Riding Shotgun With Charlie: Recent Episodes
Charlie Cook: Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie is a aims to entertain and educate people who are into firearms. However, not everything is firearm related. We may talk music or politics or whatever may come up during a conversation between the driver and the passenger.
Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie Pit Stop Mike Ox
Red Dot Mastery Book https://www.amazon.com/Red-Dot-Mastery-astigmatism-both-eyes-open-ebook/dp/B0CQWKSQ86
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DryFireOx/
Dry Fire Training Cards https://www.instagram.com/dryfiretrainingcards/?hl=en
Dry Fire Training Cards https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/
Dry Fire Training Cards https://www.facebook.com/DryFireTrainingCards/
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
RSWC Pit Stop Jacob Paulson Concealed Carry
Concealed Carry https://www.concealedcarry.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/concealedcarryinc
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/concealedcarryinc
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@concealedcarry
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#231
Ryan Muller
Competitive Shooter
I’ve had a few chances to meet Ryan Muller. He’s the husband of Dianna Muller from Women for Gun Rights. He’s a great shooter on his own. When I got to NRA AM in Atlanta, Di called me and said I needed to do a show with Ryan since I had a car and we were both there. I picked him up at the aquarium and we drove around the ATL. When a friend set them up, they really hit it off. She took him to a competition and he did really well. They’ve had the chance to travel the world as a couple and individually doing competitions.
Ryan grew up shooting pellet guns and moved into a Ruger 10/22 when he turned 13. He said living in a rural area, he got to shoot just about everything a boy would want to shoot. He was athletic and played sports, but never went to a range until Di took him to one. On his first match, she made him shoot first. They rotated the line up and he would go last the next time. This worked to his advantage as the first stage was stationary and used pistols. He was hooked after that. WIthin a few years, he was on the pro series for 3-Gun Nation. They spent the next 10 years as full time competitive shooters.
While out there shooting, he’s done well. But he would pick up what others would tell him and apply those techniques and tips. It gave him the opportunity to shoot with some of the big name competitive shooters like Jerry Miculek, Bruce Piatt, and Tony Holmes. The wonderful thing about being around these shooters is they are willing to help you. They’ve got 40 years of experience doing it and figuring out why they do particular things while shooting. T\hey’ll tell you what their plans are, what they saw while shooting a stage, and how they can improve.
Ryan emphasises that as a sponsored and competitive shooter, you’ve got to build relationships with companies before you can ask them to get behind you. A lot of what companies are looking for is not that you’re winning, but that you’re out there doing social media, being approachable by others, and helping them sell products. Yes, it’s good when you win, but it’s better if you’re helping the company by getting their items into other people’s hands.
A few years ago, Ryan had a motorcycle accident in his own driveway. He landed and really messed up his back. He was in the hospital for a month. When he was out, he couldn’t get around without a wheelchair, working his way to a walker and crutches. With the strong relationship he’s built with companies, they wanted to see that he was recovering well and doing better. He has been able to get back to some competitions despite the injury. At one event, he was above 66 other competitors but not close to the top.
He also talks about W.O.F.T, West Orlando Firearm Training, sometimes called Where Our Family Trains. They offer training like no other place with scenario training for everyone, including Miculek. I do ask if it's “fair" that a competitive shooter carries. Ryan replies saying that the bad guy is the one who determines when things happen, our reaction times are going to be the same as a regular person. But with their training, everything else is going to be quicker and smoother. Which is why we all need more training and more practice.
We talked about how the people and companies in the firearm community really want to see each other succeed and do well. From getting tips from Miculek to keeping sponsor deals after an injury, it’s really a testament to the kinds of people we have in our industry..
Favorite quotes:
“Its just shooting out the back of a truck, it’s what I grew up doing.”
“I got to learn and pick up on 30, 40 years of experience that I didn’t have to spend the time and ammo to get.”
“We are going to give everybody that is our competition the best chance we can to give them to succeed. And I don’t think you see that in other sports.”
“You’re going to point shoot in one of those situations.”
https://www.facebook.com/3Gunryanmuller/
https://www.instagram.com/rmuller_3gnr
Women for Gun Rights
https://www.womenforgunrights.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
RSWC Pit Stop Lisa Paris Instructors Dash
Instructor Dash website https://instructorsdash.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/instructorsdash/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@UCstWeQEEl0XC1HLfCD60OmQ
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/instructorsdash/
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
Riding Shotgun With Charlie Pit Stop Brandon Maddox
I was able to get some time with Brandon Maddox from @SilencerCentral at @NRA Annual Meeting's Voices of the Second Amendment.
Check it out!
Silencer Central Website https://www.silencercentral.com/
X https://x.com/Silencercentral
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/silencercentral
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SilencerCentral/
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
Riding Shotgun With Charlie Pit Stop Hickok45
Hickok45 stopped by the booth at NRA AM's Voices of the Second Amendment and talked with Charlie a little.
Hickok45 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/hickok45
Hickok45 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/p/Hickok45-100044290096493/
Hickok45 X https://x.com/hickok45
Hickok45 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/therealhickok45
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie Pit Stop Alex Shay From GOA!
I got to catch up with Alex at the 250th Anniversary dinner that was hosted by Gun Owners Action League on April 19, 2025.
Gun Owners of America https://www.gunowners.org/
GOA's G.O.A.L.S https://events.goa.org/goals/
GOA YouTube https://www.youtube.com/GunOwnersofAmerica GOA Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/gunownersofamerica GOA X https://x.com/GunOwners
GOA Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GunOwners/
US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/
Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#230
Denise Arcieri
Armed Princess
I connected with Denise Arcieri through Yehuda Remer, The Pew Pew Jew (RSWC #012) a few years ago. We talked about doing a show but when I reached out recently, she said she had some exciting news and this was a perfect time! She works at Pioneer Arms LLC in Whitinsville, MA. They make their own fixed magazine ARs, which are Mass legal. They did a special run of them with her Armed Princess logo! And we spent some time and got a few photos of those in the show.
Denise grew up in a pro gun family and used to shoot with her father. Then her kids started shooting with her father. He encouraged her to come to a women's event and give it a try again. She found out that she was good at it and she enjoyed it. The instructor saw that she was competent and familiar and asked her to help run the line. She saw that some women were more responsive to her than to the male instructors. One of the women there was a DV survivor. She really attached herself to Denise that evening.
That’s when Denise decided that she was going to get more involved. She’s also a DV survivor. When she was younger, she was in an abusive relationship. After incidents, she would call the police and they really didn’t do anything back then other than say things like "“let him cool off” or “he’ll be fine tomorrow” or “he’s not here now and there’s nothing we can do”. Even after she was fully out of this relationship, her ex and his family members would pop up in her life. Maybe run into her at the store. Or see her around town. There were late night phone calls from her ex, too.
After becoming an instructor, she started working with more women and has been a great resource at Pioneer Arms. Due to her day job, she was apprehensive about posting pictures of her shooting. But once she started instructing and posting about upcoming courses, the ex’s family stopped running into her. She stopped getting calls. She was able to get her life back together and move on. This has also been inspiring to other women that she was teaching.
Building an online presence wasn’t really something she was looking to do, but it has worked in her favor. Denise has been connecting with many other 2A influencers on “the ‘Gram” and building her audience. She connected with the folks at Greyman Solutions. She is one of their brand ambassadors.They gave her the title “Armed Princess” and she graciously accepted it and ran with it.
I did get to Pioneer Arms to get some pictures of her logoed AR lowers. You’ll see those in the video. For Mass residents, they do have fixed magazines, both as short 10 round mags and long 10 round mags. You can also get a MEAN Arms speedloader for this or any AR style rifle. If you’re in “free America”, you can also order a lower and they can ship it to your local FFL.
The hard part about life is those learning lessons and years. Fortunately, Denise has taken what were some bad years and turned them into something that’s not just good for her and her life, but good for other women, too. With the perspective of being the Armed Princess, she can help other women learn to shoot, become familiar with firearms, and maybe give them the skills and confidence that they need to get out of their situation. That can lead to these women helping others. And so on. And so on.
Favorite quotes:
“Why did I stop doing this? I love this.”
“When you’re coming out of one of those situations, sometimes don’t believe your own life is worth protecting.”
“The idea of a gun to protect myself didn’t enter my mind, even though it had been in my life.”
“Given that we live in an area where you drive three hours and go through three states, that they would recognize each other’s licenses.”
“...told me she had been to three gun shops previously and walked out of every one because she didn’t feel comfortable.”
Armed Princess Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/armed.princess/
Armed Princess Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/p/Armedprincess-100064335295006/
Pioneer Arms LLC
https://pioneerarmsllc.com/
Pioneer Arms LLC Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pioneerarmsllc/
Pioneer Arms LLC Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/pioneerarmsllc/
Greyman Solutions
https://greymansolutions.net/
Use Princess15 for free shipping
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#229
John Turrell
Armed Lifestyle Magazine
There are some nice perks about going to SHOT Show as media and having more than one media gig. After I was asked to write for Armed Lifestyle Magazine, I got to meet the other contributors at SHOT. One of the ALM writers is John Turrell. John, as you’ll hear, is from England. This is my second international passenger! I’m glad we were able to connect with a crazy busy SHOT schedule. Not just mine, he keeps busy in Vegas, too. And not with the night life. With writing! He and his team put out daily reviews from SHOT.
Like many folks, John started shooting as a young child, around 10 years old, with his father. He’s worked his way up to competitive shooting in UKPSA and IPSC. UKPSA is the United Kingdom Practical Shooting Association. He enjoys shooting pistols competitively and even went up against Jerry Miculek, who got him into shooting revolvers.
He is currently the sales manager at a gun range, where he offers a shooting experience for new folks. The hopes are to turn them into licensed individuals who get into firearms and shooting. The range is unique particularly in the UK.They have an indoor range with turning targets. With the range shooting experience, people can get a safety briefing, how to shoot session, then fire 50 rounds, ending with a little fun competition with turning targets. The range is very much like an indoor range here in the US.
In 1996, there was a mass shooting. The government decided that it was time to ban all pistols from the “subjects”. There are several limitations…ahem…infringements. The barrel length must be 12 inches long and the overall length has to be at least 24 inches. That sounds like a rifle to me rather than a pistol. Obviously, that makes it hard to carry on one’s body, which the government doesn’t want them to do.
To get a license in the UK, you have to attend a class, join a range, then you have a probationary period of at least three months. Then you apply to your local country police force for the license, with the usual background check and references. Of course, you’re not guaranteed to get the license either. If all goes well, you get a certificate.
There are two types of certificates. The section one certificate is for centerfire rifles and long barreled pistols and shotguns with a more than three round capacity. The type of action doesn’t matter, just the capacity. The section two license is for shotguns which hold two rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Despite the limitations, John enjoys having to do all the reloading. Seeing some Mossberg’s at SHOT, he’d really love to have a 590, but due to the barrel length, he wouldn’t be able to get home.
We also talk about suppressors. As I’ve learned the original name was a silencer, but in the UK, they call them moderators. First, in order to purchase one, it has to be on your license that you can have them. To have it added to your license, it’s only about $25. At the gun store, you tell them which one you’d like, then add the serial number to the license, you pay for it, and then go home with it. Boom. Easy!
The main reason these are legal is for hearing protection. There is a possibility that the moderators will become an item that they don’t keep track of on your license. However, if you buy one for your air rifle, no license information is required. He says it could be possible that it gets as easy as going to the store to buy groceries and then picking up a moderator like it's any other item. Very different than it is here.
I really enjoyed getting to know John better. He’s a great guy with a lot of knowledge. While at SHOT, he and his team crank out daily reports of the guns and gear they see.So he’s there truly for work and not necessarily pleasure. It was great to learn the difference in our gun cultures between the UK and the US. Please keep an eye out in the free online resource of Armed Lifestyle Magazine for John’s writings and reviews.
Favorite quotes:
“The government at the time, then banned all pistols.”
“The current laws state that the barrel must be at least 12 inches long and the overall length of the pistol has to be 24 inches.”
“Suppressors have to be on your license.”
“We call them moderators in the UK.”
Armed Lifestyle Magazine website
https://www.armedlifestylemagazine.com/
Armed Lifestyle Magazine Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thearmedlifestylemagazine/
Armed Lifestyle Magazine Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/armedlifestyle/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#228
Jay Grazio
Executive Editor, Shooting Illustrated
I was down in Fairfax, VA, filming shows with the NRA staff. One of the folks who I had lunch with was Jay Grazio. He’s originally from Massachusetts, a funny guy, and we hit it off well. So we filmed a show!
One of the perks of his position is that he gets to train. When we did the show, he’d recently visited Gunstie in Arizona. It also sounds like the NRA has the employees do training together, which he says he did with one of the other staff members.
As a Bay Stater, it’s hard to be a gun person, with all the limitations (infringements) and laws (more infringements) that we have. As much as he loved growing up in small town New England, it wasn’t good as a gun activist and writer. When he took the position at Shooting Illustrated, he made the move to free America in Virginia.
At a young age, the shooting bug hit him. His father was a Mass State Police police officer and his grandfather was a town police officer. Firearms were always around and safety was emphasised by the elders. Guns were tools to the family. His grandfather would tell him stories of when he was young and owned a diner. During the Depression, often people would settle up with bills and exchange meals for firearms. This makes the history of firearms a big interest for Jay.
One prized possession is his grandfather’s Colt revolver that he carried, which was made in the 1930’s. Another is a 1911 from 1917, which still fires without any issues, just like it did over 100 years ago.
Always one to look for a good gun story, Jay would help friends in need by offering to buy guns from friends and when they could pay him back, he’d give the gun back. But there was one Colt Python that he wasn’t able to come up with the money for and it got away from him. He also had to pass on a fully, lawfully transferable M16 that was only $10,000 back then.
He has a degree in biology and a master’s degree in biochemistry, so of course he became an editor. In the early days, Jay was involved in lots of blogging on various websites and topics. He used to argue over politics online, like many of us still do. Then a friend had him write as the resident “gun guy”. He started his own blog about firearms by reviewing LaserLyte products, which he saw in an American Rifleman magazine. That led to more and more reviews and products.
Things just kept rolling from there. Since then he’s written for Shooting Illustrated, Recoil, and Western Shooting Journal. When there was an opening at Shooting Illustrated, he was encouraged to apply. He took the chance and it worked out. Getting a degree and masters with a biology and sciences background, he understood writing, working on thesis, and meeting deadlines. Having some experience in sales marketing and websites came in handy, too. All transferable skills as he admits.
At a previous job, Jay shares what's really a typical story for a gun owner in “occupied territory.” One colleague, who was an avid hunter, kept a knife in his truck in case there was an incident. This person wasn’t a fan of ARs. He thanked Jay on his last day at the job for not causing an incident when he left. This is a display that not all gun owners are created equally. It was OK for the man to have a “military grade sniper rifle”, but not acceptable, to him, for someone else to own an AR. Hypocrisy has no bounds.
Jay was a great guy to spend time with! He’s a great story teller. His position gives him exposure to all sorts of training, gear, and personalities in the gun community. This was a fun interview and I hope y’all enjoy it. You can check out Shooting Illustrated from or the link below, or NRA’s website, and read all of Jay’s articles and the work he does.
Favorite quotes:
“Massachusetts is the birthplace, and graveyard, of liberty.”
“It’s a way of connecting with the past in a manner that you can use it the way it was intended.”
“Massachusetts doesn’t make it easy to be a Second Amendment advocate.”
”Guns are not good, guns are not evil. Guns are chunks of metal.”
Shooting Illustrated
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#227
Jonathan Goldstein
NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate
This is a small first, but a first nonetheless. Jonathan Goldstein flew up from Philadelphia to Boston just to film a show with me! Yes, I’m beyond honored! He’s also working that hard to get elected for the NRA Board of Directors. And in his home state of Pennsylvania for their gun owners. It’s always fun to meet someone new and widen my circle of friends. I picked up Jonathan at the airport and we drove for a bit to get to know each other.
We kick things off quickly and jump in deep, talking about Bruen, open carry v concealed, and why some laws aren’t conducive to logic. He’s got a great line, borrowed from Chris Conte from the NRA ILA, about “New Jersey being the North Korea of gun ownership.” I knew things were going to be fun after that.
Jonathan didn’t really grow up as a gun guy. He owned IT businesses and sold them before going to law school. Besides that, he was a newlywed and applied for law school, and was on the ballot for the state legislature. After not liking the big law firm, he got together with some other friends and started outsourcing legal work to India. But as he says everyone “hates outsourcing, but they hate lawyers more.”
Back in 1994, the gun laws were being redone in the Pa. There were lots of folks against it and he wanted to see what they were against. Each of the towns and cities were supposed to have the same laws. But they decided they were going to have different classes of cities, and thus, Philly was in its own class. Therefore, having its own laws that the rest of the state didn’t have. He started thinking about why the politicians were so set against lawful gun ownership. That piqued his interest and that’s when he became a gun owner. He got a permit, bought a snub revolver, got into shotguns and bird hunting and found a new passion.
Around the time Heller was going on in 2008, he was getting more involved in getting cases and getting noticed by the NRA. This is where he became friends with Chris Conte at NRA ILA. In 2011, he was awarded the Defender of Justice by NRA ILA. He also helped raise money for the NRA.
On the radar of the NRA, he ends up on a couple committees, one for the legal affairs and one for the non-traditional gun owner, those of racial and sexual minorities. With enough trust, he was placed on the nominating committee. That’s when he started seeing that things were not necessarily going so well. That’s when he started seeing that some BOD members weren’t there for wholesome reasons. He saw that they weren’t all rowing in the same direction. Some of the folks haven’t seen that the old tactics aren’t working, haven’t been, and don’t want to change.
We got into it a bit more of course. He’s very passionate about the NRA and what is going on and what needs to be changed. I really enjoyed the conversation with Jonathan and I look forward to seeing him in Atlanta in April.
This wraps up the five interviews I’ve done with the NRA 2.0 Candidates running on the reform ticket. I’ve had another five or so on the show over the years. I’m voting for all 28 of the “Reformers”. I enjoyed the conversations with them all. As with the NRA staff that I’ve had on the show, I can see the passion for the NRA and our rights that they have and they’re fighting for. These 28 candidates know that the NRA didn’t earn the respect of the members, their funds, and their support. I do have faith in them and what they plan on doing to resurrect the NRA from what has been going on. I have confidence in them and I’m looking forward to the progress for gun owners across the country.
While it is too late to become a life member and be able to vote, it’s not too late to vote for those who haven’t yet. Ballots were sent out in the February magazines and have to be received by April 6, 2025.
Favorite quotes:
“The goal is to frustrate the gun owner.”
“The modality that works best today is concealed carry. Not open carry.”
“The fact that I carry a gun keeps you safer. You’re welcome.”
“What do these politicians intend to do to me that my ownership of firearms is a threat to them.”
“NRA is back on the map. We’re clean. We’re well run. We deserve to get out seat at the table back.”
Elect A New NRA Website
https://electanewnra.com/
Goldstein Law Partners
https://goldsteinlp.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#226
Jim Wallace
NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate
GOAL, Executive Director
I’ve known Jim Wallace and Gun Owners Action League as long as I’ve been a gun owner. I took a class with GOAL in 2002 before I even owned a gun. I became an instructor though GOAL, volunteered teaching with them, and even sat in their booth at the local outdoor expo. Having Jim on the show was a long time coming. And since he’s an NRA 2.0 candidate, now was the perfect time.
Jim was a letter carrier with the postal system when he joined the Georgetown Fish & Game Club. He got involved in the League of Essex County Sportsmen’s Club. After doing some searching around, he found out that the people doing the licensing for hunting and fishing were going to be online and it was going to be most costly. At the time, he wasn’t much of a speaker or activist, he was just looking to see where the money was going and why it was going up. This got the attention of the folks at Gun Owners Action League. They invited him to the office to see what he found, and they figured if he could do this while maintaining a full-time job, they could pay him and he could find out more.
Back in the day, Jim spent a lot of time in the Mass State House on Beacon Hill. He was able to spend his days there just talking with the state reps and senators. They often had questions for him about upcoming bills and legislation. He was able to educate and inform them about how this was going to affect hunters, fishers, and shooters.
Jim and GOAL have faced so many issues over the years in the anti-gun commonwealth of Massachusetts. We talked about the 1994 AWB and what happened in 2004 when Governor Romney signed what he thought was going to be an improvement to the Mass gun laws, but ended up being a lot of gun control. Sometimes gun owners accept some bad laws to get some better laws that can, and should, be changed later.
We cover a lot about the Gun Law Listening Tour of 2023 and how that was a sham hosted by the anti-gun politicians. I covered many of those events on News2A.com. After the tour and before the bill dropped, the main “writer” of the bill was visited by Gabby Giffords. I assumed that she gave the representative a hefty check and the legislation she wanted passed because when addressed about the contents of the bill, the Rep didn’t know what was in the bill.
We also got into the NRA stuff, covering how the board has been changing for the positive with new people and new blood. Wallace also brings up that NY AG Letitia James could be the person credited with saving the NRA by going after the association.
As with all the episodes with the NRA 2.0 candidates, I want to emphasize that the 28 candidates running as the reformers need to be elected as a whole if we want to see changes to the NRA BOD. The ballots were sent out in the February NRA magazine issues and need to be in by April 6, 2025. The only members who can vote have to be a dues paying member for 5 years in a row or have a life membership.
I went up to where Jim lives to record the episode. He lives on the very North Shore of Boston. We got to drive through his hometown area, see some of the scenery of those who live by the ocean, and where he used to hunt, and still lives an active outdoorsmen lifestyle.
Favorite quotes:
“I just dug because something didn’t look right.”
“As a result, I had weekly meetings with his Chief of Staff until he left office.”
“They didn’t care about input. They already had the bill written.”
“We didn’t turn that bill 180 but we certainly turned it 175 degrees.”
“There’s a little bit of education that’s going to have to happen with new people being on the board and how things work. But I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Elect A New NRA Website
https://electanewnra.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#225
Charlie Hiltunen III
NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate
Here’s another great interview with one of the NRA Board of Director members and NRA 2.0 Reform Candidate, Charlie Hiltunen III. At the Great American Outdoor Show, I got to meet several of the NRA 2.0 Candidates and set up to film some shows with a few of them. He had some commitments on the morning we filmed and asked if I could get him back so he was able to get to the airport. I told him I could do him one better and take him there. Currently, he’s finishing his first term on the board.
Hiltunen was born and raised in Indiana. He grew up shooting and hunting as part of the midwest family life. He grew up in a time where high schoolers would bring a .22 rifle to school to hunt on the way home. This was a tradition with his father and he wanted to pass it along to his own children. When his kids were old enough, he was instructing and coaching them in the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Program. With all the coaching and working with young people, he thinks he got more from it than they did.
His career was as an attorney working with government affairs, lobbying, and politics. When the traditions he shared as a son and father were at risk, he got more involved in activism. Part of this journey got him involved with the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association. The “family bond in the 2A community became even stronger.”
As an instructor and coach and president of ISRPA, he was asked if he wanted to be a candidate for the NRA BOD. While on a hiking trip in Michigan, he got the message about the offer. When he asked when they needed a bio, they said right away! With his experience as an attorney, lobbyist, and as the president of a state association, it was a great fit! One of his personal goals is to reconnect the NRA with its members, new and old.
The messaging from the BOD members I’ve talked to have all been the same. They want to increase members which will bring back some political clout. They want to focus on safety training, education, and competitions. The board is working more with each other to make the improvements they see fit. They all want to make sure the association stays around for another 150 years. But they do know that getting the message out is going to be a challenge.
Part of the conversation is about permitless carry and training. When Indiana went to permitless carry, there were more people who wanted to get training. Of course, it's needed for responsible gun owners. The need for those without permits is different from a regular licensing course. When the state requires training for a carry permit, that’s often the only thing people take. But when they don’t need a license, they have more practical needs for shooting and training.
We talk about training the women being the largest growing demographic of gun owners. He brought up fellow board member Rick Ector and the event he does in Detroit every year. It is important to get new people to try shooting so that they get that shooting is fun and training and safety are important for everyone.
It is important to vote for all 28 of the Reform Candidates. In the past, people have encouraged “bullet voting” to try and get a message to the board. That method raises only a few candidates and pushes the others down. But this slate of candidates is going to work together to make the changes they think are needed. With more of the reformers on the board, there will be less of the “old guard” who had allegiance to the former EVP. Ballots were sent out in the February issues of the NRA magazines. They’re due on April 6, 2025.
It was great to get to know Charlie more during this conversation. I’m looking forward to seeing what the reformers will do and hoping the changes they make will be positive changes for the association.
Favorite quotes:
“There’s so many great people on the board of directors.”
“Change is difficult for any organization.”
“The NRA is not an organization, it’s an organism.”
“If you forget your history, you’re going to lose your future.”
Elect A New NRA Website
https://electanewnra.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#224
Philip Gray
NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate
It was a busy weekend at the Great American Outdoor Show earlier this month. I was able to film three episodes with NRA Board of Director candidates who are on the reform ticket. This is a slate of 28 people who are up to reforming the way the NRA has been conducting business and some of the shenanigans that have been going on. Everyone I talked to was excited about the future of the NRA.
One of the passengers I got to spend some time with was Philip Gray. He’s from Ohio and grew up shooting and hunting like so many Americans. It really was an integral part of his youth and family time. Shooting clays is still a treasured time for Philip and his family, which they do on the family farm with the kids and grandkids. His family got a land grant years ago. The family has been there with a farm since the mid-1800’s for five generations.
Philip has a lifetime hunting license. I think he said it was like $2 when he got it at eight years old. And he’s been using it since he was young. He started off shooting small game and trapping. He spent 20 years working electric power as an engineer.
He’s been involved with the Friends of the NRA program since 1994. Working as a field representative and climbing the ladder at NRA. Half of the funds raised by FNRA stay in the state where the money is raised. The other half helps the NRA’s many other programs. The program grew until they needed to split Ohio up into two groups. Then he was the director of the east central region. His territory was eight states with nine employees.
As a field rep, he goes around to ranges and gun stores telling them the benefits of the NRA. They can lead the way with range insurance, training and safety programs, and the Eddie Eagle program. The field rep has lots of volunteers helping get the word out. Since we all have different strengths, it’s good to have a large group of people with lots of different skills. He was responsible for events in six time zones from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii.
During his time working as a field rep for NRA, he did the Wall of Guns. I was able to get the mic from a friend who was making the announcements and I tried to get some sales for Wall of Guns. The good news is the Wall of Guns has a cash option should those of us in occupied territory win and it’s not an “approved firearm.” They also take the winner’s information and send the firearm they won to their favorite and local FFL to make the transfer. Not gun show loopholes here!
He retired from NRA just before the 2020 virus that shall not be named. Things were changing politically and he decided it was time to get involved a bit more. He got involved with the local Republican party and joined two Senate campaigns. Recently, they voted him as the chairman of the local Republican Party. Talking with his grandson, the boy asked why he is spending so much time and money working on these things. Philip replied "If we don’t, you might not get anything that we have.”
We did talk about bullet voting and how that was effective in the past. But this time we need to support 28 reform candidates and vote for all of them. With these 28 people, there will be a majority of reformers and we will see some changes, but it will take time.
The NRA is needed and it needs to be strong to face the anti gun crowd. This group of diverse people can and will make it happen. Some of the candidates are lawyers, some have business backgrounds, and others have political minds.
I’m going to have a handful more of the NRA BOD reform candidates over the next month. Please be on the lookout for those upcoming shows. And share them with your friends.
Favorite quotes:
“I had some concerns at the NRA when I left.”
“Working with the right people does pay off down the road.”
“I think the turnout, the number of people voting, is going to be a record high.”
“You should always be learning the job above you.”
“Getting the Board changed to a little different direction. And then getting started getting the members back will be the two most important things we do.”
Elect A New NRA Website
https://electanewnra.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#223
Al Hammond
NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate
I get to travel the country and film RSWC episodes. I take the cameras just about every time I hit the road. Recently, I went down to the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pa. On the eve of the beginning, I went to a Friends of the NRA dinner. There were several of the NRA BOD reform candidates at the dinner. I was able to connect with them and arrange to film shows over the weekend.
First I had Al Hammond. He’s one of the newer board members, having only served one three-year term. However, he has worked as NRA staff for 28 years. One of the reasons he ran for the BOD is that he saw things that didn’t sit well for him while he was on staff. He wanted to make some changes and he’s with the 28 who are being billed as the ‘reformers.’
Al was raised in a shooting family in Florida. He’s spent much of his career and life in the agriculture business. Shooting and hunting has always been a part of his life. It’s a cultural thing for him. It’s important to him to be able to pass this on to his children and his grandchildren.
Before his career with NRA, he worked for several agriculture companies and was involved in some farm co-ops. He helped conservation groups raise money, and has even testified about conservation. He had a friend who was working for the NRA and they were looking for help with the Friends of the NRA program. Al and others were involved in starting and growing the FNRA program back in 1993. He was the field representative for Florida and that position grew. Over the years, he became the regional director and ultimately, the director of field staff.
The main responsibilities for a field representative are raising funds for the NRA and the foundation. Half of the money raised in the state, stays in the state for programs for the youth programs, grants for ranges, training, and the shooting sports. They also end up being a liaison between the NRA HQ and the members in the area.
The Florida permit comes up in the conversation. I’m a Utah instructor. I tell him the Utah permit is cheaper than Florida, but he retorts that it’s good for 7 years. Which leads into why we need to have national reciprocity. Let’s hope this can get passed before 2028! It should be possible with 29 states that have Constitutional/permitless carry. It would make things much easier for someone like me who carries on most of my adventures.
We talk about how passing this on to future generations is important. He wants to make sure that his grandkids are able to go shooting. I talked about going to the library and getting the Eddie Eagle video on VHS and watching it with my children. It’s important for children to learn firearm safety, not just because you have firearms. But because they could go into the home of a friend who doesn’t keep their guns locked up. There could very easily be an accident if they don’t know the simple Eddie Eagle rules.
The whole weekend when I would talk with those on the ballot as reformers, they emphasised that the NRA needs to get back to their roots, which is education, training, and competition. They all talked about gaining back the trust of the members and growing the membership. They want to get past the legal hurdles they’ve gone through with the New York Attorney General and build and expand on the fundamentals of what the NRA was.
The number of gun owners vs the number of NRA members is vastly different. Some say there’s 100 million gun owners but only about 4 million NRA members. There can be an NRA member who has family members who align with the same beliefs and even votes like the NRA member. The latter may not be a dues paying member, but they consider themselves as part of the NRA.
I’m going to have a handful more of the NRA BOD reform candidates over the next month. Please be on the lookout for those upcoming shows. And share them with your friends.
Favorite quotes:
“I saw some things that just didn’t sit with me as well as they should have, for the organization.”
“We don’t advocate everyone should own a firearm. We advocate they should have the right to choose. And if you choose to own a firearm, we want to make you a responsible firearms owner.”
“We were built on education, training, and safety.”
“It wasn’t a job for me; it was a lifestyle.”
“We believe in what we’re doing.”
Elect A New NRA Website
https://electanewnra.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#222
Ed Monk
Last Resort Firearm Training
Ed Monk is a name I’ve heard several times over the years. In October 2024, Matt Mallory and I did a live show with Ed and I was able to talk him into letting me drive him around Boston. Last fall, I had a chance to film a show with him before he was presenting at a conference for law enforcement officers. His area of expertise is analyzing the aftermath of school shootings. As a teacher for over 3 decades, this is a topic that hits home for me.
Monk grew up in Arkansas with a family with firearms, mostly for hunting. Around 1999, he connected with Jim Higginbothom who taught Ed that there’s a whole new world with defensive gun fighting and shooting. His training resume is beyond impressive. He’s taken classes at Front Sight, Tactical Defense Institute, and Rangemaster with Tom Givens. He also had training in the Army, where he spent 24 years. He’s been teaching for about 15 years. His brother built a range on the family property. Their range went from 3 pistol bays, to another bay that was covered from the weather. Then his brother became “terminally ill with long range shooting” and added a 480 yard range, too. And they have a 50 yard range that holds 15 people.
Just after finishing his time in Iraq, he got a job teaching at a high school, where he taught for 4 years. Going from a profession that only dealt with deadly violence to one that avoids it was a difficult change. During some professional development, he realized that the school was prepared and didn’t know how to prepare for a school shooter. The school’s plan was to gather all the students and put them in one area, thus making it easier for the shooter to hit more targets. With the school's staff not knowing how to prepare and deal with violence, they thought this was an acceptable answer. But Ed knew it wasn’t. That put him on the path to study school shootings and how they’re committed.
Ed has done the work and crunched the numbers. He’s realized that it becomes a math problem of sorts. The longer it takes to get someone who is prepared and ready to deal with the shooter, the higher the victim count goes. Locking the doors and hiding under the desks works well every day the shooter doesn’t show up.
There are things that can be done. He suggests things like painting the hallways in different colors. Instead of having the art wing, the police can go to the green hallway. Elementary schools can also put barriers up on the playgrounds, ones that can be filled with sand or water. They can even have ballistic tables in the lunchroom. All things that would slow someone down who is committing a heinous crime.
When it comes to stopping a shooter, the time it takes to respond matters, and relates to the number of victims. Ed says that schools don’t need everyone to carry but they need some people who are willing to step up and stop the carnage. But that person also needs to be at the school, where the action is taking place. Not several minutes away or even on the other side of the school.
We have a treat in this episode. One of my friends, Mark Lindblom, aka The Bay State King of GLOCKS (BSKOG as we call him), calls in with a question for Ed.Mark has been talking to me about Ed and several other trainers. And he turned me on to Ed’s series on the Active Self Protection app.
Ed offers classes and seminars all around the country. He can bring his program to your school as well. You can find where he’s teaching and presenting on his Facebook page. If you can get him to come to your district, that would be very beneficial to your community. He also offers training for churches.
In August 2025, at his home range, he is hosting Hero’s Conference. You’ll be able to hear from heroes who stopped active shooters. People like Jack Wilson, Greg Stevens, Stephen Willeford, and Pastor David George.
Favorite quotes:
“Then plopped into a public teaching profession, where we don’t discuss violence at all.”
“The locking the doors and hiding under the desks works very, very well the shooter doesn’t show up.”
“They like putting stuff in the plans that’s easy to type, that’s easy to drill, that’s not controversial, that doesn’t trigger anybody.”
“The longer we let him shoot us, the more of us get shot. Or the sooner we stop him, the fewer of us get shot.”
Last Resort Firearms Training
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057584853533
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#221
Mark Oliva
NSSF, Managing Director of Public Affairs
Heading down to Virginia for a few other shows, I was able to connect with Mark Oliva. He’s been on my radar as a potential passenger for sometime. I met him last year at SHOT. You can’t miss him. He wears a big cowboy hat. Many others do, too. But he has an NSSF badge that says “All Access.” We were able to meet at an “undisclosed location” in Northern Virginia. His job at NSSF takes him into DC regularly.
We start off with some Range Day benefits, like Mark being able to figure out what he wants on his Christmas list. Then we cover talking about taking new folks shooting and shopping for their first gun. And why it’s important for ranges to have family friendly facilities and not just a five gallon bucket for a portable bathroom. If we want to get more people into the shooting sports, then we need to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for them. If places aren’t welcoming to women, he calls it the “hey, little lady complex.” He and his wife, a former Marine, went to one of those ranges and his wife outshoot everyone else in the class.
Mark was born in New England and went into the Marine Corps right out of high school. He spent 25 years serving the country. He’s lived all around the country while serving. And picked up a drawl living in the Carolinas. He got orders to work on Capitol Hill and then he was offered a position at the NSSF. Summing up one career into the other, he says that he went “from one big gun club to another.”
With his current position at NSSF as the Managing Director of Public Affairs, he’s on 24/7. He’s got two phones; a personal and a work phone. When the work phone rings, he has to answer it. Any day. Any time. Because he has to be knowledgeable about everything that’s going on, he says he knows “a lot about a lot of things but it’s hard to drill down and become a subject matter expert.” His job in the military was also in public affairs, so this was an easy transition. He enjoyed talking about the Marines and wanted the same thing in his other career.
I do love it when people say the 2A events around the country, SHOT, NRA AM, GRPC, are a family reunion. It is exciting to go to these events, but it’s just as important to see and catch up with friends that we’ve made and the relationships we’ve built. Mark says the folks at the NSSF, no matter what they do, love hunting and shooting and keeping the firearm industry going and thriving.
Mark talks about how he doesn’t give any credence to the media who want to take our rights away. So he can and does have to be firm with them. With everything that is going on, he can’t walk blindly into conversations with reporters. When he has these discussions, he’s got to have the facts to refute some of the untruths that reporters throw at him.
We talk about how big the industry is, but also about how small it is. He runs into people that are with one company, then move to another company doing the same thing. All these folks, the movers and shakers, know each other. It’s a bit like the six degrees of separation. Or as I’ve heard it called, the Olympic rings of the gun community.
I ran into Mark at SHOT last week. He was wearing a cowboy hat. Shocking, I know. He’s all over making sure everyone is getting the things they need and taken care of. SHOT week is really the NSSF’s Super Bowl of the shooting and outdoor industry. Everyone is on the go, on their feet, from sunup to way after sundown. And it’s always a great week!
Favorite quotes:
“You come out to SHOT Show, you can’t buy anything at the show. But man this is a great place to make a Christmas list.”
“It was really easy and natural for me to have that kind of job, so why would I not want to do that in my next career?”
“When it comes to the facts, you’ve got to have a good solid knowledge of those facts, and a handle on those facts.”
“You’ve seen Justice Thomas repeatedly say that the lower courts are denigrating the Second Amendment to a second class right. And he’s frustrated with it.”
NSSF Website
https://www.nssf.org/
NSSF Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NSSFcomm/
NSSF Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thenssf/
NSSF LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-shooting-sports-foundation
NSSF YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/thenssf
NSSF X
https://x.com/NSSF
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#220
Matthias Quellenberg
San Diego Firearms Academy
In 2022, I went to GunProm, hosted by San Diego Gun Owners. It was a huge event with over 750 attendees, the biggest 2A dinner I’ve attended. I was there with John Petrolino and we didn’t really know many folks. We were put at the table with Matthais. We talked all night and exchanged contact info. The next day, he messaged me via Instagram and said he’s seen the show, but didn’t put it together after seeing me. The next week, Petrolinio messages me and says he’s been messaging Matthias. I asked who and he replied “The German.” The name stuck.
In 2024, GRPC was held in San Diego, where he lives. We were able to film a show at the end of GRPC. Everyone was talking about “the wall” and I thought it was some sort of Pink Floyd tribute. Alas, it was the border wall. When he asked where we were driving, I replied “the wall.” We had to make sure we didn’t cross into Mexico. I don’t have a passport. He was packing.
Matthias grew up in Germany and served in the army. That was his first exposure to shooting and firearms. If it was a choice and an option for the citizens, he would have been a gun owner. But it’s very elitist in Germany. The first gun he got to shoot was a Walther P1, the predecessor to the P38. He did boot camp, specialized training, then some office work, and ended up in the Ministry of Defense, similar to the Pentagon here. Then he became a boot camp instructor.
He met an American woman and they had a long distance relationship. Eventually, he made it to Boston. After they got married, he was able to get a green card and he applied for a License To Carry right away. They moved to California and settled in San Francisco. He found out there were only 2 carry permits issued in the city when he got there. In the same time, Fresno County issued over 6,000 permits.
Then life brought them to San Diego. Doing some research, he found out you needed to list your guns and serial numbers on your license and you could only have three guns on that carry license. He looked for an attorney who may want to pursue suing the state about this and ended up talking with the lawyers from the Peruta case. The lawyers thought they may be able to pair the cases, but it didn’t fit their strategy.
Back in 2020 while he was Ubering, he would talk with his riders and gun owning came up. They were looking for guidance and opinions. Realizing that there could be a market, he became an NRA certified instructor and started San Diego Firearms School.
We got into talking about teaching gun classes. He teaches a couple classes a month. The next step for him is to get certified by the sheriff’s department to be an instructor. In California, you have to take a short test to get the firearm safety certificate, which you need to purchase a firearm. Then you have to do a shooting qualification to be able to take the 16 hour course needed for the CCW permit.
Matthais won tickets to the GunProm back in 2022. That’s when he started to see that there are so many more people involved in firearms and the bigger gun community in general. He’s good friends with Desi Bergman (RSWC #217) and they both do lots for San Diego County Gun Owners. He even presented for one of their seminars.
I had a great time with Matthais. He’s a great guy and he’s out there busting his tail to make things happen. He’s very active on Instagram, so follow him. If you end up in San Diego, get an Uber driver with a German accent, and his good dog, Lucky, there’s a good chance it’s Matthias!
Favorite quotes:
“We don’t have gun rights. Guns is not a thing in Germany.”
“Within a week of me getting a greencard, I got my first gun and I applied for a License To Carry.”
“At the time, you can only have three guns on your license.”
“So many people were asking me questions and looking for help and guidance.”
San Diego Firearms School Website
https://sandiegofirearmssc.wixsite.com/home
San Diego Firearms School Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/sandiegofirearmsschool/
San Diego County Gun Owners
https://sandiegocountygunowners.com/
Gun Owners Radio
https://www.gunownersradio.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#219
Liz Bush
Deputy Executive Director,
NRA General Operations
I had a chance to film some shows with the NRA staff at the NRA HQ in Fairfax, VA. With time in my schedule, I asked a friend on the BOD who else I could have. She suggested Liz Bush. I wasn’t familiar with her name, but she’s got her hands on many things going on at NRA. It was great to have some time with her. I was in need of some NRA teaching materials, but wasn’t able to get those from HQ on this trip. They come from a warehouse somewhere else.
Liz’s position at NRA is the Deputy Executive Director of General Operations. It covers everything that isn’t political. She works with everything from Community Engagement Departments to Women On Target to Friends of the NRA. She tends to the community outreach, clubs and range associations, education and training, law enforcement training division, competitive shooting, NRA Museum, the NRA range, shows and exhibits department, and even the Eddie Eagle program. Like she said, everything but politics! She may have donned the Eagle costume once. But there was a height requirement.
Growing up, her family had a number of firearms and her father was into shooting where she grew up in south New Jersey. Eventually she and her husband moved to the DC metro area. She went into marketing and worked retail but didn’t enjoy it. Her father suggested applying for a job at NRA.
But when she got a job at NRA is when she really got into learning about firearms and shooting. She did go through much of the NRA Training Programs. And when there are changes within the programs, she gets to be part of the test case. She’s gotten really good at trap shooting and often her husband won’t go shooting with her. Doing a project with Mark Keefe (RSWC #216), Liz found she really likes the GLOCK 19. She talked her mother into buying one, too!
There’s a lot more programs than I know or even realize that the NRA offers. There’s a Youth Hunter Education Challenge. It’s the next level after a regular hunter ed course.There’s eight levels for challenge. This program has between 40-50 courses and reaches about 4,000 students. The NRA Day program is a mixed bag of all the disciplines for new shooters and gun owners. It’s like an open house for shooting. The clubs that host NRA Day have the flexibility to design the program to what they’d like to offer participants. The Women On Target hosts nearly 100 events a year and reaches 4,000-5,000 women each year. The Range Services department helps ranges and range owners who are looking to start or improve their ranges.
One of the programs is the Friends of the NRA. I’ve been to a few of these around the country. The great thing about them is not just hanging out with like minded people and having something in common. The funds raised are split between the NRA and the state where the money is raised in the form of grants.
Over the years with NRA, Liz has been moving through different departments and different areas. It’s fantastic to see that one job can lead to several different positions and cover lots of various aspects of keeping the organization going. The people that work at NRA HQ genuinely enjoy working for them and doing what they do. They’re there to support it’s members and get the word out about shooting, gun ownership, and the benefits it brings.
We did talk about Phil Schreier (RSWC #182) the NRA Museum. Phil is a celebrity due to all his appearances on the History Channel and Outdoor Channel programs. And I need to find some time to get back down to take in the museum and all it has to offer. Maybe I’ll get some other folks from the NRA to hop in the stagecoach!
Favorite quotes:
“We really focus on the programs, any touch points with the members. Anything that gets them pulling triggers.”
“It says a lot about for the people and the community and camaraderie that we have as employees at NRA.”
“Eddie Eagle is probably one our most successful programs, reaches millions of kids a year.”
“Sporting clays is fun, it’s like a round of golf but for shooters.”
“We’re one big team and over the years learned what everyone else is doing.”
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
NRA Explore/NRA Programs
https://explore.nra.org/
NRA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NRA
NRA Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nra/
Friends of the NRA
https://www.friendsofnra.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#218
Jacek Waliszewki
Code Name: Spike, Author
Sometimes the planets all line up for me. I was in Knoxville, TN, for the Gun Owners of America’s G.O.A.L.S event. I was talking with Kirk Whatley from Samson Mfg. Kirk has been a friend for a long time. He was RSWC #005 back when I was learning how to edit video. Samson’s booth was across from Liberty Mfg’s booth. They have a pen gun. And at their booth was Jacek Waliszewski, author of Code Name: Spike.
Jacek was born in Poland but he was raised in a revolution. His father co-founded the Solidarity Movement there and they kicked communism out of Poland. As an infant, his mother would put propaganda papers in his diapers that he would take to his father while he was locked up. It all had to be done before he soiled the diaper! He was muling documents for his father to read and sign. The family eventually came to the United States as political refugees during the Reagan years.
After moving around the country with his father’s job, Jacek joined the Army and went into Special Forces. He spent 20 years serving the country and he’s working on his second career and spending time with his own family. His second career finds him as a writer. He’s authored a book called Code Name: Spike. He was at the Liberty Mfg booth promoting his book because Liberty has a pen gun. And a story in his book involves the first real life use of a pen gun.
Going from Special Forces medic to Special Forces warrant officer, he got to spend time in the Nation Archives. Near George Washington’s flag and maps from Normandy, still with sand in them, he finds a leather bound book. The book was written by two men in the Office of Strategic Services back in 1946. The CIA didn’t declassify the documents until the 1980’s. He wondered how this memoir existed and no one knew about it. When they tried to publish it in 1946, the CIA and the State Department refused to let them release these secrets into the public.
Jacek spent five years researching and working on this book. He cross referenced their Morse code messages. It even took him to England, where he found their secret Morse code messages. After chasing the background around the world, the Department of Defense finally cleared everything for the publication of the book.
One of the truly amazing things he did was reach out to the surviving family members of Steven Bizic & Joseph S. Kosky to let them know about the history of their fathers and grandfathers. That involved hundreds of calls and emails to find everyone. The family members didn’t know these stories because they were super secret. And it was a time when men didn’t talk about what they did during war. He had a chance to bring their lives full circle with this book.
It’s amazing that he discovered the things that formed Special Operations.The OSS was the foundation of many of the other groups like Spec Ops and CIA. The stories could also change the history of the communists. There’s stories about how they would confiscate firearms from people, who would hand them over, because they think they’re doing the right thing. Then they immediately found out that the partisans were the judge, jury, and executioner. The people who surrendered their guns would then be shot with their own firearms as punishment. In another chapter, he talks about how the OSS were able to derail a train which ended up taking the lives of 200 Nazis.
This book reads like a novel. But a true history book that will keep you riveted and reading. To top it off, his next book is going to be how the same group of OSS were plotting to take out Mussolini. Somewhere, someone has Mussolini’s pistol.
Favorite quotes:
“I like to say I was born into revolution.”
“It’s the first Special Operations memoir written after the war.”
“This book reveals all the things we did wrong in the war.”
“To give back to the Special Operations community, this is the legacy book.”
“It’s more disturbing to know that it’s true.”
Stories By Jack website
https://www.storiesbyjacek.com/
Jacek Waliszewski on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jw_jack_official/
Liberty Mfg
https://www.liberty-mfg.us/
Code Name: Spike on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/CODE-NAME-SPECIAL-FORCES-GROUNDBREAKING/dp/B0D52QP3G3
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#217
Desi Bergman
Not Me SD
I met Desi Bergman at GunProm held by San Diego County Gun Owners back in June of 2022. I met a lot of people that weekend. I may have been “over self-served.” But at Gun Rights Policy Conference in 2024, we got to meet again. And I’ll remember it this time. (Gulp!) I always plan on filming shows while I’m on a trip, and GPRC 2024 was no different. But I had to make changes to my plans. Desi and I caught up on the Friday evening social. I asked if she was interested in doing the show and she agreed to it. We headed to Coronado Island and got a selfie at Dog Beach.
As a young child, guns were always around for her and her family. Her grandparents owned a farm in central California. While her dad was out checking the property, she was the girl who was shooting at rabbits from the truck with a BB gun. Her father was a sheriff reserve and taught the kids to respect firearms, how to be safe, and how to shoot. One of her prized possessions is her father’s Colt Python. When her mother inquires about it, she keeps telling her it's in for repair.
Having been in San Diego for 13 years, she discovered San Diego County Gun Owners about five years ago. I had Michael Schwartz from SDCGO on episode #153. Desi & Michael met at a BBQ for SDCGO. He was telling her about Not Me SD and how he was trying to get it up and going. She loved the idea and got involved in volunteering to learn more about it. When the virus that shall not be named hit,they needed someone to be more involved. She stepped up and took on the part-time role. There were some instructing certifications she needed and earned. Having them gives her more credentials for converting women to gun ownership.
Not Me SD is a program for women who are survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The program takes the women all through the process to get a CCW in California. They have scholarships for those in need. They teach the women all aspects of self defense, from situational awareness, pepper spray, and firearms. Since 2020, females are the largest growing demographic of firearms owners and those who are seeking out training. Not Me is a huge resource for women who want help.
They have regular and monthly get-togethers for training and shooting socials, as they call them. This pairs women up with instructors. We do talk about the process to get a permit in The Golden State. There’s a quick and easy 30 question test to get the firearm safety card, which is step one. We did talk about what makes a good first gun for a woman. Of course there is no “correct” answer, but it was fun to talk about. Desi used a term about GLOCK that I hadn’t heard before. She called it the “Honda of the gun world.” Ya know, she’s not wrong. We also talked about the SIG P365 getting added to the CA roster and using red dots.
One of the amazing success stories from Not Me SD is of a woman who was shot in the neck twice by her ex-husband. Not only did she survive the incident but she got into firearms and self protection, she enjoyed learning and turned into a survivor. A big step for DV survivors is actually hearing the gun being fired. Her program has reached over 1,300 women. Everytime she is on a local TV show, she has more and more people reaching out to get training and education.
California has a roster, much like Massachusetts. Both states have lots of restrictions and unconstitutional laws about firearms. We also have so-called assault weapon bans and magazine restrictions.
Desi and I talked more about Not Me SD while we drove to Coronado Island. We grabbed a selfie at Dog Beach. San Diego is a beautiful place. The weather is amazing. It could be a perfect place, but the gun laws in Cali… Not so much.
Favorite quotes:
“I was holding a gun since I was two years old and I could hold one.”
“I like to have all the qualifications because it help me articulate better when I’m teaching these classes.”
“GLOCKS are the Honda of the gun world.”
“We always end the day with a mag dump on the .22.”
“I believe that women should have as many tools as they can to protect themselves.”
Not Me SD
https://sandiegocountygunowners.com/notmesd/
Not Me CA
https://www.notmeca.org/
Not Me CA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NotMeCA/
Gun Owners Radio Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/sdgunowners
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#216
Mark Keefe
NRA Managing Director of Editorial & Public Affairs
Like everyone who has read any of the NRA’s magazines or watched American Rifleman, or even seen some shows on The Outdoor Channel or The History Channel, I’ve seen Mark Keefe for years. Emails between the NRA staff and me while setting up the show with Doug Hamlin (RSWC #213), I saw that Mark was on the email last. I had to ask if he would be available and interested. And he was. I was pleasantly surprised when Mark came out before I interviewed Doug to check and make sure everything was good to go.
Mark has been shooting since he was young. His grandfather used to drink beef from a can. When the beer got old, they used to shoot the beer cans with the beer in them while using a BB gun. That’s quite a reactive target, for sure! As a young teenager, the family elders decided he was “old enough for the Thompson.” But it was only semi-auto until he was older. He also did some shooting in the Boy Scouts.
In 1988, Mark wanted to be a Shooting Sports Director for the Boy Scouts so he could teach rifle, shotgun, and archery. To do this, he had to become an NRA Certified Instructor. In this process, he reconnected with Phil Schreier (RSWC #182). His interest in collecting historical firearms really took off. Mark told me the story about Phil getting a job volunteering at the NRA Museum and telling him that you never know where it will lead and you have to grow up sometime. The following year, Phil ended up offering Mark the weekend work at the Museum saying… you never know where it will lead and you have to grow up sometime. Mark has been there 34 years, and Phil has been there 35 years.
After being at the Museum a few years, he started as the assistant technical editor for some of the magazines. He worked through the ranks as associate technical editor, managing editor, and finally editor and he ran American Rifleman for 21 years. In the early 2000’s, he was encouraged to start a column so the readers could learn more about the NRA contributors. That was the beginning of The Keefe Report. He still kept reviewing guns, the current issues, and his regular duties.
In the late 1990’s/early 2000’s, the NRA started having the staff and writers get out and gain experience with the firearms they were reviewing. That’s when Mark had the chance to travel the world and do some training and hunting. Learning to shoot a rifle at moving game is different from hunting in the United States. These hunting trips and experiences really gave them the chance to experience the usefulness and dependability of the firearms they were using. While using firearms in the field, he began to see why some of the designs of rifles or cocking methods or stocks were built the way they are. It made more sense once they put them to use in real situations.
In the early 2000’s Mark was on a hunt with people from The Outdoor Channel. They told Mark there really needed to be an American Rifleman TV show. But he didn’t have a lot of video experience. He, his staff, and Phil came up with a plan to get the show going and what the content would be. He told me a great story about someone who went back to Europe and was able to find brass from rounds fired by Alvin York! It’s an amazing story!
Mark’s most recent title is the Managing Director of Editorial & Public Affairs. He’s got his hands in many things NRA and media related, from The Keefe Report to American Rifleman, but also keeping up with the new trends in social media. Mark is NRA to the core. And a firearm guy through and through. He told me after we were done filming that we didn’t even get to any of the hunting stores. I can’t wait for those.
Favorite quotes:
“I think he’s probably old enough for the Thompson.”
“You can’t really slap a rifle trigger, but you can pull it quickly.”
“We wanted to take people places they couldn’t go.”
“We blend the story of the people who used these guns.”
“We’re involved in things that we just don’t get credit for.”
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
American Rifleman
https://www.americanrifleman.org/
NRA Publications on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@NRApubs
NRA Explore/NRA Programs
https://explore.nra.org/
NRA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NRA
NRA Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nra/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#215
Keith Barry (KB)
51Fifty Rifles/Optimum
At the NRA Annual Meeting, I got a message from Frank Johnson to meet him at the 51Fifty/Optimum booth. I was asked to be on Frank’s show Range Report earlier in the year, so I wanted to meet him in person. At the 51Fifty booth was Keith Berry (KB). I was very impressed at how fast Frank was able to take down their AR style rifle. Legit, I looked away to see if my bag was still on the ground and the rifle was apart. They have a Rapid Access Cam that connects the upper and lower receivers. With the flip of a lever, similar to a safety switch, you can do the lock and take the rifle apart.
Recently, I got the time to go out and meet with KB. He’s only in western Mass so it wasn’t far of a drive to get together. He gave me a tour of the building and how they build their rifles. They’ve got a room in the back where they do all their videos with a number of “wall decorations” as their backdrop.
KB grew up shooting since he was young, like for years old! His father ingrained the safety rules at a young age, which gave him a strong basis on safe gun handling. He progressed from BB guns, to pellet guns, to .22 rifles. His father served in Viet Nam and was much of the inspiration and motivation for the beginning of 51Fifty. Their first rifle was a tribute to KB’s dad. Once he started making rifles, he would ask his dad what he would want for this part and for that part. That’s what KB was putting together just for his dad. One of his dad’s life long goals was to become a certified gunsmith, which he achieved before passing away.
Many of the rifles made by 51Fifty have been made to commemorate things like the slaying of the five Dallas police officers a few years ago. They remade the rifle for his father and added some coating to make it look distressed and used. The company that worked with them asked them to join them at SHOT Show, which they were happy to go along with.
Before getting into the firearm business, KB spent 20 years doing printing. Due to health issues from printing, he needed a new career. He got into working in the auto industry and financing. Within a year, he got into helping non-compliant companies and did that in five states for the next 20 years.
When KB was based in Texas, there was a lot of back and forth between the Lone State and the Bay State, where the parts were being built. Building parts were in Mass while painting and assembly was in Texas. So KB and his wife moved to New England to help run the business and the shop from here.
One of the things 51Fifty prides themselves on is listening to what their customers want. Their rifles are in several countries with their troops. When they give feedback to 51Fifty, they listen, take notes, and make changes. They’re addressing issues that have been around with the AR platform since the beginning and they’re working to make superior rifles for everyone, whether in the military, law enforcement, or civilians. At their first SHOT Show, a veteran was going by their booth in a wheelchair. He couldn’t believe how fast the disassembly of the AR was done.
There are several big name folks that have the 51Fifty rifles. They make a lot of specialty rifles and they donate several of them to charities. One of their rifles is a .308 and is worth about $50,000. It only gets brought out for big charity events. The engraving on it is just incredible. They are doing a big event for SHOT Show 2025, so if you’re in the media, make sure you stop by and try out their rifles. If you can’t make it, please visit their website and check out all the cool and wild designs they’ve got.
Favorite quotes:
“You take the curiosity away. You don’t make it taboo.”
“We need to do something to help these families.”
“Right now we’re not Goliath we’re David, but we want to slay Goliath.”
“If I had had this system, I’d still have my legs.”
51Fifty Rifles
https://51fiftyrifles.com/
51Fifty Rifles Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/51FiftyRifles
51Fifty Rifles Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/51fifty/
51Fifty Rifles X
https://x.com/OP51_usa
51Fifty Rifles YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@OP51USA
51Fifty Rifles LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/51fifty/posts/?feedView=all
51Fifty Rifles Truth Social
https://truthsocial.com/@51Fifty
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#215
Keith Barry (KB)
51Fifty Rifles/Optimum
At the NRA Annual Meeting, I got a message from Frank Johnson to meet him at the 51Fifty/Optimum booth. I was asked to be on Frank’s show Range Report earlier in the year, so I wanted to meet him in person. At the 51Fifty booth was Keith Berry (KB). I was very impressed at how fast Frank was able to take down their AR style rifle. Legit, I looked away to see if my bag was still on the ground and the rifle was apart. They have a Rapid Access Cam that connects the upper and lower receivers. With the flip of a lever, similar to a safety switch, you can do the lock and take the rifle apart.
Recently, I got the time to go out and meet with KB. He’s only in western Mass so it wasn’t far of a drive to get together. He gave me a tour of the building and how they build their rifles. They’ve got a room in the back where they do all their videos with a number of “wall decorations” as their backdrop.
KB grew up shooting since he was young, like for years old! His father ingrained the safety rules at a young age, which gave him a strong basis on safe gun handling. He progressed from BB guns, to pellet guns, to .22 rifles. His father served in Viet Nam and was much of the inspiration and motivation for the beginning of 51Fifty. Their first rifle was a tribute to KB’s dad. Once he started making rifles, he would ask his dad what he would want for this part and for that part. That’s what KB was putting together just for his dad. One of his dad’s life long goals was to become a certified gunsmith, which he achieved before passing away.
Many of the rifles made by 51Fifty have been made to commemorate things like the slaying of the five Dallas police officers a few years ago. They remade the rifle for his father and added some coating to make it look distressed and used. The company that worked with them asked them to join them at SHOT Show, which they were happy to go along with.
Before getting into the firearm business, KB spent 20 years doing printing. Due to health issues from printing, he needed a new career. He got into working in the auto industry and financing. Within a year, he got into helping non-compliant companies and did that in five states for the next 20 years.
When KB was based in Texas, there was a lot of back and forth between the Lone State and the Bay State, where the parts were being built. Building parts were in Mass while painting and assembly was in Texas. So KB and his wife moved to New England to help run the business and the shop from here.
One of the things 51Fifty prides themselves on is listening to what their customers want. Their rifles are in several countries with their troops. When they give feedback to 51Fifty, they listen, take notes, and make changes. They’re addressing issues that have been around with the AR platform since the beginning and they’re working to make superior rifles for everyone, whether in the military, law enforcement, or civilians. At their first SHOT Show, a veteran was going by their booth in a wheelchair. He couldn’t believe how fast the disassembly of the AR was done.
There are several big name folks that have the 51Fifty rifles. They make a lot of specialty rifles and they donate several of them to charities. One of their rifles is a .308 and is worth about $50,000. It only gets brought out for big charity events. The engraving on it is just incredible. They are doing a big event for SHOT Show 2025, so if you’re in the media, make sure you stop by and try out their rifles. If you can’t make it, please visit their website and check out all the cool and wild designs they’ve got.
Favorite quotes:
“You take the curiosity away. You don’t make it taboo.”
“We need to do something to help these families.”
“Right now we’re not Goliath we’re David, but we want to slay Goliath.”
“If I had had this system, I’d still have my legs.”
51Fifty Rifles
https://51fiftyrifles.com/
51Fifty Rifles Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/51FiftyRifles
51Fifty Rifles Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/51fifty/
51Fifty Rifles X
https://x.com/OP51_usa
51Fifty Rifles YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@OP51USA
51Fifty Rifles LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/company/51fifty/posts/?feedView=all
51Fifty Rifles Truth Social
https://truthsocial.com/@51Fifty
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #214 News2A Shawn Abramson & Grant Kielczewski
Last year, I filmed a show with Shawn and Grant from News2A. Due to camera issues, we decided to scrap it and do it another time. That time was in Knoxville, Tenn, at the Gun Owners of America’s G.O.A.L.s event. Since we first tried this, Grant up and moved from New Jersey to middle Tennessee, so this was the ideal time to make it happen again.
Shawn grew up in a mostly non-gun house, but he and his brother took any chance they could to go out and shoot with their father’s friends. At 18, getting an FID and joining the NRA was on the top of the things he wanted to do as an adult. For Grant growing up in the Midwest, guns were just tools. Also buying his first gun at 18, he spent years just being a casual shooter. In the last five years, things changed for him. He’s been more active in taking courses and in helping others get started on their gun owning path. He’s been working more towards becoming a better instructor.
Shawn and Grant were both New Jersey guys with an idea to start a website with a focus on the Garden State. News2A (N2A) was launched after the Bruen decision in June 2022. New Jersey finally caved, kicking and screaming, to allow their peasants to have pitchforks. And allow them to carry their pitchforks. For a while, it was a hotbed of overreaching government having a post-Bruen hissy fit. There were lots of things going on. The gents thought there needed to be a place where people could get the up to date and correct info on the goings on.
We spend some time talking about the differences between states like, New Jersey & Massachusetts, versus other states, like Florida & Tennessee. It is bad in Jersey. You cannot carry in sensitive places so you have to disarm in your car and do a lot of administrative loading and unloading. Post Bruen, New York and New Jersey really tried tamping down the rights and abilities of gun owners.
When the guys started getting more involved, they went to Trenton to watch the testimonies and see how the sausage is made. And it ain’t pretty. None of the things we may have been taught in school, or from Schoolhouse Rock, really happens like that. It was an education and eye opening for them.
At one point, John Petrolino, RSWC #093, reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do some writing. He said that N2A was looking for writers and contributors for their website. He said I could send things to him to edit, then I could pass it along to N2A. In the meantime, he wrote to Shawn and Grant, saying that maybe they could publish some of my writings there. It’s been a great outlet for me as a writer. I was able to cover the nonsense of the Gun Law Listening Tour in early 2023.
The website is chock full of writers. Covering topics of politics, gun rights, training, editorials. They’ve got about eight writers plus Shawn and Grant contributing to the site. Some I’ve had on the show and some still need to get in the stagecoach. They also have sections on the site that are great resources for Jersey residents, where you can carry, how to carry, how to apply for everyone. And, of course, safety tips, too.
Let me tell you, the gun folks from Jersey have aggravation in their blood about their process, licensing scheme, and the nonsense they have to deal with. There’s only a handful of states that the Bruen decision really affected. These states are the most egregious about doing their best to make sure that lawful and responsible citizens have a hard time with owning, possessing, and carrying firearms. Fortunately, they’ve got Shawn and Grant putting in time, love, and money in keeping everyone informed and on top of the situation.
Favorite quotes:
Shawn: “You meet the right people, too. They have the right values. They’re just friendly people willing to help others in general.”
Shawn: “They only care about making sure their party’s agenda happens.”
Grant:”We’ve tried to take this very complex information and make it as applicable to people as possible.”
Grant: “I know people underestimate the value of training.”
News2A Website
https://www.news2a.com/
News2A Twitter/X
https://twitter.com/News2ATeam
News2A Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/news2a/
News2A Gab
https://gab.com/News2A
US Law Shield (Code:NEWS2A)
https://www.uslawshield.com/?affid=ad008c31-331d-11ef-bda8-0615552639c3
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#213
Doug Hamlin
NRA, Executive Vice President
It’s not everyday you get to interview the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, let alone take him for a drive around Fairfax. But when the chance comes up, you take it. I owe a huge Thank You to Amanda Suffecool for making the connection. It’s pretty cool when Mark Keefe, who I’ve seen on TV and in magazines, comes out to make sure everything is ready for the interview.
Like many folks, firearms were a family tradition for Doug. He learned to hunt from his grandfather and they had a “healthy collection” of firearms, many which were military surplus. When he was old enough, Doug joined the Marines. The years in service were very beneficial in forming the self confidence that people need. It also taught him that life is competitive and that you need to step up or step out.
After the Marines, he had a friend who was working with Petersen Publishing Company in Detroit. His friend was doing well. He asked his friend to put in a good word at the Petersen headquarters in LA. He got to meet with Mr. Robert Petersen and was offered a job at Guns & Ammo magazine in the late 1980’s. Mr. Petersen, of course, is the largest donor to the National Firearm Museum at NRA HQ.Petersen was a big role model and mentor to Doug. He moved from ad sales to publisher in 4 years.
Eventually Petersen moved Doug over to publish MotorTrend Magazine, which was a very important property to Petersen Publishing. Being a bit of a car guy, this was a good fit. The day after getting the new job, Petersen jetted him off to the New York auto show. Doug got to travel the world with Petersen, including trips to London. Often, they’d stop at Purdy and Holland & Holland to “make an investment”. Many of these investments happen to be in the NRA Museum. His NRA roots run deep!
Having lunch with Ken Elliot, his former boss at Petersen, it came up that Joe Graham was retiring from NRA Publications. Ken asked if some NRA folks, including Wayne LaPierre, could join them for lunch. Having Doug as the executive director of publications came up in the conversation. He started the position in early 2014, and spent 10 years working as publisher.
When LaPierre stepped down in February, there were going to be changes on the Board. There were the “old guard” and the “reformers”. It came down to Doug and Ronnie Barrett. Doug speaks extensively on what happened at the meetings and election. Getting back to NRA HQ after the election and with almost no sleep, Doug got right to work.
Doug has ignited a spark to the staff. Everyone at NRA has a much brighter outlook on the future of NRA. They’re working to rebuild the trust with membership, as well as grow it to what it was just a few years ago. There’s only a small percentage of gun owners who are members. With around 100 million gun owners and only 4 million NRA members, there's a lot of room for expansion.
The NRA has several publications and over 40 programs. Things from helping ranges get started, Eddie Eagle, lobbying in every state, several websites,and training. Their publications have been rebranded as NRA Media, and Mark Keefe is the leader there. (And the interview with Mark will be dropping soon!) With all their media, they’re reaching 20 million people a month!
We do need a strong and stable NRA. I’ve said this several times, the NRA is taking the arrows from the antis while the other groups are doing work. The antis don’t know about the other groups since they are smaller than the NRA. I did get a chance to interview a few others at NRA while I was there. Everyone loves their jobs at NRA and enjoy working there. It’s good to see and hear this. Like I said, we need a strong NRA.
Favorite quotes:
“You better step up or step out.”
“They also understand the significance of a strong NRA. It benefits the entire industry when you have a strong NRA.”
“You can count on us. You can trust us.”
“NRA is a tremendous institution and we’re doing a lot to get us back on track and rebuild our membership.”
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
Friends of NRA
https://www.friendsofnra.org/
NRA Foundation Grants
https://www.nrafoundation.org/grants
NRA Explore/NRA Programs
https://explore.nra.org/
NRA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NRA
NRA Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nra/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#212
Irv Gill
Blackbelt Ammunition
I love it when a plan comes together. I was heading to New Jersey and it was a vacation week, so I had some extra time. I’d been in contact with Irv Gill from Blackbelt Ammunition and we were able to meet at Tanner’s Sports Center in Jamison, Pa. I met Nayara Andrejczyk there last year to film a show with her. It isn’t too far from Reading so we all met there.
Irv has been a long time shooter and hunter, like many folks. His grandfather taught him to shoot and he got his first .22 rifle around 12 years old. During his junior high and high school years, he joined the rifle team. He bought some muzzleloading handguns and it felt like reloading since you have to apply all the components of ammunition. He also started casting his own bullets as well. By 18 years old, he got his mom to buy him his first revolver.
When he was younger, he got into hunting boar with handguns. It was much more exciting because you have to get a little closer to the animals. During those years, he got into reloading his own ammunition. Then started loading it for friends and family, too.
This led to getting some single stage presses and reloading ammo. He does say that no one really saves money by reloading because you end up shooting more and needing more supplies. Even though it works out to be a few cents a round and you’re shooting more, it’s more about control of the ammo and the bullet.
Irv is also a black belt in martial arts and has been practicing for years. He even wrote a book about the martial arts. Self defense training in its various forms is something he’s been doing his whole life. Back in 2020 when things changed, he decided to take this hobby of making ammunition and making it a real thing, a real business. He wasn’t sure what to call it. While his wife was napping one day, she woke up and said it should be Blackbelt Ammunition. His plan was to cater to local gun stores who had a hard time keeping stock. Then he met a woman who helped Blackbelt with online sales.
After studying various types of bullets and ballistics, he decided it was time to move forward and make this dream come true. Irv compares his ammo to small batch micro brews or whiskeys. He isn’t cranking out thousands and thousands of rounds. He’s got small batch ammo that specializes in self defense and not bulk target ammo. I love that he calls the big ammo companies “Rem-Fed-Chester”, short of Remington, Federal, and Winchester. They can produce all the target ammo but he’s got them beat for self defense ballistics. His bullets expand more and transfer more energy to its intended target. Another good thing about being a small business and doing small batches, if he wants to make a change, it doesn’t take too much work.
One of his newest rounds is the Red Devil. It’s for customers in New Jersey. In the Garden State, someone cannot use hollow point or hollow tip ammo. If there is an insert in the tip, then it is ok to use or carry. Another brand has a red ball inserted into the tip. Blackbelt has a steel BB that they use for the Red Devil. He’s been in contact with the powers that be in New Jersey to make sure it will be ok to sell there. If you’re in Jersey, check Blackbelt’s social media. Irv and his team are often at local gun shows selling ammo.
This is a good episode. It’s great to hear someone who has a dream and makes it happen at any age. Irv obviously loves what he’s doing and he’s doing a great job at it. Please check out his socials and buy some of his ammo.
Favorite quotes:
“You have to dedicate time to it.”
“I got into martial arts because I’ve always been into self defense.”
“I got into martial arts so that you didn’t have to shoot somebody.”
“We don’t need more regulation. We need smart regulation.”
Blackbelt Ammunition
https://www.blackbeltammunition.com/
Blackbelt Ammunition Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/blackbelt_ammunition
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089942570085
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#211
Dick Heller
Heller v DC
Back in 2018, I was heading to hear some friends speak at the Heller 10 Celebration hosted by Second Amendment Institute. I got a call from one of my friends and she said “we’re going to Heller’s house”. I wondered “who’s we? Is it her? Am I part of we?”. She called back and I got to go hang out at the Heller resident. The next day, I found myself being asked/told that I was going to give an impromptu speech on the Supreme Court Steps. I’ve seen Dick at a number of events and got to film this show on our way to go shoot sporting clays at the M&M Hunting Preserve in New Jersey. He was the keynote at a fundraiser the night before. We shot clays with John Petrolino (RSWC #093), Gabby Franco (RSWC #), and Eric, who was helping get Dick around for the weekend.
We’ve all heard of the Heller decision. We all know what happened in the Heller case. It’s been cited and referenced in cases upon cases. It’s referenced in the McDonald v Chicago and NYSRPA v Bruen. If you haven’t read that “magnificent Scalia decision”, you need to do some homework.
The Heller case was ruled in 2008, but it started years before. Getting a case to the SCOTUS takes time and money. And lots of both. Several years before, Dick was friends with a fighter pilot and instructor and Vietnam veteran. He was also an Olympic shooter in 1980. Dick rented him a room. So he came over with a truck full of guns, which was illegal at the time, and said they’re all going to jail. The friend got the guns out of DC and decided that he was going to go to law school to fight this nonsense. Heller said he was going to become a cop and they’ll give him a gun to protect them, but he won’t be able to protect himself. This is the beginning of the case.
When the case was done, Heller had to sign 12 more papers for another case just so the lawyers would get paid. He points out that the government pays to fight us with our own money in the form of taxes. And we also have to pay with our own money to fight the government. Heller’s team of lawyers were able to win the case despite the unlimited funds that DC has.
The case went to a federal court since it was a Constitutional issue. But it didn’t rule in Heller’s favor the first time. So they appealed to the DC Circuit Court. There they prevail. During one of the trials, the opposing attorney admits to the judge that they just don’t want guns in DC. The lawyer hadn’t seen or heard the news that crimes in DC at the time was rising and a very violent city to live in.
Heller also shares that with his ruling in 2008 and with Sandy Hook happening in 2012, he was posed with what kind of influence his case could have been responsible for that incident. Ultimately, each individual has to be responsible for their actions. His ruling shouldn’t, and didn’t, have anything to do with other acts of evil people.
For years now, Heller has been associated with Gun Owners of America because they are the group that will not compromise our rights away. He’s been to a number of the Coalition of New Jersey Gun Owners and Women for Gun Rights events up and down the east coast. And he’s been to several of the other national 2A events around the country. If you get a chance to see him and hear him speak, you need to take that. He’s a national treasure. And you can hear some of his story here.
Favorite quotes:
“Everybody out there can do a little bit of something.”
“The city has unlimited funding in the form of our tax dollars… with which to hurt us with our own money.”
“You don’t whimp your way to the Supreme Court.”
“In the arrogance of government, they thought they would have the high court voting on their side of the law.”
“Sometimes you have to pull up your big boy pants and understand who you are and what you’re doing.”
Heller Foundation
https://www.hellerfoundation.org/
The Heller Decision
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep554/usrep554570/usrep554570.pdf
Gun Owners of America
https://www.gunowners.org/
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
https://www.cnjfo.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#210
Don Mann
SEAL Team 1, 2, & 6, Author
It’s great when someone calls you and says “Hey, Don Mann is looking to do some media. Can I give him your contact info?”. The answer is “of course”. Thanks to Rich Yumul from Gun Owners Radio for reaching out. I called Don and talked with him. I had some time off from work and it was easy to plan.
I’d heard of Don’s name. A couple people I knew have been on his TV show, Surviving Mann. It’s a reality competition show that involves lots of shooting and lots of physical exercise. I listened to the show with my friends on the drive down to the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia. It was very enjoyable to listen to, more enjoyable if I was able to watch.
I headed up the mountain to Don’s house.The house faced the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a spectacular view! Besides being a SEAL, an author of 23 books, and hosting some TV shows where he sets the mission, Don is a motivational speaker. This really is a mix of all the things I like. It’s like Jeff Cooper meets Zig Ziglar.
Don was raised in New England. He joined the military at a young age.. As a young man, he enjoyed working out. He knew he wanted to become a SEAL but he also knew it took lots of work to get there. He spent several years training and preparing to get into BUD/S. It also took him a few tries before he was able to succeed.
Not completing BUD/S training gave him the chance to develop a method of success. Working this way gave him a way to think and achieve his goals. He talks about the macro goals and micro goals you need to achieve success. This worked for his training, but it’s worked in several other ways, too.
