Riding Shotgun With Charlie

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

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

RSWC Pit Stop Patrick Collins 07/21/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Nathan Mitchell 07/18/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Heather Allen 07/16/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Stephen Ziadie 07/14/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Boge Quinn 07/11/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Dennis Fusaro 07/09/2025

RSWC #233 Phil Journey 07/08/2025

RSWC #233 Phil Journey Riding Shotgun With Charlie #233 Phil Journey NRA BOD Member I had a chance to catch up with Phil Journey at the NRA Annual Meetings back in April. He’s quite an interesting man with some long roots in the Second Amendment and with the NRA. He was on the list of four reform candidates last year in 2024. This year, of course, there were 28 reformers that people were supporting, many who did get onto the Board of Directors of the NRA. He spends times telling us about his collection of firearms, how he got into politics and ran for office, and some of the inside dirt on what was going on with NRA leadership. Phil is from Kansas and grew up with a couple of uncles, one was a gunsmith and the other was an inventor. His father used to hunt and got him into shooting. In law school, he got into competitive shooting and made it to second place in IPSC in Oklahoma. At one point, he spent more time making sure everyone else had the rights to keep shooting and owning firearms. While in law school he had three semesters on Constitutional law, one semester was only on the First Amendment, but nothing on the Second Amendment. Working on his dissertation, he pointed out that at that time, much of the thought was that it was a collectivist theory right and the courts reflected that. But he realized it was an individual right. That’s when he decided this was going to be his cross to bear. Getting out of law school, he started working on some campaigns for the US Senate. He learned a lot in those days, thinking candidates would read some of the pro-gun literature he would give candidates. Back then he started his ties with the NRA as an election volunteer coordinator, He got 5,000 people to come to a city council meeting. This was how he got involved in political action committees. Phil’s career was as a practicing attorney. He was appointed to the Kansas Senate in 2003. After a handful of years in the state Senate, he was elected to the Judicial District Court. Having these positions did interfere with his business. He also got into other businesses like storage rentals. At one point, he sold several firearms to fund one of his campaigns so he didn’t have to ask for money. Phil is also into collecting cars as well as guns. We learn about the extensive collection, how he acquired some of the guns and cars. Back in 1995, Neal Knox helped get him elected to the NRA Board of Directors. Even back then there were issues with Wayne LaPierre. One is that if there was a contract that was more than $100,000, it had to be in writing and passed by two of the three executive officers. LaPierre would make them oral contracts and not run them by the executives. Journey and Knox did get pushed off the board, but only Phil was able to get back on it. During the years when he wasn’t on the board, he still kept an eye on the goings on, including what Leticia James was up to in New York. With some help, he was able to get back onto the board in 2020. He noticed that the board meetings were much shorter than they used to be and he realized that wasn’t quite right. There was a lot of ‘go along to get along’ happening with the BOD. Reading the petition from James, he saw that the things that were wrong in the 1990’s were four times worse. Phil gets into several things that were going on with the NRA and how it needed to be changed. In 2024, he got together with Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and Jeff Knox and started a small reform team. They all got elected onto the board to start making changes. This year, there were many more reformers on the ballot, and many were elected. However, he does get into how it was a mess and how much of a mess it was. Personally, I did vote for the 28 reformers. I have had the new EVP, Doug Hamlin, on the show (episode 213). I do believe we need to keep the NRA and make the changes necessary to maintain our Second Amendment rights. The NRA has been around for over 150 years and want to see it for another 150 years. WIth Phil and the new reformers, I think we’re in good hands and onto a better and stronger NRA. Favorite quotes: “What have they not taught me about? And it was the Second Amendment.” “The whole legislative process is to keep things from becoming law.” “It’s easier to kill legislation than it is to get it passed.” “It was a cultural problem inside the organization.” National Rifle Association NRA ILA YouTube X Instagram NRA Publications YouTube 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 Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% SABRE Red Pepper Spray /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/37331665

