Riding Shotgun With Charlie Charlie Cook: Riding Shotgun With Charlie

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 getting and giving training with Public Safety & Education, his training company. He offers several of the NRA and USCCA courses. But he is also a Master Instructor for SABRE Pepper Spray and for the TASER Civilian Course. He travels the country teaching these classes. Of course, he also offers several other training opportunities. Since the Bruen decision in June 2022, he’s been doing the 18, yes EIGHTEEN, hour course to get a carry permit in New York. The NY Governor signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, or the Concealed Carry Improvement Atrocity as he calls it. He was able to take topics and lessons from his other courses to meet the 18 hour requirement and qualification. Some states like Massachusetts, have approved courses. States like New York have approved content in the course. 
 
Another new course is the Build Your Own 2A BeAR. You can build your own AR-15 style rifle, with a pinned magazine, which makes the rifle not an “assault weapon”. Matt offers about 95 different courses through PS&Ed, including teaching at the local police academy.
 
Other than that, Matt and I have been doing a LIVE show on our YouTube channels. We’re honored that Mantis and Next Level Training are our sponsors of the show. And we give away a Mantis X10 and a SIRT pistol every month. 
 
Klint is holding his own in the keeping busy department. He’s had LASIK surgery on his eyes. Yes, it may seem weird to talk about eye surgery on a gun show. The reason he did it is because if someone broke into his home, got into a confrontation, and swiped his face and knocked his glasses off, he wouldn’t be able to see them anymore. This is the outside of the box thinking that Klint does. 
 
He’s also a consultant with the USCCA. They have him training the trainers all around the country. As a consultant for the USCCA’’s official partners, he helps instructors build a training path for their clients. Some duties include helping with marketing and retaining clients. 
 
He’s been working with them for years, but they offered him a position he couldn’t turn down. He’s also been able to keep his training company, Trigger Pressers Union, offering courses. He’s doing classes with Personal Defense Network, running National Train a Teacher’s Day, president of Allegheny County Sportsman League. He’s the Vice President of Firearm Owners Against Crime. The most challenging part of all Klint’s gigs is keeping his hats separated and on correctly. He can’t speak for one group when he’s representing a different one or speaking to a different group. 
 
Klint talks about how after the government lockdowns of 2020, there were lots of people making purchases and seeking out training. This was very different from previous generations of gun owners. People want to buy firearms and take some training not because its required, but because they want to know how to use their new guns safely. Often he’ll tell folks to offer a basic course on having a firearm in the home and teach people how to be better consumers. 
 
Matt and Klint have a lot going on, individually and as a team. Between the courses locally and around the country, they’re always on the go. You should take a course with either of them when they’re in your area. And tell them Charlie said Hello!



Favorite quotes:
Matt: “It’s a corrupt government in New York state… It’s legalized crime.”
Matt: “I’m not going to let them walk out with a certificate if they can’t keep their finger off the trigger when it’s important.”
Klint: “All the stuff I had in pla

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 met him at SHOT a couple years ago and asked for a selfie and he happily obliged. In November of 2022, Matt Mallory and I did a LIVE Show with him and I really had no idea about all of his history. Michael is an amazing storyteller so I just sat back and listened. This show isn’t much different. 
 
I posted on my social media that I was going to Denver for a few days. Michael asked when I was coming out and said if I had the time, he would love to be on the show. He said I could visit the Secret Hidden Bunker. How am I going to pass this up? 
 
The last 24 hours of this trip were spent with Michael and his sweetie. We had dinner the night the previous night and I got some stories that just seemed over the top. It was amazing! The next morning, I headed to the Secret Hidden Bunker. Before we even started I got two hours of stories. His sweetie finally said that we needed to film my show.  I needed to get to the airport, too.  Once we were the appropriate distance from the Bunker, we started filming. 
 
We headed to Estes Park, CO, to The Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for The Shining. Michael talked about his writing career and working for Country Music magazine back in his youth. He grew up in Memphis and took in all the R&B, blues, and early rock. He spent time writing for local newspapers over the years. When a friend showed him a check from writing for a magazine, he knew that was the path for him. He traveled with and became friends with many of the country singers and musicians. I love the story about how he went to Hank Williams Jr’s house and ended up touring with and writing Hank Jr’s autobiography. He’s written a number of books about country musicians, from Travis Tritt to Willie Nelson. His stories and experiences are unmatched!
 
