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.
Have you ever wondered if there was a way that you could sharpen some of your attributes like visual processing and reflexes in order to read your sights faster, shoot faster, process threats faster, and be able to handle stressful events with a cool head? Yeah, there are ways to program your brain and keep it sharp and performing at a high level.
When you come out of a training course that lasts one or two whole days, do you feel accomplished and a bit more prepared to defend yourself? What if I told you that your skill during that course is not only temporary, but basically an illusion based on decades of industry insanity? If this idea sounds preposterous to you, perhaps you should wait two weeks, and not practice at all and then try to perform a simple drill you did in the training class. I guarantee you will not only forget the course of fire, but will not be able to perform as effectively as you did. In this article, I am going to discuss training patterns and how to get your moneys worth instead of spending hundreds of dollars, only for your brain to be overwhelmed and for the skills to fade away practically overnight.
In the years since I retired from the military, I have grown and adapted to life outside of a world that condemned individualism and critiqued through attention to detail. As the Sheriff of Baghdad John McPhee has said, "You don't learn anything by being all highspeed in a team. If you want to really learn how to solve problems, go out alone and without support." That statement he made on the Combat Story YouTube interview really struck me as wisdom. When you are out of the military, the real test of a man and a warrior begins.
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".
In my opinion, the average Joe should think about increasing their level of preparedness. Up here in Alaska, preparedness is just a way of life. For the gold miner that goes into the wild to seek their small fortune, they must stockpile months of food, fuel and other supplies for the time they will be on their own. The rural folks such as myself must use summer as a time to prepare land, home, and animals for the next 6 months of winter. This means stocking up on supplies like candles, batteries, water, and food that is shelf-stable and easy to make in the event of not having power. In Alaska, prepping is not a four-letter word but rather a healthy way of life that promotes independence and peace of mind. I believe the average Joe and Jane everywhere else would benefit from such lessons.
With the whole world being unstable, it is easy for people to feel a need to prepare for things to get bad. We are facing rising gas prices, soaring interest rates, a new made up variant of Covid, and an ongoing war in Ukraine. This is all evidence of an upcoming recession that could really hurt our country. It is easy to understand why people are getting concerned about the future. However, there is much more to being prepared than just storing gas, ammo, and MREs. I would say it is time to make realistic priorities based on history. Since most people live in or near a city, I figured I would talk about security in the suburbs.
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.
As a student of history with an interest in how things work and why, I find myself questioning a lot of things. It seems that we private citizens have all this freedom to choose and purchase our own gear and learn the best tactics, yet people are so lazy that they just default to what the military is doing/using without even questioning if there is a better way. Sadly, our country hasn’t won a major land war in over 75 years despite all our technology. So, I fail to see why the US military is a shining example of a premiere fighting force.
I am not one who believes in putting a gun on safe during immediate action (Tap, Rack, Bang) or slide lock/bolt lock reloads. The point of these manipulations is to correct the issue as fast as possible because you need to have the gun back in the fight as soon as possible. The last thing you should be doing during these times is a form of virtue signaling. Perhaps focusing on weapons handling and proper adherence to the safety rules is more reasonable than adding steps to manipulations and mechanics that can't even be universally applied.
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Do It RiteAlaska-Based Youtube Vlogger, Retired Marine, Firearm and Gear Tester. Archives
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