The overall goal of everyday for Don is to do four things everyday. If he can do those, he can be better and get better at everything he does. And he emphasizes that anyone can, and should, do these four things. These things will make you better and make you a better person.
One of the things he enjoys is physical training. He really enjoyed pushing himself to and beyond his limit. When he wasn’t training the SEALs he was off doing high adventure. Things like Ironman competitions, climbing Mt Everest, and just all around pushing his limits. He likes to find out what the limit is and just get to that line then back off.
When he retired, he was approached to write a book about firearms. Obviously, he is very well versed in all things gun related. After writing the book, the editor had to cut it down because it was too much. The result is called The Modern Day Gunfighter and it’s just over 400 pages.
With all his SEALs experience, he was asked to write a book about being a SEAL, but he can’t really talk about what they did. So he developed a fictional book about life as a SEAL and some potential missions in the future. That went well and became a series of books, each book having new characters and a new nemesis.
He was offered a reality show. Don was to train them all then face all of them in an elimination contest. With contestants in the 20’s and 30’s, he had to convince the producers it would be better if they did the training, eliminated contestants, then had a final mission to rescue someone. This is a show called Surviving Mann. Currently, Season 3 is out there for people to watch. He did say that maybe I could come for an All Stars season, but only to record interviews. Whew! I’d never survive.
This really was a motivational episode. Don has careers writing books, filming TV shows, and as a motivational speaker, too. I get the RSWC is about people in the firearm community, but having someone that is inspiring as Don Mann, it’s truly an honor to have some time with him and get his uplifting stories out for everyone to hear.
Favorite quotes:
“The SEALs were everything and more than ever I could wished for a lifestyle and a career.”
“I’d think ‘Today was hard, but it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be’.”
“It just proved to him that he can do a lot more than he thought he could.”
“You have to have the mindset and the ability to think real big.”
“The only way to do it so people don’t get hurt is to make training really easy. But then you go to war and you’re going to get slaughtered.”
Don Mann Website
https://www.usfrogmann.com/
Don Mann Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/usfrogmann
Don Mann Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/us_frogmann/
Don Mann Speaker website
https://speakerdonmann.com/
Surviving Mann
https://survivingmann.com/
The Mission
https://www.usfrogmann.com/the-mission
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#209
Mike Harris
Gun Owners Action League, Director of Public Policy
A couple years ago, I got a call from Jim Wallace from Gun Owners Action League (GOAL). He was sending out a couple of the GOAL staff to Gun Rights Policy Conference. He asked if I would introduce them to folks. Not a problem. One of the staff was Mike Harris. He’s a great guy with a lot of personality, good stories, and he’s worked on Beacon Hill. Mike also joined me with the Women for Gun Rights episode, RSWC #180, last fall.
There have been a lot of bad things happening in Massachusetts for gun owners. It started with the Gun Law Listening Tour from January 2023-June 2023. It was hosted by State Representative Michael Day. Day said he didn’t know what the new bill was going to look like. At some point, Day met with Gabby Giffords, who is wildly anti-gun. I assume she gave him what she wanted in the bill with a hefty check for his services rendered.
The bill was dropped just days after the end of the GLLT. The MA gun laws were overhauled and not in a positive way. The bill was shut down by the Bay State gun owners who called and wrote their representatives and senators. But Day was determined to get the bill through the House. It passed in October 2023. In early 2024, the MA Senate needed to write their version which was bad, but not as extreme. It was still littered with infringements. It ended up passing the MA Senate then headed to a special Conference Committee of only six people.
They dropped the Bill on July 17, 2024. It was 116 pages of new restrictions on the subjects of the Commonwealth. Things like new definitions for firearms, including calling a rifle handguard a “barrel shroud”, more confusing dates for so-called assault weapon bans, adding rifles and shotguns to the approved weapons roster, and limiting possession of any semi automatic rifle or shotgun to anyone under 21 years old. The bill was signed by Governor Maura Healey (D) on July 25, 2024. It’s been a mess since then. There was confusion on the start date of the law from August 1 to August 2 to October 23.
Mike called me and asked if I would sign as a registered voter a form to call for a referendum on the law. And if we could film a show driving into Boston to drop the form off. We were met near the State House by Garet Holcomb, President of GOAL, Toby Leary, owner of Cape Gun Works and host of Rapid Fire Radio, and Jessica Kedziora. There were enough correctly certified signatures for the referendum to go to the Attorney General. The next steps include waiting for the AG to write the question and get it approved. Once completed and approved, there will be signature sheets that can be distributed and signed in all the counties and towns across Massachusetts. There needs to be 50,000 signatures of registered voters to get this on the ballot.
This is the worst post-Bruen temper tantrum by any state since 2022. It is going to make it more difficult to get an FID/LTC in Massachusetts. It makes the training requirement more stringent and difficult. It's going to put a burden on the local police to do more for the law abiding, background check passing citizens. There are things like gun registration which is a problem. But they did not lay out how this is going to be funded or where the information is going to be held. Not that I want them to have the registration at all! The new curriculum for approved courses hasn’t been developed so the state police are allowed to accept the current courses until October 23, 2024. It is bad. It is all bad.
If you’d like to join or donate to GOAL, there’s a link below.
Favorite quotes:
“We’re never the aggressor, we’re the ones reacting to things.”
“They basically cut off half the legislative process by holding an unusual hearing.”
“It was a gigantic burdensome, self-referential, piece of gun control wishlist nonsense.”
“If we gather enough signatures from across all 14 counties, we will be able to repeal the bill.”
Gun Owners Action League
https://www.goal.org/
GOAL Gun Law Info Page
https://www.goal.org/gunban
GOAL 135 Referendum Page
https://www.goal.org/petiition
GOAL Testimony from 11/28/2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK
QU5NEe7gk&t=10s
GOAL Join & Donate
https://www.goal.org/join---donate
Cape Gun Works YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@CapeGunWorks
Bringing the Chap 135 Referendum to Boston
https://www.youtube.com/live/6TiEmqjrj5Q?si=Wt3o5oGEb0KDS-Nu
Mike, & Jason Guida with Toby Leary
https://www.youtube.com/live/y3WSJK3xMW0?si=qh9-o-z2fOvIa4Kd
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#208
Lucretia Hughes Klucken
This is a name you want to know. And a person you want to follow. I learned about her with the Women for Gun Rights group. I saw her testify in front of Congress. She lost her son to gang violence but she didn’t turn into an anti-gun red shirt. She donned the teal and knew that it wasn’t a gun that killed her son. I got to have Lucretia in the stagecoach at an event in New Jersey recently. She is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.
Lucretia grew up in Georgia in a small country town. Her father raised her and her eight siblings in a junkyard. Whatever the boys would do, she would do so she was considered a tomboy. She had three fathers: one was a leader of the Black Panthers and the other two were in the military during Vietnam. Her grandparents were the first interracial couple in the area. She grew up shooting and hunting like her brothers. By the time she was 20, she had four kids.
She worked hard to make sure that her kids didn’t grow up in the situation she did. She lived in the hood and wanted to get out. Of course, she grew up in a Democrat household as she thought black people were supposed to vote that way. But she realized the Democrat party wasn’t doing anything to help her. Being involved in gangs and the thug lifestyle, going to funerals of friends, she knew she was the only person that could make changes and get her family out of that lifestyle.She worked hard to get her and her kids out of that way of life.
When the NRA Annual Meeting was in Atlanta, she went at the encouragement of a friend. While there alone, she was talking with lots of folks. A photographer saw her and realized she had something. He dared her to go talk to “that short man over there”. It just happened to be Wayne LaPierre. She didn’t know this. She told him her story and he gave her his phone number. Six months later he reached out and invited her to Texas to be part of the Board of Directors nominating committee.
She is also associated with the Women for Gun Rights group. Being around women like Dianna Muller (RSWC #059 & #164) and Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009 & #180), she’s learned a lot. She’s had to learn to refine her story, skills, and be a positive role model. WGR help prepare her to speak in front of Congress and share the story about her son being murdered.
One of the things Lucretia does is a daily show, from 5-7 pm et, which has been growing to reach hundreds of thousands of people. Through the show, she met her husband. The show is called Real New with Lucretia Hughes. One of the people watching her show was Star Parker. She’s the author of Pimps, Whores, & Welfare Brats. Star went from a tough life into a conservative. Lucretia’s story is very similar. They did have a chance to meet and become friends. .
She’s got some amazing stories, like driving up to DC for an event, with a pistol on the passenger’s seat, and going up a one way road the wrong way. Fortunately, she was pulled over by a black police officer who was also from Georgia and he advised her to go home. She talks about getting off the welfare system and working hard to do so. She worked in federal penitentiaries in the medical department. These are the amazing stories I loved to get out for all to hear.
Besides the show, she’s also working on running for the NRA Board of Directors. She was on the nominating committee that helped Dean Cain and Mark Keith Robinson get voted onto the BOD. Like I said, she’s a force. When she spoke at the CNJFO/WGR dinner, she got everyone going. If you search her name, you’ll find her from Turning Point USA to Real Clear Politics to FOX News. And now RSWC.
Favorite quotes:
“I won’t bow down. And I won’t kiss no ring.”
“I learned to stop beating up on myself because no one is perfect.”
“I got tired of looking at death.”
“They changed a lot of women’s minds and their hearts.And a lot of women are now wanting gun rights.”
Lucretia Hughes Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/lucretia.b.hughes
https://www.instagram.com/reallucretiahughes/
Rumble Real News with Lucretia Hughes
https://rumble.com/user/RealNewsWithLucretiaHughes
FallBackUSA2 Shop
https://fallbackusa2.myshopify.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #206 Joe Meaux Aklys Defense
There has only been one other time when someone has driven the stagecoach and I was in the shotgun seat. That was episode #039 with Kevin Sona from Florida Carry. This time Joe Meaux because he had “sensitive materials” in the car and I wouldn’t know what to tell the police if we were pulled over. I met Joe in 2023 at NRA AM in Indianapolis. There was a group of us that went for dinner. This year, Brent, my roomie for the weekend ran into Joe and said he had a van full of machine guns and silencers. How can I not film this show?
Joe lives in Louisiana and he took an interest in building firearms at a young age. He also spent time repairing lawn mowers when he was young, which came in handy when it was time to build AR. Building an AR was much more affordable than buying one. He would buy kits and put them together. Being a subject matter expert on building and working with computers gave him the chance to teach information technology and business at a local high school where he was only a few years older than the students.
Currently, he owns Aklys Defense. His company makes silencers, suppressors, gun muffler quiet technology, a can, or a yeeter discreeter. Aklys makes their own products, but they also make some OEM products for other manufacturers. Let’s get this debate over: the first patent was for a silencer. Yes, we all know it doesn’t “silence” the sound, but the first gun muffler was called a silencer. Joe also says the ATF refers to it as a silencer, too. We’ve also just learned the ATF may be wrong about what they call items (Hello, Mr Michael Cargill!)
Joe’s teaching gig and experience with computers and web design was able to help him connect with Red Jacket Firearms. After some bartering, he was able to get a nicer AK kit in exchange for helping with their computers. He was offered a position to help build guns and he took it.
Unbeknownst to Joe, Will Hayden, Red Jacket’s owner, submitted a sizzle reel to Discovery. It took some time to pick up Sons of Guns and make it happen. Joe says it was a little weird trying to do work, but Will wanted to build in some drama. They also had a business to run and keep going. Sons of Guns went on for five seasons and during the filming of season six, things got bad. (You can google what went down.) Joe and his partners ended up managing the business and working to change the image and branding. He made the decision to rebrand and start over as Aklys Defense.
We do drive through Dealey Plaza twice. It’s become a tradition when we’re filming in Dallas. The second time through, I saw someone in tan pants and a black polo shirt. It ended up being Matt Mallory with Klint Macro. I’ve done two shows with the Meet The Pressers gents. I did get a copy of the clip of us driving through their video, which adds some fun!
Joe gives us some insight into the business side of things, like having SKUs and UPCs. He’s fired many different machine guns in his time. And he also tells us his top machine guns and why he feels a connection to the grease gun from World War II. Ok.. maybe a little bit about the Vegas shooting comes up, too. Aklys Defense is doing well and will keep doing well. If you need a silencer, check their website and get one from Aklys. I say it often, I really love my gig! I enjoy making all kinds of friends in the gun community.
Favorite quotes:
“While the computer was defragging, I went and assembled an AK.”
“There wasn’t a lot of business drive, I thought I could help with that.”
“I lost a lot of investment money, time, credibility,”
“I worked hard to make sure the Red Jacket brand was inserted before the Sons of Guns brand.”
“We’ve made suppressors, need to learn how to make these good,”
Meaux Guns
https://www.meauxguns.com/
Aklys Defense
https://www.aklysdefense.com/
Aklys Defense
https://www.facebook.com/Aklysdefense
Aklys Defense Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/aklysdefense
Aklys Defense X
https://x.com/Aklysdefense
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#205
Rabbi Andy Mars
I was asked to emcee an event in New Jersey for the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners and Women for Gun Rights. The lineup of speakers was great! Gabby Franco (RSWC #117), Lucretia Hughes & Dick Heller (episodes coming soon), and Rabbi Andy Mars. He’s a great speaker with lots of thought provoking ideas. We met in the hotel lobby the morning after the event while everyone was having breakfast.
The Rabbi is a straight shooter. We start right off talking about how it says in the Torah that if someone tries to kill you, you should kill him first. We have the right and the responsibility to protect ourselves. Going back to the Old Testament days, he points out that if God banned rocks because Cain killed Abel then David wouldn’t have been able to use one against Goliath. He brings up how Dr. Ben Carson talked often about how if we didn’t let the German authorities take away the guns of the Jewish people, then World War II would have been a lot different.
The Rabbi lived in Los Angeles for 30 years. He was introduced to shooting then and often went to the LAPD shooting range with officers he’s worked with. He spent years working with the police on how to deal with kids in crisis. He’s also gone shooting in New Jersey, also a wildly anti-gun state.
One of the talking points from his speech the night before he brings up again. It’s that killing and murdering are not the same thing. Killing doesn’t have a criminal intent or act with it, while murdering does have criminal intent and is unlawful. This is something that gun owners need to be clear on and make sure you know the distinction between them. He points out that we shouldn’t murder someone, but we do have the right to kill someone in self defense. One thing the Germans did back in 1938 is register firearms. I’m a firm believer in what Evan Nappen (RSWC #148) says which is, legislation leads to registration, registration leads to confiscation, and confiscation leads to extermination. Since all firearms were registered, they knew who’s doors to knock on and what they had for firearms.
The Rabbi has been working with children and has a non-profit organization called Kids Make a Difference Foundation. Its mission statement is “Helping make a difference in the life of kids, helping kids make a difference in life.” Of course, to work with children, he’s CPR certified. But very similar to firearms, he has to know how to administer first aid in case it’s needed. That takes training and preparedness on his part to be able to do that. Hopefully, he’ll never need to use it, but if he does he’s prepared.
He also talks about the fact that everyone is worried about the liability of trying to save or defend someone else. I’ve heard of people who have some medical/first aid training because they carry and use firearms and know that something can happen. But they also have medical training and carry a first aid kit on their ankle and keep one in the car. And they’ve used them more for injuries in a car accident than ever needed one after a gunfight. Living in California, the Rabbi also had an earthquake bag that had necessary supplies in it should there be a quake and they need to leave quickly.
We talk about where he learned about these topics and he says it’s from The Torah, which he calls the Guide Book of Life. It’s like an instruction manual. Bringing up an old TV show, The Greatest American Hero, he points out that the main character finds a superhero outfit, but he doesn’t know what his superhero skills and abilities are. The series is him trying to figure out what he is supposed to be doing with these skills.
It is really great to talk with someone that has different religious beliefs, but still has the same values. We don’t all have to be the same people, which is true diversity. We can have differences and still get along because we have the same values. It shows us that gun people are the best people.
Favorite quotes:
“Every Rabbi should be a pro-gun Rabbi.”
“Had God banned rocks at that time, what would David had against Goliath?”
“If someone comes to kill you, kill them first. It’s clear.”
“Respectable,respectful people should be able to respectably, respectfully disagree.”
Bnai Tov
bnaitov.org
Bnai Tov Facebook
https://facebook.com/BnaiTov/
Bnai Tov YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@BnaiTov/videos
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#204
Deb Ferns
Women’s Outdoor Media Association
The “Olympic Rings” of the gun community are alive and well. At SHOT Show 2024, I was supposed to help Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) film some video with Deb Ferns. Brooke was able to talk Deb into filming an RSWC with me. But I failed Brooke and got very busy and couldn’t help Brooke. I ended up running around on my last day and making the connection with Matt Mallory to borrow his rental vehicle. (Thanks, Matt! RSWC #096 & 201)
Deb is an interesting and busy woman! She didn’t get involved in the shooting sports until she was 45 years old and an empty nester. Her first excursion was with International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). A couple years into it, she connected with Lisa Monson, who is a world class competitive shooter. Lisa offered some help with just about everything Deb was doing. Lisa offered to help Deb at the home range of Kay and Jerry Miculek! That particular weekend, Kay was in the middle of practicing for the World Handgun Shoot. At the end of the weekend, Deb was overwhelmed and didn’t want to leave. She talked with Lisa and Kay and wondered how to get their training out to more female shooters. They told Deb she needed to start a camp and they would teach there. Deb’s background as a corporate meeting planner came in very handy.
Brainstorming with others at events like the NRA Annual Meetings, Deb was able to get Sandy Froman to write the foreword for her book, “Babes with Bullets”. Babes With Bullets is the name of the camp where they train women in all aspects of gun ownership. The camps have been empowering women for nearly 20 years! Not only that, the women would go back to their home ranges and pay it forward. They would spread the message to new female shooters. Thousands of women have done this. This is how gun owners get more people involved.
Ted and Shemane Nugent reached out to Deb and wanted to host her camp in Michigan. At Ted’s encouragement, he said if she wanted to do something for women, she needed to do it herself. In 2009, she started Women’s Outdoor Media Association (WOMA). Their mission is to train women in shooting, fishing, archery, and hunting. When we filmed the show, Deb was scheduled to go on a hunt with some female veterans. WOMA has a weekend in April where they train women in all the disciplines and they raise money. She said they’ve raised over $300,000 for various groups.
Another part of the group’s mission is reaching out to other media to be guests on shows and let people know about WOMA and their doing for female first responders and veterans. Deb tells a story about being interviewed by someone from CNN. The host was trying to get Deb to say something she didn’t want to say. She knew from her media training that they were trying to trip her and she didn’t fall for it.
Deb has also been a sponsored shooter with Fiocchi and they sent her to be a Super Senior at the Heavy Metal Three Gun, meaning that she’s shooting .308, 12 gauge, and .45 ACP in competition. She’s the only female in the 65+ age group. For this competition, she had Jerry & Kay as her “roadies” lugging all of her gear. She’s got a great relationship with the Miculeks. At the events, she claims Jerry is her sister, but he denies it. She knows she’s lucky to have them as friends. But most gun owners are great people, willing to help out, and give to others. Maybe let them use some gear if something breaks down.
Deb has had lots of great opportunities. She’s made opportunities, too. She’s got Babes With Bullets, WOMA, and she’s empowering and influencing women by the thousands to learn about guns & shooting, fishing & hunting, and all things outdoors related. You’ve got to love and appreciate that.
Favorite quotes:
“It was amazing to train with all these world female champions.”
“What can I do besides Babes with Bullets?”
“It was never my intention to be Joan of Arc.”
“I felt very blessed that I got to do things that other people didn’t get a chance to do, but I'm more than willing to share those experiences and that knowledge.”
Women’s Outdoor Media Association
https://www.thewoma.org/
WOMA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheWOMA/
WOMA Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/womensoutdoormediaassociation/
WOMA Twitter/X
https://twitter.com/WOMA_the
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#203
John Castillo
Father of Kendrick Castillo
While on a trip to Denver to film some shows, Laura Carno (RSWC #188) introduced me to John Castillo. He’s the father of a hero, Kendrick Castillo, in the truest sense of the word. Just over 5 years ago, there was a school shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Two students decided to attack the school and shoot as many people as possible then commit suicide. They entered in two separate locations. According to one of the students, one of the shooters entered a room and yelled to everyone ‘don’t move’. Kendrick jumped up and attacked one student, while getting shot in the chest. This gave two other students time to jump up and go after the shooter. One was shot with non-life threatening injuries. Kendrick’s injury was fatal.
John tells me how he was notified and went to the school. He was texting some other parents, looking for Kendrick. No one saw him. Eventually he made it to the police. There he was able to describe Kendrick and what he was wearing. The officer told him to follow them. They confirmed that Kendrick was shot and died. But John and his wife, Maria, were not able to see Kendrick as his body was at the crime scene. It was several days before he was able to see Kendrick.
Just the week before, John and Kendrick were out doing some shooting and training at Front Sight Training Institute in Pahrump, NV. There they learned that the best thing to do is to go after the shooter. Most of the time, the shooter is not expecting someone to fight back. Kendrick knew what he was facing, dying while hiding or dying while fighting and saving others.
While in Littleton, I was able to visit Castillo's home. Kendrick’s bedroom is a shrine to him and his bravery and heroism. There are lots of posthumous awards from several organizations. There’s also awards he earned in robotics. There is also a local brewery, Strange Craft Beer Company, that makes a special brew in honor of Kendrick every year. John gave me a can from the most recent batch of “Kendrick’s Ale.”
The silver lining is that John and Maria know it wasn’t any of the firearms used that are the reason for Kendrick’s death. It’s the people who wanted to do harm to others before they took their own lives. It’s Kendrick who saved lives and gave his for those people. This hasn’t turned the Castillos into anti gun people. Quite the opposite. They are totally on board with arming school staff.
This led to Laura Carno and John connecting. Laura is with FASTER Colorado FASTER has trained a few thousand school staff in over 300 schools around the country. The program isn’t just for teachers. It’s for any school staff- secretaries, custodians, or teachers. The program started with Jim Irvine (RSWC #186) after the Sandy Hook tragedy. It’s been spreading across the country and currently in Colorado, Ohio, and Arizona. The program takes school staff who want to protect students from learning firearm safety and fundamentals, through trauma first aid, and then into responding to active shooters. I’ve been through the Level 1 course in Ohio a few years ago. It was very impressive! The active shooter training for my group was done in a real school when school was out of session.
John has been able to go out and speak at various rallies around Colorado talking about how arming school staff. is what needs to be done for the people who want the training and are willing to carry in schools. He does this so other parents won’t have to go through what he and Maria have gone through. They live close to where Kendrick was put to rest. They visit the site everyday.
I think it’s time to crack that beer. I’ve been waiting to have it until I put this show out.
Thank you for your heroism. Rest In Peace, Kendrick.
Favorite quotes: “Mr. Castillo, Kendrick rushed the shooter.” “We discovered FASTER Colorado, which supports having armed school staff.” “He knew what the consequences and the odds if he didn’t act at that moment.” “Mental health threats, or self harm threats, are not the same as a physical threat." “We don’t want his life to be in vain that he just rushed a shooter and it was over. There has to be more to it than that.”
FASTER Colorado
https://fastercolorado.org/
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Denver 7 News recent story
https://www.denver7.com/follow-up/nearly-70-000-donated-to-construct-memorial-to-2019-stem-school-shooting-hero
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #202 Paul Kricher Artist & Author, Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad
I’ve seen the book “Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad” online for years. It’s always been very expensive, often selling for $250. I saw that Alex Sansone, The Suited Shootist, (RSWC #162) was suggesting that folks buy the book no matter the cost. Well, I started hunting for it. I found a copy at GunBroker for $30 with shipping. I messaged the seller asking if it was a pdf of the book. Well, I found gold! Paul Kirchner, the author, was selling the book on GunBroker. Not only that, he lives about an hour from me in Connecticut. We talked and set up to film a show after I read the book.
Not only has Paul written the book about Cirillo and the SOU, he’s penned a several other books including “The Deadliest Men” and “More of the World’s Deadliest Men”. He’s also a comic book artist with several credits to his name.. And he’s done the drawing in several of Jeff Cooper’s books, including “To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth” and several others.
I headed down to Connecticut to Paul’s house on a trip that was bringing me to Virginia. Paul invited me into his office. It was what I would expect: a drawing table, lots of art gear all around the studio. He had some copies of his books, both of his comic books and his other books. We talked for about an hour to get familiar before we headed out.
Paul studied art in New York and didn’t want to be a fine artist, he wanted to do comic books. After a few years in art school, he found a gig and took it. He eventually moved to Connecticut while working in New York. During his nearly 2 hour commute, he decided to read books about real life heroes. This led to him writing “The Deadliest Men” covering people like Alexander the Great, Geronimo, Andrew Jackson, and Wild Bill Hickok.
He had a hard time finding a publisher but Paladin Press thought it was exactly what their readers would want. They wanted another book, which is “More of the Deadliest Men Who Ever Lived”. The second book was about more contemporary men. Paul had the chance to interview some who were still around. One of the folks was Jim Cirillo, former NYPD member of the Stake Out Unit. Spending hours on the phone with Cirillo, Paul decided that Jim was worth his own book.Cirillo had his own book, “Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights” which covered several of his stories. Paul wanted to make a serious book about Jim.
Paul and Jim became good friends through these calls. Jim was retired from law enforcement and training, but wanted to get together with Paul for some social hangout time. Unfortunately, Jim’s life was taken in a car accident and they never met. Reading the book, in my mind’s ear I heard what I assumed someone from NYC who was a police officer sounded like.
Paul also had a close connection to Jeff Cooper. He ended up doing several drawings for Cooper’s books like “To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth”, “C Stories”, “Another Country”, and “Principles of Personal Defense”. He said he’s got a pile of handwritten letters from Cooper that is about 8 inches high.
Paul shared several amazing stories about Jim, Jeff, and some of the people that are associated with them. He confirmed what we know, that gun owners are the best people. We’re just like everyone else. I’m really honored to have his stories and that he gave me some time. These stories need to be written down and preserved for the future. You can find Paul’s books on GunBroker.com. His username is “stayingamused”. I’ve got copies of a few of the books and I’m looking forward to reading them.
Favorite quotes:
“I think he (Cirillo) realized that I was trying to write a serious book. And that he kind of switched gears from the storytelling to trying to nail down what really happened.”
“He (Cirillo) imparts a lot of wisdom from his experience.”
“I am fascinated by people whose lives and experiences are so much different from my own.”
“He (Cooper) said ‘Whatever you have done, whatever you have experienced, if you do not write it down, it will one day be as if it had never happened’.”
Paul Kirchner Website https://www.paulkirchner.com/
GunBroker.com https://www.gunbroker.com/a/feedback/profile/2175461 to buy Paul’s books
Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#201
Matt Mallory & Klint Macro
Meet The Pressers
It’s always a great time to run into Matt & Klint from Meet The Pressers. We filmed a show at SHOT in 2020. And they let me use their car to film a couple other shows. This year we were able to film another show on SHOT’s Range Day.
Since our last show, Matt has been busy getting and giving training with Public Safety & Education, his training company. He offers several of the NRA and USCCA courses. But he is also a Master Instructor for SABRE Pepper Spray and for the TASER Civilian Course. He travels the country teaching these classes. Of course, he also offers several other training opportunities. Since the Bruen decision in June 2022, he’s been doing the 18, yes EIGHTEEN, hour course to get a carry permit in New York. The NY Governor signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, or the Concealed Carry Improvement Atrocity as he calls it. He was able to take topics and lessons from his other courses to meet the 18 hour requirement and qualification. Some states like Massachusetts, have approved courses. States like New York have approved content in the course.
Another new course is the Build Your Own 2A BeAR. You can build your own AR-15 style rifle, with a pinned magazine, which makes the rifle not an “assault weapon”. Matt offers about 95 different courses through PS&Ed, including teaching at the local police academy.
Other than that, Matt and I have been doing a LIVE show on our YouTube channels. We’re honored that Mantis and Next Level Training are our sponsors of the show. And we give away a Mantis X10 and a SIRT pistol every month.
Klint is holding his own in the keeping busy department. He’s had LASIK surgery on his eyes. Yes, it may seem weird to talk about eye surgery on a gun show. The reason he did it is because if someone broke into his home, got into a confrontation, and swiped his face and knocked his glasses off, he wouldn’t be able to see them anymore. This is the outside of the box thinking that Klint does.
He’s also a consultant with the USCCA. They have him training the trainers all around the country. As a consultant for the USCCA’’s official partners, he helps instructors build a training path for their clients. Some duties include helping with marketing and retaining clients.
He’s been working with them for years, but they offered him a position he couldn’t turn down. He’s also been able to keep his training company, Trigger Pressers Union, offering courses. He’s doing classes with Personal Defense Network, running National Train a Teacher’s Day, president of Allegheny County Sportsman League. He’s the Vice President of Firearm Owners Against Crime. The most challenging part of all Klint’s gigs is keeping his hats separated and on correctly. He can’t speak for one group when he’s representing a different one or speaking to a different group.
Klint talks about how after the government lockdowns of 2020, there were lots of people making purchases and seeking out training. This was very different from previous generations of gun owners. People want to buy firearms and take some training not because its required, but because they want to know how to use their new guns safely. Often he’ll tell folks to offer a basic course on having a firearm in the home and teach people how to be better consumers.
Matt and Klint have a lot going on, individually and as a team. Between the courses locally and around the country, they’re always on the go. You should take a course with either of them when they’re in your area. And tell them Charlie said Hello!
Favorite quotes:
Matt: “It’s a corrupt government in New York state… It’s legalized crime.”
Matt: “I’m not going to let them walk out with a certificate if they can’t keep their finger off the trigger when it’s important.” Klint: “All the stuff I had in place would mean nothing if you knocked off my glasses.”
Klint: “I believe my purpose is to help empower my fellow Americans to exercise that Right to protect themselves and their families and to be their own first responders.”
MTP Website
https://meetthepressers.com/
MTP YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/meetthepressers
MTP FB
https://www.facebook.com/MeetThePressers/
MTP IG
https://www.instagram.com/meetthepressers
Trigger Pressers Union
https://triggerpressersunion.com/index.html
Trigger Pressers Union
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063643621298
Trigger Pressers Union
https://www.instagram.com/trigger_pressers_union/
PS & Ed Website
https://psanded.com/
PS & Ed IG
https://www.instagram.com/psandeducation/
PS & Ed FB
https://www.facebook.com/psanded/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#200
Michael Bane
MichaelBane.tv
Michael Bane. What can I say? I watched Michael for a long time as a new gun owner back on The Outdoor Channel on the shows Shooting Gallery and The Best Defense. I really enjoyed them and got a lot from The Best Defense! If I had a VHS player, I’m sure there are some tapes in storage. I met him at SHOT a couple years ago and asked for a selfie and he happily obliged. In November of 2022, Matt Mallory and I did a LIVE Show with him and I really had no idea about all of his history. Michael is an amazing storyteller so I just sat back and listened. This show isn’t much different.
I posted on my social media that I was going to Denver for a few days. Michael asked when I was coming out and said if I had the time, he would love to be on the show. He said I could visit the Secret Hidden Bunker. How am I going to pass this up?
The last 24 hours of this trip were spent with Michael and his sweetie. We had dinner the night the previous night and I got some stories that just seemed over the top. It was amazing! The next morning, I headed to the Secret Hidden Bunker. Before we even started I got two hours of stories. His sweetie finally said that we needed to film my show. I needed to get to the airport, too. Once we were the appropriate distance from the Bunker, we started filming.
We headed to Estes Park, CO, to The Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for The Shining. Michael talked about his writing career and working for Country Music magazine back in his youth. He grew up in Memphis and took in all the R&B, blues, and early rock. He spent time writing for local newspapers over the years. When a friend showed him a check from writing for a magazine, he knew that was the path for him. He traveled with and became friends with many of the country singers and musicians. I love the story about how he went to Hank Williams Jr’s house and ended up touring with and writing Hank Jr’s autobiography. He’s written a number of books about country musicians, from Travis Tritt to Willie Nelson. His stories and experiences are unmatched!
Once at the Stanley Hotel, we may have had a drink with Lloyd the bartender. On the way back to the Bunker, we talked about guns, TV careers, and life lessons. Michael shared how Shooting Gallery got started with four episodes and the producer thinking it won’t last. With no experience writing for TV or hosting a show, he moved ahead and took the chance.
It ran for 22 years. There’s a story about how the Best Defense saved a woman’s life. I’m sure more than one person’s life, too. He worked with several counter terrorist experts to film an episode in a hangar about what really happens during a terror attack on a plane. He’s got connections to the best people with first hand knowledge and experience. And he did the last interview of Jeff Cooper!
I am truly honored to have had Michael on the show. I’m excited that I have a lot of his stories on video. I know there’s many, many more stories, too. This episode is really all the things that I enjoy. Stories about music, guns, and why you should take opportunities in life. I’m looking forward to listening to the show myself, even though I was there and I edited it. I need to take it all in. Happy 200th episode!
Favorite quotes:
“You can get paid to write but you don’t have to work for a newspaper?”
“You’ve just got to move with the opportunity.”
“You just keep going. People say “are you willing to do X?” You always say yes.”
“How do most people get this information that is literally life and death information?”
“I learned competency in different fields.”
“Excellence never comes from a consensus. Never.”
“The history of arms is the history of the world.”
Michael Bane TV
https://www.michaelbane.tv/
Blog Spot
https://michaelbane.blogspot.com/
Triggered YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZC5Bnfhwlv449SIAZs3fPQ
Twitter/X
https://twitter.com/michaelbanetv
https://www.instagram.com/mbaneacp
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#199
Brad Landseadel
Central Virginia Sporting Clays
A trip to Central Virginia Sporting Clays last July led to another trip in October. I headed down to CVSC with good friends John Petrolino and Cam Edwards. On the first trip, we encountered Brad Landseadel, the owner. He’s a great guy and started telling us some jokes. We got to talking, telling him what we do. John wrote an article about the trip. Cam suggested we should do this again. John said I should film a show with Brad. Brad suggested we do the show in one of his planes. On the trip in fall, I brought the GoPros and filmed a show from a shotgun cart driving around the path of the stations.. It was a bit noisy with the cameras rattling for 7 minutes but we stopped and the audio was better.
Brad started Central Virginia Sporting Clays back in 2007. He grew up in a military family and they traveled often. He had a career in the government. When he got married he took a job doing construction. They ended up in central Virginia when they retired. Moving to this area, they finally felt at home. Brad said most of the gun clubs were private clubs with a waiting list so he started his own.
Not growing up hunting or shooting, shotguns didn’t become an interest until he blew out his knee playing basketball. After some surgeries and recoveries, he was still moping around the house. His wife told him he needed to find something to do and suggested he go shotgunning. Without having any shooting experience, he found out that the gun community is full of great people who want to help you learn about firearms, safety, and shooting. He found the comradery, friendship, and competitiveness he was missing from basketball on the range. Naturally, he’s made lifelong friends from the shooting sports.
Some of the challenges of running a sporting clays range include getting the town to be on board with all of the permitting needed. Currently, his property is just under 400 acres. He bought it little by little, starting with 95 acres. He bought more property as it came up. Adding more land parcels keeps any neighbors from getting close or complaining about noise levels.He buys the land, takes the timber off, sells it, and uses those funds to purchase more land.
When we were there, Brad unfortunately locked himself out of his house. So he needed to tend to getting into the house. With that excitement, he forgot to give us score cards. We went into the office and picked up the clipboard and white sheets, thinking that was the easiest course of fire. Turns out, we were wrong. It was the hardest course. John was wondering if Brad was hitting the sauce when he layed out the white course. We all shot less than we usually would, but still had a great day.
One of the wonderful things about CVSC is that every 30 days, Brad changes the course of fire. He’s out there moving the targets around so every month is different. It takes a day for him to move the throwers and make changes. There are four throwers at most stations. The next day he goes out and shoots the course himself. If there’s something he can’t hit, he makes adjustments.The throwing machines at CVSC have timed delays so someone could go out and shoot a round alone. But it’s always more fun with friends.
They have shotguns to rent and ammo to buy at CVSC. The rental fees aren’t much and the cost per box is about what you’d pay at your local gun shop. Of course shotgun carts are available for rent, too. I’d always suggest getting the carts. There’s a lot to lug around: guns, ammo, water bottles, cigars, etc. Throughout the year, they host some fun shoots and competitions. He offers some instruction, too, so if you need help you’ll get it. Obviously, safety is the top concern. But after that, having a good time is a close second when it comes to what’s important.
If you find yourself in central Virginia, you need to take an afternoon and shoot some clays at CVSC. I’m looking forward to going back and filming a show from his plane. As long as I can get a higher score than Petrolino, it’ll be a great day!
Favorite quotes:
“I haven’t left a single target out there, I don’t leave any of them, if I can’t hit them.”
“I did shoot trap and skeet... As soon as I found sporting clays, I was hooked.”
“When we’re out here shooting, it's all an even platform.”
“Want to hear something unfair? This is me at work.”
“I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t womanize. I have airplanes and guns.”
Central Virginia Sporting Clays
https://www.centralvasportingclays.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #198 David Laird DSC Training & FASTER Saves Lives
In the summer of 2021, I was fortunate to have taken a FASTER Saves Lives Level 1 course in Ohio. A number of friends and passengers of the show were there with me. David Laird was there, too, and he was nailing everything like it was nothing. Doing all the drills. Nailing the targets. Finishing before everyone else. It was impressive to say the least. I did interview him on that trip (RSWC #127). David was taking the FASTER course to see if it was something worth bringing back to Arizona. It was.
David was a presenter at AMMcon (Alternative Multimedia Conference), which is hosted by Second Amendment Foundation. His topic the last two years at AMMcon have been on how to better use your social media. Here some of his presentation in 2022. Here’s some From AMMcon 2023 part 1. And here is part 2.. He was at AMMcon & GRPC and we hopped in the stagecoach to talk about FASTER. He does spend some time talking about using various means of the socials, who is using each different one, and why its important to have content at each of the platforms.
As a perpetual student, he takes several courses as the student attendee. There’s always something you can learn from another instructor. He runs Dynamic Combative Solutions Training. DCS offers training on all firearms, CCW, and private courses around the country. He’s trained with many of the top instructors and he’s an instructor at the Active Self Protection Instructor.
Besides being an instructor, David has been helping the AZCDL (Arizona Citizens Defense League) bring the FASTER program to The Grand Canyon State. Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) and David went to Ohio’s FASTER course to see the Level 1 & 2 classes to make sure it was solid and going to be good for Arizona. Since the 1994 gun bill that Biden brags about didn’t end violence with guns in schools. Iit increased.
The FASTER program has various levels of courses. There are basic Foundations courses to teach anyone new to firearms the fundamentals of shooting and gun handling. The Level 2, 3 and 4 courses get much more into scenario training and response and force on force. States like Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, and Idaho already have legislation that allows school staff to carry. So the program needs to get into more schools and make this the norm from schools around the country. Particularly for rural schools and counties, this is an important aspect of school safety. Oftentimes, the police can be anywhere from 15-45 minutes away from the school. An incident can be over in that amount of time.
I will say that the big takeaway from the FASTER course for me was the medical aspect. There are lots of people who get wounded during a mass shooting whose medical needs are not met until the event is over. Meaning police have stopped the threat and then medical comes in. During that time is crucial for the wounded so they don’t bleed out. The medical training can be used outside of a shooting. It can be used on the playground. But it can also be used for car accidents or even at home if someone is injured.
It was great to have some time with David. He’s very well trained and educated, very professional in all ways. I love running into him at GPRC or SHOT or where the road and the training takes us around the country.
Favorite quotes: “When I do retire and make training my full time thing, I need to know how to use the social webs.” “Think of using it (TikTok) as a teaser trailer to where you main content is.” “Stick to what you’re already doing, just find snippets of what you’re already doing, then blast that out to the other areas, and bring that traffics back to you primary thing.” “We shouldn’t restrict self defense anywhere.” “Your body won’t go where the mind hasn’t been.” “You can carry it but how often do you train with it?”
Dynamic Combative Solutions https://www.dcs.training/
FASTER Saves Lives https://fastersaveslives.org/
Arizona Citizens Defense League https://azcdl.org/
AZCDL FASTER Page https://azcdlfoundation.org/faster-saves-lives/
Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#197
Erin Mihalik
Throom Targets, CEO
At the Great American Outdoor Show in 2022, I got to meet Erin. I was there with John Petrolino and we were in search of Tony Simon. Well, we were pretending we didn’t see Tony while he was behind us and we were talking smack about him. Erin wasn’t sure what we were up to, but she just went with it. That’s the kind of fun spirited person she is. We saw her again at GAOS in 2023 and she wanted to be on the show as things have been growing at Throom over the last year and she has lots to talk about!
She starts us off with some lofty goals for the show. She wanted to see a bear. We did run into a pig (cop). Hehe! We were in the way northern part of New Jersey, Sussex Country, and drove into New York state for about a ½ mile, maybe less. I was honored to hear that she has watched several shows and knew the format well. She tracked out a path for us to drive and didn’t want to get lost. Part of the route took us over the Appalachian Trail.
We do talk about some of the ridiculousness of the New Jersey gun laws, hollow point ammo, and jug handles. She also tells us the difference between living in central New Jersey, where gun owners stay in the closet versus northern New Jersey where it’s a bit more conservative and people are gun owners and not hiding it. She used to say she was in manufacturing but can now say she’s with a company that makes targets.
Getting a degree in public relations and psychology, she noticed that her family were great engineers but not great marketers or communicating with people. She grew up in manufacturing with the rest of the family. Erin’s grandfather started an engineering business in the 1970’s and her dad and uncle grew up in the business. They started a side hustle in 1995 called Newbold Targets, which was the first self healing,reactive, ricochet free targets. The only benefit she had is that she had targets to shoot.
Throom is a small family owned and run business. This year, Erin is the CEO. Her previous titles were Managing Director and Director of Sales before that. I don’t want to say that titles aren’t important, but they do have someone who manages the dummy rounds they make. He’s the Dummy Director.
After working for a big car company, Erin came back to the family business in 2013. She realized that they had a brand image issue and people were mistaking Newbold for other brands of targets. She’s got a great story about someone coming up to them at SHOT show and telling them their targets are junk. But they realized that they were talking about a different self healing target that didn’t heal so well. This is when the marketing stepped in and made a change in the color and packaging.
Throom was rebranding before the lockdowns of 2020. There were big plans for SHOT 2021, which didn’t happen. So they had started selling via the big online company. And sales took off! People were stuck at home, buying online, and shooting in the back yards. (Not in the Garden State, of course!) Neighbors weren’t complaining because there wasn’t noise from the Throom targets. More and more people started buying them.
The exciting news is that Throom is now in lots of new stores, the big box stores, the small mom & pop stores, and even some of the online suppliers, too. New to the product line is a remote target
Favorite quotes:
“My husband says ‘Erin, we’re in Sussex County now. You can tell people what you do.”
“I am the CEO this year.”
“We’re just always having fun. We’re lucky we all get to work together. Most of us are family. And the people who aren’t technically family, we consider family.”
“This industry, they respect people that make things in the US”
Throom Targets Website
https://throomtargets.com/
Throom Targets Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/throomtargets
Throom Targets YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@throom6307
Throom Targets Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/throomtargets/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#196
Karise & Jerel Crew
That Gun Talk
I’ve been going to the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival at the Tommy Gun Warehouse in Greeley, PA, for about 5 years now. While I was hanging out in the VIP room with a friend, Karise Crew came in and sat across the room. I invited her to come join us. I’m glad I did. Karise and her husband, Jerel, are instructors in Philadelphia. They were speaking at the event, too. So after some talking with them, I thought it would be a great idea to have them in the stagecoach.
I have to start out saying that I love seeing and husband and wife teaming working together! This was the first year that they’ve been to the Rod of Iron. They were hoping to bring a whole group of people but a few didn’t due to the weather. I also love that they know some of the folks that I know and both of our circles of friendship are growing.
Jerel has family from Georgia and his father took him shooting as the youngest of five children. Karise used to hunt with her father, but her first purchase was with Jerel. He bought her a gun because she was robbed while only 10 feet from the police station. She got her permit before Jerel got his and she started carrying right away. Heading out on a trip to Mexico, Karise forgot that she had a gun in her purse. Of course she was stopped at the airport by the TSA. Fortunately, some of the police were Jerel’s friends from his youth and they were lenient on her.
This was the turning point for them. Someone saw her on the news and told her about the USCCA. They saw the passion from this man and wanted to learn as much as they could and pass that on to their friends and community. For Father’s Day, Karise got Jerel enrolled in an instructor program. At his instructor course was the man who told Karise about the USCCA. It’s truly a small world.
It’s always interesting to hear about the process to get permits around the country. I got my PA permit a couple years ago and it was easy. I went to the county sheriff’s office, paid the $20,and waited an hour. Jerel talked about some people waiting 6 months in Philly. A friend of theirs moved from Philly to the suburbs and applied for a license. The people were about the leave and the woman at the office called them back and said their permits were ready right then.
Once That Gun Stuff started offering classes, there was a “mystery shopper” in the class. It was someone from the Philadelphia gun permitting unit who came in to see what they were doing. The great news is the officer came up and told him that he was doing an excellent job and to keep it going.
Jerel & Karise also run events for NAAGA, National African American Gun Association. NAAGA promotes gun rights to African Americans. Currently, they have more than 75 chapters around the country. A big part of their clients are women, which is the largest growing demographic of gun owners. Karise said she had a 73 year old woman whose daughter had been shot in the head twice and lived. This woman wants to get training and education so that this doesn’t happen to her and that she can pass this on to her family. That Gun Club was nominated for gun club of the year at the NAAGA conference.
They’ve been really knocking it out of the park with That Gun Talk. Both of them have worked in schools as a teacher and IT tech. Jerel said he’s about to do full time as an instructor. They’re taking their passion for firearms and teaching and turning it into a successful business. That’s just great to hear from someone who started their business just a few years ago.
Favorite quotes:
Karise: “This is your American right. This is your 2A right. You have to exercise your right.”
Jerel: “He said ‘I’m from the Philadelphia Police Department Gun Permitting Unit. I came here to see what you’re teaching.’ He shook my hand and said ‘you’re doing an excellent job’.”
Jerel: “She refused to let that situation turn her away from guns.”
Karise: “Women have been coming out in droves to get more educated.”
That Gun Talk
https://www.thatguntalk.com/
That Gun Talk YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@JCrew4uthatguntalk
That Gun Talk Instagram
https://instagram.com/thatguntalk/
National African American Gun Association
https://naaga.co/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#195
Riley Bowman
ConcealedCarry.com
I met Riley in passing at SHOT Show a few years ago. We exchanged info and he said he would enjoy being on the show. On a trip to Denver, I reached out and messaged him and we were good to go. Then on the day I was heading there, I didn’t hear from him. I called Neil Weidner (RSWC #116) to double check the number. When I did get in touch with Riley, he wrote a text but didn’t come through. Regardless, it all worked out. I met him at the ConcealedCarry.com offices in Sheridan, CO.
Riley grew up in Idaho and has been a lifelong shooter and hunter. During the crash of 2008, he had a construction company that went out of business. In 2009, he moved to Colorado to a bigger city due to the economy. He was a project manager for the government doing construction projects. After a few years he went back to having his own construction company, but then an interest grew in becoming a firearm instructor. He started with some of the NRA training programs and started doing some volunteer police work. Those duties varied between things like driving a patrol car and filling a shift, crowd control at large events, and even responding to natural disasters.
Eventually, he became certified for pistol and rifle and started to teach more. Once the classes picked up more, he stopped volunteering and focused on instructing, expanding his knowledge base and offering more classes to clients. Riley also started competing more often, too. By 2015, he was working full time with ConcealedCarry.com. The new business was geared towards helping new instructors with booking classes, marketing, and developing websites. While offering the courses, he started offering products to clients. Products ranged from holsters and belts to training aids, books, and other classes. Seven years later, they’ve got hundreds of products offered to help people carry. Over the years, they went from more training and less products to more products and less training.
On his personal website, you’ll see that Riley does offer training around the country. He has also done some instructing at the Active Self Protection Conference.He also keeps his schedule busy with competitive shooting, too. Besides the businesses, instructing, and competing, he’s got a wife and five children that he also wants to spend time with. As he says, he’s trying to raise some freedom loving Americans.
The great thing about people like Riley is their business sense. He’s taken ConcealedCarry.com and purchased several other companies over the years. Each one has its own customer base, marketing plan, and business plan. Keeping several businesses going is similar to when he was a project manager and running the construction business. There’s lots of things going on that need attention and never a dull moment.
The current businesses under the ConcealedCarry.com umbrella are: Range Tech Timer, Mountain Man Medical, Barrel Blok, KSG Armory, Dry Fire Pro Shop, and Ready Up Gear. Links are below, of course. Riley and his team also have their own conference, called The Guardian Conference.
I’m always excited to hear about people who make massive changes in their careers. Going from construction to volunteer policing to firearm instructing and running several businesses with hundreds of products cannot be easy. But Riley and his team have great products. And he wouldn’t go back to construction and project managing because every day he gets to do what he loves.
Favorite quotes:
“Now it's fully reversed. Used to be training and a little bit of product sales. Now it’s a little bit of training and a lot of product sales.”
“Juggling a lot of things doesn’t cause me a lot of stress.”
“It’s also important to us that we help people be well rounded self defenders.”
“I really, really enjoy what I do now. It doesn’t feel like work.”
“Everyday, I get to talk about, teach about, or actually do guns.”
Riley Bowman Website
https://www.rileytbowman.com/
ConcealedCarry.com
https://www.concealedcarry.com/
Range Tech Timer
https://www.rangetechtimer.com/
Mountain Man Medical
https://www.mountainmanmedical.com/
Barrel Blok
https://bloksafety.com/
KSG Armory
https://ksgarmory.com/
The Guardian Conference
https://guardianconference.com/
Dry Fire Pro Shop
https://dryfireproshop.com/
Ready Up Gear
https://readyupgear.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#194
Rob Campbell
Eye On The Target Radio
You have absolutely no idea when or where you’re going to meet your next best friend. I replied to a Facebook post about a radio show wanting to talk to instructors from every state. I replied because it was 2015 and I was teaching NRA courses in Massachusetts. I made two great friends during that show but I didn’t know it.
In 2016, I was at the Gun Rights Policy Conference and I ran into Amanda Suffecool. She’s Rob Campbell’s sister. They were the radio show hosts I talked to. We became fast friends. The following February I went to Cleveland to emcee a concealed carry fashion show with Amanda for Realize FAC, their non-profit to help educate people about firearms. After the fashion show then a Friends of the NRA dinner, we raced to the local radio station to do Eye On The Target Radio. We’ve raced all around the country, SHOT Show, NRA AM, GPRC, Florida Cary events, and the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival.
Rob is a very relaxed guy. He’s been called “Rob Dude” for sometime. His father was a collector of Ruger .357s. They have been going to SHOT Show for about 20 years. Rob and Amanda have owned a gun store and they spend time buying and selling some collectibles. Campbell has an extensive knowledge of firearm history and origins. They’ve got a segment on the history of guns on their show. Amanda just gives him a topic and he’s off.
Like many folks, Campbell has a day job that keeps him busy. But since EOTT has gone from a station in Akron OH, to a nationally syndicated show on the Salem Network, he hasn't really changed. He loves all the events they go to but he’s the catalyst that pushes Amanda. He says he’s along for the ride and would be OK if they weren’t going everywhere. But I think he secretly enjoys it.
We talk about how he does some training with friends. Most of it is defensive training. They like pushing a firearm’s limit to see how much abuse it can take. He’s at the range weekly trying new things and shooting different guns.
Having a radio show gives you some credibility. One day; Rob got a call from a local sheriff and the Ohio Attorney General. They inquired about a blind man who wanted a carry permit. Campbell said he would train him and pass on his knowledge and skill information because the blind man also needs to be able to defend himself. When they asked if Campbell would give him a carry permit, he said it’s not up to him. Because the man would have to apply, then be denied, then sue the state over his rights. Then they would have to determine how blind was too blind.
Campbell really is a walking encyclopedia of firearm knowledge and history. At some events, he brings his Blue Book of Gun Values and helps evaluate guns for people. He has a story about a man who had a gun and didn’t know what he had. Rob told him to have someone else evaluate it and it ended up being worth thousands of dollars.
He’s also told Amanda to go buy a particular gun because he knows it’s worth more than the store is asking. Another time at an auction, someone got into a bidding war. The other person knew that if Campbell kept bidding, it had to have a high value. Turns out it was just going to be a parts gun for another one he was building.
Rob is a great guy to hang out with and tell stories with. And I’m not necessarily talking about the tinfoil hat theories or what happened to Epstein.
Favorite quotes:
“I’ve been a student of the gun since I was a little kid.”
“If you got a shotgun, you can find somebody that will buy it.”
“I never paid too much for a gun, I just bought it too early.”
“Shooting is a memory game: you gotta remember what you did last time you hit the bull’s eye.”
“You think the West Coast is anti-gun, but they like Rob & Amanda’s radio show.”
“It’s not about the gun, it’s all in the mechanics of keeping your eye open.”
Eye On The Target Radio
https://eyeonthetargetradio.com/
Realize FAC
https://eyeonthetargetradio.com/realizefaq/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#193
Lenny Magill
The GLOCK Store
I’ve known about Lenny Magill probably since I started getting gun catalogs in the mail. I even have a VHS, yes VHS!, tape that he did back in 1993! Before I learned about the other instructors, I knew about Lenny Magill.
Lenny now owns The GLOCK Store. But he started out selling advertisements on radio and tv. Back in 1893, he did some commercials and ads for a San Diego area gun store and instructor. The ads did well and lead to some other things.The more he got into firearms, the more he wanted to get involved. Lenny heard about the newly formed ESPN. Yes, there was a day when ESPN was new. The sports channel was looking for more content. Lenny found out that they only wanted $10,000 to run a half hour show.
The Bianchi Cup was in southern California and Lenny approached John Bianchi and asked if he could film the competition then put it on ESPN. Bianchi liked the idea, but didn’t have a budget for something like that. The deal they made was that Lenny could film the competition but he wanted the rights to the film. Bianchi agreed. At the games, Bianchi had Lenny pitch the idea for advertisers for the sponsors for a one-minute on the video to help fund the video. They all agreed and chipped in. Meanwhile, Lenny’s filming team went and made flyers to hand out at the competition. Everyone wanted the film and he found 300 orders for the full 90 video. He also had the 24 minute show for ESPN. Soon after, Lenny was filming several other competitions around the country.
After nearly 10 years of these videos, he decided to get in front of the camera to show people how to take down this new people everyone was raving about, the GLOCK. After making several more videos on GLOCKs and helping people with competitive shooting, he decided that he was going to start GunVideos. The catalog, which many of us used to get, featured over 150 different videos.
As time passed, he opened The GLOCK Store in San Diego, getting pieces and parts for the striker fired pistol and also doing videos on installing and using these new parts. The GLOCK Store started producing their own parts which may be sturdier than some original parts. Besides parts, he also did more shooting and testing of their parts. Which led to other people wanting to shoot at his facility. Eventually, they opened a shooting range for everyone to have access to use.
After being in San Diego, Lenny’s wife had the idea to leave southern California and find somewhere new. Searching all around the country, they settled on Nashville, Tenn. The move started with building a new facility and getting that opened around 2018. They built an amazing and big facility, around 75,000 square feet. They make, install, fix, and repair all their parts there. Cerakoting and some other work gets sent out, but they’ve installed several thousand red dots for their customers. The GLOCK Store is going as strong as ever and doesn’t have any signs of letting up.
Before the show, Lenny took me around the facility. I got to see the storefront, of course. But I also went through where they manufacture their parts, do all the installing and upgrading, and where Lenny has the “corner office”. The GLOCK Store is only 2 miles from the airport in Nashville. So when you’re in town and waiting for a flight, you should stop by and pick up some new parts for your GLOCK. And tell Lenny “Hello”!
Favorite quotes:
“I’ll do the show, as long as I get to own it.”
“At the end of the deal, I got the $30,000. Everybody committed.”
“I think I can also do some instructional videos…”
“The challenge with the lane is that you’ll end up shooting in one direction and that’ll be your skill level.”
Lenny Magill Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lennymagill
GLOCK Store YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@glockstore
GLOCK Store
https://www.glockstore.com/
GunVideo Website
https://gunvideo.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#192
Quinn Cunningham FASTER Colorado
I’ve mentioned the “Olympic rings” idea before. It’s where I know person A and they know person B, but I don’t know person B. Ok, it's a classier version of the Six Degrees of Separation. In this case, I know Laura Carno (RSWC #188), and Laura knows Quinn Cunningham. If you missed The Gun Experiment Ep 83, Laura said Quinn is who she wants on her side in a gunfight. He is someone you’d want too and you could also train with him.
Laura was selling me on having Quinn in the stagecoach. Not a hard sell. She gave me some of his back story. Again, it’s a story that I’ve heard and read about. You may have heard it, too. And you’ll hear it right from him at the end of the show.
Quinn is a SWAT officer, a FASTER Colorado instructor, and a competitive shooter, sponsored by Shadow Systems. An influence on what being a man is came from his brother in law. He showed Quinn about virtue, leadership, and shooting and marksmanship. He grew up in Nebraska and would take the .22 rifle out shooting and tell his folks he didn’t know why the ammo supply was depleting. His decision to get into law enforcement was due to watching Lethal Weapon back in the 1980’s. They drove fast and shot guns and he knew he wanted to do that.
After 22 years of being a police officer, he worked in the jail, got to work the streets, and finally got on the SWAT team. To get on SWAT, there’s more training, you need to be an LEO for a number of years, have good performance evaluations, mental and physical challenges, and performance under stress. Now, he instructs at the local police academy.
Getting into competition shooting was a way for Quinn to check some of the things he was teaching at the academy. Going to a GLOCK competition, he thought shooting at stable targets from a standing position would be easy. When the buzzer went off, he started shaking and missing shots. There was going to be a lot to learn from this kind of shooting. He had to focus on mindset, marksmanship, and fundamentals under stress. This opened up the world of high performance shooting to him. He found himself completely addicted to it. He worked his way through the rankings and in 2017, found himself at number 2 in the World Police & Fire Games. That year the French team took 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th. But Quinn was at 2nd. Talking with the competitors from around the world and hearing how they trained was also beneficial to him.
Quinn is one of the lead instructors with FASTER Colorado. His years as a police officer, SWAT, competitive shooter, and trainer has been instrumental with this position. FASTER Colorado has four levels of courses, each building off the other. FASTER gives school staff the skills and information needed to respond to active shooter incidents. I've done a number of shows with people from FASTER Saves Lives, and I have a few more coming soon.
He skimmed over the incident during the conversation.I wasn’t sure about asking about the story, the reason Quinn does FASTER, but he offered it up and I wanted to hear it. You will too. The shooting at Arapahoe High School happened in 2013 and it lasted 80 seconds long. Quinn was one of the responding SWAT members. He was injured at the time and responded regardless. He took someone else’s rifle and a traffic jacket to identify himself as a good guy. What he saw changed his life and his direction. He works with FASTER trying to make sure incidents like this don’t happen again.
Favorite quotes:
“I was a SWAT guy. I walked up there thinking I was this big, bad dude. And I just got my ass kicked.”
“Dry fire will get you so much better.”
“Every school, there is someone in every school planning to shoot that school, right now.”
“You act totally different than you think you act.”
“We need to get this message out. If I have to go through a little bit of pain so kids live, then… so be it.”
FASTER Colorado Website
https://fastercolorado.org/
FASTER Colorado Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FasterColorado/
FASTER Colorado Twitter
https://twitter.com/FASTERColorado
FASTER Saves Lives Website
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Shadow Systems
https://shadowsystemscorp.com/
Quinn Cunningham Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/qcunningham9859/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#191
Candy & Michael Petticord
FASTER Saves Lives
In Detroit in the summer of 2022, I was giving time, energy, and effort to Rick Ector (RSWC #032) of LAID, Legally Armed In Detroit. Rick has instructors from around the country help at this event. Two of the people I got to meet were Candy & Michael Petticord. They’re both from FASTER Saves Lives in Ohio. Candy is also with Women For Gun Rights and A Girl & A Gun. She’s a busy woman!
As the mother of several kids, it was only about 6 years ago when she got into firearms. It was something her husband suggested she do. She was hooked from the beginning. In the evening, she would sneak out of the house and not tell anyone she was going to the range. This spilled over into long weekends when she would take some advanced classes and be away for a few days.
At more than a few of the classes she took, she ran into issues. The issues, she found out, weren’t really issues with her; it was the instructors. I’m not sure how to say this but Candy is a minority. She’s left handed. The instructors she took classes with weren’t really prepared to deal with left handed shooters. Yes, we often call these folks “Fudds”. It would have been much more professional for them to turn this into a learning moment for themselves and figure out a way that she could do things left-handed. Here’s what makes it worse. This happened a few times. Each time, the instructor made it seem like it was Candy who was ruining his day.
She also shares that she went to a course for advanced shooters. But she was a little over her head. At one point, she thought of leaving the class at a break. But another student picked up on this and reminded her that everyone was a beginner once. She toughed it out and made it through the class.
At one of the advanced classes, she met Jim Irvine (RSWC #0186) and Joe Eaton, from FASTER Saves Lives. They noticed that she was doing wonderfully and they were able to connect, which led to Candy being on the Board for FASTER.
Michael started going to some of the courses she was taking, as was one of her daughters. Both of the kids really took to shooting and were doing a great job. Her daughter went through an instructor level course, but wasn’t old enough to get certified. She did pass the course and when she’s old enough, she will get that certification.
FASTER Saves Lives teaches school staff how to respond to active shooter situations. It’s not just firearm training. There’s a Foundations course teaching those new to firearms about safety. Day One is lots of range time, shooting various distances and positions. Day Two is more basics then a qualification. A perfect score is needed to pass the FASTER qual. They also teach some medical which is very important for the immediate responders. Many students are lost due to needing some non-life threatening medical help, but do not get it in time. DayThree is working in a school and doing scenario based training. This is world class training.Often Michael ends up being the “bad guy” and wears chest and face protection. He’s been shot at several times. And yes, it does hurt to get hit!
You’ll get a lot out of this episode. Candy has some good stories you’ll enjoy. She’s funny to hand around with. And Michael needs to keep it down while in the back seat.
Favorite quotes:
“As my kids started growing up, I started noticing that we didn’t live in Mayberry anymore and Mayberry is never coming back.”
“This is the beginning. Please don’t leave this class thinking that this is all that you need or you’re ready to gear up and go. This is your starting point.”
“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t. All of us started somewhere.”
“I learned to shoot right handed because I was humiliated by those instructors.”
“Once I got involved in FASTER and these horrible school shootings started happening, then the pieces started coming together as to how important and how amazing what we do really is.”
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Women For Gun Rights-The DC Project
https://www.womenforgunrights.org/
A Girl & A Gun Shooting League
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #190 Charl van Wyk Author & Stopped Terror Attack
This was a once in a life chance that had to be taken. I was speaking at a pro- gun event outside of Boston. The emcee said there was a special guest, Charl van Wyk. I knew that name. Then he said van Wyk stopped a terror attack in Cape Town, South Africa, with a .38 Special five-shot revolver. I remember hearing this story from years ago. As I sat at the table waiting to speak, I Facebook requested him. When the speakers were done, I went right over to where he was and introduced myself. I told him about RSWC and said I’d love to have him on the show. I talked to the gentleman who was handling all of Charl’s plans. He was going to be free the next morning, but he was speaking at 2 events later in the day. I said tell me when and where I’ll be there!
I picked Charl up in Lexington, MA, before his first speaking engagement. It was a rainy day and I didn’t get any usable footage from the hood cam, but we did drive around the Lexington Battle Green where there’s a statue of Captain John Parker and his famous quote "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here". We did get a selfie in front of the statue of Parker. It felt significant to have that in our background.
Charl was in Massachusetts doing a nine state book and speaking tour. He was promoting his book, “Reloaded: Shooting Back Again." His other book is titled, “Shooting Back- The Right and Duty of Self Defense." Both are about his experiences having to use a handgun in self defense and in the defense of others. He’s also got another e-book, “How To Win a Gun Fight Even if You’re Not a Great Shot” is a free resource you can get.
On a trip out to a friend’s farm for a weekend while in South Africa, Charl and his friend ran into a gang on the street who were burning tires and didn’t look like they wanted company. They were able to make a U-turn while the truck was being hit by bricks and stones. Then headed right to the police station to report the incident. Previously he did two years of national service with the army but afterwards didn’t think he needed to arm himself for self defense. As a Christian missionary, he saw serving in the army in defense of the country as one thing and self defense as something else. An article by Larry Pratt, from Gun Owners of America, led Charl to believe that there is a biblical reason for firearm ownership.
Charl gives us lots of details about the incident in 1993 at the church when it was attacked by terrorists.The terrorists were armed with fully automatic rifles and grenades.. He also talks about how he stopped it with his .38 snub revolver. The attack lasted about 7 seconds. (Not enough time to call the police and have them stop it.) And about how a police officer wanted to charge him with manslaughter if he had accidently killed a parishioner, with his return fire.. Then he talks about going to the jail where the attackers were locked up and reaching out to them as a missionary. There’s also another story which leads to the “Reloaded” book.
There are several lessons to be learned from these stories. Some about where to carry. Charl and I both often carry on our ankles and carry five-shot revolvers. His stories also point out that gun free zones are where attacks happen, bad guys don’t like resistance, and even a five shot revolver can end an attack. There’s lessons from every interview, so grab your notebook and jot some things down. This was a once in a lifetime chance to get his stories in person and on film.
Favorite quotes:
“People have become far more aware…generally speaking, is becoming more open to the idea of people having firearms to protect themselves.”
“They just see government as the Big Daddy that has to look after them from when they’re born until the time they die.”
“Now that they’re in power, they’re not sharing the freedom with us.”
“It was only when I saw the splinters shooting out of the wooden benches that I realized this is not a show.”
“Have a plan. And even if the plan doesn’t work, it’s better to have a plan than not have one.”
Shooting Back Book
https://shootingbackbook.com/
Charl on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgA947eUvQIRPU3wLihF8kA
How To Win A Gun Fight e-book
https://www.godgunsandgrit.com/how-to-win-a-gunfight
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#189
Sarah Riggle
Attorneys for Freedom
I’ve been going to Gun Rights Policy Conference for years now. I love that it’s like a family reunion with old friends. It’s also great to meet new people. Sarah Riggle is one of the people I met right at the end. I just had lunch on the last day with friends and we were walking back into the hotel. We ran into Sarah and her friend Laura Snyder, who was a guest on the Polite Society Podcast. I wanted to have Laura on the show but she had to take care of things at home and she said Sarah would be good to do a show with. So I got the cameras and we filmed a show.
Sarah moved to the Phoenix area from Pennsylvania. She moved there with a long time friend about three years ago. This was her first GPRC. She’s currently working in marketing for Attorneys For Freedom. With plans to get a marketing and graphic design degree, Sarah ended up in the restaurant business for several years. Making the move was a chance to try something new somewhere else. When she was young, she did a little bit of shooting growing up. But she realized she needed to get more serious about it when there was a shooting right outside of her house in Pennsylvania. Shocking it was as drug deal gone bad and the person who got shot did not want to go the hospital.
We start off talking about what Attorneys On Retainer and Attorneys For Freedom do. Attorneys For Freedom is located in Phoenix. Attorneys On Retainer is all across the United States. They’re a subscription based law firm, not an insurance program. They’ve had several clients over the last three years go purchase a firearm and found out doing the background check, that they’re a prohibited person for something that may have been a misdemeanor and stopped them from being able to purchase a firearm. She also brings up that people who have been admitted to a mental health institution aren’t able to pass background checks and that does stop people from getting help needed when they’re in crisis. She brings up the great things that Hold My Guns (RSWC #092) and Walk The Talk America (RSWC #067) are doing.
The interesting misconception about some of the self defense insurance policy programs is that if someone takes a plea deal, the insurance doesn’t kick in and pay for things. You have to be the innocent party. If you admit guilt and take a plea, the insurance cannot cover acts that are not lawful and intentional. For example, your car insurance won’t cover an accident that you caused on purpose. She also brings up that some of the insurance companies will not cover acts that happen with someone you know, particularly with domestic violence.
Often what people don’t think about are the other costs that go with a court case. Things like expert witnesses, investigations, and medical testing that may need to be done. Of course, the cost varies, but it can easily be $10,000-$15,000 that someone may need to pay an attorney up front just to start the case. Both Attorneys For Freedom and Attorneys On Retainer have YouTube channels and you can see some of what they’re about there. Should legal services ever be needed, it’s important to have a lawyer that is familiar with firearms, firearm cases, and other topics that are gun related. Often that is not your court appointed attorney.
Let’s get a few things straight, Sarah is not a lawyer and doesn’t offer legal advice. Everyone needs to do research on any program they sign up for to help them with legal situations and the aftermath of using force in self defense.
Favorite quotes:
“It’s great to see more responsible gun owners getting involved with how to help other responsible gun owners.”
“No one is going to protect me but myself.”
“If you’re forced to defend your life and now you need to defend your freedom, that’s exactly what we’re there for.”
“Attorneys On Retainer and Attorneys For Freedom we don’t have any problem covering all of these circumstances.”
Attorneys For Freedom Website
https://attorneysforfreedom.com/
Attorneys For Freedom Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AttorneysForFreedom
Attorneys For Freedom Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/attorneysforfreedom/
Attorneys For Freedom YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@AttorneysForFreedomLawFirm
Attorneys On Retainer Website
https://attorneysonretainer.us/
Attorneys On Retainer YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@AttorneysOnRetainer
Attorneys For Freedom X/Twitter
https://twitter.com/freedomattorney
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#188
Laura Carno
FASTER Colorado
It seems like I’ve known Laura Carno since I started this journey. In 2019 at GRPC, she asked me and Derek Leblanc (RSWC #033) why we called each other “brother” and we weren’t calling her “sister”. Since then, she has been our “sister from a different mister”. This year, I was going to Colorado for some personal stuff, and I was able to reach out to Laura to talk about FASTER Colorado. FASTER, as it is known, is Faculty & Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response.
Laura grew up in California with a very pro police and pro military family, but they weren’t necessarily a “gun family”. As a young woman in her early 20’s she was followed out of a gym by a big guy and her “spidey senses” went off. The only thing she had was a metal pipe for self defense. That was what opened her eyes and realized she may need to be able to protect herself.
Before FASTER, Laura was involved with some local politics and she wrote a book called Government Ruins Nearly Everything which you can, and should, buy on Amazon. The book is a great read, and I do suggest it for everyone! It isn’t expensive and it is eye opening!
When she started paying attention to politics, her California friends said the Republicans weren’t really doing much, particularly for gun rights, so maybe she should become a “small L libertarian”. In 2008, she realized that Mr Obama wasn’t going to do anything good for guns and gun owners. She kept saying “yes” to new opportunities and she found herself doing new things she never dreamt of doing. By 2013, when Michael Bloomberg came to Colorado for a voting recall, she was running an ad that said “If guns are for you, don’t own one. But don’t you dare tell me how to defend myself.” That led to a connection to NRA TV and Cam Edwards (RSWC #168). Eventually, Laura was friends with folks from the Buckeye Firearms Association and school security came up.
Laura went to Ohio to see what this FASTER program was about. She saw that the people taking the class were willing to die for their students. So why shouldn’t they have the necessary tools to save the same students. She put in lots of calls and contacts to county sheriffs to let them know about FASTER and see if they were interested in having this in their rural areas. They’ve got law enforcement and military who train the school staff. Currently they have graduates in 37 school districts and have over 300 people trained to save school children.
One of the events that has opened the eyes of the public was the shooting in Uvalde, TX. People have started to realize that the police are not going to be there to stop school shootings in progress. But the biggest one so far was the Covenant Christian School shooting in Nashville. The police were there in 12 minutes and started taking care of business when they got there. One of the things that also changed is how fast the body-cam and school camera videos were released. These videos made people realize that if the school office was able to return fire and stop the murderer at the school entrance, it would have ended differently.
When talking about things they’ve learned during the last 8 years, not knowing who would be the teachers/staff willing to step up and take the FASTER courses has shown them some of the least likely people are the willing ones. They’re the quiet professionals willing to do what’s necessary to save their students' lives.
We talk a lot about the program and the different levels that they do training on. They’re up to Level 4 in Colorado. Each of the levels do get more challenging. It’s not just shooting, then shooting and moving. It’s very realistic to what you’re seeing on the body-cam videos.
Please check out the whole conversation with Laura. There’s a mountain of work that they’re doing. And that we need all over the rest of the country. There’s also more interviews with FASTER Saves Lives staff coming up! So stay tuned!
Favorite quotes:
“I know how to take care of myself in other realms of my life, but how do I protect myself.”
“I kept saying ‘yes’ to things I could have never predicted for myself.”
“There are certain attacks that happen that there is no other defense than another firearm.”
“Nothing bad has happened in these schools where there’s armed employees.”
FASTER Colorado Website
https://fastercolorado.org/
FASTER Colorado Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FasterColorado/
FASTER Colorado Twitter
https://twitter.com/FASTERColorado
FASTER Saves Lives Website
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#187
Jim Stoker
Firearms Owners Against Crime
I love when the Olympic rings of the 2A community come into play and expands my circle. I was at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greely, PA, for may/be the 5th year in a row. I was running around with Rob Campbell & Amada Suffecool from Eye On The Target Radio. Amanda messaged me and said Klint Macro (RSWC #069) from Meet The Pressers & USCCA was here with Jim Stoker from Firearm Owners Against Crime and I needed to have Jim on the show. Jim and Klint were in western PA for an NRA event the night before. They drove hours to Greely so Jim could speak at the Rod of Iron event.
Jim is now the president of Firearm Owners Against Crime (FOAC). Their long time president and founder, Kim Stolfer, stepped down due to health issues and passed away earlier this year. FOAC has been involved in Pennsylvania only gun issues since the 1990’s, including reciprocity, castle doctrine, and licensing requirements. Jim has recently retired as a police officer. Before he took the role as president, he wanted to make sure that the FOAC board was ok with him taking the role. Since he’s taken this position, there have been over 50 anti-gun bills from the PA House. The split between parties is only one vote. And the votes are mostly down party lines. He gets information every day about what is going in PA politics and writes about it in the FOAC newsletter.
Even though PA has 850,000 hunters and is a very pro gun state, there’s still work that needs to be done. Over the years, there’s lots of compromising done to try and keep some rights for gun owners. Some in the community feel there’s nothing they can do but compromise and they give up 5% of their rights everytime. FOAC tried to get Constitutional Carry, or permitless carry, passed though both houses, but the governor vetoed it. And the current governor won’t sign it either.
One of their fights is one that we all have: getting our 2A friends and gun owners to vote for the pro-Second Amendment candidates. A good friend likes to say “each one, reach one”, meaning if everyone that is a gun owner gets just one more person to become a gun owner, then we can not only make changes, but keep the rights we have and maybe get more of them back.
Someone cannot hunt big game with a semi-automatic centerfire rifle in PA, even though it’s legal, but the gaming commission said they cannot hunt with those rifles. The fall out of that is that people thinking that the Second Amendment is for hunting and not being able to hunt with a semi-auto centerfire rifle plays into the anti-gun agenda. If the 2A is about hunting and you can’t hunt with an AR, then you don’t need it, which is how they want that to play out. FOAC is out there educating the people that it isn’t just about hunting.
We have a great conversation about background checks, permitless carry, and what can be done to help get more people educated, trained, and voting. He brings up that 91% of law enforcement think citizens should have an AR 15. We also talk about how if people don’t get involved in the 2A fight, then PA can become much more like MA.
Coming from “occupied territory” of Massachusetts, it's interesting to see that even in Free America states, there’s an ongoing battle to keep the rights they have. It’s not nice knowing that there is an anti-gun agenda that is being worked on in states that have a fantastic reputation for being a supporter of our Rights.
Favorite quotes:
“The AG can pretty much change on a whim, where we’re going to have reciprocity and where we’re not.”
“We don’t affiliate Republican or Democrat. We affiliate pro-gun or anti-gun.”
“I'm out there talking about common sense gun rights.”
“The idea of universal background checks is not to keep the guns out of bad guys hands, they know bad guys are going to get them anyway. It’s to make you register what you have so they can confiscate them down the road.”
