Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#152Alex SansoneThe Suited Shootist   At the NRAAM in Houston this year, I got to co-emcee the Concealed Carry Fashion show presented by RealizeFAC with Amanda Sufffecool.  She and I have hosted these all around the country. We use models who are influencers, instructors, and activists in the firearm community. One of the models at NRAAM was Alex Sansone, The Suited Shootist. Amanda said I needed to have him on the show, so after a quick intro back and forth, he said he would be able to make it happen while we were in Houston. We filmed the show on a Sunday morning and there were barely any protesters!   Alex grew up in the DC area with a ‘gun agnostic’ family, which only had a shotgun for trap shooting. He did do some .22 rifle shooting during summer camp, but it wasn’t a regular thing his family did. September 11, 2001 changed things for his family and his father became interested in firearms for self defense and personal protection. David Yamane calls these folks, myself included

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #151 Ladies Event in Detroit Legally Armed In Detroit   It’s not every day that you get to help teach 1,200+ women to shoot. I had a chance to attend Rick Ector’s Ladies Event recently. Rick (RSWC #032) runs Legally Armed In Detroit. For the last 11 years, he’s had a Ladies Event where women can come to learn to shoot a handgun. It started after a tragic story in the Detroit news about a woman’s body found in a dumpster and Rick thought that if the woman had a gun and knew how to use it she could have defended herself. He’s had 2 ranges that let him use the facilities for the weekend. He’s got an awesome woman who organizes the event, Tanish Moner (RSWC #113). And he’s got instructors from all over the country volunteering to come to Detroit for the weekend to help. This year, there were instructors from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, and California.   I talked with Tanish about getting some of the ladies to be interviewed before and after shooting. She helped

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #149 Santee The Santee TV   I know this sounds weird, but I love having some stalkers. OK, they’re not real stalkers. But there are some folks who watch the show and are happy to meet me. Santee is one of them. She’s been watching the show for a hot minute. She reached out to me after catching shows with Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) and Jerah Hutchins (RSWC #133). She said the next time I’m in Texas we need to get together. So with the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, near Santee, we were on.  She did have me on her YouTube channel back in January 2022, which you can watch here! https://youtu.be/6vGhbtIXIEA   Santee, of course, isn’t her real name (you’ll have to watch to find out). She became a gun owner after a scary incident like many folks. There were some guys going through her apartment building looking for someone.  They passed her sons but they didn’t know what was going on. The guys ended up shooting through someone’s door in her building. She ended up grabbing a kitchen knife

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #148 Evan Nappen Gun Lawyer   Evan Nappen!  What can I say?!?! I used to listen to Evan on Gun For Hire Radio with Anthony Colandro (RSWC #003 & #025). He’s always been educating and entertaining to listen to and that’s when I became a fan. He has offices in New Jersey and New Hampshire.  I always wondered why.  I heard that he was doing a US Law Shield seminar in New Jersey and had a cold. But I feared it was worse, so I reached out and asked if he would be on the show.    He got right back to me when I emailed and gave me a call.  We talked like old friends, I love it! We set up a time and I headed up to the Concord, NH, area to meet with him. It wasn’t the first time I saw him. I spoke at NJSAFECON in 2017 on a panel with Anthony Colandro, Tony Simon (RSWC #041) and Maj Toure. Evan was also speaking, but I was too nervous to introduce myself. But RSWC has grown and it was time to have him in the shotgun seat.    New Jersey has been a great state for RSWC. I’ve had several of

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#147Umar ArrastiaClose Quarter Countermeasures I really do have the coolest gig AND friends!  One of my friends and training partners, Mark L, sent me a Facebook event for an ACTIVE Killer Response Course. I swear it said ACTIVE Kicker! He then messaged me and said that the instructor Umar Arrastia would be a great passenger for the show.  I reached out to Umar and we filmed the show, then Mark and I took the course the following month.  Umar has a background in traditional kung fu and martial arts.  He’s been with the National Guard for a number of years, he’s done some personal security work, and some bail bondsman work. He’s got an incredible background. Umar grew up around firearms so there wasn’t a fear or taboo about them like with many who don’t grow up with them. After 10 years with the National Guard, he tried getting an office job, but found that working in an office setting wasn’t really for him. So he signed back up with a Guard and ended up in Afghanistan. He found hims

