So many things to talk about and learn! Check out some of these links for a good dose of brain food today.

Ammo advice from the internet’s queen of snark: “If you are a regular shooter, you should know roughly what your monthly ammunition consumption is. If you keep that amount of ammo times six on hand, and replace it as it gets used, then ammo panics are non-events for you unless they run longer than six months.”

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Valkyries and Valhalla might seem fantastic and unrelated to ordinary people living ordinary lives, but they’re not. You’ll want to read everything at the link, but it seems only right to give you a quote to get you started. Here’s what John Mosby has to say about accepting the things you can’t control — and the things you can:

When the bell tolls for you, and you are in a gunfight, you have exactly zero control of the outcome. You have zero control over who you will be fighting. You have zero control over what training he has had. You have zero control over his speed and accuracy. You have zero control over whether he moves at the moment you break your shot, causing you to miss. You are not in control over anything that you are not in control of. Accept it. Embrace it. Accept responsibility for what you are responsible for.

So, what are you responsible for, that will make a difference? Why bother training, if we don’t have control anyway?

You are responsible for you. You are responsible for your actions. You do have control over who your enemy will be fighting. You have control over the training you will have had. You have control over what speed and accuracy you will be able to achieve. You have control over whether you are fit enough to move, fast enough. You are in control of everything that you are in control of. Accept that responsibility.

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What does refund fraud have to do with self defense? Quite a lot! Defensive firearms Greg Ellifritz explains: “If your grocery store has a gift card-for-cash machine, it WILL attract a criminal element that wouldn’t otherwise frequent the store. If the criminals are there while you shop, you are more likely to be victimized. These criminals are the same people who will also steal from a person like you if given the opportunity.”

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Love to hear accounts of good people winning. In this case, a convicted sex offender tried to break into a home in South Texas while the female homeowner was there alone. She did what she needed to do, then called the police. The intruder was dead on the scene, and Sheriff Michael Lindsey Ray had this to say about the incident: “Presently, as the result of underfunding and inadequate staffing at the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, homeowners need to take appropriate precautions to protect their families. I will continue to support the law abiding citizens of our community when they are forced to take actions to protect their lives, liberty and property.”

The only thing I would add is that the need to protect yourself and your loved ones does not rely on government funding. But you knew that!

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This is what determination looks like. (Please note that I have no information about this incident other than what’s in the linked report, which obviously may be incorrect and is certainly incomplete.) According to reporters from KRNV-DT, the driver of a Toyota forced an Audi off the road. Here’s what happened next:

When the victim came out of his Audi, the suspect — identified as Cesar Romero — exited his Toyota brandishing a handgun. 

Romero fired one round striking the victim in the chest area. 

Officials say the victim fought with Romero and took the gun away from him. The victim then struck Romero with his own gun about the head area. The victim’s brother then came to the victim’s aid and helped fight with Romero. Romero fled on foot to a residence in the area, according to police. 

The victim sustained a gunshot wound to his chest. The victim’s vehicle was reportedly disabled, so he took Romero’s vehicle and drove himself to the Northern Nevada Medical Center so that he could be treated. The victim was transferred to Renown for the treatment of non-life threatening wounds.

The guy got shot in the chest, wrestled the gun away from the attacker, and then took the attacker’s car so that he could drive himself to get medical care. He did not just give up when attacked — he fought and he kept going until he got the help he needed.

If you’re alive enough to know you were hit, you’re alive enough to choose survival. Don’t quit. Don’t ever quit.

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Realistic scenarios make a difference. In this case, a Ferguson protester was invited to try out the training simulator used by local police. He was shocked to discover that incidents of sudden violence may force a deadly response even against unarmed suspects.

During his first scenario, Robinson was forced to shoot at a man who rushed at him with a knife.

“I tried to approach the situation very calm and he immediately got defensive and pulled his knife out,” Robinson said. “I had to respond, either respond or be killed.”

In that scenario, Robinson shooting the suspect was determined to be justified, but other scenarios were not so clear. Other scenarios led Robinson to shoot unarmed suspects, even firing the training weapon, instead of the taser, on a man running at him with what Robinson believed to be a knife — which turned out to be the suspect’s fist and not a weapon.

Ultimately, Robinson only used his taser in one out of nine scenarios, but shot unarmed suspects in at least three cases.

“It was an amazing experience, I would even say a life-changing experience,” said Robinson.

My usual readers may be thinking, “What does any of that have to do with us? We’re not cops.” And that’s true — we’re not. But many of the same issues that come into play during law enforcement shootings will very likely be present if you ever need to use your gun for self defense.

Even regular citizens may need to shoot an unarmed attacker, or may fire a shot that hits the assailant in the back, or may find themselves embroiled in a politically volatile crisis after defending themselves from an attacker. The better that we (and our friends and neighbors) understand the practical realities of using force, the better prepared we will be to act quickly and appropriately during the criminal encounter. The goal is to survive the event and then weather its aftermath in good legal, practical, emotional, and financial shape. Having a clear picture of what criminal violence looks like can help.

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Heartbreaking mug shot. That’s the grieving face of a 20-year veteran officer who killed one of his own students during a training session.

The presentment states on Oct. 20 Schroeter, with an attorney present, gave a statement to law enforcement investigators. Schroeter told investigators that before the training session he removed the magazine of the department issued Sig Sauer while it was still holstered. He then said he emptied all of the bullets from the magazine.

He allegedly told investigators he did not perform a safety check of the firearm during the training session.

Thinking the weapon was not loaded, Schroeter said he squeezed the trigger and heard a bang. He reportedly saw the action slide on the firearm and saw Kedra grab onto his side after he heard the noise.

Schroeter told investigators he was “one hundred percent certain” his firearm was empty and there was not a round in the chamber.

Ballistics later confirmed the bullet that killed Kedra came from Schroeter’s gun.

People, no matter how unloaded you think your gun is, no matter how certain you are that it’s really unloaded — please do not break the other three rules. Even in a classroom, even with all ammunition removed from the area, even with an unloaded gun, even if you are a really experienced shooter.

You never want that face to be your own.