THIS SITE
& ITS LOGO

Why This Website?

• This website was created in response to the frustration that I had with much of what I had been reading in gun magazines and some of what I saw being taught as defensive firearms training.
• It presents some general points as well as some of the controversial topics in the defensive use of firearms. The Naked Emperor page was originally devoted mostly to differences in interpretation that I may have with other instructors or writers. Over time, it has become more of a catch-all for all the short articles I am inspired to write from time to time.
• The Street vs. Games page was a late addition that deals with a number of general issues that I have with a lot of what passes for self-defense training in many of the "shooting schools."
• I hope that this site facilitates your own evaluation of the issues. Unlike a book, a website is easy to modify and to update. This site should be viewed as a work in progress. The chart a few paragraphs down the page shows the dates of the latest updates to the various site pages. Any update will be listed as an update to this page as well as for any other page that has been updated.
• Obviously my opinion will be discernible. You can decide how well founded my beliefs and opinions are.

• This website has grown as intended. During this time I have both developed and discontinued my own school and published two editions of a book - now out of print but offered below as a free download - on this subject. I now view the website as part of a triad that I offer to people who are seriously interested in the use of firearms for self-defense:

• I offer a free digest of news and other material on tactics and defense of our rights. The excerpts that serve as introductions to the links usually include some of my own comments.
• These mailings go out daily, with exceptions for those rare days when I am away from home or I am entertaining house guests.
• As of June 10, 2013, these mailings are being done through a list server. Click the link to the server to subscribe, suspend delivery or unsubscribe. See the instructions below for change of address.
  • The use of the list server does not appear to have cured all problems with blockage by spam filters. I have an ongoing battle with stricter and stricter spam filters, some of which seem to get installed without adequate testing. If you have been subscribed to the list and stop receiving the Digest, please start by checking any spam folders and spam filters that your provider may use in your e-mail system. Please contact your ISP's tech support to inquire if there have been any changes in filtering software - such issues are beyond my control.
  
  

  COVID-19 has not interrupted the daily mailings but, in late March 2020, Microsoft blocked delivery to all of its domains (see below for details). From time to time, the list server gets blocked erroneously as a source of spam. This usually entails a delay in getting the block lifted. I do not recall this being an issue with third-party/webmail addresses such as the free ones with services such as Yahoo, Gmail, Germany-based Tutanota, Switzerland-based ProtonMail or with those that charge a nominal fee, such as Australia-based FastMail or Netherlands-based StartMail. Note that Hotmail addresses are blocked. If you value uninterrupted delivery of the Digest, I recommend using such an address, even if only to receive a backup copy. I know of specific blocks by: Apple (e.g., icloud.com, mac.com, me.com, etc.) ATT (e.g., att.net, ameritech.net, bellsouth.net, pacbell.net, sbcglobal.net, etc.) Microsoft (e.g., hotmail.com, live.com, msn.com, outlook.com, etc.) If you have one of these addresses, you will need a third-party webmail address to receive the Digest mailings.

  
  
  • Even some ongoing subscribers who have been receiving the Digest regularly have, often repeatedly, had interruptions in delivery. Some - including with Yahoo and Gmail addresses have - found the Digest mailings in Spam or Junk folders. If you check your settings in those systems, you should find options to create filters that will no longer treat the mailings as spam. You may need to designate a new folder (e.g., "DUF") where they will subsequently be sent. If you prefer to direct the Digest mailings to a specific folder, I'm told that a similar filter option is also available in MS Outlook.
  • I recommend entering "[email protected]" in your address book and, if your ISP uses any sort of "safe sender" or "approved sender" list, entering "[email protected]" in it. If your ISP uses any contracted spam filter or firewall, such as Barracuda, enter "[email protected]" in the whitelist.
  • As of March 13, 2014, in a further effort to reduce the "spam score" of these mailings, each day�s Digest is usually split into three sections:
    • National Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA) issues;
    • State and local RKBA issues;
    • Defensive Gun Use (DGU), safety and miscellaneous firearm issues.
  • If you have been sent a computer-generated password for the list server, I encourage you to log in with it and change it to one that you will remember. Either way, you will receive a reminder of your password on the first day of every month. Additionally, you can request a password reminder from the server at any time.
  • If delivery stops, you can log in to see if there is a check mark in the "nomail" box for your subscription. You can click to remove it but, if you see a "B" next to the check mark, that means that your subscription was suspended automatically dues to excessive "bounces" and that you need to contact your ISP to ask them to stop blocking the mailings.
  • If you need to change your address, there are two options:
    1. Log in to the server to unsubscribe the old address, then resubscribe at the new address.
    2. Contact me by e-mail, telling me which address to unsubscribe and which one to use as a replacement. If you wish to receive the Digest at more than one address, please make that clear.
  • This is an "announce only" list - you will not be able to post messages to the list. If you are seeking that sort of discussion, there are numerous online firearm forums available.

  Why This Logo?

