Friday Fundamentals for 2026
#fridayfundamentals
Over 10 years ago, I began writing a series called #fridayfundamentals. https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2015/09/25/friday-fundamentals-01-establishing-your-baseline/ It started with ideas from a couple of my friends, Mark Luell and Cecil Burch.
“My friend Mark Luell, the author of Growing Up Guns suggested I provide a ‘Friday Fundamentals’ post weekly. We got the idea from my colleague Cecil Burch who wrote a blog post about Fundamentals. It’s a great idea to stay in touch with the basics.”
The #fridayfundamentals series has continued intermittently ever since. An opportunity has arisen to continue to expand it. As the saying goes, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/10/07/difficulty/
For the past two years, I’ve been writing a monthly column for the digital edition of the NRA magazine Shooting Illustrated. https://www.shootingillustrated.com/ Sadly, we authors have been notified that both the digital and print editions of the magazine will cease to be published at the end of this year.
My 2024 monthly columns were about practice sessions derived from Concealed Carry License Qualification Courses. The sessions were focused on a theme and mostly limited to 50 rounds or less. While highly skilled shooters consider qualification courses to be ‘sobriety tests,’ that’s not true for the majority of gunowners. Especially when a person buys their first pistol, actually having to prove they can shoot it at even an elementary baseline level is intimidating. And because qual courses are designed for ease of administration rather than to have any training or feedback value, they can be segmented into smaller sections that actually do have some training and feedback worth.
First and foremost in my mind when I wrote the series was the Resource Constrained Environment that most gunowners have to practice in. Only a tiny minority of gunowners have access to an outdoor range where movement is possible and shot timers are workable. Almost all gunowners are limited to a booth at an indoor range where universally they can’t move, drawing from a holster isn’t allowed, and a shot timer is useless. Sometimes shooting faster than one shot every three seconds is prohibited. One of the benefits of qual courses is that they are mostly designed with this limitation in mind, so I capitalized on that benefit for the series.
Since Shooting Illustrated is going away, I’ll be re-publishing the series on a weekly basis here on my blog. In addition to the articles, I’ll be creating videos of what each session looks like from a third person POV and the shooter’s POV. YouTube has been taking down some of my videos for vague reasons unspecified other than:
“We think your content violated our firearms policy.
Content that facilitates the sale of certain regulated goods, like firearms, ammunition, or prohibited firearm accessories, isn’t allowed on YouTube.”
As a workaround, I’ll just post a Short of the specified qualification course on YouTube. Then the video of the course with the training enhancements will go up on my Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor as a free post because Patreon does not give me a hard time about them.
It’s my hope that gunowners who want to increase their proficiency will find the series useful as practice regimens. There are no shortage of incidents where gunowners find out that the gun they’re depending on doesn’t work or they can’t work it. In the context of personal protection, just knowing you can make the gun go off https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2025/09/17/testing-a-new-gun/ has a lot of value. Being able to hit something with it is even better.
Accessories for the Small Frame Revolver
#wheelgunwednesday
Buying a serviceable handgun and then purchasing low grade accoutrements is a major mistake that people often make. My latest article on Shooting Illustrated digital discusses this.
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/accessorizing-the-small-frame-revolver/
Carrying your snub with the right gear makes it more comfortable, accessible, and concealable. Good accoutrements are a worthwhile investment.
The second part of Optimizing the Small Frame EDC Revolver https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/upgrading-the-small-frame-edc-revolver/ is to use appropriate accessories for carrying it. This includes holster, belt, reloading device, and training aids. Concealed carry is a system of handgun, accessories, and shooter. Get the gear that makes them all work together.
One image that didn’t make it in for space reasons was how the SafeSnap™ fits in a J frame. Since two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time (impenetrability), the SafeSnap™ makes it very difficult to have an Unintentional Discharge when it is installed. FTC Notice: I was involved in the development of the SafeSnap™ but I receive no compensation for mentioning it.
If you would like to read more in-depth information about shooting and personal protection, consider subscribing to my Patreon page.
ARMED CITIZEN – OCTOBER 2025
Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts.
