Illinois Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) License Class

$250 - Illinois Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW/CCL) License Training Class

VETERANS / MILITARY QUALIFY FOR THE (8 HOUR) CLASS - $100

Get your Illinois Conceal Carry License... Plus get 3 other CCW's licenses FREE! (Utah CCW, Arizona CCW & Florida CCW) - together safely and legally conceal carry a handgun in over 37 States...!!!

Price: $250 (NO other class fees), 

price includes;

1. Range fees ($25)

2. Illinois Livescan digital fingerprints ($70)

3. Utah & Arizona ink fingerprints ($25)

4. Passport photos ($15)

5. CCW application paperwork 

6. Assistance with CCW application paperwork 

Class Date: September 10-11th (16 hours)

Location: VFW- Villa Park, Illinois 

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE;

http://illinoiscc.com/class-calendar-and-registration.php

Do you conceal carry religiously?

Do you carry religiously? You may not be as safe as you believe.

Posted by: Grant Cunningham

I know that most of the people reading this blog are here to learn about defensive shooting, concealed carry, firearms training, and related topics. The rest are interested in things like rifles, revolvers, reloading, and other technical issues. In other words, regardless of the group into which you fit, if you’re reading this you’re probably a “gun person” — and despite what the media might try to tell you, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. It can, however, limit your perspective.

As I’ve said many times, your lawfully carried defensive handgun is a very efficient tool to use against a low-probability but high-consequence event. That means, with a small outlay of effort in using that tool, you can prevail in the kinds of incidents that don’t happen very often but have the potential to be life-altering or even life-ending. The firearm is a very limited-application device in the totality of self defense situations and, being a reactive tool of restricted application, doesn’t keep you safe because it doesn’t prevent an incident from unfolding. It simply gives you a tool to defend yourself once a very specific type of event has occurred.

Lack of understanding

This is apparently a new concept for a lot of people, even (maybe especially) for those who have been in this field for a while! With such limited application there is no way the gun can really keep you safe — it’s all the otherstuff you do that keeps you safe; the gun simply gives you a way out when things go horrendously bad. The gun has often been compared to a fire extinguisher: does a fire extinguisher prevent fires? Of course not. It’s just a tool to allow immediate response in case one breaks out.

Why do I bring this up? Because I’ve run into more than a few people over the years who express great trepidation over being in circumstances where they aren’t able to carry a gun. Some take it to the extreme of never traveling or visiting any place where they can’t have a gun on their person. They indicate, explicitly or implicitly, that they’re more cautious, more careful when they’re not carrying; although they’d never use the word, they’re more fearful. They behave differently.

I submit that if you find yourself acting differently, more cautious or fearful, when you can’t carry a gun you have a problem that results in you not being truly prepared for violence. The gun has blinded you to both its proper use and what actually keeps violence from being visited upon you.

What really keeps you safe?

If your goal is truly to keep you and your family safe, you’ll exercise the same level of care when you carry a gun as when you don’t — because it’s that very care which prevents things from happening to you, gun or no gun. To use John Farnam’s great saying, you don’t go to stupid places and do stupid things with stupid people regardless of whether you have a gun or you don’t. Yet, to hear some people talk, that would seem to be precisely what they do: “I wouldn’t go there if I couldn’t carry a gun.” That’s a sign you probably shouldn’t be going there at all, gun or no gun! If you feel so unsafe that only the presence of your gun makes you feel better, that’s your intuition telling you it’s a stupid place, or you’ll be doing stupid things, or you’ll be with stupid people — or all three. How about just not doing it?

One well-known trainer has said that carrying a gun should be “comforting”, an idea I reject on its face: if it’s comforting, it will make you complacent — which is the antithesis of staying safe. That comfort can lead you to making bad choices and doing things that have inherently higher risk, like playing with gasoline and matches in your bedroom because you know there’s a fire extinguisher in the house.

