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Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Charlie Cook: Riding Shotgun With Charlie·Hosted by Charlie Cook·200 episodes

ComedyEducationFirearms interviewsRoad-trip formatSecond AmendmentStandalone episodesShort radio segmentsEnglish

Riding Shotgun With Charlie is a aims to entertain and educate people who are into firearms. However, not everything is firearm related. We may talk music or politics or whatever may come up during a conversation between the driver and the passenger.

Why listen

Riding Shotgun With Charlie puts host Charlie Cook in a literal car-ride conversation with firearm instructors, advocates, trainers, creators, and Second Amendment personalities. The appeal is the relaxed road-trip format, where guests talk through how they got into firearms, what they teach, and the political or personal issues shaping gun ownership. Listeners who like firearms culture, civil-rights advocacy, and unpolished longform interviews will feel at home here.

Episodes

19 min
Jun 4, 2026
PitStop Chad Barber NRA AM 2026

Chad Barber NRA's America's Rifle Challenge NRA America's Rifle Challenge https://arc.nra.org/ Shooting Sports USA article https://www.ssusa.org/content/nra-america-s-rifle-challenge-beginner-friendly-ar-competition/

40 min
Jun 2, 2026
PitStop Mike Harris NRA AM 2026

Riding Shotgun With Charlie PitStop Mike Harris Director of Public Policy, Gun Owners Action League https://www.goal.org/

22 min
May 29, 2026
PitStop Jacob Paulsen NRA

Jacob Paulsen ConcealedCarry.com Guardian Conference September 18-20, 2026 Oklahoma City, OK https://guardianconference.com/ Recorded at NRA Annual Meetings in Houston, Texas, April 2026

42 min
May 26, 2026Episode 254
RSWC 254 Alisha Curtin, San Diego Concealed Carry & Gun Owners Radio

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #254 Alisha Curtin San Diego Concealed Carry & Gun Owners Radio In 2022, I went to the San Diego County Gun Owners' Gun Prom with a friend. I got to meet lots of people at the event, many whom I've had on the show at some point. I'm sure I met Alisha Curtin then. She's been part of Gun Owners Radio for a few years now. I did a PitStop interview with her, which is already posted, and I got to film this interview where we get into things a little more with her. This was her first SHOT Show and she had a great time! Alisha was raised in the San Diego area and met her husband in high school. At 17, she enlisted in the delayed entry program in the Army. The week before she was supposed to ship off for bootcamp, she re-evaluated the situation with her boyfriend and thought it was leading places just 4 months into dating. Just before SHOT Show, they celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary! Her husband is in law enforcement and with a firearm in the home, he wanted her to be familiar with it. She really enjoyed it but, for him, shooting was just work. Eventually, she found that she was going to shoot and take training with her lady friends. Around 2012, she bought her own gun, a S&W .40 cal! Fortunately, it was a gun she rented, knew what she was getting into, and liked shooting. During her pre-firearms career, Alisha was a high school teacher, covering biology, chemistry, forensic science, and criminal justice. The path to becoming an instructor was interesting. She was taking courses and another instructor took her in, said she would be good at this and mentored her. Then a range approached her and asked about having her teach courses at their facility. Instructing was a part time gig until the virus that shall not be named happened. The gun laws were changing and it seems like a good time to make a change. As an instructor, she mostly works with women. Many times a woman takes a lesson and brings her husband's gun or buys a gun the store suggests she buys. But that often isn't a great choice for the ladies, something like a J frame snubby. The thought is if a woman isn't strong enough to rack a slide, then she's going to have issues shooting a revolver in double action. Her business is called San Diego Concealed Carry. There are a couple of ranges where she teaches. In California to become a CCW instructor, there are three different paths one can take: the NRA path, the BSIS (Bureau of Security Investigative Services) path, and the POST Police Officer Standard of Training). She's got all three of them. She also has all of the USCCA certifications, as well. Certified with NRA, USCCA, and others, she offers several courses. Of course, there's CCW courses, the California DOJ ini

17 min
May 22, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 5.1.2026

WTAG Segment with Danny Ferrantino on 5.1.2026 Tune in via iHeartRadio on Fridays at 4 pm eastern.

