Shownotes
State of the Second hosts John and Kaylee sit down with Rapid Fire Rachel, one of the original female gun influencers, for a conversation that runs from machine guns to motherhood. Rachel explains that her social presence started almost by accident. She was against getting an Instagram at first, then posted her family's Mother's Day at the range tradition and woke up to a phone full of notifications. She grew up around firearms and her dad has held an FFL for over 30 years. Her name came from her dad after she skipped college classes to go to Knob Creek with him, tried the jungle walk side competition, and won it her first year, walking away with prize money and a T. Rex from Dinosaur World that now hangs over her fireplace.
Much of the episode centers on machine gun culture and the events that hold it together. Rachel describes Knob Creek as its own beast, an event that ran for 50 years before its finale, and the family-like community of vendors and shooters that formed around it. After it ended, she and her team hosted the All American Machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina, opening it to the public with vendors like Barrett, LMT Defense, Rugged Suppressors, and Glock so people could get hands on rather than just spectate. Kaylee ties this to GOA's no-compromise position, noting the organization sends teams to shoots because they keep the community together. The hosts dig into the cost barrier to legally owning machine guns since the 1986 ban, the difference between criminal Glock switches and lawfully owned full-auto firearms, and the ATF redefining items like bump stocks and FRT triggers.
The back half turns personal. Rachel, six months pregnant, says she could find almost no information on carrying while pregnant and plans to keep carrying throughout because she now has something extra to protect. Kaylee, a mother of twins who is five feet tall, shares how she switched to a crossbody bag when on-body carry stopped working. Both stress educating kids early, treating guns like any other dangerous thing rather than a mystery, and they react to a six-year-old in Alabama suspended and flagged as potentially dangerous over finger guns at recess. The episode closes on firearms as living history, an upcoming International Women's Day range day in Dallas on March 8, and a promise of a part two.
Questions this episode answers
How did Rapid Fire Rachel become one of the original female gun influencers?
She grew up around firearms and was reluctant to even join Instagram, then posted about her family's Mother's Day at the range tradition and woke up to a flood of notifications. That post launched her social presence almost by accident.
Where did the name Rapid Fire Rachel come from?
Her dad gave her the name after she skipped college classes to go to Knob Creek with him, entered the jungle walk side competition, and won it on her first visit. She walked away with prize money and a T. Rex from Dinosaur World that now hangs over her fireplace.
What was Knob Creek and what made its machine gun shoot special?
Knob Creek was a machine gun shoot that ran for 50 years before its finale, building a family-like community of vendors and shooters around it. Rachel describes it as its own beast, unlike anything else in machine gun culture.
What is the All American Machine Gun Shoot and how did it differ from Knob Creek?
After Knob Creek ended, Rachel and her team hosted the All American Machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina and opened it to the public. Vendors like Barrett, LMT Defense, Rugged Suppressors, and Glock let attendees get hands on rather than just spectate.
Why has owning a machine gun become so expensive and rare since the 1986 ban?
The 1986 ban froze the supply of legally transferable machine guns, so the few that can be owned carry a steep cost barrier. The episode digs into how that limited pool drives the price of lawful full-auto ownership.
What is the difference between a criminal Glock switch and a legally owned full-auto firearm?
A Glock switch is an illegal device used by criminals, which Rachel and the hosts separate from lawfully owned full-auto firearms held by law-abiding owners. As Rachel notes, new legislation tends to affect only the law-abiding.
How does carrying a firearm change during pregnancy?
Six months pregnant at recording, Rachel found almost no information on carrying while pregnant and plans to carry throughout because she now has something extra to protect. Kaylee, a five-foot mother of twins, switched to a crossbody bag when on-body carry stopped working.
How should parents teach young children about gun safety?
Both hosts stress educating kids early and treating guns like any other dangerous thing rather than a mystery. They react to a six-year-old in Alabama who was suspended and flagged as potentially dangerous over finger guns at recess.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Meet Rapid Fire Rachel
- 02:10 — How she got the name at Knob Creek
- 03:38 — Her dad's machine gun collection
- 04:39 — Favorite guns and the bucket list
- 06:42 — Knob Creek community and its finale
- 08:06 — Hosting the All American Machine Gun Shoot
- 13:42 — The 1986 ban and the cost barrier
- 17:22 — Glock switches and criminals vs. the law-abiding
- 20:27 — Vilifying firearms, bump stocks and FRT triggers
- 24:23 — Carrying a firearm while pregnant
- 33:53 — Teaching kids gun safety early
- 43:54 — Six-year-old suspended over finger guns in Alabama
- 48:39 — Testing guns and collecting weird firearms as history
- 57:55 — Hands-on experience and women's range days
- 1:02:51 — Where to find Rachel and wrap-up
About the guest
Rapid Fire Rachel is one of the original female gun influencers. She grew up around firearms and started shooting at age three. Her father has held an FFL and run a small business for over 30 years and is a machine gun collector. Rachel got her nickname from her dad after she won the jungle walk competition at Knob Creek on her first visit. She and her team hosted the All American Machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina. At the time of recording she was six months pregnant. She can be found on Instagram as Rachel B333 and across Facebook, X, and TikTok as Rapid Fire Rachel.