“Unfortunately in the sportsmans community there’s too much of ‘someone else will get it’”.
FOAC Website
https://foac-pac.org/
Firearm Owners Against Crime, Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
https://foac-illea.org/
https://www.facebook.com/foacpac
https://www.instagram.com/foacpac/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
https://lddy.no/1iq1n
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#186 Jim Irvine
FASTER Saves Lives
Jim Irvine and I have been trying to make this happen for a while. We finally filmed a show in Phoenix at Gun Rights Policy Conference, just before he had to speak. He helped start something that is near and dear to my heart, teaching school staff shooting, medical, and active shooter training. I’ve been working in public and private schools for longer than I’d like to admit. I was teaching at a public school on 9/11/2001 and it made me realize that I needed to learn to defend myself and my family. That’s when I got a license to carry and began my journey as a gun guy.
Jim has been a pilot for years. After September 2001, GRPC was almost canceled as there were hardly any flights. A group of pilots at GRPC got together and ended up changing legislation so that pilots could carry guns again on airplanes. At one point, they were required to carry guns because they were transporting mail. It kind of worked so it was voluntary then it sort of went away.
After Sandy Hook, Jim reached out to John Benner who founded Tactical Defense Institute, and has been training school resource officers for years to carry guns in schools more than anyone else in the country. Jim hired Benner to teach a class to teachers and they had 24 spots to fill. At a town hall meeting Jim made the announcement of the course. After being mocked by the media, they had over 1,000 people interested in the course from all grade levels. One of the candidates said he was a former law enforcement officer, went into teaching, and carries everywhere he goes, except at school. Another candidate said she would do anything to protect her students and wanted to consider carrying at school, but it wasn’t for her.
For the first class, they raised money for everything: materials, hotels, guns & ammo. They were concerned that they were going to spend everything they had. Everyone loved the course. Other people said that since FASTER is doing something other than having a vigil, they would be willing to donate to help them prevent the next event from happening. They ended up having more money than when they started. So they held another class. And another one. FASTER was growing. Jim thought they would be the middleman between the schools and the trainers. But lots of schools were reaching out to have their staff trained.
I took the FASTER Level 1 course in 2001. What I really got out of it was the active shooter training and the medical aspect. Lots of people die because they’re wounded and waiting for help. After the police go in and stop the murderer, then the medics can come in. That’s a critical time for the wounded. If the teachers can show the students how to apply pressure and apply tourniquets, then more people will survive school shootings.
One of the unintended benefits is getting the local police involved with the training. They are able to build relationships within the schools and that helps in and outside of the school. Jim talks about the teachers doing qualifications helps the police do better on their qualifications. To pass the FASTER courses, you need a perfect score. Some of the teachers were outshooting the police and they didn’t want that to happen.
The FASTER program has trained over 3,000 teachers and school staff. FASTER qualified teachers are in over 300 schools around the country. FASTER has programs in Ohio, Colorado, and Arizona. And it’s growing.
If you want to help your local schools, please reach out to FASTER and get them in touch with your community. This is the best way to stop school shootings from happening. Even if staff don’t want to learn about firearms, they should be learning about medical and trauma. These are skills that will save lives.
Favorite quotes:
“You’ve got to carry a gun to protect mail and letters, but you can’t carry a gun to protect children’s lives.”
”We had about 1,000 people sign up in the first three weeks.”
“I love my kids, that’s why I have them.”
“The response from other people saying“instead of doing a vigil, you’re doing something that may stop the next event from happening. I’ll donate to that.”
“There’s one problem they’re going to solve. Every other problem they’re solving the same way.”
“After you stop the killing, now you’ve got to stop the dying.”
“Fighting is not only acceptable, it’s demanded!”
“We are going to end school shootings in our country. Flat out end them.”
FASTER Saves Lives Website
https://fastersaveslives.org/
FASTER Saves Lives Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/fastersaveslives/
FASTER Saves Lives Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FASTERSavesLives
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
SABRE Red Pepper Spray
Affiliate Link
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#184
Alicia Garcia
The Boomstick Babe
I had some personal business in Denver this past summer. Of course, I needed to film shows while I was out there, too. I reached out to Alicia Garcia and she said she was up for it! We met in person at NRA in Indianapolis in 2023 doing a march with the DC Project. I was really looking forward to meeting up in Denver. When I arrived, I met Alicia for breakfast at Snooze A.M Eatery. We got to talking and had a great time.
When fired up the AC and started the show. Alicia is a Colorado native. We start right out of the gate talking about cannabis and how it changed the economics of Colorado. Very much like firearms, there’s laws and restrictions. And people will find ways around them. She grew up around firearms but as an adult she made the decision that she isn’t going to be a closet gun owner. Afterall, if we’re going to try to get more gun owners, we need to let others know we are gun owners. We have to make it part of our everyday culture and everyday life.
We took selfies at the Colorado Supreme Court and the Colorado State Capitol. And about the Capitol, Alicia is spending more and more time there. She’s involved with a case with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. They’re pushing to eliminate the three day waiting period when you purchase a firearm from a dealer. The waiting period is definitely anti-Bruen. Since we got together, there has been more going on with the case, so please use the links to check it out and keep updated. Colorado has been turning more anti-gun in the last few years. Alicia and RMGO are working hard to keep it free.
Getting back to coming out of the closet as a gun owner, Alicia decided that she needs to live this lifestyle, too. She’s started her own t-shirt company that makes lots of pro 2A styles and designs. She made the shirts of Kevin Dixie’s (RSWC #064) event called Train and Learn in 2023. She’s got very strong feelings that anyone who is a gun owner needs to promote that they’re gun owners and they need to let others know that we are the face of gun ownership. And when people see that we aren’t what the media makes us out to be, then we can change the perception of what being a gun owner is.
Besides Train & Learn, she’s been making the rounds to several training events around the country. She is very active as an instructor teaching all kinds of people not just firearm skills, but some situational awareness and everyday skills, too. The Boomstick Babe is very active on Instagram, which you should follow her. She keeps herself swagged up with her own swag and designs.
While we’re driving around Denver, we hit some spots with some very cool graffiti. There’s stories behind the graffiti of course and we get some of those. Some stories involve people that Alicia knew but who are no longer with us. We get some pictures of those too. At one point, the hood-cam over heated and stopped recording, which I’m bummed about.
Alicia is a mover and shaker. She’s out there getting things done, between the t-shirt business, teaching courses, taking courses, and suing the state of Colorado. The Boomstick Babe is going places and I’m glad she made time to share some time with us.
Favorite quotes:
“We strapped. But we don’t want to do that. We de-escalate. We live smart. We don’t put ourselves in compromising situations.”
“The only way we’re going to normalize gun ownership is if you start making it part of your everyday culture and everyday life.”
“Everything that has to do with guns is hindered. It’s censored. It’s taboo.”’
“I am the face of gun ownership. I am the face of the Second Amendment.
“The whole point of being armed is to prevent bad things from happening.”
The Boomstick Babe Website
https://www.boomstickbabe.com/
The Boomstick Babe Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/theboomstickbabe/
The Boomstick Babe 2.0 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/boomstickbabe2.0
The Boomstick Babe Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BoomstickBabe/
About her court case…
https://www.courthousenews.com/boomstick-babe-as
The Boomstick Babe & GOA
https://donate.gunowners.org/boomstick-babe/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#183
Jim Shepherd
The Outdoor Wire, Publisher
At SHOT SHow 2023, I was in the media room with my good friend, The Pen Patriot, John Petrolino. We decided to only have a half a cup of coffee before we hit the SHOT floor. We ran into Alan Gottlieb and he asked if we were going to be around, he wanted to talk with us. We told Alan we would be there. When Alan walked away, we looked at each other and said “Let’s have a full cup”. While we were listening to Alan tell stories, Jim Shepherd came over. John & I didn’t know him, but Alan introduced us and said he would be a great guest in the stagecoach. We swapped contact info and I said I would be in touch next time I’m heading to Nashville. When I reached out to Jim, he said he would like to be on the show.
Jim and I were going to meet at a burger shop in Murfreesboro, TN, but they were closed for the week. He’s got so many amazing stories. He has employee badge #7 from CNN so he had a professional relationship with Ted Turner.. He did radio talking about financial news. He was an on air anchor for a while. He’s been involved with The Golf Wire and The Golf Channel.
He used a term I never heard of before, a post gun. I had no idea what it was. He said his dad would buy some guns that may have been in rough shape. If he wasn’t confident about their condition, his dad would tie the gun to a post, put a string on the trigger, then they would hide behind some trees or some cover and pull the string. If the gun fired, it was good. If it didn’t, at least they had cover. He’s always been a gun guy but like many, there are times in his life where he was less involved with them.
He was filming a commercial with Tiger Woods in Florida and the weather was not cooperating. So they were just hanging out. Tiger asked him if he was going to the gun show in town. Jim made some calls and found out it was SHOT Show. Being in the media, he was able to finagle some passes and he recorded some interviews. At the time, he was publishing The Golf Wire.
When he went into the media room at SHOT Show, he saw there were stacks of magazines and CDs with all the catalogs and information on them. He took The Golf Wire idea and tweaked it a bit for the shooting industry. He took his computer, added an image, added some ipsum lorem, and showed several gun industry businesses what they would be missing. He got them to sign up that day. And boom! The Outdoor Wire was created. That was 23 years ago. Now everyone who is in the know gets whichever Wire suits them. There’s about 10 wires you can subscribe to and get in your mailbox.
What I really enjoyed about my time with Jim is his stories. He’s an amazing guy with incredible stories. He flew to Tulsa for a job interview. He saw the city and knew, coming from New York City, that he didn’t want to work there. He called the person he was going to meet and canceled the interview while he was at the airport and took the next flight back to New York. The man he was going to meet was thankful because that was the only day he was able to golf and now he had what I call “the gift of time”.
Jim has taken chances. He’s been around the world. He’s done some amazing things that he told me over lunch, which I can’t repeat. I want to get the stories out about gun owners, which of course, Jim is. But I also want to hear about adventures and when people go out on a limb and try things that they don’t know how they’re going to end up. And they make them just fine. He’s got a ton of these experiences in life. I’m glad I got some of them, on and off film.
Favorite quotes:
“My definition of an anchor is the thing that holds you in place and impedes any progress. But it also holds you on the bottom and keeps you from going.”
“I’ve once again turned a hobby into work.”
“Somebody figured out they needed it, and I haven’t had to look for a job in years.”
“I never set out to be anything other than a reporter.”
“Everything happens for a reason, you may not know the reason, you may never know the reason.”
“Sometimes the things you don’t get are better than the things you get.”
The Outdoor Wire
https://www.theoutdoorwire.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#182
Phil Schreier
NRA Museum, Director
In my formative years as a gun owner (then just a wanna be), I would watch The Outdoor Channel which had Shooting USA on it, shows on The History Channel, and other shows, too. Any time a historical gun came up, Phil Schreier would be there with his white gloves on handling, talking about various firearms, and giving the history. When I “crashed” the NRA BOD party back in April, I got to introduce myself and tell him what I do. He said anytime I was in Fairfax, VA, he would be up for being on the show. Well, I was planning a roadtrip with John Petrolino, The Pen Patriot, and we made a pit stop at the NRA Museum and I was able to film a show with Phil.
Growing up, Phil was in a “Kennedy Democrat” household where firearms were encouraged but they weren’t prohibited either. He learned to shoot at Boy Scout camp, like other passengers who have been on the show. He fell in love with shooting the Mossberg .22 rifle. His grandmother told him they were related to General Beauregard, who was a Confederate General in the Civil War. That also sparked an interest in history.
Majoring in Political Science and History in college, his first job was as a compliance inspector with the ATF.( Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms…who’s bringing the chips?) But he didn’t like the way they operated and left the position. Does this sound familiar? So Phil ended up going back to the Boy Scout camp as a counselor then worked up to run the camp. During the winter months, he worked at a cigar shop with a friend who he grew up with. Then he got a call from someone from Scout Camp who was also with the NRA and he offered Phil a job to work weekends at the NRA Museum. He was less than thrilled working weekends because he was also doing some reenacting on the weekends. But he took the gig working 6 hours each weekend day. Within 6 months, he was working full time. Then he was able to hire his buddy from the cigar shop to work with him. For the record, his buddy is Mark Keefe, the Editorial Director of all NRA publications.
Certainly the “virus that shall not be named” eliminated nearly all the positions at the museum, and Phil has several of the titles. During the last two and a half years, he was the only one working there. There’s much more to running a museum than just “playing” with the guns. Phil will go weeks working there without even touching one of the firearms.
Like many jobs that look glamorous, working as a museum director has aspects that have become less glamorous over the years. The lectures at various museums don't get old, but traveling does. I’ve heard several traveling comedians say they’d do comedy for free, but they get paid to travel.
What I really enjoyed learning about was how manufacturing helped change the way things were produced. We talk about the Eli Whitney and the cotton gin, but what Whitney really brought about was mass production and being able to make replaceable parts for machines. Then that spilled into Sam Colt making revolvers. We also talked about the impact of AI on history and writing. Phil said his personal book collection is over 5,000 books!
There’s really a lot to learn from people like Phil. He’s got a lot of wisdom. But he’s also still the youngest guy at some of the history conventions. If we don’t want out history to die or be erased, we need more people like Phil who has a love of the stories and shares them in ways we all enjoy.
Favorite quotes:
“Very upset with the way they (ATF) operated as stewards of public trust.”
“It doesn’t matter if we’re (ATF) right or wrong, we’ll just bankrupt them.”
“I think the biggest misconception is you get to play with guns all day.”
“It’s stuff like that that changes the world because of firearms.”
“I look at it as having more friends and the effort of spreading the knowledge about firearms, their history, their heritage.”
NRA Museum Website
https://www.nramuseum.org/
There’s 3 different NRA museums around the country.
Articles written by Phil Schreier
https://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research.aspx
Galleries at the NRA Museum
https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#181
Yuri Zalzman
Philly Gun Range
Gun people are the best people. I will say this often. On a trip to Philadelphia, I had a change of plans. Nayara Andrejczyk (RSWC #171) and her husband and I had dinner and we were talking over dinner about my “gift of time”. She suggested Yuri Zalzman as a potential guest. He was available to make the time and we filmed a show the next day.
Yuri was born in Ukraine and raised in Israel. His father brought them to Philadelphia and he’s been there ever since. He passed on college for a few years but ended up pursuing a history degree and it was much more work than he thought. It was more than memorizing dates. There was a lot of reading and analysis of cause and effects. He calls it the “study of man”. Law school was more work that taught him the ultimate lesson which is to be efficient.
As a youth, he loved machines. He learned to drive stick shift at six, a front loader and shooting at seven. He used to fly planes and drive tanks, too.
Yuri bought a shooting range in Philadelphia. He runs the range like the special forces; you don’t get hired, you get accepted. He trains the right people to be his employees. It’s not just the gun range policies and procedures, it’s how to handle a firearm and quickly. He treats his employees well. He wants all of his clients to be safe, of course, but also comfortable while they’re at the range. It’s important for his team members to realize that they’ve got the coolest retail job out there.
However buying a range comes with the old range reputation. Some of the previous range clients (gang members) needed to be chased away by Yuri and his staff. Sometimes a stern talking to. Sometimes with pepper spray.
Being a bit of an entrepreneur, he has been able to change that reputation. They’re focused on safety and customers. And welcoming everyone from whatever background into the range.
The area where I met Yuri is where he’s working on a new building expanding the range and the offerings. He’s got plans for 3 hot ranges (25, 50, & 100 meters), a 22,000 Sq ft retail space, a 3,000 Sq ft gym, an obstacle course, areas for simunition training, and a helicopter where people can repel down a rope.
Yuri has always been a dreamer and he works hard to make those dreams come true. Gun owners are doers and dreamers. They make things happen. And if you happen to be in Philadelphia, stop by The Gun Range and tell Yuri “hello”!
Favorite quotes:
“Negative example and a positive example teaches equally important lessons.”
“My customers may leave a lot of money at the range, but they never feel like they’ve been taken advantage of.”
“I’m there to live out my passions, share them with the world, give back to society.”
“A person that has nothing only has their dignity. And when you insult their dignity, they’re going to fight to the death.”
Philly Gun Range Website
https://phillygunrange.com/
The Gun Range Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/phillygunrange/
The Gun Range Facebook https://www.facebook.com/phillygunrange/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#180
The DCP Gals & GOAL
On August 27, Gun Owners Action League hosted an event called The 2A Freedom Celebration. They pulled in some names you’ve seen on RSWC. Amanda Suffecool (#009), Holly Sullivan (#036), Jared Yanis (#051). And some locals like Toby Leary, (#143) Kerrie Ann Auclair (#139). We were able to film a show with a few of the local DCP gals, Moe Palmer & Bonnie Marshall. Mike Harris, Director of Public Policy, also joined us. Yeah… it was a car full of teal shirts!
There were several folks that sent some love GOAL’s way. Todd Eccles from Patriot Defense Podcast, Nikki Goeser, Michael Sodini, David Coy, Klint Macro, John Petrolino, and the closing video was Cam Edwards. Of course Jim Wallace spoke, Jon Green (#030 & #034), Mike & Angi gave away a couple rifles. And Garet & Jeff from the GOAL Podcast (#177) were there as well. It was really a great time. Lots of fun catching up with everyone. I’ve said for a long time, these kinds of events are family get-togethers.
We gave everyone the hot shotgun seat for today’s show. Starting with Kerrie Ann, she doesn’t get into Boston often so she was excited to see so much. We talked about the Gun Law Listening Tour and how it turned into HD.4420. But she talked about going to one of the stops and speaking with a woman who said she knew she would be dead if she tried to use a gun against her domestic abuser. Kerrie Ann helped her re-think if she had a gun and some training, the gun could have been an equalizer.
Mike Harris talked about his time working in the State House in Boston and learning the ropes there. But he also acted as a tour guide. He does know a bit of Boston history and how to get around BeanTown.
Holly Sullivan took the next spotlight. She brought up that the GOAL event is the kind of event where the states need to get together and have a conversation about what is working and what isn’t. This is one of the things she really wants to work on and connect state groups so we can be just as organized as the antis.
Bonnie Marshall has only been shooting for a few years. She’s become a Range Safety Officer and started helping Kerrie Ann with her other group, The Well Armed Woman. It was great to have Bonnie break out of her shell and join us for the fun adventure.
Moe Palmer is also a local Quincy MA gal. She’s also an RSO working with some local instructors to run the shooting line at live fire courses. Moe reached out to me a few years ago. We took a road trip to SIG Academy in 2022 when they opened. She’s also a regular on the Patriot Defense Podcast with Todd Eccles.
And our closer is Amanda Suffecool. DC Project Advisor. NRA BOD member. Host of Eye On The Target Radio. Instructor. And my conscience. Amanda was great at the event. She talked about how GOAL is winning even though it feels like we may not be all the time. She had a busy week. She was in Nashville on Monday with the DCP. She met with Shelley Hill from The Complete Combatant in Georgia. Then she headed to Boston for the weekend. The following week, she headed to Dallas for NRA BOD meetings.
We stopped for selfies, got sidetracked, and saw some sights in Boston. Like Cheers, The Granary Burial Ground, The Old State House & where the Boston Massacre started. Kenmore Square and drove next to Fenway Park, followed by going down Boylston Street, where the Marathon bombings happened and finally up Newbury Street.
Yeah…it was an undertaking editing this beast with 6 cameras all together. Some of the batteries ran out, but we did the best we could. This is a long show, the longest I’ve done. But I wanted everyone to get some time Riding Shotgun.
Favorite quotes:
Kerrie Ann: “If you had a gun it creates an equalizer for someone that’s 5’1”.”
Mike: “The unintended consequences of that (covid) a lot of people were more activated so it’s easier to get people focused on this bill (HD.4420)”
Holly: “In such tiny states in New England, non-resident permits make life accessible.”
Bonnie: “It’s a bunch of like minded people, really fun.”
Moe: “I didn’t know there was a community out there. I didn’t realize it was a passion.”
Amanda: “It’s great when your life comes together and you have a mission that will make a difference and leave a legacy.”
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Gun Owners Action League
https://goal.org/
Connecticut Citizens Defense League
https://www.ccdl.us/
Eye On The Target Radio
https://eyeonthetargetradio.com/
Sisters In Arms- A Firearms Story
https://www.youtube.com/@SIA-AFirearmStory
Armed Women of America
https://armedwomen.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#179
Todd Ellis
NRA Board of Directors
Back in April I may have snuck into the NRA BOD party. May have. It was suggested that I work the room. Someone took me around to meet folks that I haven’t met and see if I could connect and maybe get them on the show. It’s fantastic to me when people I haven’t met come up, say hello, and want to talk. As I was sweeping around the room, Todd Ellis stopped me and asked when the episode with Nayara Andrejczyk (RSWC #171) was going to be published. Todd is an NRA BOD member, but also a Training Counselor. They were friends and she had done some training with him. We exchanged cards and I kept working the room.
I got home from NRA on a Monday morning. I had a live show to do that evening, then I was off for Philly to film some shows. There was a change in plans and I was given “the gift of time”. Having dinner with Naraya and her husband, we brainstormed who would be available to film a show in my newly found time. She reached out to Todd and he agreed to be on the show.
Todd started shooting in Boy Scouts. He was really good at it, enjoyed it, and took to it quickly. He went home and joined the Junior Marksmanship Club at the Rochester Rifle Club. He shot small bore through high school. It was suggested that he become an instructor and take several of the NRA certification courses. He was working with lots of youth shooters with the Scouts, about 350 a year.This was before there was an online portal to report to the NRA the students that went through your courses. When that came around, he missed out on getting credit for about 3,500 students! The NRA Education and Training found out how many students he trained and decided it was time to get him to become a Training Counselor.
Todd was invited to be the State Training Counselor Liaison for Pennsylvania. There’s 4,400 instructors and 125 training counselors in PA currently. According to him, the main objective of a TC is to make sure everyone is up to date and current with their teaching materials and to make sure they’re successful. We talk a bit about how it’s important for everyone to be an established shooter before they become an instructor. If an instructor doesn’t know an answer that a student has, they need to find out the answer and get back to the student.
Back in 2020 while everyone was in lockdown, Todd was able to fill in on a two year term and get onto the NRA Board of Directors. He was talking to another BOD member about some issues and needed to convince him that Todd had some solutions to some problems. That leads us into talking about the process of getting nominated by someone on the board, which may lead to getting Some folks get in by being on committees. Someone can also go through a petition process and get signatures to be on the ballot. Many of the NRA members don’t know if they can vote, don’t vote, or think they can vote and they can’t.
Todd has a story about a canoe trip he took with his son. The canoe tipped when they both ended up paddling on the same side. He uses this story as an analogy to what is happening with many folks in the gun community. If we aren’t paddling together as a team in the Second Amendment canoe, we’re going to capsize and all will be lost. We work for the Second Amendment. And we all need to work as a unit, doing what we need to do to keep this American tradition alive.
Favorite quotes:
“I really strongly believe in teaching the youth because they’re the folks who are going to replace us tomorrow.”
“We got some people that are like ‘they’re never gonna take our shotgun.’ But they will come and get your bolt action rifles, too. So you got to be very aware of why people are really fighting for your Rights.”
“I’d love to see more people vote. They get the ballot and don’t vote.”
“We’re in a Second Amendment canoe. We all have to paddle together or we’re going to wind up in the ocean and your Second Amendment rights are going to go with the tide out to sea.”
National Rifle Associatio
http://www.nra.com/
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
To become an NRA certified instructor
https://www.nrainstructors.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#178
Robin Bartlett
Author, Vietnam Veteran
It's a great feeling when someone recommends a passenger and it works out well. Robin Bartlett was referred to me. I reached out, did an introduction, and he sent me a copy of his book. After reaching out and setting up an interview date, we were able to make the show happen.
We start by talking about some of the nonsense that are New Jersey gun laws. To add to the “fun”, in New Jersey BB guns aren’t legal. And aren’t serialized, too. When he goes out to target shoot, Robin transports everything legally, of course, and keeps his paper with him as well.
At the age of 8, Robin was caught with .22 rounds, a hammer, and a chisel. He and his friends were opening the cases and lighting the gunpowder. It was then his dad knew it was time for some gun safety lessons! (PS: Don’t Try It At Home!) While living in Virginia, he joined the Davy Crockett Junior Rifle Club and started with a .22 rifle doing the NRA qualification program. He’s done years of target shooting through college years doing all of the NRA programs.
Robin is from a long line of military men who went to West Point. After his friends enlisted and were reassigned, he decided it was time to join the ROTC. He spent 6 years as a career officer and spent time in Vietnam. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne, which was a good assignment.
Robin spent time leading the younger troops, which weren’t much younger. And learning from some of the older leadership, which wasn’t much older. His main objective was to his men in the platoon; it wasn’t to have a high body count of the enemy. He was responsible to get everyone home safely. It didn’t always go that way of course. He tells us a gut wrenching story about the first loss he had. He had to make due and fly with some bodies that didn’t have bags. They only had ponchos to wrap the bodies in.
Eventually Robin was given a job at the 14th MHD. He didn’t know what it was. He asked others what it was and they didn’t know either. He finally was pointed in the direction and found a tent that said 14th Military History Detachment. Their motto was “You fight it. We write it”. He was given a job that was what he went to college for as a comparative writer. Out of the three who had writing in their background, he was the only one to take the job.
The job was in a tent that came with things like cots, refrigerator, two fans, and a shower. He was required to do quarterly reports and review the lessons learned. These reports became the official battle reports. Sometimes they were told to be less than truthful. In one instance, they were not able to get a count of the enemy killed because the Vietnamese took the dead off the field. Robin was told to give a false number and make it real.
When he got out he got into publishing and spent years in the publishing business. He talked with several other Vietnam vets about their experiences. And they weren’t all the same. After getting feedback about experiences, he decided to write about his experiences. His mother saved all of his letters in the original envelopes with the dates stamped on them. He was able to relive the war with what he remembered and what he wrote. It took him 10 years to turn it into his book, Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History.
The book is very unique in that he was able to put the memories and letters together. It’s an exciting read that I”m sure you’ll enjoy. You can find the links below to Robin’s social media and website. You can buy the book on Amazon, but I’d suggest buying it right from him and having it autographed. I like having a collection of autographed books.
Favorite quotes:
“The life expectancy of a platoon leader in Vietnam was 90 days.”
“Body count was the metric by which we were evaluated.”
“Writing this book was supposed to be cathartic for me. It was supposed to get me through all this crap.”
“I had to relive so many of these events. Many of them were horrific.”
Robin Bartlett Website
https://robinbartlettauthor.com/
Robin Bartlett Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/robin.bartlett.16
Robin Bartlett Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/robinbartlett01/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#177
The GOAL Podcast
Garet Holcomb & Jeff Strider
Finally, I was able to get together with Jeff Strider and Garet Holcomb from The GOAL Podcast. Jeff & Garet are both board members of Gun Owners Action League. I’ve known them for some time and we’ve run into each other at all the GOAL events, of course, and at the SIG Academy in New Hampshire, too. I do need to say that we filmed this before HD.4420 was released as a bill. We talked about how the Gun Law Listening Tour was going and speculated how it was going to turn out. Now we know.
The GOAL Podcast is also ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts according to John Petrolino’s (RSWC #093) recent Bearing Arms article. Besides that great news, Jeff & Garet enjoy doing the podcast and fortunately the roles on the podcast does not have anything to do as GOAL board members and they’ll keep doing the show when their terms expire.
Garet grew up in California but got the gun bug in South Carolina when he was a young man. After some safety rules lessons, he found himself taking the shotgun out to the woods and really enjoying some hunting. Back in California as an older teenager, Garet and his friends would shoot washing machines and what not, as it was legal back in the 1980’s to do so. After some time in the military, Garet ended up in Massachusetts. In 2016, the then AGAG (Anti Gun Attorney General) of MA, the now Governor, Maura Healey, made an edict saying that anything that looks like an AR is an AR and she banned the sale of any new ARs. That’s when Garet got more involved in the gun/civil rights movement. He’s since become an instructor as well. Last year, the three of us ended up doing some instruction at a ladies event.
Jeff would do some paintballing with friends when he was a teenager. He had a neighbor that was a police dispatcher and suggested he get his license. During the course, Jeff was hoping for more. The firearms used in the course here Ruger Mark I & IIs. He was hoping for some handguns that were a little more exciting. He also has taken the instructor route, with several certifications. He’s also taken several courses and trains regularly. On The GOAL Podcast, Jeff does a training segment with a drill of the month.
Garet and Jeff met back in 2016-ish. That year, GOAL had a rolling rally after Healey’s egregious move. A couple years later, Garet was elected the vice president of a local gun club and learned about the opening on the GOAL board from Jeff. Of course, it’s been great connecting with all these pro gun people in the community. Garet and Jeff both do some instructing with Bill Dalpe (RSWC #154) at Patriot Firearms School. Jeff recently helped a ladies class with Kerrie Ann Auclair (RSWC #139), who runs a local chapter of Armed Women of America and is the MA leader of The DC Project.
There was a GOAL Podcast years before they started doing the show. I told them there was even a radio show from Worcester, MA, called The GOAL Line. I used to record those onto a cassette with my stereo back in the early 2000’s. The old version of the show slipped in the timing and got behind and then left behind. The gents took the equipment and heated up the mics to resurrect the podcast.
It was really fun to have time with the guys and get them in the stagecoach. We drove to a local Mexican restaurant with Garet in the front seat and drove back after with Jeff in the front seat. You’ll get to know them better here. You can listen to episode 100 with me as their guest, too.
Favorite quotes:
Garet: “When she (Maura Healy) did that thing, that to me was like one of the most brazenly cynical and just disgusting things that I’ve ever seen a politician play out in real time.”
Garet: “What bothers me the most about the situation (in Mass) is the lack of any meaningful opposition.”
Jeff: “You gotta have fun shooting. That’s what keeps people coming back.”
Jeff: “Can I shoot? Should I shoot? Do I have to shoot?”
The Gun Owners Action League Website
https://goal.org/
The GOAL Podcast
https://goal.org/goal.org/podcast
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#175
John Kolis
Instructor & Author, Pistol Practice
I noticed on my social media that “Pistol Practice” was coming up more often in my feed. Then I get a text from a friend who says “John Kolis wrote Pistol Practice. He’s in your area and just did Rob Beckman’s podcast. You should have him on your show.”. I tuned in to Beckman’s (RSWC #109) Firearm Trainer’s Podcast to check him out and knew he would be a good fit. We texted back and forth. Then before one of the “Gun Law Listening Tour” stops, John & I met up for a drink. Then we had a few drinks with some other friends afterwards, too.
John & I met up at the Weston Shooters Club in Weston, MA, and we headed to On Target Firearms in Dracut, MA, to do some shooting. After a quick warm up, John proved to me that his book, Pistol Practice, truly works! We shot one of the games from his book and he way outshot me! He’s been working on getting his book across the country and in the hands of instructors. So if you’re an instructor, you should check out the link to become an affiliate instructor.
John’s dad grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and owned a .22 rifle. When they moved to upstate New York, his dad took him shooting outdoors and John really enjoyed it. He still has that rifle, which his father got as salesman of the month in the 1950’s.
John enlisted in the Air Force for a few years. However, he doesn’t use that as a focus in his firearms resume. As with many people, life changes and John found himself moving away from shooting to have a family and a career.
After years of IT work, during the lockdowns of 2020, his employer let him go. With kids in college and experience in writing courses and manuals, John applied these skills with his interest in getting back into firearms. Having taken several courses through the NRA, USCCA, SIG Academy, John got certified to teach a number of courses.
He turned all of this knowledge into “Pistol Practice, The Shooting Range Guidebook to teach you how to practice.” The book is a wonderful method for someone to have fun and enjoy practicing. You should have a solid knowledge of handgun shooting fundamentals. There are several different “games” that you can use with your friends when you are at your next range session.
Not only are there various ways to make practicing fun, there’s a chart for two handed, one handed, non-dominant two handed, and non-dominant one hand shooting charts. The book comes with a card that you can use to split, like on the cover of the book. There’s also a QR code that you use to download various other targets.
Pistol Practice has its own class as well. There are a number of ways to learn and take a lesson with John. He’s offered free shipping on his book purchases for RSWC followers who use the code “FreeShip23”.
As noted above, John wants to spread the Pistol Practice course around the country. If you’d like to offer his course, contact him at john@pistolpractice.com to become an affiliate instructor in your area. He does limit how many instructors he has in each area, so contact him today.
I had a great time shooting with John. I’m glad that he’s a local guy and also in the fight in Massachusetts. With people like him, we are getting more shooters educated, trained, and having a good time doing so.
Favorite quotes:
“The firearms community, everyone is so supporting and helpful to one another”.
“Marksmanship was an admired quality”.
“I became acquainted with Massachusetts gun laws. I became confused with Massachusetts gun laws”.
“That speaks to the pursuit of happiness…. As long as your pursuit doesn’t hurt others. That’s the Republic we created”.
Pistol Practice
https://pistolpractice.com/
Free shipping code “FreeShip23”
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/PistolPractice/
Find Pistol Practice on Facebook
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#174
Tom King
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
National Rifle Association BOD Member
Last summer, I thought it would be good to have Tom King on the show before the NYSRPA v Bruen decision. I messaged him and he said yes to being on the show, but I didn’t follow up. This past April at the NRA Annual Meetings, Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & #025) introduced us and said I should have Tom on the show. With the summer here and the anniversary of the NYSRPA v Bruen decision, I figured it was a good time to film a show!
Tom grew up in an anti-gun household. His father was a pilot in World War 2 and didn’t want to have anything to do with guns when he got back. However, Tom learned to shoot, earning a merit badge in Boy Scouts.
Eventually, a friend asked Tom if he wanted to be the Legislative Director of NYSRPA because Tom and his wife owned a company that delivered memos to politicians. Reluctantly, he agreed to the job. After one year in this position, the then-president approached Tom and said he was stepping down. Then asked Tom to take his place due to his political knowledge. He took the president’s role thinking it would be for 2 years. That was 18 years ago. During his tenure, he’s noticed first hand that the government is doing things in little subtle ways to take our rights by what I call the “salami method”, which is one thin slice at a time. He says that other than the S.A.F.E. Act, we didn’t lose our rights at once. Often, people will understand why the antis want something, then admit that it’s not a big deal, then give it away. Until there’s nothing left to give.
Tom got involved with the NRA at a Friends of the NRA in Poughkeepsie. A mutual friend took him up to meet someone. That person suggested that Tom should be on a committee at NRA. Tom didn’t know who it was but after formal introductions, it was John Sigler. Mr Sigler was only the First Vice President of NRA, on his way to be President, but Tom didn’t know who he was. A few months later, he was nominated to be on the Clubs and Association committee. Tom also shares a story about introducing Wayne LaPierre, saying the NYSRPA is the parent organization of the NRA.
We finally got into NYSRPA v Bruen. After the decision was for NYSRPA, I was insistent on calling it the NYSRPA case, but friends said we needed to use Bruen. Tom shares with us that Bruen was a pro Second Amendment supporter, but his job was more political than police work, and he was just doing what he was told by disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. That led to the then unelected, anti-gun Kathy Hochul to roll out and support the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act”.
We spend a lot of time talking about how NYSRPA v Bruen started, how long it lasted, and why it’s important to support your state groups. That can be by joining your state group and by doing more than just writing a check to pay dues. By the way, you can also join other state groups, too. There’s not a limit on which organizations you can support. Tom said the NRA picked up about 70% of the tab, but NYSRPA picked up the rest. It total came to $2,200,000 in legal fees. We also talk about how politicians “make friends” with everyone, even if they don’t support our rights as Americans.
For my show, travel, editing, and everything involved, it’s a challenge to do a current and topical episode. But what I can do is evergreen material that lines up with anniversaries of big events. The NYSRPA v Bruen was a very big decision. We’re finding it out in over 260 other cases in the first 6 months after it happened. Time will let us see some of the other impacts it is having on our Second Amendment right!
Favorite quotes:
“Then all of a sudden, you look at it and you have no rights at all or are on the verge of having no rights”.
“I wanted to protect those rights that we had, that I grew up with, for my son and my daughter and their kids.”
“The Supreme Court looked at it the way the Founding Fathers looked at it.”
“If it wasn’t for the NRA, the Bruen decision, the Rifle & Pistol decision, would never come about”.
“I have never been asked to sit in on one his pre-bill meetings. Never once.”
“Vote for your rights. Vote for what’s important to you.”
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
https://www.nysrpa.org/
NYSRPA Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Kinger1964
National Rifle Association
https://home.nra.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#173
Jose Morales
Philly Firearms Academy
My familiarity with Jose Morales’ name started years ago. I’ve always been a fan of the Gun For Hire Radio podcast. The main host, Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & 025), would often bring up Jose’s name as someone helping with production of the show. Last summer, I was in Detroit for Rick Ector’s (RSWC #032) Ladies Event. As I was introducing myself to the other instructors, I met Jose. I kept running through my mind “how do I know his name?” Then it hit me! Gun For Hire Radio! So I went back up and said I knew his name and finally put it together. Like it is meeting with gun people, it felt like old home week.
Jose grew up in New York City and said his mother had a gun. At the time he didn’t know how difficult it was to get a gun as times were different. He spent 3 years serving in the Army and ended up in Philadelphia. He’s had a few careers, of course, doing non-gun stuff, until he decided that after taking several friends shooting, maybe it was time to become an instructor. He traveled to western Pennsylvania to take an instructor course.
He’s done a ton of training since then. He’s an NRA and USCCA Training Counselor in several disciplines, so he’s training the trainers. I don’t like saying someone is a “training junkie”, but he’s trained with many of the best, including Massad Ayoob (RSWC #045), Rob Pincus (RSWC #063), and Tom Givens, among others. Therefore he offers courses at various levels to his clients.
Just like other businesses, Jose had a lot of growing to do. He talks about going from range to range with students and trying to find students. As many people have found out, there are ranges they don’t want you to bring in your clients or they want half of what you charge to use the range. So, Jose ended up needing a dedicated place for training, which ended up being across the street from where the Philadelphia police issued permits! It was hard to get people to come in. He was near the old Colosimo’s Gun Center which had a range he was using. We also cover how often instructors are very territorial with their areas.
We get into some interesting points about people and their training. While it shouldn’t be a government mandate to require training to get a carry permit, anyone who carries definitely needs training in things like how to carry concealed, when you can use lethal force, and absolutely when you cannot use lethal force. People also need education on what to do in a situation after you’ve used lethal force.
Jose has a great line saying “everyone wants remedial education not preventative education”, meaning that people take classes after they have an eye opening incident. He will get calls from people saying things like they need an “NRA Basic Pistol or the equivalent” which is code for “I’m reading a paper given to me by the police and lost my license”. We had a really good discussion about this topic. The discussion also led to bringing up the terms that the antis use that we have “adopted” and we fall right in line and use them as if they are legit terms. Yes, words have meanings.
Jose also shares what it was like to bring an NRA course into a hospital where he had some connections and tried to train and educate people that just because the course says “NRA” doesn’t mean the course is evil and preaching an agenda. It’s all education and people who are unfamiliar or new to firearms may not want to hear about the NRA due to the bad press the NRA gets from the media.
I’m telling you, gun people are the best people! I met Jose at his home in Philly, he offered me some Tastykakes, and we talked like we were old friends. You don’t get this from everyone, just from gun people.
Favorite quotes:
“It’s a hobby that became a career.”
“I’ve always found more success collaborating with instructors.”
“Sharing the love, and dispelling the stereotypes, and bringing people into the fold.”
“We have to use the same tactics. Some of the people that are anti-gun are incessant.”
Philly Firearms Academy
http://www.phillyguntraining.com/
Philly Firearm Academy Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/phillyguntraining/
Philly Firearm Academy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillyfirearmsacademy/
Gunwise USA
http://www.gunwiseusa.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#172
Paul Markel
Student of the Gun
(The Pimp Hand of America)
Paul Markel is someone I’ve heard on Armed American Radio several times. It's always great to hear his stance on anything. He doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t hold back. And you always know where he stands. A good friend said he would be at NRAAM in Indianapolis this year and at the GLOCK booth. So after an email and an introduction, he said he’d be up for doing the show. Special thanks to Rob & Amanda from Eye On The Target Radio for the use of their “stagecoach” to film the show.
We kicked off with Paul explaining that it wasn’t a job he was looking for, but a job he accepted, was to be the Pimp Hand of America because “this country needs a slap”. And he’s just the man to do it. Paul is very direct and to the point about his stance on topics du jour. Our first topic was the homeless folks on the way to his hotel in Indy.
During his youth, Paul spent time running around the yard with a rifle shaped stick. That led to shooting single shot BB guns with his grandfather with a tube of BBs from the local grocery store. Joining the military after his high school love didn’t work out, he enlisted as a Marine and spent time on the USS Forrestal. After jungle warfare training they had to change to desert warfare training and he was involved with Desert Storm Part 1.
Upon coming home, he needed to find a job. His family knew a police chief and he went into the police academy but found out that 500 men like him were applying for 3 jobs. Back when he was 19, he tried to take an executive protection course. The job required experience, which he didn’t have at the time. But after the military, he found he was a good candidate for that line of work, which he did for 13 years.
With all this experience, Paul took a job as a military contractor and started teaching small arms and tactics. When the contract starts to wind down, the job looks less and less appealing. While in the Marine Corps, he was a rifle and pistol marksmanship coach and really enjoyed teaching classes. A mentor suggested the old adage about “publish or die” and that led to Paul starting to write back in 1993 when he sold a couple of articles. He eventually started writing for Harris Publication and many other magazines.
Writing led to talking to a TV producer and that’s how Student of the Gun (SOTG) TV started. Eventually, SOTG ended up on several different TV networks. Producing TV shows takes a lot of work. There’s cameras, lighting, audio, editing, and it’s all time consuming.
What I really like about Paul is that he’s a very intellectual man. He’s very well read. On the SOTG website there’s a suggested reading list of several books and how & where to order them. We talk about 1984, The Rape of the Mind, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451. He talks about how going to bodyguard school really helped with him learning to pay attention which has also helped out with the things he studied and learned from the masters and the books mentioned. The job of the bodyguard is to make sure that nothing happens and nothing unexpected happens, which means you also need to know what is normal and what is out of place.
I’ve already started the SOTG book collection by buying Total Resistance by H.Von Dach. I also downloaded The Rape of the Mind in audiobook for some driving adventures coming up. I do like buying books, but I need to read some of them, too, otherwise it’s futile.
Favorite quotes: “It’s the only job you can work and as the years go by, you get paid the same amount or less, for doing the more work.” “A stepping stone in a profession is to be published.” “You destroy the culture. You destroy the language. You destroy the people.” “When everything is a Right, nothing is a Right.” “I don’t know if I ever created anything but I sat at the feet of masters and I paid attention.”
Student of the Gun Podcast https://studentofthegun.com/podcast/studentofthegunradio/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@studentofthegun
The Four Pillars of Fighting Book https://www.amazon.com/Four-Pillars-Fighting-James-Yeager-ebook/dp/B0BYRQ5YCD
Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #171 Nayara Andrejczyk The Gun Evangelist, 2A Advocate
Back in February, I attended a Gun Law Seminar held by Gun Owners Action League. I was in the right seat at the right time! I was alongside 2 of The DC Project members and behind me was The Gun Evangelist, Nayara Andrejczyk. She saw my RSWC hoodie and asked who I was and what RSWC was. I said RSWC is Riding Shotgun With Charlie and I am Charlie! She said she drove up from the Philly area just to come to this event. We became fast friends and started following each other on social media outlets. A week later, I was going to Tanner Sports Center in Jamison, PA, to interview Nayara. Then in April, she drove 4 hours to attend GOAL’s Concealed Carry Fashion Show & Expo, and drove back that night. Gun people are the best people.
Nayara, NayNay, as her friends who can’t roll the R’s call her, was born in Brazil and moved to Worcester, MA, near some other relatives. I found out she was friends with one of my Brazilian friends (small world)! Nayara is also an American by choice! She did take a course as required in MA to get a License To Carry, but she didn’t apply for it with the local police. After years in central MA, life found her moving to Pennsylvania. She still wanted to get a permit and firearms, which was much easier in PA than in MA. And it only cost $20!
Once she started shooting, she was hooked. She came back to MA and found the Massachusetts Women Gun Owners and they ended up connecting Nayara to Jim Wallace, GOAL’s Executive Director, which is why she has been coming up to MA for events. She also found out that many of her MA friends were closet gun owners, not letting their friends and neighbors know that they had the LTC and owned firearms. She has vowed to not hold back and let everyone know that she’s a proud gun owner, which is how she got the name The Gun Evangelist.
In the early 2000’s, Brazil had a disarmament law that required everyone to register their firearms to help eliminate violence with a firearm. After a couple years, the violence went up as the criminals were the only ones with firearms and the citizens couldn’t protect themselves. Shocking, this is happening again in Brazil, and we NEED to prevent it from happening in the United States. Nayara really explains what happened and how it happened there.
Like many gun owners who realize shooting is an expensive hobby and Right, she needed to find a way to support her shooting habit. She decided to apply for a position at Tanner’s Sports Center. She has thick skin, which is needed for a female gun store employee, and she joined the team at Tanner’s, where she has been working for several years. She knew that her knowledge and experience would be good, but asks for help from their other staff if she needs it. It was also a good decision for Tanner’s as they could use a female staff member.
Training and competitive shooting are things that Nayara started really getting involved with. She took some NRA training courses with Todd Ellis (NRA BOD member & soon to be RSWC episode) and started expanding her knowledge base. As an employee of Tanner’s, they helped her get clients to take classes with her. She’s also made connections with A Girl & A Gun.
It’s wonderful to hear her story about becoming an American and a firearm owner and hearing how things have grown and progressed for her. I’m sure you’ll enjoy everything she has to say and share with us. Later this month, she and I are both taking the USCCA instructor course and I’m looking forward to spending time training and learning with her.
Favorite quotes:
“I believe the Second Amendment is the second for a reason, in order of importance for the American citizen.” “My soul is American.” “I found what was missing in my life. This is it. I love, absolutely LOVE shooting!” “I will never be a closet gun owner.” “I am committed not to hide who I am and what I like.”
Nayara Andrejczyk Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nandrejczyk/
Tanner Sports Center https://www.tannersportscenter.com/
Tanner Sports Center Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tanners_sports_center/
Tanner Sports Center Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TannerOperations
Tanner Sports Center TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@tanners_sports_center
Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#170
Jill McDaniel
Mom At Arms, The DC Project
Jill McDaniel is someone I’ve been following for awhile. Since she’s a DC Project gal, I already knew that she may be up for being on the show. I had a course scheduled in Virginia and I reached out to her to see how far she was from the class. Lynchburg, VA wasn’t too far so we set up a time and date to film a show.
Growing up in rural southern Virginia, she’s always been around firearms. Her father was a police officer and worked about a half hour from their home. He instilled in his family that they were going to learn to shoot and handle firearms since worked that far away. She learned on a BB gun and rifle before she started on handguns.
In 2016 with the Clinton/Trump election is when she started to get active on social media and paying attention to the politics of firearms and Rights. This was the first time she saw and heard gun control ads and Moms Demand Action (MDA). She took to Twitter, where she usually crap-talks about sports, and found Shannon Watts. She discovered Watts was lying and she wanted to get involved to stop the lies. That’s when she started blogging and wanted to challenge what the MDA were putting out there. So she purchased the Mom At Arms domain name.
She asked for contributors to the website. She’s got about 10-15 people that write for the site when they’re able to. The objective of the site is to find out and get the word out about what is going on across the country. Most of her writers are female and are DV survivors, crime victims, or self defense oriented people. The success of the site has become bigger than she thought it would be.
Mom At Arms does have informants and moles! There are some writers who ‘sneak’ into MDA meetings and pretend to be a ‘red shirt’ just to find out what they’re up to. These ‘spies’ do get booted out of meetings if they get discovered. Jill herself has been kicked off a zoom when a red shirt did some research into her.
Already friends with Mary Callison (#050), Rebecca Schmoe (#158), and their group One Million Moms Against Gun Control, Jill was learning about the DCP. There was a VA director, but she needed to step down. Dianna Muller (RSWC #059 & #164) asked Jill to be the VA director. With her experience as an instructor, running her own blog, and fighting with Watts, she was more than ready. Through the DCP, she also works with the Virginia Citizens Defense League in being a cheerleader, promoter, and supporter.
Jill is also a USCCA certified instructor and really enjoys teaching situational awareness courses. Paying attention to your surroundings is really the basis for staying out of gun fights and bad situations.
Having several of the DCP ladies on the show, I’ve really come to have a lot of respect for the group and for the ladies individually. They’re all doing many things at the state and national level. Jill isn’t any different. She’s got the Mom At Arms website and all it’s social media. She’s doing things in VA. And she’s been blocked by Shannon Watts! Which is a cool badge to wear. You’ll find all of her socials down below!
Favorite quotes:
“...when you speak about guns, we’ve instilled at birth.”
“I learned how to shoot with a BB gun and a deck of cards.”
“It’s become something bigger than I thought it would ever be.”
“We knew the 2A sanctuary stuff was about to take flight, and we wanted to make it concrete in some way.”
“We focus on the Rights, we focus on the Constitution.”
Mom At Arms Website
https://www.mom-at-arms.com/
Mom At Arms/USCCA
https://training.usconcealedcarry.com/instructor/7aae0872-7ac7-11eb-a776-02420a0001fb
Mom At Arms Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/momatarms
Mom At Arms Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/mom_at_arms/
Mom At Arms Twitter
https://twitter.com/mom_at_arms
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15%
www.powertac.com/RSWC
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #169 Michael Cargill Central Texas Gun Works
Michael Cargill is getting a lot of attention and press. First we had Heller in 2008, then McDonald in 2010, and Bruen in 2022. It’s looking like Cargill V Garland is going to be in 2023. The Cargill case is going to bring us back the right to possess bump stocks.
To start this episode, I have a quick video meeting with Cargill to update us on what’s going on with getting his case to the Supreme Court. We talked at the end of March 2023, but things changed during the first week of April and you’ll hear the recent happenings.
Cargill has a lot going on. He’s the owner of Central Texas Gun Works (CTGW), located in Austin, TX, which offers several levels of training courses from handgun basics to private security qualifications The store offers rentals and purchases as well. If that isn’t enough, he also does a radio show that is focused on guns, training, and all things Second Amendment related.
He spent 12 years in the Army. Then joined civilian life, he worked doing telecommunication then opened a trucking company, finally opening a gun store. He was tired of his family and friends being victims of crime, not having firearms or training to go with them. His grandmother, at 70 years old, was going back to college to be a nurse and she was robbed and raped. That was the catalyst to open up CTGW. He also pushed for campus carry, which became law in Texas.
Not new to the court and judicial system, Cargill fought the city of Austin for not allowing the citizens to carry in their building. He filed a case and took them to court, he testified, then he won the case. After that he looked at the Federal government.
When he found out that Congress didn’t give permission to the ATF to make laws but the ATF was acting like they did, he decided it was time to go after them as well. During the Trump administration after the shootings at the country concert in Las Vegas, the ATF decided to go after bumpstocks. The issue isn’t whether bumpstocks are or aren’t machine guns, it's that the ATF is not supposed to make or interrupt laws, they’re just supposed to enforce them. This could have implications over all the nonsense that the ATF has been doing, including going after the pistol braces.
Looking for an attorney at the same time an attorney was looking for a client, Cargill found who was going to take his case. This has been going on since March 2018. They lost in the first Federal court as the judge thought bumpstocks were shotguns, so they appealed to the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. After an en banc panel, Cargill won 13-3.
Unfortunately, the judge didn’t declare what relief Cargill was to be awarded. Was it going to be legal for him to own them, for people in the state of Texas to own them, for the people in the 5th Circuit to own them, or for the whole United States to own them. On April 6, just before it was too late to move forward, they filed writ of certiorari to be heard at the Supreme Court.
What amazes me is that Cargill is doing this on his own dime, hoping to get some help from the 2A groups out there. If you’d like to support him with this, please go to https://www.michaelcargill.com/ to donate. When the SCOTUS rules in his favor, we’re all going to reap the benefits!
Favorite quotes:
“I’m going to open up a gun store and start teaching you guys.”
“I decided at that point, that I was going to make sure everyone in my family, including the females, everyone, had the tools they need to protect themselves.”
“If you stand on the Second Amendment community, my job is to put my foot on your throat.”
“If the Supreme Court rules in our favor, all 50 states, the ATF cannot take your brace, cannot take your trigger, cannot take your AR pistol, cannot come after different parts and pieces of your firearm.”
“I’m on a mission. I’m all about playing chess, not checkers.”
Michael Cargill Website https://www.michaelcargill.com/
Central Texas Gun Works https://centraltexasgunworks.com/
Donate to Cargill v Garland https://www.givesendgo.com/cargill
Go Fund Me for Cargill v DOJ/ATF https://www.gofundme.com/f/michael-cargill-v-doj-atf
Come And Talk It Website https://comeandtalkit.com/
Michael Cargill Twitter https://twitter.com/michaeldcargill
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #168 Cam Edwards Bearing Arms Cam & Co
Cam Edwards. What else can I say? I had Cam in the shotgun seat!
I’ve been listening to Cam Edwards since, forever. Ok since he was on NRATV’s Cam & Co. I’ve had chances to meet with him several times over the years; at the New Jersey Safe Conference in 2017, at Rally For Your Rights in 2019 in DC, and I’ve seen him at several SHOT Shows and NRA Annual meetings. But when I say that, I mean I saw him in the media room working and didn’t want to bother him. He was working, I was “working it.”
Before we get into this, I need to say "thank you" to John Petrolino, The Pen Patriot, who is a contributor at Bearing Arms as well as AmmoLand News, for connecting me with Edwards, suggesting I have him on the show. I was heading down to Virgina to teach a class and film another RSWC episode, and I saw that Farmville, VA, was between the towns I was traveling to.
Edwards was born in Massachusetts and after a couple of moves ended up in Oklahoma. He went to school for journalism in Oklahoma City, but ended up in Arkansas doing some TV and radio work. He started off pushing the play button on VHS players for shows like Sally Jessy Rapheal and Jerry Springer. The station owners realized that Edwards had more talent and they offered him a position running 3rd string cameras for a Sunday morning church show, because no one else wanted to work on Sunday mornings. As much as he enjoyed it, he wanted to get on to the news side of things. He eventually moved back to Oklahoma City and transitioned into radio doing some investigative reporting. With an open timeslot at the station, he took a non-paid radio hour to do some talk radio.
In 2004, Edwards was doing "Morning Drive "and was approached by Angus McQueen. McQueen is half of Ackerman McQueen, which was the advertising company that had strong ties to the NRA. Angus offered Edwards a job in the DC Metro area being the voice and face of the NRA News. What is interesting to me is that McQueen gave Edwards and his team autonomy to tell stories for the NRA members. They wanted "editorial separation." It wasn’t going to be that the NRA told him what he needed to do or give him the talking points.
Edwards shared some stories about some of his favorite and least favorite guests that he’s had on Cam & Co when they were on NRA News. Back in the early NRA News days, he was doing radio from 9pm-12am eastern. He didn’t name names, but his least favorite guests were the ones who had been imbibing before they called in. His favorite people to have on his show are the ones that are out there and making a difference in the gun world.
Edwards could see that the end was near with NRA News and started getting gear to keep Cam & Co going. After the "divorce" between NRA and Ackerman McQueen, Edwards was unemployed for 9 days. He got a call from folks at Townhall Media and they asked if he wanted to be the editor of Bearing Arms. Edwards had to transition from speaking for a living to writing for a living. Edwards didn’t want to give up working in the Second Amendment world. He’s loving what he is doing and wants to continue at Bearing Arms.
One of the things that I’m most honored about for this show is that Edwards gave me an EXCLUSIVE that he hasn’t talked about in public ever before. He talks about when he first touched a gun, not even shot one, TOUCHED one! And I guarantee you’ll have a hard time believing what he did! Yes, You’ll have to watch (or listen) to find out!
Cam Edwards: RSWC Passenger Bucket List; Check!
Favorite quotes: “What kept me passionate about Second Amendment issues all these years…it’s our Right, but it’s also the people.” “Do you want to be the hometown guy and have that hometown career, or do you want to see where you can go?” “I always felt like I had this unicorn of a job.”
“My job was to educate and inform my audience about what was going on with their Right to keep and bear arms.”
“I think one of the great things about the world of the Second Amendment is that we have so many incredible people to talk to.”
Bearing Arms https://bearingarms.com/author/camedwards
Cam Edwards Facebook https://www.facebook.com/camedwards2a/
Bearing Arms Cam & Co YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BearingArmsCamCo
Cam & Co Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bearing-arms-cam-co/id1476321458
Cam Edwards Rumble https://rumble.com/vda1rj-cam-edwards-update.html
Cam Edwards Twitter https://twitter.com/CamEdwards
Second Amendment Foundation http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #167 Chris Dover CloverTac
CloverTac is one of those creators that’s everywhere. He’s got gun reviews, podcasts, YouTube channels, he does a ‘lawn chair pop’ (which he had to explain to me), and his wife lets him take the car only to let me drive it! (Shhh…I’m not sure she knows yet!) He’s also got another YouTube channel where he helps others, both in and out of the 2A community, with their challenges. I’m not sure where or how I met Clover. But at GRPC in 2019 in Phoenix as I was pulling in to drop someone off, he got in front of the hood-cam and I had him hop in for the shortest episode of RSWC! You can check out episode #058 with CloverTac here. https://youtu.be/Xeb3VKyzU5o
We were finally able to film another show in Dallas at Gun Rights Policy Conference last year for a ‘real’ episode. Besides being the Tactical Leprechaun, he’s a YouTube wizard! But he’s not just a YouTube wizard, he’s building relationships with local gun stores and with manufacturers who love what he’s doing and support what he’s doing. These folks are getting him firearms to use for content, which isn’t something I’d know how to do. One of his sponsors is Trailblazer Firearms. Clover was carrying a Lifecard. I will admit, I didn’t know what that was by name, but I knew what it was. Of course, living in ‘occupied territory’, it’s not something I could own.
Besides doing all the reviews and lawn chair pops, Clover really enjoys putting the folks that are in the industry side of things and connecting them with the community side. One that that is important to Clover more than making the connections and friends, is being able to help someone who is looking for or needs a hand up. And if he isn’t able to help, then he wants to know someone who can and he wants to connect those two people. He talks about talking to someone about a product and wanting an answer. Then Clover will call or text someone at the company and get the answer right there. This is how relationships are built and solidified between the industry and the community.
Over the years, Clover has made some connections at YouTube. He’s been able to use these connections to help people get some issues resolved. But he ended up getting an old video taken down as well. It was a video of his daughter auditioning for the Texas 4 H Shooting Sports Ambassador. She needed to submit a video and everything was fine, but when YouTube changed their policy on youth doing some shooting, he got a strike on the community standards. In the end, he was able to work things out with YouTube.
We recorded this in October 2022 and YouTube was changing the policy on monetization. Clover got into that for us. And at the time YouTube Shorts were relatively new. He shares some thoughts on what YouTubers should be doing at various levels of subscribers. Another big project that Clover had was GunTuber Academy, which you should check out.
It’s always great to get some wisdom from CloverTac. He’s always giving everyone advice on how to do things better and helping everyone out. He’s got patches, stickers, cards he’s used as targets, and a Patreon account that you need to support. I’ve got to revisit this show (again) and take more notes.
Favorite quotes:
“Bringing together the industry and the community.”
“It’s a totally separate thing when you hit it off and you figure out you’ve got something in common.You genuinely have a friendship with people at those companies.”
“I’ve been told I’m an apologist for YouTube. And that’s really not what it is.”
“YouTube can be wrong in over-enforcing a policy, but they can’t be wrong in under-enforcing a policy. It’s a two way street.”
CloverTac Website https://clovertac.com/
CloverTac YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@CloverTac
CloverTac Facebook https://www.facebook.com/clovertac/
CloverTac Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clovertac-podcast/id1238458014
CloverTac Firearms Radio Network https://firearmsradio.net/category/podcasts/clovertac-podcast/
CloverTac Patreon https://www.patreon.com/clovertac
Trailblazer Firearms https://trailblazerfirearms.com/
Second Amendment Foundation http://saf.org/
https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id149803345
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #165 Hank Yacek Point of Impact Group
One day last fall, I got a message via LinkedIn from Hank Yacek. He said he’s been in the gun business for years and wanted to be a guest on the show. I thought he would be an interesting passenger, offering insight that others haven’t had on the show. He said he lives in Lexington, KY. I replied that this was great timing as I was heading to Nashville that weekend and I could ‘swing by’ Lexington on the way home.
Hank grew up shooting. At a very young age, Hank was doing competitive shooting at 9 years old! He was traveling the country and doing rifle shooting inside schools with school rifle teams! I really don’t remember that even though Hank and I are around the same age. But I do remember some guy who had shotguns in the trucks to hunt before school.
Then he started making money in the gun industry as a shotgun judge making $150-$300 a week! Maybe it’s not a lot now, but as a 14 year old in the 1980’s he was rolling in it. (Says the guy who was making $3.35/hour at ’the arches’). While visiting a local gun shop, one of the store owners asked Hank not only if he would work for them, but do some of the retail work. Eventually he went to college for wildlife biology, but got back into firearms and the gun business. Hank thought that after working at gun shops, he could open one and run it better. He was in for quite a learning experience.
After years of experience and learning, his shop wasn’t really big but was doing about 3 million dollars in business every year. Hank sold the gun shop and started a consulting business helping gun stores and ranges around the country find a better way to do business. I really love this idea of finding your customers, or audience, and what best serves them. He points out that the first step to good customer service is ‘being open’ and having a business!
One of the things he thinks gun stores need to do is to get out there and participate in local competitions and matches interacting with potential and current customers. One advantage is that people are aware of the store. Another is that you’ll know what your customers need to buy. Another is that if a store says they’re ‘family friendly’ but then has a logo with a skull and crossbones that they may need to do some rebranding. They also need to stay away from the ‘male, pale, and stale’ that many gun stores have a history of being. He’s got several pointers that can be useful to gun stores all around the country.
Point of Impact goes around and does presentations at a lot of conventions and industry events including SHOT Show. I was able to catch Hank in Vegas, but wasn’t able to watch his presentation as I had a meeting myself. I was bummed, but I needed to get my work done, too.
We do spend some time talking about how the gun issue should be a non-partisan issue. He was involved with a study that found that 25% of the gun buying public identifies as Democrat. But Hank has an idea for “Arm a Democrat” Month, a month to show them what we’re really like, not like the yahoos out there slinging guns all the time. I shared a story about a Democrat colleague who said he wanted to do some training to buy a gun and was shocked that I’d take him to the range and have him in a class. Maybe our political beliefs aren’t the same, but I still believe that he should own a firearm. Or seven!
I’m glad that I was able to connect with Hank and have him in the stagecoach. There is a lot to take in about the business side of the gun community. And I’m taking some notes and revisiting my thoughts after watching the show.
Favorite quotes:
“The consulting work is helping folks that are growing a hobby into a business on how to be better business people.” “You can’t give any customer service if you’re not open.” “Everybody should be able to have the right to protect themselves.” “People have more opportunity, more places to go shoot, then ever before.”
Point Of Impact Group Firearm Range & Retail Consulting https://pointofimpactgroup.com/
Second Amendment Foundation http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#164
Dianna Muller
The DC Project
I first met Dianna Muller, founder of The DC Project (DCP), back in 2019, when I was headed down to DC and filming a show in Philadelphia on the way down, then some of the DCP ladies in DC. I’ve run into her and several of the DCP ladies across the country at Gun Rights Policy Conference, NRA Annual Meetings, Florida Carry events, the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, and almost any 2A event I’ve been to. Last fall, I was going to the Rod of Iron event in Greely, PA, and I was asked if I could pick up Di at the Wilkes-Barre Airport. How can I not? Since I was going to be driving a 2A personality, I had to film a show.
The month before we filmed the show, Di and the DCP ladies all went to Washington to do some work. Their work consists of talking to politicians about the women’s side of gun ownership, the reason women own firearms, and why it's important for women to own and carry firearms. She also talks about why we need to take back the reins through school boards, local, state, and federal positions. This year, there were several new ladies who joined them in Washington. What she really wants to do is get the gun owners unified so we can all talk about why we believe what we believe.
Di talks about more than the DCP, but what some of the objectives are for the group and probably for any of the other 2A groups that are out there. The DCP was started to be a countermeasure to the ‘red shirts’ (the Moms Demand Action group). Di wanted to have a sea of teal shirts to be everywhere the red shirts were going. She wanted to be the pro-gun side of the women’s voice, the side that has common sense and civil rights on its side.
One of the things we talk about is how the pro-gun side gets the blame everytime there’s a mass shooting somewhere. Why are we responsible for the actions of a murderer? Why do we have to defend the murders because we own firearms? Why do we often hold back 72 hours after a shooting before we make a statement, before all the facts are out? Usually the media has moved on to another story and do not retract their stories. And the retracted stories certainly don’t get the same amount of press as the incident itself gets.
Di also talks about the times testified in front of Congress. Certainly it’s intimidating. Once she testified in front of David Chipman, who was a failed candidate for the head of the ATF. She also testified last year with Chris Cheng (RSWC #155) and Maj Toure. She’s also had some of the DCP ladies testify or be prepared to testify, including Holly Sullivan (RSWC #036) and Gabby Franco (RSWC #117).
Finally Di gets to share with us about the Ambassador Academy. It’s a week-long training for folks in the 2A community. The courses cover things like some media training and handling tv and radio/podcast interviews, making videos, handing your social media accounts. The Academy is held at W.O.F.T., which stands for West Orlando Firearms Training… or Where Our Families Train. W.O.F.T. has become known as “Tactical Disneyland”. It’s outside of Orlando and it's a place where you can get all sorts of self defense training. They’ve got courses on low light training, empty hands combat, situational awareness, first aid, anti-car jacking, home defense, and much more. People that attend Ambassador Academy walk out with all this training and some professionally done photos and videos. The cost is hefty, but the people you’re learning from are at the top notch in the firearm community.
I’m glad that I was able to give Di a ride that day. I’m honored that she thought of me to help her out. This is what the firearm community is all about, supporting those who support you.
Favorite quotes:
“The Second Amendment is a non-partisan issue. It's a constitutional issue.”
“It’s up to us, you, me, and everyone listening, to right the ship.”
“Everybody wants to be safe. The only difference is that there are people that want to feel safe, and there are us that actually want to be safe.”
“The training that you get (at Ambassador Academy, anybody can use it in their life.”
Di 3 GunGirl Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Di3GunGirl
Di 3 Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/di3gun/
The DC Project Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject
The DC Project Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dc_projectfoundation/
W.O.F.T. West Orlando Firearms Training
https://woft.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#164
Dianna Muller
The DC Project
I first met Dianna Muller, founder of The DC Project (DCP), back in 2019, when I was headed down to DC and filming a show in Philadelphia on the way down, then some of the DCP ladies in DC. I’ve run into her and several of the DCP ladies across the country at Gun Rights Policy Conference, NRA Annual Meetings, Florida Carry events, the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, and almost any 2A event I’ve been to. Last fall, I was going to the Rod of Iron event in Greely, PA, and I was asked if I could pick up Di at the Wilkes-Barre Airport. How can I not? Since I was going to be driving a 2A personality, I had to film a show.
The month before we filmed the show, Di and the DCP ladies all went to Washington to do some work. Their work consists of talking to politicians about the women’s side of gun ownership, the reason women own firearms, and why it's important for women to own and carry firearms. She also talks about why we need to take back the reins through school boards, local, state, and federal positions. This year, there were several new ladies who joined them in Washington. What she really wants to do is get the gun owners unified so we can all talk about why we believe what we believe.
Di talks about more than the DCP, but what some of the objectives are for the group and probably for any of the other 2A groups that are out there. The DCP was started to be a countermeasure to the ‘red shirts’ (the Moms Demand Action group). Di wanted to have a sea of teal shirts to be everywhere the red shirts were going. She wanted to be the pro-gun side of the women’s voice, the side that has common sense and civil rights on its side.
One of the things we talk about is how the pro-gun side gets the blame everytime there’s a mass shooting somewhere. Why are we responsible for the actions of a murderer? Why do we have to defend the murders because we own firearms? Why do we often hold back 72 hours after a shooting before we make a statement, before all the facts are out? Usually the media has moved on to another story and do not retract their stories. And the retracted stories certainly don’t get the same amount of press as the incident itself gets.
Di also talks about the times testified in front of Congress. Certainly it’s intimidating. Once she testified in front of David Chipman, who was a failed candidate for the head of the ATF. She also testified last year with Chris Cheng (RSWC #155) and Maj Toure. She’s also had some of the DCP ladies testify or be prepared to testify, including Holly Sullivan (RSWC #036) and Gabby Franco (RSWC #117).
Finally Di gets to share with us about the Ambassador Academy. It’s a week-long training for folks in the 2A community. The courses cover things like some media training and handling tv and radio/podcast interviews, making videos, handing your social media accounts. The Academy is held at W.O.F.T., which stands for West Orlando Firearms Training… or Where Our Families Train. W.O.F.T. has become known as “Tactical Disneyland”. It’s outside of Orlando and it's a place where you can get all sorts of self defense training. They’ve got courses on low light training, empty hands combat, situational awareness, first aid, anti-car jacking, home defense, and much more. People that attend Ambassador Academy walk out with all this training and some professionally done photos and videos. The cost is hefty, but the people you’re learning from are at the top notch in the firearm community.
I’m glad that I was able to give Di a ride that day. I’m honored that she thought of me to help her out. This is what the firearm community is all about, supporting those who support you.
Favorite quotes:
“The Second Amendment is a non-partisan issue. It's a constitutional issue.”
“It’s up to us, you, me, and everyone listening, to right the ship.”
“Everybody wants to be safe. The only difference is that there are people that want to feel safe, and there are us that actually want to be safe.”
“The training that you get (at Ambassador Academy, anybody can use it in their life.”
Di 3 GunGirl Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Di3GunGirl
Di 3 Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/di3gun/
The DC Project Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject
The DC Project Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dc_projectfoundation/
W.O.F.T. West Orlando Firearms Training
https://woft.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie#163Frank ScavoCoalition for Election Integrity
I’ve been going to the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival at the Tommy Gun Warehouse in Greely, PA, for about 4 years. A couple years ago, the emcee duties went to Frank Scavo. Every year there are plenty of 2A big name folks at the festival and there are some conservative speakers and presenters as well. They have some live music, lots of food vendors, a gun raffle, and much more. Oh…and you can shoot some guns for free, too! In 2022, they had Alan Keyes and Sebastian Gorka as keynote speakers.
Frank Scavo was in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. That year, he had a bad year. And he missed the Rod of Iron. In 2022, he was back with a vengeance and was able to take some time to hop in the stagecoach and tell me about his experience on that historical day.
On November 3, 2020, after the election,the secretary of state was told not to commingle the ballots. She did. She put different ballots in together. Frank’s Congressman invited him and some others down to Washington to contest the vote. Frank organized four busloads of people to head down from Scranton, PA, to Washington DC for January 6, 2021. When they went to leave at 5 am, the media including the Scranton Times was there, and asked if they could be embedded with them. Frank said no.
When the buses got to DC and everyone was out, he and his crew noticed there was some confusion and no organization with anything or anyone.There were maybe 350,000 people, not 5 million like they thought there would be. There were not any port-o-potties so the city was punishing the people who did go to DC. The lines to get into the places where they did have facilities were forever long. While having lunch near the RNC, the police came and kicked them out. That was where there was a pipe bomb scare so they needed to evacuate.
By 1 pm, anything they were going to go to, including speeches by Teddy Daniels, was canceled and didn’t happen. Frank and the folks he’s with find their way to the Capitol. Frank ends up in a crowd near the doors, which were locked. Somehow the doors open and everyone sort of falls in. Frank realizes that this isn’t going to be good and he heads out, asking some of the police how to get out of the building. By the evening, he gets back to the buses, hoping that everyone makes it back. The cell service was shut down so they couldn’t communicate about getting out of DC before everything else shut down. At some point, Frank’s picture was taken and it was all over the internet
When Frank gets home, he reports to his wife that there wasn’t anything big or exciting going on. His wife tells me that it wasn’t reported that way. He was being interviewed by the press about the day but never mentioned that he was in the Capitol. Eventually, the FBI reached out to him and that’s when he called his attorney, a former PA Attorney General. The legal fees he paid cost him $60,000 with 4 instances of being in a restricted zone, but pleaded to ‘parading in the Capitol’. He ended up serving 2 months in jail. He’s got his Rights to vote and own a firearm.
You’ll be able to get all the details about someone who ended up in the Capitol on January 6, 2021. And how it all played out and the aftermath of what happened. Frank is a great story telling and this is a great story.
Favorite quotes: “If you’re being ruled by ruthless and corrupt people, then when you take it back, that’s a good thing.”“If we’re in here, then they’re going to lock these doors and we’re all going to jail!”“You do not talk to anybody, anytime, without an attorney, for any reason.”“I always carry this: The Declaration and The Constitution.”
Coalition for Election Integrityhttps://coalitionforelectionintegrity.org/
Second Amendment Foundationhttp://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Armshttps://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdyAuthor, Speaker, Firewalkerhttp://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Networkhttp://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#162
Antonia Okafor
Gun Owners of America
Back in 2017, I drove out to a very liberal college in western Massachusetts to hear Antonia Okafor speak. She was out here doing some speaking at some colleges about campus safety. Just the day before, one of the schools canceled her speech because the topic was too controversial. I approached her about filming a show, but her schedule was too hectic that week. This past summer, we were able to connect again in central Massachusetts at a Flag Day Rally, but couldn’t make it happen again. Finally in Detroit at Rick Ector’s (RSWC #032) Ladies Event, we were both there and made the time.
Antonia’s parents are Nigerian immigrants and were very much in the playbook that they’re supposed to support Democrats and be anti-gun. She grew up in Dallas,Texas. During her college years, her attitude changed, particularly after she survived a sexual assault. She became much more interested in firearms, in Christianity, and empowering herself.
She wanted to be able to protect herself, but also to teach this to other women in college. She became active in the 2A area and became the southwest director of Student for Concealed Carry. She was early on with 18-21 year olds are adults and need to protect themselves as adults. This was a big issue for her because she was able to carry off campus where she spent 90% of her time.
Attending grad school in Dallas, the campus carry wasn’t much of an issue. But it became more of a hot topic when she started touring and talking about this at other colleges. Antonia points out that often her opposition felt that everyone can have their own truth as long as it aligns with the other person’s truth. If not, then it’s not truth at all. (insert eyeroll emoji here)
Antonia did some work with Turning Point USA, PragerU, and the NRA. All this experience led to her wanting to start an organization geared towards college women which is EmPOWERed 2A. The organization focuses on college aged women and why the Second Amendment empowers them, before they get married, have kids, and become a mother. Of course, her life changed when she became a mother, but her attitude hasn’t. She’s still working to help women get involved in the defense of their home and families.
Earlier this year, Antonia testified in front of Congress. She shares some of that experience. Particularly, when she was going up against the folks who combed through her social media to find things to hold against her. She tried to image all the things they could have found since she was younger. What they dug up was a post where she said she wanted to abolish the ATF. They grilled her and asked if she still felt that way. And the answer was “yes, I still feel that way.”
Currently, Antonia is working for Gun Owners of America, helping educate women with her EmPOWERed 2A program and teaching it around the country. It’s great that GOA has someone like Antonia who isn’t giving up on her principles or her 2A stance, getting out there and speaking with women. Neither Anontia or GOA are not compromising on our 2A Rights!
Favorite quotes:
“One of the biggest things (during college), is realizing this preciousness of life.”
“You’re a human. You have every right to defend your life.”
“If I can go off campus, literally step off campus, and have my concealed carry and it be ok, why can I not use that same means of defense on campus?”
“It’s ok to have ‘your truth’ as long as your truth correlates with their truth then it’s ok to have your truth, but if it doesn’t then it not truth at all, apparently.”
“You can speak the truth in love.”
“Women are the most empowered and get the most benefit from being Second Amendment believers and actually exercising that Right.”
