Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie takes Charlie Cook around the country interviewing people involved with firearms, music, and much more.

RSWC 246 Nolan Howard 01/27/2026

RSWC 246 Nolan Howard Riding Shotgun With Charlie #246 Nolan Howard 617 Defense It took a while before I was able to have Nolan Howard on the show. In the meantime, he had stories about him and 617 Defense in the Boston Globe and he was on Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co a few times. I’m glad we finally got a chance to do an interview. We've run into each other at a few events hosted by the NRA’s state affiliate, Gun Owners Action League. In the fall of 2025, Nolan hosted a Friends of the NRA dinner in Boston, which I don’t think ever happened before. Nolan grew up in Boston and the Metrowest area of Boston. Like many young kids, he played video games like Medal of Honor and learned about firearms through them. Having firearms in the house wasn’t something they did. But when President Trump was in office the first time, he knew something wasn’t right and it was probably time to learn about firearms and get into them. He went to a local shooting school, Mass Firearms School, where I cut my teeth as an instructor and started shooting regularly. He had a friend who helped, mentored, and guided him though shooting and starting 617 Defense. Being in the black community, there was a lack of opportunity to go shooting at a range. Boston is a “range desert” with only one range and zero gun stores in Boston proper. His objective was to keep others in the black informed on what is going on with the firearm community. Most of the ranges in Massachusetts are private clubs. There are only a handful of public ranges across the Commonwealth. His route to being an instructor was through the NRA’s Home Firearm Safety, Basics of Pistol Shooting, and becoming a Range Safety Officer. After becoming a certified instructor, he teamed up with others and started offering classes. He’s done classes in Boston, but moved onto the Mansfield Fish and Game, which is about an hour from Boston. For a while, Nolan was working with the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA). They do classes monthly for its members and keep them up to date on goings on with the political climate in the firearm community. Since we filmed this show, he’s moved on and is working on his own group. We spent some time talking about Chapter 135, the law “Modernizing Gun Laws” in Massachusetts. It has been nothing but a sham. It goes after the license to carry holders and gun owners by turning them into criminals for homemade firearms and carrying pre-1994 so-called high capacity magazines. It makes the training more challenging, too, for instructors like Nolan. The new requirements have live fire, a written exam, suicide prevention, injury prevention, and disengagement training. Once the law went into effect, neither the state nor the state police had any type of curriculum for instructors. They have until April 2026 to develop this. When the topic comes up, people want to talk about national politics. But Nolan wants to get people focused on local politics. These are the people that can affect how things happen around you and affect you directly. But many citizens just vote in the presidential elections. The local politicians don’t see how the gun law changes don’t make any changes in how things are done and let criminals back out on the street. The politicians also don’t understand that the laws make more hurdles for the folks who take training and pass background checks. Adding live fire is also going to drive up the cost for instructors, which gets passed onto the consumer. This makes classes more unaffordable and time consuming. However, people do need to train and practice with their firearms. Overall, I think Nolan is doing a great job in Boston. He’s getting lots of local and national recognition for the time he’s been involved as an instructor. He’s busy teaching classes and taking classes to be able to offer more to his clients. Favorite quotes: “How can I be different from every other instructor? How can I keep up with current events?” “As most black people, we don’t focus on the local politics. Some do. Not Many.”| “You want to shoot one round for 10 minutes? Ok.” “How come they don’t give us this information? I say cuz they don’t want you to know.” 617 Defense Website 617 Defense IG 617 Defense YouTube 617 Defense Facebook Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/39894680