WalMart Mass Stabbing Foiled
On July 26, a homeless man in Traverse City, Mich., allegedly began attacking customers in a Walmart with no provocation. The man was reportedly armed with a folding knife and managed to quickly injure 11 people, some of whom were in their 70s and 80s, before a group of customers contained the assailant. A bystander’s video shows one of the customers, a retired U.S. Marine, drawing his gun and forcing the alleged assailant to drop his knife. The armed citizen then held the suspect at gunpoint until the police could respond. The hero later told reporters that he chose to try to de-escalate: “I didn’t think of anything other than trying to get him away from people and get him isolated and get him to put the knife down.” He also noted the bravery of the other men confronting the suspect, stating “the only thing that separated me from the other gentlemen … was what I was carrying.” The homeless man was being sought by law enforcement just before this event, though authorities did not specify why a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Additionally, he had previously been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for grave-robbing charges and was instead committed to a psychiatric facility in 2016. The man now faces 11 counts of assault with intent to murder and one charge of terrorism. (abcnews.com, New York, N.Y., 7/28/25 and 7/29/25)
Authorities were searching for Walmart stabbing suspect prior to incident
Armed bystander who helped confront Walmart stabbing suspect speaks out
Road Rage Defense
During the early morning hours of July 6, a man driving an Audi overtook a man driving a Prius and forced him off the road in Allentown, Pa. The Audi driver then exited his vehicle and began striking the Prius driver’s door with a metal baseball bat. The Prius driver was a licensed carrier and defended himself by shooting the assailant in the torso. The victim then drove a few blocks away and called police, and the suspect was pronounced dead a short time later. The incident was fortunately caught on security video, and the district attorney ruled the incident a self-defense case with no charges filed against the armed citizen. The Allentown mayor told reporters it was a “senseless” case and claimed it was a product of people “having too easy access to guns.” Reports did not indicate his opinion on the accessibility of metal baseball bats. (6abc.com, Philadelphia, Pa., 7/7/25 and 7/23/25)
Man killed in Allentown road rage shooting is believed to be the aggressor, investigators say
Allentown road rage shooting determined to be self-defense, no charges to be filed
https://6abc.com/post/allentown-road-rage-shooting-determined-defense-no-charges-filed/17259858/
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/the-armed-citizen-september-26-2025/
AI gets it wrong again
Grizzly Bear Attack
The grizzlies in Montana seem increasingly disgruntled. In the fifth such incident for the state, a man in Great Falls heard a disturbance with his chickens on the night of July 10 and left his residence to check on them. A grizzly bear was getting into the chicken coop, and reportedly charged the man, who shot it dead. Of the five reported incidents in Montana since April, this is the third involving a grizzly on someone’s property. (krtv.com, Great Falls, Mont., 7/17/25)
Grizzly bear shot after charging a man in Montana
https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-and-regional-news/grizzly-bear-shot-after-charging-a-man-in-montana
Warning Shot Foils Smash and Grab Robbery Attempt
On July 17, a mob of thieves attempted to rob a jewelry story in Anaheim, Calif. Security video shows about 20 people, several of them armed with pickaxes and sledgehammers, exiting four or five cars in the parking lot. They began smashing the store’s door, but the employees armed themselves, and the store owner fired a shot at one of the vandals, causing all of them to flee. The same store reportedly had been previously targeted as well, but the robbers were unable to get in, and another jewelry store nearby had been robbed after a vehicle was crashed through the storefront. The store owner bewilderingly attributed the robbery attempts to hunger. (foxla.com, Los Angeles, Calif., 7/20/25)
Anaheim jewelry store owner scares off mob of thieves by firing warning shot
https://www.foxla.com/news/anaheim-jewelry-store-owner-shoots-mob-thieves
Home Invasion by Multiple Intruders
On July 25, several armed men in masks broke into a home in Fort Worth, Texas, around 3 a.m. The resident shot at the intruders and then escaped through a window and called 911. Responding police found a wounded suspect one block away and transported him to the hospital. They indicated they believed the home invasion to be random, but the investigation was ongoing, and they were still seeking two other suspects. (wfaa.com, Dallas, Texas, 7/25/25)
Fort Worth man shoots home invasion suspect, escapes through a window, police say
Home Invasion by Intoxicated Agitated Neighbor
A man was inside his home around 3 p.m. on July 27 in Forney, Texas, when an intoxicated neighbor approached the home “in an agitated state.” Several people tried to stop the man, but he reportedly forced his way through a glass door and began assaulting the homeowner. The homeowner, however, was armed and defended himself by shooting the suspect once in the stomach and once in the chest. The homeowner suffered minor injuries from the attack; the suspect was airlifted to a hospital and faces first-degree felony charges upon recovery. The investigation was ongoing at the time of reporting. (cbsnews.com, Fort Worth, Texas, 7/29/25)
Police say “ongoing neighbor dispute” led shooting of suspect in Forney
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/the-armed-citizen-september-26-2025/
OCTOBER 2025 SHOOTINGILLUSTRATED.COM
ARMED CITIZEN – JUNE 2025
Visualization is a powerful tool for survival. Here are some real life incidents from the Official NRA Journals as food for thought.