Antonia Website
https://www.antoniacover.com/
Antonia on Twitter
https://twitter.com/antonia_okafo
Antonia on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/antonia_okafor
Antonia on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/AntoniaOkafor
emPOWERED 2A on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/empowered_2a
Antonia’s testimony against Assault Weapon Ban of 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPBkRsxLUUU
Gun Owners of America
https://www.gunowners.org/
Gun Owners of America
https://www.facebook.com/GunOwners/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie#161Renee Gagne & Kerrie Ann AuclairSisters In Arms, DC Project
After I had Kerrie Ann Auclair (RSWC #139) on the show, we became friends. She invited me to an Armed Women of America chapter anniversary celebration and I met Renee Gagne there. The party was fun and I even danced! Then one of them had the idea that they should get in the stagecoach for a dual interview. After Renee became the Rhode Island representative for the DC Project we talked more about making it happen. Then they started their own local access show. They hoodwinked me into having them on my show, then they took me to be a guest on their show, Sisters In Arms.
Kerrie Ann and Renee are Sisters In Arms. Really! They both got into shooting and had a yearning for more training. But after several trips to a local club and having several of the guys want to take them out for a date rather than help them, they decided they needed to learn somewhere else.
Kerrie Ann learned about The Well Armed Woman (now the Armed Women of America - AWA) and started a chapter. They both became NRA and MA State Police certified instructors through the Gun Owners Action League. And they started training more women. Sometimes, a woman wants to learn about firearms from another woman because they may be domestic abuse survivors or getting out of a bad relationship or divorce, which is very understandable.
They have built their chapter with in person and online/virtual training sessions. The ages of their members are from young women up to women in their 70’s! Their group meets once a month. They have a learning segment and they hit the range, too. Their training has helped them realize that there are folks that are ‘casual’ gun owners and that many people don’t dry practice (dry fire) in between meetings.
We spend time talking about some training issues and family issues about having a firearm in the home. It’s very important that everyone is familiar with firearm safety and that there is a safety plan and everyone knows what it is, too. One of the big things in the family is to not make owning a gun taboo. We need to make firearms a normal part of life. We need to let new (and non-)gun owners know that firearms have several uses, from self defense, recreation, and competition shooting.
Starting a chapter led to activism and The DC Project. Kerrie Ann took the role in Massachusetts and Renee just took the Rhode Island spot. Their chapter got some local recognition on the front cover of the newspaper, which led to an interview on the local access station. While they were filming as guests, they had the idea to host their own TV show. They took the newspaper article title, Sisters In Arms, and made that their show name.The show is going to focus on getting the word out about firearms, safety, and activism, but also that gun owners are regular people that you see around town. Many people in MA are closet gun owners who don’t want it to let others know that they own firearms.
This is a show that was fun to film and make a better connection with Renee and Kerrie Ann. These ladies are out there doing; instructing, activism, and leading. In the middle of the show, we stopped to grab a selfie of a billboard someone has on their property. Of course, since we’re in Massachusetts, we had to stop and get a Dunkin’!
Favorite quotes:Renee: “We just wanted to learn. We were really super excited about learning. And that was just getting in the way of our learning.” Renee: “The reality is most of us will never shoot anyone.”Kerrie Ann: “You have to be your own first responder and understand what that means.”Kerrie Ann: “Some of the women that come to us are domestic violence survivors…”
Email: SistersInArms202@gmail.com
Armed Women of Americahttps://armedwomen.org/
The DC Projecthttps://www.dcproject.info/
SIsters In Arms, Episode 1 on TCAMhttps://vimeo.com/772136657
Second Amendment Foundationhttp://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Armshttps://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters Veteran Owned, American Madehttp://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdyAuthor, Speaker, Firewalkerhttp://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Networkhttp://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#160
Dustin Hayes
Red White and Badass Brew Coffee
I heard Dustin Hayes on Gun Owners Radio earlier this year. When I was going to California for San Diego County Gun Owners GunProm, I knew I was going to film some shows, so I reached out to Dustin to see if he was interested and he was! The California trip was non-stop once I got there. John Petrolino (RSWC #093) and I met in San Diego. At GunProm, he was awarded the Media Figure of the Year. He also let me use his rental ‘stagecoach’ while we were out there.
Dustin grew up in Oklahoma, in the same town as Garth Brooks. After dropping out of high school, his father encouraged him to join the military. It was tough to decide which he wanted to join, but the Navy said he could see the world and that’s where he went. After 13 ½ years in the Navy, he was medically retired due to some injuries. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do so he ended up getting a degree in business.
The business degree led him to get a concrete business going with his then father in law. Dustin knew how to run the business, but he didn’t know anything about concrete. That was his father in law’s part of the business. However, he did learn about concrete. Doing sales, he was selling over $100,000 in 3 months and things were going well. Unfortunately, his father in law passed away. Then he ended up divorced. After a shady third person in the business, they had to sell the business.
Again, he wasn’t sure what he should do. Life led him to buy a business washing solar panels. He did this for about 5 months. While he was at a tattoo parlor getting some ink on his back, the tattoo artist noticed something wasn’t quite right with the skin on his back. Dustin went to the doctor and found out he had skin cancer. While he was recovering, he had 2 calls from other veterans who wanted to buy the business. So he sold the business as he was going to be out in the sun often. One more time, he wasn’t sure where life was going to lead him.
During recovery, he decided to start brewing his own coffee. He knew how to market and sell, he just needed to learn about roasting. There was a learning curve in roasting coffee and other aspects of the coffee business he needed to learn.What he wanted to call the brand was too close to another brand name. He made a video about how he liked pumpkin spice coffee. It got a little traction as some friends thought it was funny. He made a few more videos, too.
Eventually Dustin realized that he needed to take it a bit more seriously so he opted for Red White and Badass Brew coffee. He told me that it takes about a month to get a flavor down to where its just right and what he’s looking for. He has found some place that will roast the coffee for him, but he does all the package designs himself.
RWBB has several flavor options. M.O.A.B (Mother Of All Brews), Red, White, and Brewed, Lifeline Hero Edition, Vanilla Warfare, No Lucks Given. But the best seller is Whiskey Business! All flavors come in 12 oz bags of ground coffee or 5 pounds of whole beans bags.
I did come back to New England with a couple bags of RWBB coffee and I absolutely love Whiskey Business.
It was great to meet Dustin and hang out with him. I alway love a success story, but I get motivated and inspired by the struggles everyone goes through.
Check the links below and tell him you saw him on RSWC!
Favorite quotes:
“I just worked hard and got where I’m at and they kinda (the Navy) molded me.”
“I’ve never been afraid to take risks.”
“Now I came to a crossroads in life and I’m like ‘what the hell am I going to do now?’”
“Don’t go get a real job, guys, just go make your own job.”
“I got into coffee just by pure chance, trying to figure out my life.”
Red White and Badass Brew Website
https://redwhiteandbadassbrew.com/
Red White and Badass Brew Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/redwhiteandbadassbrew
Red White and Badass Brew Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/redwhiteandbadassbrew/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
159
Adam Kraut
Executive Director, Second Amendment Foundation
Adam Kraut was another person who Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) told me they were stating that they hadn’t been on the stagecoach. I didn’t have Adam’s contact and I couldn’t find him on social media, so I had to reach out to someone to get his contact info. We were both going to be at GRPC in Dallas and Adam said we should be able to film a show.
This was filmed just before Adam joined Second Amendment Foundation as the Executive Director. Here’s a link to SAF’s press release https://www.saf.org/saf-names-attorney-and-2a-litigator-adam-kraut-as-executive-director/ . It’s an honor to have someone who has done so much work for out 2A Rights with several of the big groups on the show.
Adam tells us that his love of shooting stems from his Boy Scout years despite growing up in an anti-gun house. After hearing about the ‘power’ of a 12 gauge shotgun and getting over his fears, he decided that he would give it a try. His first shot was saying ‘pull’, squeezing the trigger, and missing the clay. Then the instructor told him he needed to aim before he shot. After some instruction, he was hitting clays.
After turning 18, he purchased at Remington 870 in 20 gauge. His anti-gun parents told him to get rid of it, which he didn’t. When he turned 21, he bought a handgun and got a carry permit. His father then told him his life expectancy was going to be ‘pretty limited’ since he had some firearms. A couple years after owning several firearms and shooting, his father then asked Adam to take him to the range. The same smile that Adam had at 18 his father had when he went shooting.
Earning a degree in political science, Adam wasn’t sure what he was going to do. During his last year of law school, he decided that it may be a good idea to find an internship with someone so he had some experience and could get a job after graduation. He saw Joshua Prince’s name pop up as a 2A lawyer in Pennsylvania, and decided to reach out about an internship. After the internship, they did offer him a position where he worked for several years.
He was doing some outside counsel for some cases for Firearm Policy Coalition, and they offered him a position and wore several hats with them. He held that position for 3 years. During that time, he worked with several other attorneys, lots of the state organizations, and many individuals with FPC, NRA, and SAF.
Adam was nominated via petition for the NRA Board of Directors three times. At the Great American Outdoor Show in Pennsylvania, he started talking to Tim Knight and Sean Maloney, both NRA BOD members who were impressed with some of his writings. He didn’t get elected the first time, the second time he ran for the 76th seat and wasn’t elected. The third time he felt he owed it to the folks who voted for him or joined the NRA because they wanted him on the BOD. His number of votes would have had him in the next in line seat, but he declined as he was working for FPC.
At GPRC, Adam spoke about some things going on in West Virginia particularly about the 18-21 year olds. He said Alan Gottlieb (RSWC #100) asked him to look at the WV 18-21 year old cases.. Adam explains that since Bruen, we need to look at the law’s text and tradition about 18-21 year olds, and at the time there weren’t any laws against 18-21 year olds possessing firearms.
Adam really gets into the social science about a number of things we’re facing these days.. He also talks about how some people use emotions about the topics, but they really shouldn’t be used. We also get into some 1A talk about what you should be able to talk about, despite how others feel about the topic.
Having the chance to spend 35 minutes with Adam was incredible. He’s been doing a lot for our Rights and as the SAF’s new Executive Director, he’s going to keep doing the same.
Favorite quotes:
“...people have preconceived notions that are put in their head by what they see on tv, what they read, what people tell them.”
“You ultimately are responsible for yourself.”
“A door opened and I walked through it.”
“The Constitution is really clear on this point, there’s no age restriction baked into the Second Amendment.”
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
158
Rebecca Schmoe
The DC Project
1 Million Moms Against Gun Control
Candidate-Kansas House of Representatives, District 59
This is how you know you’ve got good friends. On a DC Project events in DC, Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) was talking about me to other DCP gals. They were talking about who has gone Riding Shotgun and who hasn’t. Then I get a text message “How come Rebecca hasn’t been on the show?”. Then another with how come someone else hasn’t been on the show. Fortunately, Rebecca and I were both at AMMcon in Dallas recently and we were able to borrow Amanda’s ‘stagecoach’ and film a show.
Rebecca Schmoe is no stranger to the 2A freedom fight. And she’s not afraid to do something about it. She grew up around firearms with her father teaching and emphasizing firearm safety. She often had friends who would take her hunting, too. But once the ‘red shirts’ (the Moms Demand crowd) started getting involved talking about what moms wanted for gun control, she started researching women and 2A groups. Rebecca didn’t want the only female/mom voice to be an anti-gun voice. She was a mother raising her children while her husband worked nights and she was home alone with the children. She ended up finding One Million Moms Against Gun Control (1MMAGC) and they eventually offered her to be the Kansas representative. That’s where she met Mary Schuster-Callison (RSWC #050).
When the founder of 1MMAGC had to step away, Rebecca joined forces with Mary and co-leaders. Mary also told Rebecca about The DC Project and Rebecca got involved there, too. For the last several years, she’s been doing the DCP and all their events. She’s been talking with legislators and politicians (the friendlies and the not so friendlies) from around the country for a decade! Recently, she has decided to throw her hat into the political realm when an incumbent decided not to run and there was a hole left on the ballot.
For the last year or so, Rebecca has been running as a candidate for the Kansas House of Representatives! She won the primary earlier this year. She’s got some great meme building skills (2A and campaign related). And she’s been taking the campaign trail by storm. Having never run before, she didn’t know how much time and money it takes to run! She’s fortunate to have a job that has given her some grace to be able to fight for our 2A rights, but also for running for office. What is going to be wonderful is when she invites the #TealFor2A shirts into her office in Topeka and takes them around.
We cover some mask stories, some family stories, but we spend time talking about what Rebecca has been doing to get elected. The signs, the mailers, it all takes money and donations. She tells us what some of the responsibilities state representatives do for their constituents.
Rebecca and I had a fun time filming the show. Every time I’m around her, there’s fun, enjoyment, and education. The motto of the DC Project is #DoingSomething. For sure, Rebecca is Doing Something.
Favorite quotes:
“I’m their first line of defense. I'm their only line of defense.”
“I was really offended by that side telling me that I was safer without a way to protect my family.”
“We bring the other side of the mom-voice.”
“Second Amendment people, by and large, are very independent.”
“It really does make a difference, when we all show up in our teal shirts and there’s 50+ ladies.”
“I give them public applause when they do well and I scold them publicly when they do not.”
“If it’s not constitutional, then we have no business doing it.”
Rebecca Schmoe for Kansas
https://www.facebook.com/rebeccaschmoeforkansas/
Rebecca Schmoe for Kansas
https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_schmoe4ks
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
1 Million Moms Against Gun Control Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/1mmagc
1 Million Moms Against Gun Control Website
https://www.1mmagc.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
157
Lisa Ludwig
She Trains You
Lisa Ludwig reached out to me and inquired about being on the show. We’ve been Facebook friends for a while. She’s got a lot of stuff going on with She Trains You. I told her I was going to Tony Simon’s (RSWC #041) Diversity Shoot with John Petrolino (#093) and maybe could help out and we’ll meet there. She’s one of those people that are #MyPeople! We hit it off right from the start. She’s a hot ticket and a great instructor. That evening we helped at The Gun For Hire Range and had a great time. I knew that the show with her was going to be fun.
I had to drive from central New Jersey up to Long Island (say Lawn Guyland) to meet Lisa. We drove to Wantagh State Park and drove near Jones Beach. I’ve got to say, it was pretty scenic there. We had some talk about her life and what got her into firearms. Much like me, September 11 changed things for her. She wanted to start doing some prepping and went to a friend in the military. He suggested getting a Remington 870 Tactical shotgun. But after shooting it and missing 5 shots, she put the gun away and didn’t fire it for 2 years.
When there was an attempted break-in in her neighborhood, she proposed the question to the neighborhood watch team “If that door would have opened, what would you have done?”. That got everyone thinking and motivated Lisa to get back into firearms. From there, she took more and more training. Eventually becoming an NRA certified pistol and rifle instructor, CRSO, GLOCK Armorer, NYS Armed Guard, and President of Long Island Women’s Firearm Club. She even has a tattoo of the LIWFC logo on her arm!
Like anyone else starting a training business, she went to several gun stores trying to make connections. She now got 3 chapters of LIWFC and nearly 100 women in the groups! Eventually, men wanted training from her too! So she started She Trains You, but her focus is getting women trained, educated, and comfortable with shooting. She’s also the leader of the A Girl & A Gun Long Island Chapter. What’s really fantastic is that she’s been into martial arts since she was young. She offers one on one training, martial arts, as well as firearms training.
Lisa is a great storyteller! She gives us lots of stories about what’s going on in New York state and what the process is to get a carry permit and even some of the nonsense they have to go through. We talk about how people in general need to pay attention to their surroundings and get out of their phones when they’re out and about. We talk about the Diversity Shoot from the night before the interview. She covers the growing need for people on Long Island wanting to protect themselves. And how her own network of 2A friends is growing. We like to call it #MyPeople when we meet new folks and have a common love and enjoyment of all things Second Amendment.
And she’s even got a quick Waffle House story!
I know you’ll enjoy all that Lisa shares with us.
Favorite quotes:
“If that door would have opened, what would you have done?”
“We need to be our own hero in our own story.”
“It was pretty scary here for a moment. I don’t want to feel that way again.”
“The new strong is mobility and flexibility.’
“I like my crew and I like my crowd. Not everybody needs to like everybody, but we all need to get along”
She Trains You
https://www.shetrainsyou.com/
She Trains You Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/shetrainsyou/
She Trains You Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/shetrainsyou/
Long Island Women’s Firearm Club Website
https://www.liwfc.org/
Long Island Women’s Firearm Club Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LIWFCinc/
A Girl & A Gun Long Island
https://www.agirlandagun.org/cat/ny-long-island/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#156
Nathan Halliwill
Nexbelt
I’ve been doing the Concealed Carry Fashion Shows with Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) for a few years now. One of the perennial sponsors has been Nexbelt. Last year, I needed a new belt and I went with a Nexbelt with the Gadsden Flag on the buckle. I went to the Nexbelt booth at SHOT Show and talked with Nathan Halliwill about how I love the belt and asked if they wanted to be on the show to talk about their history and belts. I was excited to see Nathan again at the NRA AM in Houston and we solidified a plan to film at the Nexbelt headquarters this summer.
I meet Nathan at the Nexbelt offices in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and borrowed John Petrolino’s (RSWC #093) rental car for the trip! Nathan grew up hunting, camping, and shooting with his family. He was working in the foodservice industry and planning on going to culinary school. When the virus that shall not be named struck, he needed to change careers to make money. His brother, who is a firearm instructor at a local range, was also working with Nexbelt and Nathan got a job with the company as the warranty person, then moved to sales. The change from sous chef to salesman took some time to appreciate.
As the warranty person at Nexbelt, there’s not really a lot of work. They do encourage their customers to use and abuse their belts and they don’t have an issue fixing them. When Nathan is doing trade shows (SHOT, NRA AM, etc), people will come up to him and show them their Nexbelt and share stories about how well it holds up for them. There are even times when people buy belts at the shows and then leave their old belts with Nathan!
Something I learned on this show is that there are places in the California deserts where you can go and shoot! Often Nathan and his friends will hit the desert with targets and water and do some training. The ranges are BLMs (Bureau of Land Management) and folks can use them for shooting. No one wants to live there so they can be used accordingly. One of the range bag items he brings is a fire extinguisher! Of course, shooting in the desert could possibly start a fire.
The owners of the company are big golfers and started out making belts for golfers. They’ve got belts with divot tools, ball markers, and even bottle openers. When they first hit the market, they took the market by storm. Over the years, the ratchet technology has changed and so have the designs of the belts. They went to a local gun store, where they met Nathan’s brother, looking for some feedback on the belts and decided to move into EDC belts for gun owners.
Nathan did his RSWC homework and saw that there have been a lot of the ladies from the DC Project on the show. He said that Nexbelt is going to be working with them to have a DC Project Nexbelt. And they’d really like to partner with the DCP for an exclusive belt.
Nexbelt has a lot of options out there for golfers and gunners. The ratchet belts have really taken over and their belts are superior. They’re durable, stylish, and have great options for buckles. It was wonderful to get to learn about Nexbelt and make friends with Nathan. I’m looking forward to running into him and the Nexbelt crew at the events.
Favorite quotes:
“If you like the product you’re selling, it makes it much easier and enjoyable.”
“Finding the capability of changing, humbling myself, finding enjoyment at something so different, has not only grown me, but grown my appreciation for the job.”
“I don’t go and pay to shoot. I hate doing that.”
“We have a belt for every type of person and every type of carry as well.”
“It's uneducation that is hurting the stance of the 2A community.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:54 Nathan Halliwill
03:07 Geography
05:28 SHOT Show/Fashion Shows
07:18 Sous chef plans
10:57 Warranty calls
15:21 Mountain selfie
16:51 Shooting in the desert
23:08 Nexbelt’s history
26:43 Other belts
28:01 Inside the belts
31:49 Products for women
33:07 DC Project ladies
38:03 Belt swaps
39:03 Gun & knife shows
42:46 Stand up
44:02 Wrap up
Nexbelt Website
https://www.nexbelt.com/
Nexbelt Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nexbelt/
Nexbelt Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Nexbelt
Nexbelt YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/Nexbelt
Nexbelt Twitter
https://twitter.com/Nexbelt
Nexbelt Pinterest
pinterest.com/nexbelt/
Nexbelt TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@nexbelt
Nexbelt Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/nexbelt
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
155
Chris Cheng
Top Shot Winner
When Chris Cheng came up to me at Gun Rights Policy Conference 2019 in Phoenix, I was buzzing from being awarded the Blogger of the Year the day before. He said when I was in San Francisco he wanted to be on the show. I’d seen him play the tunes on the Musical Targets, which was like a shooter’s xylophone and told him about the GunGrams. And that we need to film a duet with him on pitched plates and me on trumpet. We tried to connect this past summer while I was in California, but it didn’t happen. However, we were at Rick Ector’s (RSWC #032) Ladies Event in Detroit this past summer and were able to film a show there.
As a young man, Chris did some shooting with his dad, but they didn’t go to the range regularly. After working with Google and having some expendable income, Chris started shooting again. He started getting into shooting IDPA and USPSA, and learned that shooting was static and you could run and gun.
While watching The History Channel’s Top Shot, Chris decided to audition for the show. That meant he needed some training and practice. Practicing was nothing new because he also played the double bass and understood that he needed a practice schedule. He was an amatuer shooter who practiced 20-25 hours a week, and worked his way to win Season 4 of Top Shot. Along with the winning prize, he was now a household name in the firearm community.
He was offered a sponsored shooter position with Bass Pro Shop and traveled the country teaching at their stores everywhere. Having access to all kinds of firearms and ammunition was great, but Chris really enjoyed being around like-minded people who enjoyed shooting and sharing his passion with everyone. All of these things lead him to becoming a Second Amendment advocate.
After the Bass Pro contract expired, Chris decided to take everything he learned, everything he was sharing, and put it into a book, which is called Shoot To Win: Tips, Tactics, and Techniques to Help You Shoot Like a Pro. This book is geared towards the new shooters for any firearm, rifle, pistol, or shotgun. It’s a lot of what he studied to get on to and win Top Shot.
During the pandemic, Chris was contacted to be on a show called The Go Big Show. He says it's like America’s Got Talent on steroids. There were many celebrity judges on the show. Chris got to shoot several types of firearms in many fun situations, but this time it was in an indoor sports area. He and the producers need to get some lessons on building a safe area where he would shoot. He also said that he was going to need some full auto fun for the show!
More recently, Chris has been active with suicide prevention as over 60% of deaths with a firearm are suicides. With the pandemic producing 12,000,000 new gun owners, there’s a concern about preventing suicides. There is a new Suicide Prevention Hotline number which is simply 988. If you or anyone you know is in crisis and thinking of taking your life, please call that number to talk with someone. You can even reach out to me and I’ll talk with you.
I'm honored that we finally got our schedules to work out and have Chris on the show. He’s accomplished a lot as a shooter and showman. He’s testified in front of Congress in 2021. He’s a force to be reckoned with. And I’m glad to call him a friend.
Favorite quotes:
“Top Shot made me change my life where it made me realize that the freedoms that we take for granted may not always be there.”
“We all have to speak up and show up to defend the things we believe in.”
“There’s a lot of training and education opportunities.”
“I 100% absolutely need to shoot full auto.I’m not going to come on the show if you will not let me shoot full auto.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:13 Chris Cheng
04:42 Starting shooting
06:33 Running & gunning
07:45 Watching Top Shot
09:04 Auditioning for Top Shot
11:00 Inside Top Shot
14:25 Bass Pro Shop pro shooter
17:25 Becoming a 2A advocate
21:26 Getting back to reality
22:47 Against identity politics
27:29 Shoot To Win
33:07 12M new shooters
37:35 The Go Big Show
43:47 Suicide prevention (Dial 988)
52:26 Wrap up
Chris Cheng Website
https://www.topshotchris.com/
Chris Cheng Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/topshotchris
Chris Cheng Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TopShotChris/
Chris Cheng YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/TopShotChris
Chris in Recoil Magazine
https://www.recoilweb.com/chris-cheng-coming-out-of-the-gun-closet-36385.html
Get Chris’ book “Shoot to Win:Training for the New Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun Shooter” on amazon!
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
154
Bill Dalpe
Patriot Firearms Training
Bill Dalpe and I have been social media friends for a while. I will admit that I’ve got another friend using “Patriot” for his training business and I may have gotten them mixed up at first. I met Bill at the GOAL Breakfast this past year and I took the Before You Carry & Defend class with my good friend Mark, who I’ve done a few other courses with. I”m glad that we finally made it happen this summer.
Like many instructors, Bill started off teaching from friends and friends of friends. After someone suggested he become an instructor, he learned that he didn’t know what he didn’t know. That’s where his passion for training and training trainers started. Bill is a certified instructor with the NRA, the USCCA, and the MA State Police. And he’s a Training Counselor for the NRA and USCCA, too. He started Patriot Firearms School and has built it to a great training school with it’s own classroom stocked with all the things an instructor needs and more! He’s got some Patriot Firearms School swag, too. With his facility, he offers it for use by his instructor candidates. Eventually, he had a client who had some local property and offered to build him a range. Like many offers from folks, he didn’t believe it until he saw it. Now it’s where he does live fire for his courses.
Bill wrote a book called After The Bell Rings. It’s a situational awareness book for kids in their early teen years. There was a local boy around 13 years old who was abducted over drugs. Wanting to do something to help, he took the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim course to a local school and offered it for free. After the school administrator saw “NRA” on the back of the book, they rejected wanting the course in their school. Bill took this obstacle and turned it into an opportunity to write this book.
The book looks at several situations that are realistic and how a teenager can respond to them. He uses the Cooper Color Code of Awareness, but adapts it to a Trust Ring, which relates better to younger people. The book is written for teenage students but their parents should really read it and talk with their kids about how they can implement these ideas into their own lives.
The backseat rider we have is Fred. Fred is a 3D target made by Target Nation. He’s a cardboard target torso and body that can be used with the downloadable vital organ targets or traditional targets. The aim with the targets is that in self defense situations our “target’ isn’t a 2 dimensional concentric circle or a bowling pin Q style target. You could shoot at an angle and not hit any vital organs, which can be analyzed with Fred. Fred can be dressed up in clothes and comes with several accessories, including a shotgun, knife, phone, and a gun. He can also be a target backing and opens up to put targets inside him. Fred really takes the scenario training up a notch as many folks haven’t shot at targets that look, shaped, and dressed like people.
Bill also has a podcast that gets into something close to his heart. His son has dravet syndrome so he and his wife are life long caregivers for their son. His podcast & YouTube channel “A Matter of Perspective”
Favorite quotes:
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but then I knew what I knew, I was like WOW”
“I have a very huge soft spot for new instructors. I remember what it was like when I first became an instructor.”
“I’ve been exposed to a multitude of sh!tty instructors.”
“I take my role as a Training Counselor extremely seriously.”
“I like the role of mentoring instructors.”
“None of us have our (stuff) completely together.”
Patriot Firearms School
https://patriotfirearmsschool.com/
Patriot Firearms School Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/patriotfirearmsschool
Patriot Firearms School YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnITX-rJD4jhtPf2WYYIXw
Patriot Firearms School Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/patriot_firearms_school/
Target Nation
https://targetnation.com/
Matter of Perspective YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrU62O_CmcofyFrJgJkDgw
Matter of Perspective Website
https://www.amatterofperspective.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
154
Bill Dalpe
Patriot Firearms Training
Bill Dalpe and I have been social media friends for a while. I will admit that I’ve got another friend using “Patriot” for his training business and I may have gotten them mixed up at first. I met Bill at the GOAL Breakfast this past year and I took the Before You Carry & Defend class with my good friend Mark, who I’ve done a few other courses with. I”m glad that we finally made it happen this summer.
Like many instructors, Bill started off teaching from friends and friends of friends. After someone suggested he become an instructor, he learned that he didn’t know what he didn’t know. That’s where his passion for training and training trainers started. Bill is a certified instructor with the NRA, the USCCA, and the MA State Police. And he’s a Training Counselor for the NRA and USCCA, too. He started Patriot Firearms School and has built it to a great training school with it’s own classroom stocked with all the things an instructor needs and more! He’s got some Patriot Firearms School swag, too. With his facility, he offers it for use by his instructor candidates. Eventually, he had a client who had some local property and offered to build him a range. Like many offers from folks, he didn’t believe it until he saw it. Now it’s where he does live fire for his courses.
Bill wrote a book called After The Bell Rings. It’s a situational awareness book for kids in their early teen years. There was a local boy around 13 years old who was abducted over drugs. Wanting to do something to help, he took the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim course to a local school and offered it for free. After the school administrator saw “NRA” on the back of the book, they rejected wanting the course in their school. Bill took this obstacle and turned it into an opportunity to write this book.
The book looks at several situations that are realistic and how a teenager can respond to them. He uses the Cooper Color Code of Awareness, but adapts it to a Trust Ring, which relates better to younger people. The book is written for teenage students but their parents should really read it and talk with their kids about how they can implement these ideas into their own lives.
The backseat rider we have is Fred. Fred is a 3D target made by Target Nation. He’s a cardboard target torso and body that can be used with the downloadable vital organ targets or traditional targets. The aim with the targets is that in self defense situations our “target’ isn’t a 2 dimensional concentric circle or a bowling pin Q style target. You could shoot at an angle and not hit any vital organs, which can be analyzed with Fred. Fred can be dressed up in clothes and comes with several accessories, including a shotgun, knife, phone, and a gun. He can also be a target backing and opens up to put targets inside him. Fred really takes the scenario training up a notch as many folks haven’t shot at targets that look, shaped, and dressed like people.
Bill also has a podcast that gets into something close to his heart. His son has dravet syndrome so he and his wife are life long caregivers for their son. His podcast & YouTube channel “A Matter of Perspective”
Favorite quotes:
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but then I knew what I knew, I was like WOW”
“I have a very huge soft spot for new instructors. I remember what it was like when I first became an instructor.”
“I’ve been exposed to a multitude of sh!tty instructors.”
“I take my role as a Training Counselor extremely seriously.”
“I like the role of mentoring instructors.”
“None of us have our (stuff) completely together.”
Patriot Firearms School
https://patriotfirearmsschool.com/
Patriot Firearms School Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/patriotfirearmsschool
Patriot Firearms School YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnITX-rJD4jhtPf2WYYIXw
Patriot Firearms School Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/patriot_firearms_school/
Target Nation
https://targetnation.com/
Matter of Perspective YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrU62O_CmcofyFrJgJkDgw
Matter of Perspective Website
https://www.amatterofperspective.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
154
Bill Dalpe
Patriot Firearms Training
Bill Dalpe and I have been social media friends for a while. I will admit that I’ve got another friend using “Patriot” for his training business and I may have gotten them mixed up at first. I met Bill at the GOAL Breakfast this past year and I took the Before You Carry & Defend class with my good friend Mark, who I’ve done a few other courses with. I”m glad that we finally made it happen this summer.
Like many instructors, Bill started off teaching from friends and friends of friends. After someone suggested he become an instructor, he learned that he didn’t know what he didn’t know. That’s where his passion for training and training trainers started. Bill is a certified instructor with the NRA, the USCCA, and the MA State Police. And he’s a Training Counselor for the NRA and USCCA, too. He started Patriot Firearms School and has built it to a great training school with it’s own classroom stocked with all the things an instructor needs and more! He’s got some Patriot Firearms School swag, too. With his facility, he offers it for use by his instructor candidates. Eventually, he had a client who had some local property and offered to build him a range. Like many offers from folks, he didn’t believe it until he saw it. Now it’s where he does live fire for his courses.
Bill wrote a book called After The Bell Rings. It’s a situational awareness book for kids in their early teen years. There was a local boy around 13 years old who was abducted over drugs. Wanting to do something to help, he took the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim course to a local school and offered it for free. After the school administrator saw “NRA” on the back of the book, they rejected wanting the course in their school. Bill took this obstacle and turned it into an opportunity to write this book.
The book looks at several situations that are realistic and how a teenager can respond to them. He uses the Cooper Color Code of Awareness, but adapts it to a Trust Ring, which relates better to younger people. The book is written for teenage students but their parents should really read it and talk with their kids about how they can implement these ideas into their own lives.
The backseat rider we have is Fred. Fred is a 3D target made by Target Nation. He’s a cardboard target torso and body that can be used with the downloadable vital organ targets or traditional targets. The aim with the targets is that in self defense situations our “target’ isn’t a 2 dimensional concentric circle or a bowling pin Q style target. You could shoot at an angle and not hit any vital organs, which can be analyzed with Fred. Fred can be dressed up in clothes and comes with several accessories, including a shotgun, knife, phone, and a gun. He can also be a target backing and opens up to put targets inside him. Fred really takes the scenario training up a notch as many folks haven’t shot at targets that look, shaped, and dressed like people.
Bill also has a podcast that gets into something close to his heart. His son has dravet syndrome so he and his wife are life long caregivers for their son. His podcast & YouTube channel “A Matter of Perspective”
Favorite quotes:
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but then I knew what I knew, I was like WOW”
“I have a very huge soft spot for new instructors. I remember what it was like when I first became an instructor.”
“I’ve been exposed to a multitude of sh!tty instructors.”
“I take my role as a Training Counselor extremely seriously.”
“I like the role of mentoring instructors.”
“None of us have our (stuff) completely together.”
Patriot Firearms School
https://patriotfirearmsschool.com/
Patriot Firearms School Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/patriotfirearmsschool
Patriot Firearms School YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnITX-rJD4jhtPf2WYYIXw
Patriot Firearms School Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/patriot_firearms_school/
Target Nation
https://targetnation.com/
Matter of Perspective YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrU62O_CmcofyFrJgJkDgw
Matter of Perspective Website
https://www.amatterofperspective.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
154
Bill Dalpe
Patriot Firearms Training
Bill Dalpe and I have been social media friends for a while. I will admit that I’ve got another friend using “Patriot” for his training business and I may have gotten them mixed up at first. I met Bill at the GOAL Breakfast this past year and I took the Before You Carry & Defend class with my good friend Mark, who I’ve done a few other courses with. I”m glad that we finally made it happen this summer.
Like many instructors, Bill started off teaching from friends and friends of friends. After someone suggested he become an instructor, he learned that he didn’t know what he didn’t know. That’s where his passion for training and training trainers started. Bill is a certified instructor with the NRA, the USCCA, and the MA State Police. And he’s a Training Counselor for the NRA and USCCA, too. He started Patriot Firearms School and has built it to a great training school with it’s own classroom stocked with all the things an instructor needs and more! He’s got some Patriot Firearms School swag, too. With his facility, he offers it for use by his instructor candidates. Eventually, he had a client who had some local property and offered to build him a range. Like many offers from folks, he didn’t believe it until he saw it. Now it’s where he does live fire for his courses.
Bill wrote a book called After The Bell Rings. It’s a situational awareness book for kids in their early teen years. There was a local boy around 13 years old who was abducted over drugs. Wanting to do something to help, he took the NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim course to a local school and offered it for free. After the school administrator saw “NRA” on the back of the book, they rejected wanting the course in their school. Bill took this obstacle and turned it into an opportunity to write this book.
The book looks at several situations that are realistic and how a teenager can respond to them. He uses the Cooper Color Code of Awareness, but adapts it to a Trust Ring, which relates better to younger people. The book is written for teenage students but their parents should really read it and talk with their kids about how they can implement these ideas into their own lives.
The backseat rider we have is Fred. Fred is a 3D target made by Target Nation. He’s a cardboard target torso and body that can be used with the downloadable vital organ targets or traditional targets. The aim with the targets is that in self defense situations our “target’ isn’t a 2 dimensional concentric circle or a bowling pin Q style target. You could shoot at an angle and not hit any vital organs, which can be analyzed with Fred. Fred can be dressed up in clothes and comes with several accessories, including a shotgun, knife, phone, and a gun. He can also be a target backing and opens up to put targets inside him. Fred really takes the scenario training up a notch as many folks haven’t shot at targets that look, shaped, and dressed like people.
Bill also has a podcast that gets into something close to his heart. His son has dravet syndrome so he and his wife are life long caregivers for their son. His podcast & YouTube channel “A Matter of Perspective”
Favorite quotes:
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but then I knew what I knew, I was like WOW”
“I have a very huge soft spot for new instructors. I remember what it was like when I first became an instructor.”
“I’ve been exposed to a multitude of sh!tty instructors.”
“I take my role as a Training Counselor extremely seriously.”
“I like the role of mentoring instructors.”
“None of us have our (stuff) completely together.”
Patriot Firearms School
https://patriotfirearmsschool.com/
Patriot Firearms School Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/patriotfirearmsschool
Patriot Firearms School YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRnITX-rJD4jhtPf2WYYIXw
Patriot Firearms School Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/patriot_firearms_school/
Target Nation
https://targetnation.com/
Matter of Perspective YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrU62O_CmcofyFrJgJkDgw
Matter of Perspective Website
https://www.amatterofperspective.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
153
Michael Schwartz
San Diego County Gun Owners
Gun Owners Radio
This past June I finally got to California to film some shows. One of the folks I absolutely had to have was Michael Schwartz. He’s the founder of San Diego County Gun Owners (SDCGO) and co-host of Gun Owners Radio (GOR). I booked a trip with John Petrolino (RSWC #093) and we headed to SDCGO’s GunProm 2022. It was not just an amazing event, but John was awarded the Media Figure of the Year. The day after the event, Michael and I had a chance to get him on the show. After all, I have been on GOR a time or two. And the night we filmed this show, John and I were able to be in-studio for the show. You can get the link here. https://youtu.be/sRKiSkbB3hY
While Michael did own some BB guns when he was young, he didn’t get into firearms until he was older. He thought a GLCOK 19 would fill the void. It didn’t. Then maybe a Mossberg 500 would and it didn’t either. Being a big fan of Red Dawn, he went to purchase an AK-47. The store was out and the salesman encouraged him to buy an AR-15 as they were going to be banned soon. Talking to some colleagues about going shooting and having to answer questions about why he wanted to go shooting combined with the gun salesman's ban-talk, he decided it was time to fight for his civil rights to own a firearm.
Michael spent years working in the banking industry. He watched many groups and observed what they were doing, the good and the bad things. Then he decided that he wanted to start a group that supported pro-gun political candidates in the San Diego County area. It was more work than he realized, with thousands of decisions to be made. But they modeled other PACs that were doing the right things and they applied those strategies to SDCGO.
As a matter of fact, it's been working so well that some of the surrounding counties wanted to start their own :”County Gun Owners” groups. They’re following the same process, fundraising,and charter of SDCGO. Their biggest fundraiser, GunProm, started off as a Second Amendment Celebration dinner. But when everyone got dressed up, they didn’t recognize each other. The following year in the spring, they decided to dress up and call it GunProm. In 2021, due to ‘virus restrictions’, they could hold the event with less than 1,000 and not need testing. So they sold 999 tickets! This year 750 members, spouses, and friends showed up. Michael calls it a ‘fundraiser and a friendrasier’.
Michael and SDCGO think outside the box. And it’s wonderful! At a gun show, SDCGO hosted a $10,000 gun show challenge. If someone was able to purchase a firearm or machine gun at the gun show, they were going to give you $10,000. Of course, they kept their money as gun shows don’t have ‘loopholes’. But when the traditional press was running stories and doing interviews, they were talking with SDCGO and not the anti-gun crowd. That’s such an awesome idea!
After we filmed this show, John Petrolino and I were guests on Gun Owners Radio with Michael, Joe Drammissi (RSWC #150), and Dave Stahl.Of course Action Jackson and Chase the Service Dog were in the studio as well. What’s really cool is 3 weeks later, I ran into Chase, Jackson, & Jackson’s parents at the SIG Academy in New Hampshire.
I’d love to see Michael and SDCGO take these groups and expand them around the country!
Favorite quotes:
“We’re a community; we’re the Second Amendment community in San Diego.”
“I got bummed out and I thought ‘something has to change’.”
“Being harassed like that, kinda being singled out for exercising a Right, that had an affect.”
“I believe that our organization, our model, is the ounce of prevention.”
“My Second Amendment isn’t the problem.”
San Diego County Gun Owners
https://sandiegocountygunowners.com/
San Diego County Gun Owners Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SDCGO
Gun Owners Radio
https://www.gunownersradio.com/
Gun Owners Radio Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/GunOwnersRadio/
Gun Owners Radio YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/gunownersradio
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
152
Alex Sansone
The Suited Shootist
At the NRAAM in Houston this year, I got to co-emcee the Concealed Carry Fashion show presented by RealizeFAC with Amanda Sufffecool. She and I have hosted these all around the country. We use models who are influencers, instructors, and activists in the firearm community. One of the models at NRAAM was Alex Sansone, The Suited Shootist. Amanda said I needed to have him on the show, so after a quick intro back and forth, he said he would be able to make it happen while we were in Houston. We filmed the show on a Sunday morning and there were barely any protesters!
Alex grew up in the DC area with a ‘gun agnostic’ family, which only had a shotgun for trap shooting. He did do some .22 rifle shooting during summer camp, but it wasn’t a regular thing his family did. September 11, 2001 changed things for his family and his father became interested in firearms for self defense and personal protection. David Yamane calls these folks, myself included, called Gun Culture 2.0. Alex always had an interest in firearms going back to watching Air Force One on VHS and seeing an MP5 sliding across the floor.
During his college years, he became more interested in personal protection, after he noticed that many students didn’t have situational awareness. Later he moved to Texas and started working at a gun store and started some training. After a few years of ‘turning ammunition into expensive noise’, some friends turned him onto some of the well known trainers, including Massad Ayoob (RSWC #045). Currently, he’s got about 400 hours of training under his belt.
After meeting the woman who became his wife, he realized that he needed to start dressing better. He admits that he was the guy you’d see who had an attractive wife and you’d wonder why she was with him.. Alex was ‘that guy’ and realized that reflected poorly on his wife. So he made some changes in the way he dressed.
After doing some YouTube research, he found Tanner Guzy who runs Masculine Style. Guzy says there’s 3 style archetypes: rugged, refined, and rakish. And at some level, every man is a little of each. While working a white collar job and wearing only dark suits, he still wanted to carry. Alex discovered that he needed to find a way to be able to carry but not get bigger clothes as is often suggested to folks who carry. Claude Werner (RSWC #086) taught Alex that bigger clothes makes folks you see regularly take a closer look at what you’re wearing and gets them thinking that maybe you aren’t losing weight, which can also draw attention from them.
At one point while Alex was carrying at work and against company policy and was at a job. He talks about how making the decision to be armed at work vs working and being unarmed isn’t always an easy career choice because you still have to work and make money.
All of this led him to being outspoken about this issue and starting a YouTube channel called The Suited Shootist. After a year of writing a blog and someone telling him more than 500 words should be a video, Alex had to learn about video and editing and YouTubing. On the channel, he gets into lots of topics about carrying and making your carry gear disappear and the pros and cons of several methods all while keeping it fashionable and looking good.
I really enjoyed having Alex on the show. I appreciate that he was able to squeeze in a car ride with a stranger and that I’m able to expand my circle of friends.
Favorite quotes:
“The kids that are just leaving their valuable stuff out…seem to be the ones suffering these consequences.”
“A lot of the style influencers were not delving too deeply into the why’s and the how’s.”
“I’ve been in environments where going armed is somewhere between unusual and unacceptable.”
“We’re going to have to live with the gun a whole lot more than we’re going to have to use the gun.”
The Suited Shootist YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSuitedShootist
The Suited Shootist Blog
https://thesuitedshootist.home.blog/
The Suited Shootist Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thesuitedshootist/
The Suited Shootist Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/the_suited_shootist
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id149803345
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#151
Ladies Event in Detroit
Legally Armed In Detroit
It’s not every day that you get to help teach 1,200+ women to shoot. I had a chance to attend Rick Ector’s Ladies Event recently. Rick (RSWC #032) runs Legally Armed In Detroit. For the last 11 years, he’s had a Ladies Event where women can come to learn to shoot a handgun. It started after a tragic story in the Detroit news about a woman’s body found in a dumpster and Rick thought that if the woman had a gun and knew how to use it she could have defended herself. He’s had 2 ranges that let him use the facilities for the weekend. He’s got an awesome woman who organizes the event, Tanish Moner (RSWC #113). And he’s got instructors from all over the country volunteering to come to Detroit for the weekend to help. This year, there were instructors from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, and California.
I talked with Tanish about getting some of the ladies to be interviewed before and after shooting. She helped me find a few ladies and I was off and driving. There were 4 women in all, including one mother and daughter. Each of the ladies have never been shooting before.
My first passenger is Deeandra. She was about to leave the event without shooting. Tanish and I caught her at the door just as she was about to walk out without shooting. She had on a tank top and was concerned about hot brass, which can happen to anyone. After talking with her, Tanisha offered her a LAID shirt to do the interview, go shooting, then do another interview. How could she pass it up?
I took her in and did the live fire with her on the range. She did an excellent job! Especially for someone who has never handled a firearm before. She does plan on getting some more range time and then pursuing getting a CPL (Concealed Pistol License) in Michigan. I always find it interesting that in “Free America” you can go to a range, rent a gun, buy ammo, and do some shooting. In Massachusetts, we only have a couple places where you can rent firearms. But you usually have to have an LTC (License To Carry) or be a member of the range.
The next ladies were a mother and daughter team. Keisha, the mother, has been to this event before. She brought her older daughters. But Tacaira hasn’t been shooting before. She was a little concerned about it. The stories she’s heard in the news about ‘gun violence’ and that brought on some fear for her. Keisha has a permit and carries Ruger 380. She wanted to take all her daughters to this event so they could all learn to be safe with a firearm. Tacaira said that she liked it, but it wasn’t really something for her. I suggested rather than starting with a 9mm, maybe a .22 would have been better. She came around and said maybe she would try it again with a .22 instead.
Cassandra, the last lady on the show, came by herself. She said she grew up in a gun free home, seeing all the news on TV, and she maintained that while she was raising her children. Eventually, one of her sons took a course at Recoil Range. He also brought his gun over to show her and tell her all about it. Cassandra is also going to head back to Recoil a few more times before she takes the steps to get a CPL. Training is always good for everyone. The more of it, the better.
It’s great to hear that all the women that weekend are interested in getting more training, more education, and more knowledge about firearms. We all need to reflect on the times when we knew less than we know now. I think their excitement is infectious and there was electricity at Recoil that weekend. Some of these women took their first steps toward gun ownership and taking some control of their own safety.
Favorite quotes:
Deeandra: “I want to learn how to do it the right way.”
Deeandra: “I was scared, nervous, all at once. But, overall, I really like it.”
Keisha: “I have a little gun because that’s what I’m comfortable carrying and I know I can handle it.”
Tacaira: “It was nice but not really my cup of tea.”
Tacaira, later: “I think I’m going to do it again.”
Cassandra: “I need some protection because I’m a single parent, by myself.”
Cassandra: “I did get a little sweaty in the palms but I really did like the experience.”
Legally Armed In Detroit
http://www.legallyarmedindetroit.com/
Detroit CCW
https://www.facebook.com/detroitccw
Recoil Range in Taylor Michigan
http://www.recoil-firearms.com/
ATEi Guns
https://ateiguns.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#151
Ladies Event in Detroit
Legally Armed In Detroit
It’s not every day that you get to help teach 1,200+ women to shoot. I had a chance to attend Rick Ector’s Ladies Event recently. Rick (RSWC #032) runs Legally Armed In Detroit. For the last 11 years, he’s had a Ladies Event where women can come to learn to shoot a handgun. It started after a tragic story in the Detroit news about a woman’s body found in a dumpster and Rick thought that if the woman had a gun and knew how to use it she could have defended herself. He’s had 2 ranges that let him use the facilities for the weekend. He’s got an awesome woman who organizes the event, Tanish Moner (RSWC #113). And he’s got instructors from all over the country volunteering to come to Detroit for the weekend to help. This year, there were instructors from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, and California.
I talked with Tanish about getting some of the ladies to be interviewed before and after shooting. She helped me find a few ladies and I was off and driving. There were 4 women in all, including one mother and daughter. Each of the ladies have never been shooting before.
My first passenger is Deeandra. She was about to leave the event without shooting. Tanish and I caught her at the door just as she was about to walk out without shooting. She had on a tank top and was concerned about hot brass, which can happen to anyone. After talking with her, Tanisha offered her a LAID shirt to do the interview, go shooting, then do another interview. How could she pass it up?
I took her in and did the live fire with her on the range. She did an excellent job! Especially for someone who has never handled a firearm before. She does plan on getting some more range time and then pursuing getting a CPL (Concealed Pistol License) in Michigan. I always find it interesting that in “Free America” you can go to a range, rent a gun, buy ammo, and do some shooting. In Massachusetts, we only have a couple places where you can rent firearms. But you usually have to have an LTC (License To Carry) or be a member of the range.
The next ladies were a mother and daughter team. Keisha, the mother, has been to this event before. She brought her older daughters. But Tacaira hasn’t been shooting before. She was a little concerned about it. The stories she’s heard in the news about ‘gun violence’ and that brought on some fear for her. Keisha has a permit and carries Ruger 380. She wanted to take all her daughters to this event so they could all learn to be safe with a firearm. Tacaira said that she liked it, but it wasn’t really something for her. I suggested rather than starting with a 9mm, maybe a .22 would have been better. She came around and said maybe she would try it again with a .22 instead.
Cassandra, the last lady on the show, came by herself. She said she grew up in a gun free home, seeing all the news on TV, and she maintained that while she was raising her children. Eventually, one of her sons took a course at Recoil Range. He also brought his gun over to show her and tell her all about it. Cassandra is also going to head back to Recoil a few more times before she takes the steps to get a CPL. Training is always good for everyone. The more of it, the better.
It’s great to hear that all the women that weekend are interested in getting more training, more education, and more knowledge about firearms. We all need to reflect on the times when we knew less than we know now. I think their excitement is infectious and there was electricity at Recoil that weekend. Some of these women took their first steps toward gun ownership and taking some control of their own safety.
Favorite quotes:
Deeandra: “I want to learn how to do it the right way.”
Deeandra: “I was scared, nervous, all at once. But, overall, I really like it.”
Keisha: “I have a little gun because that’s what I’m comfortable carrying and I know I can handle it.”
Tacaira: “It was nice but not really my cup of tea.”
Tacaira, later: “I think I’m going to do it again.”
Cassandra: “I need some protection because I’m a single parent, by myself.”
Cassandra: “I did get a little sweaty in the palms but I really did like the experience.”
Legally Armed In Detroit
http://www.legallyarmedindetroit.com/
Detroit CCW
https://www.facebook.com/detroitccw
Recoil Range in Taylor Michigan
http://www.recoil-firearms.com/
ATEi Guns
https://ateiguns.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#149
Santee
The Santee TV
I know this sounds weird, but I love having some stalkers. OK, they’re not real stalkers. But there are some folks who watch the show and are happy to meet me. Santee is one of them. She’s been watching the show for a hot minute. She reached out to me after catching shows with Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) and Jerah Hutchins (RSWC #133). She said the next time I’m in Texas we need to get together. So with the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, near Santee, we were on.
She did have me on her YouTube channel back in January 2022, which you can watch here!
https://youtu.be/6vGhbtIXIEA
Santee, of course, isn’t her real name (you’ll have to watch to find out). She became a gun owner after a scary incident like many folks. There were some guys going through her apartment building looking for someone. They passed her sons but they didn’t know what was going on. The guys ended up shooting through someone’s door in her building. She ended up grabbing a kitchen knife when she heard the shots and went to look for her children.
And that’s when she decided it was time to get a handgun. She was in the Air Force, but she wasn’t really familiar with handguns. All of that needed to change. She needed to be sure that she could protect herself and her children, should something else happen. She took a handgun safety course to get a permit (Texas was not Constitutional carry/permitless carry at the time) and bought her first handgun, which was a Taurus PT111, still her favorite handgun.
Getting her first handgun gave her confidence. This is something that everyone goes through on some level. Yes, a firearm isn’t a magic talisman and doesn’t keep trouble away, but it gives people like single mothers the confidence that they can protect their family from harm. It lets women know that they ARE in control of their safety…and that they’re the immediate responders.
After the Air Force, Santee ended up becoming a probation officer in Houston. What she finds most rewarding is hopefully getting these folks on the right track and getting their lives together. I’ve got to hand it to her, that’s got to be a tough job!
We do talk about the process of getting the carry permit in Texas. Most states that are Constitutional/permitless carry still offer licenses so that their residents can have reciprocity. I am a big fan of training, of course. Even if you aren’t required to, it’s a darn good idea to learn about the laws in your state especially if you’re going to be carrying.
We eventually get into raising sons and what could be done to help them. One of the things Santee did is she saw that her sons were spending a lot of time on (The) YouTube. She tried to encourage them to start their own channel for doing some gaming. But she ended up starting a channel to show them that it wasn’t as hard as they thought and that anyone can do it. (Even this teacher who became a YouTuber!) After buying ammo at a local gun store and making a video of that, she decided that it was time to start making some range videos. So now she and her husband have started filming range sessions regularly. It does take some planning for each session and video, but that’s a fun part.
She’s got some strong feelings about our Rights and about self defense. I don’t think we’re that different. We want to have fun, we want to protect our families, and we both want our YouTube channels to grow. So SUBSCRIBE to BOTH of our channels!
Favorite quotes:
“What am I going to do when I need to take care of me, my children, anything in the apartment?”
“What we have a problem with is not gun control, is not the firearms, it is…mental health.”
“I have family members that don’t like firearms, but they’re not like that (NRAAM protestors)”
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we ARE going to protect ourselves.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:21 Santee
02:50 Stalking me
04:06 Missed the Fashion Show
06:05 Getting a gun
08:53 Air Force
11:10 Probation Officer
13:33 Texas permit process
19:19 Shooting out the windows
21:21 NRAAM protestors
23:58 Jerah & Brooke
25:48 Solving the problems
31:36 Back to guns
32:38 Stating a YouTube channel
34:39 Protect ourselves
38:05 Olympic rings
42:25 Closing
The Santee TV
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/santeetv
https://www.instagram.com/thesanteetv/
https://www.facebook.com/santeetv
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id149803345
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#149
Santee
The Santee TV
I know this sounds weird, but I love having some stalkers. OK, they’re not real stalkers. But there are some folks who watch the show and are happy to meet me. Santee is one of them. She’s been watching the show for a hot minute. She reached out to me after catching shows with Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) and Jerah Hutchins (RSWC #133). She said the next time I’m in Texas we need to get together. So with the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, near Santee, we were on.
She did have me on her YouTube channel back in January 2022, which you can watch here!
https://youtu.be/6vGhbtIXIEA
Santee, of course, isn’t her real name (you’ll have to watch to find out). She became a gun owner after a scary incident like many folks. There were some guys going through her apartment building looking for someone. They passed her sons but they didn’t know what was going on. The guys ended up shooting through someone’s door in her building. She ended up grabbing a kitchen knife when she heard the shots and went to look for her children.
And that’s when she decided it was time to get a handgun. She was in the Air Force, but she wasn’t really familiar with handguns. All of that needed to change. She needed to be sure that she could protect herself and her children, should something else happen. She took a handgun safety course to get a permit (Texas was not Constitutional carry/permitless carry at the time) and bought her first handgun, which was a Taurus PT111, still her favorite handgun.
Getting her first handgun gave her confidence. This is something that everyone goes through on some level. Yes, a firearm isn’t a magic talisman and doesn’t keep trouble away, but it gives people like single mothers the confidence that they can protect their family from harm. It lets women know that they ARE in control of their safety…and that they’re the immediate responders.
After the Air Force, Santee ended up becoming a probation officer in Houston. What she finds most rewarding is hopefully getting these folks on the right track and getting their lives together. I’ve got to hand it to her, that’s got to be a tough job!
We do talk about the process of getting the carry permit in Texas. Most states that are Constitutional/permitless carry still offer licenses so that their residents can have reciprocity. I am a big fan of training, of course. Even if you aren’t required to, it’s a darn good idea to learn about the laws in your state especially if you’re going to be carrying.
We eventually get into raising sons and what could be done to help them. One of the things Santee did is she saw that her sons were spending a lot of time on (The) YouTube. She tried to encourage them to start their own channel for doing some gaming. But she ended up starting a channel to show them that it wasn’t as hard as they thought and that anyone can do it. (Even this teacher who became a YouTuber!) After buying ammo at a local gun store and making a video of that, she decided that it was time to start making some range videos. So now she and her husband have started filming range sessions regularly. It does take some planning for each session and video, but that’s a fun part.
She’s got some strong feelings about our Rights and about self defense. I don’t think we’re that different. We want to have fun, we want to protect our families, and we both want our YouTube channels to grow. So SUBSCRIBE to BOTH of our channels!
Favorite quotes:
“What am I going to do when I need to take care of me, my children, anything in the apartment?”
“What we have a problem with is not gun control, is not the firearms, it is…mental health.”
“I have family members that don’t like firearms, but they’re not like that (NRAAM protestors)”
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we ARE going to protect ourselves.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:21 Santee
02:50 Stalking me
04:06 Missed the Fashion Show
06:05 Getting a gun
08:53 Air Force
11:10 Probation Officer
13:33 Texas permit process
19:19 Shooting out the windows
21:21 NRAAM protestors
23:58 Jerah & Brooke
25:48 Solving the problems
31:36 Back to guns
32:38 Stating a YouTube channel
34:39 Protect ourselves
38:05 Olympic rings
42:25 Closing
The Santee TV
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/santeetv
https://www.instagram.com/thesanteetv/
https://www.facebook.com/santeetv
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id149803345
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#149
Santee
The Santee TV
I know this sounds weird, but I love having some stalkers. OK, they’re not real stalkers. But there are some folks who watch the show and are happy to meet me. Santee is one of them. She’s been watching the show for a hot minute. She reached out to me after catching shows with Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) and Jerah Hutchins (RSWC #133). She said the next time I’m in Texas we need to get together. So with the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, near Santee, we were on.
She did have me on her YouTube channel back in January 2022, which you can watch here!
https://youtu.be/6vGhbtIXIEA
Santee, of course, isn’t her real name (you’ll have to watch to find out). She became a gun owner after a scary incident like many folks. There were some guys going through her apartment building looking for someone. They passed her sons but they didn’t know what was going on. The guys ended up shooting through someone’s door in her building. She ended up grabbing a kitchen knife when she heard the shots and went to look for her children.
And that’s when she decided it was time to get a handgun. She was in the Air Force, but she wasn’t really familiar with handguns. All of that needed to change. She needed to be sure that she could protect herself and her children, should something else happen. She took a handgun safety course to get a permit (Texas was not Constitutional carry/permitless carry at the time) and bought her first handgun, which was a Taurus PT111, still her favorite handgun.
Getting her first handgun gave her confidence. This is something that everyone goes through on some level. Yes, a firearm isn’t a magic talisman and doesn’t keep trouble away, but it gives people like single mothers the confidence that they can protect their family from harm. It lets women know that they ARE in control of their safety…and that they’re the immediate responders.
After the Air Force, Santee ended up becoming a probation officer in Houston. What she finds most rewarding is hopefully getting these folks on the right track and getting their lives together. I’ve got to hand it to her, that’s got to be a tough job!
We do talk about the process of getting the carry permit in Texas. Most states that are Constitutional/permitless carry still offer licenses so that their residents can have reciprocity. I am a big fan of training, of course. Even if you aren’t required to, it’s a darn good idea to learn about the laws in your state especially if you’re going to be carrying.
We eventually get into raising sons and what could be done to help them. One of the things Santee did is she saw that her sons were spending a lot of time on (The) YouTube. She tried to encourage them to start their own channel for doing some gaming. But she ended up starting a channel to show them that it wasn’t as hard as they thought and that anyone can do it. (Even this teacher who became a YouTuber!) After buying ammo at a local gun store and making a video of that, she decided that it was time to start making some range videos. So now she and her husband have started filming range sessions regularly. It does take some planning for each session and video, but that’s a fun part.
She’s got some strong feelings about our Rights and about self defense. I don’t think we’re that different. We want to have fun, we want to protect our families, and we both want our YouTube channels to grow. So SUBSCRIBE to BOTH of our channels!
Favorite quotes:
“What am I going to do when I need to take care of me, my children, anything in the apartment?”
“What we have a problem with is not gun control, is not the firearms, it is…mental health.”
“I have family members that don’t like firearms, but they’re not like that (NRAAM protestors)”
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we ARE going to protect ourselves.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:21 Santee
02:50 Stalking me
04:06 Missed the Fashion Show
06:05 Getting a gun
08:53 Air Force
11:10 Probation Officer
13:33 Texas permit process
19:19 Shooting out the windows
21:21 NRAAM protestors
23:58 Jerah & Brooke
25:48 Solving the problems
31:36 Back to guns
32:38 Stating a YouTube channel
34:39 Protect ourselves
38:05 Olympic rings
42:25 Closing
The Santee TV
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/santeetv
https://www.instagram.com/thesanteetv/
https://www.facebook.com/santeetv
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id149803345
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#148
Evan Nappen
Gun Lawyer
Evan Nappen! What can I say?!?! I used to listen to Evan on Gun For Hire Radio with Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & #025). He’s always been educating and entertaining to listen to and that’s when I became a fan. He has offices in New Jersey and New Hampshire. I always wondered why. I heard that he was doing a US Law Shield seminar in New Jersey and had a cold. But I feared it was worse, so I reached out and asked if he would be on the show.
He got right back to me when I emailed and gave me a call. We talked like old friends, I love it! We set up a time and I headed up to the Concord, NH, area to meet with him. It wasn’t the first time I saw him. I spoke at NJSAFECON in 2017 on a panel with Anthony Colandro, Tony Simon (RSWC #041) and Maj Toure. Evan was also speaking, but I was too nervous to introduce myself. But RSWC has grown and it was time to have him in the shotgun seat.
New Jersey has been a great state for RSWC. I’ve had several of the 2A folks on the show from there. Of course, Evan didn’t disappoint even though we were in NH, he’s got very strong NJ roots. He covers a lot of NJ centered topics on his podcast, Gun Lawyer. Like everyone else I’ve met in the 2A community, Evan was friendly, kind, and a great man to be around.
Our first quick stop is near the Hannah Dustin monument, where he explained her story. I went back and got a few pictures of the monument and marker. We headed up I-93 North and talk about why he moved to NH, the Live Free or Die state, as well as the differences between NJ and NH. There’s a LOT of them!
We also talk about bang, bong or badge, Constitutional carry vs permitless carry, permits vs licenses, and assault firearms and assault rifles. He’s got opinions and reasons for using each of these terms at different times. There’s lots of the ridiculousness covered about the New Jersey gun laws, ‘ghost guns’ and homemade muzzleloaders, and even some BB gun and sling shot nonsense!
Evan shares some stories of cases he’s had from the man with the 1600’s muzzleloader, Shaneen Allen’s situation and some gun control racism, and the Brian Aitken case with moving ammunition and how to properly move hollow points from one house to another. .We cover his books on gun laws in NH and NJ, and the knife laws book, too. If you buy a book, there’s free updates, which may be good post NYSPRA v Bruen. He also got into the Gun Lawyer Podcast, which you should be listening to, and how well that’s going.
Evan is just a wealth of knowledge of laws and stories. He has always had me listening and paying attention on Gun Lawyer or Gun For Hire Radio. This is absolutely one that you’ll need to go back to and watch/listen to a few times.
Favorite quotes:
“The ultimate freedom when it comes to Second Amendment rights is New Hampshire.”
“In New Hampshire, it’s a license because a permit implies a permission. And it’s not a permission, there is no permission. It’s your Right.”
“We are in a war of words with those who want to take our freedom.”
“Every gun offense in Jersey is a felony level offense.”
“It (the 2A) is what empowers individuals.”
“True Second Amendment is the ability for everyone that wants to have the Right, to exercise that Right, to defend themselves regardless of race or gender or anything.”
“If you are pro-Second Amendment, you and I are on the same side. It really boils down to that.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:34 Credit card knife
03:19 Evan Nappen
05:08 Bang or bong or badge
07:47 Hanna Dustin
12:23 Healthy interest
14:53 Becoming an attorney
17:19 NJ & NH
20:13 Permit vs license
21:38 CC vs PL
23:38 Assault firearm vs rifle
26:50 BB guns in NJ
29:04 “Ghost guns” in NJ
33:47 Big cases
35:03 Racism and gun control
40:55 Evan’s books
44:28 The Repeal Party
46:38 Liberty movement
47:34 Gun Lawyer Podcast
49:09 Aitken case
53:13 Closing
55:27 Tradeoff NJ/NH
58:25 Bling
Evan Nappen Website
https://www.evannappen.com/
Gun Lawyer Podcast
https://gun.lawyer/
Evan Nappen, Attorney at Law Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Evan-F-Nappen-Attorney-At-Law-PC-134969510019316
Gun Lawyer Podcast
https://www.facebook.com/Gun-Lawyer-Radio-101562645133784
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
147
Umar Arrastia
Close Quarter Countermeasures
I really do have the coolest gig AND friends! One of my friends and training partners, Mark L, sent me a Facebook event for an ACTIVE Killer Response Course. I swear it said ACTIVE Kicker! He then messaged me and said that the instructor Umar Arrastia would be a great passenger for the show. I reached out to Umar and we filmed the show, then Mark and I took the course the following month.
Umar has a background in traditional kung fu and martial arts. He’s been with the National Guard for a number of years, he’s done some personal security work, and some bail bondsman work. He’s got an incredible background. Umar grew up around firearms so there wasn’t a fear or taboo about them like with many who don’t grow up with them. After 10 years with the National Guard, he tried getting an office job, but found that working in an office setting wasn’t really for him. So he signed back up with a Guard and ended up in Afghanistan.
He found himself working on some training programs for executive protection, site security, and vulnerability assessments. All of this work led to having to start a business. The business led to writing curriculums for various classes, including one for an active killer/shooter. There’s a lot of great information in the course, which Close Quarters Countermeasures offers for free every quarter. The next course is Monday August, 29, 2022.
Umar gives us the history of the course, but also how it’s changed due to the nature of the world we’re living in. It was originally an active shooter response course, but it’s morphed into a violence response course talking about active killer/shooters, but also how to respond if there’s some mass hysteria. Oftentimes, after a large act of violence, people can be trampled or run over by a crowd of people who are trying to escape. As a gun guy, I did enjoy the segment where one of the instructors fired a couple blanks in the other room. Many folks haven’t heard real gun fire and it’s beneficial for people to learn that, especially if the firing comes from a different room with some closed doors, too.
We have some good conversation about what Umar did to train his daughters without making them scared or paranoid about responding to incidents. Like many things, teaching your children takes the fears and tabooness of things away.
Besides working for the Guard, Umar owns and runs a Chinese martial arts school in central Massachusetts, where he offers lots of other training and courses. We do get into how he is avoiding being the new Voda or DUST instructors, but he also shares that there could be something these personalities have to offer to the community.
We end up hearing some stories about when Umar was a bail bondsman and had to chase some folks down. He explains a bit about what the job is, who gets into it, and what they’re supposed to be doing and who they can take into custody.
I really enjoyed this conversation with Umar. I want to send a special thanks to Mark for connecting us. It’s good to have good friends. Umar has a lot of training, experience, and education that he loves passes on to others at Close Quarters Countermeasures. If you’re in central Massachusetts, please check out the class on Aug 29, 2022. There’s a link below for other classes, too.
Favorite quotes:
“When you’re exposed to firearms at a young age, it cancels out that fear that you have.”
“Active shooter training is really more preparation than it is response.”
“My goal has always been to make sure people, when they are not in my presence, are a little bit better off in some way that they were beforehand.”
“No one ever plans to be a victim.”
“The best way to combat fear is to be trained.”
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:37 Umar Arrastia
03:11 Umar’s background
06:35 Developing training
08:35 Active shooter response course
12:02 Marketing woes
12:52 Changing the course
13:31 Assessing risk
15:15 Firing blanks
16:47 “Be safe”
17:23 Training children
21:42 Taboo
23:20 Your Circle
25:20 Other YT personalities
31:00 Martial arts
34:39 Umar talking “S”
37:54 Some bondsman stories
44:18 No one plans on…
47:26 Wrap up
Close Quarters Countermeasures Website
https://www.closequarterscountermeasures.com/
Close Quarters Countermeasures Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CloseQuartersCountermeasures/
ACTIVE Killer/Public Violence Response Course Facebook event
https://www.facebook.com/events/531439638470945
Dragon Gate Kung Fu Academy
http://www.dragongatefist.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Armed Lifestyle Magazine
Anthony Colandro
Writing Shotgun With Charlie
Here's an interview I did with Anthony Colandro from Gun For Hire Range & Gun For Hire Radio.
I interviewed him in 2016 for the first time. And I'm glad I reached out and stopped at Gun For Hire on my way down to Washington, DC, to interview Kenn Blanchard. We've become friends. Expanding my circle of friends was a goal when I started RSWC! I can't express how grateful I am that I got out of my comfort zone and pushed my boundaries.
https://pocketmags.com/us/armed-lifestyle-magazine#
Anthony took a call for a recorded interview which you can listen to here. I expanded and wrote about it in Armed Lifestyle Magazine, which you can get here. We talk about his book Crime Proof: Think Like a Criminal and Beat Them At Their Own Game, tactical pens, and more.
Get Crime Proof here: https://crimeproofbook.com
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters Veteran Owned, American Made http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
146
Anne Mauro
Collegiate Shotgun Coach,
University of Maryland
At SHOT Show 2022, Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) messaged me and said I need to have Anne Mauro on the stagecoach. After some group texts and making plans during a vacation week, I hit the road for Maryland. Anne is a shotgun coach at the University of Maryland, where she runs a top notch program that she grew from the bottom up. We met at The Point at Pintail in Queenstown, MD, where she started her shotgunning path, not knowing where it would lead her.
Anne started shotgun shooting at her husband’s suggestion and started Pintail Point renting a shotgun to use. Her instructor, Ben Wise, made it fun and enjoyable for her so she kept going. Eventually, the rental guns were up for sale and she bought the one she was renting. When she used it, she had to take off the recoil pad. After she bought the gun, she headed up to Maine to have a custom stock made to her specifications, which led to helping manufacturers design stocks for women. Let’s face it, the ‘pink it and shrink it’ didn’t really work for new female shooters. She’s designed shotguns for Blaser including the F16 Intuition design.
Anne found herself offering to teach a Lady’s Clinic at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, TX. She had some folks that doubted her, but she proved them wrong in the first year, filling several clinics. From there, her clinics were always filled with ladies wanting to improve their skills. Eventually, the ladies got to shoot at the Nationals’ stadium where all the big dogs want to shoot! One of the most rewarding moments is when a lady who already knew how to shoot well came to the clinic and Anne asked her why she was her, she said it was just to learn from Anne. The great thing about Anne as a coach is that she realized that women needed some help with her focus, not her shooting.
The University of Maryland asked if she would work with their informal trap and skeet clubs which she did and she introduced sporting clays as well. The very first year, they won their first regional championship. They’ve won over 80 other awards over the years with everyone from beginners to experienced shooters who need some fine tuning. When she started, it was called the Shotgun Sports Team, but eventually they changed the name to the U of M Clay Target Team. She knew that this wasn’t a battle the club would win, but it paid off a few years later with some funding from the university for specialty shooting vests. She’s also got some stories about how the team got sponsored by Beretta.
There’s some great tips about coaching, shotgunning and dominant eye exercises she shares with us, we talk about practicing, the time commitment, and much more. And she’s got a great story about Ted Nugent, too!
Favorite quotes:
“My shooting instructor at the time, Ben Wise,a great individual, kept me safe and made it fun even though I was black and blue.”
“They just ‘I can’t thank you enough because I’ve got a great sport that I enjoy with my family.’”
“I’m going to take this team and I’m going to make something of them.”
“You have this imaginary bag on your side here, you get these little pieces of golden nuggets you put in that bag, you just kind of store them in there and over time you’ll learn when to pull those pieces out.”
“You had to be able to prove yourself, not only in what you do knowledge-wise, but being able to shoot, all of it.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:25 Anne Mauro
04:14 Texted at SHOT
05:08 Lessons with Ben Wise
12:16 Designing shotguns & traveling
13:54 Lady’s clinic surprise
17:17 Nationals’ stadium
19:39 Amazing moment
20:36 Chesapeake Bay Bridge
22:12 “Fun that can be had”
24:35 University of Maryland
31:40 Coaching
34:13 Impostor syndrome
36:32 Commitment
39:58 Eye dominance
42:54 Coaching tips
44:55 Beretta sponsorship
51:09 U of M support
54:45 Book idea
59:54 Uncle Ted story
1:02:18 Wrap Up
University of Maryland Clay Target Team on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/umdclaytargetteam/
University of Maryland Clay Target Team on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/UMDtrapandskeet/
The Point at Pintail Sporting Clays
https://pointatpintail.com/
Blaser F16 Intuition Shotgun
https://www.blaser.de/us/products/firearms/shotgun-f16/f16-sporting/f16-sporting-intuition/
Diva WOW
https://divawow.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#145
Dave Kopacz
Red Pill Politics Radio
Flag Day/2A Rally
I met Dave Kopacz a few years ago when I was helping a friend run a campaign for state senate. He’s been fighting for our Rights in Massachusetts for a number of years now. For the last 8 years, he’s been hosting the Flag Day/2A Rally, which is going to be on June 11, 2022, at the Century Sportsman Club in Auburn, MA. Some of the scheduled speakers are Dan Wos (RSWC #040 ), Jared Yanis (RSWC #051 ), and Jan Morgan, as well as yours truly.
Dave tells us that he’s got some great memories and lessons from going hunting with his grandfather even when they didn’t harvest any animals. This is where he learned things from how to be a man, how to treat a woman, and how war starts. He shares that history shows us that unarmed nations often get taken over by the governments. And that our elected officials think the 2nd Amendment was about deer hunting. It’s not about that, it’s about killing tyrants.
While working with one of his sons on a home school project and connected with a local radio station, Dave put in a show proposal. He would take his kids to the radio station while he was doing the show. And that is how Red Pill Politics started. Despite being in very liberal western Massachusetts, the show has grown and he’s started taking calls from around the country, including Canada. There were even some openly socialist hosts of other shows on the station and they asked Dave to be on their programs. He’s got two weekly shows that he does: Red Pill Politics that he does with his wife, and another show on Republic Broadcasting Network. He takes calls from around the country and Canada, too.
We get into talking about the NYC subway shooting, which happened before the show was filmed. We talk about how people can pass background checks, then still go out and break the laws. But there are also people that get firearms illegally and go out and break the laws. The issue isn’t the firearms or how they acquire them, the focus needs to be evil people doing evil things. Evil people can and do commit heinous acts with and without firearms.
We talk about the gun culture in western Massachusetts and the closet gun owners that aren’t just Republicans, they’re Democrats, too. I bring up that one passenger, DeeDee Edmondson (RSWC #023) had an easier time coming out as a lesbian than the did coming out as a gun owner.
Even with the success of The Flag Day/2A Rallys, Dave tells us that there was some resistance one year. There were some folks at the sportsman club that thought they were hosting extremists. There were even some politicians who said they wanted to speak at the event, but Dave didn’t let them. They tried to hold their own similar event which wasn’t well attended.
One of the things I really admire about what Dave does is that everything lines up with liberty, freedom, and the Constitution. He’s even gone into Boston to speak out against what Massachusetts is doing not just against our gun rights, but all the others as well. If you’re going to be in central Massachusetts on June 11, please come to the Flag Day/2A Rally and hear some great speakers at the event. And tune in to Dave’s shows with the links below.
Favorite quotes:
“I believe in the strength of the whole Constitution.”
“We looked at the government regulations, they’re becoming limitations on the people, not limitations of the government.”
“If we are unhappy with a public servant, we should be able to get them out the very first time they come up for reelection.”
“The whole Constitution is kinda like this; how many legs of the table can you kick out before it becomes unstable and collapses under its own weight?”
TImestamp
00:00 Intro
01:30 Dave Kopacz
02:10 9th Annual Flag Day/2A Rally beginnings
05:55 Strength of the Constitution
06:50 Memory & lessons
09:13 History
11:41 Red Pill Politics radio program
15:12 NYC subway shooting
16:40 “Evil people will do..”
