A five-gallon bucket of rotting beaver meat, a cement mixer full of oats, used cooking oil, stale pastries, and, of all things, red Twizzlers.

That is the recipe for bringing a seven-foot black bear within fifty yards of an elevated tree stand in Northern Alberta. It is nasty, sticky, smelly business. It is also the reality of predator management in the deep woods—a world miles away from the sanitized, plastic-wrapped existence of modern suburbia.

My friend Suzi Huntington, wife of my regular podcast co-host Roy Huntington, recently went north to sample this reality and joined me on the podcast (Link: @FMGPUBS) She didn’t go with a custom, high-dollar rig or a camera crew trailing her every move. She went with a Ruger American chambered in plain-jane .308, a Meopta scope, a mosquito net, and some flannel-lined jeans. Two hours into her first afternoon in the stand, she was tagged out on two massive bears—a beautiful cinnamon phase and a heavy-bodied black bear that made the other woods-critters clear the area like cartoon characters dodging a dynamite blast.

It was a clean, text-book, highly successful conservation hunt.

Then she came home, posted a couple of pictures on her personal Facebook page, and the modern digital outrage machine fired up its engines.

People Suzi grew up with—folks who haven’t seen a predator outside of a nature documentary or a city zoo—felt the burning, sanctimonious need to leave nasty comments. They didn’t stop there. They tracked down the family-run guide service’s business page to leave venomous reviews. They screamed about cruelty, they wept for the poor beasts, and they demanded to know if she was going to eat the meat.

Let’s address the last part first, because it’s where the ignorant always try to claim the moral high ground. The “eat what you kill” rule is a fine baseline for a whitetail hunter in Indiana, but nature doesn’t care about our simple rules. Susie asked the guides—men who have lived in those woods for decades—if they were going to cook up some bear steaks. The answer was a flat, disgusted NO!

These were spring bears, freshly emerged from hibernation. They had spent months living off their own fat reserves. Their meat is greasy, unpalatable and stringy. On top of that, spring black bears are notorious carriers of trichinosis. To make the meat even remotely safe, you have to cook it into dry, leathery oblivion. As the guides put it, “Even the coyotes won’t eat it.”

Yet, the keyboard warriors wanted a lecture on culinary ethics. They wanted to impose their suburban, Disney-fied morality onto a rugged, northern landscape that operates on biology, not feelings.

What these critics fail to realize—or simply choose to ignore—is that hunters are the ones writing the checks for conservation. The money spent on licenses, guides, gear, and travel feeds the local economies and directly funds the fish and game agencies that keep these wildlife populations healthy. Your weekend bird-watching trip doesn’t pay to protect the habitat; the hunter’s check does.

But the online mob doesn’t want a conversation. They want to perform moral superiority for their own peer group.

I’m tired of the entitlement of the ignorant. If you don’t like hunting, don’t do it. Keep scrolling. But don’t pretend you understand the delicate balance of game management from the safety of your air-conditioned living room while typing on a smartphone made with minerals mined by children on the other side of the world.

There’s another lesson here, and it has nothing to do with bears or bait piles. Suzi’s trip was a bucket-list adventure. It took time, coordination and hard-earned cash. A lot of people stare at those trips online for years, whispering to themselves, “Maybe next year, when the car is paid off, when I have more time, when things are perfect.”

I went to a funeral last week for one of my best fishing buddies. It was a stark, cold reminder that the clock is ticking for all of us. “Next year” is a luxury none of us are promised. If you have a dream—whether it’s hunting bears in Alberta, chasing plains game in Namibia, or just taking that cross-country road trip—stop waiting. Cut out the extra Starbucks runs, put the money aside, and make the plan.

Do it before you run out of road. And when you do have your adventure, don’t worry about what the keyboard warriors have to say about it. They’ll still be sitting on the couch, complaining about the world, while you’re out there actually living in it.

“Brent, you ignorant slut.”

That classic Dan Aykroyd line was how my co-host, Roy Huntington, kicked off what was supposed to be our ‘Opposite Day’ experiment on the podcast. The premise was simple: Roy, a certified iron-sight purist who refuses to put glass on his carry guns, would argue in favor of red dots. I, a guy who routinely carries a compact 9mm with a miniature television screen screwed to the slide, would defend the old-school front post.

We lasted about twelve minutes before the charade collapsed. You just can’t fake the truth when it comes to the cold reality of life-and-death marksmanship.

The internet will tell you the red dot vs. iron sights debate is a holy war. On one side, you have the flat-bill-cap gaming crowd who think you’re a caveman if you don’t have a lithium battery powering your sighting system. On the other, you have the self-proclaimed ‘lethal Fudds’ who claim optics are just a high-tech gimmick destined to fail when the mud starts flying.

The truth, as it usually does, lies in the boring middle. And it starts with a biological betrayal: presbyopia.

If you’ve crossed the fifty-year mile marker, you know the feeling. Your arm’s length has become a blurry no-man’s land. If I don’t have my reading glasses on, pointing a pistol with iron sights feels like trying to aim with a fuzzy tennis ball. For older shooters, the red dot is a legitimate prosthetic miracle. It projects the aiming point onto the exact same focal plane as the threat. You look at the bad guy, the dot appears, and you press the trigger. Simple.

