Primary & Secondary Article Library
Explore the Primary & Secondary Article Library: practical writing on firearms, defensive training, law enforcement, equipment, tactics, mindset, and the people who contribute to the professional training community. Articles are organized to help readers find durable information, professional perspectives, and useful resources by subject.
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Accuracy and Precision, Part 1: Start With Data
Ash Hess explains how defining the requirement, establishing a baseline, and collecting performance data lead to better firearms and equipment decisions.
Read articleP&S ModCast 188 — Stop the Bleed
A detailed discussion of Stop the Bleed, hemorrhage control, TCCC, tourniquets, wound packing, medical equipment, myths, and hands-on training.
Read articleModCast 194: Elitists, “Poors,” and Snobs
ModCast 194 examines firearms-community gatekeeping, equipment standards, affordability, expertise, influencers, instructors, and better ways to communicate recommendations.
Read articleBaselines #4 Reload Drills
If you are following this series, you have seen that I lay out some baselines then some drills on how to gauge or establish that baseline. In the…
Read articleA case for .40 S&W
Once the darling of law enforcement, .40 S&W has fallen on hard times. As major federal agencies like the FBI switch back to 9mm; smaller state, county, and…
Read articleBaselines #3
Once we have our first baselines as laid out (see parts one and two) there are a ton of other skills that need to be trained, practiced and…
Read articleComp and Dot
Over the past several years, the “Roland Special” concept has gone from unknown, to being mocked, copied, modified, and has now taken its rightful place as internet meme.…
Read articleBaselines #2
Part Two In part one we talked about some standards from 0-500 with rifles. Some will argue that the standards are too loose while some will argue that…
Read articleWeapon Critical Comparisons
A practical framework for comparing defensive firearms: look beyond price and brand loyalty to quality control, components, assembly, support, and the likelihood of reliability problems.
Read articleBaselines
I am LE and I have a decent baseline of competency with a pistol. What would you say a good basic competency with a rifle would look like?…
Read articleTrust But Verify …and Follow the Money
This week the firearms and tactical medical community is ablaze with news that Jeff Kirkham, the creator of the RATS Tourniquet has initiated a fake news campaign against…
Read articleTap Rack Tactical AAR
In September of last year, I had the pleasure of hosting Bill Blowers of Tap-Rack Tactical for his two day Tactical Pistol class. I am just getting around…
Read articleCarrying Light With Firearms
This is an older picture and some EDC items have changed but the concept remains a constant. There seems to be a misconception that a weapon mounted light…
Read articleWitch Hunts & Manufactured Outrage
We are living in a new era of witch hunts and manufactured outrage. There are puppet masters making a lot of money off of the masses by creating…
Read articleEmotional honesty in brand recommendations
Brand loyalty is stupid. Here’s an absolute fact: we live in the Golden Age of striker fired semi-automatic pistols. If I showed up for work Saturday and instead…
Read articleThoughts on Fighting rifles
What makes a Great fighting rifle? Is it just reliability and the ever-present internet “MILSPEC” assembly and parts or is there something more?I have spent the better part…
Read articleSystems Thinking Applied to the Shot Process
In our previous discussion, we were talking about applying systems-thinking to the ‘fundamentals of marksmanship’ in an attempt to illustrate why the fundamentals are not as effective as…
Read articleP&S ModCast 180 — Two World Wars!!!1!
Joe Chambers, Steve Fisher, Dave Laubert, Chuck Pressburg, AJ Zito, and Matt Landfair discuss the evolution and continued viability of the 1911.
Read articleCitizen Defense Research – The Armed Parent/Guardian AAR
*DISCLAIMER*My slot in this class was comped with the request that I write a truthful AAR for the P&S Network by John Johnston. Further prior to class I…
Read articleSystems Thinking and the Shot Process: Why the “Fundamentals” Don’t Work
A systems-thinking approach places marksmanship fundamentals inside a continuous shot process built around feedback, context, and corrective action.
Read articleGunslingin’ #6
This is part deux of The Shot Process. Check out Gunslingin’ #5 for part 1 A shot process can be as simple or as detailed as you need…
Read articleMethods of Engagement: Why Double Taps and Head Shots Will Let You Down
The U.S. Military’s (conventional forces any way), primary method for shooting threats at close range is Double Taps or Controlled Pairs. The difference between the two: Double Taps-…
Read articleGunslingin’ #5
If you haven’t been keeping up, I have done articles on Stability, aiming, and data. Those articles lead back to the first one and the shot process. For…
Read articleLow Power Variable Optics: The Close and The Far
The world of Low Powered Variable Optics (LPVO) has bloomed in recent years with their increased use in both sporting and professional roles. Just about every optics company worth…
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