Armed Lifestyle Magazine Anthony Colandro Writing Shotgun With Charlie Here's an interview I did with Anthony Colandro from Gun For Hire Range & Gun For Hire Radio. I interviewed him in 2016 for the first time. And I'm glad I reached out and stopped at Gun For Hire on my way down to Washington, DC, to interview Kenn Blanchard. We've become friends. Expanding my circle of friends was a goal when I started RSWC! I can't express how grateful I am that I got out of my comfort zone and pushed my boundaries. https://pocketmags.com/us/armed-lifestyle-magazine# Anthony took a call for a recorded interview which you can listen to here. I expanded and wrote about it in Armed Lifestyle Magazine, which you can get here. We talk about his book Crime Proof: Think Like a Criminal and Beat Them At Their Own Game, tactical pens, and more. Get Crime Proof here: https://crimeproofbook.com     Second Amendment Foundation http://saf.org/ Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/ Please sup

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#146Anne MauroCollegiate Shotgun Coach, University of Maryland   At SHOT Show 2022, Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) messaged me and said I need to have Anne Mauro on the stagecoach. After some group texts and making plans during a vacation week, I hit the road for Maryland.  Anne is a shotgun coach at the University of Maryland, where she runs a top notch program that she grew from the bottom up. We met at The Point at Pintail in Queenstown, MD, where she started her shotgunning path, not knowing where it would lead her.    Anne started shotgun shooting at her husband’s suggestion and started Pintail Point renting a shotgun to use. Her instructor, Ben Wise, made it fun and enjoyable for her so she kept going.  Eventually, the rental guns were up for sale and she bought the one she was renting.  When she used it, she had to take off the recoil pad. After she bought the gun, she headed up to Maine to have a custom stock made to her specifications, which led to helping manufacturers design sto

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #145 Dave Kopacz Red Pill Politics Radio Flag Day/2A Rally   I met Dave Kopacz a few years ago when I was helping a friend run a campaign for state senate. He’s been fighting for our Rights in Massachusetts for a number of years now. For the last 8 years, he’s been hosting the Flag Day/2A Rally, which is going to be on June 11, 2022, at the Century Sportsman Club in Auburn, MA. Some of the scheduled speakers are Dan Wos (RSWC #040 ), Jared Yanis (RSWC #051 ), and Jan Morgan, as well as yours truly.    Dave tells us that he’s got some great memories and lessons from going hunting with his grandfather even when they didn’t harvest any animals. This is where he learned things from how to be a man, how to treat a woman, and how war starts. He shares that history shows us that unarmed nations often get taken over by the governments.  And that our elected officials think the 2nd Amendment was about deer hunting. It’s not about that, it’s about killing tyrants.    While working with one o

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #144 Mary Forgues The DC Project   At SHOT Show 2022, I was checking Dianna Muller’s (RSWC #059) presentation on The DC Project (DCP) and ran into several DCP ladies who I’ve had on the show.  Holly Sullivan (RSWC #036, CCDL) introduced us and said I needed to have Mary Forgues on the show, which should be easy since she isn’t that far from me. I was thrilled that Mary thought I was a rock star, so how could I NOT have her on the show.    The real reason for her being in the shotgun seat is that Mary’s story about using a firearm to save her life is truly amazing! She didn’t grow up as a firearm person, certainly not like she is now. She eventually got a firearm as a means to be able to protect her children as she is a single mother. She shares a shocking story that changed her life and her attitude about life.   Mary was involved in an attack in her home by someone she knew.  Her attacker was someone she tried helping through the VA, where she has strong connections as her brother