Except it isn’t.

It took me over at least 50 hours of dry-fire presentation drills and training to transition to a red dot and feel instinctively competent. A weeks of lifting the gun, searching for that tiny glowing speck, and realizing my wrist angle was off. If your draw stroke and presentation aren’t perfectly consistent, you will end up ‘bobble-heading’ under stress—pigeon-necking your head around trying to find the dot while the target is actively closing the distance.

Roy brought up a sobering statistic during our talk. Many law enforcement agencies transitioning to red dots have reported a slight bump in qualification scores. But look closer at the data: the average number of rounds fired in an officer-involved shooting has climbed to eight. Are they hitting because the red dot made them better marksmen, or are they just dumping magazines to compensate for the split-second hesitation it takes to find the dot under adrenaline?

And then there’s the failure factor. Roy loves to tell the story of a factory event we attended. A bunch of young hotshots were talking about how indestructible modern optics are. Roy walked over, scooped up a handful of dry Missouri dirt, sprinkled it right onto the lens of a $600 red dot, and told the shooter to target a plate facing into the setting sun. The shooter brought the gun up, stared into a glowing, opaque wall of mud, and froze.

‘You’re dead,’ Roy told him.

I still carry my red-dot-equipped nine-millimeter when I’m out fishing or walking in areas where a twenty-five-yard shot might be required. But my pocket gun—the snubby .38 I actually carry every single day—has a big, simple tritium front sight. It’s my ‘get-off-me’ gun, designed for toe-to-toe distance where muscle memory and instinct override technology.

Think of iron sights like a stick shift. You might drive an automatic transmission as your daily driver, but if you don’t know how to run three pedals and a gearbox, you’re missing a fundamental baseline skill. Buy the dot if your eyes need it, but don’t use a piece of glass as a possible shortcut to avoid doing the hard work of learning how to index a pistol naturally.

Well, life comes at you fast, and the podcast production schedule apparently comes at you faster. Oops—I completely forgot to post this write-up, and it is already almost time for a brand-new episode to drop!

But our mailbag was absolutely overflowing after our recent episodes, and the letters Roy and I received from all of you are far too important to leave sitting in the drafts folder. Before we roll into the next show, we wanted to pull back the curtain on the inbox and talk about a recurring theme you all keep bringing up: how the right to self-defense is quietly being turned into a luxury sport.

Our listeners are pointing out a quiet, insidious gatekeeping in the modern gun ownership landscape that has nothing to do with background checks and everything to do with your bank account. As several of you noted, politicians love to preach safety from their gated communities while passing laws requiring state-approved, high-dollar gun safes and mandating expensive training courses. When you factor in heavily taxed ammunition, a few folks wrote in to say that a simple practice session at the local range now costs them as much as a decent steak dinner. You hit the nail on the head: this isn’t safety, it’s class warfare disguised as public health.

The letters we get from folks living in different parts of the country really highlight this economic divide. Wealthy gun owners can easily absorb these regulatory costs—a thousand-dollar biometric safe is just a rounding error for someone in a manicured suburb with private security. But we heard from listeners who see a completely different reality on the ground: single mothers in high-crime neighborhoods who simply cannot afford a DOJ-approved steel vault just to secure a budget revolver. As your letters rightly argue, requiring high-end, high-dollar gear effectively disarms the very people who need protection the most.

We also received plenty of mail defending the budget-friendly tools that keep families safe. Cheap guns often get a bad rap in elite shooting circles, and many of you expressed frustration with the internet gear snobs who mock entry-level Taurus pistols, Heritage Rough Riders, or Hi-Points. You reminded us of the core truth of the Second Amendment: an ugly, heavy, blocky pistol that goes bang every single time is infinitely better than a two-thousand-dollar custom 1911 that sits in a display case because the owner can’t afford the ammo. We agree with our audience on this one—we should be celebrating reliable, low-cost self-defense options, not looking down on them.

Another major grievance running through the inbox involves indoor shooting ranges compounding this financial strain. Several listeners reached out to complain about private facilities banning shooters from bringing their own reloads under the guise of “liability issues.” Instead, you’re being forced to buy premium, house-branded factory ammunition at inflated prices. One retiree wrote to tell us that after local taxes and background check fees, a box of simple practice ammo runs him fifty bucks, forcing folks on fixed Social Security incomes to choose between groceries and staying proficient.

True safety comes from proficiency, not price tags. Roy and I talk about this constantly, and your letters confirm that parts of the shooting industry overlook the average guy. Interestingly, a few younger listeners wrote in to share that they are rediscovering the snub-nose revolver, abandoning flashy, high-capacity semi-autos because a simple double-action wheelgun just works. It doesn’t jam if it’s limp-wristed, and it doesn’t require an expensive red dot to be effective at realistic defensive distances. It’s a working-class tool.

The consensus in our mailbag is clear: legislators need to stop pretending these financial barriers save lives. Forcing citizens to jump through expensive regulatory hoops only ensures that criminals—who disregard safe-storage laws anyway—have soft targets. Self-defense is a natural right. As your letters so eloquently put it, it belongs to the guy working the graveyard shift at the gas station just as much as it belongs to the politician signing the bill.