An unorthodox drill

How do you internalize the idea that it’s the other stuff you do that really keeps you safe? How do you get over the irrational notion that it’s your CCW that does this? As I’ve told more than one class, I think a valuable drill is to occasionally practice NOT carrying your gun. I know it sounds odd, and I know the overly-shooting-oriented defensive training community will excoriate me for saying that, but I believe there are benefits to be had by occasionally doing such an exercise.

First, it helps break that mindset that your gun is keeping you safe. No matter how much anyone protests, I think every person with a CCW develops some degree of that mindset over time. I know I do, and I’m probably one of the most immune to doing so! Intentionally not carrying opens your eyes to the things that you should always be paying attention to, but don’t because you’ve been “comforted” by the presence of the gun.

Second, unless you plan on living an intentionally limited life, you’ll at times find yourself going to wonderful places where you simply can’t or aren’t allowed to carry a gun. Practicing and preparing for those situations ahead of time is no less important than practicing and preparing to use your gun before you need to. This kind of practice might including learning to pay more attention to managing your distractions; learning the local gestures and body language differences to pick up on aggression cues; practicing with improvised or low-profile weapons; it might even mean learning and practicing some unarmed skills or employing a less-than-lethal tool. Whatever it is, it needs to be learned and practiced if it’s going to be effective.

If you find yourself feeling different, more careful or less confident without the gun, that’s your cue that you haven’t been paying nearly enough attention to your real safety. It means that you’ve assigned too much of your well being to a device of very limited utility. Your gun has become a talisman, not a tool. It also means that you need to devote some of your training resources to those other skills I listed above and integrate them into your life.

If, however, you feel completely confident and change nothing about your routine or your habits, then you probably have a good understanding of your concealed gun’s real place in your personal security planning. That’s how you know you’re at a point of balance, which means you’re safer overall than someone who isn’t.

Strive for balance.

http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/01/do-you-carry-religiously-you-may-not-be-as-protected-as-you-think-you-are/

Warning shots are a really bad idea...

Incident Analysis: Warning shots are a bad idea, especially when the run you out of ammunition.

Posted by: Grant Cunningham

Over at The Firearm Blog we read the story of one Bart Bryson. In investigating what appeared to be a burglary in progress he made a number of really bad decisions that could have left him very vulnerable.

The short version of the story: he pulled up to an unoccupied home that he owns and spotted fresh foot prints in the snow. He got out of his vehicle, walked up to the front door only to notice that it had been forced open. He had a holstered pistol but did not have it in his hand as he entered the property, presumably to search for the intruder. At that point things get a little cartoonish, as the burglar ran into Mr. Bryson while trying to make an escape. This caused our hero to fire a couple of shots into the floor at which time the burglar, deciding that discretion was in fact the better part of valor, dropped to the floor to surrender.

You know the joke of the dog who chases cars but can’t figure out what to do with one when he actually catches it? Well, that describes Mr. Bryson. He had some handcuffs in his car (get your mind out of the gutter — he’s a security guard) but no cell phone. He left the prostrate suspect where he was and went to his car to get the handcuffs. His plan was to handcuff the suspect and drive him to the nearest police station.

The burglar, not being totally stupid, took that opportunity to simply run away only to have Bryson fire several more warning shots into the ground. Why did he shoot into the ground?  Because he “didn’t want to kill anyone over a burglary.” Those shots, plus the ones he already put into the floor, result in his possessing a firearm devoid of any live ammunition — and he had no more with him!

He’s lucky he didn’t get hurt or that his shots actually hit the burglar. He could have wound up dead or in prison, but due to ignorance and lack of proper skill set. Let’s take a look at the incident and see if we can figure out where he went wrong.

What to do when something isn’t quite right

First, of course, is deciding to investigate a burglary himself. This was property that Mr. Bryson owned — perhaps a rental of some sort — and was supposed to be vacant. So when he saw fresh footprints leading up to the house from the street it was perhaps natural to want to find out what was going on. Vandalism of vacant houses is quite a problem in most parts of the country, and there was always the possibility that neighborhood kids were prowling around (as neighborhood kids, regardless of vintage, are wont to do.)

