Firearms Nation Podcast

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast. I just got back from shoot ing the 2018 IPSC US Nationals at the Universal Shooting Academy and first off, I have to say this was an excellent match and thanks to Frank Garcia and Shannon Smith plus all the range officers for putting on the match.  This is a very important match as it serves as one of the qualifiers to be a part of the next World Shoot coming up in a couple years.  I believe it’s going to be in Thailand.  IPSC rules are different than USPSA rules which is the action pistol sports that I compete in.  I still feel that competition is the best way to get better at shooting.  But that leads me to today’s podcast. One of the big takeaways from the match was the constant negativity that I heard from other competitors.  Everyone would only talk about their misses or other screw ups.  How their time sucked, or they screwed up their stage plan.  Even worse when someone gave them a complement, that person would down play it and again bring up their mistakes.

This week I was prepping for the 2018 IPSC US Nationals which was held at the Universal Shooting Academy in Frostproof, FL.  The match director was Shannon Smith who always puts on a terrific competition.  I recently had Shannon on my second YouTube live stream and this is the audio replay from that show.  The focus of the show was shooting the red dot sight for competition or duty/everyday carry.  We also get into some match specific advice after taking questions from the audience.  I'll be doing more live shows so stay tuned on Facebook (Firearms Nation) where I do most of my posting.   Please consider SUBSCRIBING to the show and leaving a review.  It helps with the ratings.  

Jon Dufresne and Scott Jedlinski are two up in coming instructors.  They are the new generations of firearms preachers who take what is known about shooting and format it to a more modern approach. Jon is a former Army Ranger who now teaches for Sage Dynamics and for Frank Proctor.  Jon not only was a guest of the podcast but was a Shooter’s Summit instructor.    Scott Jedlinski or “Jedi” teaches under his own company, Modern Samurai Project and is an avid Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and master class competitive shooter. Both teach classes with the red dot sight on pistols and that’s where I was with them.  On today’s podcast, I’m recording a different kind of interview.  I interview both Jon and Jedi after day one of the Modern Samurai Project’s Red Dot Pistol Course at the awesome Homestead Training Center in Homestead FL. So a couple of notes.  Yes, this is being recorded on a live range at the end of the day and “That Guy” showed up at the very end to shoot in the next bay.  He had to dump his ammo.  So that b

There have been a few events in law enforcement history that went on to change policies across police departments.  On February 28th, 1997, the North Hollywood Shootout would leave a gaping wound of how outgunned police really were. In the second episode of the Deconstructing Gunfight series, I talk with former Los Angeles Police Department officer John Caprarelli who was one of the responding officers that fateful day.  John had spent 15 years as a police officer and had been in various units but nothing would have prepared him for what he was going to face that day. Larry Phillips and Emil Matasareanu were a pair of bank robbers who had escalated to murder during a previous heist.  Their acts of violence got worse each time they committed another robbery.  On Feb. 28th, 1997 they hit the Bank of America in North Hollywood.  They were prepared.  Each of the men were covered in layers of body armor and both carried fully automatic rifles and hundreds of rounds.  The LAPD had handguns and shotguns.  What follo

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast.  Imagine you start competing in the shooting sports about 4 years ago.  Imagine you decide to start shooting shotgun exclusively in competition.  Imagine you go to the IPSC World Shoot for Shotgun earlier this month and finally, imagine waking up on June 11th to find out your the World Champion.  Josh Froelich didn’t have to imagine any of this…he lived it. Josh always had a competitive gene in his body that made him play sports growing up.  In fact he supported himself and paid for college not by working at a fast food restaurant but by fighting professionally in MMA.  But something happened in 2014.  Josh decided he wanted to be better at shooting and went to his local IDPA match and the shooting gene kicked in.  Fast forward a second and it’s June 2018 where he’s standing on the podium in France representing his country as a gold medal winner in the Open Division. I get to talk to Josh about his journey and the World Shoot.  We also discuss the little things lik

