Riding Shotgun With Charlie Charlie Cook: Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#180
The DCP Gals & GOAL 
 
On August 27, Gun Owners Action League hosted an event called The 2A Freedom Celebration. They pulled in some names you’ve seen on RSWC. Amanda Suffecool (#009), Holly Sullivan (#036), Jared Yanis (#051). And some locals like Toby Leary, (#143) Kerrie Ann Auclair (#139). We were able to film a show with a few of the local DCP gals, Moe Palmer & Bonnie Marshall. Mike Harris, Director of Public Policy, also joined us. Yeah… it was a car full of teal shirts!
 
There were several folks that sent some love GOAL’s way. Todd Eccles from Patriot Defense Podcast, Nikki Goeser, Michael Sodini, David Coy, Klint Macro, John Petrolino, and the closing video was Cam Edwards. Of course Jim Wallace spoke, Jon Green (#030 & #034), Mike & Angi gave away a couple rifles. And Garet & Jeff from the GOAL Podcast (#177) were there as well. It was really a great time. Lots of fun catching up with everyone. I’ve said for a long time, these kinds of events are family get-togethers. 
 
We gave everyone the hot shotgun seat for today’s show. Starting with Kerrie Ann, she doesn’t get into Boston often so she was excited to see so much. We talked about the Gun Law Listening Tour and how it turned into HD.4420. But she talked about going to one of the stops and speaking with a woman who said she knew she would be dead if she tried to use a gun against her domestic abuser. Kerrie Ann helped her re-think if she had a gun and some training, the gun could have been an equalizer. 
 
Mike Harris talked about his time working in the State House in Boston and learning the ropes there. But he also acted as a tour guide. He does know a bit of Boston history and how to get around BeanTown. 
 
Holly Sullivan took the next spotlight. She brought up that the GOAL event is the kind of event where the states need to get together and have a conversation about what is working and what isn’t. This is one of the things she really wants to work on and connect state groups so we can be just as organized as the antis. 
 
Bonnie Marshall has only been shooting for a few years. She’s become a Range Safety Officer and started helping Kerrie Ann with her other group, The Well Armed Woman. It was great to have Bonnie break out of her shell and join us for the fun adventure. 
 
Moe Palmer is also a local Quincy MA gal. She’s also an RSO working with some local instructors to run the shooting line at live fire courses. Moe reached out to me a few years ago.  We took a road trip to SIG Academy in 2022 when they opened. She’s also a regular on the Patriot Defense Podcast with Todd Eccles. 
 
And our closer is Amanda Suffecool. DC Project Advisor. NRA BOD member. Host of Eye On The Target Radio. Instructor. And my conscience. Amanda was great at the event. She talked about how GOAL is winning even though it feels like we may not be all the time. She had a busy week. She was in Nashville on Monday with the DCP. She met with Shelley Hill from The Complete Combatant in Georgia. Then she headed to Boston for the weekend. The following week, she headed to Dallas for NRA BOD meetings. 
 
We stopped for selfies, got sidetracked, and saw some sights in Boston. Like Cheers, The Granary Burial Ground, The Old State House & where the Boston Massacre started. Kenmore Square and drove next to Fenway Park, followed by going down Boylston Street, where the Marathon bombings happened and finally up Newbury Street. 
 
Yeah…it was an undertaking editing this beast with 6 cameras all together. Some of the batteries ran out, but we did the best we could. This is a long show, the longest I’ve done. But I wanted everyone to get some time Riding Shotgun. 
 
Favorite quotes: 
Kerrie Ann: “If you had a gun it creates an equalizer for someone that’s 5’1”.”
Mike: “The unintended consequences of that (covid) a lot of people were more activated so it’s easier to get people f

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#179
Todd Ellis
NRA Board of Directors
 
Back in April I may have snuck into the NRA BOD party.  May have. It was suggested that I work the room.  Someone took me around to meet folks that I haven’t met and see if I could connect and maybe get them on the show. It’s fantastic to me when people I haven’t met come up, say hello, and want to talk. As I was sweeping around the room, Todd Ellis stopped me and asked when the episode with Nayara Andrejczyk (RSWC #171) was going to be published. Todd is an NRA BOD member, but also a Training Counselor. They were friends and she had done some training with him. We exchanged cards and I kept working the room. 
 
