how to avoid “pseudo-teaching.”

The story of my life…

“Having achy joints is no excuse to let up. Everyone who’s been doing any serious lifting for at least 10 years wakes up in the morning feeling like they spent the previous day trying to ride the back of Bodacious the bucking bull, and was flung clean over the stands into the deep-fried Twinkie concession stand.

Get over it. Sure, you can do your stretching, that hot Yoga where they treat you like a pork dumpling, or whatever rehab exercises fit the situation, but for the most part, you’re always going to hurt.”

I like most of the advice here except where the author states that lifters over 40 should not be doing sets with fewer than five reps. As a man who is closer to 50 than 40, I still do heavy singles, doubles, and triples almost weekly. More than five reps is a cardio set for me.

The most popular articles on my site involve the .380 cartridge and the guns that fire it. You .380 fans will find this piece useful.

Good information for those of you new to the shooting world.

Caleb provides some good tips for carrying more medical gear on your person. Take one of Lone Star Medics classes.

On the same topic, check out the new ankle medical kit produced by the Warrior Poet Society.

A challenging rifle shooting drill for you to try.

Compensating for mechanical offset is one of the more difficult skills to get students to remember.

My thoughts about the utility of shooting on the move have changed significantly over the years. I still teach the skill set, but less as a tactic and more as a drill to force people to exercise “divided attention” skills with a firearm in hand.

Craig Douglas discusses the push dagger and some easy ways to use it defensively.

I hope none of my readers are mixing their ammo. Candy canes are great minty holiday treats. They are not so useful in pistol magazines.

What I’m reading…

Mike Boyle has written a definitive guide to effectively using the modern shotgun in combat.

An excellent long-form article covering many of the issues involved with E&E.

In these trying times, no one wants to become a cop. Both the number and the quality of potential police officer candidates has exponentially shrunk in the last five years. When you hire an unqualified candidate and give him sub-par training, these are the results that you should expect. For your own safety, please stay far away from a career as a law enforcement officer.

In last week’s Knowledge Dump, I posted an article about a basic sprinting routine. Here is some more evidence that sprinting is one of the most useful practices you can undertake. Read Part Two as well to get some specific workout ideas.

Tamara drops some knowledge bombs about women’s concealment issues.

This product may have some utility in your practice regimen.

Valuable information for my police readers.

“This is the lie that managers tell employees (and themselves) every day in this country. Despite readily available data to the contrary, they continue to insist that denying citizens the most effective and easy-to-use self-defense tool available somehow makes them safer. Don’t you believe them.

The only ones made safer by policies like these are the managers and the organizations which employ them. As I have written before, these policies are meant to protect the organization from liability, rather than the lives of the human beings who work there. Organizations don’t see employees like Katherine Nixon as real people, with real lives…precious lives worth defending. They are “resources,” and resources can be replaced. You are the “R” in your company’s “HR” department, after all.”

I agree with Seth. Learning to write better will provide tangible benefits in many aspects of your life.

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