DFS 2 0116 01/26/2026

DFS 1 0116 01/26/2026

DSF 0109 Segment 2 01/25/2026

DFS 1/9/2026 Part 1 01/25/2026

RSWC 245 Sara Weaver 01/13/2026

RSWC 245 Sara Weaver Riding Shotgun With Charlie #245 Sara Weaver (feat Tanner Lineberry) Ruby Ridge To Freedom, Author “But did you ask?” This is what Yehuda Remer (RSWC #012) said a time or two. Tanner Lineberry, who works at Second Amendment Foundation, said that Sara Weaver, Randy Weaver’s daughter, was going to be speaking at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City. I had to ask if she would be up for doing the show. She wanted to think about it. Then she was reminded about it a couple weeks before GRPC when I did a post about reading her book. Fortunately, she said she would. Score! Tanner and Marc, Sara’s husband, joined us in the car for the show. Tanner starts by sharing that when he was a youth, Sara came to his church in Montana and gave a speech. The speech impacted him on a few levels and he remembered it for several years. It was his idea to have Sara come to and sit down to talk about what happened with Mark Walters from Armed American Radio (RSWC #002 & #084). If you don’t know about the incident at Ruby Ridge, there’s plenty of information about it out there, including a documentary on PBS. The quick story is that Randy, a former Green Beret, moved his family to Idaho. He was asked by someone (an ATF agent) to make him a sawed off shotgun, which he did as he needed the money to feed his family. The agent said Weaver needed to become an informant for them or they were going to prosecute him on the sawed off shotgun charges. He said no to both options. After some botched information on a court date Weaver didn’t show up for the trial. Then the ATF went to the Weaver’s property. After an 11 day stand off, Sara’s brother, mother, and dog were dead, shot by the ATF. There are shocking parts of the story that you should read about. So, get the book and read it! This had a deep and profound effect on Sara, as it would for anyone. After the standoff, there was lots being said and assumed by the media and other people. Most of it just wasn't true. Sara and Randy wrote a book about the incident. They traveled the country, going to gun shows to sell and sign their self published book. People lined up to buy signed copies of the book. Remember, this was back in the 1990s when it wasn’t so easy to get your own book published. The book is what happened from their point of view, not what the media was portraying. And definitely not what people were saying and thinking about the Weavers. Sara was able to pick up and continue with her life, but it wasn’t easy. There were years of survivor's guilt and questioning religion. Why did this happen to her? Why did this happen at all? How was she going to live and raise her own family? Eventually, she was able to go back and read John 3:16 and John 3:17 in her Bible. And that is when she met and started a relationship with Jesus. Like many people, she learned those verses in church as a young child, but it didn’t have an impact or sink in until years later and life was different for her. The relationship with Jesus helped her heal as much as could be done. She remarried and started anew. Going through the stand off and everything that happened usually takes her about four and a half hours. And it’s emotionally draining. It isn’t just headlines and new stories. It’s her life. I’m very thankful for Tanner for making the introduction. And very grateful for Sara and Marc to open up about this. This was a very serious topic about life and what happens after a life changing week and a half. The impact that Ruby Ridge had on Sara was enormous. But the story of Ruby Ridge lives on. It still comes up when people talk about the government or the ATF. You owe it to one of the survivors to read the story and take it all in. Favorite quotes: “Dad did not know this guy asking him to do this was working undercover for the feds or he, obviously, wouldn't have done it.” “I think it’s important we learn from the past. I think we should learn from Ruby Ridge.” “The thing I think we’ve lost in a lot of areas is sanctity of life. And once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.” “When you’re just surviving your emotions, you’re not really living.” Sara Weaver/Ruby Ridge on FB Ruby Ridge To Freedom (Buy the book here!) RRTF on IG Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/39710645

RSWC 244 Sam Lichtman 12/23/2025

DFS WTAG 12.18.2025 12/22/2025

WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino12.12.2025 12/18/2025

RSWC #243 Tonya Franklin 12/09/2025

RSWC #243 Tonya Franklin Riding Shotgun With Charlie #243 Tonya Franklin Back in 2020, Tonya reached out to me. She was very involved with her local politics and wanted to talk about how the news on the “pandemic” was nonsense. She’s been in the medical field and may have been helping folks get a medical exemption to the vaccine. She’s also a gun instructor who offers NRA and USCCA courses as well as medical courses, which is her background. Growing up in Illinois, I was taking several trips to visit family and friends. On a recent trip, I was able to make plans with Tonya and catch up with her. Firearms weren’t really her thing for some time. Her family moved from Florida to Illinois for her husband’s career as a pilot. Learning about the FOID (Firearm Owners Identification Card), she thought it was ridiculous.But since there were firearms in the home and it was required by the state, she got it. When you make her do something, she says she’s going to do it all the way. So, her new thing was the Second Amendment. She took several courses as a newbie, and noticed she was surrounded by males. Over the years, Tonya took a number of courses to learn all the fundamentals. The first female instructor she had was none other than Jan Morgan. Morgan owns a range in Little Rock, AR. That’s when Tonya decided that she was going to be an instructor. In the fall of 2020, Tonya got heavily involved in A Girl & A Gun, the nation’s top female firearm group. Her chapter has over 100 women in it. AGAG hosts a conference every year and has chapters all around the United States. Tonya started one in McHenry County, Illinois. The first meeting was at her house and it was packed to the rafters! They also host courses and events at some local ranges and at her home classroom. When concealed carry became a thing in Illinois in 2013, she jumped all in with both feet. She became an instructor through both the NRA and USCCA, as well as a Training Counselor so she could teach the instructors. The permitting course requirements in Land of Lincoln is a whopping 16 hours of class time! Her business, Act Fast Academy, offers several firearms courses, but also medical courses, which is also important for gun folks to take. With a career teaching in the medical field, getting into firearm instruction was a no brainer. During 2020, things were tough in the training business. With the state mandated live fire as part of the training, Tonya started going into her own stash of ammunition to keep the instructing business going. She has noticed a pattern that every four years, there’s gun and ammo issues, which just happens to coincide with the presidential election years. Buying ammo can be tricking in states like Massachusetts where they keep track of what you’re buying. On the flip side, they’re also going to require that people do live fire to get permits. All the training she’s taken for herself and her students, getting certified with NRA and USCCA, and going out to competitions has earned her respect. Through her AGAG connections, she’s been going to Outdoor Texas Camps to work with young females aged 9-17. She gets to instruct young women in all types of firearms and shooting. The camp has pistol, rifle, shotgun, fishing, archery, mock blood trails, fly fishing, and a whole host of events. With her experience and expertise, she keeps getting invited back. Tonya is very energetic! She’s offering courses all the time. Courses from firearms to medical and just about everything in between. She’s active with AGAG, NRA, and USCCA. If you’re in northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, or eastern Iowa, you ought to look her up and take a course. Favorite quotes: “If you make me do something, I’m going to do it all the way.” “They make you a criminal just over night, with the stroke of a pen.” “The firearms world can handle me. I’m going to become an instructor, too.” “Women want to shoot. They want other women to shoot with. They want to have fun doing it.” Act Fast Academy website Act Fast Facebook Act Fast USCCA page A Girl & A Gun McHenry County Chapter Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/39333860

