Dry fire - practicing without live ammunition - is an essential tool for every gun owner who wants to learn how to handle their firearms more proficiently. It saves time and money while remaining an effective training method whether you are interested in guns for a hobby, for self-defense, or for competition. While there are many books that describe specific dry fire regimens, they don't always give you the information you need to use them best. That's where The Dry Fire Primer comes in. It bridges the gap between "I've heard of dry fire" and "I'm going to be a dry fire maniac and use it to its greatest potential." Whether you're brand-new to dry fire or just feel like you could be getting a bit more out of it, this book is for you.
Fr. Thomas Dubay, a renowned teacher and writer on prayer and the spiritual life, presents a simple, profound and practical book on the most important of all human activities, communion with God. Prayer Primer is written for intelligent adults (and teenagers) who want God and a serious prayer life, but it does not presuppose that they need or have a theological background. It does take up many questions rarely answered adequately in the classroom or from the pulpit, often not mentioned at all: Why pray? (be ready for some surprises) ... Why vocal prayer is important and yet should be limited ... What contemplation is and is not ... Praying with Scripture ... Family prayer - even how to introduce children to group meditation ... Prayer in a busy life ... Pitfalls and problems - together with solutions ... Buddhism? New Age? Centering prayer? ... What should you do when dry and empty and not at all inclined to pray? How do you even get started? ... Where and how to begin? ... Assessing progress ... Growing in depth. All of these subjects, and more, are clearly and concisely explained for citizens of this 21st century.
A surprising journey from tech support to professional marksman in front of the cameras. Chris Cheng won the title of “Top Shot,” a $100,000 cash prize, and a professional marksman contract with the show sponsor, Bass Pro Shops. How did a tech support guy who didn’t shoot a lot of guns beat out seventeen other competitors—including seasoned military veterans, law enforcement officers, and pro marksmen—in History Channel’s Top Shot season 4? An excellent guide for beginning shooters, Cheng focuses on the basics and ammunition of pistols, rifles, and shotguns, marksmanship fundamentals, and buying a firearm. Other chapters include: Dry Fire Practice Firearm Accessories Safely Storing Your Firearm Cleaning and Maintaining Your Guns And much more! Additionally, Cheng covers his approach to staying calm under pressure, teamwork, sportsmanship, and leadership. These traits contributed to his coming out on top and staying above the fray. With a foreword written by Top Shot season 3 champion Dustin Ellermann and an afterword written by the original Top Shot champion Iain Harrison, Shoot to Win is sure to please shooters of all stripes, but especially fans of History Channel’s program Top Shot. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
This primer is designed to teach students the interconnected arts of visual communication. The subject is presented, not as a foreign language, but as a native one that the student "knows" but cannot yet "read." Responding to the need she so clearly perceives, Ms. Dondis, a designer and teacher of broad experience, has provided a beginning text for art and design students and a basic text for all other students; those who do not intend to become artists or designers but who need to acquire the essential skills of understanding visual communication at a time when so much information is being studied and transmitted in non-verbal modes, especially through photography and film. Understanding through seeing only seems to be an obviously intuitive process. Actually, developing the visual sense is something like learning a language, with its own special alphabet, lexicon, and syntax. People find it necessary to be verbally literate whether they are "writers": or not; they should find it equally necessary to be visually literate, "artists" or not. This primer is designed to teach students the interconnected arts of visual communication. The subject is presented, not as a foreign language, but as a native one that the student "knows" but cannot yet "read." The analogy provides a useful teaching method, in part because it is not overworked or too rigorously applied. This method of learning to see and read visual data has already been proved in practice, in settings ranging from Harlem to suburbia. Appropriately, the book makes some of its most telling points through visual means. Numerous illustrated examples are employed to clarify the basic elements of design (teach an alphabet), to show how they are used in simple syntactic combinations ("See Jane run."), and finally, to present the meaningful synthesis of visual information that is a finished work of art (the apprehension of poetry...).
Dryfire Reloaded is an at home training manual for Practical Shooting competitors. This manual gives you a comprehensive set of drills to take your skills to the next level. This book has extensive drill commentary, where specific information on the focal points and goals of each individual drill are explained in detail. There is enough information here so you have the ability to act as your own coach. There are log sheets included in the book so you can track your progress. This book is self-contained, but it works best if you are using it in conjunction with “Skills and Drills” or have already taken a class with Ben. This book contains: A brand new set of “Elements” designed to get your gun handling up to speed, log sheets to track your progress, extensive drill commentary, tips on danger areas to watch out for, and much more!