Once at the Stanley Hotel, we may have had a drink with Lloyd the bartender. On the way back to the Bunker, we talked about guns, TV careers, and life lessons. Michael shared how Shooting Gallery got started with four episodes and the producer thinking it won’t last.  With no experience writing for TV or hosting a show, he moved ahead and took the chance. 
It ran for 22 years. There’s a story about how the Best Defense saved a woman’s life. I’m sure more than one person’s life, too. He worked with several counter terrorist experts to film an episode in a hangar about what really happens during a terror attack on a plane. He’s got connections to the best people with first hand knowledge and experience. And he did the last interview of Jeff Cooper!
 
I am truly honored to have had Michael on the show. I’m excited that I have a lot of his stories on video. I know there’s many, many more stories, too. This episode is really all the things that I enjoy. Stories about music, guns, and why you should take opportunities in life. I’m looking forward to listening to the show myself, even though I was there and I edited it. I need to take it all in. Happy 200th episode!



Favorite quotes:
“You can get paid to write but you don’t have to work for a newspaper?”
“You’ve just got to move with the opportunity.”
“You just keep going. People say “are you willing to do X?” You always say yes.”
“How do most people get this information that is literally life and death information?”
“I learned competency in different fields.”
“Excellence never comes from a consensus. Never.”
“The history of arms is the history of the world.”



Michael Bane TV
https://www.michaelbane.tv/
 
Blog Spot
https://michaelbane.blogspot.com/
 
Triggered YouTube Chan

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. We got to talking, telling him what we do. John wrote an article about the trip. Cam suggested we should do this again. John said I should film a show with Brad. Brad suggested we do the show in one of his planes. On the trip in fall, I brought the GoPros and filmed a show from a shotgun cart driving around the path of the stations.. It was a bit noisy with the cameras rattling for 7 minutes  but we stopped and the audio was better. 
 
Brad started Central Virginia Sporting Clays back in 2007. He grew up in a military family and they traveled often. He had a career in the government. When he got married he took a job doing construction. They ended up in central Virginia when they retired. Moving to this area, they finally felt at home. Brad said most of the gun clubs were private clubs with a waiting list so he started his own.  
 
Not growing up hunting or shooting, shotguns didn’t become an interest until he blew out his knee playing basketball. After some surgeries and recoveries, he was still moping around the house. His wife told him he needed to find something to do and suggested he go shotgunning. Without having any shooting experience, he found out that the gun community is full of great people who want to help you learn about firearms, safety, and shooting. He found the comradery, friendship, and competitiveness he was missing from basketball on the range. Naturally, he’s made lifelong friends from the shooting sports. 
 
Some of the challenges of running a sporting clays range include getting the town to be on board with all of the permitting needed. Currently, his property is just under 400 acres. He bought it little by little, starting with 95 acres. He bought more property as it came up. Adding more land parcels keeps any neighbors from getting close or complaining about noise levels.He buys the land, takes the timber off, sells it, and uses those funds to purchase more land. 
 
When we were there, Brad unfortunately locked himself out of his house. So he needed to tend to getting into the house. With that excitement, he forgot to give us score cards. We went into the office and picked up the clipboard and white sheets, thinking that was the easiest course of fire. Turns out, we were wrong. It was the hardest course. John was wondering if Brad was hitting the sauce when he layed out the white course. We all shot less than we usually would, but still had a great day. 
 
One of the wonderful things about CVSC is that every 30 days, Brad changes the course of fire. He’s out there moving the targets around so every month is different. It takes a day for him to move the throwers and make changes. There are four throwers at most stations. The next day he goes out and shoots the course himself. If there’s something he can’t hit, he makes adjustments.The throwing machines at CVSC have timed delays so someone could go out and shoot a round alone. But it’s always more fun with friends.
 
They have shotguns to rent and ammo to buy at CVSC. The rental fees aren’t much and the cost per box is about what you’d pay at your local gun shop. Of course shotgun carts are available for rent, too. I’d always suggest getting the carts. There’s a lot to lug around: guns, ammo, water bottles, cigars, etc. Throughout the year, they host some fun shoots and competitions. He offers some instruction, too, so if you need help you’ll get it. Obviously, safety is the top concern. But after that, having a good time is a close second when it comes to what’s important. 
 