I got home from NRA on a Monday morning. I had a live show to do that evening, then I was off for Philly to film some shows. There was a change in plans and I was given “the gift of time”. Having dinner with Naraya and her husband, we brainstormed who would be available to film a show in my newly found time. She reached out to Todd and he agreed to be on the show. 
 
Todd started shooting in Boy Scouts. He was really good at it, enjoyed it, and took to it quickly. He went home and joined the Junior Marksmanship Club at the Rochester Rifle Club. He shot small bore through high school. It was suggested that he become an instructor and take several of the NRA certification courses.  He was working with lots of youth shooters with the Scouts, about 350 a year.This was before there was an online portal to report to the NRA the students that went through your courses. When that came around, he missed out on getting credit for about 3,500 students! The NRA Education and Training found out how many students he trained and decided it was time to get him to become a Training Counselor. 
 
Todd was invited to be the State Training Counselor Liaison for Pennsylvania. There’s 4,400 instructors and 125 training counselors in PA currently. According to him, the main objective of a TC is to make sure everyone is up to date and current with their teaching materials and to make sure they’re successful. We talk a bit about how it’s important for everyone to be an established shooter before they become an instructor. If an instructor doesn’t know an answer that a student has, they need to find out the answer and get back to the student. 
 
Back in 2020 while everyone was in lockdown, Todd was able to fill in on a two year term and get onto the NRA Board of Directors. He was talking to another BOD member about some issues and needed to convince him that Todd had some solutions to some problems. That leads us into talking about the process of getting nominated by someone on the board, which may lead to getting Some folks get in by being on committees. Someone can also go through a petition process and get signatures to be on the ballot. Many of the NRA members don’t know if they can vote, don’t vote, or think they can vote and they can’t. 
 
Todd has a story about a canoe trip he took with his son. The canoe tipped when they both ended up paddling on the same side. He uses this story as an analogy to what is happening with many folks in the gun community. If we aren’t paddling together as a team in the Second Amendment canoe, we’re going to capsize and all will be lost. We work for the Second Amendment. And we all need to work as a unit, doing what we need to do to keep this American tradition alive. 
 
Favorite quotes: 
“I really strongly believe in teaching the youth because they’re the folks who are going to replace us tomorrow.”
“We got some people that are like ‘they’re never gonna take our shotgun.’ But they will come and get your bolt action rifles, too. So you got to be very aware of why people are really fighting for your Rights.”
“I’d love to see more people vote. They get the ballot and don’t vote.”
“We’re in a Second Amendment canoe. We all have to paddle together o

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#178
Robin Bartlett
Author, Vietnam Veteran
 
It's a great feeling when someone recommends a passenger and it works out well. Robin Bartlett was referred to me. I reached out, did an introduction, and he sent me a copy of his book. After reaching out and setting up an interview date, we were able to make the show happen. 
 
We start by talking about some of the nonsense that are New Jersey gun laws. To add to the “fun”, in New Jersey BB guns aren’t legal. And aren’t serialized, too. When he goes out to target shoot, Robin transports everything legally, of course, and keeps his paper with him as well. 
 
At the age of 8, Robin was caught with .22 rounds, a hammer, and a chisel. He and his friends were opening the cases and lighting the gunpowder.  It was then his dad knew it was time for some gun safety lessons! (PS: Don’t Try It At Home!)  While living in Virginia, he joined the Davy Crockett Junior Rifle Club and started with a .22 rifle doing the NRA qualification program. He’s done years of target shooting through college years doing all of the NRA programs. 
 
Robin is from a long line of military men who went to West Point. After his friends enlisted and were reassigned, he decided it was time to join the ROTC. He spent 6 years as a career officer and spent time in Vietnam. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne, which was a good assignment. 
 
