A Tribute to the Legendary Greg Ellifritz

Written By justin carroll

It’s hard to believe there was a time before I knew about Greg Ellifritz. It is not an exaggeration to say that Greg has been perhaps the single biggest and most enduring influence on my development as a shooter, a thinker, a writer, a cop, and a responsibly armed Citizen. Today I would like to say a huge public “thank you” to my friend, Greg Ellifritz. And not just from me, but from the tens of thousands of folks he has impacted. I have little doubt that many of you will echo this sentiment.

Quick Note: I planned to transpose this to YouTube. Unfortunately I am sick this weekend and unable to record my voice. If you like the YouTube format, this should be available there next week. Thanks you for your patience. In the meantime, I posted another video of an old article to fill space.

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Why Now?

This isn’t my story to tell, but some context is in order here. Several years ago Greg announced his prostate cancer diagnosis to the world. Since that time there have been several “ups” and “downs” with his diagnosis and prognosis, and he has very openly kept readers updated. Currently Greg’s cancer is metastatic, meaning it has escaped his prostate and has spread to other organs. In his own very honest, pragmatic words, Greg is “already beating the odds.” He says, “patients with my type and stage of cancer live an average of 30 months after their cancer spreads… I'm at month 31 since my cancer initially spread outside my prostate gland.” He is still writing, teaching, traveling, and doing the things he loves doing.

I would be lying if I said that his diagnosis had nothing to do with this article. One of my former fathers-in-law used to say, “You should enjoy your roses while you’re alive.” I love this saying, and he would throw it out when he would very generously give you a random gift for no apparent reason. I wanted to the opportunity to thank Greg, and publicly praise him with the things you normally say after someone is gone. Too many times I’ve lost a friend, heard their praises sung at their funeral, and wondered why no one thought to tell them about the things they did that mattered while they were still around to appreciate it.

If you’re wondering, this article is absolutely written with Greg’s blessing. He gave me permission to write whatever I wanted to write, without limitation. However, Greg did ask two things of me: first, that I only write this article if I felt it would benefit the community and my readership in some way. I am absolutely certain it will benefit some folks out there, present or future. Second, he asked that I write it only if I felt like it was a good use of my time. I can’t really think of a better use of my time than honoring someone who has done so much for the loose confederation of the self-defense/tactical/preparedness community.

Why Me?

You might also be wondering, “why are YOU writing this?” And that’s perfectly a fair question because, to be frank, I don’t feel up to the task. I’m not one of Greg’s closest friends. I’ve not taken as many classes with him as many of you have. We correspond, but infrequently and irregularly. I’m not a very well-known figure in the firearms training arena. So why am I writing this?

In the firearms community, Greg is as close to a “mentor” as anything I’ve ever had. I’ve taken so much advice from Greg there will be no way to quantify it. Through thousands of articles, a few classes, and hundreds of Weekend Knowledge Dumps, I’ve taken so much information from Greg Ellifritz, I feel compelled to give something back. At the end of the day I am just a dude who wants to express his appreciation to a man who has done a lot to increase the total knowledge in the world of firearms and self-defense.

Who is Greg Ellifritz?

It’s hard to imagine there are people out there who don’t know of Greg Ellifritz. However, someone becomes a new shooter every day, so allow me to introduce you. If you do know him, I’m sure you’ll still enjoy my take on the man, the myth, the legend. Greg is a hard man to pin down to one label, title, or appellation. I’ll try to give you his credentials in relation to how I think of him. This may or may not be the most accurate view of him, or how he views himself, but this is how I tend to mentally categorize this true Rennaissance man and polymath.

Firearms (and Other Stuff) Instructor

Greg sort of defies classification in the realm of instructors. Many instructors focus one on thing. There are many instructors I can think of as “the red dot guy” or the “revolver guy” or the “competition guy.” Greg is a generalist. He teaches firearms, of course, but not just a few things. I have personally taken Greg’s revolver class and his tactical handgun class, and both were absolutely top-notch. Greg also teaches shotgun, knife work, ground fighting, and an ever popular extreme close quarters gunfighting clas

Greg teaching suturing at the Tactical First Aid and System Collapse medicine class I took in 2018 in northern Virginia. This seems like a million years ago.