If you find yourself in central Virginia, you need to take an after

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. Nailing the targets. Finishing before everyone else. It was impressive to say the least. I did interview him on that trip (RSWC #127). David was taking the FASTER course to see if it was something worth bringing back to Arizona. It was. 
 
David was a presenter at AMMcon (Alternative Multimedia Conference), which is hosted by Second Amendment Foundation. His topic the last two years at AMMcon have been on how to better use your social media. Here some of his presentation in 2022.  Here’s some From AMMcon 2023 part 1.  And here is part 2.. He was at AMMcon & GRPC and we hopped in the stagecoach to talk about FASTER. He does spend some time talking about using various means of the socials, who is using each different one, and why its important to have content at each of the platforms. 
 
As a perpetual student, he takes several courses as the student attendee. There’s always something you can learn from another instructor. He runs Dynamic Combative Solutions Training. DCS offers training on all firearms, CCW, and private courses around the country. He’s trained with many of the top instructors and he’s an instructor at the Active Self Protection Instructor. 
 
Besides being an instructor, David has been helping the AZCDL (Arizona Citizens Defense League) bring the FASTER program to The Grand Canyon State. Cheryl Todd (RSWC #060) and David went to Ohio’s FASTER course to see the Level 1 & 2 classes to make sure it was solid and going to be good for Arizona. Since the 1994 gun bill that Biden brags about didn’t end violence with guns in schools. Iit increased.
 
The FASTER program has various levels of courses. There are basic Foundations courses to teach anyone new to firearms the fundamentals of shooting and gun handling. The Level 2, 3 and 4 courses get much more into scenario training and response and force on force. States like Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, and Idaho already have legislation that allows school staff to carry. So the program needs to get into more schools and make this the norm from schools around the country. Particularly for rural schools and counties, this is an important aspect of school safety. Oftentimes, the police can be anywhere from 15-45 minutes away from the school. An incident can be over in that amount of time. 
 
I will say that the big takeaway from the FASTER course for me was the medical aspect. There are lots of people who get wounded during a mass shooting whose medical needs are not met until the event is over. Meaning police have stopped the threat and then medical comes in. During that time is crucial for the wounded so they don’t bleed out. The medical training can be used outside of a shooting. It can be used on the playground. But it can also be used for car accidents or even at home if someone is injured. 
 
It was great to have some time with David. He’s very well trained and educated, very professional in all ways. I love running into him at GPRC or SHOT or where the road and the training takes us around the country. 



Favorite quotes:
“When I do retire and make training my full time thing, I need to know how to use the social webs.”
“Think of using it (TikTok) as a teaser trailer to where you main content is.”
“Stick to what you’re already doing, just find snippets of what you’re already doing, then blast that out to the other areas, and bring that traffics back to you primary thing.”
“We shouldn’t restrict self defense anywhere.”
“Your body won’t go where the mind hasn’t been.”
“You can carry it but how often do you train with it?”
 
Dynamic Combati

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 just went with it. That’s the kind of fun spirited person she is. We saw her again at GAOS in 2023 and she wanted to be on the show as things have been growing at Throom over the last year and she has lots to talk about!
 
She starts us off with some lofty goals for the show. She wanted to see a bear. We did run into a pig (cop). Hehe! We were in the way northern part of New Jersey, Sussex Country, and drove into New York state for about a ½ mile, maybe less. I was honored to hear that she has watched several shows and knew the format well. She tracked out a path for us to drive and didn’t want to get lost. Part of the route took us over the Appalachian Trail. 
 
We do talk about some of the ridiculousness of the New Jersey gun laws, hollow point ammo, and jug handles. She also tells us the difference between living in central New Jersey, where gun owners stay in the closet versus northern New Jersey where it’s a bit more conservative and people are gun owners and not hiding it. She used to say she was in manufacturing but can now say she’s with a company that makes targets. 
 
Getting a degree in public relations and psychology, she noticed that her family were great engineers but not great marketers or communicating with people. She grew up in manufacturing with the rest of the family. Erin’s grandfather started an engineering business in the 1970’s and her dad and uncle grew up in the business. They started a side hustle in 1995 called Newbold Targets, which was the first self healing,reactive,  ricochet free targets. The only benefit she had is that she had targets to shoot. 
 
