Riding Shotgun With Charlie #215 Keith Barry (KB) 51Fifty Rifles/Optimum At the NRA Annual Meeting, I got a message from Frank Johnson to meet him at the 51Fifty/Optimum booth. I was asked to be on Frank’s show Range Report earlier in the year, so I wanted to meet him in person. At the 51Fifty booth was Keith Berry (KB). I was very impressed at how…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #214 News2A Shawn Abramson & Grant Kielczewski Last year, I filmed a show with Shawn and Grant from News2A. Due to camera issues, we decided to scrap it and do it another time. That time was in Knoxville, Tenn, at the Gun Owners of America’s G.O.A.L.s event. Since we first tried this, Grant up and moved from New Jersey t…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #213 Doug Hamlin NRA, Executive Vice President It’s not everyday you get to interview the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, let alone take him for a drive around Fairfax. But when the chance comes up, you take it. I owe a huge Thank You to Amanda Suffecool for making the connection. It’s pretty …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #212 Irv Gill Blackbelt Ammunition I love it when a plan comes together. I was heading to New Jersey and it was a vacation week, so I had some extra time. I’d been in contact with Irv Gill from Blackbelt Ammunition and we were able to meet at Tanner’s Sports Center in Jamison, Pa. I met Nayara Andrejczyk there last year …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #211 Dick Heller Heller v DC Back in 2018, I was heading to hear some friends speak at the Heller 10 Celebration hosted by Second Amendment Institute. I got a call from one of my friends and she said “we’re going to Heller’s house”. I wondered “who’s we? Is it her? Am I part of we?”. She called back and I got to go hang …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #210 Don Mann SEAL Team 1, 2, & 6, Author It’s great when someone calls you and says “Hey, Don Mann is looking to do some media. Can I give him your contact info?”. The answer is “of course”. Thanks to Rich Yumul from Gun Owners Radio for reaching out. I called Don and talked with him. I had some time off from work and i…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #209 Mike Harris Gun Owners Action League, Director of Public Policy A couple years ago, I got a call from Jim Wallace from Gun Owners Action League (GOAL). He was sending out a couple of the GOAL staff to Gun Rights Policy Conference. He asked if I would introduce them to folks. Not a problem. One of the staff was Mike …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #208 Lucretia Hughes Klucken This is a name you want to know. And a person you want to follow. I learned about her with the Women for Gun Rights group. I saw her testify in front of Congress. She lost her son to gang violence but she didn’t turn into an anti-gun red shirt. She donned the teal and knew that it wasn’t a gu…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #206 Joe Meaux Aklys Defense There has only been one other time when someone has driven the stagecoach and I was in the shotgun seat. That was episode #039 with Kevin Sona from Florida Carry. This time Joe Meaux because he had “sensitive materials” in the car and I wouldn’t know what to tell the police if we were pulled …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #205 Rabbi Andy Mars I was asked to emcee an event in New Jersey for the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners and Women for Gun Rights. The lineup of speakers was great! Gabby Franco (RSWC #117), Lucretia Hughes & Dick Heller (episodes coming soon), and Rabbi Andy Mars. He’s a great speaker with lots of thought provoki…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #204 Deb Ferns Women’s Outdoor Media Association The “Olympic Rings” of the gun community are alive and well. At SHOT Show 2024, I was supposed to help Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) film some video with Deb Ferns. Brooke was able to talk Deb into filming an RSWC with me. But I failed Brooke and got very busy and couldn’t hel…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #203 John Castillo Father of Kendrick Castillo While on a trip to Denver to film some shows, Laura Carno (RSWC #188) introduced me to John Castillo. He’s the father of a hero, Kendrick Castillo, in the truest sense of the word. Just over 5 years ago, there was a school shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colo…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #202 Paul Kricher Artist & Author, Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad I’ve seen the book “Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad” online for years. It’s always been very expensive, often selling for $250. I saw that Alex Sansone, The Suited Shootist, (RSWC #162) was suggesting that folks buy the book no mat…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #201 Matt Mallory & Klint Macro Meet The Pressers It’s always a great time to run into Matt & Klint from Meet The Pressers. We filmed a show at SHOT in 2020. And they let me use their car to film a couple other shows. This year we were able to film another show on SHOT’s Range Day. Since our last show, Matt has been busy…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #200 Michael Bane MichaelBane.tv Michael Bane. What can I say? I watched Michael for a long time as a new gun owner back on The Outdoor Channel on the shows Shooting Gallery and The Best Defense. I really enjoyed them and got a lot from The Best Defense! If I had a VHS player, I’m sure there are some tapes in storage. I …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #199 Brad Landseadel Central Virginia Sporting Clays A trip to Central Virginia Sporting Clays last July led to another trip in October. I headed down to CVSC with good friends John Petrolino and Cam Edwards. On the first trip, we encountered Brad Landseadel, the owner. He’s a great guy and started telling us some jokes.