The curveball is that Greg also teaches medical stuff. The first Ellifritz class I ever took was his Tactical First Aid and System Collapse Medicine. “Why is a cop teaching medicine?” you might be wondering. I get it. But Greg’s deep educational background, combined with his experience as a first responder, and taking care of himself in the third-world make him uniquely qualified for his brand of first aid class. Truthfully, outside of a live-tissue lab, this was one of the best single days of medical training I’ve ever had. And I say that now, with several years of experience as a paramedic under my belt. Seriously, it this class is absolutely top-notch and if you can find an opening in one, grab it.

Writer

Greg’s blog, ActiveResponseTraining.net, is one of the most popular blogs in the training space. Though Greg occasionally mentions that readership has fallen off significantly, it is still a relatively HUGE blog, especially compared to the likes of a small time operation like SwiftSilentDeadly.com or RevolverGuy.com. It consistently shows up near the top of lists of most popular tactical blogs…and for good reason. All of the articles are seasoned with the experience and perspective Greg gained as a law enforcement officer.

It’s hard to imagine anyone reading this hasn’t heard of Greg’s blog, but new shooters begin their gun-carrying days every day. If you’re new to the world of shooting, ActiveResponseTraining is must-read material! The blog contains over 1,500 articles. The vast majority of these articles are “evergreen” and will be valid for many years to come. Even if you’re finding this article and learning about Greg years from the time this is published, the overwhelming majority of the content will still be useful to you.

Greg also wrote one of the best travel books I’ve ever read: Choose Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places. I am extremely proud that a copy occupies a spot on the shelf of books my friends have written. Even if you’re not a world traveler, this book is filled with excellent information. And if nothing else, it’s a glimpse inside a life more adventurous than most of us actually lead. Choose Adventure is highly recommended reading! You can read my very early review of it here.

World Traveler/Adventurer

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Greg is as well-traveled and adventurous as Robert Young Pelton, a comparison that I’m certain would not be unwelcome. (Sidebar: I was chatting with a slightly younger co-worker the other day who didn’t know who RYP was…to his own detriment). Greg has traveled to every continent and scores of countries. He travel articles aren’t terribly popular, but I always looked forward to them, as both a glimpse into the life of an adventurer, and to places I may never go.

Greg has some wild stories from his travels, including getting stuck in Central America, extremely sick with COVID-19 (he ended up hospitalized for a week and wearing oxygen for several weeks) , and having to figure out how to get back to the U.S. He wrote an article about it called Escape from Ecuador. I hope I get to write an “escape from ___” article one day! He also has a badass article about climbing Kilimanjaro with extreme altitude sickness and cerebral edema but still making it to the top. There are plenty more adventure stories in the pages of ActiveResponseTraining.net and his companion Choose Adventure blog. Also like RYP, Greg has also designed a knife based specifically on his travels. The Ka-Bar LDK (Last Ditch Knife) is still a strong seller.

Avid Reader

Every year I anxiously await one article: Greg’s annual The Best of What I Read (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). Greg reads a tremendous number of books each year, somewhere around 100-150. He is one of the very few people I know of who reads more books than I do (and he’s certainly the inspiration for my prodigious reading habits). As such, when he recommends a book, I listen. This year I strove to read every book on the 2025 list. And every year, when I’m looking for something to read, I go back through previous years’ lists and never fail to find something that interests me. Hell, during the writing of this article I ran across a book I didn’t know existed and promptly purchased it: In Defense of Self and Others… by Urey W. Patrick and John C. Hall.

Greg teaching revolver skills at his Snubnose class in Ohio, roughly a lifetime ago in 2019.

