Conceal & Carry

Growing up, I watched lots of Westerns on television. It was clear to every youngster in those days that there were bad guys who used guns for evil deeds, and good guys with guns were required to stop them. The guns were never blamed. And the good guys with guns weren’t demonized the way gun owners are today. Extremists no longer make any secret of their schemes to disarm honest citizens by banning, confiscating and taxing guns and ammo. They will never admit that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens will not stop criminals from using them. It’s senseless to try to debate the facts with them. Early in my police career, I learned that it was futile to try to reason with drunks, drug users and mental cases. Want…

KIMBER ADDS NEW 1911s AND MORE FOR 2020 When Kimber Manufacturing introduces a pistol model that becomes popular with the shooting public, it isn’t long before the company follows it up with numerous variations. It’s no different this year as Kimber announced its new products for 2020 that include more of its popular 1911s and expansions of both its Micro 9 pistol and K6s revolver lines. No one makes a greater variety of 1911 pistols than Kimber. This year the company is introducing the Rapide Black Ice. This pistol, with attractive two-tone KimPro finish, features stepped cocking serrations, lightening cuts in the slide to speed up lock time, a DLC-coated barrel, flush-fitting magazine well and Tru-Glo TFX Pro Day/Night Sights. The match-grade trigger is listed as having a 4- to…

Aaron Cowan began his career in the United States Army (11M) in 1999, serving seven years in the infantry. During his time in the military, he served as a rifleman, squad automatic rifleman and designated marksman and received training in small unit tactics, close quarters combat, and ballistic and mechanical breaching. After leaving active duty, Cowan worked as a private security contractor both CONUS and OCONUS, conducting convoy security, close protection details, static security and relief security during natural disasters. Cowan served more than 10 years in law enforcement, both federal and state, working both uniform and plainclothed assignments. Cowan served as a SWAT/SRT member, sniper section member, deputy SRT commander, field training officer and training coordinator. In 2011, Cowan formed Sage Dynamics with the goal of maximizing training realism…

If you were to take a survey among a thousand people to see what their preferred knives are for everyday carry, you might get a thousand different answers. The choices might reflect a well-researched investment in a quality blade from a reputable company to get the exact blade configuration, steel and handle material desired. In some cases, the knives selected might be the cheapies that are used and abused and carried mostly on the premise that their owners won’t cry if they lose or destroy them. One category of knife that deserves consideration for everyday carry is the small fixed blade. They have several advantages where they’re legal to carry—but those legalities you’ll have to research for yourself because nonsensical knife laws vary widely. Compared to a folding knife, a…

You’ve settled on the everyday carry gear that fits your normal everyday routine. You probably carry a sub-compact pistol, one spare magazine, a pocketknife and maybe a small flashlight. This, of course is in addition to things such as a wallet, several keys on a ring and the inevitable cell phone. Those things pretty much use up your pocket space without weighing you down too much. But what if your everyday routine is suddenly turned upside down and you’re facing extreme conditions? Maybe it’s a natural disaster such as an earthquake, wildfire or hurricane and you have to evacuate on a moment’s notice. Maybe you’re on your way to visit relatives for the holidays and your car gets stuck in a snow drift on some desolate road. Maybe you take…

Active killer events—or active shooter incidents, as they’re referred to by the mainstream media—are not new. In fact, they’ve been going on for more decades than most people seem to realize. And although they are not new, they have been happening more frequently in schools. Theories abound as to why this is taking place, but the cold, hard truth is societal norms now seem to encourage a twisted blend of entitlement and a narcissistic desire for notoriety. The real question is not do we have a problem; it’s how do we ensure we’re prepared to face it? Here’s the good news: Active killer events have repeatedly proven true the axiom that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. This…