Survival, regardless of the environment, demands a realistic understanding of your situation, personal limitations, adaptability, and resourcefulness.

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician." ~ Jeff Cooper

Responsibility and accountability are words we hear regularly these days in a variety of applications. But what do they mean for gun owners in general and the Lodestone community specifically?

Recently, a firearms instructor from another agency contacted me. His students were asking the “why” behind the modern method of employing the M4 selector and he wanted some easily digestible bullet points to give them. I decided to turn the points from that conversation into an article.

In the Training Mindset article, I talked about the ubiquitous “Tactical Tool Box” and I wanted to expand on that a little bit. Another way of thinking about the “Tactical Tool Box” was given to me by a friend who put it this way: Every single time you draw from the holster or bring your rifle on target, your mind does the mental equivalent of placing a card into your mind’s file cabinet.

We all know the guy who has a gun for every day of the year, but has very little clue as to how to employ them. We also know the guy that goes to the range with a mountain of ammo and zero structure, then leaves with a ragged target (and most likely, target stand) and not a thing learned. He looked great and had fun doing it, though!

It’s been a busy few months.  I have been running classes for a wide variety of students.  Firearms classes for us “normal” people, as well as some for local Law Enforcement and Government Agencies.  One of the consistent things I’ve seen in all the classes is the desire to go fast.  That’s normal. 

We all have different ways of learning and ways of being taught. I saw an awesome t-shirt the other day that said “The Winner Spoils and the Loser Learns”, so naturally I picked it up for myself. In a society of First World problems and participation trophies, it can be easy to stagnate.

The AR-15 pattern rifle is not an overly complex weapon, once you “open up the hood” and learn how it actually works.

The shotgun is a versatile tool, and perhaps the most common firearm in the homes of America and abroad today.  It’s a jack-of-all-trades, able to hunt anything from birds to buffalo – and yet, using it in a defensive application is a bit of a specialist’s trade.

There are two metrics by which we judge someone’s performance with a firearm – accuracy and speed. It naturally follows that focusing too much on one will naturally lead to shortcomings with the other.

"Do hard things. Hard things are rites of passage, hard things ground you, hard things heal you." —Jessica A.

The Project Avalanche was a 3-day training evolution and assessment of current skills in the “Austere Environment” series of training produced by Lodestone Training and Consulting. This course was run at the Ben Franklin Range, an 1,100 acre plot of land with thick vegetation, significant elevation changes, lots of natural resources, and no cellular reception.

I can’t wait for the Second Annual Pennsylvania Light Fighter Challenge! With it being held at the incredible Ben Franklin Range, it will be bigger and better than last year. It is designed to give you an opportunity to learn a little about yourself as you navigate a 10-plus mile course.

Here are a couple of reviews from students who attended our Austere Environment Survival Series: Wilderness Skills class. Students tested out their 72-Hour Emergency Kits/Bug-Out Bags, and learned skills including shelter-building, fire-starting, water purification, and more.

Bud wrote:

“Top notch instruction. I took the class with my 12-year-old son, we both had a blast and learned a lot…

I’m sitting on a plane, flying out to Las Vegas to run a week-long Patrol Rifle class for an agency. They asked us to set up a Patrol Rifle program for them. We are going to be traveling all over the country to teach their agents the basics of Patrol Rifle. Once that’s accomplished, we will be holding advanced training for their in-house instructors. In a sense, we will be teaching ourselves out of a job.

I’ve been sitting here and contemplating how far I’ve come as an instructor.

Sometimes we gain wisdom from learning from the mistakes of others. This is an opportunity for you to gain wisdom from someone who has mistreated his feet. To mistreat one’s feet is a great mistake.

There are three things that will keep you alive in a combat situation, in order of precedence they are: 1. The guy next to you. 2. Your training. 3. Your Weapons (includes other equipment).

What condition should your pistol be in as you carry concealed? That question is asked often in classes. A lot of our students are surprised and a little uncomfortable when we reply, ‘chambered.’

When dealing with trauma that involves injuries from gunshot wounds, stabbings, blasts, or even vehicle collisions, a working knowledge of the MARCH protocol can possibly mean the difference between life and death.

In a recent correspondence with LTAC, a client stated that, “There’s no possible way I can make the ammunition requirements for this class, with the present cost of ammunition.” I felt bad for him. He signed up for the class almost 10 months before it was to start. I know he was looking forward to it, and if the ammo costs ever come back down, he can sign up again.