Alexa, Can You Hear Me?

In this week’s mailbag…

I’ll discuss dry firing with pistols…

If talking to Alexa is safe

A concern to consider when building a fire…

How to attend Shot Show…

What to teach your daughters for self defense…

And how to remain situationally aware even in the bathroom…

Let’s dive in…

Are most pistols safe to dry fire?
– Kim P

Answer: Yes. The only pistols that I wouldn’t recommend for dry fire practice are revolvers or rimfire pistols since there is potential for damaging the firing pin. But, if you own any semi-auto gun that is not a .22, they are perfectly safe to dry fire and you won’t damage the gun.

I have a friend that has one of those devices in which they talk to Alexa. It seems to me that if they can give Alexa directions at any time, that means that Alexa is listening to all conversations. Who gets to hear these and are they saved?
– Dennis S

Answer: In my opinion, having these types of devices in your home is very dangerous and could lead to your personal information being stolen. The reality is, hackers are always looking for ways to get into people’s homes and steal their personal data.

As you mentioned, since Alexa is always listening, a hacker could take advantage of that and learn personal details about your family. (Companies claim they don’t listen in an don’t save the data, but, of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.)

Great article on building a fire. I have one comment about using rocks to stay warm. If the rocks are collected along a river or stream they may contain water on crevices inside. If heated enough to create steam they can explode with disastrous effects.
– Earl D

Answer: You bring up a great point. You would definitely want to choose your rocks carefully and try to find ones with the least amount of water and dirt. When heating them, I would keep my distance from the fire in case there was an unexpected issue.

We are presently in Santa Barbara CA and will be returning to St. George UT the end of January. What are the dates of the SHOT Show and how can I be invited?
– John F

Answer: Shot Show 2019 takes place January 22nd-25th in Las Vegas. SHOT Show is restricted to members of the shooting, hunting and outdoor trade industry including commercial buyers and sellers of military, law enforcement and tactical products.

Therefore it’s not open to the general public and in order to attend you would need to have some sort of relationship with a retailer or manufacturer who would invite you to attend under their company name.

Hi, Jason is there 1 self-defense tactic that I can teach my 3 teenage girls that will help them the most if anything were to happen. My oldest likes to run, and I’m adamant about not wearing headphones, and not to wear her hair in a pony tail…
– Katie W

Answer: Yes, there is. It would take too long to detail here, but it’s in my Patriot Defense and Survival guide. This is a free book (all you have to do is cover postage.) You can get it here and this is definitely what I’d teach your girls and what I plan to teach my three daughters when they’re older.

One of my concerns is in the rest room stall or at the urinal with my back to the world. I travel to the Philippines often and I am in an area that has lots of rebels and I also frequent the mall and shops. And using the rest room always makes me uneasy because my back is to the world or in a stall it’s such a confined space. Any suggestions about defense I could learn would be great.
– Mark B

Answer: Using a public restroom is one place where we need to have heightened situational awareness. If you happen to be standing with your back to other people, I recommend using the spot that is against a wall on the end.

This way it will be easier to look out for any threats. I also peer over my shoulder quite a bit and make it obvious that I’m looking to see if anyone is coming up behind me. I’m not shy about letting others know that I am using good situational awareness.

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