Key quotes
"I didn't know that it wasn't normal for people to not have guns in their lives the same way I did because we didn't post about it when we were growing up." — Rapid Fire Rachel
"But every time legislation comes down, it's only affecting the law abiding." — Rapid Fire Rachel
"We're not looking to be the hero." — Kaylee
"I will continue to carry a gun throughout my entire pregnancy because I have something extra to protect now." — Rapid Fire Rachel
"If you can give them an experience, if they can have a positive relationship with the second amendment community, with the firearms, it changes the perspective and it makes us stronger as a community." — Kaylee
"It's almost more special to watch somebody else get to do it the first time." — Rapid Fire Rachel
Transcripts
Today we're here with Rapid Fire Rachel.
Speaker A:Rachel, how are you today?
Speaker B:I'm so good.
Speaker B:I'm so glad to be here.
Speaker A:So you are the OG or one of the og, Female gun influencers.
Speaker A:How did you kind of get into this?
Speaker A:What's your backstory, origin story, whatever you want to let the people know.
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, I don't even know where to start, but.
Speaker B:Sorry, I just got awkward.
Speaker B:Yeah, so I guess, I guess it was kind of an accident, right?
Speaker B:Like Instagram influencer stuff.
Speaker B:When it first started, I was very against having an Instagram.
Speaker B:You have a Facebook.
Speaker B:Why would you get an Instagram?
Speaker B:Don't know what to do with YouTube.
Speaker B:But my dad used to make like homemade YouTube videos and take them to work for meetings and try to like outshoot Jerry, much like, but have a machine gun off screen kind of thing anyway.
Speaker B:So, like, it's kind.
Speaker B:I kind of grew up around like the entertaining side of things and guns.
Speaker B:And when I did get on Instagram, I started posting like just my life and what we do.
Speaker B:And we always do Mother's Day at the range.
Speaker B:It's our time honored family tradition.
Speaker B:And my phone died overnight with notifications like, why are people interested in this?
Speaker B:Doesn't everybody do this?
Speaker B:I didn't know that it wasn't normal for people to not have guns in their lives the same way I did because we didn't post about it when we were growing up.
Speaker B:It was just something that we did.
Speaker B:And it's kind of turned into something way bigger than I ever thought it would be, but very cool at the same time because my dad has.
Speaker B:He's had his FFL, a small business for over 30 years.
Speaker B:And prior to me getting into this side of things, he was always just large customer, business side.
Speaker B:But he didn't know the people behind the scenes.
Speaker B:So it's been a really cool journey with my dad to where I get to introduce him.
Speaker B:And he's kind of his own figure.
Speaker B:Definitely, definitely very recognizable.
Speaker B:I feel like he's more well known than I am, really.
Speaker A:I think I've met your dad a handful of times.
Speaker A:He's such a good guy, cool guy to talk to.
Speaker A:What made you go with the name Rapid Fire Rachel?
Speaker B:Oh, my dad named me twice, so named me Rachel when I was born.
Speaker B:And then we were at Knob Creek, he took me.
Speaker B:I skipped my college classes that week and went with him to Knob Creek.
Speaker B:And we walk in and he had told me about it.
Speaker B:He had gone a few times when I was younger and mentioned it, but we get there and the firing had already started.
Speaker B:So you hear the firing line start up and your heart starts beating to the sound of machine gun fire.
Speaker B:And it's just like an entire experience.
Speaker B:We get in.
Speaker B:We decided we wanted to try the jungle walk, which was a little side competition.
Speaker B:And I actually ended up winning the jungle walk that first year.
Speaker B:And it's kind of tricky.
Speaker B:Like you have to be good at actually controlling bursts.
Speaker B:Everybody loves to do a mag dump, right?
Speaker B:But specifically with the jungle walk, you have to be able to control bursts because there's 18, I think it's 18 targets that are hidden throughout the woods.
Speaker B:And you have to walk through, find the targets, identify the targets, shoot the targets, but not spend too much ammo.
