Category: training

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Let’s Talk Tasers!

I’m sure most of you have seen TV shows, movies, or news clips about tasers, but the reality is that fictional TV and movie scenarios exaggerate or create complete falsehoods about taser and stun guns. Today, we want to talk about what these self-defense tools are, how they work, and dispels some myths.

Tasers is a broad term used to describe type of energy weapons designed for neuro-muscular incapacitation, typically from a distance beyond arm’s length. That is a very fancy way of saying that when used properly, the taser will override the signals from the brain to major muscle groups, causing the person to “lock-up” and not be able to move. These weapons are designed to stop an aggressor/attacker temporarily. In the civilian world, the shock is delivered for up to thirty seconds straight by products like the Pulse and Pulse+, allowing you ample time to escape. At no point does the attacker lose consciousness, it only incapacitates them.

A stun gun in contrast, relies on pain compliance at arms-length using electricity. It may sound the same, but the two key differences are that a taser can be used up to fifteen feet away from you, where a stun gun needs to be right up against an aggressor. Unlike in movies, a stun gun doesn’t knock people out. It applies a direct electrical shock to an attacker’s skin causing pain. The sound of the stun gun in conjunction with the pain is intended to deter and repel an attacker.

While they are both great options, the taser has a few features that can make it a better choice for most people. First off, the taser can reach out to fifteen, where the stun gun is limited to your reach. The taser can also be used as a stun gun once the cartridge has been fired. This can allow for a secondary means of defense if the attacker closes the distance and you miss with your initial shot. The Taser Pulse+ can also link with your phone and call 911 in the event you have to use it.

Many people don’t like the idea of carrying firearms and that’s ok! I would never ask someone to carry a gun if they weren’t comfortable with it. However, the taser or stun gun can still give you a degree of safety and security with the fact that you may be unarmed but not defenseless! There is also fantastic training offered for Civilian Taser users. At the writing of this article, there is only 1 Authorized Civilian Taser Instructor in the state of Kentucky: Safety Reloaded. Checkout the link below to view our taser and stun gun selection or to schedule your private taser lesson.


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Is Armor right for you?

Armor is not a topic most people talk about. Many people tend to think of body and vehicle armor as only necessary for police, armed security, and the military. And while those professions take advantage most frequently from armor solutions, they are not the only ones who could benefit from it. Considering the frequency that the media covers shootings, I wanted to take some time to dispel some myths and help those on the fence about armor.

First off, Body Armor is legal to purchase and own in the U.S. for most people, except for felons and a few other state specific limitations. All states allow you to purchase body armor, however some require to be face to face in a brick and mortar store and not over the internet. There are also some state specific laws regarding when you can wear the armor, like certain states prohibit wearing armor in a school unless it is part of your assigned duties. The bigger issue comes from intent. If you are wearing armor for your own protection during everyday activities, you are generally allowed to do so. However, if you wear armor during the commission of a crime it elevates the degree of severity of the crime and can carry additional charges and penalties. I would encourage you to check your specific state for any restrictions.

Another myth out there is calling something bullet-proof. This is a misnomer in most cases, the same as saying a suppressor is a silencer. Armor is generally tested or certified to be bullet-resistant up to a standard of protection level. Meaning that particular type of armor is capable of withstanding impacts from several calibers within their level. For instance a level 3a will be able to stop a .357 and .44 magnum, it is also capable of stopping 9mm and .38 special. Now, it will stop those rounds from penetrating that armor up to a point. At a certain number of rounds, or specially designed ammo, the armor will fail. But up to that point, the armor is bullet resistant and can help protect your life.

Now that a couple myths are out of the way, lets talk about the different type of body armor. There is soft or hard ballistic armor. The soft is going to be more flexible, more concealable, and generally weigh less. The hard armor can be composites, ceramic, or steel. These can vary in weight from 2lbs to 20lbs per plate depending on your protection level and any other enhancements. The hard armor is going to offer a higher level of protection than soft and can usually take substantially more damage before failure than soft armor. But the soft armor is less conspicuous and often more comfortable for long durations.