Brian Enos is considered to be one of most critical thinkers in the realm of handgun shooting.  In 1990 he wrote the book (link below) "Practical Shooting: Beyond Fundamentals" which is the collection of over ten years of notes and ideas Brian had regarding pistol shooting and competition. Brian was raised in Ohio but moved to Arizona to work at the State Prison where he first learned about shooting competitions.  Soon the bug of shooting hit him and he shot a PPC (Police Practical Combat) match and then he quickly moved to IPSC competitions.  At his first match he met Rob Leatham and they became friends and training partners.  The two dominated the local and state matches and then they went national shooting Steel Challenge.  Brian's journey continued and he realized he enjoyed a different kind of match such as the Bianchi Cup, The Masters and the Sportsman's Team Challenge.  He won the Bianchi Cup in 1983 and 1984 and the Masters in 1989 plus he was a five time member of the Sportsman's Team Challenge Natio

This is the audio from the Live Session with Yong Lee in Podcast form.  Yong sat down with me to discuss in detail the red dots on pistols, something that I'm very interested in.  He also takes a bunch of questions from the audience regarding sights, training techniques, holsters and much more. If you are interested in being a part of a live show, stay tuned to Firearms Nation on YouTube or Facebook as I have more guests lined up to discuss shooting and red dots.  I'm making the move to red dots on both my competition gun and duty gun.  Follow my journey and start yours with Firearms Nation. Please SUBSCRIBE to the podcast AND leave a review. ..Join the Nation!

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast.  One of the great parts of producing this podcast is getting to speak with world champions, elite soldiers and brand ambassadors.   I’m lucky today to bring back an extremely talented, super nice and professional sponsored shooter, Jessie Harrison.  Jessie first came on the the podcast back on Episode 7 which was recorded at the 2017 SHOT Show.  And just for the record for all you that fact check, I mention in todays podcast that I sat with Jessie in 2016, but as we get older, our memories get cloudier so keep that in mind (no pun). So why am I bringing Jessie back on?  If you don’t know who she is, Jessie was the first grandmaster female shooter in USPSA.  The grandmaster classification is awarded to literally like 5% of all of the 30000 competitors.  The GMs are the top and some are considered professional shooters…meaning they get paid to shoot matches and be brand ambassadors.  A dream job for a lot of people, including me.  But for the most part we mortals wou

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be in a gunfight?  Chances are if you are listening to this podcast you might carry a gun on a daily basis.  You might be a competitive shooter or armed professional.  Either way anyone who has picked up a firearm has had the thought to themselves “what would I do?”  This week I’m starting a new series of podcast episodes where I deconstruct gunfights and speak to subjects who were involved and walked away.  I get into the circumstances of the event and break down the play by play of the shooting.  The actions of the bad guys as well as the tactics the winners, not survivors, used to overcome the odds.  I’ll look at what lessons can be learned from the event so that you can develop your mindset and train accordingly. I came up with this idea for the series after interviewing Scott Reitz on episode 57.  Scott, the former LAPD SWAT officer, was involved in five gunfights in his career and was able to teach the lessons he learned to his students. On this first episode I

Mini-red dot sights or just “red dots” on pistols is not a new thing, however, more and more people are finally adopting them.  Pretty much every handgun manufacturer is building optic ready guns and some are selling the guns with the optic already on it.  Carry Optics is a very popular division in USPSA with the other shooting sports following suit.  Instagram is also flooded with photos of tactical folk driving their gats with red dots and compensators.  But with all the new guns with optics, how does one learn to shoot them? Well today I’m glad to welcome back the crowd favorite, the keeper of the title with most downloaded podcast, SWAT officer, firearms trainer, and 4 division grandmaster..Yong Lee. I’ve known Yong for many years and shot with him when we were on Team SIG together.  Yong also was a speaker on the first Shooter’s Summit.  One of the most distinguishing facets about Yong is his ability to shooter extremely fast and accurate.  I’ll link to his YouTube channel so you can see him shooting and