Retired Cop

When I’m telling other people about Greg and why they should read his stuff, I have to remind myself to mention that he was a police officer. Many cops with two and a half decades on the job would let that be their crowning achievement. But I truly don’t believe this to be the case for Greg, who continues to seek training, education, reads voraciously, travels extensively, instructs, writes, and otherwise freely shares of his time and knowledge. Being a cop is but one aspect of a very complex, multi-faceted human.

He spent 25 years as a police officer in Ohio, retiring several years ago. There are lots of cops out there, but Greg’s unique career path in law enforcement lends him an additional air of experience, training, and thus, credibility. During those 25 years on the job, he spent 13 years as a full-time tactical training officer for his agency, a job I am very envious of. He was very fortunate to have a chief who supported training and told Greg to attend whatever training he felt he needed, and bring it back to the agency (a policy position I am equally envious of!). This let him pursue all sorts of tactical training, instructor training, firearms and armorer training.

I’m sure there is far, far more to the story than I can relay here. Greg has hinted at writing a book about his law enforcement experiences…and I’m sure he has more than enough to fill a book. And if he does write such a book, I will be the first in line to buy a copy. Now that you know who Greg Ellifritz is, I’d like to talk a bit about his impact on me. I’m betting quite a few folks out there have a similar story.

How Greg Ellifritz Impacted Me

Back in 2016 I was falling head-over-heels for revolvers. This led to a lot of research, which led to me to Chris Baker. I wrote a handful of articles for Lucky Gunner Lounge. This eventually led to me and Chris shooting together a few times - and I even got to help out with their revolver ammo ballistic test. Once, when we were out at Lucky Gunner’s range and Chris asked me if I knew of Greg Ellifritz. I told him I did not, and he told me about, “this cop who writes really thoughtful, intelligent gun and tactical articles. And once a week releases this roundup of articles he finds interesting…” I made a mental note, and within the next day or two was voraciously consuming Greg’s articles. Soon after that I was subscribed to the Weekend Knowledge Dump and it became a regular part of my Friday routine.

Somehow - I have no idea how - one day I opened the Weekend Knowledge Dump and saw one of my photos among the pages. I quickly realized that one of my articles had made it into that week’s list. I cannot tell you how excited I was. The article was for RevolverGuy.com, a blog I started way back at the end of 2016. Fittingly (if I truly found the first article so honored) the article was a collaboration between me and my RevolverGuy collaborator, Mike Wood. It was about police speedloaders of the 1970s; I did the illustration, and Mike wrote the article.

Getting featured a few times in the WKD is a huge boost to any blogger, and this was especially true ten years ago. After this I started checking the Weekend Knowledge Dump for another reason - to see if we had made that week’s cut. I still have no idea how Greg found RevolverGuy.com. I certainly didn’t reach out to him, and I’m pretty sure Mike didn’t, either. I did, however, reach out in 2019 when I started this blog. Greg helped immensely in getting the word out about both RevolverGuy and Swift Silent Deadly.

Greg teaching Tactical Pistol I in Ohio. I’ve come to love training in Ohio; I get to see my paramedic friend Andrea in Columbus, and usually get to attend a class with my friend Neil.

Having my content shared in the Weekend Knowledge Dump really gave me a boost of confidence. It served as an indicator that my writing was worthwhile, and worth spending time on. It also, perhaps unknowingly to me at the time, served as sort of a north star; if Greg found my stuff worthy of sharing with his audience, I was probably on the right track.I would stop short of saying this influenced the way I wrote or limited the things I wrote about - I’ve explored some topics that are pretty “out there” (including a whole book that I shared with Greg three years ago that will almost certainly never see the broader light of day) but it did serve as a valuable map-check. And it gave me far more readers. Without Greg’s help, I’m not sure I’d be seven years into this blog, or that RevolverGuy would be on the verge of turning 10.

