Posted: Thursday, May 24, 2018

Don West, National Trial Counsel for CCW Safe, talks with litigation consultant Shawn Vincent, in this weeks episode of "In Self Defense". The two talk about the first three shootings, which all happened in residences, and the Castle Doctrine.

Posted: Monday, May 21, 2018

Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, talks about his thoughts on sights for handguns and carbines.

Posted: Friday, May 18, 2018

The loud banging woke Wafer, who had fallen asleep in front of the television. He frantically looked for his cell phone, but unable to find it, reached instead for his pistol-grip Mossberg shotgun and confronted the “shadowy figure” he saw through the peephole at his front door. When he opened the door, McBride tried to push through the locked screen door, and Wafer fired his shotgun, striking her in the face, killing her instantly.

Posted: Thursday, May 17, 2018

The loud banging woke Wafer, who had fallen asleep in front of the television. He frantically looked for his cell phone, but unable to find it, reached instead for his pistol-grip Mossberg shotgun and confronted the “shadowy figure” he saw through the peephole at his front door. When he opened the door, McBride tried to push through the locked screen door, and Wafer fired his shotgun, striking her in the face, killing her instantly.

Posted: Monday, May 14, 2018

Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, talks about his thoughts on 9mm for personal defense.

Posted: Thursday, May 10, 2018

When Ted Wafer was awoken at 3:45 A.M. by loud banging on his front door, he grabbed his pistol-grip Mossberg shotgun and opened the front door to confront the “shadowy figure” he had seen through the peephole. The “shadowy figure” turned out to be 19-year-old Renisha McBride, and Wafer had no way of knowing she was drunk, high, and suffering from an injury sustained in a single-driver accident hours before. When she tried to push through the locked screen door, the shotgun discharged, striking McBride in the face and killing her instantly.

Posted: Monday, May 7, 2018

Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, talks about his thoughts on firearms for home defense. There are three different firearms he talks about, with one being split into two sub sets.

Posted: Thursday, May 3, 2018

Ted Wafer was startled awake at 3:45 A.M. by violent pounding on the doors of his house in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights. It’s a neighborhood that had endured a rising crime rate over the twenty years that Wafer called it home. He lived there alone. It takes very little imagination to understand why Wafer was “upset” and “scared” -- words he used in court to describe his state of mind.

Posted: Monday, April 30, 2018

Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, talks about his thoughts on the ready position, and covers scenarios for each one.

Posted: Thursday, April 26, 2018

Ted Wafer fell asleep in front of the television and awoke at 3:45 AM to the sounds of someone banging violently on the door of his home in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights. At trial, Wafer’s attorney said the banging was so intense it shook the floor, and Wafer said he thought it was more than one person.

Posted: Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, has trained over 5000 people in his training career, and talks about the number one problem he sees in regards to firearms safety. Treat all weapons as if they are loaded at all times.

Posted: Thursday, April 19, 2018

Ted Wafer shot Renisha McBride on the porch of his house in the Dearborn Heights suburb of Detroit, Michigan. McBride -- who was highly intoxicated and potentially suffering from an injury obtained in a single-car accident hours earlier -- woke Wafer at quarter to four in the morning with loud banging on the side and front doors of his home. He thought it was more than one person. At trial, he testified, “This was unbelievable. I still can’t wrap my head around it that a woman would be making these sounds.”

Posted: Monday, April 16, 2018

This drill is one that is designed to ingrain in you proper trigger control that will result in better accuracy. First, make sure that your firearm is unloaded, and take any ammo out of the equation. Place a dime on the front site, present your unloaded firearm, to a shooting position, and pull the trigger. If done correctly, the dime should not move and stay on the front sight. If it falls off, then you need more practice.

Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2018

Ted Wafer, a 54-year-old airport maintenance worker, fell asleep in front of the television in his Dearborn Heights home on the night of November 1, 2013. He lived alone in the house he had purchased in 1994. The intervening twenty years had seen many changes to the Detroit suburb -- including a rising crime rate. In the middle of the night (around 3:45 am), loud banging startled Wafer out of his sleep. The noise came first from the side door, then from the front door. It was a “boom, boom, boom pounding” his lawyer Cheryl Carpenter told jurors at trial. “The floor was shaking.”