In Chicago, a 66-year-old man was walking his dog around 6 a.m. on April 8 when he saw two men tapping something on the glass of a vehicle. He later told reporters that initially he thought it was a cellphone but then realized it was a gun pointed at the person inside the vehicle. One of the two men called out to him to “get the […] out of here before I shoot you,” but before he could comply, they fired shots at him. Thankfully, the man had his own firearm and returned fire. The men continued shooting toward him, but soon got into a waiting car and fled. The legally armed citizen suffered one superficial gunshot wound through his leg but was quickly treated and released. “It’s getting rough in Chicago,” the defender said. “And, Mayor Johnson, you ain’t got enough police force.” (abc7chicago.com, Chicago, Ill., 4/8/25)
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/the-armed-citizen-may-30-2025/
In Tulsa, Okla., a man was working on a car in his driveway on March 24 when a homeless man with a baseball bat approached. The homeowner knew the man approaching and had sometimes bought him meals. The homeless man, however, said he was going to teach the homeowner a lesson and suddenly struck him in the face, breaking the bat in two. The homeowner defended himself by shooting the man twice. He then tried to help the assailant, but the man died of his wounds. Police allowed the armed citizen to return home after reviewing security camera footage. (newson6.com, Tulsa, Okla., 3/26/25)
A man in Hardeeville, S.C., attempted a string of armed assaults the night of March 23. Police received a call about the man attempting to carjack a food-delivery driver, but, as they responded to that call, they heard gunshots nearby. The man who’d attempted the carjacking had reportedly fired several shots near a motel, but police weren’t sure if he was targeting anyone in that incident. The suspect then attempted another carjacking outside another motel, firing at the driver once, but this driver was armed and returned fire, striking the assailant at least three times and killing him. The investigation revealed the carjacker had also been encountered trespassing and also in a drug-related investigation in the days leading up to the armed assaults, but his behavior had not been violent in those incidents. Police indicated this investigation remained open, but they believed the armed citizen had acted in self-defense. (islandpacket.com, Hilton Head, S.C., 3/26/25)
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/crime/article303168656.html
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/the-armed-citizen-may-30-2025/
A man in Philadelphia broke into a home around 1:30 a.m. on March 27 and was shot in the chest and killed by the 70-year-old homeowner. Police indicated the investigation was ongoing, but they believed it to be an attempted burglary and lawful self-defense situation. (nbcphiladelphia.com, Philadelphia, Pa., 3/27/25)
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/suspect-arrested-man-killed-point-breeze/4144722/
Several people allegedly forced their way into a home in Los Banos, Calif., around 2 a.m. on March 28. The homeowner heard a commotion and discovered the armed intruders. He ran to get his own firearm, whereupon the suspects and homeowner shot at each other (details are vague in reports). The suspects fled, with some leaving in an unknown vehicle, but two suspects with gunshot wounds were later found and taken to the hospital for treatment. The investigation remains open. (kmph.com, Fresno, Calif., 3/28/25)
https://kmph.com/news/local/homeowner-shoots-two-after-home-invasion
In San Antonio, a 47-year-old man entered a shop on the afternoon of April 1 and confronted an employee because he was dissatisfied with the electronics repair service performed on his phone. The unhappy customer then produced a firearm and shot the 35-yearold clerk. Another employee saw the altercation and attempted to defend the clerk and other employees by shooting and killing the assailant. No other injuries were reported, and the armed citizen is not facing charges. Police told reporters “[The] suspect was actively shooting somebody in the store, so that employee stepped up and took care of that. [He] neutralized the threat.” (ksat.com and foxsanantonio.com, San Antonio, Texas, 4/1/25)