16 min
May 21, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 4.10.2026

WTAG Segment with Danny Ferrantino 4.10.026 Tune on in iHeartRadio on Fridays at 4 pm eastern

2 min
May 20, 2026
New England Firearm Advocacy Conference 5.30.2026

Join us at the New England Firearm Advocacy Conference. Saturday, May 30. 2026 Chicopee, MA https://secure.anedot.com/ccrkba/nefac

44 min
May 12, 2026Episode 253
RSWC #253 Lizzie Jackovich

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #253 Lizzie Jackovich Firearm Owners Against Crime Nearly everywhere I've gone for the last several years, I try to film an episode with someone. I've been going to the Great American Outdoor Show which is held in Harrisburg, PA, in the dead of winter and presented by NRA. Lizzie and I met at a Waffle House with some friends and did the show on the way to the GAOS. Yes, I'm surprised there was a WaHo close enough for breakfast. It was about 7 degrees outside when we met. And it was very windy! Lizzie is a volunteer with Firearm Owners Against Crime (FOAC). FOAC is led by Jim Stoker (RSWC #187) and Klint Macro (RSWC #069 it's the crime of the politicians they're fighting. For those who may be interested, the Pennsylvania carry permit is pretty easy to get. You need to fill out an application and give them a $20 bill. I went to central PA a few years ago to the Tommy Gun Warehouse and I drove a bit further to get my PA permit while I waited. It took an hour. Lizzie has a history of gun owners and shooters in her family. Her grandfather was a chief of police. Her dad became a police officer, too, but he had several careers. As a young man, her dad was a Marine sniper and very much into shooting and fishing. As a young girl, Lizzie was into archery, joined the boys teams, and embarrassed them. When she was older, she had some things happen in her life. When the police were called, they would often tell her "you're safe now" or "it's over, you're ok". But she didn't feel that way. That made her decision. She knew about firearms, but not enough to know what she was doing. She knew to keep her finger off and in a safe direction. Her first shots were with a Desert Eagle and that was a turn off, but then she went to a .22 and things were better. Finally, she settled on a 9mm. Once she was comfortable shooting, she started thinking about carrying and that was something new to learn. She took some courses with Klint, started to draw from the holster and progressed through the program. With her new skill and interest, she wasn't sure about instructing, but she was taking friends and family to the range. But she knew she needed something so she became an RSO through the USCCA. In the future, there could be some instructing for her. She could be a great advocate for female shooters. The hunger for learning and p

31 min
May 5, 2026
PitStop John Meyer, Team One Network

Riding Shotgun With Charlie PitStop John Meyer Team One Network Recorded at SHOT Show 2026. 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

26 min
Apr 30, 2026
PitStop Trampas Swanson Armed Lifestyle Magazine

Riding Shotgun With Charlie PitStop Trampas Swanson Swanson Media Group Swanson Training Group Armed Lifestyle Magazine Recorded at SHOT Show 2026. 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

55 min
Apr 28, 2026Episode 252
RSWC #252, Jason Schaller, The Rogue Banshee

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #252 Jason Schaller The Rogue Banshee, For the Love of Guns Podcast I was able to catch up with Jason at SHOT Show 2026. He's been hard to catch up with to have on the show. He lives in Montana and I haven't made it there yet. Special thanks to Michael Schwartz (RSWC #153) for letting us use his stagecoach for the show. Jason grew up outside of Philadelphia. His dad had him shooting by age 7, going from BB guns to .22 then to .357. When he turned 21, he bought a GLOCK 17 and joined the GSSF, GLOCK Shooting Sports Foundation. He got his father into the GSSF and they used to compete. When his father passed, he let it go by the wayside. Years later he was married, he bought his wife a gun and got her into the GSSF but it wasn't something that kept her interested so he kept going by himself. With time and age setting in, he's doing more steel challenge shooting. For 10 years, Jason was a "kitchen table FFL". He was doing cerakoting for people, but he charged people to take the gun apart and reassemble it. It was easier for him to make a video taking the gun apart and sending his clients the video so they could disassemble and reassemble it. That's how his YouTube channel started. At one point, the ATF agent came in and told Jason he was selling 2.3 guns per day. The kitchen table activity was able to fund the channel. With the YT channel, everything he does is educational. When things changed politically, he noticed more videos were being watched, particularly the 80% builds. When the frame and receiver rule hit, everyone wanted to watch the videos while they could. After a while, he started doing some reviews and those were doing good. But since he was doing some gunsmithing and building, he had some sponsors. Doing interviews was something else he started doing on the channel. Finally, he started getting some pushback from the videohost website due to selling items. Eventually, he had to part ways with the sponsors as their items were the things he was getting channel strikes for. To get away from getting strikes, he started the For The Love of Guns Podcast. Having some Toastmasters experience, talking and connecting with others was something he was good at. He's finally figured out that deep cleaning is the way to keep the channel going without issues. During an interview talking about outdoor mentorship for women, he gets yet another strike. All the stuff he was doing, the reviews, the interviews, and the smithing is done on the same channel. The host started taking 30 episodes a day. He was getting hammered with two strikes and they were keeping them on the record. Revamping the show and the layout, he's changed it to a deep cleaning channel. Despite the issues, he loves doing the channel and having