WTAG 12.5.2025 12/08/2025

RSWC #242 Tom Knighton 11/25/2025

RSWC #242 Tom Knighton Riding Shotgun With Charlie #242 Tom Knighton Bearing Arms, Writer The first time I met Tom Knighton in person was at a Florida Carry event in 2021. But we’ve done a number of episodes of the Polite Society Podcast, where I was a co-host and he was a guest. Then there were a number of times when we did The Daily Bullet as co-hosts. Tom is a great guy and writes at Bearing Arms. We had a chance to film a show at the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta this year. Tom grew up in Georgia and has been around firearms his whole life. Growing up in a city, he’s still pretty country. His dad was a police officer who hunted with his own dad. It seems crazy, but he said his first press of the trigger was at four years old with a .38 Special. His dad had his hands over Tom’s and all he needed to do was press the trigger. Eventually, his dad bought him a Ruger 10/22 and an Enfield Jungle Carbine in .303 British. Unfortunately, later on it had to be sold. As a young child growing up with his parents and their smart aleck attitudes, it’s no wonder where Tom got his snarkiness, which has served him well while writing at Bearing Arms. Then as a Navy corpsman, it didn't really help with his sense of humor, either. Being an anti-authorian, he only lasted four years in the Navy. He was in after the Gulf War but before September 11. He could have gone back in, but he had a 2 month old child and a wife to tend to. During high school, Tom found out he wasn’t too bad at writing. His writing impressed both his teacher and classmates. While writing for a “table top role playing” blog, he went to a meet up with local liberty minded folks. He talked with someone and started writing about small local politics. Then a local newspaper got a hold of some articles and ran them there, too. Talking with the editor, he was able to pay Tom for some original content. So he considered writing for a living. The editor ended up moving and selling the paper to Tom. Then he ended up losing the newspaper. After some life tribulations, he started writing for a start up publication. Then another. Both went under. He was able to leverage those gigs into writing for PJ Media. Another friend worked at Red State and he asked if they needed anything. After some conversations, she asked how he was on the Second Amendment. For the first two years, he was writing solo. They talked about hiring an editor and he was a little miffed. But the editor ended up being Cam Edwards. Tom thought that was also a good idea! Like many of us, one of our goals was to be on NRA TV’s Cam & Co. but Tom ended up working with Cam instead. A nice consultation prize. For Bearing Arms Tom is cranking out about seven articles a day. Then he’s got two for Town Hall. Then his own Substack of general politics gets two articles. And he’s doing some videos for his YouTube channel, too. Sometimes people send him tips, leads, and stories. Sometimes it's slow and there’s a little rehashing of previous content or reaching out to find stories to write. But the “challenges in the 2A community don’t change” or end. Like many others, Tom has a lot going on. Writing for Bearing Arms, for Town Hall Media, and doing his own articles, keeps his schedule full. There are also times when he’s running the BA website, too. Plus he’s keeping up with family life. Just for funsies, we take a call from Mike Piwowarski from Arms Room Radio. I was supposed to meet some folks, but I was running late. The background is that when I did a show with Mike in Florida a few years ago, he forgot all the great stories he has. So I had to bring up that Tom has stories. And he remembers them. Favorite quotes: “The first time I ever pulled the trigger was on a .38 Special when I was four years old.” “God forbid we ever in a situation like that, I’m equipped.” “We may not have the same level of training, but you never have enough.” “You need to get your basic marksmanship better than the guns.” “People like when their commentators pop off at the other side.” Bearing Arms Bearing Arms Articles X The Fourth Rail YouTube Channel Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/39161645