Speaker B:And they do have one area where you do have to do a full auto burst across on the other side of the street stream.
Speaker B:So just finding all the targets is half the challenge.
Speaker B:And I think they said I was the only one that found all of them.
Speaker B:Very cool.
Speaker B:I ended up, after we left that weekend, dad started calling me Rapid Fire Rachel and we stopped at Dinosaur World and I bought a T. Rex that's mounted over my fireplace now as my trophy with the prize money.
Speaker C:That's amazing.
Speaker A:So did your, did your dad always have machine guns when you were growing up or is just kind of a new thing?
Speaker B:No, I don't, I don't know a time when he didn't have them.
Speaker B:I think he started buying.
Speaker B:If he was here, he could tell you the exact date.
Speaker B:I think the story goes that he didn't start buying until after the ban.
Speaker B:And I think my brother was here, so like 89, and he was at the our gun club and heard machine gun fire off in the distance.
Speaker B:And like any of us probably would proceeded to the sound of machine gun fire and met some guys that kind of explained how everything worked and was like, okay, well I'm going to start doing this and started his collection.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:And it's a awesome collection.
Speaker B:And it's never going to be complete.
Speaker B:There's too many things.
Speaker A:Well, that gives me a great follow up because you've.
Speaker A:You've gotten to play with a lot of guns or handle a lot of guns that a lot of people haven't had the chance to top five.
Speaker B:These are hard.
Speaker B:That's a hard.
Speaker B:It's hard to like pick guns that are your favorite, right?
Speaker B:Because then it's like, what's the per.
Speaker B:What's your favorite for this purpose?
Speaker B:Or what's your favorite of just this line or favorite American machine gun of World War II.
Speaker B:Like, hard to pick.
Speaker B:Hard to pick just one.
Speaker B:I will always have a very special place in my heart for a Thompson.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:28 Thompson.
Speaker B:Beautiful.
Speaker B:The first machine gun I ever shot.
Speaker B:I will love it forever.
Speaker B:I also really love the bar and I really love the Bren.
Speaker B:Those seem to be pitted against each other quite a bit, but they're both great for different reasons.
Speaker B:Love both of them.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know what else to pick from.
Speaker A:Okay, let me rephrase it this way.
Speaker A:Do you have a list of guns that you haven't shot yet?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What is.
Speaker A:What is on that list that.
Speaker A:It's like if he.
Speaker A:If it's at a range day, that's you're running over to go try it.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So I. I would like to shoot a potato digger.
Speaker B:I have never shot a grease gun, which just makes me sad because I've had friends that have had them at range days, and they offered to let me shoot them, but it just didn't work out timing wise for me to get.
Speaker B:To get back down there.
Speaker B:There's a lot more, though.
Speaker B:I would like to shoot a show.
Speaker B:Show.
Speaker B:Even though I hear they're garbage, but it's just like, it's iconic.
Speaker B:There's nothing else like it.
Speaker B:If it's garbage, it's garbage for a reason.
Speaker B:And it has a huge place in history.
Speaker B:I want to shoot a.
Speaker B:Or at least be around somebody shooting a French 75 because I.
Speaker B:This is the world I grew up in, right?
Speaker B:I did not know that a French 75 was a drink until I had friends at a party and they had a French 75 on the menu.
Speaker B:And I was like, what is this?
Speaker B:I thought this was.
Speaker B:I'm so confused right now.
Speaker B:Anyway, I did have one of those.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It was interesting.
Speaker C:That is awesome.
Speaker C:So obviously with machine guns comes a lot of machine gun shoots.
Speaker C:Obviously.
Speaker C:You already mentioned the Knob Creek shoot.
Speaker C:That's no longer happening.
Speaker C:What was the atmosphere outside of winning at that competition there?
Speaker C:The atmosphere leaving?
Speaker C:Were you, like, counting down the days until you got to go to the next one?
Speaker C:Or can you, like, describe that?
Speaker B:Aha.
Speaker C:Moment.
Speaker B:Okay, so the very first one I ever went to with my dad on our way home, we booked our hotel for the second one, which was six months later.
Speaker B:So Knob Creek was twice a year.
Speaker B:Every year.
Speaker B:We went every year for 10 years, except one spring when it had flooded.
Speaker B:So, yeah, as soon as you leave, I mean, you're booking the hotel for the next one.
Speaker B:What's really cool is once you go a few times and you start seeing the vendors there.
Speaker B:It kind of becomes like a family.
Speaker B:So you see the same guys on the line.
Speaker B:You see the same guys under the pole barn.
Speaker B:You see the same guys running the jungle walk or the same guys running the sub gun match.