It was when he saw the forced front door that he should have stopped to think. I understand the great temptation to go in to find out if anyone is there, and I also understand the desire to protect one’s own property. However, protection of one’s self comes first. Property can always be replaced; not so much a life.

There are two options usually discussed in these situations: step in to investigate, or hang back, call 9-1-1, and let responding officers clear the house. I’m generally in favor of the second option, and not terribly fond of the first. There is something of a middle ground, or third option: stay outside the building, preferably in an ensconced position, and yell into the house “I’ve called the police, they’re on their way. Get out now!” This is not dissimilar to what is usually suggested for dealing with a possible intruder when you’re already in the house. Show them that you know they’re there, and that an arrest is sure to follow. Let them leave; it’s only “stuff”.

Of course the first couple of shots into the floor are curious, and the article gives us little insight into how they happened. It’s pretty clear that he didn’t have a flashlight, though, to help identify and perhaps subdue a potential threat. When the suspect ran at him, he apparently drew his gun and triggered rounds into the floor. Again, had he not entered in the first place he wouldn’t have been in the position of getting run over by a fleeing suspect. Entering a building that you strongly suspect to be occupied by an intruder without proper equipment (a flashlight at least), training and practice leaves you vulnerable to this kind of surprise. He’s fortunate his intruder did’t have a knife and the desire to use it!

You’re not the police, even if you have handcuffs

With the cowering suspect on the ground, Bryson then decided to retrieve handcuffs from his vehicle, handcuff the intruder, and take him to the police. I’ll start by saying that I don’t know how much handcuffing training or practice security guards get, but if it’s anything like the firearms training they receive I feel confident in saying that he’s probably not really qualified to cuff a suspect alone. Be it handcuffs or rope, restraining someone is both legally risky and physically dangerous. If the subject is on the ground, leave him there and back off to a safe distance. If he decides to run, let him.

Don’t plan on taking him anywhere! Aside from the possibility of abduction charges, it’s tough to control both a vehicle and a suspect. Police cars have special restraints and shields up for the job of transporting suspects, and those are in place for a reason. You don’t have those? Don’t try it.

Bryson apparently admitted that he didn’t have a cell phone with him. The cell phone is as important a safety tool as you can carry, allowing you to summon help from almost anywhere. Attempting to cuff and transport a suspect without communication is foolhardy in the extreme. Carry your phone with you; if you see evidence of a forced entry, it allows you to hang back at a safe distance and get police there to help you. Yes, it might be a wait (especially in a rural area), but it’s better to wait comfortably seated in your car than trying to control a non-compliant subject!

Lethal force is still lethal force, even if you deliberately miss

Finally, of course, are the deliberate warning shots Bryson fired. Warning shots are a fool’s errand; yes, you can find instances where they “worked”, but that’s not a justification for the practice. In this case the subject was running away, posed no threat, and the situation did not call for the use of lethal force. According to a news report, Bryson said that he fired those rounds into the ground because “he didn’t want to kill anyone over a burglary.” So Bryson knew that the situation didn’t call for the use of lethal force, but he used it anyway — and in the course of that action ran his gun out of ammunition! He didn’t have spare ammunition with him, so if there had been an accomplice (or the suspect had decided to come back), Bryson would not have been in a position to defend himself.

Understand that the warning shot — even if intended to be completely safe and not hit the suspect — is still the use of deadly force. If you’re not justified in shooting the suspect outright, you’re almost certainly not justified in firing a warning shot either. Bryson knew he wasn’t, but decided that emptying his weapon into the ground was still a good idea. It wasn’t, and it isn’t.

Bryson is lucky. Despite the police sergeant’s statement that Bryson was protecting himself, nothing in the news account convinces me that he was. Was he scared? I’m sure he was. Blind fear, however, is not a justification to use lethal force against someone who is running away. Were he in a less forgiving jurisdiction he’d be facing charges right now, and I can’t say that as a juror I’d vote in his favor.