But that’s not all. Greg’s impact on my has been far more significant than this silly little blog. Greg has also contributed heavily to:

My View of Self Defense

When I first seriously waded into the concealed carry/self-defense space, I was very technically proficient as a shooter. I was one of the very few who received outstanding handgun instruction in the military. My views on many things self-defense related were not terribly mature, however. In addition to Greg’s articles, he has also helped shape and grow many of my views on self-defense in his in-person classes.

The first, as mentioned earlier, was his his Tactical First Aid and System Collapse Medicine. I won’t beat this dead horse too hard, and you can read my class review here, but it was fantastic. Later that year I took his Snubnose Revolvers class in Ohio. This was an excellent class. Few people know this, but I also met one of my best friends at this class. My friend Neil is a shooting and self-defense fan, and had followed Revolver Guy. We ended up sitting beside each other in that class. Since then we have attended several pistol and shotgun classes together, and have just visited each other a few times. I can’t directly attribute that to Greg Ellifritz, but his class was the venue that allowed a friendship to flourish.

Last year, in 2025, I took two more classes from Greg. The first was his Tactical Pistol I at Blackwing Training. My friend Neil attended this one with me (he and I also attended a half-day shotgun class put on by Blackwing the day prior) - it was a fun weekend! Despite it being an entry-level pistol class, Greg was able to give everyone their money’s worth, and I’d gladly take this class again.

Finally, I was able to train with Greg at last year’s Revolver Fest 2025. I took his close-quarters gunfighting block and left wishing the class was a full day long instead of a 3-hour block. Combined with the ActiveResponseTraining website, my self-defense knowledge has increased exponentially since getting to know Greg.

The Totality of my Knowledge

But that’s not all. Greg has contributed greatly to my knowledge generally. Greg truly is a Renaissance man, being well-versed in many topics and skill areas. Who else teaches shotguns, revolvers, handguns, unarmed combatives, medical, and knife skills? This quality is right up my alley. But again, that’s not all. Greg’s constant world-travel inspires me to travel more. I also love his perspective on traveling to some of the world’s most dangerous places, and dispelling some the myths and fear-mongering about that lead to, “I’m not going anywhere I can’t take my gun.”

Maybe one of the biggest ways in which Greg has (unknowingly) pushed me to better myself is by pushing me to read more. I mentioned it earlier, but Greg’s reading habits are enviable. In 2020 I decided to try to read a book a week and ended up reading 64 books that year. I’ve read many more than that each year since, and plan to keep this habit up for a long time to come. Who else can you think of who has inspired you to read more, get a broader range of skill instead of just sinking deeper into what you’re comfortable with, and who pushes you to train more?

My view of training

And speaking of training… Because I was technically proficient when I entered into this space, I thought I was “trained.” I don’t know if this was a conscious thought in my head or not, but it wasn’t long after I began reading Greg’s blog that I realized training is continuous and never done. I remember reading something he wrote about seeking trainers, and finding ones that list their training resumes…and ideally are still seeking instruction. That really resonated with me. For the last five years I’ve been aggressively pursing training and have added many classes to my resume, in no small part because of Greg Ellifritz.

The best trainers out there will tell you to get a wide breadth of exposure, to learn other methods and techniques. Greg is one of those guys. Even though I’ve taken four classes with him, he always encourages training with a variety of people, not just him. I’ve followed that advice, too, and it has served me well.

How to be classy in the blogging space

Greg would call bullshit when he saw it. In digging through old Weekend Knowledge Dumps I found this gem that I’ve been chuckling about for days, “I’ve found several of “Sheriff Jim’s” recent advice columns to be utterly ridiculous, but this piece is actually pretty good.” That said, Greg was absolutely the pinnacle of class in the blogging space.

Unsurprisingly, the gun community is populated by millions of humans. Like anything with that many people, there is drama, gossip, conflict. This is sometimes exacerbated by the popularity of negative articles and intrigue. Greg remained above all that. Once, when I was writing an article about the worst training class I’d ever attended (one that, to my chagrin, got a crazy amount of attention including emails, texts, and phone calls from some famous personalities in this space) I reached out to Greg. I asked how he would handle naming or not naming the instructor in question.