Speaker B:It's just such a neat community.
Speaker B:And obviously the gun community in general, it's big, but it's small.
Speaker B:Like, you always see the same people at things, but there is just like, it's.
Speaker B:It was just special.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I did cry leaving at the finale.
Speaker B:It was just like, can't believe this is over and I might not see all of these guys in the same place again.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And because of that ending, you guys kind of took over and did your own event.
Speaker B:So I won't say we took over because nothing will be Knob Creek.
Speaker B:Knob Creek is its own thing.
Speaker B:Like it's its own beast.
Speaker B:It's monumental, honestly.
Speaker B:And as far as events go, there's nothing else that is like it.
Speaker B:And I don't think there will ever be anything else that's exactly like it.
Speaker B:But we did try to at least take the reins of that hole that was left by Knob Creek ending because that had been an event for 50 years.
Speaker B:And some of these guys have been going twice a year every year for those 50 years.
Speaker B:So last year we did throw our hat in the ring and we hosted an event, All American machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina.
Speaker B:We had several of the vendors that you'd find under the pole barn at Knob Creek.
Speaker B:We also had several of the guys that you'd find on that main firing line.
Speaker B:So it was kind of like getting all the crew back together.
Speaker B:Definitely learned a lot in the planning side of it.
Speaker B:It was huge learning curve, but really overall, like, I think it ended really well for a first event, but like I said, learned so much.
Speaker B:And then different from Knob Creek.
Speaker B:So at.
Speaker B:At the creek, you basically were spectating if you weren't on that main firing line.
Speaker B:And it was very hard to get a spot on that unless somebody were to pass or just not come anymore, which.
Speaker B:No, people.
Speaker B:People have those spots pretty close to their.
Speaker B:Pretty close to their chest.
Speaker B:So if you weren't doing that, there was a rental range or sub gun match or jungle walk.
Speaker B:That was kind of your options for shooting at All American.
Speaker B:We were able to bring some vendors in because we had extra range space.
Speaker B:So we had folks out there, like Barrett was set up shooting 500 yards at a car for people to try.
Speaker B:LMT defense was out There they were actually demoing a new suppressor.
Speaker B:I'm trying to think rugged suppressors was out there because it was actually local to them.
Speaker B:So it worked out really well.
Speaker B:Glock was out there.
Speaker B:They were a crowd favorite for specifically people with kids.
Speaker B:Doug was the one running Glock and people were praising him for how well he did with their kids, teaching them.
Speaker B:So it was just really, really cool.
Speaker B:We had a lot of other.
Speaker B:We had somebody on every range space including a local team that was out there running a kids competition.
Speaker B:So it was really cool just to kind of see all of it come together but give more for people to do other than just watch.
Speaker C:That's amazing.
Speaker C:I will never forget the first time that I went to a machine gun shoot.
Speaker C:The first one I went to was the big Sandy shoot in Arizona.
Speaker C:And outside of the minor concern for how far out in the desert it really was and our rental car getting downgraded because our flight was delayed.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So we were taking this little bitty Nissan Altima and I was like, I don't know if we're going to make it, guys.
Speaker C:So it was a little bit scary getting there.
Speaker C:But once we got there, it was one of the most welcoming experiences I think I've ever had at a range event.
Speaker C:We were setting up our tennis Goa and there's so one of the things that I love about the machine gun shoots is they are so purpose driven for community engagement.
Speaker C:And at the big Sandy shoot, like they even have.
Speaker C:I forget.
Speaker C:I think it's the 4H out there that's like flipping hamburgers for everybody.
Speaker C:And like it's just.
Speaker C:It was such a cool event.
Speaker C:I got to shoot some stuff that I, I had never shot before, which was great and just in the.
Speaker C:The rental booth.
Speaker C:But it was one of those like everyone should do this at least once.
Speaker B:I think you need to.
Speaker B:I think you.
Speaker B:I think there.
Speaker B:Well, I know there were so many people that counted on Knob Creek never going anywhere.
Speaker B:And so when it came, like when they said, hey, this is the finale, first of all, it was packed, like I think they said, over 20,000 people.
Speaker B:It was insanity.
Speaker B:We slept in the car the next morning so that we could make sure we made our match time for the sub gun match.
Speaker B:But also on a different note, I just love hearing that GOA would be at an event like this because there's a lot of Pro2A things that wouldn't touch machine guns.
Speaker C:Oh yeah.
Speaker C:We're no compromise for a reason.
Speaker C:Like it is so a part of our culture.
Speaker C:Actually we had several People on staff attend the Last Knob Creek.