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#143Toby LearyCape Gun WorksRapidFire Radio   A long time ago, in a galaxy far away… I took the then Combat Focus Shooting course with Rob Pincus. Legit, it was 2013. Two of the other classmates were Toby Leary and Brendon Bricklin, the owners of Cape Gun Works (CGW). I eventually became a Utah instructor and asked them if they wanted to host a Utah course for their customers. I’ve been doing the Utah class at their shop in Hyannis, MA, since it was a small store attached to a few other stores. Toby and I finally  set a time and date to film a show.    Toby has been into firearms since he was a Boy Scout. He went shooting with the Boy Scout group but not for merit badges, just to go shooting. Little did he know that his passion for being outdoors and shooting would lead to CGW and a growing gig on the radio!   The beginning of Cape Gun Works came when Toby & Brendon took a trip to Las Vegas for the Mr Olympia contest and to take a course at Front Sight Firearms Training Institut

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #142 Mike & Big Keith The Gun Experiment Podcast   This is a ‘big show’ for Mike & Big Keith from The Gun Experiment. They haven’t been seen on video. Mike reached out to me and asked to be on their podcast.  When I found out they were only a couple hours away, I said I wanted them on my show in return. Big Keith even offered to let us use his vintage Lincoln!  Here’s a link to The Gun Experiment with me as their guest. https://thegunexperiment.com/episodes/42-dont-cross-streams/   We talked about doing some shotgunning before we filmed the show, but after a warm drive to the local gun club for some trap shooting, we discovered that the clay thrower was frozen. So that was out. We really wanted to see who could out shoot each other, but it will have to happen another time.    Mike & Big Keith grew up in the same area of New York but they’re a few years apart in age. Big Keith had family members who took him shooting, but his family wasn’t into firearms. Like many, shoo

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#141Val Evans“Mama Bear”Armed Women of America   Last October, I was emceeing the Rod Of Iron Freedom Festival at the Tommy Gun Warehouse at KAHR Arms in Pennsylvania. It was a great event and I got to hang out with some of my 2A friends, including Stephen Willeford, RSWC #088, and I got to make new friends.  Stephen, a few others, and I spent about an hour talking at the hotel and he mentioned that I should have Val Evans on the Stagecoach. He gave me her contact number and I reached out. She lives in Virginia and I was going down to film some shows.  When I asked if she was interested, she said yes!   Val has an amazing story, one that can happen to anyone at any time.  I know folks say that all the time, but this is really true. Her husband is a police officer and one year for her birthday, she wanted to go to the police range and go shooting. One night while her husband was working there was a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and saw it wasn’t a neighbor. It wa

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #140 Frank C Tait NRA Board of Directors Candidate   You never know who you’re going to see when you’re roaming around SHOT Show. I ran into Frank C Tait in Las Vegas in January 2022 and we exchanged info.  This year is the third year that he’s been running for the NRA Board of Directors (BOD). Hopefully this will be the year for him!   Frank and I met in Philadelphia and started the show at the Betsy Ross house, where we snagged a selfie. We headed toward the downtown area, near Independence Hall, then to Market Street and the Philadelphia City Hall, and towards the Museum of Art, where Rocky Balboa ran up the stairs. We drive around City Hall and I include a couple photos of the William Penn statue and how it can be seen from different angles.   Frank grew up in a home in Philly without firearms. His Uncle Tony, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, took him shooting with his gun collection. At 18, he got a hunting license and bought his first firearms. For one of his jobs, he had

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#139 Kerrie Ann AuclairThe DC ProjectArmed Women of America   I have a YouTube playlist of all the DC Project (DCP) members who have been on the show.  When I found out Kerrie Ann was the new member for Massachusetts, I sent her the list and asked if she would be on the show.  Last fall, we both took a course from Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) and had a chance to talk  and set up an interview. A couple weeks after the course, Kerrie Ann went to Florida for the DCP Summit for the first time.    Kerrie grew up here in New England and was very anti-gun when her children were young and she was a new mom. Like many folks, there was an incident that changed her situation on a dime. There was a home invasion in Connecticut, where the father/husband was tied up while the criminals/murderers beat and raped with wife and daughters, then set the house of fire. The father was able to escape the home.  Kerrie’s husband heard this story and wanted her to get a firearm to protect their family. A

