Firearms Nation Podcast

Bennie Cooley is a 3 Gun National Champion many times over.  He also competes in the PRS (Precision Rifle Series) and NRL Hunter competitions.  A man of the mountains, he excels at these outdoors, long-range rifle shooting challenges.  Bennie has also worked at the Department of Energy on their SWAT team and trains most of the Tier 1 units.  Besides being a passionate competitor, Bennie also enjoys teaching people about self-defense and has a common-sense approach to gun choices and tactics.  In this episode, Bennie shares the following tips: –Why an AR15 is the best bedside gun for home defense. –Why we can’t understand time and the pressure it puts on the mind. –How he used his long-range shooting skills to get better at close-up targets. Links mentioned in the episode: Bennie’s Instagram

Les Kismartoni is a phenomenal competitive shooter.  Just don’t give him a hot dog with ketchup on it!  He is from Chicago where good hotdogs have other accessories like pickles, mustard, and relish.  That being said, Les is a Distinguished Master in IDPA and a Grandmaster in USPSA, which means the boy can shoot.  His gun of choice is a Beretta 92 from Langdon Tactical and he shoots both iron and red dot sights.  Like me, he prefers the irons.  Les just won the South Florida Defensive Challenge and explained in this episode how he got started in IDPA which was a challenge living in Chicago.  Also in this episode, Les throws out these nuggets: –Why he still closes one eye while shooting iron sights and why that works. –What he learned training with world champion Eric Grauffel. –What is the best type of pizza to get in Chicago! Watch this podcast on YouTube @FirearmsNation Links to train with Les:  Instagram Profile

Do you want to be the best competitive shooter, soldier, and protector?  I was lucky to sit down with Matthew Little who is not only a former Army Special Forces veteran, a former Chicago police SWAT officer, and a competitive shooter but the author of an exciting new book.  It’s called, “The Way is in Training” and it covers everything you need to know about shooting and more!  Grappling, low-light engagements, and breaching are all part of this epic read.  Matt shares important insights like: –How to throw away bad habits and learn better shooting with competition. –Why you should set up drills based on problems you need to work on. –Why he hates the press out presentation and what works better. Go sign up for Matt’s training courses here: Grey Beard Actual And buy his book here (affiliate link) Amazon: “The Way is in Training”

Larry Correia is not just a NY Times Bestseller or sci-fi fantasy writer, but he is also a huge advocate for the 2nd Amendment.  Larry has been involved with firearms for over 30 years as a firearms instructor, competitive shooter, and gun store owner.  Recently, Larry felt the need to write his new book “In Defense of the Second Amendment” as an educational book for both gun owners and folks that hate guns.  In his book and on this podcast, Larry debunks all the arguments that befall the average gun owner, especially after a horrible shooting.  The media and social birds come out and attack the 2nd Amendment with gusto, but Larry takes all the arguments on and provides salient responses for them.  This is a must-have book! Links mentioned on the show: Monster Hunter Nation “In Defense of the Second Amendment” Amazon affiliate link

Yong Lee is back dropping more knowledge bombs in 2023. Yong is a 5 division grandmaster shooter in USPSA. He recently retired as a 30-year veteran police officer, swat operator, and firearms instructor from his department. Now, Yong is traveling to other police departments teaching their instructors and officers how to shoot a gun with a red dot. In today’s episode, Yong covers: –How to bump fire your finger to get fast splits. –Why new shooters are the easiest to train. –How to make kinesthetic connections with your sights. You can follow Yong on Instagram here: Subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch the live stream of these podcasts and join in the conversation. @firearmsnation

Christian Sailer won the 2022 IPSC World Shoot in the Open Division. He is 22 years old. How did he do it? Christian started shooting when he was a “short” kid of 13 when his mom took him to the range the first time. He then started competing and learned what it took to win a match. Through his extreme passion and goal setting, Christian went on to win Area Championships and then National Championships. The one goal he wrote down years ago was to win a World Championship. He did… What are some of the things Christian did? –He is an extreme goal setter, defining how to achieve each aspect of the goals. –Christian felt confident at the first stage of the World Shoot, and knew it would go well for him. –Christian has humility and respect for his competition but always knew the trophy was his. You can follow Christian on Instagram or on his YouTube channel.

Keith Garcia is a 3 Gun champion. He made a name for himself winning the 3 Gun Nation championship back when “they” allowed it to be on NBC Sports. Keith always distinguished himself as a very fast and efficient shooter with a pistol, rifle, and shotgun. Keith also retired from a long career as a police officer and firearms instructor. In this episode, I catch up with Keith at the 2023 SHOT Show and we talk about his new venture as a full-time firearms instructor. Topics we get into on the show: -What is the latest and greatest products being released at this year’s SHOT Show including a NEW trigger system from Glock (about time…) -What kind of focus does a shooter need with both iron and optical pistol sights? -What he would tell his younger self to focus on when he first learned how to shoot. Links to Keith: https://www.instagram.com/keithgarcia_3gun/

Dave Benton also known as “Boon” was one of the Global Response Staff of the CIA working in Benghazi during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2012. During that attack, Dave and his partners attempted to rescue the US Ambassador and defend the CIA Annex while completely outnumbered. This account was told in the book “13 Hours” as well as the great movie of the same name. Sarah Adams also worked for the CIA as a Targeter and was in Benghazi leading up to that fateful day. Many years after that attack, Dave and Sarah decided to write a book not only explaining what led up to the attack but also started a cold-case investigation into all the terrorists who perpetrated the attack and provide a detailed dossier on each of them. Points from the podcast: -Dave explains how training was the best preparation for dealing with the attack and their response. -Dave and Sarah break down what led up to the attack on the US Consulate and why the media and Obama Administration covered it up. -Dave and Sarah share how we ne

What does it mean to train to “obsession, dedication, and madness”? 4 time grandmaster practical shooter Yong Lee says it took him to train six days a week, 2 hours each day to make GM. Yong is a retired police officer, SWAT team member, and firearms instructor. Yong also competes in USPSA as a grandmaster in 4 divisions. In this episode Yong explains: -What it takes to go from a C-class shooter to GM. -Why his dry fire practice is the same speed as his live fire practice. -How he developed eye speed in order to compete at a higher level. If you would like to see this interview, watch it on YouTube @firearmsnation.