Keep the letters coming, folks. We read every single one.

Greetings and hopes you’re having a good Memorial Day. Please take a moment to pause and think about what today is supposed to commemorate before you fire up the grill and crack open one of Milwaukee’s finest products.

Remember when shooting used to be simple? You’d grab a brick of rimfire, walk out the back door, and spend an afternoon perforating tin cans until your thumb was black with bullet lube.

Today, unless you own a few hundred acres or have an uncle with a farm, going shooting feels like booking an international flight on a budget airline. First, you have to call the indoor range days in advance to secure a reservation. If you’re five minutes late, your slot is gone. When you arrive, you’re treated like a suspect in an ongoing investigation. You have to sign a stack of liability waivers, buy their marked-up targets and shoot only their proprietary, gold-plated ammunition. And god forbid you show up alone—many urban ranges won’t even let solo shooters through the door anymore because their lawyers are terrified of liability.

It’s expensive, it’s clinical, and frankly, it drains all the joy out of the sport. No wonder a novice shooter who buys their first defensive handgun leaves it in the box, unfired, sitting in a nightstand drawer. The barrier to entry isn’t the price of the gun; it’s the absolute headache of finding a place to pull the trigger.

But there’s a cheap, quietly brilliant loophole sitting right under our noses: the air rifle.

Now, before the tactical crowd snorts and goes back to adjusting the laser-enabled-flashlight-cup-holder on their modular carbine, sorry, “Personal Defensive Weapon,” hear me out. Sight picture is sight picture. Trigger press is trigger press. A pellet gun fired in your basement or garage at fifteen feet will teach you more about grip consistency, front sight focus, and trigger control than a hundred rapid-fire magazine dumps into a dirt berm at a public range.

My podcast co-host, Roy Huntington, keeps a high-quality air pistol in his workshop. The shop is about sixty feet corner-to-corner. Whenever he’s out there working and needs to rest his brain, he walks to one end, takes three or four careful, deliberate shots at a self-contained target trap and focuses entirely on the mechanics of the shot. No ears required, no drive time, no range fees.

We recently received a brilliant comment from a listener that perfectly captures this dynamic. He wrote that when he teaches concealed carry classes, he holds up a double-action revolver and tells his students, ‘This is writing in cursive.’ Then he holds up a polymer-framed Glock and says, ‘This is texting with autocorrect. One will teach you; the other will spoil you.’

He’s dead on. The modern shooting world has become obsessed with autocorrect. We buy handguns with three-pound match triggers and red dot optics, slap so many accessories on our rails that our guns look like a toddler’s first attempt at a Mr. Potato Head kit, and call ourselves marksmen. But if you can’t cleanly break a shot with a heavy double-action trigger—or a spring-piston air gun with a slightly creepy factory pull—you aren’t actually steering the bullet. You’re just letting the technology cover up your bad habits.

Of course, air guns have their own set of rules. For starters, do not treat them like toys. If you’re using a break-barrel spring rifle, that steel barrel is under immense tension. If you lose your grip while cocking it or pull the trigger prematurely, that barrel will snap back with enough force to literally smash your face in.

But if you respect the tool, a basic pellet rifle or CO2 pistol is the ultimate training cheat code. It bypasses the range-day bureaucracy, costs pennies per shot, and lets you build real, lasting muscle memory in your own backyard.

At the end of the day, ‘gun’ and ‘fun’ are only one letter apart. If we spend all our time worrying about being high-speed, low-drag tactical operators, we lose the plot. There is immense joy in being a self-proclaimed, proud member of the ‘low-speed, high-drag’ club. Grab a tin of pellets, set up a cardboard box stuffed with old newspapers in your garage and go have some actual shooting fun.

Listen on Libsyn

There’s a certain kind of insult that doesn’t land the way people think it does.

Call someone a “Fudd” in the gun world and the assumption is you’ve just dismissed them—written them off as outdated, out of touch, clinging to the past. The funny part is, the older I get, the less that bothers me. In fact, I’ve started to see it as a kind of accidental compliment.

Because buried underneath the label is usually something else: experience. Not theoretical experience, not “I watched a video” experience but the kind that comes from doing something long enough to see the cycles repeat and the fads come and go.

This week on the podcast, we leaned into that tension a bit. The idea was simple: what if you shot like it was 1955?

Not as nostalgia or rejection of modern techniques but as a corrective.

There’s a version of the modern shooting culture that is all gas pedal. Faster draws. Faster splits. Faster everything. It looks good, it feels good, and—if we’re being honest—it’s a lot more fun to practice than the alternative.

The alternative is slow.

Deliberate.

Quietly frustrating.

Bullseye shooting is not exciting content. It doesn’t make for great YouTube clips. There’s no soundtrack behind it, no timer beeping in your ear, no sense that you’re preparing for some cinematic moment. It’s just you, the gun, and the uncomfortable realization your fundamentals are not as solid as you thought they were.

That is the part people tend to avoid.

I get it. Nobody wants to stand there and watch their own limitations play out in real time. It’s much easier to move faster and call it progress. Speed can hide a lot. It can “cover” for a sloppy trigger press, a limp wrist, a bad sight picture. You can convince yourself you’re getting better because you’re doing more, but accuracy has a way of telling the truth.