20:36 An armed society
21:51 Western MA gun culture
26:27 Speaking out and up
30:15 “The government we deserve…”
31:22 Flag Day/2A Rally 2022
36:30 Legs of a table
38:55 Better Angels
43:18 Wrap up
Flag Day/2A Rally Website
https://www.flagday2arally.com/
Red Pill Politics YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnAkOGyeZqNzMJDQ4Wo4vbA
Red Pill Politics on Republic Broadcasting Network
http://republicbroadcasting.org/red-pill-politics-w-dave-kopacz/
Make America Constitutional Again Hat
https://theselfevidenttruth.com/product/make-america-constitutional-again-hats/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
145
Dave Kopacz
Red Pill Politics Radio
Flag Day/2A Rally
I met Dave Kopacz a few years ago when I was helping a friend run a campaign for state senate. He’s been fighting for our Rights in Massachusetts for a number of years now. For the last 8 years, he’s been hosting the Flag Day/2A Rally, which is going to be on June 11, 2022, at the Century Sportsman Club in Auburn, MA. Some of the scheduled speakers are Dan Wos (RSWC #040 ), Jared Yanis (RSWC #051 ), and Jan Morgan, as well as yours truly.
Dave tells us that he’s got some great memories and lessons from going hunting with his grandfather even when they didn’t harvest any animals. This is where he learned things from how to be a man, how to treat a woman, and how war starts. He shares that history shows us that unarmed nations often get taken over by the governments. And that our elected officials think the 2nd Amendment was about deer hunting. It’s not about that, it’s about killing tyrants.
While working with one of his sons on a home school project and connected with a local radio station, Dave put in a show proposal. He would take his kids to the radio station while he was doing the show. And that is how Red Pill Politics started. Despite being in very liberal western Massachusetts, the show has grown and he’s started taking calls from around the country, including Canada. There were even some openly socialist hosts of other shows on the station and they asked Dave to be on their programs. He’s got two weekly shows that he does: Red Pill Politics that he does with his wife, and another show on Republic Broadcasting Network. He takes calls from around the country and Canada, too.
We get into talking about the NYC subway shooting, which happened before the show was filmed. We talk about how people can pass background checks, then still go out and break the laws. But there are also people that get firearms illegally and go out and break the laws. The issue isn’t the firearms or how they acquire them, the focus needs to be evil people doing evil things. Evil people can and do commit heinous acts with and without firearms.
We talk about the gun culture in western Massachusetts and the closet gun owners that aren’t just Republicans, they’re Democrats, too. I bring up that one passenger, DeeDee Edmondson (RSWC #023) had an easier time coming out as a lesbian than the did coming out as a gun owner.
Even with the success of The Flag Day/2A Rallys, Dave tells us that there was some resistance one year. There were some folks at the sportsman club that thought they were hosting extremists. There were even some politicians who said they wanted to speak at the event, but Dave didn’t let them. They tried to hold their own similar event which wasn’t well attended.
One of the things I really admire about what Dave does is that everything lines up with liberty, freedom, and the Constitution. He’s even gone into Boston to speak out against what Massachusetts is doing not just against our gun rights, but all the others as well. If you’re going to be in central Massachusetts on June 11, please come to the Flag Day/2A Rally and hear some great speakers at the event. And tune in to Dave’s shows with the links below.
Favorite quotes:
“I believe in the strength of the whole Constitution.”
“We looked at the government regulations, they’re becoming limitations on the people, not limitations of the government.”
“If we are unhappy with a public servant, we should be able to get them out the very first time they come up for reelection.”
“The whole Constitution is kinda like this; how many legs of the table can you kick out before it becomes unstable and collapses under its own weight?”
TImestamp
00:00 Intro
01:30 Dave Kopacz
02:10 9th Annual Flag Day/2A Rally beginnings
05:55 Strength of the Constitution
06:50 Memory & lessons
09:13 History
11:41 Red Pill Politics radio program
15:12 NYC subway shooting
16:40 “Evil people will do..”
20:36 An armed society
21:51 Western MA gun culture
26:27 Speaking out and up
30:15 “The government we deserve…”
31:22 Flag Day/2A Rally 2022
36:30 Legs of a table
38:55 Better Angels
43:18 Wrap up
Flag Day/2A Rally Website
https://www.flagday2arally.com/
Red Pill Politics YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnAkOGyeZqNzMJDQ4Wo4vbA
Red Pill Politics on Republic Broadcasting Network
http://republicbroadcasting.org/red-pill-politics-w-dave-kopacz/
Make America Constitutional Again Hat
https://theselfevidenttruth.com/product/make-america-constitutional-again-hats/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#144
Mary Forgues
The DC Project
At SHOT Show 2022, I was checking Dianna Muller’s (RSWC #059) presentation on The DC Project (DCP) and ran into several DCP ladies who I’ve had on the show. Holly Sullivan (RSWC #036, CCDL) introduced us and said I needed to have Mary Forgues on the show, which should be easy since she isn’t that far from me. I was thrilled that Mary thought I was a rock star, so how could I NOT have her on the show.
The real reason for her being in the shotgun seat is that Mary’s story about using a firearm to save her life is truly amazing! She didn’t grow up as a firearm person, certainly not like she is now. She eventually got a firearm as a means to be able to protect her children as she is a single mother. She shares a shocking story that changed her life and her attitude about life.
Mary was involved in an attack in her home by someone she knew. Her attacker was someone she tried helping through the VA, where she has strong connections as her brother is a Veteran. Previously, during a VA event, there was a need from her home which is how her attacker knew where she lived. Later that year, the attacker was released against clinical advice, she was notified, and he ended up at her house. On the night of her incident, her kids were out of the house and she was home alone.
He broke into her home and lied about some papers that he thought she had and he said he needed them. While she was putting one dog away in her room, he followed her upstairs to attack. While the man was on top of her, choking her neck and punching her face, her thoughts went from her daughter is going to come home and find her lifeless body to her daughter is going to come home and be the next victim. She was able to dial the last number she called and a male’s voice was heard on her phone which distracted him long enough for Mary to grab her handgun from the dresser. If there were storage laws at that time, Mary would be dead.
She was able to get out of the house, contact the police, and get to a neighbor’s house while she waited 10 minutes for the police to arrive. The attacker continued with his pattern of drug and alcohol abuse, which ended his life before a trial could take place.
During a training session at her boyfriend’s training school, she shared her story with other women who have their own stories of struggle and maybe an attack. She reached out to Holly Sullivan, president of Connecticut Citizens Defense League, and Holly wanted her to share her story with Dianna Muller and the other DCP members. Since then, Mary has taken over the helm of the DCP representative for Connecticut. She’s got lots of amazing and ongoing plans and goals, which are going to include monthly get together are various businesses in Connecticut where the funds will go to the efforts of getting Mary to Washington, DC, where she tell her story to our employees, the politicians, and let them know that gun rights are women’s rights.
Favorite quotes:
“It’s probably my responsibility as a parent to protect my children.”
“It took him around like 8 times for him to use his body to slam up on my door and to break through that sliding lock.”
“Imagining your child going through anything like that, that puts more fight in you than for your own life.”
“I’ve always been an advocate for people to have better options in life.”
“Everybody is struggling with something and too many people avoid it.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:34 Mary Forgues
03:12 Growing up
04:58 Buying her license
08:15 Continuing training
11:29 Generational gun ownership
13:51 Sharing her story
17:34 Meeting Holly
18:35 The incident
24:56 Heading upstairs
27:40 Breaking the door down
30:01 Daughters going to see me
31:46 Getting her gun
34:55 Escaping
38:14 10 Minutes for the police
40:40 Bonded out
4512:27 Court case/aftermath
45:11 Happy ending
48:13 Help on a different level
50:18 Testimony
51:42 DCP Video
56:20 DCP/CT events
1:01:19 Future plans
1:04:49 Wrap up
The DC Project Website
https://www.dcproject.info/
The DC Project Store
https://www.dcproject.info/shop/
The DC Project Video with Mary
https://youtu.be/IMZQ3DNE5CU
The DC Project YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCEgY6osl7qy2SWiDHP7_xw
Connecticut Citizens Defense League
https://ccdl.us/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
143
Toby Leary
Cape Gun Works
RapidFire Radio
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away… I took the then Combat Focus Shooting course with Rob Pincus. Legit, it was 2013. Two of the other classmates were Toby Leary and Brendon Bricklin, the owners of Cape Gun Works (CGW). I eventually became a Utah instructor and asked them if they wanted to host a Utah course for their customers. I’ve been doing the Utah class at their shop in Hyannis, MA, since it was a small store attached to a few other stores. Toby and I finally set a time and date to film a show.
Toby has been into firearms since he was a Boy Scout. He went shooting with the Boy Scout group but not for merit badges, just to go shooting. Little did he know that his passion for being outdoors and shooting would lead to CGW and a growing gig on the radio!
The beginning of Cape Gun Works came when Toby & Brendon took a trip to Las Vegas for the Mr Olympia contest and to take a course at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute. On the flight home, they cracked out the legal pad and started writing ideas on how to start and open a gun store and shooting range in Massachusetts. But the reality was that Toby was running a woodworking business and a gun business out of his woodworking shop. And often woodworking clients ran into firearm clients!
They thought about buying an existing gun store, but that didn’t happen and it worked out for the best that it didn’t. Their lack of business owning experience didn’t stop the dream, but they knew that the customers needed to come first. Over the years, CGW has become involved in the local chamber of commerce. The great thing about hosting chamber events is that it brings in people that wouldn’t come into the store and lets them see that CGW, their employees, and their customers aren’t what the non-gun folks imagined.
A huge benefit that CGW offers is training. It's not just NRA courses that some sportsmen clubs offer. They offer USCCA and other types of defensive shooting courses, including classes from Ben DeWalt (RSWC #115) and Rob Pincus (#063). They also have a Ladies Night at the Range, Couples Night, and even archery courses. And there’s gunsmithing, too, with Joseph Morse (RSWC #106). Last fall, they offered a Gun Maker’s Match, hosted by Rob.
One of the things Toby started doing to stay in touch with the community was calling in to the local radio stations after a firearms related incident. That has parlayed into regular segments on the station. Then they started doing daily shows due to the virus that shall not be named as a way to reach out to customers. They’ve also hosted one of Boston’s biggest radio show hosts, Howie Carr, to do some book signings and remote broadcasts from CGW. That has given Toby the chance to work his way onto the airwaves all around Massachusetts and given him some regular airtime. When they decided to have his own segment, of course they called it RapdFire, which has become a weekly show he does at the shop.
I’m very excited to be connected to Cape Gun Works & finally have Toby on the show! (I do teach the Utah class there) I’m very proud that Toby & Brendon have taken the local gun store, with all the courses they offer, to the next level. Should you find yourself on Cape Cod on a summer vacation, stop in and say “Hello!”
Favorite quotes:
“We sold the dream to the customers and they supported it.”
“Customer service, taking care of the customer and putting them first was the secret sauce.”
“Persistence won the day and we opened.”
“One of the ways of putting the gun ownership issue out there in the community is to be involved in the community.”
“You don’t co-opt the term ‘against gun violence’. Gun owners are against gun violence.”
“There’s one thing that makes guns go bang and and it’s your finger.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:24 Toby Leary
02:18 Cape Gun Works’ humble beginnings
04:50 Old CGW
08:17 Buying another gun store
11:23 Chamber of commerce events
15:03 Other training courses
18:51 RapidFire’s roots
22:07 Gun owners are against gun violence
27:18 Growing up outdoors
30:30 Boy Scout leader
32:33 Bradford Erickson
34:34 Hunting stories
37:13 Wrap up
Cape Gun Works
https://www.capegunworks.com/
RapidFire Radio Show
https://www.capegunworks.com/rapidfire
Cape Gun Works YouTube channel (where you can watch RapidFire)
https://www.youtube.com/c/CapeGunWorks
Cape Gun Work Classes
https://www.capegunworks.com/class-list
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#142
Mike & Big Keith
The Gun Experiment Podcast
This is a ‘big show’ for Mike & Big Keith from The Gun Experiment. They haven’t been seen on video. Mike reached out to me and asked to be on their podcast. When I found out they were only a couple hours away, I said I wanted them on my show in return. Big Keith even offered to let us use his vintage Lincoln! Here’s a link to The Gun Experiment with me as their guest. https://thegunexperiment.com/episodes/42-dont-cross-streams/
We talked about doing some shotgunning before we filmed the show, but after a warm drive to the local gun club for some trap shooting, we discovered that the clay thrower was frozen. So that was out. We really wanted to see who could out shoot each other, but it will have to happen another time.
Mike & Big Keith grew up in the same area of New York but they’re a few years apart in age. Big Keith had family members who took him shooting, but his family wasn’t into firearms. Like many, shooting didn’t kick in until later in life. Mike grew up with a father that owned firearms and took him hunting and they spent a lot of time outdoors and outside.
Later in life, Big Keith moved into Mike’s neighborhood, which had several pro-gun families. Mike started to organize a .22 shoot for the neighborhood and that helped prompt Big Keith into firearms. While Big Keith got into shotguns and skeet shooting, Mike kept leaning towards handguns.
At one point, Mike thought about starting a podcast, but didn’t have the drive to get it going. It does take an idea, some skill, and some time. When the lockdowns started in 2020, he realized that with time off from work, now was the time to start a podcast. So he booked Big Keith as his first guest to do a trial run. Big Keith didn’t know it, but it was Mike’s way to get a podcasting partner. The show has not been aired, but they may release it for episode 100, which is really a big milestone for podcasters, YouTubers, and any content creator.
A great way to achieve something is to have some goals. Mike made a list of folks he wanted to have as guests and he started reaching out to them. He found out that many folks are very welcoming and receptive to being on a podcast as a guest. Often podcasters listen to other podcasters and that’s the list of folks that inspire them and who they’d like to have as guests on their own show. The Gun Experiment name came out of knowing that they’re not experts and they want to learn from their guest and even take classes with some of them like Rob Pincus (RSWC #063) and Ben DeWalt (RSWC #115)..
We did drive to West Point but we didn’t drive around (they wouldn’t let us with the cameras on) and we couldn’t get into the museum without masks, which none of us had. We talk about some of the great guests they’ve had and some of the great things about being a content creator, like communicating with fans and getting to meet and hang out with some of the movers and shakers in the 2A community.
Mike & Big Keith are a great couple of guys with a wonderful and informative show that you need to check out! The links to their social media are below. And when their studio is up and recording for some live in studio guests, I’ll be making another trip down to New York. And maybe we’ll get into West Point next time.
Favorite quotes:
Mike: “If you’re not a hunter, bringing your kids around a hunting camp, it’s great, it’s a very old tradition in this country.”
Big Keith: “I self-admittedly call myself a Fudd. I’m not but my shotguns are.”
Mike: “You would think when you hear about these assault weapon bills, all these bills, you would think that would unite everybody.”
Mike: “But it is 100% draconian and not free.”
Keith: “We don’t know everything, we’re just trying to experiment.”
Keith: “The best thing is when you get listener interaction.”
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:23 The Gun Experiment (Mike & Big Keith)
02:20 Big Keith’s background
03:03 Mike’s background
04:30 Hunting and camping
10:05 Mike & pistols
13:33 Shotguns in NY
14:27 Gun industry folks
15:28 Cautionary tale
17:41 Life in NY
19:40 Starting The Gun Experiment
21:46 Naming the podcast
24:26 Listener feedback
25:39 Great guests
29:11 West Point-denied
29:25 More great guests
32:47 Videos?
35:55 TGE Studio
39:19 Never miss an episode
41:11 More favorite guests
42:33 Warp up
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#142
Mike & Big Keith
The Gun Experiment Podcast
This is a ‘big show’ for Mike & Big Keith from The Gun Experiment. They haven’t been seen on video. Mike reached out to me and asked to be on their podcast. When I found out they were only a couple hours away, I said I wanted them on my show in return. Big Keith even offered to let us use his vintage Lincoln! Here’s a link to The Gun Experiment with me as their guest. https://thegunexperiment.com/episodes/42-dont-cross-streams/
We talked about doing some shotgunning before we filmed the show, but after a warm drive to the local gun club for some trap shooting, we discovered that the clay thrower was frozen. So that was out. We really wanted to see who could out shoot each other, but it will have to happen another time.
Mike & Big Keith grew up in the same area of New York but they’re a few years apart in age. Big Keith had family members who took him shooting, but his family wasn’t into firearms. Like many, shooting didn’t kick in until later in life. Mike grew up with a father that owned firearms and took him hunting and they spent a lot of time outdoors and outside.
Later in life, Big Keith moved into Mike’s neighborhood, which had several pro-gun families. Mike started to organize a .22 shoot for the neighborhood and that helped prompt Big Keith into firearms. While Big Keith got into shotguns and skeet shooting, Mike kept leaning towards handguns.
At one point, Mike thought about starting a podcast, but didn’t have the drive to get it going. It does take an idea, some skill, and some time. When the lockdowns started in 2020, he realized that with time off from work, now was the time to start a podcast. So he booked Big Keith as his first guest to do a trial run. Big Keith didn’t know it, but it was Mike’s way to get a podcasting partner. The show has not been aired, but they may release it for episode 100, which is really a big milestone for podcasters, YouTubers, and any content creator.
A great way to achieve something is to have some goals. Mike made a list of folks he wanted to have as guests and he started reaching out to them. He found out that many folks are very welcoming and receptive to being on a podcast as a guest. Often podcasters listen to other podcasters and that’s the list of folks that inspire them and who they’d like to have as guests on their own show. The Gun Experiment name came out of knowing that they’re not experts and they want to learn from their guest and even take classes with some of them like Rob Pincus (RSWC #063) and Ben DeWalt (RSWC #115)..
We did drive to West Point but we didn’t drive around (they wouldn’t let us with the cameras on) and we couldn’t get into the museum without masks, which none of us had. We talk about some of the great guests they’ve had and some of the great things about being a content creator, like communicating with fans and getting to meet and hang out with some of the movers and shakers in the 2A community.
Mike & Big Keith are a great couple of guys with a wonderful and informative show that you need to check out! The links to their social media are below. And when their studio is up and recording for some live in studio guests, I’ll be making another trip down to New York. And maybe we’ll get into West Point next time.
Favorite quotes:
Mike: “If you’re not a hunter, bringing your kids around a hunting camp, it’s great, it’s a very old tradition in this country.”
Big Keith: “I self-admittedly call myself a Fudd. I’m not but my shotguns are.”
Mike: “You would think when you hear about these assault weapon bills, all these bills, you would think that would unite everybody.”
Mike: “But it is 100% draconian and not free.”
Keith: “We don’t know everything, we’re just trying to experiment.”
Keith: “The best thing is when you get listener interaction.”
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:23 The Gun Experiment (Mike & Big Keith)
02:20 Big Keith’s background
03:03 Mike’s background
04:30 Hunting and camping
10:05 Mike & pistols
13:33 Shotguns in NY
14:27 Gun industry folks
15:28 Cautionary tale
17:41 Life in NY
19:40 Starting The Gun Experiment
21:46 Naming the podcast
24:26 Listener feedback
25:39 Great guests
29:11 West Point-denied
29:25 More great guests
32:47 Videos?
35:55 TGE Studio
39:19 Never miss an episode
41:11 More favorite guests
42:33 Warp up
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#142
Mike & Big Keith
The Gun Experiment Podcast
This is a ‘big show’ for Mike & Big Keith from The Gun Experiment. They haven’t been seen on video. Mike reached out to me and asked to be on their podcast. When I found out they were only a couple hours away, I said I wanted them on my show in return. Big Keith even offered to let us use his vintage Lincoln! Here’s a link to The Gun Experiment with me as their guest. https://thegunexperiment.com/episodes/42-dont-cross-streams/
We talked about doing some shotgunning before we filmed the show, but after a warm drive to the local gun club for some trap shooting, we discovered that the clay thrower was frozen. So that was out. We really wanted to see who could out shoot each other, but it will have to happen another time.
Mike & Big Keith grew up in the same area of New York but they’re a few years apart in age. Big Keith had family members who took him shooting, but his family wasn’t into firearms. Like many, shooting didn’t kick in until later in life. Mike grew up with a father that owned firearms and took him hunting and they spent a lot of time outdoors and outside.
Later in life, Big Keith moved into Mike’s neighborhood, which had several pro-gun families. Mike started to organize a .22 shoot for the neighborhood and that helped prompt Big Keith into firearms. While Big Keith got into shotguns and skeet shooting, Mike kept leaning towards handguns.
At one point, Mike thought about starting a podcast, but didn’t have the drive to get it going. It does take an idea, some skill, and some time. When the lockdowns started in 2020, he realized that with time off from work, now was the time to start a podcast. So he booked Big Keith as his first guest to do a trial run. Big Keith didn’t know it, but it was Mike’s way to get a podcasting partner. The show has not been aired, but they may release it for episode 100, which is really a big milestone for podcasters, YouTubers, and any content creator.
A great way to achieve something is to have some goals. Mike made a list of folks he wanted to have as guests and he started reaching out to them. He found out that many folks are very welcoming and receptive to being on a podcast as a guest. Often podcasters listen to other podcasters and that’s the list of folks that inspire them and who they’d like to have as guests on their own show. The Gun Experiment name came out of knowing that they’re not experts and they want to learn from their guest and even take classes with some of them like Rob Pincus (RSWC #063) and Ben DeWalt (RSWC #115)..
We did drive to West Point but we didn’t drive around (they wouldn’t let us with the cameras on) and we couldn’t get into the museum without masks, which none of us had. We talk about some of the great guests they’ve had and some of the great things about being a content creator, like communicating with fans and getting to meet and hang out with some of the movers and shakers in the 2A community.
Mike & Big Keith are a great couple of guys with a wonderful and informative show that you need to check out! The links to their social media are below. And when their studio is up and recording for some live in studio guests, I’ll be making another trip down to New York. And maybe we’ll get into West Point next time.
Favorite quotes:
Mike: “If you’re not a hunter, bringing your kids around a hunting camp, it’s great, it’s a very old tradition in this country.”
Big Keith: “I self-admittedly call myself a Fudd. I’m not but my shotguns are.”
Mike: “You would think when you hear about these assault weapon bills, all these bills, you would think that would unite everybody.”
Mike: “But it is 100% draconian and not free.”
Keith: “We don’t know everything, we’re just trying to experiment.”
Keith: “The best thing is when you get listener interaction.”
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:23 The Gun Experiment (Mike & Big Keith)
02:20 Big Keith’s background
03:03 Mike’s background
04:30 Hunting and camping
10:05 Mike & pistols
13:33 Shotguns in NY
14:27 Gun industry folks
15:28 Cautionary tale
17:41 Life in NY
19:40 Starting The Gun Experiment
21:46 Naming the podcast
24:26 Listener feedback
25:39 Great guests
29:11 West Point-denied
29:25 More great guests
32:47 Videos?
35:55 TGE Studio
39:19 Never miss an episode
41:11 More favorite guests
42:33 Warp up
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
141
Val Evans
“Mama Bear”
Armed Women of America
Last October, I was emceeing the Rod Of Iron Freedom Festival at the Tommy Gun Warehouse at KAHR Arms in Pennsylvania. It was a great event and I got to hang out with some of my 2A friends, including Stephen Willeford, RSWC #088, and I got to make new friends. Stephen, a few others, and I spent about an hour talking at the hotel and he mentioned that I should have Val Evans on the Stagecoach. He gave me her contact number and I reached out. She lives in Virginia and I was going down to film some shows. When I asked if she was interested, she said yes!
Val has an amazing story, one that can happen to anyone at any time. I know folks say that all the time, but this is really true. Her husband is a police officer and one year for her birthday, she wanted to go to the police range and go shooting. One night while her husband was working there was a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and saw it wasn’t a neighbor. It was a stranger pounding on the door, breaking it in two places. Val was home alone with their daughter. She enacted the plan, which was to call 911 and get the gun.
Once she was armed, she heard glass break and realized that he was coming in through the window. While she was on the phone with dispatch, she was able to find him and get a few shots on him, on his hand and in the groin area. Her daughter called out to see what was going on and she told her everything was fine. The police arrived and that’s when she put her gun away. Ultimately, she wasn’t brought up on charges for defending herself, but the criminal wasn’t brought up either as he wasn’t able to let her know his intentions. He was on drugs and didn’t know where he was.
Fortunately, this brought Val to The Well Armed Woman (now the Armed Women of America). She was filmed for a segment on The BlazeTV for a TWAW at an instructor course. As an instructor, she helps empower women through firearms training and her story of self defense. She also shares with us the story about being asked to speak at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indiana. It didn’t occur to her that they were asking a lot of questions and were doing a background check on her, which seemed a bit strange. At the NRAAM is where she not only met Stephen Willeford, but also met President Trump.
Even with training, support, and friends, this was still a difficult thing for Val to deal with. It took a few years to get over the PTSD that she had from the incident. One of the most helpful things for her was training other women that they can handle situations like this themselves and sharing this helped Val, too.
One of the main lessons I learned from her story is that you NEED a plan for safety, regardless if it’s at home, work, or in the car. She was a dispatch herself and learned what she needed to do. Her dispatch work came in handy and she did just as they planned, get the gun, call 911.
Favorite quotes:
“This was the plan, to call 911 and go get the gun.”
“The judge was basically like “okay…and…”
“I will put down the gun when the officers arrive on the scene.”
“It took a lot to get back to myself.”
“I was so scared that I was going to get in trouble for shooting him.”
“Everyone I talked to was like ‘I couldn’t do that’. I was like ‘Yes, you can!’”
“You want to know how to use it even if you don’t have to use it.”
Armed Women of America Website
https://twawshootingchapters.org/
Armed Women of America Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/twawshootingchapters/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#140
Frank C Tait
NRA Board of Directors Candidate
You never know who you’re going to see when you’re roaming around SHOT Show. I ran into Frank C Tait in Las Vegas in January 2022 and we exchanged info. This year is the third year that he’s been running for the NRA Board of Directors (BOD). Hopefully this will be the year for him!
Frank and I met in Philadelphia and started the show at the Betsy Ross house, where we snagged a selfie. We headed toward the downtown area, near Independence Hall, then to Market Street and the Philadelphia City Hall, and towards the Museum of Art, where Rocky Balboa ran up the stairs. We drive around City Hall and I include a couple photos of the William Penn statue and how it can be seen from different angles.
Frank grew up in a home in Philly without firearms. His Uncle Tony, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, took him shooting with his gun collection. At 18, he got a hunting license and bought his first firearms. For one of his jobs, he had to carry a firearm and got into PPC (Practical Pistol Competition). LIke many folks, he ended up taking time off due to career and family.
When a friend needed to get some family firearms, they got to talking and that led to Frank getting into IDPA and USPSA and other competitive shooting. Shooting led to volunteering and that led to becoming an RSO and instructing. One of the members of a local range was Walt Rauch. Mr Rauch was a famous instructor, author, and expert in firearms. Frank learned a lot from Walt. He became a firearm instructor teaching nearly all the NRA disciplines, eventually becoming a Training Counselor.
Frank was one of a group responsible for bringing the Appleseed Project outside of North Carolina. He learned the Appleseed rifle instructor method, which he thought was superior to the NRA’s rifle course in helping diagnose where students need help. He also started Revere’s Rider, which focuses on the events leading to April 19, 1775. They share some stories about the people who were involved with the Revolutionary War.
After years of a career in educational software technology and serving on boards for over 25 years, Frank has been working hard to get on the NRA BOD to make the changes he thinks the NRA needs. Frank lays out the changes that he believes will help the NRA BOD do what it needs to do. Things like making the board smaller so they can make decisions to get things done. Getting onto the board is difficult and often seems like a loyalty test to let things be the way they are. He also believes that the BOD needs to be looking to the future and seeing who is up and coming and who can take some leadership roles.
We cover much more about what he would like to see the NRA doing and how he likes the changes to look, act, and progress. He’s been working hard and finally made it to the ballot. Please “bullet vote” for Frank, which means only vote for him. If you vote for several people then his odds of getting onto the board decrease. The impression I got is that Frank is a big NRA fan despite what is going on with the current BOD. I think with someone like him, maybe a few more, they can make the NRA stronger for the future of our Second Amendment.
Favorite quotes:
“What helped me become a good instructor is having great mentors.”
“Marksmanship made a difference in founding our country.”
“Boards are supposed to be strategic and they spend all their time doing tactical stuff.”
“The way you fix this is you come clean and make it right.”
“There are things that the NRA does that are phenomenal.”
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:36 Frank C Tait
03:55 First shots
05:08 Competitive Shooting
09:25 Teaching is great
110:33 Appleseed Project
11:55 Revere’s Riders
14:17 The Intolerable Act (where Amendments 1-5 come from)
15:55 Philly City Hall Square
17:08 Appleseed/NRA credentials
18:52 NRA TC & other disciplines
20:58 Other 2A groups
25:25 NRAAM 2019
28:57 Frank’s blog & NRA plans
32:47 BOD’s responsibility
35:32 Future talent
36:13 Risk management
40:02 Petitions
43:01 Education & training
48:20 FNRA
50:11 Wrap up
Frank’s Substack
https://taitnra.substack.com/
Appleseed Project
https://appleseedinfo.org/
Revere’s Riders
https://www.reveresriders.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
139
Kerrie Ann Auclair
The DC Project
Armed Women of America
I have a YouTube playlist of all the DC Project (DCP) members who have been on the show. When I found out Kerrie Ann was the new member for Massachusetts, I sent her the list and asked if she would be on the show. Last fall, we both took a course from Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) and had a chance to talk and set up an interview. A couple weeks after the course, Kerrie Ann went to Florida for the DCP Summit for the first time.
Kerrie grew up here in New England and was very anti-gun when her children were young and she was a new mom. Like many folks, there was an incident that changed her situation on a dime. There was a home invasion in Connecticut, where the father/husband was tied up while the criminals/murderers beat and raped with wife and daughters, then set the house of fire. The father was able to escape the home. Kerrie’s husband heard this story and wanted her to get a firearm to protect their family. After a neighbor who is also a police officer took them to the range, Kerrie was a new woman and wanted to learn much more about firearms and self defense.
While craving to get more training and education, Kerrie found Kelly Pidgeon’s (RSWC #056) channel ARMED and Feminine on YouTube. She immersed herself in the videos on Kelly’s channel. While they two were messaging, Kelly encouraged Kerrie to start a The Well Armed Woman (now Armed Women of America - AWA) chapter. After she found a host range, they had 30 women at the first meeting and all of them signed up to be TWAW members! Neither Kerrie or her assistant were instructors yet but they had a club. One of the most moving things is the stories the other women shared with Kerrie about why they wanted to get a firearm. There is really a strong need for women to learn and train with female instructors. With the defunding of police and the riots of 2020, more and more women are wanting to get trained in firearms.
We spend some time sharing stories about teaching out children firearm safety and even some pepper spray safety. But we also talk about how owning firearms changes how the extended family sees us and what we're doing, living the 2A lifestyle. Of course, the answer to their questions is ‘it’s a bunch of nunya bidness’! Unfortunately, it's too bad that others don’t accept that there are different strokes for different strokes!
Kerrie is also the new DCP representative for Massachusetts. This is a title she isn’t taking lightly. She’s working with some local women to educate MA residents how to work with and speak to our state politicians and share their stories. She tells us about when she finally got to the DCP Summit and had the chance to meet Kelly Pidgeon and the others. I’m excited that she used my DCP playlist to learn about the others in the group.
Besides the DCP and the AWA, she’s started her own training business, Ways To Be Empowered. She’s trying to stretch out the training to women and men teaching courses and giving private lessons. She’s also working on building her own YouTube channel and media reach. Kerrie Ann is definitely someone we all need to be watching and following, not just on social media, but in her actions as well.
Favorite quotes:
“I was very adamant about having no toy guns in the house. And then it switched.”
“We understood how important it was to be supportive to these women, to train in a non-threatening environment.”
“You are your first responder.”
“Most of the people I talk to do change their mind….If they decide to have a firearm, we’re here to help.”
“I will never stop fighting for what I think is right.”
“Everyone’s got their own super power.”
Time stamp
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Armed Women of America Website
https://twawshootingchapters.org/
Armed Women of America Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/twawshootingchapters/
Women Instructor Network Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/616828449367358/members
Way To Be Empowered Private Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/waystobeempowered/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#138
John Crump
Black Swan Media
John Crump is one of those content creators that is just about everywhere. Our paths must have crossed somewhere. Regardless, John was up for being on the show when I made a trip to Virginia. He says he does his shows from his mother’s basement. She was nice enough to offer me some cookies and milk.
John, often known as Crump, or even Crumpy, has lots of things going on. He tells us that he grew up in a house full of Democrats and he was the only Constitutionalist in the family. So he’s been consistent throughout. Once he gets into something, he’s ALL in. When he got into firearms, he ended up starting one gun store and buying another just to have the inventory. He submitted something to Ammoland and it was published. The next week, he sent another article to them and that was published. Then a third the next week. Eventually, Ammoland just said John should write for them.
He’s got his hand in some other content, too. He’s got a daily YouTube channel, John Crump Live. There’s a variety of guests and topics, covering just about anything that is firearm or freedom related. Then there’s John Crump News. Like the title says, it’s where he puts out news of what’s going on. He’s also helping other content creators, too. Folks like DLD After Dark, Flying Rich, Trench Work Chronicles, Shooting Gallery New England (RSWC #106), and 2A EDU. Plus he creates t-shirts and patches. All of this is under the Black Swan Media brand. There’s a story behind Black Swan Media that he shares with us. One of the things that keeps John going is being an insomniac and not sleeping much.
John also tells us a bit about buying firearms in Virginia. He also talks about his connection to Gun Owners of America (GOA) and their involvement with Virginia Citizens Defense League. I was a little surprised that an 18 year old can buy a handgun and carry it openly. Much of northern Virginia is ‘occupied territory’ and the rest of Virginia is ‘free America’ as I often call regions like these.
With all of the interviews he’s done, he did a compilation of sorts. He took some transcripts of the best interviews and turned it into a book called Speaking With Giants. Some of the interviewees are RSWC passengers! Stephen Willeford (#088), Anthony Colandro (#003 & 025), Sarah Joy Albrecht (#092), Rhonda Ezell (#037), Michael Sodini (# 067). But there’s others, too. Willes Lee, Maj Toure, Tim Kennedy, and more. The proceeds from the book went to help John’s sick niece. The proceeds still get donated.
John also gets into telling us about his favorite guest, Tony Simon (#041). He said the conversation went from “Karens” to how we got to socialism and it only took 4 hours!
John had some great quotes, which you’ll find below. I really enjoyed him talking about learning about yourself when you interview someone. And how the interviewee also learns something about themselves when they’re guests on a show. I learn something from all of my passengers and I think its a good thing about taking folks Riding Shotgun.
Favorite quotes:
“I believe we should live within the Constitution and everything else is infringement.”
“When I go to sleep, I’m writing in my head. So when I wake up, I have an article usually pre-written in my head.”
“You learn a little bit about yourself when you talk to someone.”
“Life isn’t easy because it’s not meant to be easy. Anything that’s worth something is hard.”
Timestamp
00:00 Intro
01:20 John Crump
01:45 Beginnings
02:21 Constitutionalist & growing up
05:03 Engineering of firearms
06:19 VA info & GOA
09:35 Buying gun stores
10:18 Journalism & writing
12:08 Black Swan Media
15:53 Internet traffic
16:41 T shirts
18:50 Staying on top of things
25:14 Speaking with Giants book
29:49 Favorite Guests
34:04 GOA/VCDL Connection
39:40 Europe
41:58 Wrap up
Black Swan Media on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Johncrumplive
John Crump News YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/johncrumpnews
John Crump Live YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/johncrumplive
Ammoland-John Crump
https://www.ammoland.com/author/johncrump/
Crumpy Website
http://crumpy.com/
Speaking With Giants
https://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Giants-Interviews-John-Crump/dp/B08CP9DJL6
Gun Owners of America
https://www.gunowners.org/
Virginia Citizens Defense League
https://vcdl.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
137
Tyler Yzaguirre
Second Amendment Institute
In 2018, Tyler Yzguirre hosted the Heller10 celebration at the Supreme Court steps. With friends like Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009), I was able to attend a get-together the night before at Dick Heller’s house. That’s where I met Tyler. At the rally, there were several protesters. Amanda came over and told me that one speaker dropped out and I was going on. In two minutes! I was able to pull off some sort of a speech while there were chants of indecent things being hurled at the speakers.
I`ve run into Tyler at a machine gun shoot in Pennsylvania and at a DC Project/CNFJO event in New Jersey. With his new book, it was time to get him in the stagecoach and talk about his non-profit group, Second Amendment Institute (SAI), and the book.
Tyler started a rifle team while he was in college. Reluctantly, the college reluctantly gave his group $500 to Cabela’s, which the club used for ammunition. That was also his first time making some national news. When he turned 21, instead of going out to indulge in alcohol, he purchased his first handgun. After college, he continued with the idea and started SAI, a non-profit institute. Some of their fundraisers have drawn in some big names, like Allan West, Lauren Boebert, & Dick Heller. As a resident of DC, Tyler has acquired a concealed carry permit. This is all quite an accomplishment, as he’s a young man, but I won’t give out his age. It’s much more than I had going on when I was his age.
As a DC carry permit holder, Tyler was sharing that there are LOTS of restrictions on where law abiding gun owners can and cannot carry. And not just building, but areas, too. What is most interesting to me is that members of Congress can carry inside buildings, but not outside the buildings unless they have a carry permit. There’s about 16 hours of class and range time to get a DC carry permit. It breaks down into 4 hours of laws, 2 hours of range time, and 10 hours of class time.
One of the events Tyler & SAI organized was the Heller10 Rally on June 26, 2018. Several 2A activists spoke including, Maj Toure, Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060), Congressman Thomas Massie, Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009), Gina Roberts (RSWC #061), future NC Lt Governor Mark Keith Robinson, and of course, The Man himself, Dick Heller! The event was a huge success despite there being protesters on the SCOTUS steps, arguing with the friendly 2A crowd.
As we drive through our nation’s capital, Tyler also does double duty as a tour guide for me. He also gets into telling me about his new book, Gun Rights 101: Firing Back Against Gun Control’s Biggest Lies. The book covers some of the basic arguments on the gun control side and gives us some quick rebuttals against them. But he also gets into some of the biggest 2A cases, including Heller v DC (2008), McDonald v Chicago (2010), and Caetano v Massachusetts (2016). We also talk about some more current issues, like the Rittenhouse and Andrew Coffee cases.
It was nice to finally have the opportunity to have Tyler in the passenger’s seat. He’s an enjoyable man to be around and talk with. If you’d like to purchase his book, Gun Rights 101, please check the link below.
Favorite quotes:
“(Members of Congress)... can carry in the House building, in the Capitol dome, but they can’t carry in DC unless they get a DC carry license.”
“Trying to change the hearts and minds of people. We come from an educational approach. We’re not a political group.”
“Middle and lower Delaware are pretty gun-friendly.”
“It’s been a great journey and I look forward to keep doing it.”
“I was always willing to fight with the school.”
Second Amendment Institute Website
https://www.sainational.org/
Second Amendment Institute Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/secondamendmentinstitute
Gun Rights 101: Fighting Back Against Gun Controls Biggest Lies
https://www.amazon.com/Gun-Rights-101-Against-Controls/dp/B09M7C1DD5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3LS8YWR6JXMID&keywords=tyler+yzaguirre&qid=1643022580&sprefix=tyler+yzaguirre%2Caps%2C54&sr=8-1
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#136
Lt Lou Lusk & Rick Capozzi
Survival Mindset
I met Lt Lou Lusk & Rick Capozzi at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greely, PA, this past fall. I was emceeing the event for one of the days and helping Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) with a concealed carry fashion show. In the VIP room, Stephen Willeford (RSWC #088) suggested that I grab Lt Lou and sit in the passenger’s seat for a show. Lt Lou was with the team that rescued Jessica Lynch in Iraq in 2003.
Lt Lou spent 29 years in service to our country, 14 active duty and 15 in the Pennsylvania Guard, including 7 tours since the Global War on Terrorism. He was part of Task Force 20 and much of the invasions and operations from the War in Iraq are covered in the book COBRA II by Michael Gordon & Bernard Trainor. Lt Lou talks about his time serving the country with much emotion, which is easy to see.
Lt Lou refreshes us about the story of Jessica Lynch, how her battalion was captured, then killed and she was left for dead. She was captured and tortured and ended up in a hospital. Lt Lou’s team went to bring her back. But they also re-patriotated 13 American soldier’s bodies. One of the difficult things was to bring the bodies back during a 3 hour helicopter ride that didn’t have body bags. His last tour was as a “BMD” pilot, a Big Mahogany Desk pilot. Lt Lou had a hard time with that as he liked to be with his men, leading from the front.
Lt Lou shares some stories about meeting Richard Winters, from Easy Company, which the series Band of Brothers was based on. He and Richard talked about the differences between the generation now and the generation back then and the major differences in how the military goes from war back to civilian life. Major Winters said back then when they came back, it took time. The men had time to decompress and process the acts of war. Nowadays, they finish their battles and within12 hours they’re back at home living civilian life.
This is one of the issues that haunts many of our military. There isn’t the decompression time to process everything that they experienced in war. They want to get home to their families and loved ones. This leads to much of the PTDS that they have, which also leads to suicide. Lt Lou shares some of his demons that he’s dealt with after military life. He admits that there were 5 times when he should have died; four during battle and one at his own hands. But without the firing pin in his firearm, he was saved by God. This also explains the tattoo he has on his right arm and why he wears a ring on his right index (trigger) finger. Like many people who have faced death, Lt Lou has 2 special days each year.
Rick gets a little time to talk about his business, Survival Mindset. They train everyday people to prepare for armed intruders. And how to respond to deal with a situation. Finally, how to survive a deadly situation. Survival Mindset does realtime drills with their clients, and they can include using several agencies including lifeflight. They work with clients on several levels of whatever their needs are of the people attending classes. Rick tells us some stories about people that have taken training with Survival Mindset and then ended up needing to use their training.
I enjoy going back and rewatching shows. There’s so much to learn about not just firearms, and not just that gun folks are the greatest folks or that we’re everyday folks. But there are challenges in life, regardless of your career or path in life. And no matter who you are or where you are, there are people like Lt Lou and Rick that ‘have your 6’.
Favorite quotes:
“That night, also with Jessica Lynch, we re-patriaited 13 Ameican soldier’s bodies that were buried in shallow graves.”
“I don’t know what to fix unless I know what’s broken.”
“It’s going to be hard for you to be the one to tell people to do stuff and not do it.”
“God has saved me 5 times. Four from an enemy, once from myself.”
“When it comes to mental health injury, instead of being broken, you’re more shattered.”
Time stamps
00:00 Intro
00:50 Lt Lou Lusk & Rick Capozzi
01:57 Lt Lou’s military experience
03:13 COBRA II book
05:50 Jessica Lynch rescue
08:43 Last tour as a “BMD” pilot
13:11 Meeting Richard Winters from A Band of Brothers
16:37 “Kept together”
18:41 The solution
21:00 IGY6
23:08 Major Winters
28:54 Mental health
33:02 Survival Mindset
Survival Mindset
https://survivalmindset.us/
Survivalmindset.org
Survival Mindset Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SurvivalMindsetUS
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Thanks to the viewers and listeners of Riding Shotgun with Charlie!
I wanted to reach out and let everyone know that I really appreciate all the support and encouragement that I get for doing the show. It’s great to hear that folks hear about passengers on other shows and see that I had them on the Stagecoach. Or better yet, when a fellow podcaster listens to a show to get some back story on a guest and then have them on their podcast. Either way, it’s a feeling that the show is going well and helping people learn about others in the firearm community.
I was talking with a friend who I call “B-L” Lisa and she thought that doing a Thank You show would be a great way to end the year. I wasn’t sure what format I could do the show. Then talking with John Petrolino, he gave it some direction. Despite the pandemic and shutdowns, the loss of jobs and income, 2021 was a successful year!
Thanks to these folks for making 2021 successful for The Stagecoach.
I got to go hunting with CNJFO, played the Star Spangled Banner in Florida, spoke in Dallas, took training in New Hampshire, South Dakota, Ohio, and Massachusetts. I kept teaching classes in Massachusetts for residents to get their License To Carry. And kept doing Utah classes in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. All along, making new 2A friends!
I was able to film more shows than ever before. That meant I was publishing episodes more than ever! From the end of March until November, I put out a show every week. And even in November, I put out shows 3 out of 5 Tuesdays. This year, I published over 40 shows!
Gun folks are the greatest folks. RSWC displays many of the movers and shakers in the firearm community in a very different situation, much more intimate and relaxed and off guard. There’s a great blend between serious topics, some humor and lightheartedness, and comfort with all of the passengers on the show.
Next year, there’s going to be more shows, more passengers, and more traveling. My goal is to complete the 5 states East of the Mississippi where I haven’t done shows. And get a few more states West of the Mississippi.
It wouldn’t mean a thing without viewers and listeners.
I’ve got an online store going for sway and merch, which you can find below.
Riding Shotgun With Charlie & GunGram shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers, and patches.
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
https://www.cnjfo.com/
Florida Carry
https://www.floridacarry.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep And Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation
https://kidssafefoundation.org/
Massad Ayoob Group
https://massadayoobgroup.com/
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Rod Of Iron Freedom Festival
https://www.rodofironfreedomfestival.org/
Sig Sauer Academy
https://www.sigsaueracademy.com/
Gun Owners Action League
https://goal.org/
Onsight Firearm Training
https://oftllc.us/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
A Girl & A Gun
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
Ammoland
https://www.ammoland.com/
Gun Owners Radio
https://www.gunownersradio.com/
The Up Range Podcast
https://www.facebook.com/UpRangePodcast/
Firearm Trainers Podcast
https://www.firearmtrainerpodcast.com/
Midnight Patriots
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1248-the-midnight-patriots-70532665/
Hay! I Want Your Job!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-i-want-your-job/id1542841478
The Shooting in the Woods podcast
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7bWC6QaVwXyS484fl5DMg
Gun Freedom Radio
https://gunfreedomradio.com/
Eye On The Target
https://eyeonthetargetradio.com/
The Gun Experiment Podcast
https://thegunexperiment.com/
The Loaded Mic with Dan Wos
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheLoadedMic
Gun For Hire
https://gunforhire.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#134
Stephen Gutowski
The Reload
Stephen Gutowski was awarded the Journalist of the Year at Gun Rights Policy Conference in 2021. He’s won this award before. I’ve been seeing him at GRPC and some other events around the country. At GRPC in Chicago a few years ago, we were walking and talking with someone and he said he’d like to be on the show when I get to the DC/VA area. I finally made a trip and was able to film a show with him. We met at Mount Vernon, VA, at George Washington’s house and took a scenic drive next to the Potomac River and headed into Old Town Alexandria.
Stephen didn’t grow up around firearms or shooting, but he started in college. He also started a blog writing about politics in college as well. Going out for a staff retreat, there was some informal skeet shooting. He does admit to being afraid of recoil, which is something to someone who hasn’t shot before. That’s when Stephen got the gun bug and bought a 20 gauge shotgun that wasn’t really good for anything other than having a shotgun. The good news is he still has it because it doesn’t have much value other than being his first gun.
Since then, he’s made smarter purchases, did some AR builds, and became an instructor. All of these were beneficial when he was writing gun stories for various publications. He meant he was an informed journalist. His writing style was more first person but he learned to write better as a journalist and write hard news stories. He’s written for the National Review, The Washington Review, and The Atlantic, but wrote for The Washington Free Beacon for several years.
Much of the writing about firearms is inaccurate due to the writers not knowing about firearms. Which is one of the motivators on why Stephen started “The Reload”, his own publication about news stories and their relation with firearms. The Reload gives sober & serious informed reporting about firearms.
Besides the media not knowing about firearms, sometimes the firearms community doesn’t know how the politics of things work or the process of passing things like Constitutional carry or even how bills get passed. It takes knowledge and often experience to see which bills could pass and which don’t have a chance of passing.
Th Reload is both a website and podcast. The business model is something that many folks are doing. They give content for free then offer more content to members who pay for a subscription and support the website or podcast.. There is a lifetime membership subscription and a yearly subscription for The Reload.
One of the huge benefits of producing your own news outlet is that you have control over the content and stories you put out. But Stephen knows he’s still got to make and keep the subscribers subscribing, so there’s always going to be good, solid information. The Reload puts out daily content, with the free weekly newsletter coming out on Fridays and the exclusive email to subscribers on Sunday.
As awarded the Journalist of the Year by the Second Amendment Foundation, Stephen is on top of what is happening in firearms and politics. At the very least, after you listen to RSWC, check out some episodes of The Reload and consider supporting Stephen with a subscription.
Favorite quotes:
“I learned over the years… how to be a better journalist, like better at hard news writing.”
“You never stop learning. You never stop improving your writing if you’re serious about it as a profession.”
“My main goal with writing is trying to inform people, tell them what is going on in the world, try to give them a better understanding of reality.”
“I don’t want to mislead people into thinking that some bill is a threat when it’s not.”
“I think it’s fun to talk to the members and see how they are, why the subscribed, and what makes them tick”
“I want to foster community that engages with the content and each other but does so in a respectful way”
:
Time stamp
00:00 Intro
01:33 Stephen
02:33 Mount Vernon tour guide
09:13 Gun stuff
12:10 First shotgun
15:28 Writing gigs
16:57 The Reload
20:10 The political side
24:15 The Reload Podcast
25:52 Business model
32:12 Subscriber’s story
33:34 Comments on social media
36:11 Wrap up
Stephen Gutowski Twitter
https://twitter.com/StephenGutowski
Stephen Gutowski Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/stephen.gutowski
The Reload Website
https://thereload.com/
The Reload Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-reload-podcast/id1575280600
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#133
Jerah Hutchins
Clearing The Chamber
Instructor, Entrepreneur, Cigar Smoker, & Bourbon Drinker
Jerah Hutchins is always on the go. And she’s doing so many good things to help people. We’ve been friends on Facebook for awhile and I reached out when I was heading to Dallas for AMMcon. I knew she lived in the area. Tony Simon (RSWC #041) said she is one of his favorite people. That’s a great recommendation so I knew I had to ask her to hop in the stagecoach.
Jerah’s grandfather was an immigrant from Sicily who loved the Second Amendment and was adamant about it and ‘about that freedom life’. During her college years, she had a shotgun where she lived, but a stalker changed things and she needed to get a handgun. She felt safe at home, but being out of her apartment which had layers of defense, she needed to have the ability to protect herself. There weren’t a lot of women getting into firearms at the time so things were different and there weren't a lot of items that were geared towards women. She started going to the range by herself. Her friends started asking her to take them to the range to show them how to get started. That’s how and why she started becoming a trainer and advocate for women to learn to shoot and carry a firearm. She had a natural market to start a business with her friends and their friends. She made a change in careers and hasn’t looked back.
What I really like about Jerah is that her approach to teaching women about firearms, safety, and shooting is different from how men see things, particularly how a husband would teach his wife. The husband has a tie to the outcome of a gunfight his wife may get in, but Jerah’s isn’t at the same level and that means she’s willing to be patient and help more.
Jerah’s family has a tradition of serving the country in some form or another. She found this out in a book that her grandfather wrote about the family history. When she realized that there wasn’t anyone in her generation serving, she needed to find out what she could do. After aging out of the military branches, she found out she was a great fit for the Texas State Guard. They work for the state of Texas and not the federal government.
Besides everything else, Jerah is a serial entrepreneur. She’s a partial owner of a cigar bar as well as everything else. She says that she collects bourbons and has never had an uncivilized conversation while having a cigar. While enjoying a cigar and bourbon is when she’s most creative.
I love that we get into so many things. Self defense attitudes, raising children, helping others. Jerah has an amazing look at life and business. She lives and breathes this every day, everywhere, to everybody.
This episode is DEFINITELY worth a second and even a third listen to! Jerah’s approach to life is much different than many other people’s approach. Listening to her is inspiring to make positive changes to life and business. This is a jam packed show for sure!
Favorite quotes:
“You fail and fail and fail, until you just get it.”
“In 2018, I went full time with guns…I went full time and didn’t want to do anything else. And I have not looked back.”
“Our parents tell use to be careful, but they never tell us how”
“Everybody has a why when it comes to the Second Amendment… (one of my reasons) is getting this message out to women and especially mothers that you got a duty”
“The freedom that comes with the money, that’s what I’m after”
“Chase wealth so that government can’t control you”
Clearing The Chamber Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/clearingthechamber
Clearing The Chamber Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/clearingthechamber/
Clearing The Chamber Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/jerahhutchins/_created/
Clearing The Chamber
https://clearingthechamber.com/
Gun Freedom Radio (Thanks to Cheryl Todd for the use of her ‘stagecoach’!)
https://gunfreedomradio.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
132
Grant Gallagher
ScotShot
NRA & USCCA Training Counselor
It’s great to have a product like RSWC. While visiting a friend in New Jersey, I was wondering who I could have from New Jersey on the show. He asked “what about Grant Gallagher from ScotShot?” I asked if he was a regular co-host on The Polite Society Podcast. And he was. My friend also said he was an NRA & USCCA Training Counselor and he took training with Grant. After some messages back and forth, we all had a bite to eat before filming the shows.
Grant was raised in Scotland, like ScotShot would make you believe. His real job is a scientist and he’s been a professor at a college in New Jersey since 2001, just before September 11. His only experience shooting in Scotland was with a friend’s dad, who hunted. Since the massacre at a school in Dunblane, civilian access to handguns were removed. So even the Olympic shooters had to leave the country to train and practice.
In the UK, a handgun is defined by its barrel length. If the length of the barrel is less than 16 inches, it's considered a handgun. The whole length of the gun has to do with concealability. Another difference between here and the UK is that shooting WITHOUT a suppressor is considered to be ‘bad manners’. If you’re approved for a handgun, then getting a suppressor is a minimal amount of paperwork.
After a colleague suggested that Grant and his wife go shooting, they really enjoyed it. Around 2008, they got their first handguns. Grant did some self training and found out that he really likes the Sig Sauers. This past year, I did some training at the Sig Academy in New Hampshire, which Grant hasn’t been to. Yet!
Like many new shooters and instructors, Grant thought the “NRA way” was the way to go. He took several NRA classes at Gun For Hire from Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & #025). Then he took instructor level classes from Chet Wilson, from SHOOTNJ. I share a funny story about meeting Chet at SHOT in 2017. After taking courses with SHOOTNJ, Chet asked Grant to join him as an instructor. Chet was a big influence on Grant and getting some class time in and starting instructing as a profession and starting ScotShot.
Grant is a training counselor for both the NRA & the USCCA. He credits Klint Macro (RSWC #069) for introducing him to the USCCA and their offerings. We talk about some of the differences and how one compliments the other. Ultimately, they both talk about responsibly armed Americans. We also talk about some of the skills that Jeff Cooper taught and how those are still important for someone to have. Besides Cooper, Grant talks about the advantage of having a SIRT Pistol (Mike Hughes & Britt Lentz, RSWC #074) and practicing while you’re at home while you’re watching TV.
I’m glad that I asked Grant to hop in the stagecoach. He’s a great guy with lots of knowledge and he’s willing to share it with his clients. I really like that my network of friends is growing and crossing with people like Grant.
Favorite quotes:
“In the UK it's considered bad manners to shoot without a suppressor.”
“A lot more people have guns that admit to it.”
“You’ve got ScotShot Grant, so ScotShot can pay for everything.”
“ScotShot was formed in 2013 and then all bets were off. Now you’re out there having to do it for your actual self.”
“One of the great things about the NRA is that the curriculum is the same all across the country.”
“You can’t force people to take training they don’t want to take.”
“If you’re going to have a gun that’s part of your home defense plan, then you’ve got to have a home defense plan.”
ScotShot Scott
https://www.facebook.com/scotshot.grant.7
ScotShot LLC
https://www.facebook.com/Scotshot.LLC
ScotShot Website
https://www.scotshot.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#131
Gun Makers Match
11.20.2021
I got a text message from Rob Pincus (RSWC #063) about the Gun Makers Match at Cape Gun Works in Hyannis, MA, asking if I was going to be making the match. I had to work on the day of the gun making, but I made it to the shooting competition. Sort of. They started at 8 am and I didn’t get to CGW until 11:15 am so I missed everything and everyone. Rob, Toby Leary, CGW owner, Matt Holmes, 2A3D Print, and Bobby Brown, AWCY?, were still hanging around. So we pulled 2 mounted bears that CGW has in the store and filmed what we called “Between Two BeARs”, a spoof of “Between Two Ferns”.
The weekend consisted of one day of gun making and a morning of shooting competitions. This was the 3rd Gun Makers Match that Rob was leading. There’s going to be a National Match in St. Augustine, FL, in March 2022. And Toby said Cape Gun Works will host an annual event, too.
Day One was building several P80s that were brought by Matt & 2A3DPrint. Bobby came from Florida to talk about 3D printing of firearm frames. Jon Green (RSWC #030 & #034), Director of Education at Gun Owners Action League, talked about the legalities of making a firearm in Massachusetts. Once you have a completed home built firearm in Massachusetts, it has to be reported to the state via the eFA-10 registration portal. Yeah, this is ridiculous, but as I often say “Welcome to the Commonwealth”.
The tools used, according to Toby, are things that most people have in their basement toolbox. Matt, Rob, & Bobby were able to help the class participants with everything that needed to be done to build the P80s. There were several folks doing their first builds and a few people that brought some previously made firearms. There were even a few people who brought some 3D printed frames from home.
Day Two was the competition. Toby Leary came in first place, but they said it's because his GLOCK 34 has a longer barrel. Jon Green came in second. I believe that Joe Morse (RSWC #106) from Shooting Gallery New England came in third. Matt 3D printed some trophies of a 3D printer printing a frame. The winners each received a trophy.
It looked and sounded like a great weekend! I’m bummed that I missed it. I will plan on making it next time, for sure! Filming a panel was a little different and certainly a different way for RSWC to happen, but I’m glad I got to get some video and learn about the 3D firearm printing world.
Favorite quotes:
Rob: “We’re giving them a fun place to show them off. And give them a competition.”
Rob: “If everyone says ‘ghost guns’ are bad and scary and nefarious, it hurts our hobby. It hurts our ability to exercise our freedom and enjoy our freedom.”
Matt: “People are intimidated for whatever reason...It’s really easy to explain to people how they work, how to check function, how to check safeties.”
Toby: “I got accused of cheating because I used a GLOCK 34 and they said the muzzle of the gun was touching the target.”
Toby: “We literally brought tools that are in pretty much everyone’s basement toolbox out here and built guns with them.”
Bobby:”We want to make designs that never existed. We want to take existing designs and make them into something else.”
Rob Pincus
https://icetraining.us/
2A3D Print
https://2a3dprint.com/
Are We Cool Yet? AWCY?
https://www.areweconsumersyet.com/
Twitter: @awcy_arms
Instagram: awcy_arms
YouTube: Are We Cool Yet?
The files are on odysee: https://odysee.com/@AreWeCoolYet:7
Cape Gun Works
https://www.capegunworks.com/
Gun Makers Match
https://gunmakersmatch.com/
Guns For Everyone National
https://gfenational.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
130
Ashley Hlebinsky
Firearm Historian
The DC Project
Ashley Hlebinsky is THE coolest firearm historian you’ll ever meet! We were both speakers at AMMcon (hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation) in Dallas recently. Since she is a historian and we were in Dallas there is only one place for us to visit: Dealey Plaza. Of course, you know this is where Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. I LOVE the Kennedy assassination conspiracies! All of them. And while watching any documentary on it, I will buy whatever theory they’re selling. But not Ashley. She likes the real story!
Ashley wanted to be a doctor like many folks, but she was interested in battlefield medicine which led to firearms and firearm history. Ted Koppel said about her, she wanted to learn to save lives then to things that could take lives. But she’s really into much more about how firearms work, how the evolution of firearms has changed, and its impact on the industry, technology, society, and culture.
One of her personal interests is in guns used in crimes. Many museums don’t want to bring up the firearms used in crimes, but Ashely really enjoys that part of the story about firearms. She says that not knowing about firearms leads museums to put some wrong firearms on display. This is where she really enjoys working, coming up with how a firearm used in a crime can be a valid and educational display at a museum.
During her undergrad years after she changed majors, she was doing as much as she could including volunteering, internships, researching, and learning to shoot. While a senior in college, Ashley was able to parlay internships into getting hired by the Smithsonian. She was able to go from the Smithsonian to the Cody Firearms Museum in Wyoming, where she ran just about everything behind the scenes and all the displays for the exhibitions, collections, and education.
Once we get to Dealey Plaza, the conversation turns to the Kennedy assassination and what was going on during the 1960’s and many of the various conspiracies. We do get some selfies at the School Book Depository, the grassy knoll, and the two X’s where the bullets hit Kennedy.
Ashley brings up what she calls the Post World War II era and how the turbulent times and several assassinations lead to the Gun Control Act of 1968. We talk about the possibility of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe ties to the Kennedys, the similarities between Lincoln & Kennedy. And other irrelevant and interesting topics. Including James Earl Jones, where the Carcano rifle is, and the FBI trying to get Martin Luther King, Jr to commit suicide.
Besides everything that Ashley is involved with she’s also with The DC Project. She testified in front of Congress. She’s a producer of TV shows on the paranormal on the TRVL Channel and several shows for Brother in Arms and Midway USA’s Gun Stories.
Ashley was a great sport going to Dealey Plaza and taking the conversation in several places. I’m glad that I was able to have her as part of the Stagecoach Across America.
Favorite quotes:
“Personally, I’m more fascinated by guns used in crime and how to interrupt them than guns not used in crime.”
“A lot of people want to work in the gun vault. And he said I was the only person that he actually thought could do it.”
“When I go to a museum, I don’t like to read. I’m there to see the stuff.”
“Because there’s so much armed radicalism, the government starts doing some crazy stuff.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an inside job. Because they’re doing kinds of stuff for the benefit of I’m not sure who. ”
Ashley Hlebinsky Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/historyinheels/
Ashley Hlebinsky Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/officialashleyhlebinsky
Ashley Hlebinsky Twitter
https://twitter.com/ashleyhlebinsky
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Gun Freedom Radio
https://gunfreedomradio.com/
Pot of Gold Estate Auctions
https://potofgoldestate.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
129
Heidi Bergmann-Schoch
Compass Defense LLC
This past fall I had a trip to New Jersey to hang out with John Petrolino (RSWC #093). As we were talking, I mentioned that this was my first trip in over 2 years without having filmed a show someplace. After some brainstorming of previous New Jersey passengers, we came up with Grant Gallagher (coming soon) and Grant told Heidi Bergmann-Schoch about this and asked if she wanted to be on the show, too. He said she’s a great instructor and she has worked with him for years. After lunch, we filmed the shows then I headed home.
Heidi started her career as a police officer, specifically a K-9 officer. She started the K-9 officer program in her town and was the K-9 officer in several towns. After being an officer for 7 years, she contracted Lyme’s disease and had to retire. Wanting to still give to the community, she got into paramedics. Before being a paramedic, she had to train for an EMT position. She was a paramedic for about 10 years before she bought a farm and got into raising and training horses.
Heidi eventually decided to get back into firearms and training. She connected with Grant Gallagher from ScotShot (his episode is coming soon). She taught with Grant for 5 years before starting out on her own. She’s certified to teach NRA & USCCA courses at many levels and disciplines. I always find it interesting that unlike Massachusetts, New Jersey doesn’t have “approved courses”. But that doesn’t mean the process is easy or quick.
We talk about some issues that new students of the gun have. Things like buying a gun that isn’t good for the student. She calls the new students with new guns the “2A Minnie Pearls''. Yes, you have to be of a certain age to get that reference! I share some stories with some gun clients that I had as well. She also shares a story about some students with snub revolvers who shouldn’t have had snub revolvers due to the size of the gun and the size of the student.
Besides being an instructor, Heidi is also involved with The DC Project and The Well Armed Woman. She started with The Well Armed Woman by getting ‘sucked in’. She was teaching at a range and the range wanted to start a program. She did all the paperwork and legal stuff to start a chapter, including making some videos and passing a qualification on video. Her chapters meet once a month and have an education section and live fire, then dinner with the girls.
Her involvement with The DC Project is helping “educate over legislate”, which is the group’s motto. The DC Project is aiming to get women to speak to their legislators at the national and state levels, and share their stories about why they own firearms and why the 2A issue is a women’s issue.
It’s really great to have the chance to meet more folks in the firearm community. Gun people really are the best people. And Heidi is one of them.
Favorite quotes
“The police classes were more practical.”
“That’s why I started to change over more to the United States Concealed Carry Association. Their curriculum is more towards the practical use of a firearm in a defensive sense.’
“They come in with the tag on it. They come in, they’re a 2A Minnie Pearl.”
“I can’t explain how good the gals are that I have. They are so generous. They are so kind. They support one another.”
Compass Defense
https://compassdefense.net/
Compass Defense LLC
https://www.facebook.com/compassdefense.net
The Well Armed Woman
https://www.facebook.com/TheWellArmedWoman/
The Well Armed Woman
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
We Shoot Shooting Range
https://weshootusa.com/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Or watch on:
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#128 Amy Lucas
Steel & Stilettos Firearms Training
USCCA Instructor
It’s great to have friends in the gun community who know the people I don’t. Amy Lucas was suggested to me by Patrick Collins (RSWC #091). Earlier this month, I was in Dallas for AMMcon and Amy was in Fort Worth for the USCCA Expo. She was able to get away for a bit to hop in the Stagecoach. By the way, the “Stagecoach” was provided by Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) from Gun Freedom Radio! Thanks, girl!
Amy is a retired corrections officer from the metro Detroit area. She started her career before she could carry a firearm. Then she got into training with firearms, CPR and everything else. She spent 20 years holding down the fort at a maximum security prison. While she was there, she got lots of training in many areas of self defense and personal protection. She also became a SWAT team leader, chasing down escapees and securing the prison when someone snuck in a firearm.
After she retired, she became a private investigator and followed people around. She realized that she’s got lots of training, skill, and knowledge. She decided that she wanted to take all the skill & knowledge she has and give it to the public. That’s when she started Steel & Stilettos Firearm Training. S&S started at a great time, just before March 2020. During the next year and a half, people were craving to have firearms for self defense and they needed training.
Steel & Stilettos is only a few years old. She had been training corrections officers for years before getting into the civilian marketplace. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. She got involved with the USCCA and became an instructor. Then she was really fast tracked to becoming a Training Councilor (TC) for them. This month, she earned the title Senior Training Councilor!
One of the things she finds most rewarding is training women. Ninety-five percent of her clients are women, but she doesn’t have any issues instructing men. Besides the USCCA courses and the course to get the Michigan Concealed Pistol License, she also teaches a refresher course for when clients need to renew their Michigan CPL. She has also added some other female firearm and self defense (Krav Maga) instructors to her staff at Steel & Stilettos.
Amy was also at the Rick Ector Ladies Event this past August in Detroit. She was the Chief Range Safety Officer for the event, running the line at Top Gun Shooting Sports in Taylor, MI. This is her second year at the event. Rick’s Ladies Event has been growing for 10 years. His goal this year was 4,000 trained in 2 days on firearm safety and handgun basics. Instructors from all over the country came to help with the event.
Amy was a really wonderful woman to spend some time with. She’s very busy with Steel & Stilettos Firearm Training and her spare time is taken up being a private contractor for the US Marshalls.
Despite the pandemic, Amy has been busy instructing and growing her business. She’s very excited about her future and where the firearm and safety communities are taking her.
Favorite quotes
“You have too many skills, you have too much knowledge to be sitting around following people. You really should take your education and your training and give it to the public.”
“The people that attend my class with no experience are the best shooters.”
“People that I know that have never been interested all of a sudden are very interested, just because of the way the world is going, they want to feel safe.”
“If we just pay attention to our surroundings, if we avoid conflicts, then we might not have to do anything at all.”
Steel & Stilettos Website
https://www.steelandstilettostraining.com/
Steel & Stilettos Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SteelnStilettos
Steel & Stilettos Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/steelnstilettos
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#127
Dave Laird
Dynamic Combative Solutions LLC
This summer I was invited to participate in a class sponsored by FASTER Saves Lives (FSL). Check them out: they’re working to arm students and school staff! There were several instructor and podcast friends taking the class that were part of the “media people” who were going to talk about and promote what FSL is doing. Dave Laird was also a student in the class. He is a member of Arizona Citizens Defense League (AZCDL). He’s also an instructor and founder of Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC. Which is why he outshot everyone in the class!
Dave grew up around firearms and many family members were in the military from before 1776, during the French & Indian War. As a teen he moved back to Pennsylvania and his grandmother taught him a lesson in hunting: he isn’t taking lots of ammo-he got one round. He did martial arts when he was young and knew he’d be heading to the military. After doing well in MEPS test, he still wanted to jump out of airplanes. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division, in the infantry, heavy tank weapon specialist, heavy weapons squad leader, and a designated scout sniper for his unit. He often got gigs where the others had to try and “beat the crap” out of him. And he seemed to enjoy it. So he shared some stories about Round Robin and the final testing.
After the military, he wasn’t sure where life would take him. It took him to be a contractor for a few years. After getting out of that, he went home and did some church security and did some volunteering with a local sheriff’s department. Teaching church security teams, he had a friend who opened a shooting range where he started to instruct some high level classes. He noticed that not all of the students had the same basic training and he designed a solid curriculum for everyone to work from. He found that he was thriving while managing the training schedule and training the trainers. He tied everything together and created Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC, with all his experiences.
Part of the reason Dave was at the FASTER Saves Lives (Levels 1 & 2) is that the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AZCDL) wants to bring FASTER to Arizona! Both Dave and Cheryl Todd to the Level 1 & 2 courses so they can bring back some knowledge about the program and share it with schools in Arizona. The FASTER Program isn’t just shooting its active shooter training. It’s beyond the basics of shooting. We did some advanced shooting, one handed, non-dominant hand, as well as in various stances and distances. There was some trauma first aid, which was new for me. The last training day was intense. We went to a real school (which wasn’t in session) and did some force on force scenario training. Just for the record, I was shot 4 times by my bad guy. But I also yelled and swore at him… before I started shooting. That was my mistake.
Favorite quotes
“We pretend to be Taliban before the Taliban.”
“I didn’t like the direction it (military career) was going. It sort of felt like it would be dangerous to stay in at that point.”
“If you want to be a good self defender who carries your gun on you every single day, there are certain things that you need to do and it needs to be unconsciously competent at that level.”
“I don’t want to be your Holy Grail… If you’ve only been with one instructor, you’ve only seen one way, you’re missing out.”
Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC
https://www.dcs.training/
USE THE DISCOUNT CODE “ridingshotgun10” FOR A 10% DISCOUNT!!
Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DynamicCombativeSolutions
Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/d_c_s_training/
Dynamic Combative Solutions, LLC YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HNeujc2xgvIVAaNjZhVdg
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Or listen on:
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#126
Jeanelle Westrom
Davenport Guns
The DC Project
Janelle Westrom is someone who’s name I’ve been hearing for a while. She’s a friend of other friends, and that’s almost family in the gun community. Family is what the gun community is about. I reached out to Jeanelle and asked if she’d be up for being a passenger. I was heading to Sioux Falls for a class and I was going to be ‘swinging through’ the Davenport area and I could film a show with her.
We met at Davenport Guns and Jeanelle brings me in where she spent the day before shooting Gel Blasters (https://gelblaster.com/) at some friends driving in their cars. There were a few Gel Blasters in the store and she proceeded to shoot them a bit. I knew this was going to be fun.
Jeanelle’s grandpa was a gunsmith, her dad was a gun guy, and she was born with Hoppe’s in her bloodstream. Her dad took and her sisters to the range because he needed ‘brass rats’ to pick up the brass so he could reload. He spent time in the military and took a job at Rock Island Arsenal, where much of the military firearms went through and it’s where the Army does weapon development. With many connections through her father, she was able to build Davenport Guns and their range. Eventually, her father made connections to engineers at Armalite. Yes, THAT Armalite. And he ended up purchasing the drawing for the rifle in 1994. After having the plans for 20 years, he sold the company and did quite well for himself. To keep himself busy, he does the internet sales for Davenport Guns.
Jeanelle started competitive shooting at the Bianchi Cup hanging out with many famous shooters like Jerry Miculek and Bruce Piatt. She made connections from all over the world including Spain, Germany, and Australia during competitive shooting.
While doing HR for a company in Georgia, she found herself at a crossroad at work. But when her dad called and asked if she wanted to open a gun store, he needed an answer in three hours. After not opening that business, Jeanelle already had the paperwork going for an FFL and she decided to go ahead with the plans anyway. That’s how Davenport Guns got started.
The range hosts several training courses as Jeanelle believes that a store that sells guns should also make sure their clients can shoot a gun. She also has over 400 women in her A Girl & A Gun club! In the advertising for the store, Jeanelle shoots. That alone has inspired several women to buy a firearm and get some training.
Jeanelle is also involved with The DC Project. While she lives in a very gun friendly state, she’s going to DC to help other women talk to their politicians. And her senators help Holly Sullivan (RSWC #036 ) & Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) on talking with Governor Murphy in Connecticut. Some of her DC Project success stories bring politicians from crossed arms to hugs when she left.
Jeanelle has so many great stories and they’re all really funny. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them as much as I did. Between her father, Jerry Miculek, and the pistol teams from around the world, she’s having a lot of fun. There are people that are squeezing the maximum yield out of life. Jeanelle is one of them. She’s on the go, doing something, and keeping very, very busy. And she’s having fun along the way.
Favorite quotes
“I’ve been very, very blessed in my life to be surrounded by phenomenal people who are willing to teach me stuff.”
“Anything you hand me I can shoot fairly well.”
“Life is too short to not have fun. You’ve gotta have fun.”
“It doesn’t make sense to me to sell somebody their first gun and not have the ability to teach them to be safe with it.”
“If I tell you I want you to practice, I don’t want to make it cost prohibitive to do so.”
“Don’t mess with this girl, she cray.”
Davenport Guns
https://davenportguns.com/
Davenport Guns
A Girl & A Gun Club
https://davenportguns.com/a-girl-a-gun/
Davenport Guns Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Davenportshootingclub
Davenport Guns Instagram
https://www.facebook.com/Davenportshootingclub
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
125
Kory Brooks
NRA & USCCA Instructor
761st Gun Club, President
I love my gig. I was heading to Michigan for some personal events and saw how close I was to Chicago. Kory Brooks reached out when he saw that I had Rhonda Ezell (RSWC #037) on the show and said if I ended up in Chicago, he would love to be on the show. I saw how close I was to Chicago on the Michigan trip and reached out to Kory. He said he was up for it so we made a plan.
Kory is an instructor, certified by the NRA & the USCCA. He offers several classes to his clients, including several basic courses and self defense courses. He got into instructing after 8 years in the USMC, doing 2 tours in Iraq. After leaving the military, he took some time away from firearms, like many people do when they’re starting their lives and families. In 2014, he bought his first pistol, and got more into firearms in 2017, working to become a gunsmith and instructor. He specializes in building AR-15 style rifles.
Kory shared some of the history in Chicago about why the state started the FOID (Firearm Owners Identification card). It’s interesting to hear that the politicians were trying to keep the Chicago Black Panthers from getting firearms. He also talks about the ridiculousness of some of the Illinois gun laws and Chicago’s pre-emption.
One of the areas where Kory works with folks in building ARs. We talk about how he’s got to be careful while helping someone not just for the functionality of the firearm, but the legality of everything, too. On top of everything else in Chicago, residents can’t get the training they need for a FOID or a carry permit because the city makes it difficult for businesses to be in the city as well as keeping it hard for residents to apply for one.
Talking about the anti-gun laws in Chicago, we cover that Indiana get blamed for crime in Chicago even though there are several straw purchases, which are already illegal. Let’s face it, we’ve got gun laws on the books that aren’t and sometimes can’t be enforced. You can purchase a handgun from out of state, but it still has to be shipped to a local dealer, then the 4473 has to be processed, and in Illinois, you’ll have to wait for a 3 day ‘cooling off’ period. The ‘cooling off’ period assumes that you’re buying a gun because you’re mad and want to harm someone. Kory also gets into how Chicago isn’t like the rest of Illinois, not just for firearms, but also for the rivalry between the St Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.
Kory likes to go hunting and tells us about his bird dog that doesn’t like hunting birds. He put some time into training the dog, but it didn't take. We talk about how you can’t hunt deer with a rifle in Illinois or Massachusetts, you can only use a shotgun.