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #138 John Crump Black Swan Media    John Crump is one of those content creators that is just about everywhere. Our paths must have crossed somewhere. Regardless, John was up for being on the show when I made a trip to Virginia. He says he does his shows from his mother’s basement. She was nice enough to offer me some cookies and milk.    John, often known as Crump, or even Crumpy, has lots of things going on. He tells us that he grew up in a house full of Democrats and he was the only Constitutionalist in the family. So he’s been consistent throughout. Once he gets into something, he’s ALL in.  When he got into firearms, he ended up starting one gun store and buying another just to have the inventory. He submitted something to Ammoland and it was published.  The next week, he sent another article to them and that was published.  Then a third the next week. Eventually, Ammoland just said John should write for them.    He’s got his hand in some other content, too.  He’s got a daily Y

Riding Shotgun With Charlie#137Tyler YzaguirreSecond Amendment Institute   In 2018, Tyler Yzguirre hosted the Heller10 celebration at the Supreme Court steps. With friends like Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009), I was able to attend a get-together the night before at Dick Heller’s house. That’s where I met Tyler.  At the rally, there were several protesters. Amanda came over and told me that one speaker dropped out and I was going on.  In two minutes! I was able to pull off some sort of a speech while there were chants of indecent things being hurled at the speakers.    I`ve run into Tyler at a machine gun shoot in Pennsylvania and at a DC Project/CNFJO event in New Jersey. With his new book, it was time to get him in the stagecoach and talk about his non-profit group, Second Amendment Institute (SAI), and the book.    Tyler started a rifle team while he was in college. Reluctantly, the college reluctantly gave his group $500 to Cabela’s, which the club used for ammunition. That was also his first time making some

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #136 Lt Lou Lusk & Rick Capozzi Survival Mindset   I met Lt Lou Lusk & Rick Capozzi at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greely, PA, this past fall.  I was emceeing the event for one of the days and helping Amanda Suffecool (RSWC #009) with a concealed carry fashion show. In the VIP room, Stephen Willeford (RSWC #088) suggested that I grab Lt Lou and sit in the passenger’s seat for a show.  Lt Lou was with the team that rescued Jessica Lynch in Iraq in 2003.    Lt Lou spent 29 years in service to our country, 14 active duty and 15 in the Pennsylvania Guard, including 7 tours since the Global War on Terrorism.  He was part of Task Force 20 and much of the invasions and operations from the War in Iraq are covered in the book COBRA II by Michael Gordon & Bernard Trainor. Lt Lou talks about his time serving the country with much emotion, which is easy to see.    Lt Lou refreshes us about the story of Jessica Lynch, how her battalion was captured, then killed and she was l

Thanks to the viewers and listeners of Riding Shotgun with Charlie!   I wanted to reach out and let everyone know that I really appreciate all the support and encouragement that I get for doing the show. It’s great to hear that folks hear about passengers on other shows and see that I had them on the Stagecoach. Or better yet, when a fellow podcaster listens to a show to get some back story on a guest and then have them on their podcast. Either way, it’s a feeling that the show is going well and helping people learn about others in the firearm community.    I was talking with a friend who I call “B-L” Lisa and she thought that doing a Thank You show would be a great way to end the year.  I wasn’t sure what format I could do the show.  Then talking with John Petrolino, he gave it some direction. Despite the pandemic and shutdowns, the loss of jobs and income, 2021 was a successful year!   Thanks to these folks for making 2021 successful for The Stagecoach.  I got to go hunting with CNJFO, played the Star Spa

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #134 Stephen Gutowski The Reload   Stephen Gutowski was awarded the Journalist of the Year at Gun Rights Policy Conference in 2021. He’s won this award before. I’ve been seeing him at GRPC and some other events around the country.  At GRPC in Chicago a few years ago, we were walking and talking with someone and he said he’d like to be on the show when I get to the DC/VA area.  I finally made a trip and was able to film a show with him.  We met at Mount Vernon, VA, at George Washington’s house and took a scenic drive next to the Potomac  River and headed into Old Town Alexandria.    Stephen didn’t grow up around firearms or shooting, but he started in college.  He also started a blog writing about politics in college as well. Going out for a staff retreat, there was some informal skeet shooting. He does admit to being afraid of recoil, which is something to someone who hasn’t shot before. That’s when Stephen got the gun bug and bought a 20 gauge shotgun that wasn’t really good for a