I’m sure many of you feel the same, but I would absolutely buy one of these Active Response Training t-shirts if Greg offered them for sale.

Greg’s response was succinct and to the point: “My personal solution is to not name names online about any bad instructors or courses I attend.  I just don't want to contribute to the drama in the industry.” I followed this advice to the letter, and honestly think I’m better off for it. I could have made a little splash, calling out the instructor, but ultimately it would have been unsatisfying and wouldn’t have helped the industry as a whole. That said - also following Greg’s advice - if anyone contacted me offline asking who the instructor was, I told them.

A Few of my Favorite Articles

ActiveResponseTraining has truly integrated itself into my life. There hasn’t been a week go by in years that I haven’t been on the site to read an article or two. And there certainly hasn’t been a Friday go by when I haven’t checked the Weekend Knowledge Dump - it’s just an integral part of my routine and has been for years now. That habit has spanned me living in four different places, three long-term relationships, and three difference careers. It has been an incredibly consistent part of my life, which has been incredibly varied.

Some of the most popular articles on Active Response Training are things dealing with hardware. Greg’s perennially popular articles include “Is the .380 an Adequate Caliber for Defensive Use?,” and “My Thoughts on the Ruger LCP .22 Pistol.” Greg also wrote an article that has been referenced all over the internet, including here, many times called “An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power.” All of these were fantastic articles. however, Greg’s work really shines on the software side of things.

Every year, Greg releases an article detailing his most popular work of the year. He releases a separate article detailing his best writing of the year. Rarely is there a whole lot of crossover between what is popular and what he judges as his best work. I hope Greg enjoys knowing what I think is some of his best work.

A Cautionary Tale for CCW Permit Holders

This all-time favorite is about a concealed carrier who drew his gun to help out a third party. A grungy looking guy struggled on top of a woman, in public, who was yelling, ““Rape!  Rape!  He’s raping me!” The lawfully armed citizen did what he thought was the right thing: helping a woman in trouble. Unfortunately he got involved with a situation when he didn’t know what was actually happening. I’m not going to ruin the surprise here. Go read the article. I have shared this article dozens of times, and probably linked to it in my own articles before, too.

Cops: The Young Versus the Old

I came into law enforcement in my 40s, with 8 years of military experience, combat experience, many shooting schools, and five years of paramedic experience under my belt. I was not the typical cadet. I’m older by a decade than most of my supervisors. Still, I have an awful lot to learn as a cop, so when Greg says something about law enforcement, I listen. This article talks about the perspective a couple of decades on the job can offer. I have some of this perspective as an “old guy” and lack some of it as a rookie. I ponder this article and its lesson often and it absolutely impacts my practice of policing.

Your Tactical Training Scenario: Shots in the Dark

This little vignette is another one I share all the time, and Greg has several other, similar articles. This one is about a woman who fired at a shadowy figure inside her home. Assuming the person to be an intruder the woman shot and killed her cousin. The most important line from this article is right here: “Being legally justified doesn’t mean being right.  If you can avoid shooting someone (even where it is legal to do so), you should.” My personal moral code does not permit me to shoot people who are not a deadly threat to me, even if I can legally do so. Greg also penned an article recently called Shoot/No Shoot that is very similar.

Why I Don’t Wear Badge Mourning Bands

I read this article a decade ago when it was originally published, and long before I would ever swear in and pin on a badge. Even back then I thought, “this is the kind of cop I would like to be.” The reasoning behind is decision makes so much sense to me. I haven’t yet had the occasion to wear a mourning band. When the time comes I truly don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to take Greg’s stance. I some ways I doubt I will be. But I hope I am.

Birdshot, Binder Clips, and Bullshit

This one is classic Ellifritz: straight to the point and pulling no punches. As I’ve written before, birdshot is for shooting birds that weigh a few ounces, buckshot and slugs are for shooting bad people who are trying to kill you. This article explores the frustration that those of us trying to put out high-quality information sometimes experience. Reason is shouted down… Anyhow, read for yourself. And as an anecdote, I had a similar thing happen to me when I pulled a shot while doing some shotgun practice just a few days ago. This was at 5 yards.