Throom is a small family owned and run business. This year, Erin is the CEO. Her previous titles were Managing Director and Director of Sales before that. I don’t want to say that titles aren’t important, but they do have someone who manages the dummy rounds they make. He’s the Dummy Director. 
 
After working for a big car company, Erin came back to the family business in 2013. She realized that they had a brand image issue and people were mistaking Newbold for other brands of targets. She’s got a great story about someone coming up to them at SHOT show and telling them their targets are junk. But they realized that they were talking about a different self healing target that didn’t heal so well. This is when the marketing stepped in and made a change in the color and packaging. 
Throom was rebranding before the lockdowns of 2020. There were big plans for SHOT 2021, which didn’t happen. So they had started selling via the big online company. And sales took off! People were stuck at home, buying online, and shooting in the back yards. (Not in the Garden State, of course!) Neighbors weren’t complaining because there wasn’t noise from the Throom targets. More and more people started buying them. 
 
The exciting news is that Throom is now in lots of new stores, the big box stores, the small mom & pop stores, and even some of the online suppliers, too. New to the product line is a remote target 




Favorite quotes:
“My husband says ‘Erin, we’re in Sussex County now. You can tell people what you do.”
“I am the CEO this year.”
“We’re just always having fun. We’re lucky we all get to work together. Most of us are family. And the people who aren’t technically family, we consider family.”
“This industry, they respect people that make things in the US”




Throom Targets Website
https://throomtargets.com/
 
Throom Targets Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/throomtargets
 
Throom Targets YouTube Channel

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 husband, Jerel, are instructors in Philadelphia. They were speaking at the event, too. So after some talking with them, I thought it would be a great idea to have them in the stagecoach. 
 
I have to start out saying that I love seeing and husband and wife teaming working together! This was the first year that they’ve been to the Rod of Iron. They were hoping to bring a whole group of people but a few didn’t due to the weather. I also love that they know some of the folks that I know and both of our circles of friendship are growing. 
 
Jerel has family from Georgia and his father took him shooting as the youngest of five children. Karise used to hunt with her father, but her first purchase was with Jerel. He bought her a gun because she was robbed while only 10 feet from the police station. She got her permit before Jerel got his and she started carrying right away. Heading out on a trip to Mexico, Karise forgot that she had a gun in her purse. Of course she was stopped at the airport by the TSA. Fortunately, some of the police were Jerel’s friends from his youth and they were lenient on her. 
 
This was the turning point for them. Someone saw her on the news and told her about the USCCA. They saw the passion from this man and wanted to learn as much as they could and pass that on to their friends and community. For Father’s Day, Karise got Jerel enrolled in an instructor program. At his instructor course was the man who told Karise about the USCCA. It’s truly a small world. 
 
It’s always interesting to hear about the process to get permits around the country. I got my PA permit a couple years ago and it was easy.  I went to the county sheriff’s office, paid the $20,and waited an hour. Jerel talked about some people waiting 6 months in Philly. A friend of theirs moved from Philly to the suburbs and applied for a license. The people were about the leave and the woman at the office called them back and said their permits were ready right then. 
 
Once That Gun Stuff started offering classes, there was a “mystery shopper” in the class. It was someone from the Philadelphia gun permitting unit who came in to see what they were doing. The great news is the officer came up and told him that he was doing an excellent job and to keep it going. 
 
Jerel & Karise also run events for NAAGA, National African American Gun Association. NAAGA promotes gun rights to African Americans. Currently, they have more than 75 chapters around the country. A big part of their clients are women, which is the largest growing demographic of gun owners. Karise said she had a 73 year old woman whose daughter had been shot in the head twice and lived. This woman wants to get training and education so that this doesn’t happen to her and that she can pass this on to her family. That Gun Club was nominated for gun club of the year at the NAAGA conference.   
 
They’ve been really knocking it out of the park with That Gun Talk. Both of them have worked in schools as a teacher and IT tech. Jerel said he’s about to do full time as an instructor. They’re taking their passion for firearms and teaching and turning it into a successful business. That’s just great to hear from someone who started their business just a few years ago. 




Favorite quotes:
Karise: “This is your American right. This is your 2A right. You have to exercise your right.”
Jerel: “He said ‘I’m from the Philadelphia Police Department Gun Permitting Unit. I came here to see what you’re teaching.’ He shook my hand and said ‘you’re doing an excellent job’.