On The Wild Side

The author on the range.

My college years were spent in a tough, crime-ridden town. During freshman orientation week, a friend a was robbed by what he insisted was “a gang of nine-year-olds!” These young hoodlums somehow managed to take my friend’s bicycle, camera, and wallet. After I stopped laughing I couldn’t help ask how this “gang” managed to ambush him. “Well,” he said, “I was taking some cool photographs of the neighborhood….”

I immediately realized he wasn’t paying attention. Not having situational awareness explains how most people get mugged. When people don’t pay attention to their surroundings, they have no chance to see bad guys coming until it’s too late.

Though psychologists tell us keeping ourselves safe is a basic human instinct, I have found that surviving is something we have to learn how to do. Also, if you chose to carry a gun concealed, you certainly want avoid that worst-case scenario of having to use a gun to defend your life. Actually you have taken on added responsibility to pay attention.

Visit Range365.com for the entirety of Five Keys to a Self-Defense Mindset.

The gun didn’t fire. Now what?

There you are practicing at the range, committed to your marksmanship basics, peering intently at the front sight as you control your trigger press….anddddd…..CLICK.

How can this be? You’ve done everything right. You’re shooting factory loaded ammunition. Your firearm is squeaky clean and minty fresh.

Get over it. In fact, accept it. As with any mechanical device, things can go wrong with your pistol, and they will. Your acceptance of this will allow you to stay calm and fix the issue to your best ability. Your job is to know which problems you can solve—and how.

Read the rest of the article at NRA Family Insights.

Being ready to quickly exit a dangerous situation requires more than having a bag with a few necessities stashed in the closet.

I was comfortably nestled in the pillows with my dog, Peabody, watching TV when the phone rang.

After answering a voice exclaimed, “Il Ling!”

“Yes,” I replied, wondering why the voice sounded so urgent.

“Are you home?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a fire on the road (there’s one main road into my neighborhood) and it’s moving fast….get out now!”

Quickly I understood the urgency, and recognized the voice of our volunteer fire chief.

And with that, I was challenged with a self-defense problem—one that could not be resolved with even the most skilled use of any firearm.

Read the rest of the article at American Rifleman.