Speaker C:Obviously, there was no vendor space.
Speaker B:Oh, no.
Speaker C:To be at.
Speaker B:There was no space for spectators either.
Speaker B:But several.
Speaker C:Several people went.
Speaker C:We have.
Speaker C:I know the West Virginia machine gun shoot.
Speaker C:I forget the name of that one.
Speaker B:There's Lost River, I think.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And then Pennsylvania as well.
Speaker C:And we often have teams of people that attend these shoots because they're.
Speaker C:They're vital to keeping.
Speaker C:It's vital to keeping the community together.
Speaker C:But also for so many people who own or wish to own a machine gun.
Speaker C:Everyone kind of looks at you crazy, right?
Speaker C:But it's a vital community that's worth protecting and it's worth advocating for because.
Speaker C:And I don't know how to phrase this.
Speaker A:Well, it wasn't, you know, too long ago where machine guns right next to regular guns.
Speaker A:I mean, it's been, what, for since 86.
Speaker B:86.
Speaker A:So, like, it's in our.
Speaker A:There's a lot of.
Speaker A:There's a generation that lived through having machine guns, like right next to regular guns in the store.
Speaker A:It was like a couple hundred dollars more.
Speaker A:You know, you pay your $200 fee to the government to own something that you should have already.
Speaker A:But it's a dying part of our Second Amendment because the price of entry for a machine gun is just so high.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, it's skyrocketed just since I've kind of been introduced to it, which is wild because I've really only started paying attention.
Speaker B:I would say since I.
Speaker B: Since: Speaker B:I think I was 20 years old.
Speaker B:2012, 19 Years old.
Speaker B:That's when I started kind of getting more engaged, like with what my dad's hobbies were, which heavily in guns, machine guns specifically.
Speaker B:And that's when I started, like, kind of like keeping note of prices or little things here and there.
Speaker B:And yeah, even just since then, things have skyrocketed.
Speaker C:And I think that this is the.
Speaker C:A point to bring out.
Speaker C:It's less than 40 years since that's gone into effect.
Speaker C:And there are many people in our community that very much remember it were a little on the younger side that didn't grow up with those being readily available.
Speaker C:But this is why when we talk about what government infringement does, when we talk about what the culture does when it comes to the Second Amendment, it is the whole frog in the boiling water scenario.
Speaker C:You start accepting the amount of tyranny that you're comfortable with.
Speaker C:You're fine with the status quo.
Speaker C:You get into a place where you're like, well, it's not that bad.
Speaker C:We only lost this and that was so long ago.
Speaker C:And so it kind of.
Speaker C:When you, I'm going to rephrase that.
Speaker C:When you get to a place where you're understanding that this is something that is your constitutionally protected right and you should have those rights restored, it catches people off guard, especially at the governmental level on, you know, why do we want to see the NFA repealed?
Speaker C:Why are we Talking about the 86 guys gun control Act?
Speaker C:Why do we want the restorations of our rights?
Speaker C:Because after all it's the status quo and shouldn't we just accept this as, as fact and, and as permanence?
Speaker C:Because that's what they want.
Speaker C:They don't want us to educate ourselves, to go to events, to understand that gun safety is the same regardless of what, what it is.
Speaker C:It doesn't matter if it's a machine gun or a rifle or a handgun.
Speaker C:Like you're not just going out and, and committing crimes or using that gun.
Speaker C:Unsafe.
Speaker C:Like the rules still apply.
Speaker A:But we see it now, you know, criminals are going to get what they want and we're seeing it in specifically areas where crime is high that a lot of these guys have these Glock switches.
Speaker B:I knew you were gonna say Glock switch.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I was already thinking it if you weren't gonna bring it up.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And you see it on, I mean I've gone through you.
Speaker A:I was on YouTube last night and the amount of reels or shorts or real.
Speaker A:Yeah, shorts on YouTube with guys just dumping dirt and into the air and probably both.
Speaker B:Yeah, start at the dirt and in the air.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's just mind blowing to go, okay, well there's all these law abiding citizens like us who want to own machine guns because they're dope.
Speaker A:And there's criminals who are buying these from Wish and all these other online retailers are, they're doing things illegally but, and they're posting and bragging about it, but nothing's happening.
Speaker A:So why do we need more gun control if we can't control or can't go after these, the people who are already breaking the laws and then going, okay, because they're breaking the law, the criminals are going to get what they want when they want.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Well, the crazy thing about the Glock switches too, because I know that was brought up recently, I, I feel like it was recently I saw something in the news mentioning Glock switches and how they're in the streets and changing things or people.
Speaker B:But let's be honest, like have we all shot in a Glock 18 before.