It was nice to be back in the Chicago area, between the city and where I grew up, to connect with another person who is passionate about shooting, instructing, and passing on the freedoms that we have left. And that we hope to pass on to others so they can pass it on, too.
Favorite quotes:
“It’s a hard fight, but it’s not a fight you want to give up on.”
“The cool off period, in my opinion, it hinders more people than it’s supposed to help.”
“When the government in Illinois messes up, they punish the people.”
(USCCA classes) “...they talk about scenarios that can land you in jail, if you don’t do the right things, you can land yourself in jail.”
“What law, that they are going to make, that’s going to change the hearts of men?”
“Even if you don’t like guns, you just don’t like guns. Why impede on what I like? I don’t impede on what you like.”
“We have to fight. And we have to keep on fighting. If we don’t fight, they’re going to win. I’m not into letting them win.”
Kory Brooks Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/loc_and_load0351/
Red Hill Gunsmithing Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/redhillgunsmithing/
Kory Brooks Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/kourtney.redmond.9
Kory Brooks USCCA
https://training.usconcealedcarry.com/instructor/0010a00001IQ78GAAT
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
123
Julianne Versnel
Second Amendment Foundation
I’d been attending and speaking at the Gun Rights Policy Conference for 5 years. But I was at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Pennsylvania and ran into Alan Gottlieb and Julianne Versnel. I got a handshake and a hug. That’s when I knew that the firearm community is family. I’d met Alan and Julianne several times at GRPC over the years, but I didn’t know they remembered me until that day.
With this past weekend being GRPC weekend, it seems fitting that I line up Julianne’s interview. You can watch Gun Rights Policy Conference 2021, which is all virtual, on the Second Amendment Foundation’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. There’s several speakers from all over the country and the world, talking about what’s going on in the gun community. And yes, if you’re not a member of SAF you can join at saf.org.
I was excited to have Julianne in the passenger’s seat, well, it was HER car. We spent some time surveying the buildings around Bellevue, WA, and some of the devastation from the riots last year. We also talk about Alan liking Cracker Barrel and Julianne liking Steak N Shake. We also talk about GRPC’s of the past, how it started with a small handful of speakers and how it’s grown to over 90 speakers and 1,000 attendees in the last in-person conference in 2019. She also tells us that organizing the conference can be stressful and that once they thought of getting everyone gift cards for coffee since the hotel coffee is about $80 a gallon. Plus tax. And tip!
Firearm ownership ran in Julianne’s family. Her father was always a hunter and he had to save all his shotgun shells to reload them. And when her mother was pregnant with her, she was out hunting deer, and Julianne still has those antlers in her office. For her father, guns were just a part of life and a part of what people did as much as it was a civil right to do so.
Julianne tells us when she met Alan when they were working in Washington, DC. He convinced her to help SAF with some things, which led to them getting married a few years later. When they married, she kept her maiden name. She also stayed at home for a number of years to raise their children. When the children were older, she started doing more with SAF, traveling internationally for some groups that SAF works with. Julianne is the only woman on the committees, which gives Alan time to spend time hanging with the wifes of the others in the group.
She has been involved in working with the United Nations for 4 weeks every summer. She has great insight on how things work there. She gives us concerns about the Arms Trade Treaty and that if things don’t go well, the Treaty will be considered a convention and the Biden administration will agree to it.
I really enjoyed the time with Julianne. She’s a wonderful woman with amazing connections around the world. I’m honored that she took the time to share some stories with us and to pull the curtain back a little about GRPC. I love running into her and Alan at other events besides GRPC.
If you’re not a member, join SAF. If you are a member, consider becoming a lifetime member.
Favorite quotes:
“I’d take my father’s revolver and put it on the night table.”
“I grew up this way. And we just moved the revolver.”
“My father was, what would be considered very conservative, but I didn't know that at the time.”
“Back in the old days, nobody was trying to take away your firearms.”
“I grew up with sort of everything about that, but I never thought there was anything odd about it.”
“Without the United States, there was no funding.”
“The United States spends a hugely disproportionate amount of their money to people who hate us!”
“It's hard to get the gun, but have the silencer.”
“In Germany, something like the Second Amendment Foundation… they would get funds from the government.”
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
123
Anna Taylor
Dene Adams
The DC Project Sponsor
In 2019, I interviewed Holly Sullivan from CCDL and she was telling me about her Dene Adams corset, which she LOVES. I made a clip of her talking about it and sent it to Anna Taylor. And I asked if she would get in the stagecoach. She said she would be up for it when I made it to Kansas City. And I made it to Kansas City this summer!
We do start the show a little non-traditionally. She does some shooting FROM the car with a pistol caliber carbine then a 1911/2011 handgun. Something we haven’t done on the show before!
Anna gets into how she got into firearms after Sandy Hook while she was pregnant with her 4th child. There was a break in in her neighborhood and she realized that, with a (then) husband who traveled for work, she was going to need to be the one to protect the young children. After getting her carry permit in Missouri, she wanted to learn how people carry, but nothing really worked for her.
With some sewing experience from a child, she decided to see what she could put together that would work for women to carry a firearm. After a couple of weeks of searching for materials that would work, she was able to make her handgun disappear while she was wearing a t-shirt.
Life took some bad twists with her marriage and she was left with 4 children, no husband, and a house that was auctioned off. She was left with not much. She was lucky to have some mentors and people to guide her through this challenge. She took her last $200 and made a small run of her corset holsters. With some homegrown graphics and marketing skills, she made a video with her phone. The video went viral with 5 MILLION views in a week.
Her grandfather, Dene Adams, was the one who taught her firearm safety at a young age. He taught her that firearms should be respected and not feared. That is why she named the company after him.
Anna has become an instructor sharing her knowledge with more women and turning them on to firearm ownership. She’s also gotten in to 3-gun competition. This has really helped her with figuring out where a good place to carry a firearm would be. She was also wearing business attire and wanted to keep her firearm from printing. That led to the thigh holster. She even makes them for men who wear kilts!
Anna even brought some gear to show off during the show. She brought a holster, a corset, and a belly band style product from her newest line of holsters and corsets. In 2016, Dene Adams had another huge viral video of Anna pulling out several firearms, magazines, and knives, which took the business to a new demand. She also tells us that ALL the Dene Adams products are AMERICAN MADE! And she’s going to keep it that way!
Anna also tells us that she’s a big supporter of The DC Project. You can see she’s wearing her “Educate Over Legislate” DCP shirt! And I show my DCP mask.
Favorite quotes:
“It was impractical and not the solution I was looking for.”
“I was trying to practice my Second Amendment Right and I couldn’t do it. There were no resources.”
“I felt a sense of duty. I thought ‘this is a problem. I need to do something about this.’”
“With God all things are possible. This is America. I’m going to do this.”
“I like to solve problems. That would be one of my gifts.”
“I did dream of having my own business but it all came down to survival.”
“I know it's helping a lot of people. I love that.”
“Anybody can find ways if they’re really committed.”
Dene Adams Website
https://deneadams.com/
Dene Adams Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/deneadamsofficial/
Dene Adams Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dene_adams_official/
Anna Taylor Official
https://www.instagram.com/anna_taylor_official/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#122
Jon Anderson
Get Off My Lawn Podcast
Nebraska Firearm Owners Association
Jon Anderson reached out to me a while ago to be a guest on his show. The panel that night included a number of other folks in the 2A community that I knew so I was really looking forward to it. Then he had me on a few more times. He did express an interest in Riding Shotgun should I ever get out to Nebraska. I was finally able to make it out that way and had to have Jon on the show.
Being from Nebraska, Jon has been around firearms all his life. Firearms are just tools that everyone in that section of America has and owns. It’s how they live. But he didn’t get more involved in the activist side of the gun community until he purchased his first handgun.
While attending the Tulsa Arms Show, Jon met some folks from Nebraska Firearm Owners Association (NFOA) and several YouTubers and podcasters. He knew many of them from being an avid listener and watcher. He made several new friends, including TravisP11, CloverTac, and Gun Websites, and started connecting with them. Jon eventually started a 2A Tuesday show, but when the show wasn’t always firearm related, he decided to rebrand as Sandhills Shooter and the Get Off My Lawn! Podcast. Some of his highly viewed videos on his YouTube channel are his unboxings.
Recently Jon ran for and was elected to the NFOA Board. The president of NFOA congratulated him for being the only person to run a campaign to get elected. Being on the board has really opened Jon’s eyes to how many things in government are done. We all want to think that politicians have their constituents in mind, but he said it is often a lot of quid pro quo that happens. Much like the making of sausage, you don’t want to see how the government works.
Jon takes some time to tell us about some things that have been going on in Nebraska. There are several counties that have adopted the 2A Sanctuary County status. And in Lincoln, there have been several bills chipping away to make Nebraska a permitless carry state. Even though they’re surrounded by 5 of permitless carry states and much of the state is a 2A Sanctuary, Nebraska is still fighting to get permitless carry status. We also get into depth about some of the transportation laws they have. For example, bringing home a long gun in a box from the store could be a violation if you’re in a van or SUV, but in a truck or the trunk of a car, it would not be an issue. So there are more states with confusing laws than we realize.
The Get Off My Lawn! Podcast is currently on Thursdays at 8 pm central on YouTube. You should tune in and check it out. They have a number of folks on the panel and sometimes I have been on, too. Jon is a great guy, working hard to get folks educated, and he’s a stand up husband who keeps his wife in mind when he gets involved in new projects.
Favorite quotes:
“NFOA isn’t a thing, it’s a who. And we’ve seen that really come to light this year.”
“We’re voters. We’re citizens. We want this done. You need to listen to us.”
“Guns are a way of life here. In Nebraska to say, I have a nose, two eyes, and two ears. Doesn’t everybody?”
“If they were confiscated, its not just personal defense that gets affected.”
“Whatever I’m a part of, I’m a ‘we’ not a ‘me’.”
“If you understood how laws get passed, it would turn your stomach to know… some of it is compromises, some of it is literally quid pro quo.”
Sandhills Media YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/c/SandhillsShooter
Sandhills Media Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SandhillsMediaEmpire
Sandhills Media Store
https://www.blackswantactical.com/collections/sandhills-shooter
Nebraska Firearm Owners Association Website
https://www.nebraskafirearms.org/
NFOA Facebook
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
121
Sandra Zettlemoyer
Brass & Sass LLC
A Girl & A Gun
A few months ago, I went down to one of Tony Simon’s (RSWC #041) Diversity Shoots in Easton, PA, at The Heritage Guild. I know that he’s had some shadow banning issues and the word about them isn’t getting out. I met some of the folks from the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners (CNJFO) there. One of the instructors was Sandra Zettlemoyer. After some chatting it up and finding out she’s got her own instructing business in the Lehigh Valley area and chapter of A Girl & A Gun, I asked if she wanted to hop in the stagecoach while we waited for pizza to arrive before the event. Of course, she did.
Sandra attended an NRA’s Women On Target at the Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays and it changed her life. Her husband pushed her into going and she was all about it and loved it. She loves shotgunning then she found A Girl & A Gun (AGAG) Within 2 years of starting to shoot, she got certified to teach courses and got her AGAG chapter going. She was shooting with Dianna Muller (RSWC #059) and takes courses with AGAG. She went full on and took the fast track to gun owning and instructing.
She has a partner in her firearm business, Brass & Sass LLC. Brass & Sass LLC mainly focuses on training women. As an instructor, she really enjoys seeing the light going on with new women about owning a firearm. She remembers her feelings when she started handling firearms and likes to assure her clients that everything will be fine and they’ll get this. Most of her clients learn about handguns, but she does let them know that a shotgun would be good for home defense as well.
Her chapter of AGAG has over 50 members and they meet regularly, sometimes twice a month. They also have special classes once or twice a quarter, things like holster draw classes. Of course, the comradery of spending time with like minded friends has the ladies talking about guns and gear as well as other things like life. The members of her AGAG club range in age from teens to women in their 70’s who are just learning to shoot. She also offers private lessons through Brass & Sass LLC.
Sandra has been a competitive shooter participating in competitions up and down the east coast. Her favorite is IDPA, International Defensive Pistol Association. She’s got several sponsors as well. With the current times, she’s trying to only participate in major matches, like the Delaware State Championship. She does bring up that having a job, a family, competing, and running her AGAG does keep her very busy.
It was great to meet Sandra and have her in the stagecoach. What I’m really impressed with her and many others, is the commitment they make to their AGAG chapters to keep them active and keep the members engaged, educated, and shooting.
We ended up having a shorter show than usual. The pizza was delivered to the Diversity Shoot while we were filming the show. And let’s face it, pizza is always good! We spent that evening helping some new shooters learn about firearms and freedoms, and making new friends. That’s what it’s all about.
Favorite quotes:
“My passion is teaching women because I know how nervous I was.”
“It’s a labor of love, I will say that.”
“Brass & Sass LLC, it's all about women training women.”
“It’s really for ladies of all skill levels.”
Brass & Sass LLC Website
https://www.brassandsassllc.com/
Brass & Sass Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BrassandSassLLC
A Girl & A Gun Shooting League
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
A Girl & A Gun Lehigh Valley Chapter
https://www.agirlandagun.org/cat/pa-lehigh-valley/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
120
John Hickok
YouTube Creator, Comedian
I reached out to John Hickok to double check the social media links for RSWC #101 with Hickok45. After he replied, I said I’d like to have John on the show sometime and he said he’d be up for it. I was heading to Nashville for a personal trip. I message John, giving him an idea when I would be done and he said he’d enjoy being on the show. I love my gig!
We all know that John is Hickok45’s son. John grew up with the Hickok range in the backyard. He was shooting at 3 and shooting an Uzi (full auto) at 4. Yes, it was only a few rounds left in the magazine, but it was STILL full auto!
John is the one behind the scenes for the channel. When YouTube was young, John noticed that there weren’t many gun channels on site. While in college, he watched YouTube and realized that he missed shooting. There were only a few gun channels at the time and the ones that were on the site weren't very exciting. So John suggested that Hickok45 start making some gun videos, because they could do something way better than what was out there. John helped Hickok45 make a video about single action revolvers and some cowboy guns for Hickok45’s class. And that’s when it started.
They were both surprised and shocked at the growth of the channel. There were certainly milestones along the way: 1,000 subscribers, 10,000 subscribers. Currently, the channel has 6,000,000+ subscribers and 1,700,000,000+ views!!! Holy schnikes!
About 5 years ago, John decided to get out from behind the camera and in front of the camera. He did a video or two a month on the channel. No matter how much video time he was getting some people still wondered who he was. He turned to music and playing the guitar and doing stand up comedy as an outlet. He did some podcasting and started his own YouTube channel as well. He was really trying to find his own voice and personality on video.
I picked up John in the West End section of Nashville. We drove downtown and it was packed! When I filmed the episode with Hickok45, there was a snowstorm and Nashville was a ghost town. It was quite the opposite on the warm August day. The lower Broadway section of town was very busy and packed with people. One of the fun sights is the tractors transporting trailers with people doing some day drinking on them.
After we talk about the Hickok45 channel, we get into John doing stand up comedy. I was doing stand up occasionally over the last couple years. We talk about how it isn’t as easy as some people may think. It takes time to think of material, then work out how to say and phrase everything, and to get timing down. Every comedian needs some stage time and John has been doing stand up nightly for a while, even hosting some open mics around Nashville. We talk about writing comedy, dealing with hecklers, and John’s Mount Rushmore of Comedy, too! We’ve got a lot of comedians that we love in common.
One of the things I really love about my gig is that I get to talk with folks and really find out what’s going on with them. We all love firearms and shooting, but we’ve got other things in our lives and well. John is just as passionate about comedy as he is about the Hickok45 channel. And I think you’ll get that from this episode.
Favorite quotes:
“You can do something way better than this.”
“If I hadn’t basically been lazy… the YouTube thing may not have happened.”
“I really enjoy coming up with something in my head, creating it, putting it out on YouTube, and seeing what people think about it.”
“It is a luxury to be a professional entertainer.”
“All that is BS. There’s no such thing as writer’s block...There is no writer’s block; there’s only laziness.”
Hickok45 YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45
Hickok45 & John Hickok Instagram:
@johnhickok45
@therealhickok45
Hickok45 Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044290096493
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
118
Brian Deal
Aero Precision
Vice President of Marketing
Special thanks to Derek LeBlanc from Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation for this interview. He connected me with Brian and let me borrow his truck for the show!
I was able to meet with Brian at the Aero Precision headquarters in Tacoma, WA. We set everything up and headed out to talk about Brian all things Aero Precision. We also talk about the new gun owners the past year and a half has given us.
Brian grew up hunting in eastern Washington, hunting pheasants, deer, and elk, just like many people in Washington and really enjoyed the outdoors growing up. He still hunts with his dad for some family bonding time. He went to college for marketing and graphic designing, wanting to make pretty things and make people see them.
Aero Precision has made some changes to their website so it's easier to find parts that are in stock.
Aero Precision started in the aerospace industry. They’re only 25 years old, making parts for airplanes, but switched to rifle parts over the years. They focus on AR parts for the at home AR builders, with their bread and butter is lower and upper receivers. They ship to consumers as well as gun stores and online stores. Of course, the serialized lowers must be shipped to dealers and not direct to consumers. And anything that isn’t serialized can go right to consumers.
We also talk about some of the things that are a little specific to Washington state. We were certainly able to commiserate since we live in ‘occupied territory’ states. There are some items that Aero Precision cannot ship to, due to the state laws. We also cover why the last year and a half has been important to America as well as gun owners and why we have millions of new gun owners. And as these new gun owners are learning and working through owning and using a firearm, Aero Precision is going to be there, helping and supplying them along the way.
We also talk about some of the newer products that Aero Precision has on the market, notably the EPC, Enhanced Pistol Caliber. Brain tells us that Aero has been planning on a move and putting their HQ, shipping, and manufacturing under one building. Aero has been growing and they’re one of the largest employers in the Tacoma area. While moving their 70+ CNC machines from one building to another, they’re planning on maintaining manufacturing.
Brian and I also talk about what we’ve done to help teach our friends and neighbors about firearms. We’ve both talked to folks and then realized that they were “closet gun owners”. We also talk about how important it is to teach our children about firearm safety, which is a great tie in with Derek and Kids S.A.F.E.
There’s an earful of information in this episode. Again, thanks to Derek LeBlanc from Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation for the use of his vehicle.
Favorite quotes:
“Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, and generally, you’ll make the right decisions.”
“Anytime there’s a disturbance in day to day, just normal life, it affects gun sales.”
“There’s a massive amount of new gun owners… understood why you might want to own a gun.”
“We’ve seen when legislation goes up and people just don’t know better, the way it’s written, can sway them to vote on something they have no idea what they’re voting on.”
“I’m a pretty casual shooter. I love introducing new people to shooting an AR for the first time.”
Aero Precision Website
https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/
Aero Precision Twitter
https://twitter.com/aero_precision
Aero Precision Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/aeroprecisionusa
Aero Precision Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/aero_precision/
Aero Precision reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/AeroPrecision/
Aero Precision YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/Aeroprecision
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
118
Dr. John Edeen
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership
I’ve been running into Dr. John Edeen since I first went to GRPC in 2016. He’s always been a speaker. And he’s been brave enough to model for the concealed carry fashion shows that I’ve emceed as well. He was braver when I asked if we could be roommates for the Florida Carry Speaker event this past March. Since we were riding to the event together, it was the best time to film a show. Last year at the Florida Carry event, Dr. Edeen spoke about what to tell your doctor when they ask about firearms in the home. Here’s the link to get the article.
https://drgo.us/position-statements/the-gun-question/
Dr. Edeen came from a family that helped others. His parents worked with the Salvation Army. His father helped psychiatric patients who were released from the hospital and helped them manage their money, help them get food to eat, and brought in psychiatric help as well. He knew from the 7th grade that he wanted to be a doctor.
In order to help pay for medical school, he did the health profession scholarship program which had a military obligation to it. He did an orthopedic internship at Oakland Naval Hospital. He spent 2 years as a medical officer on the USS Peleiu, an amphibious assault ship. After traveling around the world, he ended up back at the USS Peleiu. While on the coast of Mogadishu, he applied for his pediatric orthopedic fellowship which brought him to Springfield, MA. He eventually made it to San Antonio, TX, and has been there since the mid-1990’s.
The Rodney King incident happened while he was in Oakland, and that seems like it might be a good time to learn about firearms. Like many out of the military, he pursued getting a Beretta 92, or the M9 as the military calls it, because that’s what he’s familiar with. Then he started acquiring handguns much quicker. Dr. Edeen really enjoys training and learning. He’s done most of the classes with the Massad Ayoob Group, MAG 30. 40. 60, 80, 120, & 180, with Mas himself. He’s become good friends with Mas and Gail, and has helped Mas with some cases that involve needing some medical opinions.
After taking lots of training and getting his carry permit in Texas, the absurdity of not allowing doctors to carry inside hospitals hit him. This is the kind of thing that got Dr. Edeen involved in Second Amendment activism. It’s kind of cool that Dr. Edeen was asked by Mark Walters to attend the GRPC and Mark is also responsible for getting me to GRPC, too. At GRPC, Dr. Edeen talked with Dr. Timothy Wheeler, DRGO founder, and asked what he can do to help DRGO.
When Dr. Edeen proposed a resolution for his area doctors to carry at the hospital, it was voted down. But after a family member of another doctor had their life threatened, this doctor decided it was time to consult Dr. Edeen on some firearm training. This is how the group started to grow and increase in numbers.
Besides the great articles about healthcare and firearms, you’ll find the 2adoc website helpful to find doctors who are Second Amendment friendly. There are some good articles by Dr. Edeen on the DRGO website that you’ll be interested in reading.
Favorite quotes:
“You can refuse to answer or just lie. It’s none of his business.”
“A lot of these people have been brainwashed by establishment medicine to think that they’re actually helping. And they’re not.”
“The lawyers say no, no, no, no. That would be dangerous. Being massacred, that’s not dangerous. But a doctor carrying a gun? ” (Where is the sarcasm font?!)
“The signs work right up until the time the don’t work.”
“We’re the anti-Bloomberg school of public health.”
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership Website
https://drgo.us/
Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership Facebook
www.facebook.com/DoctorsForResponsibleGunOwnership
2A Doc List
https://www.2adoc.com/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
117
Gabby Franco
The DC Project
Top Shot, Season 4 & 5
Cartel Crew on VH1
Gabby Franco and several other members of The DC Project were going to be speaking at an event in New Jersey. With some simple coercion from a friend, I was talked into going. All of the women speaking have been on RSWC except Gabby Franco. I sent her a message, explaining who I am and what I do, and who else has done the show, and asked if she would be able to film a show. Of course, she agreed. Gun people are the best people!
Gabby grew up in Venezuela, in a family full of women. Venezuela was very different at the time when Gabby’s dad went to get a concealed carry license and saw the range had a junior shooting team. Her name, Franco, translates to ‘sniper’ in Spanish, which kind of set the tone for her life. By the time she was a teenager, she was shooting pistols competitively. At 16 years old, she found herself shooting to be on the Venezuelan Olympic shooting team.
While at a fair in Miami, she ran into another Olympian she knew from Australia 2000. They talked about how Gabby could get a visa to come to the United States. After a year, she took a suitcase and moved to the US. She got a call from the Venezuelan Shooting Federation to go to Finland for the World Cup and Brazil for the South American Games. She took this opportunity to go to Brazil, where she has always wanted to go. She won 3 Gold Medals in Brazil and then retired.
After she got to America, she worked in some firearms stores in Miami and her firearm education continued. For a while she was working at an office supply store and teaching firearm classes. Her brother sent her a notice that it was the last week to send in an audition for The History Channel’s Top Shot, Season 4. She was still selected despite not having everything they wanted. She had to quit working at an office supply store and take the chance to be on the show. Despite being eliminated from Top Shot on a 1500 yard shot, she came back for Season 5. But she loved the experience of being on the show.
After Top Shot, she was asked to teach firearms courses to women around the country. During this time, she took time to visit the area and get to know the local people across the country. Eventually she was asked by Para Ordnance and Remington to be a sponsored shooter and instructor. When Walther asked her to be one of her sponsors, she jumped at the chance because she used a Walther at the Olympics.
For years, she was paying attention to politics due to what was happening in Venezuela. She became very vocal about the Second Amendment and was asked by Dianna Muller (RSWC #059) to be a member of The DC Project. The DC Project goes to Washington DC to speak to our legislators about how the firearms laws affect women.
Most recently, she filmed part of a show with VH1’s Cartel Crew, teaching some of the cast members what firearms are really about and that they’re safe if you use them properly.
Gabby has been an influence to everyone in many ways. After watching this episode, you’ll be inspired to. To get others shooting. To get involved with calling legislators. And to do more for the Second Amendment.
Favorite quotes:
“It turned into loving the discipline, loving the personal growth.”
“I remember falling in love with the activity. And everything that entitled.”
“I know that, from my heart, I’m going to leave everything out there.”
“Society is so easy to be manipulated.”
“The pattern isn’t for more freedom. The pattern nowadays is for more restrictions.”
Gabby Franco Website
https://gabbyfranco.com/
Gabby Franco Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/gabbyfrancotopshot
Gabby Franco Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/gabbyfrancots4/
Gabby Franco Twitter
https://twitter.com/gabbyfrancots4
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
116
Neil Weidner
Marketing Director, Active Self Protection
Neil Weidner saw me do a presentation at AMMcon (Alternative Multi Media conference) the day before the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix in 2019. He enjoyed the speech and the whole presentation. A month later, a friend called me to say she was talking to Neil and he asked her how he could get on the stagecoach. I didn’t believe it. When I saw Neil at SHOT in January 2020, we talked about the possibility of setting up filming a show somewhere. When I signed up for the MAG40 class in Sioux Falls in early June of 2020, I reached out to see if he was taking the course. Boom! We had plans.
Neil and his wife Stephannie (RSWC #112) have four daughters, but they wanted a boy. So, while living in Iowa, they wanted to become foster parents. They took in a young boy from a family that had some issues. Despite loving their son, the family wouldn’t be able to raise the son. So Stephannie and Neil took the boy in as their own.
When the paternal grandfather found out where the Weidners lived, he wanted to take the 2 month old boy back. That’s when Stephannie realized that maybe it would be good to know something about firearms and have a home defense plan. Neil was at work and grabbed his co-workers to ride with him to prevent something from happening to his new son and his family. Fortunately, nothing became of the incident. The Weidners did open their eyes and started doing some research.
One of the things they found online was Active Self Protection (ASP). Stephannie started watching John Correia’s videos and learning a lot. John put out a call for a volunteer job on the ASP social media to moderate comments. Stephannie took the position while Neil was working at a call center. The Weidners and Correias have been ‘family’ since they connected.
Neil and Stephannie went to a training seminar that John was doing. Stephannie was checking people in and Neil was taking his first real handgun course. There was an older couple who were new firearm owners. Their firearm handling wasn’t great and Neil had to keep his eyes on them as he was trying to learn during the class. Once the stress of that couple was gone, Neil fell in love with training and taking classes. When he was officially hired by ASP as the marketing director, he decided that he was going to take 100 hours of training a year. He’s taken classes from some of the best instructors in the firearm training community.
Neil’s ongoing education and training has led to him doing a series of videos on the ASP Extra YouTube channel that he calls the Suck Less Saturdays. He’s been working with the MantisX shooting performance system and also making dry firing videos and doing dry fire challenges. After seeing how he shot at the MAG40, I’ll ya...it’s working! And really well!
Neil has some great stories that he shares with us. Despite joining the ASP team, he stays really humble. Even when airport security notices him. Having the chance to get Neil in the stagecoach was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to running into him at various events around the country.
Favorite quotes:
“It was a good job. The money was good. The benefits were great, but the quality of life was kind of rough.”
“I have never been a quit guy.. I fell in love with the learning process.”
“I started taking a class every couple months or so.”
“I’m putting in 100 hours of training in 2020.”
“I want to suck less this year.”
Active Self Protection Website
https://activeselfprotection.com/
Active Self Protection YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/activeselfprotection
Active Self Protection Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/activeselfprotection/
Active Self Protection Bullets and Bibles 2021 info
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2021/
ASP Extra (Where you can find Suck Less Challenge)
https://www.youtube.com/activeselfprotectionextra
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Help support RSWC and get some stickers!
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
114
Ben DeWalt
OnSight Firearms Training
One of my friends, Mark, asked if I was going to be taking a course called Defense Pistol - Accuracy and Accountability with Ben DeWalt of OnSight Firearms Training. I decided that I was going to do some training for myself this year and said only if Mark was taking the class, too. He also told me that Ben would be a great person to have in the passenger’s seat. So I signed up for the class and messaged Ben about being on the show!
Having grown up around firearms and shooting .22 rifles as a kid, he was carrying Guns & Ammo magazine in 3rd grade. About the time he was in 8th grade, he got into martial arts and karate. After high school, he found himself DJ’ing, doing security, and managing night clubs in NYC. That led to being a booking agent and calling clubs to set up tours for bands. Which came in handy years later as a firearm instructor.
Growing tired of the musicians and rockstar attitudes, he decided to make a career shift and decided to become a firearm instructor. In the meantime, he was working at ranges as an instructor and range safety officer. After working with another instructor, he learned he didn’t know everything and took more classes. He took a position as a customer service/ product service test firing repair guns. He was gunsmithing 1911s at Kimber and testing the repair firearms.
Meanwhile, Ben was also teaching courses and taking more courses. After consulting with his wife, they decided it would be better to focus on teaching courses and making a go of it as a full time, self employed instructor. Ben and his wife, who is also an instructor, took as many classes from as many teachers as possible, notably the Tom Givens’ Rangemaster and SIG Academy. They’ve done over 75 classes at SIG Academy. And he scored 100’s on all the Rangemaster qualifications.
Knowing that with firearms courses, there’s a possibility of injuries, they both became certified to teach some medical and trauma courses, which they also offer. Since many of us carry firearms and knives to protect ourselves, we should also have some medical trauma and first aid training. And maybe even carry some of that gear around with us and in our cars.
One of the things I really enjoyed with talking to Ben is that he’s got an ongoing desire to educate himself and improve himself. It’s not just his shooting skills, but it’s his teaching skills as well. He likes to retake classes to see what he can pick up from new instructors. And he encourages his clients to take classes from other instructors as well.
Personally, I enjoyed listening to his story about getting out from working for someone else and going it on his own. And hearing how he took his skills and knowledge from his DJ’ing days and applied them to his gun instructor days. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that as well.
We did take a few minutes off to get a selfie at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA, in front of the Massachusetts Minuteman statue. The statue is a farmer taking up his rifle and leaving his plough behind to help start a new nation.
Favorite quotes
“Sounds like a cool job on the outside. But every Monday morning, you’re someone else’s bitch.”
“What could I possibly do if I had more time to focus on my own company?”
“The gun stuff is cool. The certifications are cool. But the knowledge and the ability is probably much cooler.”
“I constantly want to train. I constantly either want to teach or I want to train. There’s no point in this thing where I say “I’m done, I’ve learned it all.”
“The reason I love doing is this is you have a lot of freedom.”
OnSight Firearms Training Website
https://oftllc.us/
OnSight Firearms Training Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/onsight.firearmstraining.5
OnSight Firearms Training Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/onsightfirearmstraining/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
114
Daniel Schmutter, Esq.
Hartman & Winnicki
Daniel Schmutter is an attorney in New Jersey. We ran into each other at NJSAFECON back in 2017. And certainly at GRPC over the last few years. I’ve heard Daniel on the Gun For Hire podcast for years and I finally had a chance to have him in the passenger's seat. But I do have to thank John Petrolino (Bearing Arms, Ammoland/ Decoding Firearms) as he made the connection to get Daniel and I together. We covered many topics, from him getting into the 2A as a lawyer, to bringing a knife into court, and talking about liberty, which came up often.
Daniel grew up in the Bronx, NYC, in an anti-gun family. He didn’t have a chance to go shooting until he was in law school and took a course with the rifle & pistol team with a law school roommate He became a firearm owner in 1993 in New Jersey. In 2002, he wrote an op/ed for the Star Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, against the ‘smart guns’ then was contacted by Scott Bach, who is the current executive director of the Association New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), wondering why Scott didn’t know Daniel. That was his introduction into the gun rights movement.
Daniel got involved in Second Amendment law during 2003 with the Silveira v Lockyer case, which predates Heller. It was out of California and was a challenge to the state’s ‘assault weapon law’. The case didn’t make it to the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). It’s a good thing because it wasn’t a good vehicle so it might not have brought out the right outcome from the case.
We really get into how the SCOTUS decides how to accept cases and what makes a good SCOTUS case. He does a great job explaining some of the terms used. And he shares that he’s written a number of briefs and friends of the court arguments all the way up to the Heller case. He’s also worked with just about every 2A group from ANJRPC, NRA, SAF, FPC, and others.
We get into some work that Daniel did with Knife Rights and Doug Ritter. He’s got a fun story about bringing knives into court as an exhibit and how he and Doug were trying to prove that “gravity knives” are subjective to whomever owns them and there isn’t a standard for those style knives. He also points out some of the knife laws in NYC.
We also get into why it’s beneficial for us to take our non-gun friends to the range and teach them about firearms and safety. It’s an eye opening experience for someone to see that the media and the anti-gun groups have been misleading the public with misinformation. Even if a non-gun friend decided that shooting may not be for them, they can still learn that firearms are just tools. And it’s even fun to go shooting.
It’s always an education talking to someone like Daniel. Much of the show, I was absorbing his wisdom and stories. The word I think he used the most was “liberty”. It came up several times during the conversation. I’m sure you’re going to listen a few times to get everything that he talked about.
Most recently, Daniel filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a major Second Amendment case which is expected to be argued next term. You can read his brief here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-843/184005/20210715144439142_ANJRPC%20Amicus%20Brief%20%20NYSRPAvBruen.pdf
Favorite quotes
“The vehicle that brings the issue before the court, it’s actually very important, that it's the right vehicle.”
“The Second Amendment is so fundamental to liberty.”
“This movement both political, social, legal, is incredibly important to push back on these infringements on liberty.”
“...bring a friend to the range. ...it’s so valuable just to get people to understand what firearms ownership is about. What it is and what it isn’t.”
“Fundamentally, us versus them is not left versus right, red versus blue. Us versus them is people versus politicians.”
“The best time to clamp down on personal liberty is during an emergency.”
Hartman & Winnicki Website
http://www.hartmanwinnicki.com/
John Petrolino
https://johnpetrolino.com/
Association of New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs
https://www.anjrpc.org/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
113
Tanisha Moner
NRA Instructor
Chief Range Safety Officer, Legally Armed In Detroit
Tanisha Moner and I met this past March at the Florida Carry Speaker Event. I was there to play the Star Spangled Banner and she was there with Rick Ector (RSWC #032) to find more instructors who want to be involved with Rick’s event. Rick has been doing a free event for women in the Detroit area for 10 years. His goal is to train as many women as possible. Tanisha is the person who organizes the event for Rick.
Tanisha grew up in a household around firearms. Her father always had them around and in every room. She was kidnapped and robbed then sexually assaulted at gunpoint when she was a teenager. The men who did this to her were serial rapists, who were eventually caught and went to prison. After that, she was afraid of firearms and rightfully so.
She wanted to change that. She had a talk with herself and realized that guns are inanimate objects and there’s no reason to be afraid of them. So she decided to get a Michigan CPL (Concealed Pistol License). After seeing Rick Ector all over the media in Detroit, she decided it was time to take a class with him. Regardless of being scared of firearms, she took a class with Rick. She started hanging out at the range with Rick regularly, like 3 times a week, and eventually got her carry permit.
Tanisha does share that when she started carrying, she carried it unloaded. Which, to me, is fine. New gun owners need to learn to carry and get comfortable with carrying something that hasn’t been part of their life. And I did the same thing when I was new to carrying. There’s a great responsibility to carrying a firearm. People need to know more than just how to shoot if they’re going to be carrying. After she started carrying, she worked her way to be a range safety officer (RSO), then an instructor.
Tanisha started taking lots of classes due to Rick prodding her a bit. She became involved with Rick’s Lady Event during the third year of the event. He started the event after a woman’s body was found after she was murdered. That led him to start the event, offering women a free gun safety and learn to shoot class. It started with 50 women. The event has been growing to 100, 600, 800 women in one day. In 2020, the event had 1,938 women learning to shoot over 2 days!
There is a woman who has been to the event several times With her daughter. Then she brought her daughter and her other daughter. Then her daughters, her mother, AND her 80 year old grandmother!
The event this year is going to be on August 21 & 22, 2021, in Taylor, MI. It’s going to be held in
Here’s a Facebook event link https://www.facebook.com/events/438068617516692/
Tanisha is a great example of how someone would be scared of firearms, but took a bad experience and turned it into something good. Then she takes it up a notch by becoming an instructor and teaching and organizing an event for thousands of women.
Favorite quotes
“I didn’t place the blame on ‘men’. It was those guys.”
“Guns are inanimate objects. They don’t do anything unless you make them do something. Why are you afraid of a gun? “
“I just wanted to not be scared of guns anymore.”
“These people are doing this on a volunteer basis. They’re doing this on their own dime.”
“People who come always come back.”
“We get more from giving than they get.”
Detroit CCW on Twitter
https://twitter.com/detroitccw
Detroit CCW on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/detroitccw
Michigan CCW Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MichiganCCW/
Legally Armed In Detroit-Gear Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LegallyArmedInDetroit
Rick Ector Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Rick.Ector
Legally Armed In Detroit Website
http://www.legallyarmedindetroit.com/
Legally Armed In Detroit YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/detroitccw
Detroit CCW on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/detroitccw/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
112
Stephannie Weidner
CEO, Active Self Protection
Stephannie Weidner has been coming up on my Facebook page as “someone you might know” for a long time. I’m friends with her husband, Neil. She and I also have a lot of friends in common. Finally we got the chance to meet at the end of the MAG40 class in Sioux Falls, SD. Neil and I and a number of us met for drinks and decompression after the classes ended. She was also highly recommended by some of the participants in The Mingle head by Shelley Hill, RSWC #089.
Stephannie skims over the home life and how the Weidner’s got into firearms. The backstory is they were new foster parents and took in a child from a large, dysfunctional family. When one of the family members said they were coming to take the child is when Neil & Stephannie decided it was time to learn more about firearms and self defense.
As new gun owners, they turned to the Active Self Protection (ASP) YouTube channel. There's a lot of great info there! Eventually, John Correia, the channel talent & star, reached out asking for someone who can “mom the heck” out of the comments on ASP’s social media. Stephannie connected with John about this and took on the volunteer gig. She was a better connection than she could have realized. When ASP was looking to officially hire someone, that someone was Stephannie. At one point, she was answering emails as John since she learned so much from watching the channel. Being good at details and well organized with the ‘biz’ part of things, that freed up John to keep being the talent for the channel.
Stephannie tells us about “The Mingle”, which is a women only event held by Shelley Hill of The Complete Combatant. She gets into how the gun industry, early on when women were getting into it, did the “pink it and shrink it” philosophy and found out that wasn’t good. But also how the industry took the woman’s “parts” and made that part of the places to carry.
One of the amazing things about the times we live in is that you can get a whole education on self defense on the ASP channel. Then take that info, process it, and get involved with the people who are out there doing it. Then pass the education and information along as well. Before Stephannie became a firearm instructor, she was working with ASP helping organize and run their programs around the country. She found she has a passion for ‘legal, moral, and ethical self defense’, which she has been doing but wouldn’t have dreamed of doing.
We spend some time talking about the great and powerful responsibility it is if you’re going to carry a firearm. You need to be able to hit your intended target and not an innocent bystander. Getting extra and more extra training is definitely something concealed carriers need to do.
Stephannie also tells us about the upcoming ASP Bullets and Bibles 2021 event on September 21-23 in Manhattan, Kansas. The link is below, which is where you get info and get registered.
I think this about every show, but you’re going to get a lot of info from this episode!
Favorite quotes:
“Something of good quality makes it so much easier to carry concealed and comfortably that you can do it.”
“You have the power of life and death in your hands. You have to make the best decisions.”
“Mistakes cost a lot. Doing the right thing can cost a lot.”
“If something happens to me, I have put my child at risk. He is my highest responsibility.”
Active Self Protection Website
https://activeselfprotection.com/
Active Self Protection YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/activeselfprotection
Active Self Protection Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/activeselfprotection/
Active Self Protection Bullets and Bibles 2021 info
https://activeselfprotection.com/asp-national-conference-bullets-and-bibles-2021/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
111
Tom Hall
Instructor
Buckeye Firearms Foundation
FASTER Saves Lives
Tom Hall & I met just last week. He was instructing with the FASTER Saves Lives staff in Ohio. We enjoyed some social time with some of the other students and instructors of the class the night before the class started. What I thought was really cool was finding out that he was working on getting some education from a whiskey university. He said if there was a cigar university, he could be all set with firearms, whiskey and cigars!
Tom has been with FASTER Saves Lives since the second year they were around. He is a firearm instructor in Ohio in his own right, but volunteers with FASTER and teaches their FASTERS Foundations courses. That’s a class for school educators who are going to be carrying a firearm in their schools and have a concealed carry permit already. The Foundations class gives them all the vernacular of firearms and fundamentals of shooting. He’s also worked at some local gun stores.
FASTER Saves Lives is a non-profit that teaches the teachers what they need to know to help defend their students. As gun folks, we have to know that there’s more than having and using a firearm in a defensive situation. The shooting portion of the FASTER Level 1 class is about 2 days of shooting. We shot from various distances, with various stances, one handed/two handed, shooting and moving and more. For newer shooters, there’s a lot of ground we covered. FASTER also teaches trauma first aid: when, where, & how to use a tourniquet, chest seals, and other first (& immediate) aid.
But the biggest take away for me wasn’t shooting at the paper targets. There were targets that shot back. It was the scenario training we did. We did use scenarios that were from real school shooting incidents. Tom was the ‘bad guy’ who donned a padded safety vest, protective mask, and an airsoft gun that fired rubber balls. Other students role played victims and someone was the armed teacher. The teacher knew nothing about the scenario except that there was an ‘active murderer’ in the classroom area. Not only did they have to avoid oncoming and running students, they also had to figure out what to do if or after they neutralized the ‘bad guy’. This is why it’s important to have some scenario training.
Tom and I reviewed the 3 day course during the show. I did have a FASTER buzz while we were filming. I was also ‘-4’ on the scenario training. Yeah...I was shot 4 times by the ‘bad guy’ in one scenario. On the last day of the class, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that schools are no longer able to determine which of their staff can carry in the schools. But if a teacher wanted to carry, they needed to go through police training to be able to carry in their school. For the record, passing the qualification from FASTER Saves Lives is a higher standard than what the police in Ohio use for qualifications.
If your school is interested, please reach out to FASTER Saves Lives so that your children can have the option of being protected by armed teachers.
Favorite quotes:
“The more educated, legal, armed citizens there are, the freer I am.”
“I know just enough to be dangerous.”
“You may have done something good in the process of their death, but you didn’t win.”
“I don’t need you to be a pro. I need you to keep them alive until the pros get there.”
“Even a cop does not have the duty to jump into the middle of a mass shooting and stop them.”
“We know from past shootings, there’s always staff that’s willing to give their lives up to protect kids.”
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
FASTER Saves Lives
https://www.facebook.com/FASTERSavesLives
Buckeye Firearm Association
https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/
Buckeye Firearm Association Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BuckeyeFirearmsAssociation
Apex Shooting and Tactics
https://www.facebook.com/ApexShootingTactics
Michelle Cerino-Princess Gunslinger
https://www.facebook.com/princessmichellecerino
Tactical Defense Institute in Ohio
https://www.facebook.com/tdiohio
Priority Defense LLC
https://www.facebook.com/prioritydefensellc
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
110
Sharyn Hinchcliffe
Pink Pistols Seattle
I really appreciate the friendships I’ve made in the firearm community since I started RSWC. Sometimes the friendship turns into another friendship. Thanks to Derek LeBlanc from Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation for making the connection to Sharyn Hinchcliffe. She’s a busy woman in Washington state for our Rights on many levels and fronts.
She grew up in New Jersey to a family of police officers. Unfortunately, there was an incident. She had a relative who, as a 5 year old child, climbed up and over things the way kids do. And found their father’s revolver. Due to the weight of the gun and the age and strength of the child, the firearm went off. Their family lost a child. This incident is why her father instilled firearm safety to her and her other family members at a young age.
In 2008, Sharyn and a blind date for coffee...it is Seattle. They eventually went to a shooting range. And things changed for her. She enjoyed her new partner’s company. And she rediscovered firearms. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, she decided it was time to get involved with advocacy. A lot of times, there are people who work on the 2A activism more than they shoot. I’ve had several of these people on the show. Sharyn is not an exception. She's involved with Pink Pistols & Operation Blazing Sword, which are the 2 LGBTQ groups in the firearm community. A couple years ago, they joined together. I had Erin Palette on the show in Dallas. She’s the President of PP/OBS.
Sharyn and Pink Pistols Seattle are very active in Washington. She forgoes heading to Las Vegas for the SHOT (Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade), as she testifies during ‘the first day of gun control legislation’. Her group also attends several events during the year, handing out firearm safety brochures and books, all in the name of educating people and getting them into the fold.
We also talk about some of the laws in Washington state that state that a lever action rifle, a Ruger 10/22, and even a Marlin Model 60, and similar firearms, end up being classified as “assault weapons” because of the way the firearms are designed. And with this designation, there’s an extra fee to purchase one.
On the same activism side, she’s also very involved with the suicide prevention aspect of firearms. She’s worked with Hold My Guns (Sarah Albrecht RSWC #092) and Walk The Talk America (Michael Sodini RSWC #067). Suicide prevention is a very big deal in Seattle, with 75% of their firearm deaths being suicide.
Sharyn and I have a really good conversation while we drive through Tacoma, WA, and take in some of the scenery. It’s great to see that there’s people out there who are working very hard to maintain and fight back in states where politicians are working hard against freedom and gun rights. With someone as knowledgeable and well spoken as Sharyn, I’m glad she’s on our side of freedom.
Favorite quotes:
“The assault weapon bill that was pushed through last year...had lever action rifles called out as being assault weapons.”
“I don’t care about the NRA on the national level. What I care about is ILA (Institute for “There is also a city attorney that will go after anyone pro 2A.”
“If you talk to someone about suicide...it’s going to acknowledge they’re in a crisis and you are listening to them.”
“It’s more important to give out that safety information, than it is to be on anything else.”
Pink Pistols
https://www.pinkpistols.org/
Pink Pistols Seattle
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PinkPistolsSeattle
Operation Blazing Sword
https://www.blazingsword.org/
TikTok
@sa.hinchcliffe
https://www.instagram.com/s.a.hinchcliffe/
#pinkpistolsseattle
Pink Pistols Seattle is also on Meet Up.
Sharyn is on Instagram, Parler, CloutTub, PocketNet, Twitter, Mastodon.
Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation
https://kidssafefoundation.org/
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
109
Rob Beckman
Firearm Trainer’s Podcast
American Defense Training
A few months ago, John Petrolino reached out and connected me with Rob Beckman. Rob was looking for an instructor in Massachusetts for his podcast, Firearm Trainer’s Podcast. I listened to a few episodes and really like Rob’s format for helping instructors on the business side of things. I was on Firearm Trainer’s Podcast back in April, FTP #109. How ironic that he’s episode #109 of RSWC!
https://www.firearmtrainerpodcast.com/2021/04/12/ep-109-being-a-firearm-instructor-in-massachusetts/
Recently in Sioux Fall, SD, Rob and I were both students at the MAG40 course, taught by Massad Ayoob himself! There were several other podcasters in the class. It was hosted by Paul & Susan Lathrop of the Polite Society Podcast. Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) of Eye On The Target Radio, the Polite Society Podcast, and the DC Project was a student. So was Robyn Sandoval (RSWC #080), from A Girl & A Gun and DC Project. And Neil Weidner from Active Self Protection was also a student. One of the MAG Staff was Tracy Becker, also with Polite Society Podcast. Many of us were staying at the same hotel, so Rob & I filmed shows while we were carpooling to the class.
Rob started shooting at a young age and got some formal training while earning the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge in Boy Scouts. He’s spent years hunting. He’s been a trainer for a number of years, then decided to work his way to be an NRA Training Counselor, which is who trains the trainers. He also teaches the USCCA courses, too.
He started the Firearm Trainer’s Podcast to help give back to the firearm community and to really help his instructor students help with the business of running an instructing business. Once someone decides to be an instructor they get educated on firearms, safety, and teaching the curriculum. But often they don’t have a lot of business guidance. (I know I didn’t.) FTP is a great resource. I’ve been listening for a while and I really get a lot from the show.
This episode is a bit different from others. Rob and I rode to the MAG40 class and we filmed segments every morning on the way to class. We talk about the drills we did on the range. We also talk about some of the things we learned during the class as well. When you take the MAG40 class, you will learn that there’s so much more to the legal aspect of using a firearm in self defense than just saying “I was in fear of my life”. Or talking to the police and saying ‘I think I’m having a cardiac arrest. I need to go to the hospital”. Or what’s even worse is when you talk to an old family friend who used to be a police officer and they say “Shoot the bad guy and drag his body back into the house and put a knife in his hand.” That will certainly get YOU in jail and up on murder charges.
The shooting drills we worked on were great. We did several stances, tweaked grips, and used some uncommon shooting positions to simulate shooting around objects. We had a new handgun shooter in the class and she ended up being the ‘most improved student’ of the class. She was able to take home Mas’ signed target...which was a perfect score of 300!
Rob had the second highest score of 297. I got 286. I’ll admit, I started throwing shots when we got to 15 yards back. I was thinking about which stance we were supposed to use. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Please check out the link to Massad Ayoob Group for classes. There’s a course in Manchester, New Hampshire in August, 2021. If you’d like to get a sample of the class, check out In The Gravest Extreme, written by Mas back in the 1970’s.
https://www.amazon.com/Gravest-Extreme-Firearm-Personal-Protection/dp/0936279001/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LOMOSHXNHZJX&dchild=1&keywords=in+the+gravest+extreme+by+massad+ayoob&qid=1623717573&sprefix=In+The+gravest%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1
Favorite quotes:
“My formal education in firearms began when I was in Boy Scouts.”
“To help educate the instructors, how they can be the best instructor for their students.”
“I became an instructor because of your podcast.”
“One of the downsides of being an instructor is you don’t get that much trigger time.”
“Most lawyers don’t spend more than a half a day on defense law.”
Firearm Trainer’s Podcast
https://www.firearmtrainerpodcast.com/
Firearm Trainer’s Podcast Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/firearmtrainerspodcast
American Defense Training
https://americandefensetraining.us/?fbclid=IwAR31DKiP7uBwDBthY1ovjz64P2VUMCljHSLJuaJFyWffJvynoZ_18cQdY3U
Massad Ayoob Group
https://massadayoobgroup.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
108
Shirley Watral
Instructor, Author, & DC Project Member
Shirley and I were both at the Florida Carry Speaker Event in 2021. I was only playing the Star Spangled Banner for the event, but I had my GoPro cameras should I have the chance to film a show. She was speaking at the event as an instructor, author, and as a DC Project member. I purchased her book in the summer of 2020, but didn’t know she was going to be there. I approached her and said “Hi, my name is Charlie. I’ve got a show called Riding Shotgun With Charlie.” She said ‘You’re the guy who interviews the DC Project woman as you drive around, right?”. I replied “Yes, that's me. What are you doing for the next half hour? Do you want to be on the show?”
How can she say no?!?! I told her I have her book and would have brought it so she could sign it, but I didn’t know she was going to be at the event. She offered me another book (signed) but I had to give my copy to another woman. Which I did.
I learned about Shirley last summer. She attended the Ambassador Academy with some friends, and they told me she would be a great passenger for the show. I bought a copy of her book, Heels To Holsters, right away, but didn’t read it by the time we filmed the show.
Before she became an instructor, or even shot a gun, Shirley worked in an office. Unfortunately, she found herself in a relationship that wasn’t healthy. Shirley found herself held for 12 hours by her ‘boyfriend’. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happened, but it was a life changing event. At one point, she knew that she was either going to die… or survive. But it wasn’t going to be easy.
That day led her to wanting to become a firearm owner. After some trips to a range and six months researching which firearm to purchase, and then taking a class, her life mission was to become a firearm instructor and to help women become empowered to take control of their lives.
Shooting led to 3-gun competitions and instruction. She also was a gun range manager running classes and the shop. It was a long way from her days of working in an office. Eventually, she was asked by Dianna Muller (RSWC #059) to be in The DC Project to represent Florida at our nation’s capital. Her story is an amazing story for our anti-gun legislators to hear about why women are the largest growing demographic of new gun owners.
One of the things that I really enjoy about ‘my gig’ is that I can ask women who I haven’t met and ask them to be on the show. Many times, if they don’t know me, they know someone who’s been on the show. And being a passenger on ‘the stagecoach’ is something they’ll gladly do to get their story out to you!
You’ll find an amazon link to Shirley’s book below as well as links to her social media.
Favorite quotes:
“I love the shooting community. They’re so nice, so thoughtful, so helpful.”
“You’re either going to go out with a bang, so to speak, or you’re going to win.”
“He did attempt to kill me. By the grace of God, I’m here today.”
“I totally understand them. I know why it's so hard to leave.”
“I learned how to become independent again. And I did that through firearms.”
“Just think of how many women you can help. I went ‘oh...that makes sense’.”
Shirley Watral Firearm Training
https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyWatralFirearmsTraining
Shirley Watral Firearm Training
https://shirleywatralfirearmstraining.com/
Shirley Watral Firearm Training Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/shirley_watral_firearms/
Heels To Holsters on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Heels-Holster-surviving-relationship-discovering/dp/1734463902/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=heels+to+holsters&qid=1622393978&sr=8-1
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
107
Jeff Spiegelman & Kim Petters
Delaware House of Representatives
The DC Project
After I had the show set up to film with Kim Petters, she asked if I wanted to film another show. She said she’s friends with Jeff Spiegelman, a member of the Delaware House of Representatives, who is a good Second Amendment supporter and a good friend of hers. How can I say no? I didn’t. Kim decided that she should ride in the backseat for this show. Someone need to keep Jeff in control! What a time we had! Despite everything he touches breaks!
Jeff wasn’t always a politician. He was a US Navy contractor for a few years. Then he was a military historian, teaching on the USS Cole & USS Roosevelt and teaching college history and politics. He was also the guy who complained about how the politicians should do things. Then he got into commercial real estate. Then he decided to be the guy who did something because he didn’t like how the politicians were doing things. And he’s been in office since 2012. That’s quite an accomplishment. He’s also co-chair of the Delaware Sportsman’s Caucus. I like that he’s on a quest to take every animal that the state allows a hunter to bag.
Jeff does have his name attached to some pro-gun legislation in Delaware. What is really nice to note is that the way he thinks and approaches the bills is very logical. He’s learned that sometimes you’ve got to say
We do make a quick detour to the Delaware state capital. The building Kim often refers to is “Leg Hall” is an abbreviation for Legislative Hall. We do talk about how the process works. And it isn’t as easy as everyone thinks. There’s lots of unintended consequences from signing one bill and the things to come with it.
One of the many topics we cover is that, very much like New Jersey, Delaware’s northern neighbor, anything that shoots a projectile is considered a ‘firearm’. That includes things like sling shots and bow & arrows. This is one of the things that Jeff is trying to change. He also tells us how things work in politics and it's very interesting, for sure. Jeff really gets into how things work behind the scenes that often the public doesn’t get or understand.
I was honored to have Kim and Jeff as passengers. Jeff has a great sense of humor. I was able to keep up with him. And Kim laughed often from the back seat! I am excited to say that I DID purchase a single shot shotgun while I was in Delaware. And I am crossing off the list that I’ve bought a firearm outside my home state! Thanks, Delaware!
Favorite quotes:
“What kind of coward would I be, if I was the guy who was complaining about the guy, instead of trying to be the guy that people complain about.”
“I try and be the representative that I would vote for.”
“I’d like to think that if I’m going to sell out, it’d be more than $600.”
“One of the many dirty secrets of politics is that politicians do try to keep their promises.”
“In an age of hyper partisanship, people are afraid of not keeping their promises.”
Kim quotes:
“He’s a good one!”
“And he doesn’t sell out. I love that.”
“I’ll show you where my office is going to be, when I’m a lawmaker.”
“I’m not going to find common ground on something that shouldn’t be.”
Jeff Spiegelman Delaware House of Representative
https://legis.delaware.gov/AssemblyMember/151/Spiegelman
Jeff Spiegelman Website
http://www.jeffderepresentative.com/
Jeff Spiegelman Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/friends4jeff
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Kim Petters website
https://www.kimpetters.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
106
Joseph Morse
Shooting Gallery New England
Shooting in the Woods Podcast
Joseph Morse reached out to me a while ago. He’s a gunsmith at a gun store in Massachusetts. But he’s also a content creator! He’s got an Instagram page called Shooting Gallery New England and a podcast called Shooting in the Woods. Both being gun guys in Massachusetts, we finally were able to connect and film a show! Since we’re both in Massachusetts, we decided to meet at…. Plymouth Rock! Of course the rock and the Mayflower are replicas, but we still did selfies in front of them. Our driving route took us on both the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges.
Joseph has really had a bit of success as a young guy. He had a tough childhood and moved around a lot. After some bow hunting with a friend, he decided to get his firearm identification card (FID) which allows you to have non-large capacity rifles and shotguns in MA. After he turned 21 and got a License to Carry (LTC), he also became an instructor.
Not long after that, he took a gunsmithing course from Sonoran Desert Institute and worked towards becoming a smith. Starting a YouTube channel to display and show his builds and work was a natural progression. He’s had a chance to work over several different types of firearms, but also has to make some guns ‘Massachusetts compliant’.
He’s learned some good lessons from other gun YouTubers and podcasts. Things like being consistent with your content, putting shows out regularly, and asking folks to be on the show. He also does a live weekly show on Facebook and YouTube.. Some of the videos he’s done are showing builds, but he’s also done time lapse videos on builds.
Of course, we spend time talking about the challenges of being a gun owner in Massachusetts. We’ve had the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban but it was permanently adopted in 1998 by one of our former governors. Joseph also tells us that after doing some collaboration with someone in Rhode Island, they have laws that aren’t as bad as it is in MA. But RI still has issues, like who can and cannot get permits. We also talk about some of the stereotypes of the residents of the Commonwealth. Things like Dunkin’ Donuts, Aerosmith, & Carla Tortelli.
We have a good conversation about the issues facing groups that deter new gun owners. There’s lot of ways that we can get new shooters into shooting sports like IDPA & IPSC sports. Of course, the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting or competitive shooting, but those can be good ways to start new shooters.
Joseph really have a lot of things he’s working on whether it’s his Smoking Millennial YouTube channel, the Shooting Gallery New England channel, or working on guns themselves. You should check out his several outlets on IG, FB, & YT!
Favorite quotes.
“I always tell people ‘guns saved my life’.”
“I’m not going to be a victim anymore. I’m going to take responsibility for my family and my wife.”
“Most people my age don’t think like this, which is kind of weird.”
“Times change, but the laws should stay the same.”
“Shooting a gun should be normal.”
Shooting in the Woods on YouTube with Charlie
https://youtu.be/mukcQ3N_hAE
Shooting Gallery NE on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7bWC6QaVwXyS484fl5DMg
Shooting Gallery New England Insatgram
https://www.instagram.com/shootinggallerynewengland/
Shooting Gallery NE on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/ShootingGalleryNE
Shooting Gallery NE on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ShootingGalleryNE
Smoking Millennial Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/smokingmillennial/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
105
Dave Workman
Second Amendment Journalist
Dave Workman’s first words to me were “You’re a horrible model.” It was at GRPC 2017 in Dallas. I was only into the firearm community for a year. I was modeling and IWB and an ankle for the concealed carry fashion show. I went to a table, hiked up my pant leg, and showed off the ankle holster. Someone put a one dollar bill into my holster and I left the table. Dave snapped a picture and then said those ‘famous’ words to me.
Dave has been a journalist covering hunting, firearms, and freedoms for years. He’s been writing for decades for publications like The Gun Mag, American Handgun Insider Online, Conservative Firing Line, Liberty Park Press, Ammoland, The Northwest Sportsman, and the CCRBKA, among others. He earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Washington, and ran a weekly newspaper after college. The great aspect about Dave’s writing is that he wants to get the story out and he knows the story isn’t about him or his views. With his writing, he’s able to relate to folks in ways the others do not relate.
About 20 years ago, he moved over to writing for the Second Amendment Foundation, under Joe Tartaro, as the Senior Editor at Gun Week. Dave has an admiration of Joe for the way read everything with a microscope as an amazing newsman and editor. We also cover how he’s able to spot a bum story on social media, which he called me out for recently. We talk about how the media coverage isn’t really up to snuff especially if you don’t agree with them. Dave has no problem calling people on their facata stories.
We get into how the anti-gun folks and the media are working to take over the language. The terms that they use get into our lexicon and language, and then everyone starts using them, even though they aren’t correct or even close. Dave has a story about how a newspaper got a photo of a Smith & Wesson firearm but called it a Ruger. And he said this happens often.
Dave also tells us that he used to photograph car accidents for the police. That has been something that has impacted him personally. One of the toughest jobs is dealing with accident clean ups, which is why Dave says to folks “Drive safe” as he says goodbye to folks.
Talking with Dave, you realize that he really does hold the profession of journalism to a high level and expectation. He’s got an amazing resume of writing for decades for several outlets. Dave gives us the perspective from gun ownership and wants to give that in his writing. He emphasised that he takes a different angle for each publication he writes for and doesn’t recycle a story for each outlet.
It was really educational to have Dave in the shotgun seat to talk to the man who writes lots of great content.
Favorite quotes.
“In Seattle, the people would like to stifle opinions they do not agree with.”
“I’ve never claimed to be a gun rights advocate. I’m a journalist.”
“We’ve been through a year of insanity with this COVID thing. People want to escape that and the best way to do that is to get outside.”
“I’m not the story. The story is what I’m writing about.”
“I’m as fast with a keyboard as I am with a six gun. Keep that in perspective.”
Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation
https://kidssafefoundation.org/
The Gun Mag
http://www.thegunmag.com/
Liberty Park Press
https://www.libertyparkpress.com/
Ammoland.com
https://www.ammoland.com/author/dworkman/#axzz6uefOTwRK
The Conservative Firing Line
https://conservativefiringline.com/author/dworkman/
Northwest Sportsmen
https://nwsportsmanmag.wordpress.com/
Guns Magazine
https://gunsmagazine.com/
American Handgunner Insider Online
https://americanhandgunner.com/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
104
Mike Piwowarski
Arms Room Radio
Mike Piwowarski is one of those people who goes to ALL the 2A events! I can’t remember if we met at Gun Rights Policy Conference or SHOT Show, but we run into each other everywhere, which is one of the things I love about my 2A friends!
Mike is officially the SECOND passenger to “really ride shotgun”! He brought with him a Serbu Super Shorty! It’s a Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip cut down to be an “AOW”- Any Other Weapon. Which he tells me you only need to pay $5 to have a Class III firearm in Florida. Now I see how much better Florida is than Massachusetts!
Mike has a long history of family that served in the military and on the police force. He continued the family tradition with over 20 years service active and reserve. He served several years in the Middle East. Then came back stateside and pursued a career in law enforcement. When the politics got to be too much, it was time to make a life change.
He was already working on building AR rifles for his LEO friends as a side hustle. After a friendly suggestion from an ATF agent friend, he decided to make it official and opened up The Arms Room. Loving to hang out and talk guns with gun guys but tiring of the government regulations, a sales friend told Mike on the idea that they could continue hanging and talking, but put it on the radio! After a half a year of selling Mike on the idea of a radio show, Arms Room Radio was born!
He’s got some partners on the show. Kevin Maxwell is an attorney for legal advice. Earl Boone, the 7th great grandson of Daniel Boone. And Mike’s brother, Major Bill. As with everything we do, the first shows weren’t great. He admits they sounded like info-mercials for the gun store. But everyone decided to take it serious and learn some new skills to really make it happen. The show started for one hour in the Orlando area. In 6 months, they were at 2 hours and on 6 stations. Over 7 years later, they’re on at least 25 stations. But that doesn’t include stations that pick up the show and don’t let them know. One of the great things about stations putting out the show is that they put out the show! But it would be nice if the Arms Room Radio crew knew about it...so they could send some swag to give to the new fans!!!
The absolute best story is when Mike was in Afghanistan clearing houses of ISIS terrorists. After they decided the house was inhabited by the good team, then they’d give the guns back to the homeowners. He was giving them the ability to protect themselves from tyranny. And he knew what it was like in April 1775.
Favorite quotes:
“If you’re building them, you should have a manufacturer’s license. That little hobby turned into the Arms Room.”
“Watched Florida go from one of the top gun states to the middle of the pack.“
“If we’re gonna do this, let’s do this for real.”
“When you determined they were on the good team, you left that family with their AK -47.”
Arms Room Radio Website
https://armsroomradio.com/
Arms Room Radio Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ArmsRoomRadio/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
103
Alexander Roubian
New Jersey Second Amendment Society
Alexander and I first met at Gun Rights Policy Conference in 2016 in Tampa. After the conference, we both went with Mark Walters (RSWC #002 & #084) and Alan Gottlieb (RSWC #100) to a radio station to be on Armed American Radio. I’ve also been a fan of the Gun For Hire Radio Podcast, which has had Alexander on several times over the years. When I was heading to NJ to film some other shows, I reached out to Alexander and asked if he’d be up for filming a show.
Alexander had an unfortunate experience which led him to gun ownership. He grew up in a “gun agnostic” house, where guns weren’t really talked about. He was 20 feet away from a gang initiation which involved killing someone, he decided it was time to get a firearm. After seeing the ridiculousness of the process to get a NJ firearm permit, Alex reached out to Frank Fiamingo, founder of New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) and joined the group. Within 5 years of joining the group, Alexander became the president.
Every time I have a passenger from New Jersey in the shotgun seat, we end up talking about how absurd the laws are in that state. Alexander gets into how the New Jersey strict gun laws cause deaths like the woman who had a boyfriend who came out and said he was going to kill her. While he was waiting to get a firearm license, she was killed by him. Just like he said. If the state hadn’t dragged their feet for 43 from when she started the process, she may have been able to save her own life.
Some of the games they play in New Jersey are things like, having to apply but only on Mondays between 9am-11am, saying that you need a good reason that satisfies what the police want, and begging to get a license to possess a handgun. I believe many of the residents call the licensing process a ‘scheme’.
NJ2AS is also working with someone who doesn’t have any criminal violations or history, but they’re still being denied because the chief of police doesn't think it serves the “public interest”. This leads to only “the rich” who can hire an attorney to fight the case will be the only one who can afford to get a carry permit. This is what I call the “gun control loophole”. It’s any method that the anti-gun folks use to make it difficult for someone to get a firearm.
One of the things they have in New Jersey is a banned list of firearms. Massachusetts has something similar, we have a list of firearms we can get from dealers. We can possess those firearms, but we can’t get them through a dealer.
We get into how things work, or don’t work, in New Jersey. If you’re from “Free America”, you’ll be shocked. Alexander explains all the ways the state of New Jersey makes it hard for anyone who wants to get a firearm. Often people suggest leaving states like that. But we need to join NJ2AS to fight in these battleground states.
It is great to hear that the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearm Policy Coalition are teaming up with NJ2AS to work on cases so the citizens of the state can eventually have the Right to Keep and Bear. With people like Alexander fighting for Rights of gun owners in New Jersey, we need to keep supporting them. Many in New Jersey say “What happens in New Jersey, doesn’t stay in New Jersey!” So if you can, send NJ2AS a donation!
Favorite quotes:
“So the natural progression to that was ‘I don’t want to be that guy. I need to learn how to protect myself and my loved ones’.”
“We have a lot of victories that nobody talks about because they look at New Jersey as a lost cause.”
“The fundamental meaning of the Second Amendment is to bear arms and we do not have the Right to concealed carry in New Jersey.”
“It’s all about deterring you from being able to own a gun.”
New Jersey Second Amendment Society
https://nj2as.org/
NJ2AS Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/NJ2AS
NJ2AS Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nj2as/
NJ2AS YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/nj2as
NJ2AS Twitter
https://twitter.com/nj2as
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
102
Alan Lau
ALau Firearm Training
Alan and I have been following each other on social media for a while. We were officially connected by Patrick Collins RSWC #91 & #99 Part 1. He thought Alan would be a great passenger for the show. And he was correct!
Alan grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the Boston area when he was 13. He had other family members living in the area, so Massachusetts is where they went. He’s got years of martial arts including Muay Tai and used to referee MMA in New Hampshire until Massachusetts became a sanctioned state to run matches.
Alan was a Democrat when he moved to the USA and stayed with the party for a while. During the Obama years is when Alan got into firearms thanks to a Groupon offer. He got his license and bought an overpriced rifle during the Obama administration. He joined a shooting club and started shooting but realized that being an instructor could help him get discounts on firearms.
After becoming an instructor, he would get friends and colleagues interested in taking classes. While he maintains a full time job, he teaches as a side hustle. During the early part of 2020 and the pandemic, he offered classes to survivors of domestic violence. He would get them in a class so they can get their License To Carry (LTC). He does as for some help via the Cash App (see the link below to donate to help support those clients.)
We drive from Lexington, MA, into Boston and we take the Harvard Bridge (the Mass Ave Bridge) across the Charles River. I do explain to him what a Smoot is since he’s never heard of it. I was a little off in my story. A Smoot is the height(length) of Oliver Smoot, an MIT student and not a professor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot We do grab a selfie on the Boston side of the bridge.
Alan also shares his thoughts, feelings and opinions about all of the crimes against Asians. He points out that it’s been going on for years. He says that good people are good people no matter their race, gender, sexual preference, religion, whatever. And that the labeling that is done hurts the whole society. He gives some history about the cancel culture from Asia which has been going on for decades starting with General Mao and leaving people unsure of who they really are in the wake of trying to make everyone the same. He points out that with everything that is going on we are getting more divided. And that all the Asians are being lumped together as the Asian American/Pacific Islanders, even though they haven’t gotten along as societies and cultures.
We also re-live a bit of our college days. Both Alan and I went to college in Boston, right down the road from where each other lived, during different years, of course. And we drive down Boylston St in the Back Bay, passing where the Marathon bombers detonated their pressure cooker bomb, and over the Marathon finish line. Then we head to the Public Garden and grab a selfie by Cheers. We are in Boston!
We are both instructors in Massachusetts so we have plenty of stories about our gun laws. It’s good to keep in mind that the MA politicians want to export the silly MA gun laws we have. Things like magazine restrictions, so called assault weapon bans, and many other things.
Favorite quotes:
“I make the students think. I make them evolve.”
“We want unity, but now we’re dividing the people.So which one is it?”
“We are a second class citizen already.”
“I want to be the asset, not the liability. I want the person next to me or around me just as good if not better than I am.”
ALau Firearms Training
https://www.alaufirearmstraining.com/
ALau Firearms Training on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ALauFirearmsTraining/
Contact: alaufirearmstraining@gmail.com
Cash App: @alautraining
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
The Gun Food
https://thegunfood.com/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
101
Hickok45
YouTube Creator
Wilder things have happened. Snow in Tennessee isn’t something that happens often. Unless I’m driving down. Despite nearly every place being closed and many Tennesseans not having experience driving in the snow, I was able to meet Hickok45 for breakfast before we filmed the show! Whew!
We’ve all been watching Hickok45 for years and he’s the nicest man around. He’s been a school teacher for years, which we share in common. We drove by where he used to teach. He took a break from teaching and he had another career that he can’t talk about, unless he kills you, of course. Then he went back to teaching in the 1990’s.
He’s been a shooter since he was a young boy. He used to go shooting with his dad’s old .22 rifle and a pocket full of ammo and that’s when he got the shooting bug.
He started the YouTube channel back in 2007 when most people posted cat videos. He did a video shooting through his Honda Element’s open doors in the very early days. Then he moved to shooting watermelons and pumpkins. While teaching a lesson on “Shane”, Hickok45 made a video using a Colt Single Action for his students to show them the firearms of the old West. Hickok’s son, John, decided making shooting videos would be cool and it would give them something to do for fun.
The Hickok’s bought the land specifically for shooting in the backyard where they have their home range. When they started the YouTube channel, they had no idea what could become of this side hustle. They just used their guns and made some review videos. People watched them and kept subscribing so they kept making videos. They did learn to edit and work in video but their approach is very natural and not ‘5th Avenue slick’. Right how, his channel has 6 MILLION subscribers! Hickok45 and his son have turned this into a full time gig.
We drive from the Cracker Barrel in Nashville to Franklin and encounter some snow and some other drivers, even from New York, that can’t drive in the snow very well. We hopped out of the car in downtown Franklin for a selfie at a memorial THe Battle of Franklin. Hickok also brings up some of the formats of podcasters like Adam Carolla and Joe Rogan. He says you really get a feel for someone in those types of interviews. I was able to share my story and connection to Adam Carolla, as well.
We also share some stories about when ‘worlds collide’ and there was some crossover between teaching and making YouTube videos. After having sponsors seeking them out, they had to decide which fork in the road to take. On his last day of teaching, he presented awards at school, then headed to Philadelphia with John to give a speech.
Hickok45 also shares a story about meeting Massad Ayoob. He’s been a reader and followers of Mas for years. And he was a little nervous to meet Mas and say hello to him. But of course, Mas knew who he was. That helps Hickok keep things in perspective when he meets his fans.
Hickok45 doesn’t really do interviews. I’m honored that he took the time to hop in the stagecoach and come Riding Shotgun. We were able to navigate through the snow and get back to where we started.
Favorite quotes:
“We mainly just brought the camera outside and filmed what we were already doing.”
“Everything is so scripted. You and I, we don’t know what we’re going to talk about.”
“We don’t have a lot of advice really. (for starting a YouTube channel). Do something you like.”
“Mainly, I’m a shooter. I really enjoy firearms.”
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45
Instagram:
@johnhickok45
@therealhickok45
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044290096493
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!
http://saf.org/
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
100
Alan Gottlieb
Second Amendment Foundation
Alan Gottlieb is The MAN! At my first Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Tampa 2016, I approached Massad Ayoob to have him sign my copy of In The Gravest Extreme. I took a deep breath, asked Mas if he could come Riding Shotgun. Alan was right behind Mas. He said “Oh my gosh, Mas you’ve got to go Riding Shotgun With Charlie!” It was 2 years before we made it happen.
In Phoenix 2019 at GRPC, I was hanging out with a few people at the social hour and Alan came up to our group and congratulated me on the Blogger of the Year. And he asked when HE was going to come Riding Shotgun. We made it happen in Bellevue, WA, at the Second Amendment Foundation headquarters last month. He may have let me conduct the interview in his car, his 7th Corvette!
Alan grew up in New York City then joined the Army. Earning a degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee, he became interested in fighting for individual rights, and the 2A which is most under attack. He got involved with the Young Americans for Freedom and was sent to Seattle to cover a 13 state region for the Student Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. In 1972, way before the NRA-ILA, he had the idea to change it to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRBKA). Within 2 years ,the CCRBKA was bigger than its predecessor, and then he started the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). The CCRBKA donations are not tax deductible as they’re involved with lobbying, but the SAF is non-partisan and donations are deductible. Both offices of the SAF & CCRBKA are located at Liberty Park in Bellevue.
We talk about how things have been changing and the SAF is reaching out to the new gun owners with TV ads. Alan shares how he’s able to get commercials for SAF on some of the networks that are against the 2A. It’s very important to get the new gun owners involved and learning how the anti-gun crowd is going after our Rights and our firearms. Brad Parscale, who worked for the Trump campaign, is now working for SAF and helping the foundation grow.
We also cover how just being public and open about firearms makes us a target for the anti-gun folks. Alan shares some stories about threats he’s gotten and how he passes them on to the local authorities. Some of the threats are ‘downright scary’. He isn’t the only one who gets these threats either.
We also cover that often the people fighting for our rights don’t get enough time to get out and do some shooting on our own. One of Alan’s favorite shotguns was a shotgun owned by Neal Knox. His favorite type of shooting is trap and skeet, which he would love to do more often but he’s very busy fighting for our rights to shoot.