That’s what those older disciplines understood—they didn’t have the luxury of hiding behind speed. If you were off, you saw it immediately, in black and white, right there on the target. There was nowhere to go but back to the basics, and the basics are stubborn things. They haven’t changed nearly as much as we like to think.

Grip still matters. Trigger control still matters. Sight alignment still matters. You can bolt on all the modern gear you want, adopt every flashy new technique that comes down the pipeline, but if those pieces aren’t there, the rest of it is built on sand.

The uncomfortable part is fundamentals are not something you master once and move on from. They’re something you return to, over and over again, usually right after you’ve convinced yourself you no longer need to. This is where the “1955” idea starts to make sense.

It’s not about going backward. It’s about removing the noise and stripping things down to a point where you can’t lie to yourself anymore. No movement, no speed, no distractions—just the shot.

When you do it this way, a few things tend to happen. First, your ego takes a hit. Second, your shooting gets better. Not immediately, and not in a way that feels exciting but in a way that actually holds up when you add the complexity back in.

There’s also a strange kind of satisfaction in it. The kind that doesn’t come from performance, but from understanding. You start to feel what a good trigger press actually is. You recognize what a stable sight picture looks like before the shot breaks. You begin to trust the process instead of trying to outrun your mistakes.

None of this is new and therein lies the point of our podcast episode.

We have a tendency to assume newer automatically means better, and sometimes it does. But, sometimes it just means we’ve found a more complicated way to avoid doing the hard part. The hard part, as it turns out, hasn’t changed much since 1955.

We talked about that this week—what gets lost when we chase speed without control, and what we gain when we slow down long enough to fix it. It’s not a rejection of modern shooting but a reminder that the foundation underneath it still matters.

And maybe that’s what being a “Fudd” really comes down to.

Not living in the past—instead, just remembering what actually works.

We have all fallen victim to the belief that buying the newest, shiniest piece of equipment will instantly transform us into world-class competitive shooters. The reality is that the endorphin dump of purchasing a new firearm or optic rarely translates to better marksmanship on the range.

In GunsPodcast.US episode #334, Roy Huntington and I sit down to tackle the age-old gear trap and discuss exactly when equipment actually stops mattering. We break down the psychology of impulse buying, the manufacturer marketing strategies designed to upsell you, and how to find the sweet spot in mid-grade gear that truly enhances your capabilities without draining your wallet.

Key Takeaways

• Upgrading gear will not fix fundamental flaws in marksmanship.

• Follow the Wait a Month rule before making impulsive purchases.

• The mid-grade price point is usually the sweet spot for the vast majority of normal shooters.

• More gear often just equals less freedom in your life.

  Quote of the Show

  “”I mean, whoever has the most toys I think is an idiot and failed.” - Roy Huntington”

Audio Only: Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music/Audible, Player FM or Boomplay

In the latest GunsPodcast.US episode #333, we cut through the mainstream media noise surrounding the recent security incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Joined by my oldest friend and CEO of Gunsight Academy, Ken Campbell, we look at the reality of event security and why the system actually worked exactly as designed.

It is easy for commentators to claim a security failure from the comfort of a studio, but when you understand the mechanics of concentric rings of protection, the picture changes entirely. Ken and I break down how the inner, middle, and outer rings operate, and why the absence of fired shots by protective details was a calculated, professional decision to protect innocent bystanders.

Beyond the headlines, we also share some classic operational debriefs from our days as young cops guarding high-profile VIPs, ranging from former Presidents to Miss America. It is a candid, straight-talking episode that reminds us all why personal preparedness is paramount, because at the end of the day, you are your own first responder.

Key Takeaways

• Security worked as designed: The concept of outer, middle, and inner security rings successfully stopped the threat before it reached the VIPs.

• Tactical restraint: Agents withheld fire due to the risk of crossfire and lack of a safe backstop in a crowded ballroom.

• The importance of hot washes: After-action debriefs are critical to evaluating what went right and improving future responses.

• Personal preparedness: You are your own first responder, no matter how many federal agencies are in the building.

Listen on Libsyn: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/41082345

Welcome to the breakdown of the current GunsPodcast.US episode #332, where Roy Huntington and I tackle a topic that stirs up plenty of debate in the self-defense world: staging firearms in your home.

It is easy to stash a pistol in a desk drawer and feel like you have checked the preparedness box. But, as we have learned from decades of real-world law enforcement experience, simply having a gun nearby does not mean you will actually be able to access it when the front door gets kicked in. The reality is that under extreme stress, humans revert to ingrained muscle memory. If you have not physically practiced retrieving that hidden firearm, or if you keep moving it from the kitchen cabinet to the easy chair, you are setting yourself up for a fatal brain freeze.

We have seen seasoned cops fumble with new electronic shotgun locks because their bodies were not trained to hit the new button. If professionals struggle with split-second changes, imagine what happens when you are jolted awake at 3 AM.

In this episode, we break down the practicalities and the pitfalls of strategically placing defensive weapons. From under-desk magnets to the absolute worst places to hide a gun, we explore how to build a layered home defense strategy that relies on more than just hoping you remember a lockbox combination.