Eric Grauffel is now a 9 time World Champion. There is no one like him in shooting sports. He has dominated practical shooting for over 20 years. What makes him so special? Why does someone consistently win? Is Eric ever going to lose? I was able to talk with Eric at his new training academy and range in France, over the internet. In this episode Eric talks about: -How he prepared for the World Shoot. -How to get ready for any match. -What makes a winner. If you want to see this episode, watch the podcast on YouTube. Links mentioned: https://eg-czacademy.teachable.com/ Eric’s online course.

Julie Golob is a professional shooter. She is sponsored by Smith and Wesson and has been in shooting sports for over 25 years. Julie’s accomplishments include winning the IPSC World Championship in her division. She was the US Army Athlete of the Year. Julie is also the first and only 7 division USPSA Pistol Ladies National Champion, plus she competes in all the major shooting sports. Julie is also a mother and author. She has written several books including “Toys, Tools, Guns & Rules” which is a book to teach kids gun safety. Julie is featured on Smith and Wesson’s “Gunsmarts” videos which are broken down to the shooter’s experience to teach gun handling, shooting and drills. Links mentioned in the show: www.juliegolob.com

The episode is a replay of an interview I did with Hwansik Kim back in 2018. Right now, Hwansik is currently representing the USA at the 2022 World Shoot in Thailand. It’s quite an accomplishment to make the World Team amongst all the great competitors in the United States. In this episode, Hwanski talks about the high-level training and mindset he uses and this, without a doubt, got him where he is today.

Steve Anderson is back to be my guest on the 200th Episode of the Firearms Nation Podcast. As always, we have a great talk on the mental aspect of shooting and competing plus Steve drops some awesome knowledge bombs! Thank you to all the listeners who have been with the show for all these years. https://www.andersonshooting.com/    

John Simpson is a former US Army Sniper and instructor. John also teaches at SniperCraft alongside Derrick Bartlett, who was on Episode 187. I had a great talk with Derrick about “Tactical Blindness” and when I heard that John teaches a technique called “Flash Recognition,” I wanted to bring him on. Flash Recognition is a technique used with fighter pilots and has applications in the shooting/sniper world. Links mentioned in the show: John’s LinkedIn Profile John's Book "Foundations of Sniper Marksmanship" Same book on Amazon.com

Chris Kuras is a full-time police officer assigned to the Training Unit of his agency. Chris is also on the department’s SWAT team where he utilizes his background in athletics to help push the officers to be better at shooting and fitness. Chris is also an instructor for Condition One Group which has a variety of training courses with a big focus on Close Quarter Battle or CQB. Military, Law Enforcement and Civilians all can train with Condition One and we discuss this in the episode. Links mentioned in the show: Condition One Group

Josh Shaw is a grandmaster shooting in USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association). He is also an instructor for Green Ops which teaches people how to shoot different firearms in both the tactical and competitive arenas. Josh worked for the Department of Defense as an intel officer and deployed multiple times overseas. Josh is also a Modern Samurai Project (Scott Jedlinski’s company) endorsed Red Dot Pistol instructor. Josh recently wrote an article on shooting competition with a stock pistol for various reasons. In this episode, we discuss that concept. Links mentioned on the show: https://www.green-ops.com/

Frank Proctor is a former Special Forces operator as well as a grand master competitor in USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association). Frank is a well know firearms instructor who also has the insight to create various products that have helped him as well as other shooters work better with their firearms. Frank has been a guest of this show back on Episode 122 and a live Q&A on Episode 134. https://www.frankproctorshooting.com/

Happy 4th of July!  This is a replay from the vault of a 2018 interview I did with Lanny Bassham.  Here is a little about Lanny: 95% of all winning comes from the same 5% of the competitors.  What makes them different than the rest of us?  Their mental game is better than the others.  Anyone can practice a sport or hobby and develop skill at that sport, but the ones with a better mental system will always win in the end.  How does a person get a better mental game?  My guest today started out as the guy least likely to get to the Olympics as a small kid in 6th grade.  Fast forward to the 1976 Olympics where my guest, Lanny Bassham took the gold medal in small bore rifle shooting.  But it wasn’t an easy road.  Lanny had previously gone to the ’72 Olympics and choked in the gold medal match where he walked away confused and with a silver medal.  In the next four years he would develop his trademarked mental management system that in the past 40 years has lead many students to world championships and other victo

Mickey Schuch, who everyone knows at the Carry Trainer, is a widely known firearms instructor and social media influencer. Mickey travels the country teaching shooting courses with a distinct style and also has a massive YouTube and Instagram following. Mickey has some serious opinions when it comes to training as well as gun rights which he shares in this episode. Links mentioned on the show: Mickey’s website “Carry Trainer”    

Jon Becker is the owner of the tactical equipment company Aardvark Tactical. Besides having a cool name, Aardvark makes cool gear including drones and breaching tools. Jon is about to release his new podcast “The Debrief” which has different guests from the special units in law enforcement and the military. I really enjoyed talking with Jon and look forward to listening to his new show. Links mentioned on the podcast: The Debrief Podcast Aardvark Tactical