Riding Shotgun With Charlie

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 va

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

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 fa

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 prog

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. H

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 mad

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 Nebr

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 ho

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 L

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 el

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 Gov

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 reti

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

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 cultu

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..

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 t

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. 

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

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 a