…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #198 David Laird DSC Training & FASTER Saves Lives In the summer of 2021, I was fortunate to have taken a FASTER Saves Lives Level 1 course in Ohio. A number of friends and passengers of the show were there with me. David Laird was there, too, and he was nailing everything like it was nothing. Doing all the drills. Naili…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #197 Erin Mihalik Throom Targets, CEO At the Great American Outdoor Show in 2022, I got to meet Erin. I was there with John Petrolino and we were in search of Tony Simon. Well, we were pretending we didn’t see Tony while he was behind us and we were talking smack about him. Erin wasn’t sure what we were up to, but she ju…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #196 Karise & Jerel Crew That Gun Talk I’ve been going to the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival at the Tommy Gun Warehouse in Greeley, PA, for about 5 years now. While I was hanging out in the VIP room with a friend, Karise Crew came in and sat across the room. I invited her to come join us. I’m glad I did. Karise and her hus…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #195 Riley Bowman ConcealedCarry.com I met Riley in passing at SHOT Show a few years ago. We exchanged info and he said he would enjoy being on the show. On a trip to Denver, I reached out and messaged him and we were good to go. Then on the day I was heading there, I didn’t hear from him. I called Neil Weidner (RSWC #11…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #194 Rob Campbell Eye On The Target Radio You have absolutely no idea when or where you’re going to meet your next best friend. I replied to a Facebook post about a radio show wanting to talk to instructors from every state. I replied because it was 2015 and I was teaching NRA courses in Massachusetts. I made two great f…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #193 Lenny Magill The GLOCK Store I’ve known about Lenny Magill probably since I started getting gun catalogs in the mail. I even have a VHS, yes VHS!, tape that he did back in 1993! Before I learned about the other instructors, I knew about Lenny Magill. Lenny now owns The GLOCK Store. But he started out selling adverti…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #192 Quinn Cunningham FASTER Colorado I’ve mentioned the “Olympic rings” idea before. It’s where I know person A and they know person B, but I don’t know person B. Ok, it's a classier version of the Six Degrees of Separation. In this case, I know Laura Carno (RSWC #188), and Laura knows Quinn Cunningham. If you missed Th…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #191 Candy & Michael Petticord FASTER Saves Lives In Detroit in the summer of 2022, I was giving time, energy, and effort to Rick Ector (RSWC #032) of LAID, Legally Armed In Detroit. Rick has instructors from around the country help at this event. Two of the people I got to meet were Candy & Michael Petticord. They’re bo…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #190 Charl van Wyk Author & Stopped Terror Attack This was a once in a life chance that had to be taken. I was speaking at a pro- gun event outside of Boston. The emcee said there was a special guest, Charl van Wyk. I knew that name. Then he said van Wyk stopped a terror attack in Cape Town, South Africa, with a .38 Spec…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #189 Sarah Riggle Attorneys for Freedom I’ve been going to Gun Rights Policy Conference for years now. I love that it’s like a family reunion with old friends. It’s also great to meet new people. Sarah Riggle is one of the people I met right at the end. I just had lunch on the last day with friends and we were walking ba…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #188 Laura Carno FASTER Colorado It seems like I’ve known Laura Carno since I started this journey. In 2019 at GRPC, she asked me and Derek Leblanc (RSWC #033) why we called each other “brother” and we weren’t calling her “sister”. Since then, she has been our “sister from a different mister”. This year, I was going to C…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #187 Jim Stoker Firearms Owners Against Crime I love when the Olympic rings of the 2A community come into play and expands my circle. I was at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greely, PA, for may/be the 5th year in a row. I was running around with Rob Campbell & Amada Suffecool from Eye On The Target Radio. Amanda mes…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #186 Jim Irvine FASTER Saves Lives Jim Irvine and I have been trying to make this happen for a while. We finally filmed a show in Phoenix at Gun Rights Policy Conference, just before he had to speak. He helped start something that is near and dear to my heart, teaching school staff shooting, medical, and active shooter t…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #184 Alicia Garcia The Boomstick Babe I had some personal business in Denver this past summer. Of course, I needed to film shows while I was out there, too. I reached out to Alicia Garcia and she said she was up for it! We met in person at NRA in Indianapolis in 2023 doing a march with the DC Project. I was really lookin…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #183 Jim Shepherd The Outdoor Wire, Publisher At SHOT SHow 2023, I was in the media room with my good friend, The Pen Patriot, John Petrolino. We decided to only have a half a cup of coffee before we hit