Warning shots are seldom justifiable, and they’re almost always a bad idea. Especially if you use up all your ammunition in the process!

http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/02/incident-analysis-warning-shots-are-a-bad-idea-especially-when-the-run-you-out-of-ammunition/

$125 - Utah, Arizona & Florida CCW Class

$125 - Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW License Class - for Illinois residents

Get three (3) non-resident Utah, Florida & Arizona CCW permits / licenses - together legally and safely conceal carry handgun(s) in over 34 States. 

Location: VFW Villa Park,  Illinois 

Date: September 10th (8-Noon)

Cost: $125.00

331-642-8110 / www.IllinoisCC.com

Defensive Shooting Myths

Defensive Shooting Myths and Misconceptions: “If I’m limited to 10 rounds, they might as well be .45”

Posted by: Grant Cunningham

I remember the days of the 1994 “assault weapons” ban: new magazines over 10 rounds were illegal, and even large double-stack 9mm pistols were required to come with 10 round magazines — and any replacements or additionals we bought were limited to 10 rounds, too. “There era of the ‘wondernine’ is over”, opined writer after writer.

Along with that came a new phrase from those picking which gun to buy: “if the government says I can only carry 10 rounds, they might as well be .45!” The sentiment was that if you couldn’t have more, you might as well have better. Remember, though, that was in 1994. Things have changed just a bit since then.

Well, maybe they really haven’t. More precisely, some people haven’t changed!

Flawed decision-making

Just the other day I saw something online from a fellow who was talking about his new defensive gun. He lives in an state where they are limited to 10 round magazines and had purchased a .45ACP model over a similarly-sized 9mm — declaring, just like in the good old days, that if he could only have 10 rounds anyhow he wanted them to be as big as he could get. Hence, the .45ACP.

On the surface this sounds like a reasonable idea; after all, if you can’t have capacity shouldn’t you get effectiveness as a tradeoff? If the gun you’re carrying is limited to 10 (or 7 or 5 — the number doesn’t really matter) rounds whether it’s 9mm or .45ACP, doesn’t it make sense to pick the bigger bullet?

There’s only one little flaw with that idea: there’s no practical tradeoff to be made. The best information we have — coming from sources as disparate as Greg Ellifritz’s study of handgun “stopping power” to the anecdotal experiences of those instructors who have actual experience in battle — say that there’s no practical difference in effectiveness between the 9mm and .45ACP. (There are some folks who still insist there is, of course, but the weight of the evidence is running almost completely against them. At this point it’s like trying to argue that cigarettes don’t cause cancer.)

If there is no appreciable or practical difference in effectiveness, then the rationale for choosing a larger cartridge in a capacity-limited gun makes no sense. The choice isn’t between 10 less-effective or 10 more-effective bullets; the choice is between 10 bullets of roughly equal effectiveness. It would seem a non-choice.

Valid choices

There’s more to it, however. The fact of the matter is that the recoil of the cartridge negatively affects the shooter’s balance of speed and precision. Having less recoil means that, for any given level of speed, you can shoot to a greater level of precision. Conversely, for any given level of precision the softer-recoiling gun will allow you to shoot at a higher rate of speed. The choice, then, isn’t between fewer bullets of greater effectiveness, but rather fewer bullets that you can put accurately on target faster.

More holes in important places on the target in a shorter amount of time means that your attack is likely to end sooner.  If there’s anything that we’ve learned about handgun “stopping power”, it’s that the more shots you land in vital areas the surer and sooner the bad guy is likely to stop!

Let’s add in another factor: in easily-concealable guns, the kinds that are usually intrinsically capacity-limited, perceived recoil is magnified. The lighter weight of the smaller gun, combined with the higher slide velocities and the smaller grips, all make perceived recoil and its effects on the balance of speed and precision greater. The advantage shifts even further to the side of the compact 9mm over the compact .45ACP.