Speaker A:I actually haven't really.
Speaker A:That's one thing.
Speaker B:Any kind of full auto pistol?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Okay, well that's the one thing that's on my list.
Speaker A:I haven't.
Speaker A:That's the one thing I haven't shot.
Speaker A:I just shot a full auto P90 look like a week ago.
Speaker A:Okay, super happy.
Speaker B:I actually haven't shot a full auto P90 anyway.
Speaker B:But they are not easy to control.
Speaker B:Like you give a Glock Glock with a Glock switch to your random person on the street.
Speaker B:They are not going to hit a dagum thing.
Speaker B:They're the hit everything except what they're trying to like.
Speaker B:They're not, it's not helping them be criminals.
Speaker B:They're more likely to shoot themselves probably in the head when it flips around.
Speaker B:But I, I don't know, it's just really frustrating.
Speaker A:Well, I mean you, your dad and you have gone through the process of legally obtaining these, these machine guns for your collection.
Speaker A:And to go, you bought, you probably not knowing there's probably a Glock switch at in your collection that you paid X amount of dollars for when they, because you had to find a legal one that was 86 compliant and everything.
Speaker A:And these guys are just buying them and just doing ridiculous things with them and bragging about it.
Speaker A:And I'm like really?
Speaker B:So we don't personally have one, but I have shot one.
Speaker B:But it is, it's extremely frustrating to see like no matter what criminals figure out how to get what they want somehow there's such a big hole.
Speaker B:But every time legislation comes down, it's only affecting the law abiding.
Speaker C:And I think that's the key point.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:And if we look at what the government has been doing, whether it is pistol braces or claiming that a bump stock is a machine gun and all of the crazy things that have happened in recent history, what you find is that the government can't vilify law abiding supplements citizens.
Speaker C:It's very hard because what are we doing with our firearms?
Speaker C:We're defending ourselves, we're defending our families, we're stopping crime.
Speaker C:We are sometimes not even doing that.
Speaker C:We're just owning firearms.
Speaker C:I mean how many people actually are having to use their firearms defensively?
Speaker C:Thank God it's not all of us all of the time.
Speaker C:But what they're doing now is they're vilifying the firearms.
Speaker C:And then by vilifying the firearms they're now in turn trying to make you and I and whoever else a felon so that they can target you.
Speaker C:Because now you are the enemy.
Speaker C:And it's easier when you say, oh, well, someone's a felon for people to naturally go, oh, well, if they're a felon, obviously, like, we don't want them to have their rights.
Speaker C:And so what they say truly matters.
Speaker C:And it's why things like our bump stock case that unfortunately ours isn't going to the Supreme Court, although we did win at the lower level.
Speaker C:It was a split decision.
Speaker C:The Supreme Court didn't choose to carry ours to the Supreme Court.
Speaker C:There is another bump stock case that is going to the Supreme Court that we're watching very closely and are very excited about.
Speaker C:And then on the flip side, we have the preliminary injunction for GOA members and the residents of their household where you're not a felon until the courts make a final decision.
Speaker C:And those kind of things are so valuable because the attack is on the individual, but they're vilifying the firearm that up until five seconds ago was legal.
Speaker A:As I choke over here, let's talk about not only that, but they're going after the FRT triggers and they're going to people's houses and they're going, oh, because you were on a list of people who bought an FRT trigger, you now have to give that up.
Speaker A:We've all shot probably an FRT trigger and an M4.
Speaker A:They are not the same.
Speaker A:They are definitely not the same.
Speaker A:They're not the same rate of fire, like.
Speaker B:Well, they don't function the same either.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's force reset for a reason instead of full auto, but.
Speaker A:And they just make things up as they go along.
Speaker B:You know, atf, well, it's fun to redefine things.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, it's.
Speaker C:It's one of the craziest things because just going back to the bump stocks for a brief second, bump firing was not made illegal.
Speaker C:A piece of plastic was made illegal.
Speaker C:You can still bump fire with your belt loop if you wanted to.
Speaker C:I don't know why you do, because I can't afford that ammo.
Speaker C:But, like, more power to you if you can.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But I mean, it's.
Speaker C:It's the reality, right?
Speaker C:Like, they are vilifying things for the sake of vilifying them.
Speaker C:And the more that we can educate ourselves and the more that we can talk about this, the more that we're less likely to accept that level of government overreach.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, let's shift focus real quick because we went down a deep rabbit hole on all this, which is dope.
Speaker A:And Kaylee got to Stand on her.
Speaker C:Soapbox at least once an episode.
Speaker A:Once an episode.