the SHOT floor. We ran into Alan Gottlieb and he asked if we were going to be around, he wanted to talk with us. We to…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #182 Phil Schreier NRA Museum, Director In my formative years as a gun owner (then just a wanna be), I would watch The Outdoor Channel which had Shooting USA on it, shows on The History Channel, and other shows, too. Any time a historical gun came up, Phil Schreier would be there with his white gloves on handling, talkin…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #181 Yuri Zalzman Philly Gun Range Gun people are the best people. I will say this often. On a trip to Philadelphia, I had a change of plans. Nayara Andrejczyk (RSWC #171) and her husband and I had dinner and we were talking over dinner about my “gift of time”. She suggested Yuri Zalzman as a potential guest. He was avai…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #180 The DCP Gals & GOAL On August 27, Gun Owners Action League hosted an event called The 2A Freedom Celebration. They pulled in some names you’ve seen on RSWC. Amanda Suffecool (#009), Holly Sullivan (#036), Jared Yanis (#051). And some locals like Toby Leary, (#143) Kerrie Ann Auclair (#139). We were able to film a sh…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #179 Todd Ellis NRA Board of Directors Back in April I may have snuck into the NRA BOD party. May have. It was suggested that I work the room. Someone took me around to meet folks that I haven’t met and see if I could connect and maybe get them on the show. It’s fantastic to me when people I haven’t met come up, say hell…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #178 Robin Bartlett Author, Vietnam Veteran It's a great feeling when someone recommends a passenger and it works out well. Robin Bartlett was referred to me. I reached out, did an introduction, and he sent me a copy of his book. After reaching out and setting up an interview date, we were able to make the show happen. W…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #177 The GOAL Podcast Garet Holcomb & Jeff Strider Finally, I was able to get together with Jeff Strider and Garet Holcomb from The GOAL Podcast. Jeff & Garet are both board members of Gun Owners Action League. I’ve known them for some time and we’ve run into each other at all the GOAL events, of course, and at the SIG A…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #175 John Kolis Instructor & Author, Pistol Practice I noticed on my social media that “Pistol Practice” was coming up more often in my feed. Then I get a text from a friend who says “John Kolis wrote Pistol Practice. He’s in your area and just did Rob Beckman’s podcast. You should have him on your show.”. I tuned in to …

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #174 Tom King New York State Rifle & Pistol Association National Rifle Association BOD Member Last summer, I thought it would be good to have Tom King on the show before the NYSRPA v Bruen decision. I messaged him and he said yes to being on the show, but I didn’t follow up. This past April at the NRA Annual Meetings, An…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #173 Jose Morales Philly Firearms Academy My familiarity with Jose Morales’ name started years ago. I’ve always been a fan of the Gun For Hire Radio podcast. The main host, Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & 025), would often bring up Jose’s name as someone helping with production of the show. Last summer, I was in Detroit fo…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #172 Paul Markel Student of the Gun (The Pimp Hand of America) Paul Markel is someone I’ve heard on Armed American Radio several times. It's always great to hear his stance on anything. He doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t hold back. And you always know where he stands. A good friend said he would be at NRAAM in Indianapol…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #171 Nayara Andrejczyk The Gun Evangelist, 2A Advocate Back in February, I attended a Gun Law Seminar held by Gun Owners Action League. I was in the right seat at the right time! I was alongside 2 of The DC Project members and behind me was The Gun Evangelist, Nayara Andrejczyk. She saw my RSWC hoodie and asked who I was…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #170 Jill McDaniel Mom At Arms, The DC Project Jill McDaniel is someone I’ve been following for awhile. Since she’s a DC Project gal, I already knew that she may be up for being on the show. I had a course scheduled in Virginia and I reached out to her to see how far she was from the class. Lynchburg, VA wasn’t too far s…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #169 Michael Cargill Central Texas Gun Works Michael Cargill is getting a lot of attention and press. First we had Heller in 2008, then McDonald in 2010, and Bruen in 2022. It’s looking like Cargill V Garland is going to be in 2023. The Cargill case is going to bring us back the right to possess bump stocks. To start thi…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #168 Cam Edwards Bearing Arms Cam & Co Cam Edwards. What else can I say? I had Cam in the shotgun seat! I’ve been listening to Cam Edwards since, forever. Ok since he was on NRATV’s Cam & Co. I’ve had chances to meet with him several times over the years; at the New Jersey Safe Conference in 2017, at Rally For Your Right…

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #167 Chris Dover CloverTac CloverTac is one of those creators that’s everywhere. He’s got gun reviews, podcasts, YouTube channels, he does a ‘lawn chair pop’ (which he had to explain to me), and his wife lets him take the car only to let me drive it! (Shhh…I’m not sure she knows yet!) He’s also got another YouTube channe…