13 min
Apr 23, 2026
PitStop Ryan Cleckner, Sniper & Author

Riding Shotgun With Charlie PitStop Ryan Cleckner Sniper & Author Recorded at SHOT Show 2026. 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

37 min
Apr 21, 2026
PitStop John & Vicki Farnam, Defense Training International, FlexCCarry

Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie PitStop John & Vicki Farnam Defense Training International FlexCCarry Recorded at SHOT Show 2026 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

16 min
Apr 16, 2026
PitStop Sarah Joy Albrecht, Hold My Guns

Riding Shotgun With Charlie PitStop Sarah Joy Albrecht Hold My Guns Recorded at SHOT Show 2026  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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

45 min
Apr 14, 2026Episode 251
RSWC #251 Craig DeLuz

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #251 Craig DeLuz I'm not sure how long I've known Craig but it has been several years. We finally made it happen in Salt Lake City, UT, at the Gun Rights Policy Conference. He does a show with Mike Piwowarski (RSWC #104 ) called The Rundown. But he's also had Coffee with Craig, a morning show that keeps you up to date on the goings on with 2A and conservative issues. Craig grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. He had a twin brother and the only thing they really shared was parents. They were the opposite in nearly every way, from the positions they played in football to where they went for college, to their political beliefs, to their career choices. Despite their upbringing, Craig leaded towards conservatism while he was in college studying finance. In college, he decided that he was going to run for student body president. One of his professors said they'll never have a black student body president. That's what he pursued and won the election by less than 1% of the vote. The experience led him to realize he believed in individual rights and responsibilities, entrepreneurship. These were values he was raised with even though his parents were Democrats. The experience of getting elected got him more interested in politics. This led to getting involved and leading several groups and working in the legislature. Eventually, he crossed paths with Brandon Combs, who was the founder and President of Firearms Policy Coalition. Since FPC was looking for someone to do some media and have someone with experience and knowledge of the legislature, they hired Craig to do just that. At 40 years old, he purchased his first firearm. Not growing up with firearms in the house, they didn't have firearms when the kids were young. But once the kids were teens, they decided it was time. Gun ownership in California means you have to know a lot of legal topics about owning, possessing, and carrying. It was then he realized that the Golden State was infringing on his, and everyone else's, Rights. In 2012 after Sandy Hook, California dropped over 50 anti-gun bills. His career took the path to being a lobbyist and advocate. The NRA Director for California, Ed Worley, told him the legislature was kabuki theatre. So Craig decided to put on a show. Each side gets two people and two minutes to state their case for the debate. He was able to put his theatre background to use. The battle out there means you have to get used to "winning the argument, but losing the vote." Using the clips from the debates, they were able to get more people informed about the nonsense going on. The shows in the kabuki theatre parlayed into starting things like Coffee with Craig, where he did morning videos about the goings on in California, the gun

18 min
Apr 10, 2026
WTAG Segment with Danny Ferrantino from 4.3.2026 in Worcester, MA

Talking with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG on 4.3.2026 in Worcester, MA

27 min
Apr 9, 2026
PitStop Grant Cunningham, Revolver Aficionado

Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie  PitStop Grant Cunningham Revolver Aficionado Recorded at SHOT Show 2026.   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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

6 min
Apr 8, 2026
WTAG Segment 2 with Danny Ferrantino, 3.27.2026

Talking with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG from 3.27.2026 in Worcester, MA Segment 2

10 min
Apr 8, 2026
WTAG Segment 1 with Danny Ferrantino from 3.27.2026

Talking with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG form 3.27.2026 in Worcester, MA Segment 1

15 min
Apr 7, 2026
PitStop Ashley Hlebinsky, History In Heels

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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

6 min
Apr 6, 2026
WTAG segment 2 w/ Danny Ferrantino 3.20.2026

Talking with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG in Worcester, MA, on 3.20.2026 Segment 2

9 min
Apr 6, 2026
WTAG Segment 1 with Danny Ferrantino, 3.20.2026

Talking with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG on Worcester, MA.