Robin spent time leading the younger troops, which weren’t much younger. And learning from some of the older leadership, which wasn’t much older.  His main objective was to his men in the platoon; it wasn’t to have a high body count of the enemy. He was responsible to get everyone home safely. It didn’t always go that way of course. He tells us a gut wrenching story about the first loss he had. He had to make due and fly with some bodies that didn’t have bags. They only had ponchos to wrap the bodies in.  
 
Eventually Robin was given a job at the 14th MHD. He didn’t know what it was. He asked others what it was and they didn’t know either. He finally was pointed in the direction and found a tent that said 14th Military History Detachment. Their motto was “You fight it. We write it”. He was given a job that was what he went to college for as a comparative writer. Out of the three who had writing in their background, he was the only one to take the job. 
 
The job was in a tent that came with things like cots, refrigerator, two fans, and a shower. He was required to do quarterly reports and review the lessons learned. These reports became the official battle reports. Sometimes they were told to be less than truthful. In one instance, they were not able to get a count of the enemy killed because the Vietnamese took the dead off the field. Robin was told to give a false number and make it real.
 
When he got out he got into publishing and spent years in the publishing business. He talked with several other Vietnam vets about their experiences.  And they weren’t all the same. After getting feedback about experiences, he decided to write about his experiences.  His mother saved all of his letters in the original envelopes with the dates stamped on them.  He was able to relive the war with what he remembered and what he wrote. It took him 10 years to turn it into his book, Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History. 
 
The book is very unique in that he was able to put the memories and letters together. It’s an exciting read that I”m sure you’ll enjoy. You can find the links below to Robin’s social media and website. You can buy the book on Amazon, but I’d suggest buying it right from him and having it autographed.  I like having a collection of autographed books. 
 
Favorite quotes: 
“The life expectancy of a platoon leader in Vietnam was 90 days.”
“Body count was the metric by which we were evaluated.”
“Writing this book was supposed to be cathartic

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#177
The GOAL Podcast
Garet Holcomb & Jeff Strider
 
Finally, I was able to get together with Jeff Strider and Garet Holcomb from The GOAL Podcast. Jeff & Garet are both board members of Gun Owners Action League. I’ve known them for some time and we’ve run into each other at all the GOAL events, of course, and at the SIG Academy in New Hampshire, too. I do need to say that we filmed this before HD.4420 was released as a bill.  We talked about how the Gun Law Listening Tour was going and speculated how it was going to turn out. Now we know. 
 
The GOAL Podcast is also ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts according to John Petrolino’s (RSWC #093) recent Bearing Arms article. Besides that great news, Jeff & Garet enjoy doing the podcast and fortunately the roles on the podcast does not have anything to do as GOAL board members and they’ll keep doing the show when their terms expire. 
 
Garet grew up in California but got the gun bug in South Carolina when he was a young man. After some safety rules lessons, he found himself taking the shotgun out to the woods and really enjoying some hunting. Back in California as an older teenager, Garet and his friends would shoot washing machines and what not, as it was legal back in the 1980’s to do so. After some time in the military, Garet ended up in Massachusetts. In 2016, the then AGAG (Anti Gun Attorney General) of MA, the now Governor, Maura Healey, made an edict saying that anything that looks like an AR is an AR and she banned the sale of any new ARs.  That’s when Garet got more involved in the gun/civil rights movement. He’s since become an instructor as well. Last year, the three of us ended up doing some instruction at a ladies event. 
 
Jeff would do some paintballing with friends when he was a teenager. He had a neighbor that was a police dispatcher and suggested he get his license. During the course, Jeff was hoping for more. The firearms used in the course here Ruger Mark I & IIs. He was hoping for some handguns that were a little more exciting. He also has taken the instructor route, with several certifications. He’s also taken several courses and trains regularly. On The GOAL Podcast, Jeff does a training segment with a drill of the month. 
 
Garet and Jeff met back in 2016-ish.  That year, GOAL had a rolling rally after Healey’s egregious move. A couple years later, Garet was elected the vice president of a local gun club and learned about the opening on the GOAL board from Jeff. Of course, it’s been great connecting with all these pro gun people in the community. Garet and Jeff both do some instructing with Bill Dalpe (RSWC #154) at Patriot Firearms School. Jeff recently helped a ladies class with Kerrie Ann Auclair (RSWC #139), who runs a local chapter of Armed Women of America and is the MA leader of The DC Project.
 