  • As to the picture, it is a Smith & Wesson New Departure Safety revolver, .38 S&W;, Fourth Model. While I firmly believe that shotguns and rifles have legitimate defensive roles, I also believe that handguns are Americans' primary defensive firearms.
  • I intentionally selected an obsolete firearm for the logo to symbolize my belief that the operator is more crucial than the equipment. In fact, I rank my priorities as follows:
    1. Mental Awareness: Know the current status of your surroundings and its occupants. Take note of people and things that depart from normal patterns. You should actually be able to avoid most unpleasant encounters.
    2. Mental Preparedness: You must decide in advance what circumstances will trigger your use of deadly force; you cannot wait until you are threatened to make the decision that you will respond with such force. Once you recognize that you have become a target you must become proactive.
    3. Tactics: In the simplest terms, this is using common sense to take any "unfair" advantage which will help you under the circumstances. While most instructors emphasize use of cover, most attacks come at close range, where side-stepping, coupled with deflection of the attack, are the crucial tactics that can give you the time to access your firearm.
    4. Skill: For the shooter this includes being able to place shots where you need them in a reasonable time frame, one-handed, with either hand, if need be. This is but the lowest-common-denominator example.
    5. Choice of Equipment: Last on the list is the actual choice of the gun and its ammunition. It's on the list, but the other issues are more crucial.
  • In historical point of fact, this particular obsolete firearm was selected because it was obviously designed as a defensive firearm, not a sporting one. Additionally, it is a direct ancestor of the S&W; Centennial series, a personal favorite.
  • As to the "~spwenger," this site spent its first four and a half years as a "free" site on EarthLink, where "~spwenger" was part of its URL.
  • This website deals with the defensive use of firearms, not their sporting use nor their misuse in any form. My fervent desire is that these opinions may help good people prevail against those who would do them harm.
  
  

  Privacy

  • I make no effort to identify or track visitors to this site, by cookies or any other means.
  • I have been asked to add the Google search feature to the site but will not do so out of respect for your privacy. You may search individual pages with the "Find" function in your browser - usually Ctrl + F. Alternatively, most search engines will restrict their search to a designated site, if directed to do so. For example, if you wanted a search of this site for "carbine," you could type in "carbine site:spw-duf.info" at your favorite search site.
  • While I do not knowingly share return addresses from e-mail generated from this site, such as to make comments or ask questions, I cannot preclude monitoring by ISP's and government agencies. Similarly, I cannot resist seizure of my computer by lawful subpoena or warrant.
  • If correspondence from you would reveal indictable, illegal activity on your part, I suggest that you reconsider such correspondence. I have no desire to abet such activity nor to become embroiled in your prosecution.
  
  
  

  Buttons for site navigation are located below the chart

  
  

  PAGE ADDITIONS AND UPDATES
  PAGE	HISTORY	DATE
  This Site & Its Logo	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	8 Feb 2021
  Common Sense?	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	19 Dec 1999
  Basic Concepts	Uploaded	4 Dec 2011
  " "	Latest Update	21 Feb 1999
  Firearm Safety	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	25 Dec 2020
  Street vs. Range	Uploaded	23 Feb 2011
  " "	Latest Update	26 Sep 2015
  Handgun Selection	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	15 Dec 2020
  Holster Selection	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	7 Jan 2021
  Ammunition Selection	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	8 Jan 2020
  Long Gun Selection	Uploaded	2 Aug 1998
  " "	Latest Update	17 Dec 2021
  Instructor Selection	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	17 Jun 2017
  Role of the Wrist	Uploaded	19 Dec 1999
  " "	Latest Update	2 Jan 2011
  Point Shooting	Uploaded	31 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	20 Jun 2013
  Shooting with Flashlights	Uploaded	19 Dec 1999
  " "	Latest Update	22 Jan 2020
  Night Sights and Lasers	Uploaded	19 Dec 1999
  " "	Latest Update	9 Aug 2019
  The Naked Emperor	Uploaded	8 May 1999
  " "	Latest Update	7 Sep 2019
  Deadly Force	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	1 Sep 2017
  A Winning Attitude	Uploaded	26 Feb 1999
  " "	Latest Update	1 Dec 2020
  Just Say Nothing?	Uploaded	27 Jun 1998
  " "	Latest Update	13 Feb 2016
  S.P. Wenger Credentials	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	6 Jun 2020
  Useful Links	Uploaded	24 May 1998
  " "	Latest Update	8 Feb 2021

  
  
  
  Material is posted on this page for information and discussion only and
  purports to be no more than the personal opinion of Stephen P. Wenger.
  
  
  I make no effort to identify or track visitors to this site, by cookies or any other means. While I do not knowingly share return addresses from e-mail generated from this site, such as to make comments or ask questions, I cannot preclude monitoring by ISP's and government agencies. Similarly, I cannot resist seizure of my computer by lawful subpoena or warrant. If correspondence from you would reveal indictable, illegal activity on your part, I suggest that you reconsider such correspondence. I have no desire to abet such activity nor to become embroiled in your prosecution.
  
  
  copyright © 1998-2021 by Stephen P. Wenger
  
  Also available at no charge, a daily mailing of news and other items of interest to gun owners
  
  
  
  FEELING PHILOSOPHICAL? Click for an extensive collection of legitimate quotations about the RKBA, politics and life in general
  

  Also available DEFENSIVE USE OF FIREARMS: Revised and Updated Click image for further details and download

  Questions? Comments? Stephen P. Wenger P.O. Box 4227 Show Low AZ 85902-4227 U.S.A.