Key Takeaways

• Standardize your staging locations so muscle memory takes over under stress.

• Avoid storing firearms in couch cushions where they migrate and collect debris.

• Treat staged firearms as the final layer of a holistic home security plan.

• Consider carrying a pocket pistol at home as the ultimate immediate-access weapon.

Quote of the Show

“If you’re more than a second or two seconds away from your gun, you’re too far. - Roy Huntington”

Gear Featured in This Episode

Looking for the storage and safety solutions mentioned in the video? Check out the links below:

• Streamlight SpeedLocker – Secure, portable power-free storage.

https://Streamlight.com

• Skinner Garment Bag – The ultimate low-profile transport system.

https://SkinnersSights.com

• SOFhold Magnets – Magnetic mounting solutions for quick-access storage.

https://SOFhold.com

In episode #331 of the Guns Podcast US, Roy Huntington and I celebrate our recent first-place broadcast award from the Hoosier Outdoor Writers by doing what we do best: talking straight about practical firearms.

This week, we are diving deep into the fascinating world of snub-nose revolvers. From their hidden history as the true everyday carry guns of the Old West to their modern resurgence among shooters tired of polymer semi-autos, the snubby holds a unique place in self-defense. We explore why this classic pocket gun is often the most reliable tool you can carry, proving that having a five-shot revolver in your pocket beats a custom 1911 sitting back at home on your nightstand.

block here

Listen on Libsyn: https://sites.libsyn.com/223715/331-snub-nose-revolvers-small-guns-serious-self-defense-power

If you’ve been around the shooting world long enough, you probably internalized a universal “truth”: if you want real accuracy out of a .22 LR, you buy a bolt-action. For decades, semi-autos like the classic 10/22 or the Marlin Model 60 were fun, affordable, and incredibly reliable, but they were fundamentally “minute-of-barn-door” rifles. In GunsPodcast.US Episode #330, my co-host Roy Huntington admits he was one of those guys—until a brand new factory rifle completely shattered his preconceived notions and proved that the old rules no longer apply. Roy has spent decades chasing precision, dropping thousands of dollars on custom barrels, match triggers, and aftermarket stocks just to squeeze bolt-gun accuracy out of a semi-automatic platform. But in this episode, we dive into his hands-on experience with the new Ruger 10/22 Carbon Fiber.

Weighing in at a feathery four pounds and sporting a $650 MSRP, this out-of-the-box rifle didn’t just meet his expectations; it delivered ragged one-hole groups at 50 yards, equaling many of his custom builds. More than just a review of a neat new gun, Episode #330 is a fascinating look at the “Golden Age” of firearms manufacturing.

We discuss how modern CNC and EDM machining have completely revolutionized the industry, replacing the charming but inconsistent file-and-fit methods of the past with unparalleled, reproducible precision. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in—this is a masterclass on why today’s factory guns are the best we’ve ever seen.

Key Takeaways

• The Semi-Auto Myth is Dead: The new Ruger 10/22 Carbon Fiber delivers out-of-the-box precision that rivals, and often beats, high-end vintage bolt-action rifles.

• Custom Precision at a Factory Price: Building a comparable custom 10/22 used to cost between $1,500 and $2,000; today, modern factory rifles offer the same turnkey performance for a fraction of the cost.

• The Golden Age of Manufacturing: The shift from conventional machining to advanced CNC technology means perfect, identical parts every single time, drastically improving quality control and lowering costs for the end consumer.

Listen on Libsyn: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/40796340

With the world feeling increasingly chaotic and federal threat alerts bombarding us daily, it is easy to become desensitized or fall into paranoia. In GunsPodcast.US episode #329, Roy Huntington and I cut through the noise to discuss what geopolitical tensions actually mean for everyday citizens. We draw on our decades of law enforcement experience to explain why, when seconds count, police are minutes away, making you your own first responder. Instead of living in fear, we share practical, real-world strategies to stay aware. By introducing a simple mental rehearsal tool called the ‘What If’ game, we break down how to overcome the deadly ‘freeze’ response, ensuring you and your loved ones are prepared to take action when it matters most.

Key Takeaways

• Federal threat alerts often lead to fearmongering and desensitization; focus on actionable preparedness instead.

• In the face of unexpected violence, most people don’t fight or flee, they freeze. Mental rehearsal is the key to breaking that freeze.

• Playing the ‘What If’ game during your daily routine helps pre-program your brain with an escape or defense plan.

• Do not let social politeness stop you from acting on your situational awareness or leaving a suspicious area.

• If you carry a firearm, ensure it is a functional tool you train with regularly, not a forgotten ‘dust buffalo’ sitting in a drawer.

Quote of the Show

“If you see a guy fiddling with wires and batteries and something that looks like a road flare under his jacket. Don’t wait to see what happens. That’s time to leave.”

If you have been around the shooting sports for any length of time, you already know the painful truth: we all make the exact same mistakes when we first get started. Whether it is buying a mountain of gear we do not need, over-cleaning our firearms until they literally break, or thinking a fancy new pistol will magically fix our terrible trigger pull, the journey of a shooter is paved with empty wallets and misplaced confidence.