Extremely popular and hailed by trainers and officers nationwide as one of the most realistic all-encompassing firearms guides ever published. Handgun Combative overflows with the street-proven wisdom and priceless advice of prominent gun expert Dave Spaulding. Includes insight into weapon, ammo & holster selection, grip tips for better weapon retention, increasing accuracy, skillful firearms use in challenging settings, preparing for quick response and peak performance, and training for weak hand shooting. No officer should be without this book...period.
System state estimation in the presence of noise is critical for control systems, signal processing, and many other applications in a variety of fields. Developed decades ago, the Kalman filter remains an important, powerful tool for estimating the variables in a system in the presence of noise. However, when inundated with theory and vast notations, learning just how the Kalman filter works can be a daunting task. With its mathematically rigorous, “no frills” approach to the basic discrete-time Kalman filter, A Kalman Filter Primer builds a thorough understanding of the inner workings and basic concepts of Kalman filter recursions from first principles. Instead of the typical Bayesian perspective, the author develops the topic via least-squares and classical matrix methods using the Cholesky decomposition to distill the essence of the Kalman filter and reveal the motivations behind the choice of the initializing state vector. He supplies pseudo-code algorithms for the various recursions, enabling code development to implement the filter in practice. The book thoroughly studies the development of modern smoothing algorithms and methods for determining initial states, along with a comprehensive development of the “diffuse” Kalman filter. Using a tiered presentation that builds on simple discussions to more complex and thorough treatments, A Kalman Filter Primer is the perfect introduction to quickly and effectively using the Kalman filter in practice.
Charles McRaven, a dedicated stonemason for more than 50 years, brings his practical experience and deep respect for the material to The Stone Primer, the essential guide for homeowners interested in adding stone to any setting, indoors or out. Here is everything readers will want to consider when beginning a do-it-yourself project, hiring a professional stonemason to carry out a difficult design, or simply planning and dreaming in stone. Know the properties of common types of stone. Choose, collect, and move the right stones for the project. Place them in perfect layers, make them fit with the proper tools, and learn the basics of drystacking and mortaring. McRaven covers it all in detailed how-to chapters, embellished with anecdotes, historical tidbits, and profiles of noted masons. Following the basic techniques are dozens of projects to browse for inspiration or use as practical guidance. Designs for the home include everything from structural masonry (stone foundations, columns, and chimneys) to interior accents (fireplaces, hearths, floors, and countertops). Landscaping uses include flagstone pathways and patios, several kinds of walls, water features, gazebos, bridges, and even stone sheds and houses. Full-color photographs and illustrations provide how-to sequences for the budding stonemason and inspirational images for anyone interested in bringing the weight and permanence of stone to the home.
Despite public perception, osteoporosis remains a widespread, devastating disease, and a very serious and costly public health threat. Early detection and treatment must be a priority for primary health care providers. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the principal x-ray technology used to diagnose osteoporosis in its early, asymptomatic stages, to assess treatment efficacy, and to guide treatment decisions. It remains the gold standard today. A DXA Primer for the Practicing Clinician: A Case-Based Manual for Understanding and Interpreting Bone Densitometry is developed around real cases of patients’ DXA measurements. The content is derived from presentations given by the authors at a national society training course and exemplifies not only the complete body of education provided through these lectures but the full range of previously undiscussed nuances as well. This practical, easy-to-read title provides the day to day problems of DXA usage that new users may encounter and that training courses do not have time to provide in detail. The central focus of the book is the presentation of what is normal and what is problematic in the use of DXA, depicting various scenarios with real case histories of patients, their corresponding DXA images and the data that explain the problems. Unique in approach and presentation, this case-based manual will be of immense value to all practitioners -- and students – interested in providing optimal diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: “The terrifying story of the worst disaster in the history of the US Forest Service’s elite Smokejumpers.” —Kirkus Reviews A devastating and lyrical work of nonfiction, Young Men and Fire describes the events of August 5, 1949, when a crew of fifteen of the US Forest Service’s elite airborne firefighters, the Smokejumpers, stepped into the sky above a remote forest fire in the Montana wilderness. Two hours after their jump, all but three of the men were dead or mortally burned. Haunted by these deaths for forty years, Norman Maclean puts together the scattered pieces of the Mann Gulch tragedy in this extraordinary book. Alongside Maclean’s now-canonical A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, Young Men and Fire is recognized today as a classic of the American West. This edition of Maclean’s later triumph—the last book he would write—includes a powerful new foreword by Timothy Egan, author of The Big Burn and The Worst Hard Time. As moving and profound as when it was first published, Young Men and Fire honors the literary legacy of a man who gave voice to an essential corner of the American soul. “A moving account of humanity, nature, and the perseverance of the human spirit.” —Library Journal “Haunting.” —The Wall Street Journal “Engrossing.” —Publishers Weekly
