Massad Ayoob's Blog, page 31

WHEN SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE SAID

One of the most controversial elements in teaching defensive deadly force is what to say to the police when they arrive. A near-death experience alters perceptions and memories: you are unlikely to be able to correctly answer questions like “Exactly how far away was he when you fired? How many shots did you fire? What […]

COLD WEATHER SHOOTING

The coldest part of the year is upon us. Here’s an article I did for Backwoods Home magazine on the topic. It appeared right at 20 years ago, but there ain’t much that’s changed. Feel free to chime in here with your own cold weather shooting tips!

ONE OF MY PLANS FOR 2023 IS…

…the second week in June, my lovely bride and I will attend our favorite match, The Pin Shoot. Back when this “shoot the bowling pins” event was known as The Second Chance Shoot, I attended every one from the mid-1970s to when it ended in 1998.  Richard Davis, the founder, and his son Matt resurrected it […]

TAILOR THE TOOL TO THE TASK

It’s axiomatic that we should use the right tool for the given job. We don’t hunt deer with shotguns loaded with birdshot, obviously, nor hunt ducks with deer rifles.  But once the basic parameters of need are determined, it’s worth our time to look at the fine points of design vis-à-vis the shooter’s abilities, habituations, […]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As I reflect on this last blog of 2022, I’m happy for one thing to see the general passing of the masks. (Though the Evil Princess probably wishes I had kept wearing mine, if only because it makes me better looking … ) I plan to spend the evening indoors; in the town near where I […]

END OF YEAR, SEEN FROM HERE

Gonna get personal here… Finished my 2022 teaching year “tenning out,” with all 18 students in our third-level MAG-120 class giving us the top “ten out of ten” possible rating on their final evaluation. It concluded forty-plus hours of high speed shooting, triple-speed qualifications with handguns, police-type qualifications with rifles and shotguns, and an introduction […]

THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Like most American kids, I thought Christmas was the cardinal holiday of the year. (Though Halloween was pretty close, which probably says something about me…) My parents always had a full-size evergreen in the living room and its decoration was a family endeavor and tradition. (Watering it regularly for fire prevention was a given.) That […]

THE MOST SELF-SERVING CHRISTMAS SUGGESTIONS EVAH!

My lovely bride, the Evil Princess of Podcasts, Pixels, and Polymer Pistols admonishes me that in all my Christmas gift recommendations, I haven’t mentioned anything of mine. OK, total disclosure: self-serving stuff follows. My updated Second Edition of the book “Deadly Force” just came out from the Gun Digest Book people. The updates include deep […]

AMMO FOR CHRISTMAS?

In these times of inflation, we bemoan rising costs of everything, including ammunition. I offer you two artifacts from four decades ago. If you shop carefully and order on the Internet in places where it is legal, you can get the most popular centerfire handgun practice ammo of our time, 9mm Luger full metal jacket, […]

MORE GOOD CHRISTMAS GIFT READING

If you or someone on  your Christmas list works in emergency services or is just interested in how trained people deal with life-threatening crisis and its aftermath, I offer you “Our Thin Lines Unvarnished,” memoirs from those who have served on the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Vancouver Police Department in Washington state. I was […]