The reality is that, if you’re in a capacity-limited environment (whether it’s because the state is limiting you or the size of the gun is), your defensive gun choice is exactly the same as it would be if you didn’t have that capacity constraint. In fact, if you have fewer rounds on tap it’s actually more important to pick the gun that gives you the optimum balance of speed and precision! If you really are limited in how much ammunition you can have in the gun, doesn’t it make sense to make sure that you can accurately deliver the rounds you have on target as quickly as you can? That’s efficiency: achieving the goal (making the bad guy stop) with the least use of resources (time and ammunition) possible.

Paradoxically, the choice is the same even if you weren’t limited in capacity. If, for instance, you had the choice of two guns — carrying, say, 15 rounds — and there really was a difference in effectiveness, why wouldn’t you choose the more effective bullet then, too?  After all, better is better regardless of how many you have, right? Yet that same argument is rarely made when considering a full-sized gun in areas where capacity isn’t artificially constrained.

The people making the statement that they want a different cartridge if they are limited in how many they can have are saying, in essence, that they know there’s a difference in controllability of the rounds they’re choosing. They’re tacitly admitting that they wouldn’t make the same choice in a larger capacity firearm, so they obviously understand this principle. What they don’t understand is that the tradeoffs are always the same, and further that they’re making the tradeoff decision based on faulty and/or outdated information.

What’s the real goal?

You always need to choose a defensive round based on the ability to deliver it accurately on target in the shortest amount of time possible. No matter how well you shoot a .45, you’ll shoot a 9mm better (as defined by the balance of speed and precision.) You should always pick “shoot better” when you’re picking a defensive cartridge, no matter what the capacity of the particular gun happens to be.

None of this, of course, applies to recreational firearms. If you want a .50AE Desert Eagle to play with at the range, be my guest! A big “boomer” can be a lot of fun, but when it comes time to pick a defensive sidearm you need to be more critical of your choices. It’s also not to be construed as necessarily advocating the sub-caliber options. There are those for whom the best choice is truly going to be a .22LR or a .32ACP; they, too, have to make a choice based on their own balance of speed and precision with whatever gun they choose. In fact, this discussion of capacity limits may be more important to them — the person who can’t control even a 9mm will probably be better off with 10 rounds of .32ACP instead of a cartridge they can’t control.

For most of us, though, the choice is going to come down to one of the common defensive handgun cartridges: 9mm, .40S&W, and .45ACP. If you’re limited to 10 rounds, they need to be  bullets that you can get accurately on target as fast as possible. I’ve personally run into no cases where that was legitimately a larger cartridge.

The proper attitude should be “if I’m limited to 10 rounds, I want to be able to shoot them as efficiently as possible!”

http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/01/defensive-shooting-myths-and-misconceptions-if-im-limited-to-10-rounds-they-might-as-well-be-45/

Maintaining Your Pocket Revolver

Maintaining your pocket revolver: 8 tips to keep your defensive gun in tip-top shape.

Posted by: Grant Cunningham

If my emails are any indication, there are a lot of people out there carrying a revolver in their pocket. It might be a backup or secondary gun, but for a lot of people — especially those who live in warmer climates — it’s a primary defensive arm.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that here in Oregon we don’t get a lot of truly hot weather. This last summer was an exception to that rule (I endured a record number of 100-degree days, a rarity for our climate), but everything is relative. To me, anything over 80 degrees is quite warm and when the temperature climbs that high I usually change from long pants to short pants. This happens around the first of July and becomes my standard attire until the heat abates in September. In that wardrobe my carry options become somewhat limited and I fall back on pocket carry.

The benefits and problems of pocket carry

Why pocket carry — couldn’t I just use a cover garment over an IWB holster? I’d stand out like a sore thumb! I also don’t abide the current fashion of wearing untucked shirts to hide an gun carried in the “appendix” position, so that’s out. (I may have long hair, but my shirt is tucked in nice and tidy!) The bottom line is that I, like many others, transition to pocket carry of a revolver during the “heat of the summer”.

Of course those aren’t the only reasons people carry in the pocket. In nicer clothes and non-permissive environments, pocket carry may be the least obtrusive manner of having a defensive firearm at the ready. If you live in a suit in a professional environment you may find that pocket carry is the easiest way to hide that gun amongst even the nosiest co-workers.