DFS 11.14.202514/2025 11/16/2025

RSWC #241 Jeff Boren 11/11/2025

RSWC #241 Jeff Boren Riding Shotgun With Charlie #241 Jeff Boren Boren Training Solutions It was by chance that I was able to connect with Jeff Boren. I wanted to do a show in Arkansas and reached out to Ed Monk (RSWC #222). Since I’ve already had him on the show in Boston, I was looking for someone else. Ed suggested Jeff. I reached out to a complete stranger, asked if he’d be on the show, and he said yes. Although Jeff is in Mississippi I’m glad it worked out. As the saying goes, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” Jeff took an interest in firearms at a young age. As a child of the 80’s, he loved Die Hard and wanted a Beretta 92 for Christmas. Santa did not bring it. He fired a GLOCK 17 Gen 1 when he was just a teenager. Then he got a job so that he was able to buy some guns for himself. A few years and a couple courses later, he realized that this may be worth pursuing. While his career was a football and baseball coach, he was working towards administration. There were several friends and family that asked him to take them to the range. He figured that if he became a firearm instructor, he would still be able to coach people and help them get into shooting. He found Citizen’s Safety Academy in Murfreesboro, TN, and became an NRA certified instructor. Currently, he holds many more certifications, including UCSSA, Tom Givens’ Rangemaster “Master” certified instructor, and Armed Response to Active Shooter Events. Jeff has been in the administration side of education after moving out of coaching sports. Spending years as a coach, then being a principal, he’s now a district administrator. His job is to be responsible for safety and operations. They do have an armed staff program. He’s responsible for teaching the teachers how to handle firearms, shooting, and active shooter situations. “There’s more of them (armed schools) out there than people realize, but there’s not a lot”, Jeff said. Having his hand in administration and firearms training, he’s able to instruct those who are willing to step up to be able to protect schools. With programs like and , there’s no reason that some teachers shouldn’t be armed. Not every teacher needs to be armed, not every teacher wants to be armed, but they can be educated. Including trauma first aid, which can save the lives of students. In Jeff’s program for carrying in schools, there’s 64 hours of training. He says it is more about accountability than it is responsibility. Teachers have to be accountable for what happens if they need to use a firearm. It’s much more about the mindset than anything else. The Borens are all into shooting. His wife is an instructor, his children enjoy shooting. One drawback is that his wife will know which guns he has and which he’s trying to sneak into the safe. However, it is a wonderful thing that everyone enjoys it. Jeff also instructs at Citizen’s Safety Academy in Tennessee and Patriots Training Center in Eastabogo, AL, where he is the Director of Training. In Mississippi, it is a “Constitutional Carry” or permitless carry state. However, having the state issued permit has benefits. One is reciprocity. Jeff lives in the north east corner of the state, 20 minutes from Alabama and 5 minutes from Tennessee. It also lets you forgo the background check as the carry permit shows the holder has passed one. Moving to permitless carry has changed what instructors offer their clients. It's no longer the state’s mandated curriculum, it’s geared towards what citizens really need for training. Along with the permit, someone can carry inside of a school. We had a great conversation. I’m happy to meet more pro-gun people around the country and have them on the show. Jeff teaches in three states. He attends things like TacCon. He’s got a full resume and offers lots of training. And he passes it on to everyone who takes courses with him. Favorite quotes: “It (instructing) filled a void, but it's something I’m deeply passionate about.” “I got into it for that reason alone because it was fun to shoot.” “If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.” “You’re not just responsible, you’re accountable for what happens.” Boren Training Solutions Boren Training Facebook Patriot Training Center Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/38991675

WTAG 11.7.2025 11/09/2025

Danny Ferrantino Show 10.31.2025 11/03/2025

DFS 10.24.2025 10/30/2025

DFS 10.17.2025 10/29/2025

RSWC 240 Buz Mills 10/28/2025

RSWC 240 Buz Mills Riding Shotgun With Charlie #240 Buz Mills Gunsite Academy, Owner NRA BOD I met Buz Mills in passing NRA AM a few years ago. I felt a little in awe knowing he owns Gunsite Academy, the world’s premier civilian training school started by the late, great Jeff Cooper. This year at NRA AM, I found myself at a dinner and was introduced to him again. I’m honored that he was able to take time during the very busy weekend to give me an hour. I’ve been a fan of Cooper and his books since I became a gun owner so I was excited to take with someone else that has a connection to him. The ultimate question was “when am I coming to Gunsite?” Before we kicked off the show, we spent about 15 minutes just talking in the car. He’s got amazing stories to tell and I was able to get some of them on video. Buz grew up in the era where everyone shot, hunted and took their .22 rifles to school. After school, if he didn’t shoot any small game, dinner was going to be vegetable soup. He learned to shoot in the Boy Scouts and participated in the postal matches through the NRA. As a kid, he was able to cash in empty soda bottles for .22 ammunition. There wasn’t ammo for misses. Back in the 1970’s, Buz was in sales and worked with electronics and cell phones. He said he’s not a fortune teller, but just an observer, telling people that one day, we’d have one number attached to us (our cell phone). He got out of that business in 1999 when he purchased Gunsite. Buz met Cooper in 1980 and was a “frequent flyer” at Gunsite. Next year is Gunsite's 50th anniversary. They have lots of classes to offer. Besides pistol, carbine, rifle, and shotgun, there are tactical courses, knife courses, responding to active shooter courses, and just about anything you can think you’d need. Probably more than you can think of. This year, they’ve been building a fifth new building in five years. Since he bought the business back in 1999, it’s grown from 165 acres to over 3,200 acres! You can tell that Buz breathes the Second Amendment and the NRA. We talked a lot about the goings on at NRA when we filmed at NRA AM in April 2025. The NRA was formed to teach the North how to shoot after the Civil War. With the passing of the Gun Control Act of 1968, the NRA got more involved in politics. Having been on the NRA BOD for a few terms, Buz saw that what they were doing was a textbook version of how to “chase your members” away. Particularly, at the members meeting, if someone spoke out, the Board would shut that person down. This tactic chased off about 40% of the membership, according to him. Mills and a handful of others have been working hard to get the “Reformers” on the board. Last year, about 75% of those elected were Reformers. This year, there’s more of them on the ballot. The BOD does need a variety of members with a wide swath of skills, including people who run successful businesses who can handle the business of the NRA. The NRA is working to get back to some of the things that made it what it was, which is training and education. They also want to increase membership. The Association has been around for over 150 years and needs to be around for another 150 years. It is going to take some time to right the ship as it took time for it to go in the wrong direction. There’s a lot of NRA talk in the show. About Doug Hamlin becoming the EVP and his history with the NRA. About getting rid of some of the law firms that were hired for cases. About finding out how the NRA looks for replacements and knows that someone has a 12 month contract to make changes, knowing that it will take more time to make the changes. Buz shared a lot of wisdom he’s acquired over the years being in the firearms community and running a successful business. Between Gunsite and NRA, he’s a very busy and well respected man. And he keeps asking me “when am I coming to Gunsite?” Favorite quotes: “Gunsite is the oldest and largest privately owned tactical firearms training facility in the world.” “I’m not a fortune teller; I’m just an observer.” “America wouldn’t be what it is today without the NRA.” “All that’s behind us. That’s all behind us. No more lawyers, No more lawsuits. “I have never been to a class that I didn’t learn something positive that I can put in my toolbox.” Gunsite Academy https://www.gunsite.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GunsiteAcademy/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gunsiteacademy/?hl=en YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/1Gunsite X https://x.com/gunsiteacademy 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. US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! https://www.uslawshield.com/ Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! https://patriotmobile.com/partners/rswc /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/38805575