44 min
Apr 2, 2026
PitStop Braden Langley pod

PitStop with Braden Langley at SHOT Show 2026. 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

24 min
Mar 30, 2026
RSWC PitStop Alisha Curtin

PitStop with Alisha Curtin at SHOT Show 2026!   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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

15 min
Mar 26, 2026
PitStop Erica & Jess Pod

PitStop with Erica Chin & Jess Adanich from WOMA at SHOT Show 2026. 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 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 Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

46 min
Mar 24, 2026Episode 250
RSWC #250 John Correia, Active Self Protection

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #250 John Correia Active Self Protection This is a momentous episode! First, I didn't think, or know, that there would ever be 250 episodes of RSWC. I started the show with an idea, a couple GoPros, and no knowledge of how to edit video. Second, that I'd ever get John Correia on the show! I got to have Neil (#116) and Stephanie (#112) Weidner on the show back in 2021. They both work at Active Self Protection. We've had an ongoing joke that I had them on but didn't want to have John. This year at SHOT, we made it happen. John grew up in the San Francisco area. He's a 49ers fan and "gold and red 'til he's cold and dead." There wasn't much shooting or hunting going on, living with his mom and her parents for a while. His dad did own firearms, but it was mostly for duck hunting and not something John did with him. Around 13, he did some recreational shooting and occasional hunting with his paternal grandfather on his biological father's side. However, this man was a prohibited possessor despite owning some firearms. At 19 years old, John joined "Uncle Sam's Canoe Club" and was a nuclear reactor operator. And he also got married. Boot camp provided almost zero shooting, other than a converted AR into a .22. During candidate school, he was rear ended by a drunk driver, which messed up his back, and two years later, he was out of the Navy. After the injury, he was the first person to use the vocational rehabilitation education for a religious education. He cranked out 96 credit hours in 3 years as that's what the program paid for. Helping people is what he wanted to do and has done in several ways. From 2003 until 2018, he was pastor at a small church of about 150 people. Making ends meet, raising a family, and earning the Master's degree, kept him very busy. Going to seminary, he was also working as a retail manager at a video game store. When the PS3 and Xbox360 came out, there was lots of talk about people mugging managers to get the consoles. Arizona was a shall issue at the time. To be able to protect himself, he got the wrong gun, the wrong ammo, and the wrong holster and started carrying. His son was doing martial arts as an activity and wanted dad to join him, but John kept pushing it off until the end of grad school. Having had a gun in the house for a few years, he realized that having a gun was a 'non-zero risk' for the family. As we all know, training is expensive. So he pursued becoming a firearm instructor to be able to have some tax write offs. For a while he was living a dual life as a pastor and a firearm instructor. There was some crossover content on his socials, so he started a page just for gun activities. One evening he brought a video of a self defense scenario to work out how to com

14 min
Mar 19, 2026
PitStop Bill Kirk, Washington Gun Law, from SHOT Show 2026

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 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   Or listen on: iTunes/Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

20 min
Mar 17, 2026
PItStop AG Austin Knudsen From SHOT Show 2026

Catching up with AG Knudsen at SHOT Show 2026!

14 min
Mar 13, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 3/6/2026

WTAG segment with Danny Ferrantino on 3.6.2026

39 min
Mar 10, 2026Episode 249
RSWC #249 Janet Nyce

14 min
Mar 7, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 2/27/2026

Catching up with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG in Worcester, MA, on 2/27/2026

20 min
Mar 6, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 2/20/2026

Catching up with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG in Worcester, MA, on 2/20/2026

18 min
Mar 4, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 2/6/2026

Catching up with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG in Worceseter, MA, on 2/6/2026

12 min
Mar 3, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 1/30/2026

Catching up with Danny Ferrantino on WTAG in Worcester, MA on 1/30/2026

17 min
Mar 2, 2026
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino 1/23/2026

Catching up for Freedom Fridays at 4 with Danny Ferrantino from WTAG in Worcester, MA!