No matter why you choose pocket carry, your pocket isn’t as clean as you might think! There is still an amazing amount of debris that can work its way into the gun; lint, of course, is omnipresent in any pocket, but you’d be surprised how much actual dirt finds its way in there even in suit pants. Even the normally reliable revolver can suffer under those conditions!

How can you keep your revolver in good condition?

What should you do to maintain your pocket revolver? Here are eight points to consider:

1) First, pick a revolver that is as well sealed as possible. An exposed hammer — even if it’s shrouded — is one more little place through which debris can work its way into the action. Far better, from both a handling and maintenance standpoint, are the enclosed hammer (sometimes erroneously called “hammerless”) guns like the S&W Centennial series. This series is typified by guns like the models 442, 642, and 640 (though there are others.) They are as well sealed as revolvers get and are tailor-made for pocket carry.

2) Always use a holster. This should be a no-brainer; any gun carried in a pocket should have a holster. First and foremost it’s a safety issue; it keeps things from getting around the trigger and causing a shot to be fired. Those “things” include fingers, and there are a lot of news stories you can find about pocket-carried handguns firing from people shifting the things around from outside the pocket. The holster anchors the gun in the pocket so that it doesn’t shift, and covers the trigger to prevent anything from activating it.

From a maintenance standpoint the pocket holster also keeps out a lot of debris. I’d say that it conservatively deflects about 80% of the stuff that would otherwise end up on and eventually in the gun. It also delays perspiration from getting to the gun and causing rust. (Your gun is stainless or alloy? Bet the operating parts aren’t!) My current favorite is the DeSantis Nemesis holster, which has a very sticky rubber covering on the outside to anchor it firmly in the pocket, a large “wing” to keep the gun in an upright position, and it fits tightly enough and comes up far enough on the gun to keep pocket detritus out. The rubber and neoprene construction also forms a very effective vapor barrier against perspiration.

3) Take the gun out of the holster and the holster out of the pocket at night. While good pocket holster keeps perspiration from directly touching the gun, a pocket is usually a humid environment — particularly in the summer months. The holster is going to get a little damp in any event, and eventually that dampness will get to the gun. Take the gun out of the holster and allow it to air dry; the same is true for the holster. It’s like wearing the same pair of boots or socks everyday — they eventually need to air out. Do the same with your revolver and the holster!

4) Brush away the lint. Every week or so, while the gun is out of the holster getting fresh air, unload it and brush the gun clean. Even in a good pocket holster you’re likely to find lint and dirt on the back side of the trigger and in other places. Take a few minutes with a toothbrush and get that stuff off the gun before it works its way into the action. At the same time, inspect the bore and chambers to make sure they’re clean, too. If not use a bore brush, mop or patch to get it all out.

5) Inspect the gun carefully for corrosion. While you’re brushing the gun down is a good time to check all the operating surfaces for rust: the back of the trigger, the cylinder, underneath the extractor star, and the bore of the barrel are all places that can attract moisture and allow corrosion to form. Think your alloy or stainless frame is immune? Think again! Although they’re certainly more resistant, I’ve seen more than one example where corrosion eventually took hold. If you find any, get a brass brush and brush it away then treat with oil or a good rust preventative.

6) Take the grips off occasionally. Underneath the grips is a common place for corrosion to form, and it’s a good idea to take them off and inspect the area occasionally; if you perspire heavily, or live in a humid environment (particularly near salt water), this is particularly important. If you fall into either category, treating the area where the grips contact metal with Boeshield T-9 (a favorite here in the humid Pacific Northwest) or another rust preventative may be advisable.

7) Consider rubber grips in extreme conditions. If you have wooden grips on your gun they can absorb and retain enough moisture next to the frame to result in corrosion — no matter how often you clean. Rubber grips aren’t permeable and thus won’t hold moisture, and may be a better choice in extreme environments. (It’s still important to remove them and clean occasionally, however.)