Don’t be a Crime Scene Tourist

This is another one for the cops, medics, firefighters, and other first responders out there. Greg talks about how he didn’t think he’d stored any of the trauma from 25 years of being a cop…until he had an experience that brought all those faces back. He realized it was all there in the background. Like almost every single one of his articles he offered some advice on how to minimize this, by not being a crime scene tourist. I have taken that advice to heart and chosen not to go to several suicides, cardiac arrests, and other “hot calls” that I could have gone to but wasn’t really needed. Read the article - the first-hand account is enlightening reading.

Preventing Police Training Deaths

Ok, I guess my list is heavy on cop stuff. As one of the two guys in charge of training for my SWAT team, I have read this article and similar articles over and over again. I DO NOT want a training death to be on my hands.

An Interesting Experience at the Shooting Range

This is a very interesting story about encountering a young woman at the range who really needed help. She had limited funds, a very real, imminent threat, and no one to help her. Please read this phenomenally good story, and try to keep it in mind the next time you see someone at the range who isn’t wearing cool-guy gear or shooting the latest, greatest gun.

Don’t Dig The Rig Series

Ok, this one is definitely gear-related. We all love gear, myself included, so I couldn’t resist. In this series Greg offers thoughtful critiques of some sub-optimal carry choices posted online. This wasn’t a super long-lived series, but I really enjoyed it.

LE Firearms Training

Greg occasionally posted an written article by someone else. Some guy in the police academy wrote this article about his experience going through the police academy after years of high-quality firearms training. He posted anonymously on Greg’s site to get it out to a wide audience while not pissing off his instructors, supervisors, and co-workers. I don’t know who this handsome devil is, but his experience VERY closely mirrors my own time on the academy range.

I could go on and on, but this is a good sampling. You get get lost going backward through the posts and pages of ActiveResponseTraining.net.

This doesn’t really fit in anywhere else, but I wanted to mention it. About four years ago I wrote an article called The CRKT Stiff K.I.S.S. - The Coolest Knife You Can’t Buy. In I said I wish I had bought a plain-edged version. Greg contacted me a couple days later and asked for my address. A few days after that, this knife showed up in my mailbox. That was a pretty cool move, and one that I’ve never forgotten.

Greg’s Podcast Appearances

If 1,500 articles isn’t enough of Greg’s advice and wisdom for you, he has also appeared on a number of podcasts recently. I think he has traditionally shied away from podcast appearances, so I’m really grateful for the ones he’s done over the past year. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but some of the ones I’ve really enjoyed are:

Aimpoint’s Taking Aim Podcast - Tactical Insights from the Front Lines: Greg Ellifritz on Guns, Red Dots, Knives, and Resilience

Forge of Freedom Podcast - Tactical First Aid and System Collapse Medicine with Greg Ellifritz

Green Ops Podcast - Choose Adventure with Greg Ellifritz

That Weems Guy Podcast - Greg Ellifritz: Civil Unrest and Other Things

That Weems Guy Podcast - Where in the World is Greg Ellifritz

The Way is In Training Podcast - Greg Ellifritz of Active Response Training

Closing Thoughts

A world traveler, adventurer, prolific writer, retired cop, and probably one of the most well-known trainers out there, Greg Ellifritz is, in my parlance, a competent and dangerous man. If you're serious about self-protection and don't follow him...you have a serious deficiency.

Greg says that he writes a lot of “evergreen” content. I hope this is evergreen, as well. New shooters entering into the firearms and self-defense worlds should find Greg’s blog, whether weeks from now or years from now. His impact on my has been inestimable, and I'm sure he will impact you, as well.

And to Greg: a sincere thank you. You've impacted my life in such a positive way this is a feeble attempt at a "thank you," but thank you.

justin carroll
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