RSWC #239 Chris Henderson 10/14/2025

RSWC #239 Chris Henderson Riding Shotgun With Charlie #239 Chris Henderson MTR Defense 3 Doors Down, Guitarist It’s great to have friends who have friends! While I was in Memphis doing a show and staying with Zeke Stout, he asked if I wanted to have the guitarist from 3 Doors Down on the show.Besides being a rock star, he also started and runs MTR Defense, making AR style rifles. How am I going to say no? It was a great day for me. I filmed 3 shows in two states in one day. I went to where Elvis was born and where Johnny Cash was buried. It started by driving out of his neighborhood, where Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, and Johnny Cash all lived. There was lots to cover. We talk about music and firearms, two of my favorite topics! Henderson traveled around a bit as a kid, but they settled in southern Mississippi. His brother also played and attended my alma mater, Berklee College of Music. Chris wanted to go there, too, but his brother talked him out of it. So he stayed in Escatawpa, Mississippi, and played in all kinds of bands. He also served several years in the Army, Navy and as a Seabee, in the Reserves. This is when he started learning and getting interested in firearms. He was also able to keep practicing and playing guitar. He’s been in 3 Doors Down since 1996, but in 2000, the band really took off with "Kryptonite". Things really changed from playing in clubs with 250-300 people a night to doing much bigger venues. The band really hit it huge for many years, even doing up to 50 gigs a year now. For his early influences, of course there was Lynyrd Skynyrd. But he also spent a lot of time listening to gospel and country music. According to him, when you’re born in Mississippi, you leave the hospital with a fishing license, a Dale Jr die cast, and a Skynyrd album. As an 18 year old, fresh out of high school, having lots going on, he still made time to practice guitar every day. Without a formal education, he was still able to get a great set of ears and transcribe music. Naturally, this led to writing songs, too. The conversation really was back and forth. We talked about guns, then music, then back to guns. Some of what he shares is about the process of being a band and who gets credit for writing which part to a song. There’s a road story about doing a show in Miami and the transmission of the van just melting and they didn’t make the gig. This is when 3DD was just getting recognized. Around 2016, Chris decided to get into making firearms and selling merch. He joked that it was a hat company that sells rifles. Originally called Middle Tennessee Rifle, he knew there would be pushback from social media, so he decided to call it MTR Defense. They don’t make “black rifles”, but they have them cerakoted so they’re much more colorful. Hillbilly 223 Urban Finishes does the cerakoting for him. MTR also makes a lot of promotional items, like shirts and hats. They made battle mugs and hats for The GLOCK Store. Besides making AR styles rifles, he said he makes a 50 cal on the AR platform. They do a lot of custom work on many types of firearms. There’s a really good selection at the website, linked below. MTR has their FFL and SOT so they can make and sell lots of fun items. He’s running a one man shop with a little bit of help. Most of his days, he’s up at 4 am heading to the MTR office. When I went to meet Chris at his place, he needed to get cleaned up. His son hung out with me. He asked me if I wanted to see his rifle. Of course I said yes. I got to see his toy AR with a scope on it. We sat on the front steps and he pretended to shoot things in the yard. It was fun. In his down time, Chris takes care of his son and four dogs. When his fiance comes to visit, she’s got her four dogs, too. Favorite quotes: “I don’t remember not being in this band.” “Chase your dreams. Do it for beer. And see what happens.” “Music comes easy to me. Guns come easy to me. Business does not.” “You forget where you came from. No, I didn’t. That’s why I’m not there anymore.” “They’re there because they’re traumatized youth. And they’re using the music to heal.” MTR Defense MTR Store MTR FB MTR X MTR Linktree Hillbilly 223 Urban Finishes Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/38573625