In this episode, Roy Huntington and I sit down to unpack the five (or more) things we wish we knew before we ever pulled a trigger. We dive deep into the beginner mindset, laughing at our own past blunders while offering real-world, practical advice for the newest generation of gun owners. From the myth of ‘just one more accessory’ to the reality that ammunition disappears faster than snacks at a party, this is a must-listen for both rookies looking for a roadmap and veterans wanting a good chuckle at our shared history. Episode Link in the Comments.

Key Takeaways

• The Gear Trap: You will never be just one accessory away from perfection. Focus on basic fundamentals instead of buying another range bag.

• Technology Cannot Fix Technique: A cool-looking, CNC-machined pistol will not make you a better marksman. Start with a standard .22 and learn the ropes.

• The Over-Cleaning Myth: You do not need to detail-strip your firearm to the last pin after every trip. Keep it well-lubricated, wipe it down, and go shoot.

• Beware the Social Media Expert: Going to the range three times does not make you a tactical guru. Stay humble and keep learning.

• You Are Now an Ambassador: Buying a gun means you will inevitably have to explain your choice to non-gun friends. Be prepared to represent the community well.

Listen here: Podcast #328

Welcome to a wild week in the shooting industry. In GunsPodcast.US episode #327, Roy Huntington and I tackle something we rarely see: a full-blown domestic disturbance between two legacy firearms manufacturers.

Beretta, the 500-year-old Italian titan, has quietly amassed a majority share in Ruger and launched a proxy war to force a hostile takeover. This isn’t your standard boardroom acquisition; it’s a very public mudslinging match that has the entire American gun market reeling.

What makes this so compelling isn’t just the financial maneuvering, but the massive clash of corporate cultures. We break down the European ‘take it or leave it’ design philosophy versus the American model of deeply understanding the Second Amendment consumer. Bill Ruger built his company by listening to shooters, and as Roy points out, if Beretta tries to force their European mindset onto the Ruger brand, they are going to lose the American market entirely.

Grab your popcorn, because this fight is just getting started, and the ripple effects will be felt by every shooter in the country.

Key Takeaways

• Beretta has initiated a hostile takeover of Ruger by quietly becoming the largest single shareholder to force a proxy war.

• The aggressive, public mudslinging via press releases is completely unprecedented in the highly collaborative American firearms industry.

• There is a fundamental disconnect between European gun manufacturing culture, which historically dictates features to consumers, and the American market, which demands innovation based on real-world shooting needs.

• If Beretta succeeds and alters Ruger’s core design philosophy, competing American companies are poised to immediately fill the void and capture Ruger’s displaced customer base.

Welcome back to the Fudd Kingdom, folks. In GunsPodcast.US episode #326, Roy Huntington and I are taking a hard look at the timeless firearms that simply refuse to fade into obscurity. We constantly see new gun designs hit the market with massive hype, only to quietly disappear a few years later. Yet, somehow, century-old designs like the 1911, the Mauser 98, and the classic lever-action rifle remain staples in safes and holsters across the country.

Why do these older guns stick around? It comes down to a mix of undeniable reliability, raw simplicity, and the sheer heritage behind them. A brand new polymer wonder-nine might run like a sewing machine, but it rarely gives you the same continuous loop of memories and feelings that a genuine World War II veteran 1911 does. In this episode, we break down our list of the greatest timeless guns, debate the merits of tools versus heirlooms, and share a few classic patrol car stories from our days in uniform. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in. Episode Link below.

Key Takeaways

• The Tool vs. Heirloom Debate: Why GLOCKS are like Harbor Freight wrenches, while 1911s evoke deep historical confidence.

• The Lever-Gun Resurgence: Why the Winchester 94 remains an incredibly viable and unassuming option for self-defense and truck use.

• The Shotgun’s Staying Power: How the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 continue to hold the line as the ultimate close-range problem solvers.

• America’s Best Next Gun: Why the Ruger 10/22 remains the undisputed champion of rimfire training and adult tinkering.

Quote of the Show

“Personally, I look at a Glock as I look at a 10mm Harbor Freight wrench. There’s nothing really special about it, but it certainly does the job.”

In our latest GunsPodcast.US episode #325, nature forced a digital detox on Roy Huntington when a lightning strike took out his internet tower. This lead us into a deep dive on how the shooting world has shifted from analog patience to digital instant gratification. We explore a time when information came from the “old guy” at the gun counter, worn-out copies of GUNS Magazine, and dog-eared pages of a Brownells catalog. While we aren’t Luddites, we argue that the modern flood of information—where everything is labeled “game-changing”—has created a paralysis by analysis that actually hinders new shooters. Episode Link in the Comments

Key Takeaways

• The Value of Scarcity: We discuss how waiting 6 weeks for a mail-order part built character and appreciation, contrasting it with the hollow feeling of Amazon same-day delivery.

• Information Overload: With thousands of ads and opinions daily, shooters are overwhelmed. We look at why limiting your inputs might actually improve your experience.

• Savoring vs. Dumping: A look at the cultural shift from making every round count (savoring the shoot) to the modern trend of mag-dumping simply to burn cash.