Many people will look at armor and think of the police/military plate carrier style that can often be large and bulky. However, there are a ton of options today, from covert soft armor that is worn under your normal clothing, bullet resistant back packs, back packs that can convert into an armored vest, and many many more. Your specific needs will dictate what kind of armor you would need. If you are looking for something to wear that doesn’t draw attention, the soft covert armor or backpacks are best. If you are looking for more protection and modularity, then plate carriers may be the best option. They also make armor specific for children, teens, and armor designed to specifically fit women as well.

There are a lot of options in levels of protection and materials used in armor, but they can all offer more protection than your standard cotton T-shirt. The media loves to tell you about shootings, but won’t ever give you any help to protect yourself. The proper training and armor can help bridge the gap between the fear some news outlets portray and the safety in uncertain times that we all need. Armor is not meant to be scary, but to give you an additional layer of protection. Other skills like situational awareness, conflict avoidance, and self defense all tie together to help keep you and your loved ones safe. Contact us today to talk about our armor and training solutions to give you the peace of mind we all deserve.


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Official Taser Civilian Trainer

Safety Reloaded was founded on the principals that everyone should be educated, trained, and prepared for the worst day of their lives. With those ideals guiding us, we continue to expand our business offerings to best suit our customers and their needs. We understand that there is some hesitation from individuals and churches to carry firearms, yet they have the want and need to keep those around them safe. With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that we are now the ONLY Authorized Civilian Taser training group in the state of Kentucky. Tasers are electroshock weapons designed to incapacitate an individual, or animal, to allow you to escape to safety.

With this expansion into the less-lethal market, we have begun carrying and stocking Taser Pulse, Pulse+, and Strikelights. We can offer hands on, practical training with your device of choice. This active approach can help you become more proficient and comfortable with these options.

Contact us today to get schedule training or buy your Taser!


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Planning for Emergencies

This week for National Preparedness Month, let’s talk about making your plan for emergencies! There’s a plethora of emergencies that you can try to prepare for from flooding to space weather (think solar flares). Maybe you’re thinking that none of these could happen to me. They may or may not so it’s best to be prepared. What you need to focus on for yourself, your family, and your business is what are credible emergencies we may have to deal with. For instance, those in Ohio are less likely to see a hurricane and more likely to see a tornado. Florida is less likely to experience an avalanche, although it is Florida so let’s not rule anything out.

Start by determining what is a possible hazard for you and where you live. Also, think of areas you frequently visit like parents and grandparents’ homes or vacation spots. Things to consider are common severe weather for the area, population/city issues (riots and pandemics), power structure failures (dams and nuclear), and infrastructure collapse. Infrastructure collapse is a broad category covering everything from power outages, road/bridge maintenance (collapse/flooding), to a complete loss of government.

Now that you have your list of likely scenarios, let’s start planning for them. The broad strokes for planning for all these situations is the same. Identify the hazard and the impact, plan for immediate threats and long-term complications, and make a contingency plan for when the initial plan fails. For instance, let’s talk tornado. The immediate threat is, obviously, the tornado. Do you clear the area or shelter in place? That choice will depend on the size, direction, and proximity of the tornado. If its overhead, shelter in place. If its 1 mile out, gaining steam and heading your way, bug out.

Next, you survive the immediate threat, now what? What are the long-term complications? Is your home usable or is it a loss? If it is a loss, where do you go? If its usable, what’s the damage? Do you have power? What’s your backup to not having power for 3 weeks? Can you get food, water, groceries during that time? This is where you need to have stores of non-perishable items and fuel. Consider what you have to barter, cash may still be king, but a gallon of water may go a lot farther in a situation like this. Let’s say you have 2 weeks of food, 1 month of water, enough batteries and fuel to cook and survive at least 2 weeks. What is your contingency if something else happens?

You and your family survived, your house survived the immediate threat, your stores of supplies survived the initial tornado… but then Murphy’s law takes over and turns your plan upside down. Power has been down for 3 days and it’s getting cold at night. Your neighbor, in an attempt to keep everyone in their house warm, lights an oil lamp in the house and their cat knocks over the lantern. Their house goes up and the fire is spreading to your house. You and your family make it out, but you’ve now lost half your food, water, and fuel. What do you do next? What is your contingency? This is where having a secondary bug-out location with additional supplies can come into play. That secondary location doesn’t need to be another plot of land you own, maybe it’s an in-laws 250 miles inland or a cousin 2 hours south. These should be things you consider in your plans and create a network of people that can rely on each other in these situations.