RSWC #238 Sarande Diane 09/23/2025

RSWC #238 Sarande Diane Riding Shotgun With Charlie #238 Sarande Diane Kyle Wayne Culotta’s Fiance Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. I got a call a few weeks ago from a fellow instructor, Michele Granache, who also runs a women’s group called Pistol Sisters. She asked if I wanted to interview Kyle Wayne Culotta’s fiance, Sarande Diane. Um….YES! Here’s the scoop on Mr Culotta. First, he’s an Air Force veteran. He & Diane were moving to either northern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire from Arizona. He’s from the Grand Canyon state, she’s from the Bay State. Sarande has family and friends in central Mass.They traveled 2,500 miles without any issues. While in Gardner, Mass, doing some Door Dashing to make gas and food money. Until they made some money, they were between living in their car and staying with friends. Driving through a rotary and failing to yield, they were pulled over. The officer found out the insurance wasn’t up to date either. So he wanted the car impounded. The officer told them to take out what they needed from the car. Being from “free America”, Kyle went to get his carry handgun, which also happened to have a magazine with more than 10 rounds in it. Which, of course, is illegal in Massachusetts, where liberty was born. And has died. Kyle was sent to prison without bail as the judge thought he was a flight risk and a danger to society since he’s from Arizona. Things are very fuzzy as he isn’t a resident of Mass. He wasn’t quite traveling through the Commonwealth. And he had some handguns and a long gun that he was going to sell to help pay to get them up and going. This past weekend, I got to spend some time with Sarande getting to know her and learning more about Kyle’s case. The is helping with the case, getting some good pro Second Amendment attorneys to help. Kyle has been locked up since late June 2025. The issue with all of this stems from Chapter 135, which is the wildly anti-gun law that the AGG (Anti-Gun Governor) signed in July of 2024. Governor Healey even signed an “emergency preamble” to get the law into effect earlier than 90 days after she signed it. Then gave the state 18 months (547 days) to figure out what the new training requirements will be to obtain a license to carry. One of the things that came up is that there was an 18 year old man on Cape Cod who said he was going to shoot up a school and he was building guns. He stalked a school that he attended. There were even issues about this in 2024 with him wanting to harm students at the school. But when it came down to it, his charges were dropped to almost nothing and the court determined he isn’t a threat despite saying he wants to harm people. One big lesson is that before they had some Second Amendment attorneys, they had some public defenders. The offer the PD came up with was 3-4 years in prison and zero ability to buy firearms ever again. Should you ever end up in a situation with a firearm, you are going to need an attorney who is well versed in Second Amendment issues. Not a public defender. There’s lots of ways viewers can help. People can donate to the Give Send Go they’ve set up. Or you can donate to GOAL’s website, too. With 29 states with permitless carry, the states most affected by the Bruen decision are still fighting for their civil rights. I had a chance to talk to Kyle before we filmed the show. He’s a great guy, locked up due to a stupid law, and has zero criminal intent. Sarande is a sweetheart of a woman who is fighting like hell to get her man out and free again. Tune in and check out this wild story. Favorite quotes: “They assumed he’s out by now. But he is not.” “My grandparents were dreaming of America, not Worcester.” “We had everything we owned in the car, including firearms.” “The mags are what they deemed him dangerous on.” “Dictators love unarmed peasants." Give Send Go for Free Kyle Wayne Justice for Kyle Culotta Sarande on X GOAL’s Kyle link Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/38319360

RSWC#237 Erica Chin 09/09/2025

RSWC#237 Erica Chin Riding Shotgun With Charlie #237 Erica Chin WOMA’s Amateurs & Experts Podcast Heading into SHOT Show season last year, I got an email from someone I didn’t know asking me to be on their show at SHOT. Of course, I’m going to say yes. The email was from Erica Chin. She’s the co-host of the Women’s Outdoor Media Association’s podcast called Amateurs & Experts. The other host is Jess Andrich.They talk to people in the firearm and hunting, fishing, outdoor community. We recorded the show at the booth, where they host a number of podcasts, including the shows Matt Mallory and I did during SHOT 2025. Since becoming friends with the ladies, we keep in touch. Erica said she was coming to NRA AM in Atlanta and I said we should film a show despite Jess not being there. She is a SHOT pro, but this was her first time at NRA AM. We actually started the day off by Erica calling me and going to an award ceremony, where Anne Mauro (RSWC #146) received an award for the NRA Women’s Golden Bullseye Award for “Industry Woman of the Year.” Erica was also able to meet with her show’s sponsors. Growing up in a household run by her father who was a police officer, she was surrounded by firearms, hunting, and the shooting sports. Yet he didn’t ask her to join him at the range. The first time she shot was in training to be a probation officer. The training started off with a week of shooting and handling. After the initial training, it went to quarterly range sessions with one magazine for them to shoot. After being married, she found out her husband was into shooting and wanted to get back into it. This move slowly got her into shooting competitions, but mostly it was some social time for her, she wasn’t concerned with her score. Her husband said she was more concerned with clothes and snacks at the range and suggested, maybe, she should practice as much as she’s concerned about those items. Then he signed her up for 3-gun match at Babes With Bullets, which is hosted with Deb Ferns, (RSWC #204) and Kay and Jerry Miculek. Yeah, she went right to the top tier of competitive shooting! The first 3-gun match set her on a new trajectory. She became a range safety officer just to be able to help at Babe With Bullets in the future. Being around Deb “sucks you in” and Erica went in with both feet. She took a trip from Utah to Montana and went off grid for a while. Eventually, she realized and remembered she has responsibilities at home with a family and she’s been more selective of the events she goes to. Erica shares some hunting stories and experiences she’s had with BWB & WOMA. She’s not afraid to get into the field dressing of the beasts she harvests. With an interest in new things to explore, she and Jess have the gift of gab and were a natural to host the WOMA podcast. They’re both fun, up for new adventures, and great with everyone. They’ve got great chemistry together. They settled with Amateurs & Experts for the name of the podcast because they talk with all kinds of experts in the outdoor community and want to reach the amateurs. Their second season of pod is dropping now, so find them on your favorite podcast outlets. Besides being an RSO with BWB, and a probation officer, she’s trained to drive Code 3, which means she can drive with lights and sirens. Being a person who enjoys expanding her horizon, she became a massage therapist so she could give massages at BWB. She’s also taken classes for funeral science. There’s a lot going on with her! Favorite quotes: “Once you meet Deb Ferns, you drink the Kool-Aid.” “As a female it’s tough to find places where we fit into hunting, where we fit into shooting sports, where we fit into fishing, and WOMA really encourages women to get out there.” “I went to school for funeral science.” “The last thing you can give someone is dignity in their death.” WOMA WOMA Facebook WOMA Instagram WOMA LinkedIn WOMA X Amateurs & Experts Podcast Amateurs & Experts Podcast Spotify Babes With Bullets Facebook WOMA’s She Never Quit Charity Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/38079995