He’s traveling all over the United States and the world talking about gun rights. He said that when people in other countries talk about gun rights, they call it “Second Amendment” rights, which is a wonderful hat tip to our Constitution and Founding Fathers. What I really got from my time with Alan is that the shoes he wears in the 2A community are HUGE! When he does finally decide to retire, we are going to need about 4 or 5 people just to keep up with everything Alan does.
Favorite quotes:
“Donations can be tax deductible and you can write part of this off on your taxes and make the government pay part of the freight, since they were attacking our rights to begin with.”
“We buy those spots (remnant time) so we’re not feeding the enemy.”
“Our outreach is tripled already this year.”
“The more public you are in the media with this, the more you get picked on. The more threats you get.”
“In Europe, they always refer to gun rights as “‘Second Amendment’.''
“Internationally, gun rights shouldn’t stop at any country’s border. Gun rights are a human right.”
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
Special THANKS to Derek LeBlanc of Kids S.A.F.E. Foundation for following us and getting some ‘B roll” film.
https://kidssafefoundation.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!
https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
099 Part 2
Florida Carry Speaker Event Review Part 2
Stephen Shives, Runaway Campers
Kristin Franke, Packin’ Neat
Kevin & Sarah Sona, Florida Carry
While I was at the Florida Carry Speaker Event on March 20, I filmed a few shows. This is part 2 of Episode 099. I grabbed a few more folks and put them in the car for a review of the event. If you missed the Clown Car video, you can watch it here. https://youtu.be/d2rR1PtolyQ
Kevin Sona of Florida Carry organized the Speaker Event. It’s the 4th Annual event and it's been growing every year. It started off with a few speakers and about 50 people. This year, the numbers were low due to the ‘virus’, but there were speakers and visitors from Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, Texas, California, and Virginia. It has been the first time for many to get together since the Florida Carry event last year, which was just before the beginning of the virus.
This year, Kevin had some issues getting a place to host the event due to the virus, but Runaway Campers stepped up. Stephen Shives is the owner of Runaway Campers. His people cleaned out the finishing shop to set up a space for the event. The store has a pavilion space where they hosted a rally for their customers, but they ended up selling that space and buying a new one, where the speaker event was held.
Kristin Franke, owner of Packin’ Neat, was a vendor at the event. She was selling her products and was able to hop in the stagecoach with us. She started her business and making products due to a lack of options for carry methods for folks in the Florida and other warmer areas. The Packin’ Neat products are like small ‘go bags’ you can put in your purse. Not only does it come with a holster for your firearm, you can transfer it to another purse or bag as well. It can be used in briefcases as well.
Stephen tells us, and even shared the audio from, an irate customer who was less than thrilled to hear that Runaway Campers was hosting the Florida Carry event. You’ll hear that phone call here.
We also have a good discussion that the folks in the firearm community are very giving, very caring, and just all around good people. That really has been a theme to RSWC since I started the show. After the event, many of us went back to the campgrounds where many of the speakers and attendees spent the weekend. We had a wonderful evening of some deep fried turkey and a campfire with much more conversation and networking.
Kudos to Kevin for organizing the event. And even more kudos to Stephen for hosting the event and taking some heat for it.
Favorite quotes:
Stephen Shives: “I like people to know what we stand for, what we believe.”
Stephen Shives: “We’re all in this together. We’re living it, We’re loving it. We’re not out to get anybody.”
Kristin Franke: “Everybody (in the gun industry) is very caring.”
Kevin Sona: “A highlight was the diversity panel. Gun rights just aren’t just for bald, fat, white guys.”
Kevin Sona; “It doesn’t mean that someone who doesn’t have the same beliefs as me, as I do, doesn’t have a right to protect themselves against someone who’s going to do something evil to them.”
Runaway Campers
https://www.runawaycampers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RunawayCampers
Packin’ Neat
https://www.packinneat.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PackinNeat
Florida Carry
https://www.floridacarry.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Florida.Carry
Live Feed from the Florida Carry Speaker Event
https://fb.watch/4vEY9Q4yx4/
Polite Society Podcast Friday Night Interviews
https://fb.watch/4vF0enLB_-/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Katz & Phillips, P.A.
https://thefirearmfirm.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs to get the #stagecoachacrossamerica
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Support the show and buy some RSWC & GunGram stickers here
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
099 Part 1
Florida Carry Speaker Event Review Part 1
I love my gig! I really do!
Kevin Sona (RSWC #043) has been organizing a camping event for Florida Carry since 2018. In Florida, its legal to open carrying while you’re doing the “...ing” activities: camping, hunting, fishing. Therefore, anyone camping can open carry while they’re there. Past speakers are a who’s who of the 2A community. Massad Ayoob, Rick Ector, Rob Morse, Rob Pincus, to name just a few.
This year, the event was held at Runaway Campers in Summerfield, FL, on March 19 & 20. The camping part was both nights, but the Speaker Event was only on Saturday. This was the first time many of the 2A activists, authors, and speakers have gotten together since the Gun Rights Policy Conference hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation in Phoenix, September 2019.
The line up for 2021 included Cheryl Todd from Gun Freedom Radio & AZFirearms, Rick Ector from Legally Armed In Detroit, Erich Pratt from Gun Owners of America, Dan Wos author of Good Gun Bad Guy, Craig DeLuz from The Gunshine State, Amy Dillon of Shooting Industry Magazine, and Patrick Collins firearm instructor. Amanda Suffecool of Eye On The Target and REALIZE Firearm Awareness did one of her world famous concealed carry fashion shows. The event was emceed by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Deputy Director of New Media and the Polite Society Podcast founder and host, Paul Lathrop.
After the event was over, I was able to round a few of the speakers, all who have been in the passenger’s seat of the stagecoach, for a whiz bang round of RSWC. The game plan was to get as many people in the car as we could. Then put Amy Dillon across everyone’s lap who was in the back seat.
We had: John Petrolino, author and writer for Ammoland, JM4 Tactical, & Bearing Arms. Patrick Collins, Cheryl & Danny Todd, & Amy Dillon. We just wanted to do a wrap up and review of the event, and what were some good takeaways as well. Everyone got a chance to share what they enjoyed about it. A big one for me is the fellowship that we get when we all get together. These events really are like family reunions. And I know everyone says that. It’s the closest way to describe it. We all see each other online and interact on several podcasts and in writing, but there’s nothing better than getting together in person and sharing handshakes and hugs.
Cheryl & Danny, Amy, and myself have been to several GRPC’s and The DC Project events. Patrick has been to GRPC and Rick Ector’s Women event. It was John Petrolino’s first time meeting ‘his people’ as he was able to sneak away from other commitments in the Orlando area. It was wonderful to see everyone.
Next week, there will be an RSWC #099 Part 2 with some of the others who were at the event. I’m excited to say many of the folks and a couple new passengers made a fun video to kick off this episode. You can find it on YouTube here. https://youtu.be/d2rR1PtolyQ
Favorite quotes:
Cheryl Todd: “I got to moderate a panel and that is one of my most favorite things to do. You can do rapid fire questions. And we did a diversity panel.”
Danny Todd: “What kind of an event can you go to and leave with two woman on your lap?”
Amy Dillon: “Probably the most personal speech I ever made. But I think its important to share vulnerability.”
Patrick Collins: “My goal is to teach in all 50 states, which there’s not a lot of instructors have done that before.”
John Petrolino: “Hopefully, in 5 years we’ll be writing about none of this stuff and we’ll be writing about freedom!”
Cheryl & Danny Todd
Gun Freedom Radio
https://gunfreedomradio.com/
AZFirearms
https://azfirearms.com/
Amy Dillon
Legacy Defense Consulting
https://www.facebook.com/legacydefense.net
Patrick Collins
https://thegunfood.com/
John Petrolino
https://johnpetrolino.com/
Florida Carry
https://www.floridacarry.org/
Live Feed from the Florida Carry Speaker Event
https://fb.watch/4vEY9Q4yx4/
Polite Society Podcast Friday Night Interviews
https://fb.watch/4vF0enLB_-/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#098
Dan Grdovic
President, CNJFO
Like many people in the 2A community, Dan Grdovic and I were “Facebook friends” before we met in person. We finally met face to face at Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners’ (CNJFO) fundraising event called “Hunting Pheasants With Charlie” at Giberson’s Farm and Wildlife Preserve in Pemberton, NJ I’ve never hunted with dogs and it was an amazing experiment watching them work the field.. One of the hunters was a young man out with his father for the first time. And yes, the son bagged a few birds!
We had a wonderful hunt that morning. There was another hunt that afternoon after lunch, raffles, and a few speeches. The money that was raised helps CNJFO fight their main mission to end “justifiable need” for carry permits in New Jersey. New Jersey has unbelievably ridiculous gun laws. They way CNJFO does this is with a solid foundation of education, activism, safety, and awareness.
Dan went shooting with a cousin and really enjoyed it. But after getting an application, he put it away. And getting another application and putting it away a second time. Like many people, Dan thought about what the government and town police would think if he applied for a firearm license. Finally enough was enough, and he filled out the application and went through the required paperwork.
After doing some shooting, Dan tried his hand at hunting and really got into it. What he didn’t enjoy all the restrictions on law abiding, background check passing citizens in New Jersey.
CNJFO has only been around about 6 years. We need all types of people and their varying strengths in the firearm community, author & activists, instructors, and wordsmiths. There’s what Dan was able to help out being a self described ‘grammar nazi’. After a couple years on the board, Dan stepped up to take the role as an intern president.
Being from Massachusetts, I really feel a kindred spirit with the folks from New Jersey. Dan and I spent a lot of time commiserating about the gun law similarities between our states. MA has had a 10 round magazine capacity since 1994 and permanently since 1998. NJ has had a magazine restriction since 2019. In both states, we have closet gun owners who don’t come out and admit they own firearms. And of course, no matter all the gun control laws we have, criminals disregard them anyway.
Dan is a really great guy and it was a pleasure to get to know him. It’s wonderful to know that someone like him is fighting for our Rights in “occupied territory”.
Just for the record, we both bagged some birds that day.
Favorite quotes:
“They call them schemes, that’s exactly what they are. It discourages people from applying and getting their license.”
“The reason I put them in the drawer is because I was concerned about “what would the government think, right? What would the police think? What would the town think? Is this going to put me on someone’s radar?”
“The issue with any more gun control, for that matter the gun control we already have, is that none of this, not one stitch of it, stops crime.”
“At some point, you don’t care what they think of you anymore. You just want your Rights.”
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
https://www.cnjfo.com/
CNJFO Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/cnjfo
Giberson’s Farm & Wildlife Preserve
https://www.facebook.com/Giberson-Farms-Wildlife-Preserve-181668498531649/
Address: 101 S Pemberton Rd, Pemberton, NJ 08068
Phone: (609) 726-0600
RSWC Hunting Pheasants Hat Cam Video
https://youtu.be/koRLuJkMOZ4
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
097
Kim Petters
The DC Project
I opened the door to Kim’s house in Dover, DE, to pick her up to film the show. “Oh my gosh, Charlie. We’ve met!” You know how it is, when you’ve met a lot of people in the 2A community and you can’t ‘really’ remember them until you see them in person. That’s what happened. We met in DC at the DC Project event in the summer of 2019.
Kim Petters recently learned about elections and incumbent politician’s families. Last year, 2 months before the election, she stepped up to run for the clerk of the peace. That means she’s in charge of wedding licenses and very similar to a justice of the peace. With only 2 months to run a campaign, she was only 5% away from beating the incumbent who has had a family member in that office for years. She didn’t win the election, but she learned a lot for the next time.
Before that, Kim spent 10 years in the Air Force. She had a very difficult job: she brought home the remains of our soldiers from Afghanistan. Certainly with a job like that, there’s lots to get to you. And it did. Kim suffered from PTSD when she got back. Her doctor put her on some medication. Something to get her up during the day. And something else to get her down to sleep at night. She didn’t feel right. She knew there had to be something different, maybe even something that worked.
Kim did some research and found out that there were lots of studies that say using cannabis was better, non-addictive, and worked. She grew up as someone who didn’t smoke marijuana and was not into it. Her family recently moved to Delaware and didn’t know many people, let alone who she could get some cannabis from. So, she had her brother in law send her some. After using it once, she was relaxed and enjoyed an evening of regular family time. After some time, others started noticing that she was looking better and healthier, but she didn’t want to tell them her ‘secret’.
Kim has learned a lot about writing a bill to make Delaware a state where you can get a medicinal marijuana card. Last year, she had several politicians on both sides of the aisle supporting the bill she was involved with. But thanks to the “virus that shall not be named”, everything was shelved. And this process goes back the beginning once things open up and the state government goes back into session.
Also, being a pro 2A supporter and a gun owner, Kim has gotten involved with the DC Project as the representative from Delaware. She also brings up a number of times that she’s been at 2A events on the east coast and many of the big name 2A advocates reach out to her to get something to help them sleep. They can’t bring anything with them if they’re flying so they ended up connecting to Kim.
It's refreshing to hear that there are people who are ‘down with freedom’ on all levels. I don’t partake and never have. But if you want or need to use it, who am I to infringe you. Just remember, that’s a 2-way street. And it’s still a disqualifier on the 4473!
Favorite quotes:
“I was desperate and the pills were taking a toll.”
“Everyone’s like ‘Wow, Kim, you look great’, but I didn’t want to tell them my secret.”
“Every veteran who is struggling with PTSD needs access to this stuff!”
“I am a woman and this is why I want to preserve our Rights.”
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Kim Petters website
https://www.kimpetters.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
096
Theresa Inacker
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
The DC Project
Theresa Inacker has done some cool things...I mean besides coming Riding Shotgun! She hunts pheasants. She hangs out with Dick Heller. And she puts CNN”s Chris Cuomo in his place. And it’s all in a day’s work for her.
I was heading down to New Jersey for a couple of other interviews and reached out to Theresa and she agreed to be on the show. Like many people, Theresa didn’t grow up in a household with or around firearms, but she had an uncle that would take her shooting to bust clays when she was young. Later in life, she decided it was time to be a gun owner. She lives in a rural area with a number of wildlife around her property. Once she learned how difficult the process is to buy a gun, how much red tape, and some of the nonsense you have to go through, she got involved. The process in New Jersey is very unjust and that got her interested in being an activist.
The process in New Jersey is supposed to be 30 days. But that almost never happens, even pre-covid. It would take months. She said in New Jersey, that you own firearms on your own peril. After you find out that 30 days is not 30 days in a row, the outrage of denying your Rights takes over. Besides the regular process, the NCS check is not instant. New Jersey does their own background checks when they get to them, which is never a rush. The truth is that New Jersey does not want it’s law abiding, background check passing citizens
Shooting shotguns in trap, sporting clays, and 5-stand, lead Theresa into a pheasant hunting trip with the Coalition of New Jersey Firearms Owner (CNJFO). Her connection to CNJFO’s founder David “Rosey” Rosenthal (RSWC #049) led her to The DC Project with Dianna Muller (RSWC #059). The connection to Dianna Muller led her and other DC Project members to sitting behind Dianna when she testified in front of Congress and proclaimed “I will not comply”. Which led to Theresa meeting and hanging out with Dick Heller.
Theresa did get a chance to attend and ask a question at a CNN Town Hall with Chris Cuomo. After hearing from the anti-gun side, she asked the producers if she was going to be able to ask her question. When she did, she kind of let them have it. Kind of. They weren’t sure how to reply to her.
It is beneficial for everyone to hear about the 2A Rights battles in states like New Jersey and Massachusetts so that people in ‘free America’ learn that our Right to own, purchase, and even carry is under attack. And we can’t just run to a different state to avoid the fight. The fight needs to be in these battleground states so we hold the line.
Favorite quotes:
“People don’t think of us as the gun owning people. We’re definitely not the gun toting people because we’re not allowed to do that.”
“Someone has to stand and fight. You can’t run away.’
“They’re (Moms Demand) are operating by a lot of fear. There’s a lot of misinformation.”
“Their feelings don’t trump my ability to defend my life and my daughter’s life.”
Theresa Inacker on The Truth About Guns
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/tag/theresa-inacker/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
https://www.cnjfo.com/
Theresa Inacker on the Polite Society Podcast, 1.18.2021
https://youtu.be/qccBWSmScYY
Theresa Inacker on Eye On The Target Radio, 2.14.2021
https://youtu.be/6gL9dH8frc0
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
095
Judi Wells
A Girl & A Gun
The DC Project
Judi Wells is more than just an “accidental activist”. She’s an unexpected gun owner, too. She’s a vegetarian, does yoga, and doesn’t like killing spiders, let alone other animals. Go down the checklist of everything you’d expect as an anti-gunner and that’s her, too. Growing up in Canada and California, no one in her family liked shooting or went hunting. They hated guns.
Four years ago, it was her husband’s “bucket list” that changed everything. He wanted to buy a gun in California and she took lessons with him. During these lessons, Judi cried at the thought of holding and using a gun. She thought the gun was going to jump out of the safe and shoot her, but it didn’t. When she learned about the Winchester Marksman Program through the National Rifle Association, changed everything for her. The WMP challenged her and she knew she wouldn’t just be throwing ammo down range. She would be working on marksmanship and she had a goal to get better at shooting.
She’s done a 180 degree change on the ‘gun issue’. She’s started a group of similar and retired women to go shooting. She still has, to this day, friends who don’t know she’s into shooting & she’s lost some friends, too! Then she learned about A Girl & A Gun and merged with them.
At a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) Fantasy Camp, did some training with several professional shooters including Dianna Muller. A couple years later, Judi & Dianna were on a squad for a 3-gun competition and Di asked her about being the California rep for the DC Project. That’s how much she’s changed. She’s now educating politicians about how gun rights are women’s rights.
One of the things I really liked is that with her background in yoga, she’s able to make parallels between shooting and yoga. She teaches both shooters and yoga practitioners about breathing, slowing down, and focusing on your body. It’s certainly a benefit of both activities.
We spend some time talking about getting a license in California, some things about concerns with the women in her AGAG chapter, and their very busy schedule. Judi’s group has 70+ women from all walks of life and all ages, from a famous female athlete to a mom who makes soap for the family business. Please check the link below for their schedule if you’re in the San Diego area.
While we were driving, we wanted to drive by the Lincoln Memorial, but ended up driving by Arlington National Cemetery. Next to Arlington, is the Iwo Jima Memorial where we grabbed a couple selfies. We also got caught by someone for parking in a non-parking area. (You can see that on the RSWC Facebook page.)
Since we filmed this episode, Judi and Tatiana Whitlock joined forces and they host Responsibly Armed Radio.
It’s really wonderful to see that someone can get into the shooting sports even though they’ve been against gun ownership their entire lives. Please share this with someone who isn’t into firearms and maybe they, too, can make a change. Let’s face it, shooting a .22 is a gateway drug to freedom.
Favorite Quotes:
“By my 4th lesson, my instructor brought out something called the the Winchester qualification”
“Once you get into the gun world, so much more information comes to you.”
“We’re here to educate and talk to our legislators about our Second Amendment Rights.”
“I want my congressmen to know, and my senator to know, what is going on in California and what the face of a normal gun owner looks like.”
A Girl & A Gun Website
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
A Girl & A Gun - San Diego
https://www.agirlandagun.org/cat/ca-san-diego/
A Girl & A Gun Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AGirlandAGunClub/
A Girl & A Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/agagclub/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
The DC Project Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject
Responsibly Armed Radio
http://responsiblyarmedradio.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
To order RSWC stickers, patches, shirts, hoodies, and mugs, please go to
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/home/rswc-swag-merch/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
094
Gabby Cannons
A Girl & A Gun Connecticut
One of the great things about having a show like mine is the referrals. I ask my 2A friends about potential passengers and they’ll reach out to their contacts and let their friends know I may be calling. That’s what happened with Gabby Cannons. I was concerned about getting out of New England during the summer, so Robyn Sandoval (RSWC #080) from A Girl & A Gun (AGAG) connected me with Gabby. I headed down to Hartford to meet with her. We’d been going back and forth since the summer and finally made it happen.
Gabby was introduced to firearms from an old boyfriend. Her next boyfriend certified people to carry as a security guard so she was at the range regularly. The relationships may not have lasted, but her interest in firearms did. When she didn’t have someone to take her to the range, she invited her mother, who was happy to oblige. After she saw a flyer for A Girl & A Gun at the range, she knew this was the group for her.
After a couple years, the other facilitator wasn’t able to keep the commitment to the group, Gabby was approached to take over. She had to meet the AGAG requirements of being an NRA certified instructor, certified in Stop The Bleed, CPR & the SIG SAUER instructor certification. A month before her training at SIG Academy, she broke her hand and had to adapt her training to do everything one handed.
At the AGAG annual conference a few years ago, she volunteered to help load magazines at the “Heligunner”, where women can shoot AR-15s at targets while flying in a helicopter. This is where she met her husband. After two years of a long distance relationship, she was able to convince him to move from Texas (Free America) to Connecticut. We talk about how New England is a bit different from other states and how our laws are a bit out of touch. In both MA & CT, we can own pre-1994 ‘so called’ high capacity magazines.
In 2020, AGAG was able to accommodate their members by doing their annual conference ‘virtually’ and online. The AGAG Connecticut chapter has been meeting online as well. They have monthly online meetings teaching their members about Stop The Bleed, gun cleaning, and other firearms related issues. Please check out their website and Facebook pages to get more information and to join AGAG or the AGAG in Connecticut.
Come with Gabby and I as we get a selfie in front of the Samuel Colt statue at Colt Park and snap a selfie in front of the Colt Museum, both in Hartford, CT.
Favorite Quotes:
“Mom, we’re going to the range.”
A Girl & A Gun “Is exactly what I need. It’s not intimidating.”
“Not only would I be crushed, my heart hurts for people that would never have this opportunity.”
“A Girl & A Gun has high standards for facilitators”
“I’m a big fan of being a student myself. I’m all about starving for new information.”
“We’re friends now because you have access to guns and helicopters.”
A Girl & A Gun Website
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
A Girl & A Gun- Central Connecticut
https://www.agirlandagun.org/cat/ct-central/
A Girl & A Gun Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AGirlandAGunClub/
A Girl & A Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/agagclub/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
To order RSWC stickers, patches, shirts, hoodies, and mugs, please go to
http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/home/rswc-swag-merch/
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
093
|John Petrolino
Author/Writer
Decoding FirearmsAmmoland
John Petrolino “relentlessly harassed’ me (his words, not mine) about having Mark Shean on the show. With some experience in writing and publishing, John was helping Mark turn his blog into a book. Then John wrote his own book about firearms for new gun owners. He’s also been writing for Ammoland as well. After spending some time with John, I found out he’s been writing & publishing books for over 20 years.
John and I have been going back and forth and finally set a date to film a show in New Jersey. John has been around firearms since he was a kid, going shooting and hunting with his father. After a number of years shooting long guns, he decided it was time to get a handgun. With limited training and a less than satisfactory course, he knew there had to be a better way. So he became an instructor. He started writing his own book to offer his students, incorporating what he wanted to make sure students know.
We talk about the reciprocity between a number of states in the northeast, and how some permits work, some permits used to work, and some aren’t needed at all. The laws vary from state to state as we all know, but some are more confusing than others. Massachusetts and New Jersey are kindred spirits that way.
John also writes for Ammoland. He’s been covering the things that are centered in New Jersey. He’s covered a number of topics from bear hunts on state and private lands to the changes with marijuana and how it's still federally prohibited. John gets into how tobacco is also regulated and how it affects hunting, and how it will also affect marijuana use as well.
We head to a couple ranges for a quick selfie. I wasn’t able to carry or transport in New Jersey, but since we weren’t going straight to a range, John said we couldn’t even bring any firearms with us. We also talk about how it is very important to support our local ranges. And that our state 2A grassroots groups need the help of everyone involved with, not just shooting and competitions, but the gun rights activity, as well.
John has been a really good friend, too. Since we’ve been communicating, he’s been pushing for t-shirt sales because he wanted an RSWC shirt. And a mug. And a hoodie. But he’s also guiding me with things that I need to do better.
Favorite quotes:
“There’s got to be a better way for a guy to get on the target.”
“I wanted to write something that would work out for inexperienced shooters and veteran shooters alike.”
“New Jersey doesn't issue concealed carry permits to regular peasants”
“From a freedom perspective, I want people to be able to do what they want to do.”
“The bulldozer of freedom is going cross the country, we got to try to stop it”
John Petrolino Website
https://johnpetrolino.com/
John’s Articles on Ammoland.com
https://www.ammoland.com/author/jpetrolinoiii/
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
https://www.cnjfo.com/
Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Club
https://www.anjrpc.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#092
Sarah Albrecht
Hold My Guns
Sarah, her husband, I and I hung out at a SHOT show event in January and we got along really well. When I saw that there was a machine gun shoot in Pennsylvania, I looked her up and not only was she close to the shoot, she was going to it as well! So we got her on the stagecoach.
Sarah started a nonprofit organization called Hold My Guns. Hold My Guns is working with firearms stores to be able to hold on to people’s firearms when they’re going through difficult times in life. So if someone is going through a difficult divorce, or suffering with depression, PTSD, or some challenging life event, a gun store can safely and securely store the firearms until a later date. It’s a really great idea and Sarah is working to get gun stores on board to make this happen.
Sarah grew up on a ‘farm-ette’, shooting long guns with her family, hunting critters like muskrats and raccoons that lived in rural Pennsylvania. After she got married and started a family, her husband wanted her to learn about handguns for home defense and concealed carry. One of the things she did as a new handgun user/carrier, is she carried it unloaded to get used to the feel of the firearm on her body. This is a really smart thing to do, to take the time to carry it unloaded, and let it become part of you and your attire. It's a great way to ‘break someone in’ to the carrying lifestyle.
When her children were young, she would take them shooting with a youth league. She was a parent volunteer but became a range safety officer (RSO) when she noticed that all the other RSOs were male and it was a good idea for the young girls to see a good, safe female RSO.
Unfortunately, there was a young person in their group of friends that took her life with a firearm. A number of the other parents Sarah knew came to her as someone with and knowledgeable about firearms and wondered what they could have done to save this girl. She did some research and found out that letting someone else hang on to your firearms can be difficult legally. There should be a place that can hold your firearms when you may need to take a break. That’s how Hold My Guns got started.
What’s great about Hold My Guns is that its people in the firearm community finding a way to take care of people in the firearm community. When we can help other this way, it shows the people not in the 2A community that we do care, that we are doing things, helping others. HMG is an amazing way to show that we can do this without interference from others outside the 2A community.
A lot of what Sarah and Hold My Guns is doing is thinking outside the box and taking a different approach to handling how we can help each other when life is difficult. This program eliminates the stigma of experiencing life and retains dignity for the firearm owners.
If you’d like to get your local gun store involved, please follow the link to Hold My Guns and reach out to them to set up this program.
Favorite Quotes:
“Mrs. Albrecht, Mom, we know you’re a gun gal. We miss our friend. What can we do to help people…?”
“I want to use this service to help get the help they need, discreetly and protect their Rights.”
“Anytime you can take a non-legislative, self governance approach, you are practicing leadership.”
“This is a wonderful way to talk to legislators and say “we have a solution for this and this is how we’re helping”.”
Hold My Guns
https://www.holdmyguns.org/
Hold My Guns Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HoldMyGunsOrg
Hold My Guns Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/holdmygunsorg/
Suicide Prevention Hotline
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
1-800-273-8255
Firearms Industry Consulting Group®
https://blog.princelaw.com/tag/machine-gun-shoot/
DNA Machine Gun Rentals
https://vegdwk.wixsite.com/dnaguns/machine-gun-rentals?fbclid=IwAR28Jj2rHsj9tdy41WSQ0Uft09L2k42HIzaVzLXE9LIRRm4Z79kNDJkfQNQ
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#091
Patrick Collins
I met Patrick at the Gun Rights Policy Conference 2019 in Phoenix. He saw that I was doing a Southern Tour this summer and said if I was in Atlanta I should get in touch. After a change in my plans, I reached out and told him I could pick him up at the Atlanta airport and drive him home from a quick weekend trip he took.
We start off with something that happened to Patrick that morning before his flight to Atlanta. A woman on the escalator in front of him took a spill. His instincts took over, as an Alpha male & someone who has training to help others, and he applied his towel to help with the bleeding while others just watched. As with many in the firearms community, we train not just with firearms, but also with first aid and trauma. If you carry a firearm, you owe it yourself to learn some first aid.
Patrick was looking for hobbies after moving to Atlanta, and ended up going shooting. Then he got the bug and wanted to share what he’s learned and started teaching, giving new clients the confidence and abilities that new gun owners need.
He also shares about an event he went to in Detroit. Former RSWC passenger, Rick Ector, from Legally Armed In Detroit, hosts a free training for women to learn about firearm safety and how to shoot. They had to delay the event until the fall, but Patrick went to Rick’s event where they and others trained almost 2,000 women in one weekend. This is the second year Patrick went to help assist at this event. He tells us that it’s amazing to empower that many women in one day, relieving them of the fear of handling a firearm. A number of past passengers were at this event.
We also talk about Patrick speaking at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. You can find a link below to his presentation.
He also tells us that he worked with a client who was a first time shooter and only put 3 holes in the target during one of his training courses. We also get into the company that he is a part owner of GA FASTA, Georgia Firearm and Security Training Academy. When he works with his students, he often changes his curriculum to meet the needs of his clients and he stays up on current events.
I really enjoyed the conversation with Patrick. He’s a man that’s got a lot going on and keeping busy in the firearm and training community. If you’re near Atlanta and in Georgia, you need to check out GA FASTA and get some training with him.
Favorite Quotes:
“Step in and be an Alpha or help support.”
“There’s always going to be someone better than you at shooting, no matter how good or many courses you take.”
“We have a Georgia weapons carry license. The key words are “weapons carry’.”
“That’s really all defense weapons are, they’re tools.”
“A lot of them were anti-firearms...and they shot better than their husbands when they went out to shoot.’
Georgia Firearms and Security Training Academy
https://www.gafasta.com/
The Gun Food (Patrick’s online ammo store)
https://thegunfood.com/
Patrick’s Speech at Gun Rights Policy Conference 2020
https://youtu.be/d0oD4W6tkh4?t=8053
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
090
Teddy Daniels
Decorated Combat Veteran
Business Entrepreneur
Retired Police Officer
US Congressional Candidate
Teddy Daniels was hanging out with Stephen Willeford at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival. I was talking to Stephen and asked if he’d come Riding Shotgun. He said only if Teddy had the time. Then he suggested that I should get Teddy in the car because he was the “real G.I. Joe!” When I asked Teddy if he had the time replied with an “Absolutely, Brother!!” that sounded like Hulk Hogan!
Teddy is a big burly man. He was headed towards a football career, but an injury changed his plans. He spent 15 years as a police officer. Then decided it was time to enlist as an infantryman. He was 35 years old. After being “grandpa” at boot camp, he was sent to Afghanistan. He thought he would be hauling machine guns up the mountains, but he ended up scouting and working with an interpreter. On a mission, his unit decided to take a different way back to the outpost, he ended up getting into a gun battle with some locals.
I’m not going to blow it, but he’s got an AMAZING story about what happened on a mountain behind a rock. There’s no way that you won’t be moved by it. And why he and his family celebrate every April 25.
After being discharged Teddy spent some time as an entrepreneur. He eventually decided to turn to politics to keep fighting for what’s right. He ran for office in PA as a Congressman. The election had something that we don’t have in Massachusetts: more than one republican running for the same office. He went to bed as the winner! Two days later after the mail in ballots were counted, he was no longer the Congressman-elect. The success of being number 2 but only after a few days, shows us that the public wants real people in office. He takes his passion for life, for what he does, and fighting evil and that’s why he believes God saved him.
Teddy also shares that a childhood friend who is on the opposite side of him politically donated to his campaign so he can see him in DC and say he supported that guy. He also tells us about an incident that happened on a podcast he was on recently. Someone was a keyboard commando and Teddy called him out, and invited him to have breakfast to talk things over in person. The man didn’t take him up on it.
We also spend some time talking about motorcycles. Teddy has been across the country on a bike several times. He said that he was a Harley Davidson guy until he rode an Indian. After he rode the Indian, he put money down and got a cashier’s check to buy the bike that day.
Teddy’s story is absolutely incredible. I’m honored that he took the time to share it with us. I’m sure you’ll want to listen to it a couple times and share it with your friends and family.
Favorite Quotes:
“I was the guy that stuck up for the kids that got bullied.’
“I followed my own path and did the things I wanted to do.”
“God, I get it. Today’s the day you’re going to call me home.”
“The most peaceful, tranquil feelings I’ve ever had in my life came completely over me.’
“That realization set in that this could be gone at any time.”
“We need to realize what we have, cherish what we have, enjoy what we have. And be thankful for what we have.”
Teddy Daniels Website
https://teddydanielspa.com/
Teddy Daniels Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/teddydanielspa
In The Trenches with Teddy Daniels Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/inthetrenchesteddydaniels
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
info@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#089
Brian & Shelley Hill
The Complete Combatant
I met Shelley Hill at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Chicago in 2018. We were both presenters at AMMcon (Alternative Multi Media Conference) and GPRC that year. I was excited to make a stop outside of Atlanta on the Summer Tour 2020 to have Brian & Shelley on the stagecoach.
Brian has a background in martial arts and got into firearms after a course with Massad Ayoob. Shelley was in the medical field. They’ve known each other since they were teens. And as adults have reconnected. Watching the show, you can see how well they get along. Together with all their training and experiences, they started The Complete Combatant.
Much of the conversation is around defensive mindset and how this applies to how everyone reacts differently. They have broken it down to seeing, hearing, and doing. In their teaching style it is on the instructor to figure out which way each student learns and the teacher needs to adapt to how the student learns. And this method of teaching was learned by years of martial arts and fighting and learning to coach others how they absorb information.
Shelley shares a story about how they worked together due to their training, while they were en route on a trip, and there was a car accident. Both of them hopped into action, knowing how the other was going to respond, and were able to help. After they realized there were no injuries, they had to make sure they weren’t in harm's way, either. Their programs and courses are really geared towards teaching students about all of the aspects of self defense and trying to avoid situations before they happen.
Their logo for The Complete Combatant is the Combat Ant. It represents that everyone needs several tools that are needed for citizens, from cell phones & flashlights, to firearms or knives or pepper spray. It’s not a ‘bug’! It's everything that they cover in their courses and instruction.
Brain talks about ‘shared responsibility’. It’s when there are more people at an incident, nothing gets done because everyone else gets a little of the responsibility. But it's not enough for anyone to do anything. If there was one person to take charge, to tell others what they need to do, it could change the outcome.
Shelley also spends time sharing about the Image Based Decision Drills. She goes through a kit that The Complete Combatant uses with their clients. It has various teaching tools and cards that can help you with different situations and knowing how to respond, thinking it through beforehand is really an important aspect of carrying life saving tools. They’re even working on a type of program for kids from 4-12 years old. They’re also working on an instructor program teaching the topics they cover.
Favorite quotes:
Brian: “We want to see danger as soon as we can. That allows us to live in the future.”
Brian: “The only reason to defend yourself is an act of love.”
Brian: “The more people that are there, the more the responsibility is shared. The less likely anybody is going to do anything.”
Shelley: “The Complete Combatant is not all about firearms. It’s about making good decisions.”
Shelley: “The reason for each person... seeking help or education is different.”
Shelley: “The reason they come to us is bigger than us.”
The Complete Combatant Website
http://www.thecompletecombatant.com/
The Complete Combatant Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/thecompletecombatant
Image Based Decision Drills
https://www.imagebaseddecisionaldrills.com/
Image Based Decision Drills
https://www.facebook.com/ImageBasedDecisionalDrills
Rachel’s Rest
https://rachealsrest.org/
Rachel’s Rest Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/rachealsrest/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#088
Stephen Willeford
Last month, I was at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greeley, PA, and was able to get some time with one of the featured speakers, Stephen Willeford. We’ve all heard the story about what happened on November 5. 2017 at a church in Sutherland Springs, TX. Mr Willeford was the good guy with a gun who heard the gunshots, grabbed a handful of ammo and his AR 15 and headed to confront the murder.
Stephen Willeford grew up shooting and hunting on a dairy farm. He saved the money he earned to buy .22 ammo and eventually a .30-30 lever action rifle. As a parent, his church parishioners would have regular shooting competitions on Sundays, teaching the children gun safety while the mothers shot. Then the mothers would take the kids while the fathers shot.
On the day that changed Stephen’s life, he was taking it easy on a Sunday afternoon while he was on call at a local hospital where he was a plumber. His daughter heard gunshots nearby and yelled to her dad. Stephen grabbed his rifle and pursued the murderer at the church down the road. Stephen was able to distract the murderer and exchanged gunfire with him. The murderer ran out of the church and into the getaway car he had ready. Stephen ran to a man sitting in a truck, who saw the whole gun right. Stephen hopped into the stranger’s car who was arealdy talking to 911 on the phone.
Stephen and the driver, Johnny, got into a high speech chase for several miles. Stephen checked his rifle’s condition and found out he only had one round in the magazine and one in the chamber. He told the driver that they may have to crash into the car to stop it. But Johnny already knew that. The murderer ended up driving his car off the road and killed himself. But Stephen and Johnny didn’t know he was dead. They waited 5-7 minutes for the police to arrive. It was another 4 hours before Stephen could go home a hero.
You can hear how Stephen sees that God was in control over the situation, even though 27 people were killed and 20 more were injured and lived. There are several things that happened that day that proved it. From the local hospital having an emergency training drill which meant several doctors and nurses on hand, to a church member who is a police officer who had several trauma kits in his car.
This story is one that many of us heard and read about in the news. Now, you can listen to the whole story, the real story, as Stephen Willeford tells us exactly how things happened that day. And how it changed his life, regardless of him being a good guy with a gun.
Favorite quotes:
“People ask me how could you do what you did. And I ask them “how could you not?”
“I”ll live with my decisions.”
“The police were 5-7 minutes behind me. My community didn’t have 5-7 minutes”
“If you can’t see God’s hand in all this, you’re willfully blind.”
Stephen Willeford Website
https://www.stephenwilleford.com/
Facebook Stephen Willeford
https://www.facebook.com/GoodGunGuyWille
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#087
Beth Alcazar
Pacifiers & Peacemakers
USCCA
The DC Project
I met Beth Alcazar at SHOT Show 2017. The following month, I saw her again at a concealed carry fashion show I was emceeing in Cleveland. And I’ve seen her at every GPRC since 2017 and even in Washington DC at a DC Project event. That isn’t just how she’s everywhere. She writes a blog for the USCCA called Pacifiers & Peacemakers, and she teaches the teachers for the USCCA as well. She’s also a board member of BamaCarry. She’s one of the busiest women in the gun community and I was able to catch up with her in Birmingham, AL, during the RSWC Southern Tour 2020. She did start off with some Southern Hospitality and a number of gifts from local businesses and trivia of Alabama. You can check that out on the RSWC Facebook page from August 23, 2020. She also brought her 2A blanket, Twizzlers, and a book for me.
Beth got her start as a writer in the shooting/hunting/outdoor industry, but wanted to learn how the business and marketing worked. She was able to make a lot of connections in the industry, which ends up helping her later in life. She is a real ‘word nerd’ and that helps with her writings. When she found out she was being let go from a job, she reached out to someone with the USCCA and they enjoyed her writing as a ‘mom with a gun’ and that gave her a different perspective than others. She loves what they do, with educating gun owners and she pursued writing, making videos, and working with them. She blends the importance of gun safety and the fundamentals, but keeps the fun of shooting throughout her courses.
We move from using firearms to knives to other tools for self defense. We talk about how the mind is the weapon and everything else is a tool, which leads into DGUs (defensive gun uses) and the possibility of a presence of a gun gives many the ‘psychological stop’ to a bad guy.
She’s the Alabama State Director of The DC Project. She’s looking for and trying to get more women active at the state level to talk to politicians and share their stories about whey they own firearms. And she’s involved with BamaCarry and testified for both groups. We also talked about Alabama gun laws, about open carry and how she helped things move forward before ‘the virus’ happened.
We also drove near a local shopping center and the location where several people decided to use a firearm over the protests over some goings on. It’s made her and others reconsider shopping in this area. She also tells us that there are ‘vapor dogs’ at the center which are trained to sniff out gunpowder.
Beth is really a wonderful person and so much fun to be around. Every time we see each other, there’s plenty of laughing and smiling. I’m sure you’ll pick up on this from watching this episode. You can find her blog, Facebook page, and all the groups she’s involved with below. She really is on top of all things that are beneficial for the female shooters in the world! And her wordsmith background brings out an elegance and imagery that others aren’t able to do.
Favorite quotes
“All the industry people are great and I think that’s what spoke to me.”
“Women usually get into guns for a specific reason, self defense. We’re still the more victimized gender.”
“I still go back to teach the end user class over and over again. They give me joy for such different reasons.”
“The DC Project has really inspired me to do a lot of things I never would have imagined I would do.”
Women’s Handgun Self Defense and Fundamentals
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/store/education/books/womens-handgun-self-defense-fundamentals-ecb0720004/
Alabama Carry
https://www.bamacarry.us/
Pacifiers & Peacemakers Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pacifiersandpeacemakers/
USCCA
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#086
Claude Werner
Tactical Professor
Claude Werner brings his airsoft MP5 Zombie Eraser Z71 Edition. We had some time to hangout a little before we started filming at the home of Shelley & Brian Hill before the show. What I really like about Claude is that he likes to ‘stir the pot’ a bit.. And I noticed that when I spotted the SCCY handgun in his waistband. He did tell me that he pushes what others believe and the SCCY has been holding up to his 1,000 Days of Dryfire Challenge.
The reason he’s called the Tactical Professor is because he’s analytical and date driven. After joining the Army he was sent to West Point to teach tactics to cadets, which led to a Special Forces Team Commander. He’s also run a number of different shooting clubs. He was a student at the elite Rogers Shooting School in Ellijay, GA, before he had taken enough classes and was asked to be the Chief Instructor there. I love that Claude calls the people who take classes with him “clients” rather than “students”.
After teaching at Tactical Conference, one of his colleagues suggested that since he’s good at data gathering and collating, he should gather data on “bad shootings’. He’s broken it down in 11 categories of negative outcomes from a shooting, everything from negative police interactions to bringing a gun to the Statue of Liberty. We analyze a number of these negative outcomes.
Claude shares what he calls the legal rules and the social rules of gun fighting. This should be of particular interest to everyone. He also talks about if you “can, could, must, and should” use lethal force against another human being.
One of the things that really struck me was when we talked about Claude’s thoughts on what is the ‘worst possible case’. He emphasizes that it isn’t a 6’5” man with 4 GLOCKS and a couple of machetes. It’s when you have to take a shot in the dark at a home intruder you haven’t identified and ends up being your child. It’s when you don’t yell out “Who’s there?” to identify who is in your home. So we need to rethink what could be your worst possible case.
We also cover how the NRA courses are beneficial to many of the new gun owners. And a new training program with a simulator and how can help clients learn good trigger squeeze without having to deal with the bang and recoil of live fire. When new clients see the laser dipping down they’ll comprehend quicker what they are doing.
There’s really a wealth of knowledge you’ll gain from watching this show, so you’ll want to watch it a few times. And maybe even take some notes. You can also check out his blog or purchase some PDF books at the links below.
Favorite quotes:
“I kept on going to it (Rogers Shooting School) as a student because I just enjoyed it.”
“You have to know what the rules are. Some of those rules are legal rules. Some of them are social rules.”
“My opinion of the worst possible case is...you turn around and kill your kid. You’ll never have a decent night’s sleep the rest of your life.”
“If that person wasn’t willing to do what was necessary to protect themselves, why should I get involved?”
Tactical Professor Blog
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/
Tactical Professor on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ATLFirearms
1,000 Days of Dryfire Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/840798816011987
Tactical Professor on Twitter
https://twitter.com/claudewerner
Tactical Professor on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/HeadHunter100
Tactical Professor Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor
Rogers Shooting School
https://www.rogersshootingschool.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
RSWC
#085
Brad Premo
CEO, Leadslingers Whiskey
When I heard about Leadslingers Whiskey on Armed American Radio, I decided to find some. I drove an hour to get a bottle. I loved it. Then I decided that I would message Brad Premo, CEO of Leadslingers and a regular contributor to AAR, and inquired about getting some of their hand sanitizer to use during the summer tour while the virus that shall not be named was going on. Within 2 minutes, Brad got back to me and asked for my shipping address. This is the kind of people ‘gun folks’ are!
He replied just as quick when I said I was coming to Nashville to film some shows for the Southern Tour.
Brad and I discuss his early shooting, hunting, and fishing, with family members. Like many of us, September 11, 2001 changed him, too. He decided a week after college with a degree in sociology and criminology, he was going to join the Army as an Airborne Infantryman. He did 3 years serving our country including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Joining the military was one of the best things he did to “finish out becoming a man”. After his stint in the military, he moved back to the Nashville area and became a police officer in the area.
Even though he really enjoyed being a police officer, he knew that he needed some kind of a career change. He shares with us a number of the stresses about being a police officer and says that many officers live about 5 years after they hit retirement age.
With the friends he made in the military police, they thought they’d train up and join again, but rethought that move. He took the GI Bill and went back to college for a couple intense years to earn another degree in accounting. For a couple years he had a position as an accountant, but he knew that a cubicle wasn’t for him..
Brad’s friends were connected to Jarred Taylor & Mat Best. And they had an idea to start a t-shirt company and they needed an account. The company was called Article 15 Clothing. The team of friends made many great t-shirts and apparel, but after 6 years, they decided it was time to keep moving. Some of them moved into making coffee and the others decided that they would start making spirits. That’s the birth of Black Rifle Coffee Company and Leadslingers Whiskey.
The day after he left the accounting firm he was working for, Brad headed to Oklahoma to meet with the distillers and make Leadslingers a reality. He gives us some of the secrets about the whiskey business. Leadslingers Whiskey now offers bourbon, whiskey, rye whiskey, single malt, cinnamon whiskey, but they’ve also moved into IPA beers! Whatever you like to enjoy, I’m sure they’ve got something for you!
It was great to meet Brad and have him in the passenger’s seat as we rolled through Nashville and relive some of my history there and his as well. I’m looking forward to the next bottle and trying some of the IPAs as well!
Favorite quotes:
“I lacked the maturity and discipline to be a successful person at the time.”
“I’m not here to sign up and do something I can do as a civilian. I don’t want to be an accountant in the Army.”
“I was 30 and I was a little bit too old to be starting over in the military.”
“We all love whiskey and God knows we spent a lot of money on it. Maybe its time to try and earn some of that money back.”
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
Leadslingers on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Leadslingerswhiskey
Leadslingers on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/leadslingerswhiskey/
Leadslinges Store Locator (just in case you need it)
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/pages/store-locator
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#084
Mark Walters
Armed American Radio
Part of the Southern Tour 2020 brought me to the Atlanta area. Of course, I had to reach out to Mark Walters from Armed American Radio. Mark is the reason that I was brought into the 2A Activist fold. I interviewed him in Minneapolis in August 2016 and he loved the idea of driving passengers around as we talk about gun issues with gun people. He asked if I wanted to speak at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Tampa that year. How could I say no?
I picked Mark up at his house outside Atlanta and we headed out to film another show. We drove to the bar & marina that Ozark was filmed on Lake Altoona, but the Hood-Cam wasn’t working. Grrr! We covered some of the things Mark and his guests talked about the night before. And we covered some politics about how things are going for gun owners in America.
We talk about Kennesaw GA, GunTown USA since 1982. It was a bit of a pilgrimage to visit the town while I was there. We cover how Georgia Carry helped get their members to carry on Army Corps of Engineer property. Mark shares a story about an incident that happened at the dock where someone pulled a firearm on someone who stole another person’s ski boat. And share some stories about bears.
We drove by some schools that were the first to have COVID-19 in Cherokee County. Mark talks about how things have been in Georgia since March and we compare it to things in Massachusetts, which are completely different. He shares a story about him visiting a hotel for a meeting that was open but there was almost no one in the lobby and restaurant. He told the bartender that she should turn the TV off and life will resume as before the virus.
We spend a bit of time talking about the mask wearing and how it’s parlayed into other areas including restaurants and stores. But also how it’s a much bigger play into the government taking more and more control of our lives and our freedoms. Mark does go on to predict a Trump victory with 300+ electoral votes again in a landslide.
It was great to visit Mark and be in his hometown area. I do owe it to Mark for helping me get RSWC to a bigger and better level and getting the #StagecoachAcrossAmerica.
Favorite quotes:
“Freedom will always prevail.”
“You show me an American city in decay and I’ll show you an American city by Democrats control at every level for decades.”
“They’re (Democrats) silent. It’s a lie of omission.”
“You hear 100,000,000 gun owners, I would put that closer to 150,000,000, maybe even higher.”
Armed American Radio
https://armedamericanradio.org
Armed American Radio Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/armedamericanradio
Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/
Second Amendment Foundation Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/SecondAmendmentFoundation
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org
CCBKA Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/CCRKBA/
Armed American Radio
8.23.2020 Hour 2 Janet Mefferd
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/show-archives-armed-american-radio/id316019334?i=1000488971136
Armed American Radio
8.24.2020 (With me on segment 1)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/show-archives-armed-american-radio/id316019334?i=1000489062066
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
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Veteran Owned, American Made
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Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#083
Boge Quinn
GunBlast
I set up a quick 2020 Southern Tour this summer and I reached out to Boge Quinn. He watched a few RSWCs and agreed to be on the show. I drove from Nashville to Dover, TN, to meet up with Boge. I never met his brother Jeff, but if Jeff was anything like Boge, he was a hell of a guy! Hearing Boge talk about his brother, you can tell they’ve got an incredible family and relationship, and you can hear it the way Boge talks about Jeff.
We had lots to talk about besides guns and Jeff. Boge is an accomplished musician, plays all types of stringed instruments from guitar to banjo to electric mandolin. Yes, electric mandolin! He also spent a career working with computers since DOS and Commodore64.
In 1999 when Jeff decided to start writing real gun reviews, Boge was his go to for figuring out to get the reviews and videos on “that internet thing”. They were going to share duties on reviewing guns and started with their own website. The early videos were short and would lead to the website and the written reviews. They started by reviewing their own guns. Ruger and Smith & Wesson were early in supporting GunBlast. They were super excited one day when the website had 8,000 daily views. Then they found out their website had clicks that were in the top 1%...outside of porn sites!
Boge and I spent time talking about his music gigs and playing music. Both he and Jeff played music as kids, on trombone and saxophone, respectively. Boge plays bluegrass, country, country rock, western, and even gospel music. I share some of my stories when I was gigging in Nashville in 1993. Boge also gives us some history about Dover, TN, and his family’s history of the property they own. We also drive by the church where Jeff was a Deacon and where Jeff and other family members live.
Boge shares what had been going on for 7 years with Jeff’s health. He caught an infection in some floodwaters back in 2013. The infection got into his heart, he had a few toes amputated, then a leg. It was finally getting into his hands. The infection is what finally led to Jeff’s early passing. At Boge’s suggestion, we drove to the cemetery where Jeff is laid to rest.
Spending time with such a wonderful man is really a treat! Boge was very kind and welcoming, opening up and taking us to where Jeff was buried. The people in the South are great folks willing to give their time, share their stories. He shared that Jeff was willing to help anyone with food he grew in his garden, he was always about taking care of others. I’m looking forward to running into Boge at events around the country!
Favorite quotes:
On reviewing guns: “We would either send their guns back to them or send them a check, which is what we did most of the time.”
“I play rock n roll mandolin. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Jeff wasn’t just a brother. He was one of the best friends I ever had.”
Jeff to Boge on GunBlast “Whatever you’ve got to do, keep it going’
“We were in the top 1% of traffic for non-porn sites.”
“If any gun does what it’s supposed to, we’re gonna like it.”
“Not only would I never hurt you, I’d make sure nobody else did.”
GunBlast Website
https://gunblast.com/
GunBlast YouTube Channel
GunBlastDotCom
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzurbOLJU1GWbO0n32IJNA
Jeff’s Last Video
https://youtu.be/KA4ZNvEo9J4
Jeff Quinn Memorial
https://youtu.be/4ILSqOoxR4U
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
082
Stephanie Schafer
A Girl & A Gun
The DC Project
Stephanie Schafer is from “basically Wyoming” Nebraska. We met in DC in July 2019 at a DC Project event. It was funny when we started talking and she said I sound just like I do on YouTube! Hehe! She’s also a facilitator with A Girl & A Gun (AG&AG), teaching women about gun safety, the fundamentals of shooting, and about their Rights as Americans. She started shooting with her boyfriend and he didn’t know what he was getting her into!
Stephanie and her boyfriend, Lanny, wrote their own curriculum to teach a concealed carry course in Nebraska. Their shooting school, Def Comp (Defensive & Competitive Shooting Instruction) requires that you take their prerequisite fundamentals of shooting course. After becoming instructors, they also got into 3-gun competitive shooting. Stephanie is also passing the 3-gun fun with one of her daughters. Just as she was looking into how to start a women’s shooting club, she discovered AG&AG and she got right on board.
AG&AG lead her to The DC Project. Her background has been in the legal field and she knew she would be a great fit! She’s risen to be one of the Northwest Regional Directors for the DC Project, adding several other states to her responsibility for the group. With the growth of the group at the state level, they’re looking at methods of educating others to be more active, running for school board, city council, or state senator, or even just testifying. There’s a lot going on with her!
It’s great to be able to talk to instructors in other areas of the country to find out what they need for licensing. There aren’t permits needed to possess or to even open carry. But if you want to carry concealed, you need to take a course.
Stephanie and her boyfriend started an investigation and private security business, offering security teams for events and concerts. School security was what they were hoping to do, but only on duty police officers can carry inside of schools.
Stephanie has a lot of experience in many areas from her career in the legal field to starting a business, then getting involved with AG&AG and The DC Project. She’s got a lot going on in many areas of the 2A community and her influence is continuing to grow beyond the shooting ranges.
Favorite quotes:
“I believe that the Second Amendment is a Right and somebody shouldn’t have to come take a class”
“(Teaching) may be different for someone who wants to safely know how to pick it up and handle it”
“Five years I’ve been teaching and learning. Never always just a teacher, sometimes a student, too”
“I started googling “how to start a women’s shooting club” and I figured out somebody else has done all the work”
“(A Girl & A Gun) really a high level of standard and expectations for their facilitators”
“I called and had a conversation with Di (Dianne Muller, DC Project Founder). I don’t remember much. I was fangirling at that point.”
“(The DC Project) is taking it back to the state level now. And meeting with the state legislators to try and change things as well”
Stephanie Schafer Firearm Instructor on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/stephanieschafer825
Def Comp Website
https://www.defcompusa.com/
DefComp Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/DefCompUSA
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
A Girl & A Gun
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
FASTER Saves Lives
https://fastersaveslives.org/
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Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#080
Aaargo Jay & Rhonda Ezell
(Adult Language Warning: There are a couple offensive words used in this episode. The words were used as a quote from someone who isn’t on the show. The words used are offensive to the speaker and the host, but they were used to make a point). This is also an extra long episode, so you need to dedicate time to watch it.
In Chicago September 2018, Aaargo Jay and I met at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. He told me that his son is a big fan of my GunGram videos! We saw each other again at the GPRC in Phoenix in 2019 and Aaargo Jay asked if I would come to Milwaukee to film a show during the DNC in July 2020. How could I say no? But the DNC was cancelled due to the virus that shall not be named. I had some personal business to tend to in Illinois, so I set up a date with Aaargo then contacted Rhonda Ezell to see if she wanted to join us. So I picked up Rhonda and headed to Wisconsin.
We spent about an hour and a half shooting. Aaargo brought 2 of his signature Bravo Oscar Rifles made my American Defense Manufacturing, which were really fun to shoot. (I love the 45 degree safety selector). He had a 60 round drum magazine and a suppressor/silencer. Then we headed out to film the show.
Aaargo plays down that he’s an instructor. He’s more known for making AR 15s. As a kid, he found his grandma’s .25 handgun and took it apart. It took 2 days to get it back together. That’s when he fell in love with building firearms. He also used to go shooting squirrels with his grandpa.
From there, his plans were to become an air marshall, but for various reasons that didn’t happen. It's ok because his life would have been very different if he had taken that path. He’s spent time working at a gun store where he was able to teach beginners and build AR 15s.
Our conversation gets deep into racial issues about firearms and society. The way the world is now, how some folks in the gun community treat minorities. We also talk about the impact of rioting in black and minority communities, while we drive through an area of Milwaukee that was destroyed by riots a few years ago. Some of it has been repaired or replaced. Some of it is still boarded up.
Aaargo takes us through the area that was destroyed by the riots, but then we also drive through some diverse neighborhoods that are just blocks from where the riots happened. Nice homes, nice cars, trees in the yards.) Milwaukee is a little/big city. There’s a lot going on there in development but it has a smaller, old city feeling to it, too.
After we were done filming, we headed out to eat in the Historic Third Ward District of the city. We had a great conversation while we ate and enjoyed the city. What I really like about Aaargo, isn’t just that he’s a great man who is fun and knowledgeable. But he really loves Milwaukee. He was always looking at things he wanted us to see. He’s very proud of his roots and where he makes his home.
After we dropped Aaargo at Brew City Shooting Supplies, Rhonda and I headed back to Chicago, where she was able to speak up about the goings on in her city. Thank goodness we had the time!
Favorite Quotes:
“(Wisconsin) is not a gun friendly state, we’re a gun tolerant state”
“There has never been an American Right that has been so much under attack, constantly, other than the Second Amendment”
“A populace that isn’t free is not safe”
“The truth is evil doesn’t have a location”
“Embrace your heritage. We’re all here. We all fly under one flag.”
Aaargo Jay: Why I need my AR 15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCZ2V4St5t0
Aaargo Jay Announcing the Bravo Oscar Rifle with Kevin Dixie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnFpyItL86s
Black OPS Documentary GoFundMe Link
https://www.gofundme.com/f/blackopsdoc
Aaargo Jay Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/AaargoJay
Aargo Jay YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/Aaargojay
American Defense Manufacturing Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanDefenseMFG/
Aaargo Jay Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/aaargojay
Brownell’s
https://www.brownells.com/
Brew City Shooters Supply Website
https://mkeguns.com/
Brew City Shooters Supply Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/brewcityshooterssupply/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
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Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#080
Robyn Sandoval
A Girl & A Gun
Robyn Sandoval and I have been running into each other at several of the 2A events around the country. Last year, we filmed a show in Phoenix at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, but we didn’t put that interview out. I was able to interview a few of the instructors with A Girl & A Gun in between classes they were taking at SIG Academy in Epping, New Hampshire.
Robyn was an anti-gun person for much of her life, but Hurricane Katrina changed that. It made her realize that saving peanut butter and tuna fish is only good if you can protect your peanut butter and tuna fish from others. Then she realized it was time to change.
Her husband sent her to a “girls night out at the range” at a local shooting range with Julianna Crowder, a local instructor and soon to be other half of AG & AG. The experience changed her life. She took her background in marketing and content management and made a career transition. A Girl & A Gun is hosting girls night out at the range in over 200 ranges and they have members in all 50 states.
A Girl & A Gun teaches women in all firearm platforms, rifle, pistol, & shotgun, as well as non-gun self defense, recreational and competitive shooting. They have a national conference and competitions all around the country. This year, the Fall Festival is in Talladega, AL, on Oct 9-11. And the Women’s Clay Champions is August 13-15 in Lenexa, KS. They even work with women to use their voice as a tool to draw attention to them if they’re being attacked.
Robyn’s background is in content delivery. She’s taken her background and applied it to AG&AG to give women many options for learning, via in person, virtual, and even getting information out on their social media platforms. AG&AG does have some requirements for ranges if they want to offer their programs: they need a good safe, qualified range, have certified pistol instructors who need to be female. A range could start with female Range Safety Officers and build them up to be an instructor. Their programs and instructors help women of all sizes and strengths to learn to operate firearms with techniques that may not come easy from male instructors.
Robyn shares that hurricane season is also a time when people realize that they are vulnerable. And the times we’re living in currently aren’t any different. This is why AG&AG is an incredible resource for women all around America. And why you should find, or even start, a local chapter and send the women in your life to A Girl & A Gun.
Favorite quotes
“It changed my life forever. I meet the most incredible woman on the planet. I was empowered”
“Everybody loves the model we have of women mentoring other women.”
“There’s something about women learning from women”
“You have to have a lot of tools in your toolbox for when you don’t have your firearm with you”
“You may not be that big operator guy, but it's all about technique and finesse”
A Girl & A Gun Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AGirlandAGunClub
A Girl & A Gun Fall Festival, Oct 9-11, Talladega, AL
https://www.agirlandagun.org/fallfest/
A Girl & A GUn Women’s Clay Champions, August 13-15, Lenexa, KS
https://www.agirlandagun.org/clays/
A Girl & A Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/agagclub/
A Girl & A Gun YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/AGirlandAGunClub
A Girl & A Gun Club on Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/agagclub/boards/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#079
Ronnie Siegel
A GIrl & A Gun Facilitator for Central New Jersey
Ronnie Siegel is with A Girl & A Gun (AGAG). Some of the AGAG instructors were taking a class in Epping, New Hampshire,at the SIG Academy. This was like a “bonus” interview. Robyn Sandoval, one of the founders of AGAG, said she wanted to have Ronnie in my passenger’s seat. It was like a bonus interview!
Ronnie has been shooting since she was a young woman. Recently, she started the A Girl & A Gun in New Jersey. She spent years studying art and became an art director, art teacher, and eventually a vice principal. All of her advanced art classes were full. She was also a motorcycle safety instructor. And she airbrushed her gas tanks, and started a business doing custom tanks for bikers around the country. Even as a teacher and principal, she knew that she needed a plan for the safety of her students.
Ronnie and her husband are competitive shooters, traveling around the country for the AGAG events in their RV! She shoots trap, IDPA, USPSA, and steel at least three times a week in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
She’s been an instructor for 3 years and one of her goals as an instructor is that gun safety is a priority for women and she’s working to get the word out that women should learn to be safe and that self defense is important. She volunteers time to help new female shooters and their children, too. One of the things she really emphasises is that you need to keep moving, even after retirement. And she’s always staying on the go.
She joined AGAG on an airplane when she saw an ad in a magazine. She found an instructor to help her for their 3 Gun Fall Fest so she was able to compete within 6 months. Her goal was to not be the top shooter and to not be the bottom shooter, and she was happy to be in the middle. She loved shooting with all the ladies at AGAG rather than the ‘old men’s club’ that is at many clubs.
She’s got plans to become a GLOCK armorer, participate in the AGAG shotgun champion in Kansas and a 3 gun competition in Alabama this fall. She’s keeping an ongoing education with AGAG at SIG Academy. It’s all to give a better education and training for everyone that she works with all around the country. She says the key to happiness is being self sufficient and having your own interests and hobbies. She’s got motorcycles, Corvettes, and 3 gun competitions! Ronnie doesn’t have plans to slow down, let alone stop.
Favorite quotes
“Its not easy, but there’s a need. It's a difficult challenge.”
“I’m happy to say...it ain’t over til it’s over. You’ve got to keep active and keep busy and keep doing”
“I was motorcycle mama then. Now I’m 3-gun granny!”
“Self defense is bigger now than it ever was before. The problem is people don’t know how to use these firearms”
“It’s hard to hit a moving target. That’s always been my mantra”
“ A Girl and A Gun is the platform to go back to teaching and learning from others”
“The key to happiness is being self sufficient and having hobbies and interests”
Ronnie’s AGAG Chapter in Central New Jersey
https://www.agirlandagun.org/cat/nj-central/
A Girl & A Gun Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AGirlandAGunClub
A Girl & A Gun Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/agagclub/
A Girl & A Gun YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/AGirlandAGunClub
A Girl & A Gun Club on Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/agagclub/boards/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
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Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
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Self Defense Radio Network
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#078
LaKasha Robbins
Massachusetts Women Gun Owners
Gun Owners Action League
The DC Project
It was sometime in 2018 when I met LaKasha. She was modeling for the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) Concealed Carry Fashion Show. I was the emcee. We were running into each other at 2A events put on by GOAL, The DC Project (DCP), and even trap shooting locally. Finally after about a year and a half of telling her she should be on the show, while we were sighting in some ARs recently, she agreed! She’s been interviewed by Tom Gresham & Cam Edwards, this ought to be like shooting a .22!
LaKasha Robbins is a relatively new shooter and gun owner. She’s had a license for several years, but things really started moving when she and some other female 2A activists in Massachusetts, started Mass Women Gun Owners (MWGO). She’s got some computer experience and organization skills, so she volunteered to help get materials and information out. She and the others started the group just to exchange ideas about self defense, the woman’s right to protection, and how to figure out what carry methods work well for women. Even though she’s isn’t fond of public speaking, she’s testified in DC and Boston.
From there, she started taking classes and became interested in becoming an instructor so she can help other new female gun owners learn to shoot, about firearm safety and self defense. This is her calling. We’ve taught at some GOAL events and she’s lots of respect from some veteran instructors.
The MWGO hosted a summit in 2018 to raise money for the organization. One of the guest instructors was Amanda Suffecool from Eye On The Target Radio and The DC Project. After a day of shooting and talking, LaKasha jumped on board as the MA Representative of the DCP. She’s been going to DC every year, teaming up with other female 2A activists and taking DC by storm, speaking to politicians across the country about the woman’s right to self defense. Unfortunately, this year, they had to not gather in our capitol.
In June of 2019, LaKasha went to Texas to raise money for the DCP, and she and the other DCP ladies got to hang out with Jerry Miculek and John “TIG” Tiegen. The DCP Team Match is set for the end of October 2020.
LaKasha and I shared some fun stories about trap shooting a few years ago. She also tells us that she’s really met so many wonderful and great people in the 2A community that help raise each other up. The DCP is looking to branch out at the state level. So, if you’re interested in helping out in any way in your state, check out the DC Project link below, look for your state rep and message her to get involved. You won’t be sorry. LaKasha has only been in the 2A community for a few years, and already, she’s working with many big name folks from around the country.
Favorite Quotes
“I thought it was kind of silly to have a gun and not use it”
“I’ve meet the nicest people in the gun community. Just so helpful. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of everyone.”
On joining The DC Project: “It sounded amazing, so I said “I’ll do it!”...Afterwards, that’s when I got anxious… But I went thru, I did it.”
“People need to realize that they’re (politicians) are just people, too”
“Every year you do it (testifying) it just gets easier”
“I encourage people to get out of their comfort zone, even if they’re scared”
“My passion is helping other women learn how to use a firearm just the way other people have helped me”
Mass Women Gun Owners
https://www.womengunowners.org/
Gun Owners Action League
https://goal.org/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
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inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#078
LaKasha Robbins
Massachusetts Women Gun Owners
Gun Owners Action League
The DC Project
It was sometime in 2018 when I met LaKasha. She was modeling for the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) Concealed Carry Fashion Show. I was the emcee. We were running into each other at 2A events put on by GOAL, The DC Project (DCP), and even trap shooting locally. Finally after about a year and a half of telling her she should be on the show, while we were sighting in some ARs recently, she agreed! She’s been interviewed by Tom Gresham & Cam Edwards, this ought to be like shooting a .22!
LaKasha Robbins is a relatively new shooter and gun owner. She’s had a license for several years, but things really started moving when she and some other female 2A activists in Massachusetts, started Mass Women Gun Owners (MWGO). She’s got some computer experience and organization skills, so she volunteered to help get materials and information out. She and the others started the group just to exchange ideas about self defense, the woman’s right to protection, and how to figure out what carry methods work well for women. Even though she’s isn’t fond of public speaking, she’s testified in DC and Boston.
From there, she started taking classes and became interested in becoming an instructor so she can help other new female gun owners learn to shoot, about firearm safety and self defense. This is her calling. We’ve taught at some GOAL events and she’s lots of respect from some veteran instructors.
The MWGO hosted a summit in 2018 to raise money for the organization. One of the guest instructors was Amanda Suffecool from Eye On The Target Radio and The DC Project. After a day of shooting and talking, LaKasha jumped on board as the MA Representative of the DCP. She’s been going to DC every year, teaming up with other female 2A activists and taking DC by storm, speaking to politicians across the country about the woman’s right to self defense. Unfortunately, this year, they had to not gather in our capitol.
In June of 2019, LaKasha went to Texas to raise money for the DCP, and she and the other DCP ladies got to hang out with Jerry Miculek and John “TIG” Tiegen. The DCP Team Match is set for the end of October 2020.
LaKasha and I shared some fun stories about trap shooting a few years ago. She also tells us that she’s really met so many wonderful and great people in the 2A community that help raise each other up. The DCP is looking to branch out at the state level. So, if you’re interested in helping out in any way in your state, check out the DC Project link below, look for your state rep and message her to get involved. You won’t be sorry. LaKasha has only been in the 2A community for a few years, and already, she’s working with many big name folks from around the country.
Favorite Quotes
“I thought it was kind of silly to have a gun and not use it”
“I’ve meet the nicest people in the gun community. Just so helpful. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of everyone.”
On joining The DC Project: “It sounded amazing, so I said “I’ll do it!”...Afterwards, that’s when I got anxious… But I went thru, I did it.”
“People need to realize that they’re (politicians) are just people, too”
“Every year you do it (testifying) it just gets easier”
“I encourage people to get out of their comfort zone, even if they’re scared”
“My passion is helping other women learn how to use a firearm just the way other people have helped me”
Mass Women Gun Owners
https://www.womengunowners.org/
Gun Owners Action League
https://goal.org/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#077
Dawn Hillyer
Hiding Hilda
Dawn and I were both models at the concealed carry fashion show at Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) in Chicago, 2018. I was modeling a holster undershirt. I’m sure she was modeling one of her own products made by her company, Hiding Hilda. I told her that I wanted to do a show in every state and secretly she wanted to be my Indiana passenger. We made it happen in Fort Wayne, Indiana last month.
Dawn Hillyer, like many people, didn’t grow up around firearms or shooting. She got involved with firearms a year after a dating relationship ended and she was stalked for 6 years by her ex-boyfriend. There were death threats not just to her, but her family and friends, too. It kept escalating and escalating. The ex-boyfriend was very computer savvy and sent fake emails to himself making it look like she was going after him. She changed her phone number and email yet he still found and stalked her.
She had a bad feeling one evening and took her children to her ex-husband’s and kept her husband’s gun for the night. She was convinced that this particular evening, the ex-boyfriend was coming to get her.
Her story ended up on Katie Couric’s show, Stalked. Ms. Couric, of course, was interested in the firearm aspect of the story. Dawn may be the only person in the gun community who had a ‘good’ experience with Ms. Couric. After the show with Dawn aired in December 2013, she became much more vocal about domestic abuse and stalking. She’s spoken around the country on these issues and started a Facebook page dedicated to women who are stalked by men. She also recounts her story on her blog posts (see link below).
Dawn tells us that she went from not shooting, to gun ownership, to becoming an instructor, to deciding to be her own hero and make her own line of products for women to use to carry concealed firearms. She enjoyed the NRA AM in Indianapolis in 2018 when she co-emceed the Realize FAC and Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association concealed carry fashion show with Amanda Suffecool.
Dawn has taken this horrible and scary 6 years and turned it into something that has helped women across the country. These women have been educated, trained, and inspired by what she has been doing. And they can buy her products, and Hiding Hilda will help them be their own heroes!
Favorite quotes:
“I had to take control...I truly thought my life was in danger”
“I named my first firearm Hilda. Then I was still hiding Hilda, but I could live out loud”
“You have a routine. You can’t get away from it. You have to live.”
“I think women should be pretty and badass! I didn’t want to lose my pretty to be badass!”
“Be your own hero!”
Find Dawn’s website & social media, read her stalker story, and buy her products for the female gun owners (and a few things for the guys, too!)
Hiding Hilda Website
https://hidinghilda.com/
Hiding Hilda Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/hidinghilda/
Hiding Hilda Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/hidinghildallc/
Hiding Hilda Twitter
https://twitter.com/HidingHilda
Hiding Hilda Blog (Stalked Story)
https://hidinghilda.com/blogs/stalked
Dawn Hillyer Anti-Stalking Advocate
Facebook with Katie Couric
https://www.facebook.com/205612966292988/posts/255494204638197/
Indiana State Rifle & Pistol Association
https://isrpa.org/
The 2A Project
https://the2aproject.com/
Kayle Browning at Gunsmoke Media
https://www.facebook.com/gunsmokemedia
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
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Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#076
Lauren Nelson
This what one of the things I love about the 2A community is how easily we connect with others. I met Patrick Collins in Phoenix. He was able to connect me to Lauren Nelson when I asked about finding someone in Vermont to be on the show.
I met Lauren and we headed to her local gun shop in Wells River, VT, called Gateway Sports. They have a nice little shop that was recently redone inside. While we were there, the store was busy with people looking to trade in some handguns, buying new handguns for some women, and even a few people with their young kids. Lauren shares a story about trading in a pink BB gun to buy her first gun at Gateway,too.
Lauren grew up south of Boston in a non-gun household. She became interested in getting a handgun after she was married. Her husband is mostly into long guns. Since they live in Vermont, they have their own range on their farm. They mostly shoot outdoors and usually in fair weather.
We get into how Vermont is a unique state politically. There are residents on both sides of the aisle and it keeps the state on top of things. Vermont has been the longest state with constitutional carry. As a matter of fact, we used to call it Vermont style carry before it was constitutional carry. We also spend time talking about how the laws vary from state to state and how it affects small New England states more than some larger states in the west.
We also talk about the 80% lowers and the story that was on one of the major networks. I’ve got a story about an “Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself” 80% lower that I may have. And there’s a photo of my friend’s “Murder Hornet” AR style.
We finish up talking about the looks that people get when they stereotype people. Whether they are gun owners or motorcyclists, we’re all good folks that are doing something we enjoy. Even if it takes us to Vegas for the SHOT Show, the kitchen and bath show, or the AVN awards, all in the same week.
Thanks to Patrick Collins for connecting us!
Favorite quotes:
“I bought it because it was cute”
“I went to my first gun show a few years ago. It was like a flea market or craft fair for guns”
“I’m pretty lucky that I moved to a state that when I decided to own a gun I could just go in with my squeaky clean record and buy one”
“We don’t shot for the month of May, until the ground gets tilled. We don’t shoot because of the manure issue”
“Respectful gun owners and hunters are a good thing”
“There’s no cell service. There’s nothing. There’s moose, then you come into the downtown area”
“If you want to own a gun, you should have the right to do so, if you’re not a felon and you pass a background check”
CBS Story from 60 Minutes about ghost guns
https://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/mgn3I4VK0t0JgbzEBMyz43XS6LWpBSL5/how-build-it-yourself-firearms-skirt-most-federal-gun-laws/
To get a face-mask from A Girl & A Gun, please visit their website.
https://www.agirlandagun.org/category/store/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
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Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#075
Brooke Cheney
A Great Start Shooting School
The DC Project
I met Brooke Cheney at The DC Project dinner in Washington last summer. Then we ran into each other again in Massachusetts at the Gun Owners Action League Concealed Carry Fashion show back in March. Of course, we kept in touch and with the current times, I needed to stay local for a show. We did use some Leadslingers Hand Sanitizer, thanks for LeadslingersWhiskey.com, and headed out for a drive.
Brooke grew up and learned a little about firearms when she was a young girl. Her dad would load up a firearm and have her shoot them. When she was dating her to-be-husband, they would go shooting, and he would load the firearm and have her shoot it. It wasn’t until after she had children, that she really needed to learn about firearms since they were going to be in the house.
Like many of us, after we take a safety course, we learn that we have more to learn. She learned that the course to get her license was just the beginning of the journey she was going to be on. She ended up getting into competitive shooting and built a backyard range for practicing. When she looked into insurance for the backyard range,she decided that it was time to become an instructor. In less than a week, she was an NRA Certified Instructor, teaching courses to help women get their Connecticut permits.
Brooke shares when she had what she calls her “Wonder Woman Moment”! She realized that she can instruct and help women have their own Wonder Woman Moment to overcome their fears and concerns about firearms and firearm ownership. At A Great Start Shooting School, Brooke offers many courses and opportunities for women to learn and get comfortable using their firearms. Instructing led to a chance to work with A Girl and A Gun and teach at their National Conference.