Quote of the Show

“I go out on my back patio here and I’ll shoot a couple of cylinder fulls... and I savor it. It’s like a good wine. You don’t gulp a good wine down.”

In the latest GunsPodcast.US episode #324, Roy Huntington and I take aim at one of the most pervasive and dangerous phrases on internet gun forums: ‘Just drill and tap it.’ It sounds so simple—grab a hand drill, buy a cheap tap set, and go to work on your slide or receiver. However, as Roy explains with the precision of a master machinist, the chasm between a garage hobbyist and a professional outcome is filled with broken taps, off-center holes, and ruined heirlooms.

We also dive deep into the economics of the trade, asking why shooters will happily pay a mechanic $150 an hour to fix a car but balk at paying a skilled gunsmith $65 an hour to ensure a firearm is safe and reliable. We explore the reality of the ‘hundred-dollar action job’ and why true craftsmanship requires time, specialized jigs, and an understanding of geometry that you simply cannot get from a drop-in spring kit.

Finally, we share some horror stories, including a Python that was nearly turned into a hand grenade by an amateur with a file. If you have ever wondered why the waiting list for top-tier smiths is measured in years, or why ‘good enough’ isn’t actually good enough when it comes to trigger work, this episode is your reality check. Episode Link in the Comments

Key Takeaways

• Drilling and tapping requires precise tramming, leveling, and expensive carbide tooling, not just a hand drill.

• A spring kit is not an action job; true tuning requires polishing, timing, and checking bearing surfaces.

• Expect to pay professional rates for professional work—gunsmiths are often underpaid compared to auto mechanics.

• Safety checks during professional cleaning can save you from catastrophic failures caused by DIY tampering.

Quote of the Show

“It’s like if you own a Ferrari, do you try to adjust the valves? No, you would take it to a Ferrari dealer.”

If you can do a good trigger pull, you can shoot just about anything. If you can’t, you will always shoot awful. It sounds simple, but as Roy Huntington and I discussed in this episode, the trigger press is the singular point of failure for the vast majority of shooters. We’ve all seen it: the guy at the range with the expensive custom Glock and the $500 optic who is still hitting low and left.

We break down the hard truth that non-trained people think the trigger is insignificant compared to ‘tacticool’ movement, while professionals realize it is the entire game. Whether you are running a snub-nose revolver or a high-end rifle, the mechanics remain the same. Roy shares a story about teaching a young shooter that perfectly illustrates why your stance and sight picture don’t matter if you jerk the trigger at the last second.

In this episode, we strip away the marketing hype and the ‘mall ninja’ fantasies to get back to the absolute basics. We cover the physical mechanics of the press, mental discipline, and why slowing down is the only way to eventually get fast.

Key Takeaways

• The ‘Back to the Target’ Drill: Roy proves that perfect sight picture is secondary to a perfect trigger press by hitting a target while someone else aims the gun for him.

• The ‘Small Bird’ Grip: Hold the gun tight enough that the bird can’t fly away, but loose enough that you don’t crush it. Isolate the trigger finger from the gripping hand.

• The Laser Macarena: Use a cheap rail-mounted laser to diagnose your flinch. If the dot dances like it’s doing the Macarena when the sear breaks, you have work to do.

• Slow Down, Speed Racer: You cannot buy a piano and immediately play Tchaikovsky. Stop trying to mag-dump before you can shoot one accurate round.

Watch the episode:

There are topics in the shooting world that spark polite conversation — and then there are topics that make people shift in their chairs. Our latest episode of Guns Podcast U.S. falls squarely into the second category.

Roy Huntington and I sat down to discuss something many gun owners quietly assume they have figured out: “I’m safe at home.” That belief is comforting. It is also, in many cases, dangerously optimistic.

The conversation was prompted by the recent kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, a crime that shattered the long-held illusion that danger politely waits outside your front door. If anything, criminals often prefer the opposite — they count on the moment you relax.

Let me be clear about something upfront: this episode is not about paranoia. It’s about preparedness.

Too many people treat the home like a childhood game of King’s X — the base where nothing bad can happen. But a firearm locked away in another room is little more than an expensive paperweight when seconds matter. Crimes of opportunity unfold with startling speed, and the distance between you and your defensive tool suddenly becomes very important.

Roy brought a practical perspective to the discussion by walking through his own home-defense strategy. What stood out wasn’t a fixation on hardware — it was the emphasis on layers.

Good lighting. Cameras. Reinforced locks. Even thorny landscaping.

Security is rarely about one dramatic solution. It is about forcing a criminal to reconsider your house and move on to an easier target.

One part of our conversation that I suspect will resonate with listeners is the modern tactic of criminals posing as delivery drivers. We live in an era where packages arrive daily and doorbells ring without warning. That familiarity can breed dangerous reflexes.

Opening the door to a stranger is no longer a harmless social norm — it is a decision that deserves more thought than most of us give it.

We also spent time discussing the bedside gun — a staple of American self-defense culture — but with a dose of physiological reality. When you wake from deep sleep, you are not instantly alert, coordinated, or tactically brilliant. You are groggy. Disoriented. Potentially clumsy.

Any serious plan must account for that human factor.