RSWC Pit Stop Keith Bombaugh 07/07/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Philip Toppino 07/04/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Ursula Williams 07/02/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Bryan Eastridge 06/30/2025

RSWC Pit Stop Philip Van Cleave 06/27/2025

RSWC #232 Mekkos Beech 06/24/2025

RSWC #232 Mekkos Beech Riding Shotgun With Charlie #232 Mekkos Beech Memphis Beech, Instructor & YouTuber I met Mekkos in a YouTube mastermind group hosted by Will Workman (RSWC #185). His YouTube channel is called Memphis Beech. So I asked the obvious question: are you in Memphis? I was scheduling a short southern tour and reached out to Mekkos. I was very lucky to have Mekkos on the show. He’s a great guy, very knowledgeable, and a good tour guide! I’m glad we were able to connect and become friends. We met up at in Memphis and headed down towards Beale Street and ended the show in Arkansas. Mekkos grew up in a military family, including his mother, with relatives in the Marines, Army, and Navy. He joined the Marines but he didn’t grow up shooting but started his training in the military. He was a helicopter electrician and when he got out there weren’t a lot of jobs in aviation. So he found a career in IT doing cyber security for most of the time. He got into competitive shooting, mostly IDPA. He started as an RSO at Top Gun and offers classes there. The classes he offers are just the continuing training that people need. He teaches IDPA classes, but he’s also got classes like Mastering the Pistol and Beyond the Permit. He also has private one on one coaching sessions. He’s got quite the credentials, too, being certified by Massad Ayoob Group, Tom Givens’ Rangemaster, Active Self Protection, Last Resort Firearms Training, as well as the NRA, USCCA, and NAAGA. You can see he’s a smart man. We spent some time talking about Tennessee. It is a permitless carry state but there are still lots of restrictions. They have what they call an “enhanced permit” which allows a permit holder to carry in more places than someone without one. I think he’s got a great take on “Constitutional carry” saying “the state establishes the Second Amendment as their carry permit.” Therefore the state cannot control where you can and cannot go while you’re carrying. His definition of permitless carry is as long as you can legally buy a gun and carry it, but there are rules and addendums you have to follow. The issue for permitless carry states is that you, as the citizen, still have to know what their laws are about where you can carry and even use force. This is why it is good to take some additional training. After studying defensive gun uses, he discovered that many of the skills used in the DGUs are not skills that people are getting at the permitting courses. Again, it is why those who carry should seek out additional training, take more classes, and read books about self defense. This is why when a state goes to permitless carry, training increases. When the government says you have to take a course and that’s all you need to know, that is often where people stop taking training. When he started his YouTube channel, it was to focus on the competition side of things. He was going to show viewers how to go through various stages and help with their competitive shooting issues. But there was a holster review that took off and got tens of thousands of views. Some of the other topics include working with students who have a fear of firearms. Sometimes, the instructor doesn’t know the student had a situation where they were affected by someone else using a firearm or if a woman is a DV survivor. I bring up a course I’d like to make and he helps guide me through what it should have. One of the reasons I wanted to start a show is to expand my circle of friends. My circle went to Will Workman, which led to his mastermind, which led to Mekkos. I’m honored he was able to make time to do the show, that we became friends, and that he shared his wisdom with us. Favorite quotes: “In Constitutional Carry, the state establishes the Second Amendment as their carry permit.” “It takes a little bit of emotional intelligence to keep people on track to remember the information from the first six hours.” “I have a huge passion for shooting. I have a huge passion for the pistol sports. I want to share that passion with others.” “I think of IDPA as a game. I think of USPSA as a sport.” Memphis Beech YouTube Facebook Instagram EDC: Every Day Conversations Podcast 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 Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and save 15% SABRE Red Pepper Spray Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts /episode/index/show/ridingshotgunwithcharlie/id/37131925

Riding Shotgun With Charlie

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