RSWC #236 Zeke Stout 08/26/2025

RSWC #236 Zeke Stout Riding Shotgun With Charlie #236 Zeke Stout MGS Trade School Zeke and I have been running into each other at various events for a few years. If I remember correctly, Yehuda Remer (RSWC #012) introduced us at SHOT Show. Zeke is a great guy, very personable and funny. Matt Mallory & I have done some live shows with Zeke, including on at SHOT Shot 2025. He’s been talking to me about doing a show in Memphis and we were able to pull it off after the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta this year. We started across the street from Graceland, yes, where Elvis Presley lived. He warned me to watch out for high speed chases as they have the best drop guns in Memphis! Zeke has made a great career for himself and in several fields. He started in medical sales, pharmaceutical sales, and medical supply sales just to have a solid income. The hours were neverending, being on call all the time. So it was time to move on. At one point, he got some help from an entrepreneurial friend and learned about marketing. This was his new passion. He’s been able to use that throughout his career and in many of the fields. They opened a car dealership in Clarksville, TN, and he decided to get his carry permit. Once he was into firearms, he turned it full on. During drives to work he would call and talk with his friend Marty “Lefthand” Holder and they would talk about guns and called it Talking Lead. It hit them that they should start a podcast. His entrepreneur friend owned a Mexican radio station and he asked if they could use the studio to record their podcast. For a while, both Zeke and Vanessa Mandrel had a radio show called Projectile Disfunction. Within four episodes of Talking Lead, they learned there were other great firearm content creators who lived within 30 minutes. Folks like Hickok45, .22 Plinkster, and TNOutdoors9. James Yeager wasn’t too far away either. Their episode with Hickok got them into 117 countries. In six months, they were one of the largest gun podcasts in the world. At one point, Zeke started doing marketing for a gunsmithing school who shall not be named. He took that company and grew them over 340% in four years. One day, he opened a message on LinkedIn and there was a message from a casting agency. They wanted him to audition to be a judge for gunsmithing on the show Master of Arms on Discovery Channel. According to him, the way to win an audition is to not care. Once they found out that he had other media and podcasting skills, they wanted him to host the show. Ashley Hlebinsky (RSWC #130) was also on that show. Unfortunately, the show only lasted one season. After the TV season of life, he took a hiatus from firearms and got into marketing in the motorcycle world. Yes, one day a week, he had to ride his bike for work! After a while of motorcycle marketing, he reached out to Modern Gun School, MGS. Part of the offer was to do what he did for the other company, but this time he wanted to be a part owner. One of the first things they did was rebrand to MGS Trade School so that it was much more acceptable. If that wasn’t enough, Zeke took that marketing skill and got into golf while his son was taking lessons. He started Dilligolf. It’s short for “Do I look like I golf.” He’s been growing that YouTube channel, too. It was such a fun show to record and to hang out with Zeke. We do take a call from Yehuda Remer, The Pew Pew Jew. He’s got so many stories and tells them well. You’ll really get to know him and see what a great guy he is. Oh yeah… we do see a high speed chase and pick up a drop gun. As he says, “we’ve got the best drop guns in Memphis.” Favorite quotes: “Whenever I get into anything, I dive in, absolute head first.” “Talking Lead was started in a Mexican radio station in Nashville.” “What just happened? We might have something on our hands.” “Dude, we didn’t know you did all this. Why don’t you audition for the host of this show?” “I’ll form an LLC and write off all my golf expenses. And I did.” MGS Trade School MGS On YouTube MGS Facebook MGS X MTS IG Dilligolf YouTube MTR Defense Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/37955480