Becoming active with firearms and instructing led to her getting involved politically about gun laws with the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, especially after Newtown since it was so close to her. Her actions have led to her getting involved with Dianna Muller and The DC Project. The DC Project heads to the Capital every year to connect with Congress members, sharing their stories about why gun ownership among women is very important.
Back in 2006, you could have never gotten her to believe that she would be doing all of the things she’s doing. Besides competitive shooting, instructing and becoming a Training Counselor, CCDL, AG & AG, & DCP, she also does something on her AGSSS YouTube channel. Its the Suicide Prevention Saturday! Its a live video chat she does on Saturdays at 9 pm/eastern time. She’s put a lot of study into mental health and issues and how it’s related to gun owners and suicides. SPS gives her an outlet to reach out and talk about these issues.
We barely had time to bring up SPS because she’s got a lot going on. And she’s still a mom and wife and has to work, too!
Favorite Quotes:
“You have to become a competitor to learn what you need to learn to get better”
“It also built my confidence to realize that it was OK that I sucked”
“I tell everyone of my Wonder Woman moment, where I packed my own range bag”
“Every step of my career has been an impetus from someone else”
“Being a gun owner has made me more confident, it has made me more educated about our political system”
A Great Start Shooting School
Website https://www.agreatstartshootingschool.com/
Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/agreatstartshootingschool/
YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAeFAuFzQcPNREbIp8pcyA
Team Icarus Shirts (Look Like Brooke!)
https://teamicarusshirts.wixsite.com/icarus/brooke?fbclid=IwAR0wYFczP_Vj6NfR5sEyqnFm3wdhP_EAS15wrgBfnJfeoV74w5oeE8jNJuw
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Connecticut Citizens Defense League
https://ccdl.us/
A Girl & A Gun
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Leadslingers Whiskey
https://leadslingerswhiskey.com/
inifo@leadslingerswhiskey.com
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#074
Mike Hughes & Britt Lentz
Next Level Training
I met Mike & Britt at SHOT Show 2020 thanks to Klint Macro & Matt Mallory from Meet The Pressers. They said they’re great guys from Next Level Training and they needed to get in the stagecoach. You may have seen Mike Hughes from History Channel’s Top Shot Season 3.
Before Next Level Training and SIRT pistols, Mike was a football player and a patent attorney who enjoyed competitive shooting. He spent a lot of time training and running his business, but having a family took over, and competitive shooting took a backseat.
The SIRT (Shot Indicating Resetting Trigger) pistol was Mike’s idea. It took a lot of work, effort, and research to make the pistols and assembly them, which is all done in Washington state. They’ve got a number of types of pistols, like a GLCOK 17/22, S&W M&P, SIG P320, and a bolt for the AR 15 platform.
We did cover a little about the differences in intellectual property and functional features about making a training pistol that is similar to other pistols. Mike is a great person to cover that, being a former patient lawyer.
Britt brings up Mike being on History Channel’s Top Shot and we talk about that process to get onto the show and some of the behind the scenes stories. Mike really likes how Top Shot brought firearms to a bigger and broader audience and put firearm ownership in a new light for people. He shares that Top Shot was unscripted. It was a long six weeks for Mike, but he shared his secret to success.
Britt has a similar background to Mike. They played football against each other in college. They became best friends at birthing classes. Britt has been on board since the beginning of NLT.
Mike shares one of his favorite and first moments on Top Shot. His first gun to shoot was a Smith & Wesson 500 against Cliff Walsh, a Grand Master with the USPSA.
Mike & Britt were kind enough to give us a coupon code. If you use the code, “RSWC” at https://nextleveltraining.com/ you’ll save 10% on your purchase. Please let them know you saw them on RSWC! A SIRT pistol would be a great item to buy while we’re still in quarantine/lockdown/stay at home. So use RSWC in the coupon code and save 10%!
Favorite quotes:
Mike: “We’re talking about hard times, two or three years in, you basically fail. But we’re too stupid to realize it. We’re the walking dead for 9 months. ….in the end, you just keep at it. Pick up the battering ram and keep hitting the wall. ...Things are going pretty phenomenal now.”
Mike: “From what I understand about reality shows, they’re scripted reality… Top Shot is not scripted.”
Mike: “Achievement is kinda simple. You just understand the parameters, and what can go wrong, and you prepare like crazy. And you win. You succeed.”
Mike: “It's like everything in life. Which is premised on relationships: respect, courtesy, being kind.”
Next Level Training Website (Use RSWC for the coupon code!)
https://nextleveltraining.com/
Next Level Training Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/NextLevelTrainingLLC/
Mike Hughes Top Shot Facebook Page/
https://www.facebook.com/MikeHughesTopShot/
Next Level Training Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nltsirt/
Top Shot: Trick It Up Clip
https://youtu.be/Rd786i6qry4
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#073
John Costa
The Gunrunner LLC
When I called John Costa, owner of The Gunrunner LLC, was on the phone with Glenn Beck. I read this story the day before about his gun store. I left my number and a couple hours later, we set up the time for an interview the next day.
During the breakout of COVID-19, many businesses and stores in Massachusetts were ordered to close. MA Governor Charlie Baker made a (vague) list of essential businesses. President Trump eventually said that gun stores were essential businesses and should remain open. On March 31, Governor Baker included firearms retailers in the essential businesses. Within hours, Governor Baker retracted firearms retailers on the list. Then Attorney General Maura Healey tweeted that gun stores were NOT essential and that gun owners were a danger to police officers, first responders, and domestic violence victims. The gun stores in Massachusetts would also not be on the list of businesses that could receive financial help from the government. Firearm instructors were also sent an email stating they were not approved to be teaching courses in person or virtually until at least May 4, 2020.
The Gunrunner in Middleboro, MA, a small business since 1986, decided to stay open to sell guns and ammunition to those who needed a firearm to protect their families and loved ones.
The owner, John Costa, came to the United States when he was 2 from the Azores. He learned to speak English when he started school. His mother struggled to earn enough money to get her husband and young John to bring them to America. John served this country during the VietNam War.
Like other businesses, The Gunrunner has struggled through challenging times and done well in good times. But this government overreach, telling small businesses, who can remain open and be essential and which businesses are not essential and must close, was too much for The Gunrunner.
We spent a lot of time talking about how things have changed and quickly! Mr. Costa is very worked up about how this socialism is taking over the country and how easy it has been for us to give up our Rights, when this is what he and many others fought to stop around the world.
The Gunrunner had the Board of Health show up at the store with a cease and desist order and Mr. Costa took the order and threw it on the floor.
Currently, The Gunrunner is selling firearms and ammunition and will continue to do so. He’s been reaching out to suppliers and other stores and driving up to 4 hours roundtrip to get supplies to sell.
Favorite quotes:
“No I am not closing my shop. No I am not going to stop selling firearms. I am going to protect us, the citizens, from the tyranny of these socialists.”
“I, myself, call it bully shootings. Because that’s what I think it was.”
“Why in the hell is she (Maura Healey) letting the prisoners loose? A crook is a crook always. They don’t change.”
“Stopping the gun classes has nothing to do with the virus. This is all about gun confiscation.”
“I don’t want to start a riot. I don’t want to do any of that. But I want you people to wake up! See what’s going on!”
John Costa on The Blaze with Glenn Beck
https://www.theblaze.com/news/gun-shop-owner-openly-defies-massachusetts-governors-order-to-close
The Gunrunner LLC Website
https://thegunrunnerllc.com/
The Gunrunner LLC
https://www.facebook.com/The-Gunrunner-LLC-1436275726607329/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
RSWC
072
Mike Ox
Dry Fire Training Cards
Thanks to the Meet The Presser gents, Klint & Matt, for the use of their Vegas rental car!
Attending a SHOT Show 2020 gathering is where I met Mike Ox. He’s an instructor, author, and creator of the Dry Fire Training Cards. The Dry Fire Training Cards would be GREAT to have while the country is working through the virus of March 2020.
“Ox” has been shooting since he was a young man. After years of playing sports he got a number of concussions. When he was ‘no holds barred’ fighting in college, he learned to work with Olympic coaches on mental imagery and visualization and control his adrenaline response. Taking this training and combining it with firearm training, he ended up making a dry firing program for himself and it worked very quickly. It became the Tactical Firearms Training Secrets book. He found out he was suffering with vertigo almost every night for 3 ½ years and learned about neurology and how to not have vertigo and keep doing IDPA Nationals. With some research, he discovered that a Vitamin B metabolization issue was causing the problem. After changing types of vitamins, he was healed. The drills he was working on to keep functioning also worked well for performance enhancers, things like visual, balance, hand-eye coordination, improved reflexes all improve his ability to acquire the front sight of his gun.
He took these ideas and started teaching students with immediate results. These students improved 20% running full speed at the exercises. He’s lot of methods to teach students to improve their skills very quickly.
We do talk about some of the similarities between teaching firearm students and me teaching band students. From the slow is smooth and smooth is fast, to putting information into your brain by gaining knowledge, but more importantly by practicing these skills.
He also developed methods to teach people to shoot on the move. Your shoulders have to stabilize the gun, your neck has stabilize the eyes, while your brain makes sure you don’t fall. His methods help you get through various stages and formations of your body to learn to shoot at different positions and be able to see better. There’s no method like it in the country. He can also help you virtually and online.
Ox shares things he learned about the brain about parts I’ve never even heard of. And he shares a story about teaching a course to a number of doctors and how his information was able to save a doctor from getting a back surgery.
There’s a lot of information that you’ll get from this episode. Make sure you check it all out and visit his website to get lots of information on his training programs.
Favorite quotes:
“I started using it with students and had ridiculous, immediate results”
“You can learn knowledge at a firearms class. You are not going to learn a skill. You’re going to learn about a skill.”
“The only way to get from A to B is brute force and a lot of repetition and a good bit of luck.”
“If you lay down a foundation of a consistent and efficient draw stroke, speed becomes a byproduct.”
Dry Fire Training Cards Website
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/
Dry Fire Training Cards Blog
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/
Tactical Firearms Training Secrets Website
http://www.tacticalfirearmstrainingsecrets.com/
Tactical Firearms Training Secrets Book
amazon.com/Tactical-Firearms-Training-Secrets-Competition/dp/1470082829
Tactical Vision Training Website
https://tacticalvisiontraining.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#071
Daniel Easterday
Sued Deerfield, IL with IRSA & SAF
I was headed to Chicago for some family events. I had one morning to squeeze in a possible RSWC interview. I messaged Rhonda Ezell and asked if she knew anyone who would be around that morning. She set me up with Daniel Easterday. She always comes thru! Check out the Facebook LIVE video we did on the Riding Shotgun With Charlie Facebook page from Jan 26, 2020.
https://www.facebook.com/RidingShotgunWithCharlie/videos/2425804361080948/
Daniel Easterday had a gunsmith as an uncle and started shooting as a kid. When he was older, he started to get into training. He learned that people aren’t as good they think they are with a firearm and he wanted to learn more.
After the Supreme Court decided that since Illinois was the last and only state to NOT allow it’s law abiding, background check passing citizens to be able to carry a concealed firearm outside their homes, they needed to change that. However, the anti-gun crowd gave towns time to make their own laws before the state laws took over.
Daniel and his family were living in Highland Park, which also did an ‘assault weapon ban’. He owned items that the town ‘didn’t like’ and had a friend store them so he complied with the laws, so he moved to Deerfield. Highland Park and Deerfield took their ordinance similar to the Cook County assault weapon ban. But Deerfield called it ‘safe storage’, but the state doesn’t have storage laws.
After Deerfield decided to change the laws and legal opinions, they amended the ordinance, it was the same as it was before. They used many of the same old cliches always used about weapons of war on our streets. With the help of the Illinois State Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, they were able to hold off the so-called-assault-weapon-ban in Deerfield.
We talk about some of the ridiculous laws and things that have to be done in the state of Illinois to get a firearm concealed carry permit. One is where the police can see who is applying for a permit, and can deny anyone the license. After 14 months of delays and the police chief of Highland Park abusing his power, Daneil finally got his carry permit.
Daniel shares that with Clarion Concepts, he is starting a “So You Think You Can Carry” course! They emphasize that just because you have a gun, doesn’t mean it’s always the best tool. It sounds like a great course that pushes the limits of the comfort zone of the course attendees. He’s also been attending several force-on-force courses, over 100 hours of class time last year.
Favorite quotes
“Nobody is as really good as they think they are and we need to get better.”
“”There’s way too much responsibility when it comes to firearms to not what we’re doing.”
“We’re not going to employ those techniques or tactics or procedures in real life in regular dude setting”
“Gun Rights aren’t a political football. Gun Rights don’t belong to one group of people.”
“I murder the poop out of pigs with ARs”
“Deadly force is deadly force, no matter what you use.”
Things we talked about and links you should check out.
Raffle for Operation Blazing Sword & Pink Pistols
https://lurkingrhythmically.blogspot.com/2020/03/raffle-to-benefit-operation-blazing.html?fbclid=IwAR0MJmaAbwlFnyY-KSY3z8sbnDxLhBqB1FlxWcSZfLYrS4EiNHBi8rgWUuQ
Daniel’s Testimony in Deerfield, IL 4.2.2018
https://youtu.be/mbbig3ll5DY
Clarion Concepts Website
http://clarionconcepts.com/
Clarion Concepts Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/ClarionConcepts/
Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/
Illinois State Rifle Association
https://www.isra.org/
North Shore Sports Club, Lake Forest, IL
http://www.northshoresportsclub.com/
Sage Dynamics
https://www.sagedynamics.org/
Centrifuge Training
https://centrifugetraining.com/
Alliance Police Training
https://alliancepolicetraining.com/
Tom Given’s Rangemaster
https://rangemaster.com/
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#070
Brian Harris
Live Free Or Die Guys
In August 2015, Brian took a course from me to get his Utah & MA permits. A month later, he was arguing with a woman he was dating. He took his clothes and headed out. After a verbal argument, she called the police. His girlfriend didn’t even know that he had a gun in his trunk.
They called Brian and asked him to come downstairs. Four police officers greeted him at the door with guns drawn waiting for him. They searched his vehicle and he said he had a firearm and a permit. It was unloaded, locked and secured. There was a temporary restraining order and the police confiscated the firearm. A year later when the restraining order was supposed to be dropped, the district attorney extended it. And pressed charges. He had to spend $13,000 to hire an attorney to fight his case for 2 years.
He was really being “red flagged” before “red flags” existed.
It seems like the district attorney was the one pushing to get Brian jailed. The DA pushed as said that Brian was a ‘resident’ of Massachusetts. He was staying at his girlfriend’s house often during the week, but the DA tricked the jury to believe that he was a Massachusetts resident, when he really wasn’t. Even in the time from when he took the class to when this incident happened, he wouldn’t have had time to get a License To Carry (LTC) as a non-resident in Massachusetts.
In his court, they only used 6 jurors. The one juror that was an NRA member is on the one they threw out. The trial lasted 3 days. The DA twisted a case that had to do with sexual abuse and rolled it to include Brian’s gun charge of not obtaining a permit as a resident of Massachusetts, which he isn’t and wasn’t.
After fighting as much as he could, he still ended up doing 18 months in jail, for exercising his constitutional right to travel with a firearm, without any criminal intent. While he was there, he did a LOT of reading of gun cases and gun laws.
While he was in jail, even some of the correction officers and sheriffs worked at the jail where shocked Brian was there. He worked in the kitchen for a while. Then he applied for the youth mentor program and was selected. He mentored some of the young men in the jail, helped them earn income, and show them out to develop a life when they get outside of jail.
Brian wants to turn this horrible experience into something good. He’s starting the Live Free Or Die Guys YouTube channel, which will get into more about what he went through and what he learned in jail. He’s also learned a lot about the political process, too. Which may lead to a career in politics for him in the future!
Favorite quotes
“So 1791, the Second Amendment is written into law. If I rode a horse from North Carolina into South Carolina, could I go to jail? In 1791, would that be a felony? That’s essentially what I did.”
“We need reciprocity, bad, to prevent like me from going to jail.”
“No one’s ever been thru this scenario in Mass”
18 U.S. Code § 926A.Interstate transportation of firearms
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/926A
You can find their links to Brian’s show below.
Live Free Or Die Guys YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmpdZb8MwdTuGGLlg_N999Q
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
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Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#069
Klint Macro & Matthew Mallory
Meet The Pressers
One of my passengers said I needed to get Klint in the car. After some messaging, we decided that I’d be on Meet The Pressers and they would be on RSWC. Since we were all heading to SHOT Show 2020, this is where we filmed this show. The Meet The Pressers gents were kind enough to let me use their rental car for the show!
Klint Macro is a recording engineer as well as a firearm instructor. When Klint was recording musicians in LA, he was friends with an armorer which led to helping others in using a firearm. That led to becoming a firearm instructor. After some NRA instructor training, Klint discovered that he was going to be able to teach as a civilian since he thought only military and police were the only people who could be instructors.
He shares a story about a woman who told him that after he taught her to use a firearm safely, she would never be victimized again. That had a profound effect on him and his instruction. Klint expanded his knowledge base with the USCCA “instructor in a box” and added much more defensive methold and tactics to his classes. All the instructing and students he had led to him starting the Trigger Pressers Union.
We knew it was time to change seats when the RangeTech Shot Timer from ConcealedCarry.com went off! We did a ‘Chinese Fire Drill” at the coffee shop drive thru and Matt took the passenger seat for his part of the show.
Matthew Mallory is a former military and peace officer in two towns in upstate New York. Matt starts off by doing a special announcement that Meet The Pressers is going to have a merch website where you can buy their gear!
Matt is also an instructor for his company, Public Safety & Education (PS&Ed). He teaches rifle, pistol, shotgun, mace/pepper spray, defensive tactics. And does inservice for police officers in the area. He shares a grenade story during basic training! Yikes! He started teaching civilians thru hunter education and teaching the Boy Scouts. Teaching the state permit course led to becoming a Utah instructor and a number of other certifications, including some USCCA certifications. He also did an article about George Zimmerman, which we talked about. Here’s the link to that story. https://www.ammoland.com/2019/07/seven-year-later-george-zimmerman-speaks-someone-he-trusts/?fbclid=IwAR0T1noSgJv3jn6EakPXOaPrP4nNPdIH-4fQD6uuhwrOGMypmmqtd5NrnTY#axzz6DSqzm88R
Klint and Matt decided that they would join forces and start Meet The Pressers. Their logo is half PS&Ed and Trigger Pressers Union. They did say that if you voice text “Meet The Pressers” it comes out as “Meat Depressors”. The two of them with their experience instructing and recording and all the other things brings them a lot of great success with their Meet The Pressers show.
Favorite quotes
Klint: “I believe that God puts doors in front of you sometimes and gives you a little kick”
Klint: “Remember you’re part of something bigger than yourself and make us all proud”.
Matt: “You can do everything for the right reason, do nothing illegal, and still be prosecuted or persecuted by a jury of public opinion based on the decisions that you make.”
Matt: “Think of 3 people in your life, that you care about, and they care about you. If you died like that, they’re going to be totally financially, emotionally, gone because you’re gone. You owe it to them not to be in that fight.”
You can find their links to their shows and outlets below.
Meet The Pressers Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MeetThePressers/
Meet The Pressers YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/meetthepressers
Meet The Pressers Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MeetThePressers/
Public Safety & Education Website
https://psanded.com/
Concealed Carry’s Website & RangeTechShot Time
https://www.concealedcarry.com/claim-your-free-rangetech-bluetooth-shot-timer/
Trigger Pressers Union
http://triggerpressersunion.com/index.html
National Train A Teacher Day
http://nationaltrainateacherday.com/index.html
Meet The Pressers on Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/MeetThePressers
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#068
Mark Shean
Instructor & Author
I got a message last summer from an FB friend in New Jersey, John Petrolino, who said he just finished editing a book of gun laws from an instructor in Massachusetts. He sent me Mark Shean’s info and we had a nice quick conversation. I read Mark’s book before we set up the interview.
Mark started shooting at 7 with his siblings. He joined the NRA Junior Rifle Team and has his photo in the book they published. But back then they didn’t use eye or ear protection. He’s had ringing ears since then.
He works for a nuclear power plant and the nuclear security officers couldn’t be trained by civilians. He took a week long class on patrol rifle and handgun with plans to be able to train with the police and nuclear security officers, who are considered part of Homeland Security. He also earned several other NRA instructor qualifications.
At 15, Mark’s son wanted to get his firearm identification card (FID), but they couldn’t find instructors that wanted to teach teens. At the time, the course for the FID was different than the course for the License To Carry (LTC). Mark started doing classes for teens only, because that’s how we keep the firearm tradition going!
After teaching for several years, Mark started to gather questions students asking and put them down. A student suggested that Mark start a website with all the information he was giving his students. Fortunately, that student also designed websites. That’s when Gun Sense was born. He kept adding posts about things that his students were inquiring about. The posts kept adding up, currently at 52. After John P took a course with Mark, he convinced Mark to make a book out of the information. A year after that thought was sparked, the book was published!
We have a great conversation about the laws in Massachusetts. And yes, it does get heated up! Mark is very passionate about firearm safety, the laws and how they impact the citizens and what they can own. And about how not knowing the laws can lead to problems legally. He shares some good stories about some classes he taught.
Favorite quotes.
“We live in the United States of America. We don’t live only Massachusetts, or only Rhode Island, or only Connecticut. Our citizenship doesn’t stop at the state that we live in. We’re American citizens”
“If I put up a map of the United States, I’d say ‘there’s my sanctuary: the United States”
“I started putting them into the website and called the Gun Sense. Even though Bloomberg has tried to steal the term, I was using it before Bloomberg.”
“The reason these guns are on the banned lists, its legal extortion by the politicians in Massachusetts”
“They know where you live but they don’t know where the criminal lives who stole your gun”
Mark Shean MA Gun Safety Website
http://mafirearmsafety.com/
MA Gun Safety on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/mafirearmsafety/
Order Gun Sense on amazon…
https://www.amazon.com/Gun-Sense-Massachusetts-Information-Firearm/dp/1074229541/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mark+shean&qid=1580134184&sr=8-1
Mark’s book review on Ammoland
https://www.ammoland.com/2019/06/instructor-releases-massachusetts-firearm-safety-book-gun-sense/#axzz6CEwHb15M
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Self Defense Radio Network
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#067
Michael Sondini
Walk The Talk America
You never know what is going to happen or who you’re going to meet at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. This year, Kerry Slone from We The Female (RSWC #55) approached me and said “You HAVE to have Michael Sodini from WTTA!” An exchange of info and a few text messages and it’s a done deal.
Michael Sodini had family that worked in the gun industry for 3 generations as an importer. He says he’s “the most un-gun gun guy” but really enjoyed the people in the industry. After getting a DUI, one of his colleagues thought that he would never be able to work in the firearm industry. Sadly, his friend took his own life thinking there was nothing else for him to do.
Michael eventually founded Walk The Talk America (WTTA). WTTA focuses on the mental health issues and suicide prevention in the firearm community. It started over a conversation with a woman in New Orleans who asked about what happens when there’s a school shooting. They agreed that one side blames the guns, while the other blames mental health. And they decided that there has to be a way for both sides to work together for a common solution.
Knowing that there are good people in the firearm community who do care when there are mass and school shootings, he set out to do more research about people who struggle with mental health. He came across Mental Health America and their Proposition Statement 72: Violence: Community Mental Health Response (see link for the article) and discovered that only 5% of people who suffer with mental health commit acts of violence.
WTTA is working to take the stigma away from having mental health issues and owning a firearm. Their website offers a screening quiz to see if you’re experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition. The link is here. https://walkthetalkamerica.org/love// Looking at the website, there are several types of tests that you can take. He shares that some of his own family members did a screening and ended up realizing that they have some concerns that can easily be dealt with.
Michael says that mental health education is just as important as physical education. And we should have courses in school about this topic. We know that it’s easy to see if we need some physical exercise to help ourselves. But we can’t see when someone needs with mental health issues.
We have a great conversation about the mental health issues and owning a firearm and that struggling with depression, PTSD, and anxiety, should not be a permanent disqualifier for owning a firearm. I really think you’ll get a lot out of this interview.
You can print out the flyer that Michael holds about WTTA here. https://walkthetalkamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/WTTInsert.pdf
Michael’s speech at the 2A Rally for Your Rights in Washington DC on November 2, 2019
https://youtu.be/q8tyPvnFa-o
Mental Health America
Position Statement 72
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/position-statement-72-violence-community-mental-health-response
Favorite quotes:
“Most people are gun ignorant. And they’d ask “Like Nicholas Cage in Lord of War? And I go “yeah, just like that!”
“Everybody blames the gun. We blame mental health. And it just goes in a circle, nowhere”
“We have a physical education course. We should have a mental health education course”
“There’s no future predictor of violence, only previous violence is a future indicator”
WTTA Instagram Page
https://www.instagram.com/walkthetalkus/
WTTA Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/walkthetalkUS/
WTTA
Website
https://walkthetalkamerica.org/
Wtta.org
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
066
Tomasz Stepien
Tomasz Stepien answered the call when I was looking for passengers at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix. I was excited to have my first international passenger in the stagecoach. This was quite an education for me and I hope it is for you as well.
Tomasz learned gun safety in school! Can you believe that?!?! He started shooting .22 LR when he was young, but took some time off for his career. A few years ago, he made some changes with his career and got back into shooting. In Poland, where he’s from, if you’re going to have a firearm license, you have to use the firearm. So, if you’re getting a gun to hunt, you need to hunt. If you’re going to have it for sport shooting, you have to sport shoot.
Firearms United, the fastest growing coalition in Europe, has been around and got more involved with fighting back after the Charlie Hebdo and The Baclavan terror attacks. Just like in the United States, after these attacks, the governments make some knee jerk reactions and started regulating the Rights of the citizens.
Firearms United has 27 countries to fight for and they’re trying to build an ‘umbrella’ for the entire EU. The laws from country to country vary. The increase of sporting licenses in Poland has gone up 40%! There are some requirements, like joining a range for 3 months, then you have a practical shooting exam, and knowledge of the current firearms laws. Then you have to go thru a doctor’s evaluation and a psychological evaluation, then you’ll have the papers you need to get a license.
The GRPC in Phoenix was Tomasz’s second time at the conference. He went a few years ago he was at NRAAM and was approached by Alan Gottlieb, who asked him to come speak about what is going on the Europe with gun rights. Tomasz believes that we need to exchange notes with them about what is going on in both continents so we can combat the gun grabbers.
We also talk about his root to Akron, Ohio, of all places in the United States. A few generations ago, his great grandparents left Poland to escape and they went to Ohio. Then after WWI, they went back after Poland gained independence. I shared a story of going to Poland in 1995 and only learning how to say “Ice cream, please”. “Beer, please” and “Vodka, please”.
We talk about their current fight with what’s going on in Brussels. There, they are trying to ban lead ammunition and say that only ammunition should be made from bismuth. And bismuth is much more expensive than lead. In Denmark, bismuth was OK but then it was decided that getting bismuth was too expensive and difficult to that was banned, too. And in France there was a proposal for a 700% taxation on firearms. Does any of this sound familiar?!?! Of course it does! The gun grabber and anti-gun folks do the same in America. What I really learned is that the anti-gunners are the same throughout the world.
Favorite quotes:
“The system is screwed from the perspective that you have to actually show the government the reason why you want to have a gun, which is abhorrent to me. Why should I?”
“When I hear the stories that you have similar stuff with the Second Amendment, that’s something that is mind boggling for me.”
“I deeply believe that there are certain similarities in the behaviors of the gun grabber in the US and in Europe and we need to exchange notes.”
“Our biggest fight is trying to survive the new angle of attack coming from Brussels”
“The facts do not support that the lead ammunition is not as damaging as they claim”
Firearms United Website
https://firearms-united.com/
Firearms United Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FirearmsUnitedNetwork/
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
John Richardson
No Lawyers Only Guns & Money blog
Polite Society Podcast
If first met John Richardson & Andrew Gottlieb at Gun Rights Policy Conference 2016 in Tampa. I was interviewed by John and the cast of hosts of the Polite Society Podcast. This year, while I was prepping the “stagecoach” for some post-GPRC interviews, Andrew was waiting for a ride to the airport. I offered to take him and be a part of the show.
John’s first gun was a Ruger 10/22 for $50!! After years of not being very much into firearms, John heard about the so called “assault weapon ban” and decided it was time to get one of those! He got a curio & relics license and then had a number of historic rifles, acquiring a number of Mosin Nagants from around the world.
John started blogging in May 2010. He saw a number of other bloggers at NRAAM and decided that he can write with his liberal arts degree. So he started his blogging career.
He wrote a blog after the McDonald case, Bateman Vs Purdue, which was in North Carolina. His blog got 19 clicks. The story was picked up by other bloggers and links to his stories, Then a year and a half later, he had 500,000 clicks. At the NRAAM, he went to a blogger seminar and everyone was excited to see him! Andrew agreed that John’s writing is much clearer and easier to understand that the lawyer speak.
His blog lead to being a guest on the Polite Society Podcast. The following week, he was a co-host. I can’t imagine the PSP without John! He shares some of the secret behind the show, how they keep the show organized and flowing smoothly. One of my favorite segments is the DGUs, the Defensive Gun Uses, which they do every show. We also talk about some of the favorite recent guests, including “Shakey” Dave Smith (RSWC #054). Honestly, if you’ve heard of a “name” person in the gun community, the PSP has had them as a guest.
We also talk about why women shoot better than men. We have different reasons, but his are more serious than mine. He’s convinced that the woman on PSP will out shoot John everytime. We both decide its for the same reason, women listen.
Just at the end, I remembered that we need to cover what happened to his blog just a month before GRPC. The webhost considered that he was breaking the ‘community standards’ and thought he was selling firearms. After a real, live human reviewed the case, they decided it didn’t break community standards. Regardless, he moved everything to his own website, which you can find links to below.
No Lawyers Only Guns and Money
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/onlygunsandmoney/
Website
https://onlygunsandmoney.com/
Polite Society Podcast (formerly names Politics and Guns)
https://www.facebook.com/PoliticsAndGunsPodcast/
Website
http://politicsandguns.com/
The Self Defense Radio Network
Website
http://sdrn.us/
The Second Amendment Foundation
https://www.saf.org/
Favorite quotes:
Talking about various firearms “Its living history. The rifle was history. It was a real weapon of war”
About blogging “I started looking and said ‘I can do this. I can write. I have a liberal arts degree.
“I have a poli- sci degree. I left with a wife and no degree”
“I’m confident enough in my masculinity that I will stop and ask for directions”
“Its not that I want to “make my day”, I just want to survive.”
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
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To enter the Asfaleia Designs Giveaway...
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
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RSWC #064
Kevin Dixie
No Other Choice Firearms Training
Aiming For The Truth
Last year at GRPC in Chicago is where I met Kevin Dixie. He asked right away when I was coming to St Louis to do a show with him. Not yet having to get out to St Louis, he asked me the exact same question in Phoenix when we saw each other at a DC Project event at Pot Of Gold Estate Auctions, owned by Cheryl & Danny Todd (RSWC #060). We made the time on Saturday morning at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in September.
Kevin talks about this start in firearms is not what you would expect. He and a friend found a gun, figured out how to load it, and fired it. His first thought isn’t what you think it would be. He struggled with depression from 13-30 until he worked his way through the battle with it.
After joining the St Louis Police Department, he started stalking the instructors for more information about how a firearm works and gained lots of education. Eventually, he grew by listening and learning then started teaching others the fundamentals of shooting.
The beginning of No Other Choice Firearms has a LOT of thought and explanation of what and why KD teaches what he teaches. He didn’t want to see good people doing what they thought was right, but it could still get them into trouble with the law. He took out students to educate them about firearms and the laws, but also it became therapeutic for him too. Starting doing a videos gave him a big boost and jettisoned him to another level as an instructor and gave him exposure to students and potentially teach around America.
We cover how Missouri has advanced to constitutional carry and differences between their licenses. It’s good to hear about how states around the country have their gun laws. We also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of being an instructor. He’s also sets up courses when he’s traveling and speaking around the country.
KD talks how the beginnings of gun control laws were to keep black people enslaved.He talks about the incident in Tulsa, OK, in 1921. It was called Black Wall Street or Little Africa where the mob killed over 350 black people in less than 24 hours with no charges. This is why he will not give up anything he owns.
KD gets into his community outreach with the Aiming For The Truth, a non-profit organization, which aims to kill violence at its roots. They address the factors that cause people to be violent. One of the big things AFTT works towards is getting fathers back in their households to be a positive and good influence on their children. He worked with the NFL on a program called “All Pro Dad” which helped get 70 fathers back with their kids to be active fathers. It taught them employment skills, how to write resumes and even tie ties.
We share some of the benefits of attending these conferences. And its cool to be around people who want to talk with you. The GPRC is really a family reunion when you become friends with everyone in the community. And we need to highlight everyone that’s putting out content. KD says we need to share some of the videos that help preserve our Rights by showing that we are more than just people who shoot and are into firearms. We really are regular people who have a passion for what we do.
Favorite quotes:
“Freedom is a personal thing. Your Rights are personal. We should hold them near & dear.”
“Gun laws have always been written to keep people enslaved, to keep people controlled”
“My ancestors paid the price; I’m just the receipt.”
KD Speaking at Rally For Your 2A Rights in DC on 11.2.2019
https://youtu.be/cWhU6gU4Z2U
KD”s social media links and where to find him, NOC, & Aiming For The Truth.
Instagram
@thereal_noc
@aimingforthetruth
@kdofnoc
Website
http://www.nootherchoice.net/
GoFundMe.com/AimingForTheTruth
https://www.gofundme.com/f/aimingforthetruth
Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/NOCFIREARMS
Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters.
Asfaleia Designs
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Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
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Riding Shotgun With Charlie
063
Rob Pincus
Instructor, Author, Activist
When I started Riding Shotgun, I had no idea what it could turn in to or the journey it would be. I do remember thinking of the names in the firearm industry that I knew of, and Rob Pincus was one of the people I imagined having on the stagecoach. It’s a great honor to have him in the passenger seat.
During the past year or so, I posted some interviews with others and he commented that he wanted to be on the show. When I posted that I was going to be doing shows in Phoenix at GPRC, he messaged me and asked if I had a seat for him. Of course I do!
We were fresh off GRPC, finishing just an hour before the interview. Rob says we share something similar. I was Blogger of the Year at GRPC and I don’t have a ‘blog”. And he was NSSF Range of the Year and he didn’t have a range anymore.
Rob shares how he started shooting as a kid, buying his own guns at the age of 10. He gives us some history about Norwich University, the Military University of Vermont, where he attended. After that he did some time in the military and honorably discharged as a Second Lieutenant. Not wanting to deal with bureaucracies, he found himself being an entrepreneur and getting into training. He’s also been on Personal Defense TV with Tom Gresham, done a number of training DVDs thru the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association since 1995, and Best Defense among others. These all morphed into Personal Defense Network and I.C.E.Training.
When he focused on Training development and writing a curriculum, he turned it into Combat Focus Shooting book, then CFS: Evolution, then Defend Yourself, and Counter Ambush. I share with him that there’s a photo of me in his Defend Yourself from when I took the class in 2014. His most recent book is Defensive Shooting Handbook put out thru the USCCA.
I’ve considered Rob the “rock n roll” gun instructor. He’s always on the road, crisscrossing the country, teaching courses, speaking at events, doing TV, radio, & podcasts. He’s embraced the ‘nomadic lifestyle’ and said he even had a blog called “Homeless By Choice”, but hasn’t been able to keep that going with everything else he’s doing. Which lead to some dating advice from Rob. You can’t miss that!
He does admit that his travel schedule is real! We see his pictures all over the place. In September, he was scheduled to be in Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts. He was going to the NRA meeting in Alaska, but those were changed to Virginia. But the schedule and traveling really started out by saying “yes” to doing a course anywhere where people want them. Its taken a few years to make it linear and less zigzagging around the country.
Finally I asked about how he would bring someone new into firearms and shooting. When asked about getting someone into shooting that is apprehensive, he says simply “don’t do it”. If someone isn’t ready for owning a gun or carrying a gun, then its ok to wait and get more education. Do some reading and get some education and training and “make sure you’re ready”.
Favorite quotes:
“The government makes it hard to be homeless”
“In between marriages... “I’d basically be homeless”
“If you’re not ready for it (gun ownership), then you’re not”
Here’s what you can find Rob Pincus on social media outlets.
Rob Pincus Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/RobPincusPro/
Save the 2A
http://www.savethe2a.org/
https://www.facebook.com/2ao.org/
Walk The Talk America
https://walkthetalkamerica.org/
https://www.facebook.com/walkthetalkUS/
Personal Defense Network
https://www.personaldefensenetwork.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PersonalDefenseNetwork/
https://www.youtube.com/user/PersonalDefenseNet
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/pincusrob/
I.C.E. Training
https://www.icetraining.us/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Asfaleia Designs
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/
To enter the Asfaleia Designs Giveaway...
https://asfaleiadesigns.com/pages/riding-shotgun-with-charlie-bag-giveaway-contest
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
RSWC #062
Lara Smith
National Spokesperson of the Liberal Gun Club
I met Lara at GRPC in Chicago in 2018. When I was looking for interviewees this year, she jumped at the chance.
Lara Smith grew up anti-gun. She grew up in a well educated, liberal household. But she makes sure that she isn’t labeled as a Democrat. She was nervous and scared about firearms. After being married to a former Marine who often told her she was wrong about the information she was using about firearms, he told her she needed to get educated on firearms. As a lawyer, it's hard to say you’re wrong. She had to break it to her husband about her new hobby.
She joined a pro-gun organization, but didn’t quite fit in. So Lara searched for something that is more of her demographic. Googling things like “liberal gun owners”, “women gun owners”, and “unconventional gun owners”, she came across A Girl And A Gun. After talking with, Robyn Sandoval, one of the founders of AGAG and attending their conference, she fit right in!
She went out and bought her own firearm to use, a Ruger Mark II, .22 caliber pistol. She found out that not only was she good at it, she had fun as well. She enjoys trap, skeet, and sporting clays. She likes the shotgunning. But she’s also got a blue AR.
She also found The Liberal Gun Club. At one of their events, she volunteered her way up to becoming the Vice President of California Chapter of The Liberal Gun Club, then the President. While the President, she got a call from the LA Times when they were seeking to talk to gun owners. That lead to being interviewed on the BBC!
We didn’t talk about it, but she is a member of The DC Project. We’ve talked to many of the woman in The DCP in previous episodes of RSWC.
The one question I had for her was about being a Liberal and a gun owner because in my mind, those often don’t mix. Many times, we think that conservatives are the ones who are concerned about self defense and gun ownership. Lara makes it clear that her team is equally concerned about personal and family safety and that not everyone wants to own a firearm for defense.
This year, Lara and a few other non-traditional gun owners gave a group presentation at AMMcon. AMMcon is the Alternative Multi Media Conference, which has been held the day before GPRC for the last 3 years. The others with her were Tiffany Johnson, Annette Evans. They talked about broadening the tent of gun ownership. None of them fit into the traditional gun owner stereotype. You can watch their presentation thanks to CloverTac to recorded the whole event. https://youtu.be/yeFH-ervVSA
We do hit a drive thru Starbucks. Lara has a hot chai tea. I order a black coffee, three sugars, and of course the worker called it a Vente (?).
I learned Lara is hardcore, she has a Trump Resister tattoo but I didn’t ask to see it.
Here’s a couple of quotes from the show that I enjoyed.
“Shooting is fun! Nobody said shooting was fun!”
When talking to anti-gun folks, I “listen to what they’re saying and not the words they’re using”.
Here are some links to their social media outlets.
The Liberal Gun CLub
https://www.facebook.com/LiberalGunClub/
The Liberal Gun Club Website
https://theliberalgunclub.com/
Lara@theliberalgunclub.com is her email address.
If you like Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie, please share it with others. That’s how we get the Stagecoach Across America.
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#061
Gina Roberts
I’ve been running into Gina Roberts for the last few years. I’ve seen her at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, at Heller10, and at the DC Project events. She’s been asking for awhile when is she going to be able to get in the stagecoach for a show. And finally at GPRC in Phoenix, we were able to make it happen.
Let’s get this out of the way. Gina is a transgender woman. And she’s now comfortable in her own dresses. She grew up as a man, had a family and raised kids. Seven and a half years ago, she decided that she needs to be herself. She says “I spent most of my life trying to pretend I was somebody I wasn’t” and now she’s her own woman. I think it’s great and I’m proud of and for her and to call her a friend.
Gina travels for her work as a consultant for servicing machines she’s designed. She’s always on the go and jet setting across the country, which is one reason why it took some time to set up the interview. I never know where she’s going or when she’s going to be there.
She shares her story about starting shooting in Scouts when she was young. That lead to competitive shooting as a teenager, which lead to joining the high school rifle team. She has done a lot of competitive shooting, including cowboy action shooting.
Besides being an NRA certified instructor, she’s working on earning the handgun combat master. And after taking 70 courses at Front Sight Firearm Training in Pahrump, NV, the other instructors talked her into becoming an instructor there.
When she was a young republican, she was able to meet Barry Goldwater. She’s stuck with her conservative principles even after her transition and learned about the Log Cabin Republicans. The Log Cabin Republicans are LGBT Republicans and straight allies who support equality under the law for all, free markets, individual liberty, limited government, and a strong national defense. She joined the Log Cabin Republicans and is now the President Emeritus of the organization.
She’s also one of the four DC Project ladies from California. The DC Project women head to Washington DC to talk to members of Congress about gun rights for women. They have a chance to address Congressmen and women who support and are against our 2A Rights. She fits in and the ladies have accepted her as one of their own. This past year, she was able to be a “squad mom” at A Girl and A Gun Conference.
At the time of the taping, she was running to get on the NRA Board of Directors, but since then she ended her run. She does share some of the struggles of the journey to get on the Board. She may run again next time. She does keep the Gina For NRA Facebook page going.
Here’s a couple of quotes that I enjoyed:
“My life is all about breaking stereotypes”
“I came out to the world as me and I never regretted it”
“I’m kind of hard to hide as a 6’1”, 250 pound red-head”
Please enjoy the ride with Gina and learn about her and how she got involved in many groups to defend and protect our Rights on many levels and areas.
Here are some links to their social media outlets.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/GINAFORNRABOARD/
Email address: ginafornra@gmail.com
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Log Cabin Republicans
http://www.logcabin.org
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute
https://www.frontsight.com/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#060
Cheryl & Danny Todd
AZ Firearms
Gun Freedom Radio
Pot of Gold Estate Auctions
This interview is one that I’d been waiting 3 years to conduct. When I discovered the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) was going to be in Phoenix, I knew that I’d be getting Cheryl & Danny Todd to hop in the stagecoach! I’ve been following AZ Firearms, Gun Freedom Radio, and Cheryl & Danny since before I knew them. I met them at GRPC in Tampa in 2016. When Cheryl watched a GunGram, she invited me to be on Gun Freedom Radio. Then at SHOT Show 2017, she took me around to introduce me to everyone. It was a really cool trip!
At GRPC in Tampa, I got a photo of me and Cheryl on stage with Massad Ayoob speaking behind us. Just when I went to snap the picture, Alan Gottlieb came up and gave me bunny ears. Since then, everytime Cheryl & I are together, we have to get a selfie with bunny ears.
As you’ll hear, Cheryl & Danny have had a long marriage together. They’ve been together for 34 years and they were married, depending on which you ask, either 6 or 9 months after they met. They both grew up with firearms in the house.
Growing up Danny’s household “had more guns than they had silverware”. After they were married, on a whim, Danny bought a handgun. . In 3 months he purchased more than 100 guns and was running out of room in the bathroom to store them, he decided that it would be a good idea to open a gun store. Besides AZ Firearms, they opened an estate and liquidation auction house. AND….they just became the only dealer to sell pinball machines in the state of Arizona.
Besides the gun store and auction house, they also have Gun Freedom Radio, which is a great show to listen to! https://gunfreedomradio.com/
Cheryl is super active in the firearm community. She’s been a speaker at the GRPC for several years. She is Miss Arizona in The DC Project, and she helps with AMMcon, a segment of and day long event before the GPRC.
On November 2, she is slated to be one of the speakers at the Rally for Our 2A Rights in Washington DC. You can get info on this Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/2Arightsrally/
One of the stories that I bring up is when someone tried to turn AZ Firearms into a drive thru gun store by driving INTO the store to steal some guns, but the criminals were not able to get into the store. You can read about that incident here. News story from 3.16.2016 when AZ Firearms had someone crash into their store’s wall.
https://www.abc15.com/news/region-west-valley/avondale/car-breaks-through-wall-of-avondale-gun-shop-suspect-still-outstanding-police-say
Cheryl, Danny, and I have so many laughs exchanging stories about everything. There’s no way you won’t enjoy this show as we drive from Pot Of Gold Estate Auctions to AZ Firearms.
One of my favorite quotes from the show:
“Dan is the gas pedal of our lives” ~Cheryl
Here are some links to their social media outlets.
https://www.facebook.com/AZFirearms/
https://www.facebook.com/gunfreedomradio/
https://www.facebook.com/CherylToddAZF/
https://www.facebook.com/DannyToddGFR/
https://www.instagram.com/azfirearms/
https://www.instagram.com/gunfreedomradio/
#polkadotsaremycamo The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Websites
https://gunfreedomradio.com/
http://www.potofgoldestate.com/
https://azfirearms.com/
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#059
Dianna Muller
The DC Project
Washington DC
#DoingSomething
#IWillNotComply
For a few years ago, a good friend said I needed to get Dianna Muller in the stagecoach. Our paths finally cross this past summer in Washington DC. Dianna Muller is a very busy woman! She’s been a police officer for 22 years in Oklahoma before she felt that God was pulling her in a different and new direction, which is what she’s doing now.
Four years ago, she had the idea to get a woman from every state in America to go to DC to talk to legislators about gun rights from the female perspective. That’s how The DC Project was born. She thought that she could get a competitive shooter from each state, but she got something better. Regular women with their own stories about how and why they own or carry firearms.
The DC Project members all converge on DC in July to in small teams to meet with various legislators from both sides of the isle. Some are pro gun and some are not. Over the years, the pro gun legislators look forward to seeing the woman in DC.
On September 25, Dianna made another trip to the nation’s capital to deliver a testimony for the House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Assault Weapons. There were 7 people who were facing the committee. Five of them were from the gun control crowd. On our side, we had Dianna and Amy Swearer from the Heritage Foundation. These two ladies did an amazing job standing up for the 100 million plus gun owners in America.
You can watch Dianna’s testimony here. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4819138/dianna-muller-testimony
On July 9 2019, I went to the hotel to pick up Dianna for the interview. We meet briefly the night before when I checked in to the hotel. We had breakfast the next morning with a couple of the DC Project members. I did some interviews, which you may have already seen, then I was going to meet Dianna for this show.
She guided us thru DC so she could scout out some places for photo ops the next day when she was with all the DCP ladies. We have some driving confusion, but we made it work. This is the busiest week of her year. She takes a call from Becky Lou, one of the DC Project members, from Louisiana.
She takes some time to tell us that she grew up with a father that was a police officer, which sort of lead her into becoming an officer. When she shot her first deer, it was a doe. And not far was the doe’s fawn. That ending hunting for awhile. As a teenager, she started competitive shooting and really took to it. For the last few years, she and her husband have been competitive shooters and doing well.
The two sentences she said that really stand out for me are:
1) “Women can have a stronger impact when it comes to speaking about the Second Amendment”
2) ”The diversity in the gun world is amazing”
Here are some links to her social media outlets.
The DC Project
https://www.dcproject.info/
Buy your #IWillNotComply T-Shirt here
https://www.dcproject.info/p/willnotcomply-tshirt/
https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject/
https://www.instagram.com/dc_projectfoundation/
Dianna Muller’s Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Di3GunGirl/
Ambassador Academy
https://www.pro3gunner.com/ambassador/
United States Shooting Academy
Tulsa, OK
http://usshootingacademy.mobi/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#058
Chris Dover
CloverTac
I was on CloverTac's podcast earlier this year. I was excited to hear he was coming to Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix, AZ, on September 21 & 22. He was also at AMMcon on September 20.
He is busing his green tail getting shows out in all platforms. Videos on YouTube and GunStreamer. Audio podcasts on all the podcast outlets. He's busting it!
Anyway... this starts with him running in front of the stagecoach just after I finished filming a show. I told him to hop in and we were going to do an impromptu show.
Its a quick one, but we have several laughs, regardless.
Check out CloverTac at:
Website:
http://clovertac.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/clovertac
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/clovertac/
Help support his show at Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/clovertac
This summer, I headed to DC to hang out and get some shows with women from the DC Project. You’ll be seeing and hearing from of those shows.
I met Lori Blackwell at GPRC 2018 in Chicago. She’s a lawyer with became an avid shooter and instructor. Going to pick up Lori, Susan Hansen decided to also join us. She’s a 3 gunning nana who created CrittEar, ear plugs for animals.
I drove the ladies from one hotel to another. We have only a few driving fiascoes, which they said is normal while they’re in DC.
Lori talks about joining The Well Armed Woman and starting her own instructing business, FOMO Training.
They both share stories of how they got involved in shooting sports and instructing. Susan tells us what inspired her to start CrittEar. And Lori helped her as well.
Watch the video here:
https://youtu.be/b5h9QSSOLs0
RSWC Susan Hansen & Lori Blackwell
CrittEar Website
www.crittear.com
The Well Armed Woman
https://thewellarmedwoman.com/
The Well Armed Woman Local Chapters
https://twawshootingchapters.org/
FOMO Firearm Training
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/School/FOMO-Firearm-Training-1622327118083137/
FOMO Firearm Training Website
https://www.manta.com/c/mhh8qt1/fomo-firearm-training
Susan
https://www.facebook.com/3GunNana/
The DC Project Website
https://www.pro3gunner.com/dcp/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB
iHeartRadio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #056 Kelly Pidgeon ARMED and Feminine RSWC #056 Kelly Pidgeon on YouTube
Imitation is the sincerest from of flattery. Don't believe me check out this video. Riding Shotgun WITHOUT Charlie Kelly Pidgeon and Amanda Suffecool took it upon themselves to imitate Riding Shotgun With Charlie on a road trip from western Pennsylvania to Washington DC! They even TRIED a GunGram. I emphasis the word TRIED! Kelly started ARMED and Feminine after being involved with her local emergency response team. Her local police encouraged her to get her carry permit. She ended up becoming an instructor and starting an instructing business. Then she started making videos to help her students so they were able to go back and revisit what she covers in her courses. That became her YouTube Channel ARMED and Feminine, LLC. She's been on NRATV, Eye On The Target Radio (with Amanda Suffecool) and several other programs and podcasts. She's also part of the DC Project. The DC Project visits politicians to talk about the newest and largest growing number of gun owners, the women! One of ARMED and Feminine's largest viewed videos is how to handle a traffic stop. You can check out that video here. CCW Traffic Stop. I picked Kelly up at National Harbor in Maryland and we drove into DC, then had to head back. Please check out her social media and YouTube channel. ARMED and Feminine YouTube Channel
“If you can master shooting a gun, you can master a lot of things in your life.... the gun gives you the confidence in other areas of your life”
Instagram @instagram.com/armedandfeminine/
Facebook ARMED and Feminine Facebook Page Check out RSWC Sponsors Keyhole Holsters Veteran Owned, American Made http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#055 Kerry Slone
This was one of the most fun interviews to conduct!
Kerry Slone is from Washington state. She’s a domestic violence survivor. She’s been an entrepreneur for years. And in the last year, she’s taken the 2A community by storm.
Kerry was in Washington DC to meet with Cheryl Todd, from Gun Freedom Radio, to talk about women’s issues, firearms, and activism. I was able to catch her in Philadelphia on my way to meet up with some of the DC Project women.
We cover lots of topics! From her grandfather’s entrepreneur spirit, to starting her own business as a nail technician, starting a non-profit We The Female, a phone call from Amy Dillon while she was in DC, to the work she’s doing with Maj Toure.
Of course, we DID stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and we ran up the Rocky stairs after the show!
She has really been shaking up with firearm community with new eyes on what we’re doing and how we may be able to attract more females. For sure, she’s not what you’d ever think a “feminist” would be.
Here’s all her social media outlets.
We The Female Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/wethefemaleofficial/
We The Female Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/wethefemale_official/
Kerry speaking at the March For Our Rights 2019
https://youtu.be/H2tQmcGs3dY
We The Female Website
https://www.wethefemale.net
Stilettos And Shotguns Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/stilettosandshotguns/
Kerry Slone on Gun Freedom Radio
https://gunfreedomradio.com/guests/kerry-slone-we-the-female/
We mentioned Amanda Suffecool & Kelly Pidgeon filming a GunGram and an episode of “Riding Shotgun WITHOUT Charlie”
You’ll find this video here.
https://youtu.be/djNMLRmvrOA
Check out RSWC Sponsors Keyhole Holsters Veteran Owned, American Made http://www.keyholeholsters.com/ Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #054 Shaky Dave Smith Parkinson's Shooter
I got to have breakfast with one of the most humble people you could ever meet. Shaky Dave Smith. He's had Parkinson's Disease for about 8 years. He's gone from being a regular 'able bodied' person to completely disabled with the disease. But he didn't let that stop him. He discovered "gun therapy".
Shooting for Dave raises the dopamine levels that are lost when someone has Parkinson's. This is how he uses shooting as a means of dealing with his disease. I watched another interview with him. When he holds a rifle, made by F-1 Firearms, his shaking stops. Its pretty incredible.
I was able to talk with Dave and ask how he became knows as Parkinson's Shooter. He really takes it to heart. As a matter of fact, he spent the last week in Sweden competing at the Rifle World Shoot.
He was speaking at the DC Project in Washington when I caught up with him. I only spent a couple days with the ladies, but he spent the whole week with them! My two take away lines from him while editing the show were: "Focus on every day and every shot...kind of like life in general" " An unexpected turn in an alpha male's life".
We never know what life is going to hand us. But its super important how we handle it. You can find him very active on social media. Instagram Parkinson Shooter https://www.instagram.com/parkinsonshooter/ Facebook Parkinson Shooter https://www.instagram.com/parkinsonshooter/
Some of Shaky Dave's Sponsors F-1 Firearms https://f-1firearms.com/ Laser Shot https://www.lasershot.com/
Check out RSWC Sponsors Keyhole Holsters Veteran Owned, American Made http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#053
Chris Doherty
Chris was modeling tactical kilt at the Gun Owners Action League’s Concealed Carry Fashion Show. Not quite something you see everyday in the firearm world. I was emceeing the show and he was one of the models. He did the first fashion show and was automatically (maybe fully semi automatically) signed up for the tactical kilt for the second year.
He’s an instructor at Mass Firearms School http://www.massfirearmsschool.com/ in Holliston, MA. His wife had her firearm license and it was about to expire, so she suggested they go shooting. They took a Learn To Shoot course at MFS, which turned into a License To Carry course. And his wife realized that this was going to be an expensive hobby.
Chris took all the courses MFS had to offer, then he pursued becoming an instructor with the NRA, the MA State Police, the Utah BCI, and SABRE Pepper Spray. He’s currently teaching a number of the courses at MFS.
Join in the stagecoach while we talk about getting into firearms, getting sprayed by pepper spray, and the little incident he had with the local police when he daughter said that her dad has some guns in the house.
As much as I was hoping he would wear the tactical kilt, it was dirty and smelling from a weekend at Sig Academy. https://www.sigsaueracademy.com/ Maybe it was better that he didn’t wear it.
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
052
Tatiana Whitlock
The Tactical Pixie
I’ve been following Tatiana Whitlock on social media for sometime before I reached out to have her as a passenger. When I messaged her and asked her to hop in the stagecoach, she gave me an excited YES!
When she was young she treasured the time bird hunting with her family. She only handled a shotgun when she took an NRA Women On Target course and learned about pistols and rifles.
Tatiana has only been in the firearm world for about 8 years. She went to college for design but when she started to get into firearms and training, she went all in! Her attitude is that she has these tools for defensive reasons to protect her family. She’s been on TriggerTime TV. She’s the lead instructor at A Girl And A Gun. She’s co-host on Civilian Carry Radio.
We met at Fort Williams Park in Portland, Maine. Got selfie in front of the lighthouse then headed out for the show. The conversation went really well. It was a bit of a rainy day. The dash cam didn’t come out great, but I used it a few times.
What really impressed me with Tatiana is that she’s all about self defense and protecting her family members. She’s a small framed woman who carries a full size 1911! She has some martial arts experience and has become a master at designing courses for students of all levels.
You can find her just about everywhere!
https://tatianawhitlock.com/
Chambers Custom Bellicus 1911
http://chamberscustom.com/bellicus/
A Girl And A Gun
https://www.agirlandagun.org/
HAVA Website
https://www.honoredveterans.org/
Howell’s Gun Shop
http://howellsgunshop.com/
Check out RSWC Sponsors
Keyhole Holsters
Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy
Author, Speaker, Firewalker
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#051
Jared Yanis
Guns & Gadgets
I met Jared in November 2017. I just came back from the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Dallas. I heard about the 2A Capital Rallys. Every state was putting on a rally at the state house in every state capital. I reached out, asking to speak, and I heard back from Jared Yanis. He was the man that was organizing everything.
He’s started a YouTube channel reviewing guns and gadgets, hence the name, then the format turned. Guns & Gadgets is now “YOUR Source for 2A News!!”. He covers lots of laws that are coming down the pike from ERPO laws to magazine capacity bans to everything in between.
Jared has been doing the channel on YouTube for several years. He’s got all the social media outlets and stays on top of them like you wouldn’t believe. He, too, didn’t start out wanting to be a “YouTuber”, but its been going well for his channel with over 95,000 subscribers. You, too, should follow the link below and subscribe to it.
Jared and I head to the city of Worcseter, MA (pronounced Wuss-ter or Wista). We see some Wista driving and head thru the infamous Kelley Square. We talk about his new AR pistol build a new 1911 he’s getting. And some of the fun or pitfalls of having a YouTube channel. And how he went to New Orleans on vacation and stayed with a SWAT job!
You can find Guns & Gadgets at the following.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GunsGadgets
GunStreamer: https://gunstreamer.com/@Guns_and_Gadgets
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guns_and_gadgets/
G&G Store: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/GunsGadgets
Please check out and support our sponsors:
Keyhole Holsters: Veteran Owned, American Made
http://www.keyholeholsters.com/
Dennis McCurdy, Author, Speaker, & Small Business Guru
http://www.find-away.com/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #050 Mary Schuster-Callison DC Project, TIME cover, & Goats!
I picked Mary Shuster-Callison up on West Randolph in Chicago. I had a parking spot and she was going to take it and we were going to take my rental car. As I'm waiting, I see a woman wave to me and slow down. The car behind her honked and she yelled at the driver. I knew that was going to be fun!
Mary started as an activist after Newtown and the One Million Moms for Gun Control. She started 1 Million Moms Against Gun Control. Now I understand why she was yelling at the other driver! Hehe! She was going along with 1MMACG then she had the unthinkable happened to her sister. She was stabbed, beaten, sexually assaulted. That’s when Mary really doubled down and activism. She got involved with the DC Project as a side person with the likes of Rhonda Ezell (RSWC #037). Mary took her sister’s story to DC to let Congress know that not all gun owners are middle aged, overweight white guys like me.
Mary also shares a bunch of laughs! She’s a very fun and funny woman. We talk about kids and animals as we drive up Lake Shore Drive. We also have a quick session of “Truth Time with Mary” where Charlie shares how he got into playing trombone. Did I say we had lots of laughs?
1 Million Moms Against Gun Control Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/1mmagc/
1 Million Moms Against Gun Control Twitter page https://twitter.com/1mmagc
Fioochi Ammuniton http://www.fiocchiusa.com/
The DC Project Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject/
The DC Project Website https://www.pro3gunner.com/dcp/
Mary Schuster-Callison on Instagram @koopac7
Please watch RSWC #050 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/rWQ_nJ-4eyo
Riding Shotgun With Charlie GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds
RSWC #049
David “Rosey” Rosenthal
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
I got to meet David “Rosey” Rosenthal at the NJSAFECON back in 2017. I was a speaker on a panel with Tony Simon, Anthony Colandro, & Maj Toure. After the conference, I went for dinner with Tony and some others. One of the people I got to meet was Rosey.
I’d heard him a number of times on Gun For Hire Radio Podcast a number of times. It was a lot of fun talking with him and everyone else. I knew then that I needed to interview him on the stagecoach.
I met Rosey at Harold’s New York Deli in Edison, NJ. We had a HUGE roast beef sandwich. (You’ll see it in the show) After lunch, we headed out in the stagecoach.
Rosey shared stories about buying a brick of .22 ammo for $3.99 (plus tax) and achieving Distinguished Expert in Muzzleloader when he was young. We talk about the start of the CNJFO (Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners) and the fundraising events they host. We also talk about how we got our children into shooting and taught them firearm safety. And we cover the NJ large capacity magazine ban that went into effect in December, 2019, thanks to Governor Phil Murphy.
It was great to have Rosey in the passenger seat. It was fun that he pulled out his 10 gauge double barrel muzzleloader right in the parking lot to pose for a picture!d
Please check out CNJFO at https://www.cnjfo.com/
CNJFO's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/cnjfo/
Justifiable Need https://www.justifiableneed.com/?fbclid=IwAR1i45jf4xWjzv8nGrRfOJ8pb8Vje_f5dZPPGh_MzdHN29Xkubf6WncHte0
GunSitters at https://www.gunsitters.com/
Harold’s New York Deli at http://haroldsfamousdeli.com/
You can watch RSWC on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/ridingshotgunwithcharlie
Please donate to the Go Fund Me for RSWC https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #048 Lauren Hartnett Girl's Got A Gun DC Project
Thanks to Holly Sullivan, RSWC #036, for asking me to attend the CCDL Banquet in February. That's when and where I met Lauren. She wanted to make sure that I sat at the same table with Lauren.
Holly told me that Lauren was in from NYC and sitting at a table by the back of the room. I went to a couple tables, getting out of my comfort zone asking strangers if they were Lauren. But I finally got the correct table.
In April, I had some vacation time coming and I messaged Lauren. She was at A Girl And A Gun Conference when I messaged her, but she said she would be in for a ride in the stagecoach. I made a plan and headed to Staten Island.
Lauren learned about gun safety from her aunt in upstate New York. Professionally, she's an EMS in NYC. She's out at night, seeing all the things that happen in the biggest city at night. And she wasn't, and isn't, able to carry a firearm for self defense. The training required for a carry permit in NYC is nothing. All you need is $350 to apply for the permit.
Researching women's gun groups, she discovered the DC Project and emailed the Ms. New York. After exchanging some emails, Ms New York asked Lauren if she wanted to. That catapulted her into the world of ALL the pro gun women! After being energized by the DC Project, she went back and started Girl's Got A Gun. That lead to A Girl And A Gun Conference and more pro gun women.
We cover a lot of topics, we see the Freedom Tower, drive up the West Side Highway and head to the FDR Drive and back to Staten Island.
Please visit the Florida Carry Website here.
Girl's Got A Gun Website https://girlsgotagun.org/
Girl's Got A Gun Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/GirlsGotaGun/
DC Project Website https://www.pro3gunner.com/dcp/
DC Project Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/thedcproject/
A Girl And A Gun Website https://www.agirlandagun.org/
TIME Guns In America Website http://time.com/guns-in-america/
If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #047 Steve Merrette Florida Carry Its the 5th Tuesday of the month and I'm putting out an extra RSWC episode! RSWC #047 Steve Merrette https://youtu.be/ib06CNc7j1w You never know when you'll find a new friend or a new guest. When I attended the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Tampa in 2016, I had no idea what kind of ride I was about to go on. At this event, I met many of my firearms 'idols', all the cool "rock stars" of the gun community. This trip I got to meet so many great people. Steve Merrette was one of them. He & his wife sat behind me for the conference. We became friend on Facebook and started following each other. Steve was one of the people that I wanted to hand out with and get to know better on the Florida Carry trip in February 2019. Of course, he wanted to come Riding Shotgun! He spends time covering his military experience and handling firearms. He got out of it while his kids were young. He does have a DUI in his past in New York state, which followed him to Florida. When he decided it was time to get a firearm permit in Florida, he had to clean up the mess that was in his past. It took some time and some money, but he got it cleared up and got his Rights back. Going thru this process is how he was introduced to Florida Carry and the work that they do. Steve and I have some laughs, talking about the GLOCK sock, boy bands, and what to tell people if they see you're carrying. Please visit the Florida Carry Website here. https://www.floridacarry.org/ Florida Wildlife Conservation Website https://myfwc.com/ Florida House Approves Teacher Carrying https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-ap-house-panel-approves-guns-for-teachers-20190321-story.html On the flip side of Florida, here's a article about a bill that would outlaw minors posing for pictures with firearms. Its not always the "Gun Shine State". Florida Bill Would Outlaw Minors in Firearm Photos https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/03/florida-bill-would-outlaw-minors-posting-photos-guns-social-media/ If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds Please subscribe to the Riding Shotgun With Charlie YouTube Channel. Riding Shotgun With Charlie https://www.youtube.com/c/ridingshotgunwithcharlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #046 Gianni Russo The Hollywood Godfather! RSWC #046 Gianni Russo https://youtu.be/4-YzugXV96w But did you ask? This is going thru my mind. I couldn't let this chance go by. I asked my son if I should give Gianni Russo a business card and ask if I could drive him around. I put a card in my pocket before we went up to the table. My son and I went to hear Gianni Russo speak in western Massachusetts. Mr Russo is known as the Hollywood Godfather. He played Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather. We were in line waiting to have him autograph his new biography and get a photo with him. I over heard him say that he was doing a signing the next day at a Barnes & Noble. I figured I could get everything ready and film an interview the next day. He said "Yes! I should be free from 4 to 7:30 tomorrow." Gianni Russo has one of the most interesting stories. He used to deliver messages for Frank Costello, an old mafia member. He washed Marilyn Monroe's hair. He learned to act from Marlon Brando and singing from Frank Sinatra. He ran into Lee Harvey Oswald a couple days before Oswald killed JFK. He's got a story about re-enacting a cowboy movie shootout with Elvis at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. You can hear these stories on this episode in this episode of Riding Shotgun With Charlie. There's much more than these things, too. You can read all the stories in his new book, The Hollywood Godfather. Hollywood Godfather on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Gianni-Russo/e/B07PK5N84W?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1555897649&sr=8-1 You can find his website here Gianni Russo website. https://www.giannirusso.com/ You can visit his website at Hollywood Godfather Podcast Website http://hollywoodgodfatherpodcast.com/ You can hear Gianni Russo on his podcast Hollywood Godfather on iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-godfather-podcast/id1452958267?mt=2 If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds Please subscribe to the Riding Shotgun With Charlie YouTube Channel. Riding Shotgun With Charlie https://www.youtube.com/c/ridingshotgunwithcharlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #045 Massad Ayoob The Man, The Myth, The Legend!
What can I say?
He’s been the self defense go to guru since the 1970’s. He’s been influential on instructors, police officer, and authors since he started. He started the Lethal Force Institute in New Hampshire. LFI turned into Massad Ayoob Group and the MAG 20 and MAG 40 courses. Mas has author two dozen books in guns, the effects and aftermath of dealing with a lethal encounter.
The Gun Rights Policy Conference in Tampa 2016 is when I first met Mas. I asked him to sign my copy of In The Gravest Extreme. I also mentioned Riding Shotgun With Charlie and I’d love to have him as a passenger. Alan Gottlieb was behind him and he say “Mas, you’ve GOT to to Riding Shotgun With Charlie!”. Mas said “OK, when do we do this?”. I said “Well, I don’t have a car, but if you give me your contact I’ll see what I can set up.”. I was shocked it was “that easy” to ask.
I went to New Hampshire in the summer of 2018 to hear Mas speak about suicide prevention. I spoke with his wife Gail Pepin about the possibility of setting up and interview and she was very receptive.
Kevin Sona (RSWC #043) asked me to speak at the Florida Carry event in February 2019. Then he tells me that Mas is speaking as well would I be interested in having him on RSWC. Um….YEAH!!!
After speaking at the event, Mas agreed to get into the passenger seat, drive around with a stranger, in a place neither of us have been to. This was a big deal for me.
I can’t thank Massad Ayoob enough for taking the time, sharing some stories, and having a few laughs. And to Gail for hanging out while we did the interview. And of course, thanks to Kevin for having the event and asking both of us to speak.
You can find all things Massad Ayoob at https://massadayoobgroup.com/ .
You can buy his books on amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Massad-F.-Ayoob/e/B001H9VYZS?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1554733415&sr=8-2
Videos can be found on https://www.youtube.com/user/gpepin1/videos
You can listen to Mas and his crew on the Pro Arms Podcast at http://proarmspodcast.com/
Backwoods Home is another outlet for articles by Mas. https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/
Massad Ayoob Group Facebook page www.facebook.com/MassadAyoobGroup/
Pro Arms Podcast http://proarmspodcast.com/
The Broad Cast (podcast) http://proarmspodcast.com/category/proarms-broadcast/
Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie Ep #044 Open Carry, Fishing, & YouTubing Michael Taylor & Steven Keith Jenkins RSWC #044 with Soloyaker & Jenkins https://youtu.be/hjB9ZNTY_Z8 You've seen both of these men from Florida, but you're learning their names now. Michael Taylor is knows as #Soloyaker on YouTube. He's a fisherman who makes videos of his fishing adventures. Until he was arresting for open carrying while fishing. Its totally legal to open carry in Florida while fishing, camping, or hunting, and on the way to and from each of these activities. Here's Michael's YouTube page. Soloyaker YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/soloyaker Steven Keith Jenkins is a just a regular guy who into shooting and fishing. He was with Michael when this incident happened. Both men were open carrying while fishing in Miami on a dock. They were both arrested and currently there is a case going on about it. They're both members of Florida Carry. This propelled both of them into the fight for the Rights of Floridians to be able to open carry while fishing. I had the chance to interview them at a Florida Carry camp out in February 2019. Please check out the video of the incident here. Miami Incident at South Pointe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zazS-I81so Steven is involved in a new project called "City Tavern Talk". Its named after City Tavern in Philadelphia where some of the founding father got together to talk and have a pint. City Tavern Talk YouTube Channel youtube.com/channel/UCIsYgXBRK5ITkEApptweSQw Florida Carry website https://www.floridacarry.org/ Florida Carry Region 5 Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/1267323543321387/ City Tavern Talk Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/CityTavernTalk/ City Tavern Talk YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsYgXBRK5ITkEApptweSQ If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds Please subscribe to the Riding Shotgun With Charlie YouTube Channel. Riding Shotgun With Charlie https://www.youtube.com/c/ridingshotgunwithcharlie I am trying to get on iTunes "New & Noteworthy" list. Please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave a nice comment! You can see the video of the interviews on YouTube, linked above. Maybe watching videos isn't your thing. I get that, too. I drive a lot and listen to lots of podcasts. Please check out this link to the RSWC podcast! The podcast is on iTunes, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, & Soptify as well! RSWC on iHeartRadio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/ RSWC on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB Find other great Pro-Freedom Podcasts at the Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #043 Kevin Sona (& KJ Sona)
Open Carry, Camping & Alligators
Kevin organized a number of events for Florida Carry. We filmed this after a camping event in Dunnellon, FL, where there were a number of speakers and campers.
We met in Tampa at GRPC in 2016. Kevin kept in touch and we struck up a friendship and mutual admiration club.
He says he's camera shy and doesn't want to be out front, but he's a great organizer! And we need people like him to make things happen!
He's started the America Under Distress Facebook page after he was booted for using his 1st Amendment on some other Facebook pages. Its been successful gaining almost 700 members. This has given him the chance to reach more people and get the freedom message out to more people.
His newest venture is City Tavern Talk. They've got a YouTube channel and Facebook page. You should check them out and subscribe to it.
We drive to see come alligators, switch seats, and have a lot of laughs.
His son, Kevin Jr (KJ in my book) sat in the back and came for a ride with us.
Florida Carry www.floridacarry.org
Florida Carry Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/FLopencarry/
Florida Carry Region 5 Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/1267323543321387/
America Under Distress Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/145564182309540/
City Tavern Talk Facebook Page www.facebook.com/groups/CityTavernTalk/
City Tavern Talk YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsYgXBRK5ITkEApptweSQw
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #042 Rob Morse
I met Rob Morse at the GRPC in Tampa in 2016. I was asked to be on the Polite Society Podcast, where Rob is a co-host. He also does the Self Defense Gun Stories and he writes for Slow Facts as well. His Slow Facts blogs are often posted on other websites like AmmoLand, as well. And he's a reoccurring guest on Bill Frady's Lock N Load Radio. At the GRPC in Chicago this past September, Rob earned the Ray Carter Blogger of the Year award.
Besides being a writer and a podcaster, in his 'regular life' he's an design engineer and analyst during the day, and a civil rights activist after hours. He's a very smart man and before he speaks you can see his brain working before the words come out. That keeps him very articulate and on point.
I was hoping to get to interview Rob in Chicago, but it worked out in Florida instead. He's one of the great guys that I'm glad to call a friend. He's there with good solid idea, as much as they may be uncomfortable.
Rob was coming to the Florida Carry campout from February 15-17. He drove all the way from the Louisiana/Texas border to central Florida. There were a couple of speakers that weren't able to make it, so he stepped right in like a pro and filled the need. It was great to finally have Rob hop in the passenger seat of the (rented) stagecoach!
Please check out the episode on YouTube and listen on iTunes.
RSWC with Tony Simon on YouTube Rob Morse on RSWC #042
The Gun Mag-GPRC Ray Carter Award http://www.thegunmag.com/grpc-honors-florida-teen-with-defender-of-year-award/
Rob's columns on AmmoLand.com https://www.ammoland.com/author/rob-morse/#axzz5gVLfv000
Self Defense Gun Stories Website https://www.selfdefensegunstories.com/ Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/self-defense-gun-stories-podcast/id1438637669?mt=2
Polite Society Podcast iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/polite-society-podcast/id500528514?mt=2
Bill Frady's Lock And Load Radio Website http://lockandloadradio.com/
Lock And Load Radio Podcast http://gunownersofamericaradio.libsyn.com/
Self Defense Gun Stories Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/SelfDefenseGunStoriesPodcast/
Polite Society Podcast Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/PoliticsAndGunsPodcast/
FASTER Saves Lives https://fastersaveslives.org/
If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/rswc-travel-funds
Please subscribe to the Riding Shotgun With Charlie YouTube Channel. Riding Shotgun With Charliehttps://www.youtube.com/c/ridingshotgunwithcharlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie #041 Tony Simon The Largest Pound for Pound Firearms Instructor in America I recently spent a day driving to upstate New York for the RSWC with Dan Was (#040), then I headed down to Edison, NJ, to interview "the largest pound for pound firearms instructor in America"....TONY SIMON!! He is one of the busiest instructors in the country! He's started with Simon Says Train. Then he started The Diversity Shoot, The Second is for Everyone, The Minuteman Challenge. He's co-host of the 2A4E podcast, a regular on Self Defense Gun Stories and many other podcasts. This is a longer episode than usual. Tony has so much going on and there's so much to talk about with him. We cover his move from Virginia to New Jersey, getting into training with some friends who became instructors, and how he started the Diversity Shoot, The Minuteman Challenge, 2A4E and everything else that he does. Please check out the episode on YouTube. Here's links to many things Tony is involved in. Simon Says Train Facebook www.facebook.com/simonsaystrain/ The 2nd Is For Everone Facebook www.facebook.com/The2ndisforeveryone/ The 2nd Is For Everyone Go Fund Me www.gofundme.com/the-2nd-is-for-everyone-2a4e 2A4E Patreon www.patreon.com/The2ndisForEveryonepodcast 2A4E Podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-2nd-is-for-everyone-2a4e-podcast/id1377957328?mt=2 Diversity Shoot website http://diversityshoot.com/ Black Bag Resources website http://www.blackbagresources.com/index.html Black Bag Resources Facebook www.facebook.com/BlackBagResources/ Self Defense Gun Stories website www.selfdefensegunstories.com If you enjoy the program, please donate here to help get the 'stagecoach' across America RSWC Go Fund Me page www.gofundme.com/manage/rswc-travel-funds