Two people allegedly broke into a home in Chino Hills, Calif., through a glass door on a second-floor balcony around 8:30 p.m. on April 2. A homeowner fired at them, causing them to flee. It was unclear whether either of the suspects were struck. Police were unable to locate them and no arrests were made. (ktla.com, Los Angeles, Calif., 4/3/25)
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/homeowner-fires-at-suspect/
A 40-year-old man in Jackson, Mich., fired one shot at a 47-year-old man who was coming up his stairs after breaking a basement window just before 6 a.m. on April 7, striking the alleged intruder in the neck. The suspect was taken to the hospital in critical condition and reportedly admitted breaking in, thinking no one was in the home. (mlive.com, Grand Rapids, Mich., 4/7/25)
https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2025/04/man-shot-in-neck-while-breaking-into-jackson-home.html
Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts.
For bonus features, visit “The Armed Citizen Blog” at americanrifleman.org. Share this column online at nrapublications.org.
NRA 2025 Annual Meeting
The NRA Annual Meeting is being held in Atlanta this year. The NRAAM shares some things in common with the SHOT Show but is oriented toward the individual gunowner instead of the industry. The Exhibit Hall Map proclaims “14 Acres of Guns & Gear.” “All the Firearms Industry’s Leading Brands Under One Roof!”
Day 1 – Friday
I visited some gear oriented booths, attended a seminar, had lunch with some industry folks, and went to a gun collector display.
The Virginia Gun Collectors Association had an interesting display regarding one of the earliest snub revolvers, the Webley Mk III Pocket. The Webleys were used by the Royal Irish Constabulary as far back as the late 19th Century. The ‘Black and Tans,’ as they were called, were notorious for their ill treatment of the Irish people. After the partition of Ireland, some of them emigrated to Canada, which is where this particular example came from.
This shows the Black and Tans in action.
A piece of gear that could be useful was at the Lyman booth. Ammo Checkers™ Multiple Calibers has a Handgun Gauge – 380 Auto, 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 38/357, 44 Mag/Spl, 45 Colt that allows a shooter to chamber czech ammo without disassembling your gun. An example of why this is useful is given in a recent Tactical Wire article. https://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/3fe2ede6-09e3-4b32-8fec-b12737186e5f
https://www.lymanproducts.com/ammo-checkers
Walking around, I wasn’t really looking for guns Friday. However, the Charter Arms Undercoverette .32 H&R Magnum https://charterfirearms.com/collections/undercoverette/products/73220-undercoverette-ss-std caught my eye. The Undercoverette has been around for a long time, although originally in .32 S&W Long, not .32 H&R Magnum. All the Charters I’ve owned have beaten themselves to death within 600 rounds but maybe a .32 wouldn’t.
At lunch, I was introduced to an NRA publication I wasn’t familiar with, Concealed Carry for Women. I was told that NRA Women https://www.nrapublications.org/news/nra-women/ publishes one hard copy per year and this is the 2025 edition. It is available as a digital download also. https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ccw_2025/
At the Smith & Wesson booth, I looked at the new Model 10 and new Model 36. Frankly, they leave me cold. Although lockless, they have the new style frame and old style half moon sights. I don’t get it. They have decent triggers though.
The class/seminar I attended was about Every Day Carry by Matt Mallory, a POlice officer in New York State and NY Concealed Carry License instructor. His style is very interactive and entertaining. One of the things he mentioned was the ability to communicate with potential attackers to determine their intent. Using the STOP! Hand Signal and your voice can be very useful. I concur completely.
More about the Meeting tomorrow.
tacticalprofessor 
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