Favorite Drills: The 5×5
The 5×5 is a simple drill, so much so that if you’ve been shooting pistols for a little bit, you may think it’s too simple, but don’t judge too quickly.
Gabe White’s Threats Drill
Gabe White’s Undertrained Concealed Carry Tactics training block at TacCon included a drill intended to get students new to tactical shooting thinking about appropriate levels of force when faced with various threats.
TacCon 2026 AAR: On-Demand Skills And Concealed Carry Tactics
Learning and Teaching One of the best aspects about TacCon for me is that it provides me with the opportunity to view classes from both the student and instructor’s perspective. In every block, I’m a student, but I also get to watch highly experienced instructors teach classes. And some blocks are specifically geared to teaching […]
TacCon 2026 AAR: Knives And Pistols For Entangled Fights
Two of my training blocks at TacCon 2026 were on techniques and concepts for extreme close-quarters and entangled fights. One was Greg Ellifritz’s block on using edged-weapons when hands-on with an assailant, and the other was Cecil Burch’s block on using a pistol in an entangled assault (a.k.a. retention shooting).
TacCon 2026 AAR: Managing Unknown Contacts And Potential Violence
I would summarize MUC as managing interactions with strangers with ambiguous, but potentially dangerous, intent in a socially acceptable way that maintains our safety. One of the keywords there is “ambiguous.” Part of the MUC paradigm is understanding that the man approaching you quickly and directly could very well be a threat, or he may be coming to ask you to help him get a dying baby out of a hot car. MUC is about having reasonable actions that we can take to help us maintain distance while also assessing the person’s behavior.
TacCon 2026 AAR: Intro To Competition And The Pistol Match
Competition is a great way to push oneself and get acclimated to stress and pressure. I’m a firm believer that every defensive incident is the highest-stakes version of a competition. While competitive shooting is obviously not a life-or-death situation, it gets the pulse and blood pressure up and forces us to stand and deliver our best performance with no mulligans.
TacCon 2026 AAR: Church Security
Everyone brings baggage with them to church. Some people bring a small carry-on, and some people bring a shipping container. From broken marriages to drug addiction to violent behavior, some of the lost that the church seeks to shepherd have some very serious issues.
TacCon 2026 AAR: Fix Your Grip, Fix Your Shooting
While stance is important in shooting a pistol, I believe the grip is really the foundation that we shoot from. Stance can certainly aid in aiming and mitigating recoil, but you don’t hold the gun with your feet. In my experience, a poor grip leads to more issues with shooting a pistol than anything else, including aiming and trigger control.
Initial Thoughts On 2026 TacCon
The Tactical Conference is a great opportunity to get some training in a staggering number of self-defense topics. It’s also a great reminder that self-defense is for everyone.
Small Guns Suck, Right?
Context is key with pretty much everything. With concealed carry, there’s way more to consider than just “how well does it shoot?” There’s a reason it’s called CONCEALED carry, not SHOOTABLE carry.