Whatever the emergency, you need to survive first, then have a plan and contingencies after that. There is a famous quote that would apply to these scenarios too, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy”. Know that what you expect to happen and what you plan for, may go out the window immediately. Make your plans easy to follow and simple to understand. You need to be able to recall them quickly without referencing a 2” binder. And most importantly, once you have the plan, make sure your family knows it as well as you do.

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September is National Preparedness Month!

September is National Preparedness Month! We will be releasing a few short blogs and links to resources to help you prepare. To begin, you should put together a plan. Each plan will need to be specific to your group, but below is a basic framework to follow. 

First, you need to determine communications. If you are all together that’s easy, but what happens if some of you are at home, some are at school, and others working? It’s easy to say, “everyone has cell phones”, but as we’ve seen in times of national emergencies the cell towers can’t be the only means of communicating. They get flooded with traffic, or the towers themselves can be damaged. 

Second, know if you are going to shelter in place, or bug-out! What are the reasons you would secure your home and bunker down, vs. when is it smarter to move to a secondary location? One easy one is when there is a Shelter in Place order, makes the choice obvious. But how will you secure your home? Do you have the materials on hand to do so? If it’s a hurricane coming, bugging out to a secondary location inland, or maybe even a tertiary location inland and on higher ground, may be the best option. When you think about these, remember communication. If cell towers are down, how will you communicate with those outside of the house that you made the choice to bug-out and to which location? 

Lastly, you need supplies. If you are going to shelter in place you need to be prepared to securely and safely stay in that location for however long you see fit. As we have seen with the power outages in New England recently, many went 2 weeks without power. So, loading up your deep freeze may not be the best option if you don’t have secondary power and fuel to feed it. If you are bugging out, you need the supplies to get you to a secondary location and possibly back home. If you can’t go back home, do you have enough supplies stored at another location to survive?

There are a ton of resources including free ones from ready.gov and tons more if you just google it. If you want the Cadillac of preparedness documents that will give you the best start, check-out ICERS from Superesse Straps. They have a big library of documents (linked here) worth checking out. Everything from ICERS, bug-out bags, and target hardening. I have no affiliation with them and get no kickbacks, I paid for most of their library personally and I am telling you from my experience, it’s worth it! 

In the next couple weeks I will also post blogs about building your bug-out bag, deciding to shelter vs bug-out, and more.

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New Gun Owners

July was a huge month for gun sales and new gun owners across the country and in all demographics. With that comes a lot of new gun owners which spark debates around the ethics of carrying a gun. Now I’m not going to sit here and debate that on the internet, because the internet is full of trolls. And frankly for me, this is not up for debate, if you can legally carry and feel comfortable to do so, you should! I want to take a few minutes to just remind the new owners of a few key pieces of info.

First and foremost, you need to know what the safe gun handling rules are. At a minimum they are: Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. Keep the firearm unloaded until ready to use. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until ready to fire. Know your target, and what’s behind it.

Second, get training. I can’t stress this enough! If it’s your first gun, or you aren’t that familiar with them, seek out a professional to get training. Again, I said professional! Not just the loudest guy at the gun range or that one friend who tries to appendix carry his Desert Eagle everywhere. Everyone learns differently and good instructors can make all the difference. Small difference to technique or teaching can make a world of difference for some people.

Third, get the right gear. You want a hard-sided/kydex holster, not soft fabric. There are plenty of horror stories of soft fabric or thin suede folding over into the trigger guard while someone is holstering their firearm and causing a negligent discharge. A hard-sided holster really is a must. A quality belt that is correctly size is incredibly important to keep the firearm, and your pants, where you need them to be. Cheap belts can break or not keep the holster secure while you are carrying it.

My biggest thing for new gun owners is to also take everything with a grain of salt. Everyone has their favorite gun, holsters, tactical setup, ammo, etc. Find what comfortable and safe for you, and train with it. But that is the key, train with it! Know that gun intimately and how to safely manipulate, holster, draw, and field strip it. The better you know the firearm, the more comfortable you will be with it, and the more likely you are to carry it.