8) When you clean your barrel after shooting, use the old trick of leaving the bore with a thin film of oil or CLP. After you’ve cleaned the bore and run clean, dry patches through follow up with a patch that’s just been dampened in your favorite oil or CLP. That will coat the bore and resist any moisture that might want to cling to the lands and grooves. It will, however, attract more lint and makes it imperative that you follow the recommendation of brushing the bore out every so often!

Pocket carry is a great convenience, and in many cases it’s the best way to carry a defensive firearm — particularly, as I’ve said, in hot or more formal environments. Just remember that pocket carry may require a little more attention and care on your part to keep that vital rescue equipment in top condition. It’s not hard, though, and if you follow these eight prescriptions your pocket revolver will always be ready in case you need it!

http://www.grantcunningham.com/2016/01/maintaining-your-pocket-revolver-8-tips-to-keep-your-defensive-gun-in-tip-top-shape/

You don't have to be a Navy Seal...to keep yourself safe!

I don’t believe you need to become a Navy SEAL just to keep yourself safe!

There, I’ve said it. And you can bet there are a lot of people in the defensive training business who are mad at me for saying so!

If you’re like most people I know, you and your family simply want to lead a happy and safe life. You want to take some responsibility for your own safety because you know that even the best, most conscientious police officers can’t be stationed outside your door or follow you around all day.

At the same time you also have to live and work in the real world, where looking and acting out of place isn’t just unacceptable, it might actually bring you unwanted attention.

The problem, as you may have discovered, is that the defensive training  industry often approaches self defense by assuming everyone can dress and act like a soldier. It’s hard to find defensive training information that deals with the “real world” — like how to carry a self-protection firearm in a professional environment, how to use it effectively inside an office or a church, or even how to conceal it and still remain fashionable enough that no one notices!

That’s where I can help! Despite my training and background in this business, I’m not some tactical ninja; I’m a regular person, just like you. I take my training about how to prepare and defend myself and adapt it to real life, so that I can keep myself safe and still fit in with the rest of polite society. I don’t dress like an extra in a police drama because I’ve learned how to carry the defensive tools I need while not sticking out like a sore thumb.

More importantly, I can teach you how to carry, use and practice with the tools you’re actually going to have should you need to defend yourself tomorrow! I can also help you to develop the skills you really need as a private citizen in a self defense situation, as opposed to those of a police officer or a soldier. The skills you need are different than what they need!

How do you get this critical personal security information and develop those important self defense skills? With the resources on this site! In fact, this site is dedicated to helping make you and your family more prepared, more resilient, and more able to deal with life-altering events.

First, read my blogs; there are two basic categories, which you can see in the main menu at the top of the page: the first, Personal Safety and Training, has the information you want about how to stay safe, about the skills you need to develop, and all kinds of fact and informed opinion on the world of personal defense.

The other  “side” of the blog deals with Firearms & Technical information; that’s where you’ll find specific details on guns, ammunition, the firearms industry, and more — all written by an “industry insider”!

That’s not all, though! Check out the more detailed information available in my Information Store: books, DVDs, and videos about leading a more secure and self-reliant lifestyle. I’m adding things to the store as fast as I can, so check back frequently and see what’s new!

The Store doesn’t contain just my works, either — I also have quality material from other experts in the field, material that I’ve found useful and can recommend to you with a clear conscience.

Finally, check out my Take a Class pages; you can learn a lot from books and videos, but ultimately  there’s no substitute for getting expert, hands-on lessons to help you quickly and reliably develop the skills you’ll likely need in the event of a threat to your life. I teach classes at various locations around the country, and you can check the Calendar to find out just when and where.

Your journey to living a safer, more secure life begins with being armed: with knowledge, skills, and the appropriate tools. Buying a gun won’t necessarily keep you safe — but knowing when, why and how to use a firearm in defense of yourself and your loved ones can go a long way to making sure that you’re never a victim. You can learn all of that right here, but it’s up to you to take that first step!

http://www.grantcunningham.com