As I have done each of the previous six years (see previous installments here, here, here, here, here, and here), and separate from my annual Pay to Play article, I thought it would be a good idea to review my year. What classes did I take? What goals did I achieve? Any surprises along the […]
Well, 2021 was a bit different than past years. I went into the year with less of a plan than usual in terms of which classes I might take. On the flip side, I had a definite theme to most of the classes I did take. So, for the sixth year running (see my previous […]
“Go see Kelly McCann,” my mentor said. “Learn violence,” he said. Mission Accomplished! My “year of Kelly McCann” was completed last weekend with the best of the bunch, his “Basic Combatives” course. Unlike the other “physical” classes I took with Kelly earlier this year (see reviews of all the classes I did with him here, […]
One would have thought, with the hundreds of hours of training that I have now accrued, that I would have taken several classes more than once. Honestly, I had to go through my AARs to confirm that I had never done so. Well it WAS true…until now. And how fitting it is that the first […]
Since I started shooting competitively in 2016, the articles I have written outlining each match have been some of our least read articles. I get it. READING about a match is not as interesting as participating or even watching one. So I thought this year I would just do a “wrap-up” article on my performance […]
A few years back, I wrote a perennially popular article about AR-15 setup titled “A Tale of Two Carbines.” Well, I’m going to borrow the title because it is apropos of what I’m going to talk about in this post. Given my interest in hunting, I’ve developed quite the fascination with lever action rifles. I […]
My year with Kelly McCann (see reviews of my prior classes with him here, here, here, and here) continued a couple of weekends ago when I took his defensive handgun class. In my other (and future) coursework with Kelly I have been focused on physical violence of the up-close-and-personal variety. Really liking Kelly and how […]
My “year of Kelly McCann” continued last weekend as I took my fourth class with the iconic instructor (see my previous AARs of Kelly’s classes here, here, and here). As noted in my prior AARs, my rationale for training with Kelly so much this year has been multifaceted. My primary goal has been to become […]
I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised by the reception we received from my first article on this topic. Having top-tier instructors like Cecil Burch and Spencer Keepers comment right here on the blog, and also having the article shared by other top instructors like Karl Rehn and Greg Ellifritz, meant a lot to […]
I am not sure if this will become a regular series on this blog, but this article will connect with at least a couple of others already on the blog. While my last vindication article was all about why I choose not to carry a firearm at work (or some other places), this article will […]
CIVILIAN GUNFIGHTER 