Posted: Monday, April 9, 2018

We have learned a lot from correlating the data on shootings over the years, and I think it is pretty clear that the effectiveness of 9mm is not much different from .40 or .45. Also, the fact that it holds more ammunition than other calibers, especially when talking about concealed carry, the affordability, and the fact that it is easier to shoot accurately than a lot of other guns, make it a top choice for self defense.

Posted: Monday, April 2, 2018

Confidentiality following a lethal self defense case should be of upmost importance for your emotional and legal survival. You will want to talk to someone about your experience, and that is perfectly normal. You just need to make sure that your discussion is confidential and protected. The number one person who you can have a conversation with that is protected will be an attorney. It is always good to have an attorney if you are involved in a lethal self defense incident so you can dump all of those feelings of anger, fear, consternation and worry, with full confidentiality. You may also talk to a trauma specialist, or other licensed mental health professional, or possibly an ordained minister.

Posted: Thursday, March 29, 2018

We would like to introduce our new audio podcast series, "In Self Defense" featuring Don West and Shawn Vincent. Don West is the National Trial Counsel for CCW Safe, and Shawn Vincent is the contributing author of our ongoing legal case analysis series, where we look at high profile self defense cases for lessons learned. The podcast is available here or on the iTunes store under CCW Safe. You can also get to the podcast by visiting www.ccwsafe.com/podcast.

Posted: Monday, March 26, 2018

In the immediate aftermath of a critical self defense incident, or any critical incident, it's very normal for people to think about what happened, and play that over in your mind, however, sometimes people get stuck there. Second guessing is really irrational, and when people do get stuck in intense second guessing, it's usually about things that they couldn't change, or had no control over. At some point, you have to move on, and accept the facts of what occurred, or you will start experiencing guilt, loss of confidence, or other feelings that can cause greater problems.

Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018

Byron David Smith, who had been the victim of multiple burglaries, shot and killed two teenagers after they broke into his Little Falls, Minnesota home on Thanksgiving day 2012. Earlier in the day, Smith parked his car down the street so, as prosecutors argued at trial, it would appear as if he we're not at home. When security cameras captured cousins Nick Brady and Haile Kifer snooping around his property and peeking in windows, Smith retreated to his basement where he waited in a chair near the bottom of the staircase armed with a Ruger Mini-14 and a .22 revolver.

Posted: Monday, March 19, 2018

Cognitive issues can happen in any event and become critical to all three areas. Most of us think we have good memories, but research shows that our ability for to account for accurate details is quite impaired. Our memory for detail is bad because we are almost never challenged on it. Our view is almost always a sketchy representation.

Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018

Byron David Smith claimed he was burglarized so many times in his Little Falls, Minnesota home that he no longer felt safe and had resorted to wearing a holstered pistol around the house. On Thanksgiving Day 2012, his security cameras revealed two teens casing his house and peeking in windows. Smith retreated to his basement where he waited for the intruders. Seventeen-year-old Nick Brady came down the basement steps first, and Smith shot him three times, killing him. Brady's cousin, eighteen-year-old Haile Kifer followed ten minutes later, and Smith shot and killed her as well.

Posted: Monday, March 12, 2018

Cognitive issues can happen in any event and become critical to all three areas. Most of us think we have good memories, but research shows that our ability for to account for accurate details is quite impaired. Our memory for detail is bad because we are almost never challenged on it. Our view is almost always a sketchy representation.

Posted: Thursday, March 8, 2018

Byron David Smith had suffered several burglaries at his Little Falls, Minnesota home. “I don't know who is going to break in when,” he told investigators. He had started wearing a holstered sidearm around the house. “I was no longer willing to live in fear.”

Posted: Monday, March 5, 2018

Dr. Alexis Artwohl, Behavioral Science Expert, and panel advisor for CCW Safe, starts an exciting new series on The Survival Triangle. The Survival Triangle that Dr. Artwohl talks about involves your physical survival, your emotional- psychological survival, and your legal survival.

Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2018

Byron David Smith shot and killed two burglars as they descended the stairs leading to the basement of his Little Falls, Minnesota home on Thanksgiving day 2012. The Morrison County Sheriff's Department investigated a burglary at Smith's home just a month before, and Smith claimed there were several other incidents in the preceding months. He was in such fear of another break-in, he had begun carrying a holstered pistol around the house on a regular basis.