​Having a record of your training and practice in self defense can help you in many aspects. It is a low possibility that you will have to use the training, but it is cheap insurance to keep a training record or log. In this article, I am going to provide some reasons why you should keep a training log and then discuss some options for how to format your training logs. This may be a dry topic compared to talking about ballistics or being John Wick, but this is just as necessary if you are going to reach a level of proficiency to be on par with John Wick…Just saying.

​Self-defense is a broad subject that many of my fellow gun geeks have distilled down to the act of shooting an attacker. Based on my training and experience, there is a whole lot more to defense than pulling a trigger. In fact, defense goes well beyond learning ‘Gun-Fu’. There are stages leading up to the attack that you can see, countermeasures that can be taken, contingencies you can/should train for, and even methods in which you should conduct yourself before/after the critical incident, in the eyes of the law. The greatest flaw in mainstream firearms training is they are only preparing you for pulling the trigger, even in “self-defense” classes. This merely reinforces the myopic ideology that defense revolves around the trigger. I get that instructors will pander to the mainstream to keep their business alive, but I feel that classes can at least be enhanced or modified to include the reality of defense. But in the meantime, let me fill you in on a few things to munch on in your mind.

​Since the beginning of my journey as a gun owner, I have wondered if it makes more sense to have one gun to carry all year or different guns for different occasions and seasons. I know there will be people who side with one option over the other, so I am going to briefly discuss both. Consider this a brainstorming session for evaluating both opinions. Who knows, there may be a compelling argument you hadn’t thought of before, so stick around and read through.

For civilians, EDC pistol selection can be one of the biggest and most trivial decisions we can make in our limited scope of tactical life planning. Selecting an EDC pistol should be done using tactical thinking not unlike Executive Protection Agents planning a trip. This means you have the opportunity to assess the situation, make a plan(s), and select the right tool(s) for the job based on YOUR intel, YOUR area, YOUR threats, YOUR laws, etc. Basing your selection off what someone else has is not only lazy but can also result in buyers remorse(Been there, done it, got several T-shirts), so don't do it. The process I am going to share can also help you figure out what kind of training you should focus on with your smartly selected  EDC pistol, but that will be an article for another time.

moving from a rural Alaskan home to an urban neighborhood in Northeast Arkansas has been quite drastic. The coolest temperatures at night are the highest temperatures you will see in the summers of Alaska. During the day, a vehicle is nothing more than an oven and the outside is humid and the sun threatens to cook your skin. Different climates such as this makes me have to readjust my gear and clothing for carry.

When many people talk about a handheld light for concealed carry, you generally hear about lights that are powerful and loaded with lumens for tactical usage. Some people say anything less than 600 lumens is unacceptable. Personally, I have found that the handheld light is going to serve 90 percent or more of its time for simple navigation or non-tactical visual aid. I see lights very much the same as I see certain weapons. Each weapon has a certain range, capability, and overall practicality for the mission you are trying to accomplish. I have only had the Microstream for about 6 months, but it has been used frequently in that time.

​While growing up in the Dallas suburbs, it was likely for my parents to get out of work only to be in standstill traffic, sometimes for hours. My mother and brother have a medical condition that required frequent attention at the time, so being stuck in traffic without supplies just for a few hours could have literally been a death sentence for them. Being responsible parents/adults, my parents stored supplies in the vehicle(s) just in case. I use my parents for this subject because this is how a responsible parent/adult should prepare at a minimum. At no point did they store guns or bug out bags or active shooter response kits. They simply prepared for the likely scenarios, plus some extras here and there to keep my brother and I from complaining during long drives. They stored enough food and water for all four of us (not MREs), a basic first aid kit (Not IFAK-style), bad weather attire, and some basic hygiene items. And best of all is that they weren't afraid to use any of it. We never felt like any of it was off limits. Only storing "just in case" supplies that you can't touch until an emergency is about as sensible as a scuba suit in the desert, because "just in case".

If someone would have said a year ago that I should consider a less-lethal option for carry, I probably would have laughed at them. My recent attendance at the Covered 6 Security Academy changed a lot of my preconceived notions about CEWs (Conductive Energy Weapon) and use of force in general as a civilian. In this article, I am just going to discuss the concept of carrying a CEW, such as a TASER Pulse+ and why it can be a good option.

​Ammunition seems to be slowly getting back onto the shelves, but people still are not able to fully indulge as they once did. In turn, people have made the judgement that without enough ammunition, they can’t train. This comes from the assumption that “Range Time” is the only way in which skills are developed or maintained. In fact, I would go as far as to start this article off by saying that 99.99% of you reading this would perform better if you started training off the range and stopped thinking of the range as a primary training ground. This lack of ammo on the shelves can be a blessing in disguise if you are serious about advancing your skills.

​The Olight PL Pro needs no special introduction since it has been out for a little while now. Plenty of reviewers have shown you the basics of how it works and functions, so I will glaze over those details so we can get to the meat and potatoes of the subject.