49 min
Feb 24, 2026Episode 248
RSWC #248 Terra Semaia

16 min
Feb 19, 2026
PitStop Charlie Brown SHOT 2026 Pod

Riding Shotgun WIth Charlie PitStop Charlie Brown MKS Supply NRA Board of Directors, 2.0 Candidate

45 min
Feb 10, 2026Episode 247
RSWC #247 Lauren Snyder & Joey Hamby, Attorneys On Retainer

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #247 Lauren Snyder & Joey Hamby Attorneys On Retainer Sometimes the universe dictates the timing of doing a show. I met Lauren Snyder at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix in 2019. I was able to film a show with fellow Attorneys On Retainer employee, Sarah Riggle RSWC #189, but we didn't have time for Lauren. At GRPC in Salt Lake City in 2025, we were able to make it happen. But we also got to have Joey Hamby, one of the AOR attorneys who specializes in self defense cases. We're also able to get it out just before they have an AOR conference in Mesa, AZ, in February 2026. Lauren first hit my radar a number of years ago. While at a Second Amendment rally in Phoenix, she connected to Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) because they both have a vintage look. She got involved with Women For Gun Rights when it was called The DC Project. There is a video out there of her testifying against gun bills in Arizona. But after the politician said he didn't think people should be carrying, she sat in front of him and then he had to retract what he said and told her he didn't mean she shouldn't carry. Of course, this was the first time she ever testified for anything and she was thrown right into the mix of it. Growing up on Long Island, her family wasn't really into firearms. Working at a tattoo shop when she was young, she met a few guys who were Ron Paul libertarians. They also taught her about firearms and safety, but the process in New York was very difficult to exercise her rights. Not really knowing anything other than Democrats and voting for John Kerry in her first election, she quickly turned to the libertarians and the idea of true freedom. Eventually, Lauren found herself living in Florida and got more into firearms. She made more friends and got into shooting and carrying. There wasn't a lot going on for any activism at the time. After meeting her now-husband on Facebook, she moved to Arizona to be with him and got much more involved. With Women For Gun Rights, she has made the trip to DC to lobby and talk with politicians. She didn't think she had a story worth sharing but she did have a stalker and that was when she started taking firearms, training, and self defense more seriously. That is the story she shares with us. Joey Hamby has been a hunter and shooter since he was a kid. He was a junior life member of the NRA, so yeah, since he was young. He loves shooting, hunting, and going out and plinking. Since 1994, he's been practicing law. One of the things that separates AOR from other services is that they are not insurance. They are a legal team that specializes in self defense. Over the years, he's had many interesting cases, of course. He tells us about som

48 min
Jan 27, 2026Episode 246
RSWC 246 Nolan Howard

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #246 Nolan Howard 617 Defense It took a while before I was able to have Nolan Howard on the show. In the meantime, he had stories about him and 617 Defense in the Boston Globe and he was on Bearing Arms' Cam & Co a few times. I'm glad we finally got a chance to do an interview. We've run into each other at a few events hosted by the NRA's state affiliate, Gun Owners Action League. In the fall of 2025, Nolan hosted a Friends of the NRA dinner in Boston, which I don't think ever happened before. Nolan grew up in Boston and the Metrowest area of Boston. Like many young kids, he played video games like Medal of Honor and learned about firearms through them. Having firearms in the house wasn't something they did. But when President Trump was in office the first time, he knew something wasn't right and it was probably time to learn about firearms and get into them. He went to a local shooting school, Mass Firearms School, where I cut my teeth as an instructor and started shooting regularly. He had a friend who helped, mentored, and guided him though shooting and starting 617 Defense. Being in the black community, there was a lack of opportunity to go shooting at a range. Boston is a "range desert" with only one range and zero gun stores in Boston proper. His objective was to keep others in the black informed on what is going on with the firearm community. Most of the ranges in Massachusetts are private clubs. There are only a handful of public ranges across the Commonwealth. His route to being an instructor was through the NRA's Home Firearm Safety, Basics of Pistol Shooting, and becoming a Range Safety Officer. After becoming a certified instructor, he teamed up with others and started offering classes. He's done classes in Boston, but moved onto the Mansfield Fish and Game, which is about an hour from Boston. For a while, Nolan was working with the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA). They do classes monthly for its members and keep them up to date on goings on with the political climate in the firearm community. Since we filmed this show, he's moved on and is working on his own group. We spent some time talking about Chapter 135, the law "Modernizing Gun Laws" in Massachusetts. It has been nothing but a sham. It goes after the license to carry holders and gun owners by turning them into criminals for homemade firearms and carrying pre-1994 so-called high capacity magazines. It makes the training more challenging, too, for instructors like Nolan. The new requirements have live fire, a written exam, suicide prevention, injury prevention, and disengagement training. Once the law went into effect, neither the state nor the state police had any type of curriculum for instructors. They have until April 2026 to develop this. When