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast.  What makes one person go on to achieve the highest level in their endeavors or hobbies always fascinates me.  Whether it’s getting a black belt or making grandmaster in competitive shooting, the practice and talent always seem to get together.  For some, the goal is elusive and unattainable but for a few, they can achieve it and sometimes at an accelerated pace. Charlie Perez is one such individual.  Charlie, like me, came to competitive pistol shooting later in life and he went from unclassified or novice to grandmaster in 18 months.  It wasn’t just that he out practiced everyone.  It’s that his nature is very analytical and he understood exactly what he needed to practice instead of copying the standard routines of drawing the gun and reloads. Charlie also went on to become a top level competitor in the sport of USPSA or practical shooting where we “run and gun” with pistols.  Along the way and years later, Charlie now is an instructor and just released his firs

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast.  I’ve always been fascinated by people who have a full time job but then pursue other ventures such as creating a podcast.  Something that I can totally relate to.  I have always been a fan of the podcasting space and gave up on terrestrial radio 15 years ago when I started to patrol on the midnight shift.  Listening to podcasts helped pass the time plus there were no annoying ads.  One of the podcasts I listen to now is called the Squad Room hosted by Garrett TeSlaa who is a sergeant at a sheriff’s department in Southern California. The Squad Room podcast has interesting guest who cover all aspects of personal development specifically for law enforcement officers but the ideas and strategies can be applied to everyday civilians.  Wether it’s how to get better sleep or what to do if you find yourself in the middle of a gunfight, this podcast does an excellent job of transmitting quality information. Garrett shares a similar story of how he became a cop and the choi

Welcome back to the Firearms Nation Podcast. My guest today is by far one of the fastest shooters in competition.  KC Eusebio started shooting at the ripe old age of 9 years old and made the rank of Grandmaster in USPSA at 12 which still is a record. He is a National and World Champion and holds many speed steel, also known as Steel Challenge records for the fastest times.  KC was selected for the prestigious US ARMY Marksmanship Unit or AMU and enlisted for a four year tour of duty.  There he trained other soldiers as well as help the recruitment operations of the Army.  When he discharged he signed on to TEAM GLOCK and shot for them for three years and over 40 competitions around the world. Now KC has his own training company which he founded with another speed shooter and first lady of shooting, Jessie Harrison.  Their company, MetaGroup, started teaching civilians, LE and military personnel in not only pistol skills but long range rifle and tactical medicine.  They have their first Meta Group Skills Summi

Have you ever wondered what you would do or how you would react to being in an actual gunfight?  What kind of training do you do to prepare for it?  Do you have the mindset to win?  It would be nice to know the answers to those questions..well today my guest has been “down range” as they say and can tell you what you need.  You need to be well versed in the basics of shooting.  Simple as that. My guest is Bob Keller who is currently a firearms instructor for his company, Gamut Resolutions.  Bob is a veteran of US Army Special Operations and completed several deployments overseas where he engaged in combat against the enemy.  When he retired he saw that there was an abundance of training over social media that focused on matters that don’t really help you in live fire engagements and decided to put up his shingle and teach law enforcement and civilians what they needed to do to win if they ever needed to defend themselves with a firearm. In addition to his training company, Bob also has several videos with Pan

This podcast is a replay from the 2017 Shooter's Summit.  The Shooter's Summit brings together over 30 of the top firearms instructors, both from the competition and tactical worlds, to help you become a better shooter. Shannon Smith – Is a veteran of the US Army where he also spent 6 years in special operations in the 2nd Ranger Battalion.  He was honored to be a team leader and sent to numerous schools in firearms, leadership and small unit tactics.  He also discovered competitive shooting while stationed in the state of Washington. Shannon is a Grandmaster shooter in USPSA (United States Pistol Association) and works for the Universal Shooting Academy in Frostproof, FL.  There he coordinates multiple major shooting events each year for USPSA, Steel Challenge and 3 Gun. He is also ranked as one of the top competitors in USPSA who also was on Team USA at the 2008 World Shoot. Shannon teaches military, law enforcement and civilians at Universal Shooting Academy.  He recently started his own Podcast “Shannon S

