Okay ... I may step on somebody else's toes here, although I don't mean to ... but here's my answer to the question, along with some thoughts ...
Never met the man, so I can't comment one way or another on him as either a person, or a trainer, based upon personal knowledge ...
I have read much of what he writes. He IS a writer by trade, and is generally able to clearly articulate many points he wishes to make. Not a bad thing. I can read what he writes. I may question its validity or correctness ... but I can read it and understand what he's saying. Can that be said of all the other writers?
He does, indeed, write a lot of "fluff" articles. Even if you consider them so, anybody here NOT finished reading them?
Yeah, he does "water down" a lot of his material. Then again, he has no way of knowing who's reading his articles, and he probably writes to an "expected" standard of knowledge and competency that's been mutually agreed upon with the magazines, and his book publishers. They're still popular among a large spectrum of readers and shooters.
If I disagree with something he writes in one magazine, I often merely have to look for one of his contemporary articles in another magazine, and I'll occasionally be able to read an opposing view of something written in one article, in his own words in another article ...
When it comes to relating useful information of a legal perspective, he's only the messenger, not the message ... his personal "spin" on something notwithstanding, although he generally distinguishes this sort of thing himself ... so I don't hold much of that either for, or against, him ... If it happened to someone in a court proceeding somewhere, it's useful to at least know about it, right?
While I naturally won't even remotely try to compare my firearms & shooting knowledge or experience to his ... I DO find many of his comments referencing aspects of the martial arts somewhat vague
and "interesting", but that's because I have more than 30+ years of experience in the arts ... He needs better technical advisors, or, maybe should simply listen to them better.
I've met many of his students. Not hard to do, as he has trained a LOT of folks in his courses. I've only met more Gunsite students than LFI students. That may say something about his popularity. I won't even begin to presume to evaluate a trainer based upon the demonstrated abilities of the trainer's students, if only because I'd prefer to be extended the same courtesy and benefit of the doubt.
There are often a lot of barbs and cheap shots taken at him regarding his Reserve L/E status, implying that since he's not doing it as a full-time career, he's somewhat less qualified to make some of the judgments and comments he does ... Well, there may be some merit to that.
On the other hand, part time Reserves that have a steady "outside" income, whether they're paid or not in their Reserve activities, are still subject to many of the same dangers to which full-time L/E are subjected ... Maybe not as often, granted, but none of the rest of us doing it full-time can predict which hour, or day, is going to be the most dangerous. They run the same risk. Besides, I've always had to wonder about the unpaid Reserves that subject themselves to the same risk of permanent injury or death that the rest of us face ... AND, at the risk of losing their "other" lives. (The glory hounds & thrill seekers notwithstanding. We've got those, too, in the full-time ranks). They often volunteer to do tasks for free that I would rather not do, even being paid. Makes me somewhat introspective ...
I can't recall him EVER printing anything derogatory about someone else in the fields he moves within ... general firearms-related literary, L/E firearms training & officer safety, and shooting sports/training. Can that be said of all the other writers & trainers?
His printed literary musings aren't that different than the thoughts and stories we all trade back and forth in the locker room and at our own ranges. ... Of course it's faster to draw a pocket weapon from your pocket if you already have your hand in the pocket and on the weapon's grip ... Of course it's more "flattering" to throw out the worst 2 of 5 shots fired for accuracy ... Of course it's more difficult to conceal a N-frame .44 Magnum under an untucked shirt tail on a safari in Africa ... Of course it's better to have custom tuned revolvers and pistols, versus "stock" models, in some situations ... Of course many of the currently produced pistols and revolvers are functional without any custom modifications ... Of course it's better to have access to defensive weapons when you're traveling, and have one loaned to you for official purposes upon your arrival ... Of course it's entertaining to read about someone knowing many of the people that are "legends" of our firearms age, and passing on interesting trivia and tidbits gained over a dinner table ... Of course a long photographer's vest with multiple pockets conceals handguns better than a t-shirt ... Of course there are many ways to draw from concealment, and some of them require the use of 2 hands ... Of course there are prosecutors and defense attorneys that apparently slept through most of their classes in law school ... Of course colder temperatures make it harder to shoot well when you're testing a new weapon ... Of course there are always things to learn in other schools and shooting academies, and we all have bad days ... and we can entertainingly go on & on, just as we could with our own musings in our own little groups. He just gets paid to talk about it.
I'd like to meet him someday, just to meet him ... and visit over some coffee, if he's a coffee drinking man ...