One of the more practical ideas to emerge from the episode was the concept of a “tactical bedside pouch.” Nothing fancy — just intentional. A flashlight, a knife, perhaps a tourniquet. Tools that support decision-making instead of forcing you to improvise in the worst possible moment.

Add motion-sensor nightlights and suddenly you have an early-warning system that costs less than a dinner out.

Preparedness does not have to be expensive. It does, however, require thought.

If there is a single theme running through this episode, it is this: security is a mindset, not a purchase. Whether you live on acreage miles from town or in a tightly packed subdivision, the responsibility is the same.

Your home is worth defending — but more importantly, the people inside it are worth planning for.

Comfort is not a strategy.

Give the episode a listen, and as always, I’d like to hear where you land on this question:

Do you carry at home, or do you believe the threshold of your front door changes the rules?

The Training Myth: Why Your “Military Background” Might Not Be Enough

We’ve all heard it before: “I grew up hunting,” or “I was in the service twenty years ago.” While those experiences are valuable, Brent and Roy deliver a dose of “tough love” in this episode: Shooting is a perishable skill. If you aren’t training to a consistent tactical standard, your skills aren’t just stagnant—they’re fading. But how do you find the right training without falling into the “tacticool” ego trap?

1. Breaking Down the Three Tiers

Not all training is created equal. The hosts break the landscape into three distinct levels:

• The Local Instructor: Great for CCW basics and safety, but quality can vary wildly.

• The Itinerant Trainer: These are the “traveling roadshows”—experts who bring high-level curriculum to local ranges.

• The Academies: Prestigious institutions like Gunsite or Thunder Ranch. These are the “Ivy League” of shooting, offering immersive, multi-day experiences.

2. The “Seal Team” Fallacy

One of the most important takeaways from the episode is how to vet an instructor. A common mistake is assuming that a “Tier 1” operator (like a Navy SEAL or Delta operator) is automatically a great teacher for a civilian.

Brent and Roy argue that doing and teaching are different skills. You don’t need a combat veteran to teach you how to win a gunfight in a grocery store parking lot; you need a teacher who understands civilian legalities, human psychology under stress, and how to communicate complex mechanics simply.

3. Spotting the “Elite Club” Red Flags

How do you know if a trainer is more interested in your money (or their own ego) than your skills? Look for these warning signs:

• The Ego Trap: If the instructor spends more time talking about their “stats” than watching your grip, move on.

• Gear Shaming: Training should be about software (your brain and body), not just hardware. If a class requires $5,000 in custom gear just to participate, it’s a club, not a classroom.

• Unsafe “Cool” Factors: If they prioritize “high-speed” drills over fundamental safety, they aren’t professionals—they’re performers.

The Bottom Line

Your 10-year-old CCW qualification doesn’t count today. Whether you’re a brand-new owner or a seasoned carrier, the goal is to find a reputable, safe, and humble teacher who helps you build a “roadmap” for self-defense. Training isn’t a status symbol; it’s a responsibility.

Are you ready to level up? Listen to the full discussion on the GUNS Magazine Podcast here.

In the latest GUNS Magazine Podcast (#320), Brent Wheat and Roy Huntington trade their typical deep-dives for a rapid-fire debrief of SHOT Show 2026. If you weren’t in Las Vegas, here is the “no-nonsense” summary of what actually happened.

SHOT Show 2026: Stabbings, Budget Cans, and the “Chinese Invasion”

The dust has settled on SHOT Show 2026, and while the marketing teams want you to focus on shiny new finishes, Brent Wheat and Roy Huntington are looking at the seismic shifts beneath the surface.

From security scares to market-disrupting technology, here are the three stories that defined the week.

1. Debunking the “Stabbing” Rumors

The biggest headline coming out of the show wasn’t a gun—it was a security incident. Rumors of a stabbing on the show floor flew through social media like wildfire. Brent clears the air: while there was an incident involving a knife, it wasn’t a targeted attack or a failure of the show’s culture. It was an isolated, bizarre moment that served as a reminder of just how high tensions (and crowds) can get when 50,000 people are packed into one convention center.

2. The Era of the Budget Suppressor

For years, suppressors were high-end, “buy-once-cry-once” investments. In 2026, that wall has crumbled. The show floor was dominated by a surge of high-quality, budget-friendly “cans.”

As wait times for NFA paperwork continue to drop, manufacturers are pivotng toward the mass market. We are officially entering an era where a suppressor is no longer a luxury accessory, but a standard piece of equipment for the average shooter.

3. The “Chinese Invasion” of Optics

The most controversial trend of the year? The overwhelming presence of high-end Chinese optics. While “Made in China” used to mean “cheap glass,” the 2026 show proved that the quality gap is closing at a terrifying pace.

Brent and Roy discuss the industry’s struggle: how do American manufacturers compete with glass that offers 90% of the performance at 40% of the price? It’s a tension that is forcing domestic brands to innovate faster than ever—or risk being priced out of the mid-tier market.

The Verdict

SHOT Show 2026 felt different. It was less about “revolutionary” new firearm platforms and more about the accessories—optics and suppressors—that are changing how we shoot. The industry is getting leaner, more competitive, and a lot more accessible for the everyday enthusiast.

Get the full story: Listen to episode #320 of the GUNS Magazine Podcast here.