Welcome back to another episode of the firearms nation podcast.  In the world of law enforcement, tactical firearms instruction and SWAT teams, one man stands out as a leader in all those arenas.  Scott Reitz served on the LAPD for 30 years.  Scott started on patrol and worked his way to the Special Problems Unit, which handled the druggies and other issues in the Wilshire and Van Nuys divisions.  From there he made “Metro” which is an elite division in the LAPD and then finally after about ten years he got on the SWAT team. The history of law enforcement comes from departments like the LAPD or NYPD and it’s important to remember the cases and shootouts that formed tactical training including firearms.  Scott or “Uncle Scotty” was in five shootings durning his career and learned not only the technical skills, but the overwhelming legal battles that will follow any gunfight whether you are a cop or civilian.  In fact, Scott now serves as an expert in deadly force and testifies in many federal and superior cour

This podcast is a little different than the normal fare as I discuss a dark time in the world’s history.  I was given a copy of the book, Gun control in the third reich several years ago and was moved after reading it.  The author, Stephen Halbrook, is a well regarded attorney who has argued cases in front of the Supreme Court and won.  Stephen is also somewhat of a historian and has written several books including this one. Nazi Germany brings up a slew of emotions from hatred to sorrow depending on your preceptive.  The book begins immediately after the first world war when Germany was in turmoil and violence was on the rise.  Gun laws were passed that were severe but also began the process of registration of ownership.  Something that would later haunt the populace especially the Jewish Germans.  The warnings were there that lists of gun owners could fall into the wrong hands of an extremist group…and that’s exactly what happened.  So I ask you to come with me as I go back to the 1920 and 30s in Germany we

Steve Tarani is the first person to be interviewed twice on the Firearms Nation Podcast!  Steve is a rather imposing fellow, tall, strong and well versed in multiple ways to take you down.  He has studied numerous martial arts, mostly from the devastating knife arts of the Philippines and Indonesia or Eskrima and Silat.  Steve also mastered the firearm arts and became an instructor at Gunsite which is the start of modern combat training.  Professionally, Steve worked for the CIA and other Federal and Military divisions doing..”work” that can’t be talked about on open forums.  I really don’t care what he did but I do know he currently works by teaching, writing books and protecting clients.  I’m just glad that he’s on “our” side.  Today we talk about knives and concepts from his new book “Your Most Powerful Weapon – Using Your Mind to Stay Safe”. Links mentioned in episode: www.stevetarani.com By the book on Amazon: Your Most Powerful Weapon - Using Your Mind to Stay Safe

Today I was joined by Phil Strader who is currently the Pistol Product Manager at Sig Sauer, which makes some of the finest firearms in the world.  Phil is the spearhead of the new P320 series of striker fired handguns that have been taking the market to task.  With this pistol Sig got the Army pistol contract and more recently was awarded the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) contract.  It is the gun I shoot with and carry every day.  Last year the gun was surrounded by controversy over failing a certain unmeasured drop safety test.  I talk to Phil about this and how Sig overcame the issue. Phil previously not only worked for Remington, but was the past president of the USPSA who, under his tenure, brought about some major changes including the Carry Optics division.  Phil also started his career as a law enforcement officer working for the Capitol Police.  Oh, and along the way he's won major shooting championships and we talk about being a winner. Links mentioned in the show: https://www.sigsauer.com/

Shane Coley is the son of a law enforcement officer who grew up in Mississippi playing baseball and football.  But what Shane really liked was going to the range with dad and learning how to shoot.  Soon Shane began competing in USPSA and started winning matches.  That caught the eyes of the scouts from the Army Marksmanship Unit who recruited Shane to enlist.  Shane spent seven years in the Army and when he left, Shane was fortunate enough to be hired by Glock, Inc. to be Team Captain.  Shane enjoys the life of a professional shooter and also incorporates Crossfit into his training.  Shane learned early on that the body should be a peak performance to settle the mind and win matches. Links mentioned in the podcast: https://us.glock.com/ Please SUBSCRIBE and leave a review on iTunes.  It really supports the podcast.   Join the Nation..