RSWC #235 Evered Douglas 08/12/2025

RSWC #235 Evered Douglas Riding Shotgun With Charlie #235 Evered Douglas, Yasuke Fett Black Powder Podcast At SHOT Show 2025, I met Evered in passing. I was doing a show, someone slipped his card into my pocket, and said reach out to this man. We started following each other on the socials. At NRA AM, we had a chance to film a show. Evered didn’t get into firearms until he was a father and going through a divorce. He realized that the layout of his place wasn’t necessarily the safest. There was potential for some he said/she said going on. So it was time to pursue getting a carry permit in Georgia. His first purchase was a Mossberg 88 shotgun. Maybe not the best choice, but we all start somewhere. We’ve all been “tactically frugal.” He said he went all “Amazon tactical” buying things like a scope and a light to put on the gun. He admits “this is why you got to research and study.” His first trip to the range with the Mossy was a bit embarrassing. He wasn’t sure how to hold it so he ended up putting it under his armpit. This is how he started down the rabbit hole to see that rights are being taken away from us. His taste in gear has also matured since then, too. He moved to a Canick and a Ruger handguns. One of the goals that Evered has is to become an instructor. After his divorce, things were tough. His daughter was only 6 months old when that happened. He wasn’t getting enough time with her. But he’s looking into getting certified by either the NRA, the USCCA, or by NAAGA. He has been helping some friends get into firearms and helping them along their journey. Taking other courses as a student has helped him get through the hard times that affect divorced people. Georgia is a permitless carry state, but they still issue permits. Back when Evered was getting started on his firearm journey, he still needed to get a permit and there was a learning curve for that, too. The Black Powder Podcast is mainly focused on black society and firearms. He takes the name from a cartridge. The fans are the powder. The bullet is the message he’s putting out. He ignites the fans to get the message out. He dropped his first episode on Sept 11, 2020 as a reminder of how we all came together as a country. It was a good year for new beginnings with all that was going on. And thus, a good time to get the new gun owners from 2020 into the fold and learn about firearms, safety, and how and when to use them. Since SHOT Show, he’s gone from just an audio podcast to adding video, which he drops on Mondays. Before Black Powder Podcast, he was doing Warbound Radio. It was more towards video gaming. But he plans on rebranding that and bringing it back as a men’s positivity podcast. Going through his divorce, he became much more aware how the family court system leans toward the mothers and not the fathers. This past year was Evered's first year at SHOT. A friend helped him get in. He’s working on a lot of things and I think he’s really getting his message out. He’s got the Black Powder Podcast and YouTube channel. He’s working to become an instructor. And he’s working to reach more people in the community. Favorite quotes: “You realize how many rights and how much stuff they’re doing to take stuff away from you.” “If you can’t walk it and talk it or line it up and shoot it, why are you even doing it in the first place.” “It was getting me active again, getting all that stupid depression crap off my back.” “The primer is hit, the power is lit.” “Any time you act out of fear, it doesn’t end well.” Black Powder Podcast Facebook YouTube Instagram Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/37753120

RSWC Pit Stop Jake Hollenbeck, Mantis 07/28/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Ron Holmes 07/25/2025

RSWC Pit Stop David Lucas (MEAN Arms) 07/23/2025

RSWC #234 Lynn Webb 07/22/2025

RSWC #234 Lynn Webb Riding Shotgun With Charlie #234 Lynn Webb Eagle Eye Personal Defense On the way home from NRA’s Annual Meeting in Atlanta, I did a “swing by” in Memphis then went to Mississippi for a couple shows. Talking with Meekos Beech, I let him know I was going to Oxford, Miss. to interview Lynn Webb. He said “Cornbread”! I guess they knew each other. I love that my Olympic Ring is expanding into their rings. Lynn always wanted to be in law enforcement, even when there weren’t a lot of women officers. She did an internship with the sheriff’s department and was involved in their reserve program. Then she worked in the jail and university police department. (We were right in Oxford, Miss, so I’m assuming she’s talking about Old Miss.) After a decade there, she was a lieutenant and the officer in charge of the motorcycle division. One of the local sheriffs heard she was looking for a job, and he hired her as the first female deputy in their history in 2007. She also spent some years as a school resource officer. One of the other deputies asked her if she wanted to do some IDPA pistol shooting. About half way through the match, she regretted not shooting. Once she got the IDPA bug, she got more involved and went up in her rankings She’s competed in several local and national matches.There were times when she even branched out to USPSA and Steel Challenge, too. In 2015, she became an NRA and USCCA certified instructor. When her 25 years on the department were up, the plan was to be a part time firearm instructor. During retirement, she’s mostly focusing on training women. She has worked with both The Armed Women of America and A Girl & A Gun. Both are great groups that guide women through gun ownership and training. The real focus of her company, Eagle Eye Personal Defense, was to put female shooters on the correct path and help them learn to shoot and defend themselves and their loved ones. Since she has retirement hours, her schedule for training is flexible. One of the fun things about my “road show” is that I get to learn about licensing in other states. Mississippi is a permitless carry state, but the state does issue permits. Often it’s for reciprocity for those who want to travel and carry. They do consider it an enhanced permit so you can carry in more places than if you didn’t have a permit. For the enhanced permit, there is additional training, which includes live fire, use of force, and concealed carry statute. Much of what she does is from the USCCA curriculum. The live fire portion is up to the instructor. What Lynn does is start with a big IDPA target to make sure they’re hitting the target. Then another target with 3 in.circles and numbers in the circles to make sure they’re looking at their sights. Once they’re hitting those, they move to a smaller NRA target. Ultimately, the state did not decide on what needs to be fired. The firearms she clients use are often what they own and, even though some want to shoot larger calibers, she will let someone use a .22 if that’s what they have. What I find really great around the country is that there are local ranges where people can rent range time and rent guns, too. In Massachusetts, the ranges are private and you have to be a member to shoot there. But all around the country, there’s ranges all over the place. She mentioned about five or six just in her country. I really enjoyed hanging out with Lynn. She’s a great woman doing wonderful things in Mississippi. Training women, keeping kids safe in schools, and enjoying her retirement. She gave me a short tour of Oxford and its surroundings. She also brought me some Crittenden Distillery single barrel bourbon whiskey. Favorite quotes: “Half way through watching, I regretted not shooting.” “I wanted to make sure the people coming to me had the best tools that they could get…to protect themselves and to be proficient with their firearm.” “If a .22 is all they got and that’s what they carry, they should be able to shoot a .22.” “Shooting people call me Cornbread.” Eagle Eye Personal Defense LLC USCCA link to EEPD A Girl & A Gun Armed Women of America Second Amendment Foundation Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Self Defense Radio Network US Law Shield Legal Defense for Self Defense. Use "RSWC" as the discount code and get 2 months for free! Patriot Mobile Use this link and get one month for free! Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/37498755

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