Speaker C:It's a problem.
Speaker A:So you are about to be a mother.
Speaker B:Oh, this was a big shift.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm just diving right into it.
Speaker B:Force reset.
Speaker A:Force reset.
Speaker C:Hey, so talk about resetting the conversation.
Speaker A:Reset the conversation.
Speaker B:Is this a machine gun?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you're assumed to be mother.
Speaker A:You have told people.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:How does that change for you?
Speaker A:What is your, you know, your.
Speaker A:Has that changed your mindset?
Speaker A:Has that changed anything going into your.
Speaker A:Your personal protection, your.
Speaker A:Your plans at the house, things like that?
Speaker B:So I am already somebody that carries a gun and pretty religiously, like, I will figure out how to carry a gun I.
Speaker B:Wherever I'm going.
Speaker B:Or, you know, you look at your circumstances, you look at where you're going and look at what you need to bring.
Speaker B:I don't have one single gun that I say has to be the one, because if I can't fit it in my outfit, I'm going to find something smaller that I can fit in the outfit.
Speaker B:So that as far as carrying a gun, I went down a rabbit hole of looking for just information on women caring while pregnant.
Speaker B:And there's really not a lot out there.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Not a lot of people sharing that.
Speaker B:And I feel like it's maybe because it's considered taboo even.
Speaker B:I've had tons of people ask me, are you still shooting?
Speaker B:Are you still doing this and that?
Speaker B:And there are some things that have changed just for trying to keep myself and my baby healthy.
Speaker B:Um, but I am still shooting.
Speaker B:I am not trying to figure out where to begin on things that have changed.
Speaker B:So I am still carrying a gun.
Speaker B:Um, I will continue to carry a gun because if anything, I feel like I'm actually maybe a little more vulnerable now.
Speaker B:I can't run as fast as I could.
Speaker B:Yep, the back.
Speaker B:The back tenses up a little bit now.
Speaker B:Um, so, yeah, I will continue to carry a gun throughout my entire pregnancy because I have something extra to protect now.
Speaker B:And that wouldn't have changed, you know, if I wasn't pregnant.
Speaker B:I'd still be carrying my gun.
Speaker B:But outside of that, like, I am continuing to shoot.
Speaker B:The only things that have really changed there are.
Speaker B:I'm getting to the point where I need to consider sound.
Speaker B:I'm sick.
Speaker B:I'm officially six months and I now wear gloves.
Speaker B:I should have probably been doing this prior, but I typically have Otis lead removing wipes that I use now, uh, just to make sure I don't get any extra lead ingested in any way.
Speaker B:Um, and Then other than that, like, I will probably shoot a little more suppressed here in the next coming weeks at.
Speaker B:Before I, you know, tamper off a little bit, taper off a little bit.
Speaker A:And Kayleigh, as a mother yourself.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:And as somebody who had to go through this, do you have any advice, Advice that you can pass along or.
Speaker B:I'm here for it.
Speaker B:Recommend.
Speaker A:I'm trying to share, like.
Speaker A:Yeah, wisdom.
Speaker A:Wisdom.
Speaker C:Listen, I, I completely agree.
Speaker C:You know, I carried a firearm with me to protect myself.
Speaker C:I was pregnant with twins, so my capacity to carry on my person went away very fast.
Speaker C:I'm a very small person.
Speaker C:I'm five.
Speaker B:You are.
Speaker B:I'm trying to imagine you with twins.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:It was not the prettiest pregnant lady that you've ever seen because it was just.
Speaker B:I'm sure you were beautiful.
Speaker C:Well, thank you.
Speaker C:But no, I was miserable and it showed.
Speaker C:But all of that aside, like, for me, I switched to a crossbody bag because there was literally no space.
Speaker C:And it got to the end where it was like, I'm wearing dresses because, like, even maternity pants don't fit.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But you know what?
Speaker B:That might be the best option in some, in some regards, and they're really good.
Speaker B:I, I, typically in a perfect world, you know, on body carry is the way I'd like to do it.
Speaker B:But depending on what you're wearing, if your option is crossbody purse or something of that nature, like, don't let that make you decide not to carry anymore.
Speaker B:Just pick something smart that has a wire in it that can't be cut.
Speaker B:Like, look at those kinds of things.
Speaker C:But yeah, no, a hundred percent.
Speaker C:And I feel very strongly that you should be able to protect yourself and then when the time comes, protect your children if necessary.
Speaker C:And I think that's great.
Speaker C:But yeah, it was wild because I had twins.
Speaker C:I didn't shoot almost.
Speaker C:I don't know, I don't think I shot past like three months just because I was so sick.