6 min
Jan 26, 2026
DFS 2 0116

Danny Ferrantino Show 1/16/2026 Segment 2

11 min
Jan 26, 2026
DFS 1 0116

Danny Ferrantino Show 1/16/2026 Part 1

7 min
Jan 25, 2026
DSF 0109 Segment 2

The Danny Ferrantino Show Segment 2 1/9/2026

7 min
Jan 25, 2026
DSF 0109 Segment 2

The Danny Ferrantino Show Segment 2 1/9/2026

13 min
Jan 25, 2026
DFS 1/9/2026 Part 1

Segment from Danny Ferrantino Show Jan 9, 2026 Part 1

13 min
Jan 25, 2026
DFS 1/9/2026 Part 1

Segment from Danny Ferrantino Show Jan 9, 2026 Part 1

50 min
Jan 13, 2026Episode 245
RSWC 245 Sara Weaver

Riding Shotgun With Charlie #245 Sara Weaver (feat Tanner Lineberry) Ruby Ridge To Freedom, Author "But did you ask?" This is what Yehuda Remer (RSWC #012) said a time or two. Tanner Lineberry, who works at Second Amendment Foundation, said that Sara Weaver, Randy Weaver's daughter, was going to be speaking at Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City. I had to ask if she would be up for doing the show. She wanted to think about it. Then she was reminded about it a couple weeks before GRPC when I did a post about reading her book. Fortunately, she said she would. Score! Tanner and Marc, Sara's husband, joined us in the car for the show. Tanner starts by sharing that when he was a youth, Sara came to his church in Montana and gave a speech. The speech impacted him on a few levels and he remembered it for several years. It was his idea to have Sara come to GRPC and sit down to talk about what happened with Mark Walters from Armed American Radio (RSWC #002 & #084). If you don't know about the incident at Ruby Ridge, there's plenty of information about it out there, including a documentary on PBS. The quick story is that Randy, a former Green Beret, moved his family to Idaho. He was asked by someone (an ATF agent) to make him a sawed off shotgun, which he did as he needed the money to feed his family. The agent said Weaver needed to become an informant for them or they were going to prosecute him on the sawed off shotgun charges. He said no to both options. After some botched information on a court date Weaver didn't show up for the trial. Then the ATF went to the Weaver's property. After an 11 day stand off, Sara's brother, mother, and dog were dead, shot by the ATF. There are shocking parts of the story that you should read about. So, get the book and read it! This had a deep and profound effect on Sara, as it would for anyone. After the standoff, there was lots being said and assumed by the media and other people. Most of it just wasn't true. Sara and Randy wrote a book about the incident. They traveled the country, going to gun shows to sell and sign their self published book. People lined up to buy signed copies of the book. Remember, this was back in the 1990s when it wasn't so easy to get your own book published. The book is what happened from their point of view, not what the media was portraying. And definitely not what people were saying and thinking about the Weavers. Sara was able to pick up and continue with her life, but it wasn't easy. There were years of survivor's guilt and questioning religion. Why did this happen to her? Why did this happen at all? How was she going to live and raise her own family? Eventually, she was able to go back and read John 3:16 and John 3:17 in her Bi

37 min
Dec 23, 2025Episode 244
RSWC 244 Sam Lichtman

13 min
Dec 22, 2025
DFS WTAG 12.18.2025

Charlie & Danny Ferrantino on WTAG from 12.18.2025.  Talking about firearm issues of the week.

19 min
Dec 18, 2025
WTAG segment w/ Danny Ferrantino12.12.2025

From The Danny Ferrantino Show on WTAG, Worcester, MA 12.12.2025 I got to be on two segments! Check it out!