Riding Shotgun With Charlie

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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

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 #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 #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/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/foacpac Instagram 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 #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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #185 Will Workman Workman Protection Training I like when people reach out to me and ask to be on the show. It’s challenging because I don’t get to go everywhere. Often I have a “reason” to be in the area or going through the area. Maybe I’m going to GRPC or NRA AM, or on a road trip for something else. Will Workman reached out to me and asked about being in the show. He’s in West Virginia and not too far off I-81 so I reached out and set up a time to film the show. Yes, I’ve got a goal to film a show in every state! I’ve done shows in 34 states so far! I was heading from Nashville back to Massachusetts, with a pit stop at the Buc-ee’s and Bud’s in Sevierville, TN, and I was able to listen to all of Will’s YouTube videos. He’s got a channel with lots of great content in it, so you need to check it out. I stayed at a shady hotel and met Will in the morning. Will grew up in West Virginia shooting mostly long guns with his family and doing some hunting. Most folks in WV are “Second Amendment friendly”, but not everyone has the defensive mindset about firearms. When he was around 20 years old, his mindset started to change and he started shooting handguns. In his area when he was growing up, concealed carry wasn’t something people did. He got his carry permit when he turned 21 and started more training for himself. He went to college and wanted to be a police officer or a US Marshall and get a degree in criminal justice. The group he was with did some beginner level training, shooting handguns and shotguns, and he thought this was the way to go. During all of this process, he found the Active Self Protection YouTube channel. This formed his thoughts and feelings about concealed carry and training. Seeing what folks were doing online and comparing himself, he knew he needed to up his skills and abilities. Doing IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) was good practice for him, and got him shooting and moving. In 2022, he went to the Active Self Protection National Conference. There he made a number of new friends in the training world. Adam Winch made a big impact on Will and his training and shooting. The class was shooting from uncomfortable positions, but they also helped with his overall shooting fundamentals. The course that really had an impact on him was Deliberate Coaching with Brian Hill (RSWC #089). Back in Bluefield, he was helping friends and church mates. He was helping people with fundamentals but also picking a good gun and holster for them. This is when he started to journey into becoming an instructor. During his courses, people would ask questions and he would answer them and write them down. He took those questions and turned it into the Workman Protection Training YouTube channel. Will recently took a leap! He left a position as a probation officer in Virginia working with juveniles. He was just enough “law enforcement” to have a badge and some powers, but it was also a lot of family counseling. But he’s left the job to go full time to instructing and YouTube’ing. His YouTube channel really has a lot of information on it that you will find interesting, entertaining, and useful. Will and his wife have a photography business so he uses his lighting skills and artistic eye while making the videos. There’s a bit of everything from holsters, gear, and some trauma first aid, too. We talked about the Virginia permit vs. West Virginia and why people get a permit in either state, particularly the ones who live near the WV/VA state line. You’ll get a lot from the conversation with Will and from his channel. There’s a link below, so please check it out and subscribe to it. Favorite quotes: “I just kinda started doing stuff on my own and just wasn’t really satisfied with where I was.” “I knew enough to know that I really enjoyed helping people out.” “Being able to get to know like minded people and find out why they’re doing what they’re doing.” “The people that are really serious about training is such a small community, that you end up running into people in completely other parts of the country.” “People want the fun gun stuff, they don’t want the practical stuff.” Workman Protection Training Website https://workmanprotectiontraining.com/ Workman Protection Training YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@workmanprotection 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 #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 #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 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 #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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

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

Check out 2A interviews in the 'stagecoach' as Charlie drives his pro gun passengers around the America