I have no social media accounts; all purported ones are fake.

  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted May 22, 2023

How-to: A close-to-home example of risk analysis

I participate in an online cooking forum. A few weeks back we had a discussion about the relative safety of brushes to clean a grill (barbecue or indoor). This might seem like a mundane topic with no lessons for us, but as it happens it’s a case study on risk assessment. You might not know […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted May 15, 2023

Just a quick thought…

Planning isn’t sexy, but it’s the best way to get where you want to go. That’s why preparedness and security start with pen and paper, not guns and shooting. -=[ Grant ]=-
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted January 4, 2022
  • In lubriplate

New year, exciting new product announcement!

I’ve been looking forward to this day for over 15 years. I honestly have. Long-time readers of this blog already know my views on lubricants for firearms. (For those who are new, click here for the article.) Because of what I learned writing that article, for the last decade and a half I’ve used and publicized […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted December 27, 2021
  • In lubriplate

“It seemed like a good idea at the time”

One day my wife and I were going through our preparedness supplies, checking expiration dates and seeing if any items needed repair or replacement. (It’s amazing how much of our back-stocked clothing didn’t fit any longer. It must have shrunk in storage; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)  As we got to the […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted December 22, 2021
  • In lubriplate

“If you can’t say anything nice…”

I’ve had a blog post ready to release for the past few months, and continually vacillated on whether to publish it. I finally decided not to hit the upload button.  The article was about information; more specifically, it was about how people allow their biases and prejudices to affect what information they collect and how […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted October 4, 2021
  • In lubriplate

Things I’ve come to understand

Quick reminder: If you’ve gotten this in your email, it’s because, at some time in the past, you signed up and agreed to receive updates from me. If you don’t remember who I am, or have decided you don’t want to hear from me any longer, just click the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted March 25, 2020
  • In lubriplate

Should you have a “bugout retreat”?

Lots of people recommend buying a bugout retreat as an essential part of preparedness. How realistic is that, and is there a better way?
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted March 19, 2020
  • In lubriplate

Living through the pandemic — and beyond

The coronavirus is going to grow exponentially in the next couple of weeks. Here's how to prepare for the immediate future — and beyond.
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted February 27, 2020
  • In lubriplate

Coronavirus: What we know now, what’s coming, and how to prepare

This is going to be a very long post, and for that I apologize. The situation with the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, has been both fluid and unclear. I’ve avoided posting anything specific to this point, simply because we didn’t know enough. Today we do, and the situation has focused […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted September 13, 2019
  • In lubriplate

The Ambiguity Zone, Part 2: Crossing the line

The Ambiguity Zone is that space of time, no matter how long or short, where potentially life-altering decisions must be made with the limited information available. Do we respond, or wait for the situation to become clearer?
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted September 6, 2019
  • In lubriplate

The Ambiguity Zone

There is a time in any incident where it's not clear what's happening — or even that anything is happening. How do we handle that?
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted August 30, 2019
  • In lubriplate

Going shooting in the wilderness? Be safe!

Instead of belonging to a gun club or using a commercial range, many gun owners enjoy heading out into the countryside to shoot. In my area of the world, this is often an old gravel pit out in the woods. There are lots of such locations scattered around the Pacific Northwest, as they’re used to […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted August 23, 2019
  • In mythbusting, realistic

Retrieving the rifle: an overlooked skill

One of the things I teach is the idea that the rifle is the gun we are most unlikely to have on our person when we need it. It’s the firearm that needs to be retrieved in order to use, and that affects how we train and practice.

How to get politicians to listen to you

  There is a lot of activity, at the federal, state and local levels, on various bills of interest to those of us concerned with personal liberties. Because of the unsettled political climate, we’re seeing more and more calls to “write your elected representatives”, but no one ever explains just how to do so effectively (if […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted July 28, 2019
  • In confidence, context

All or nothing? Not in my world.

Getting started in preparedness, whether the entry point is in self defense or in disaster survival, can seem daunting. Even moving from one area of preparedness to another, particularly if they’re unrelated, can also be intimidating. Unfortunately, sometimes the people who are well-versed in those topics don’t make the situation any easier. Here's how to deal with those people.

The myth of the “concealed carry lifestyle”

  People very often refer to concealed carry as a “lifestyle”. I’m not sure I can agree with that. A lifestyle is a behavioral pattern which expresses how someone sees him or herself, and how they want others to see them. Their activities, opinions, and even how they spend their money are all reflected in […]

Following up on the Three Easy Steps: Readiness as a habit

  Last week I introduced Grant’s Patented Plan To Becoming More Self-Reliant In Three Easy Steps ™: Buy a pocket knife. Buy a small high-intensity flashlight. Carry them with you every day. My approach to preparedness, whether the subject is self defense or disaster readiness, is to start with becoming better prepared to handle common, […]

How to get prepared in three easy steps

  I admit to a bit of creative over-simplification in today’s title, but there’s an important lesson in it. My wife and I were walking in the woods recently, and the topic of conversation touched on preparedness. Rather, the lack of preparedness amongst a large percentage of the adult population. How the other three-quarters lives […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted June 14, 2019
  • In ammo testing, hollowpoints

What if you can’t get the ‘best’ ammunition?

The other day I got a message from a fellow who’s been asking me questions about a new carry gun purchase. He finally decided on the model he wanted and had bought it, and now wanted to know about ammunition. Not what ammunition I recommended — he already knew that — but what he should […]

There are no defensive shooting experts.

  If, by “expert”, you mean someone with a significant amount of first-hand experience in the activity (i.e., shooting people who attacked them) . Here’s the dirty little secret no one in this business will admit to: none of us have enough — in most cases any — shooting experience defending ourselves against a criminal […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted May 31, 2019
  • In attacks, negative outcomes

This guy got lucky. You might not.

One of my big peeves in this business is the number of bad lessons that are presented in the context of “he had it coming!” In these stories there’s usually a petty criminal (these are almost always minor property crimes) who is caught “red handed” by a virtuous (and obviously very manly) gun owner. The […]
  • By Grant Cunningham
  • Posted November 5, 2018
  • In teaching

Revolver Knowledge: Resetting the double-action trigger

A revolver shooting issue that comes up frequently is resetting the double-action trigger (or, more correctly, allowing the trigger to reset.) This problem seems to be more common among those who are accustomed to shooting autoloading pistols, as they tend to develop habits that shooters of lesser experience do not. (I’m not saying the problem […]

The critical skill no one teaches

The ability to judge risk is critical to the long game of self defense. (As it happens, it’s also critical to efficient preparedness, investing your retirement funds wisely, and the choice between flying or driving to your vacation destination.) Yet, despite its importance, it’s very rarely talked about — especially in the self defense community. […]

You shouldn’t listen to the “shoulds”. Or should you?

Lately I’ve been allowing myself to do something I caution others to never do: read the comments.  Whenever I’ve come across a news story that has something to do with self defense or disaster preparedness, I read a few of the comments left by others. I’ve noticed something interesting: they often use the word “should”. […]

The “long game” of self defense

It’s easy to think of self defense as a thing you do in response to a bad guy. After all, that’s what most self defense courses focus on: bad guy appears and you perform the indicated response. So neat. So tidy. So precise. And so misleading. Self defense doesn’t start when the bad guy appears, […]

Interchangeable chokes for defensive shotguns? Why not!

Instructor Georges Rahbani showing a kneeling position with the defensive shotgun If any firearm could be said to be overlooked, it’s the defensive shotgun. While not a tool for the inexperienced, it must be acknowledged that the shotgun loaded with a defensively-appropriate shell (preferably in the buckshot category) is a force to be reckoned with. […]