There was a GOAL Podcast years before they started doing the show. I told them there was even a radio show from Worcester, MA, called The GOAL Line. I used to record those onto a cassette with my stereo back in the early 2000’s. The old version of the show slipped in the timing and got behind and then left behind. The gents took the equipment and heated up the mics to resurrect the podcast. 
 
It was really fun to have time with the guys and get them in the stagecoach. We drove to a local Mexican restaurant with Garet in the front seat and drove back after with Jeff in the front seat. You’ll get to know them better here. You can listen to episode 100 with me as their guest, too. 



Favorite quotes: 
Garet: “When she (Maura Healy) did that thing, that to me was like one of the most brazenly cynical and just disgusting things that I’ve ever seen a politician play out in real time.”
Garet: “What bothers me the most about the situation (in Mass) is the lack of any meaningful opposition.”
Jeff: “You gotta have fun shooting. That’s what keeps people comi

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#175
John Kolis
Instructor & Author, Pistol Practice
 
I noticed on my social media that “Pistol Practice” was coming up more often in my feed. Then I get a text from a friend who says “John Kolis wrote Pistol Practice. He’s in your area and just did Rob Beckman’s podcast. You should have him on your show.”. I tuned in to Beckman’s (RSWC #109) Firearm Trainer’s Podcast to check him out and knew he would be a good fit. We texted back and forth. Then before one of the “Gun Law Listening Tour” stops, John & I met up for a drink.  Then we had a few drinks with some other friends afterwards, too. 
 
John & I met up at the Weston Shooters Club in Weston, MA, and we headed to On Target Firearms in Dracut, MA, to do some shooting. After a quick warm up, John proved to me that his book, Pistol Practice, truly works!  We shot one of the games from his book and he way outshot me! He’s been working on getting his book across the country and in the hands of instructors. So if you’re an instructor, you should check out the link to become an affiliate instructor.
 
John’s dad grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and owned a .22 rifle. When they moved to upstate New York, his dad took him shooting outdoors and John really enjoyed it. He still has that rifle, which his father got as salesman of the month in the 1950’s. 
 
John enlisted in the Air Force for a few years. However, he doesn’t use that as a focus in his firearms resume. As with many people, life changes and John found himself moving away from shooting to have a family and a career. 
 
After years of IT work, during the lockdowns of 2020, his employer let him go. With kids in college and experience in writing courses and manuals, John applied these skills with his interest in getting back into firearms. Having taken several courses through the NRA, USCCA,  SIG Academy, John got certified to teach a number of courses. 
 
He turned all of this knowledge into “Pistol Practice, The Shooting Range Guidebook to teach you how to practice.” The book is a wonderful method for someone to have fun and enjoy practicing. You should have a solid knowledge of handgun shooting fundamentals. There are several different “games” that you can use with your friends when you are at your next range session. 
 
Not only are there various ways to make practicing fun, there’s a chart for two handed, one handed, non-dominant two handed, and non-dominant one hand shooting charts. The book comes with a card that you can use to split, like on the cover of the book. There’s also a QR code that you use to download various other targets. 
 
Pistol Practice has its own class as well. There are a number of ways to learn and take a lesson with John. He’s offered free shipping on his book purchases for RSWC followers who use the code “FreeShip23”. 
 
As noted above, John wants to spread the Pistol Practice course around the country. If you’d like to offer his course, contact him at john@pistolpractice.com to become an affiliate instructor in your area. He does limit how many instructors he has in each area, so contact him today. 
 
I had a great time shooting with John. I’m glad that he’s a local guy and also in the fight in Massachusetts. With people like him, we are getting more shooters educated, trained, and having a good time doing so. 
 
Favorite quotes:
“The firearms community, everyone is so supporting and helpful to one another”.
“Marksmanship was an admired quality”.
“I became acquainted with Massachusetts gun laws. I became confused with Massachusetts gun laws”.
“That speaks to the pursuit of happiness…. As long as your pursuit doesn’t hurt others. That’s the Republic we created”.



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