Speaker B:I was the opposite.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I was so sick pretty much from the time I found out I was pregnant until I think 17 or 18 weeks.
Speaker B:I was sick most all day every day.
Speaker B:So there was maybe three times I went to the range in that time span, but it was also summer, so it's like if I go outside, I'm going to throw.
Speaker B:It's just so hot.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So just knowing your body and what you, you can and can't do and what's right for you and, you know, obviously it's one of those things where I think your mom brain kicks in and you start overanalyzing everything and you're.
Speaker B:Just like, you know, a lot of Google searches.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:Gosh, that was a, that was a time.
Speaker C:But I, I don't regret ever being in a position of protecting myself.
Speaker C:In fact, I've only regretted things when there have been close calls where I'm like, that guy was really creepy or that girl was creepy or you know, like, this, this is a unsafe situation.
Speaker C:Like, I don't know if I like being here.
Speaker C:Those are the times where I'm like, man, I don't love where I'm at right now.
Speaker C:This is kind of, the surroundings aren't good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:But I've never regretted having the ability to protect myself.
Speaker C:And I think that the more individuals understand that and understand that all we're doing when we're carrying firearms is we're not looking to be the hero.
Speaker C:And anyway, and this was one of the things that I found was a misconception with people who don't agree with us is I was at an event and this wife was accompanying her husband and she was very clearly anti gun and he was very clearly having the best time of his life at this event.
Speaker C:And she came up because of, there was candy on the table.
Speaker C:And I was talking to her and I was like, oh, how are you doing?
Speaker C:And she was like, I just don't understand why every gun owner wants to be the hero.
Speaker C:And it caught me so off guard.
Speaker C:And I was like, come again?
Speaker C:She's like, I just don't understand why every gun owner wants to be the hero.
Speaker C:And I was like, of what?
Speaker C:And she's like, well, you guys are just always wanting to stop the, the bad guy.
Speaker C:Like, oh, that's all you think about.
Speaker C:And I said, I'm going to be completely honest with you.
Speaker C:I've talked to hundreds of thousands of people at this point doing this job.
Speaker C:I've never heard that be the motivation, not once.
Speaker B:I want to be a superhero.
Speaker C:No, no one thinks that way.
Speaker C:What they do is they go, I want to be able to defend myself with my family if God forbid, the worst case scenario happened.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker C:And we're not looking for a fight.
Speaker C:We're not out there being like, you know, today's the day.
Speaker C:No one thinks that way.
Speaker C:And I think that the more that we kind of see what they're being told and what they believe, the better our education becomes to ensure them like, no, no, that's not it.
Speaker C:I'm carrying a firearm because I'm a five foot female and if the wind blows really hard, with as clumsy as I am, there's not like a huge chance that I'm not going to trip and fall over myself.
Speaker C:That's just me as a person.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But it's knowing that, hey, you know what?
Speaker C:My life has value and there are bad people in the world, and if it's me versus them, I want to know that I'm coming out of the situation.
Speaker A:I got a question for the both of you as mothers, because I'm never going to experience that.
Speaker A:Did.
Speaker A:Because you're.
Speaker A:You may be around the kiddo more than.
Speaker A:Than most people.
Speaker A:Has your thought process of changing your firearm ever came to mind?
Speaker A:Like going, hey, I need something with maybe a little bit heavier trigger, or I need something with something different?
Speaker A:Has that ever crossed your mind?
Speaker A:Or is that something you have to think of or consider.
Speaker C:Safety is what you consider?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I. I think it's ensuring that there is a.
Speaker C:You know, I don't really like that question.
Speaker C:I mean, the reason that I don't like that question is because my kids won.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:So then it.
Speaker B:It's something that I think would evolve.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, I. I'm thinking, obviously, my kid's not here yet, but I know how I was raised, right?
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I also think I was maybe raised in a different world.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My parents didn't lock guns up.
Speaker B:It was not something that was foreign to us.
Speaker B:I started shooting when I was three years old, but my parents were very specific.
Speaker B:I actually didn't even know about Eddie Eagle, but my dad basically taught us Eddie Eagle.
Speaker B:I just thought of something my dad made of, but he applied that to, like, every.
Speaker B:Anything that's dangerous.
Speaker B:Like if you saw a snake in the yard, stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult.
Speaker B:But it was the same way with guns.
Speaker B:And he was so forthcoming with, like, information.
Speaker B:It was never hidden from us.
Speaker B:It was never something that was foreign or scary or a mystery.
Speaker B:We knew exactly what that was, exactly what it did.
Speaker B:And if we see it out, don't touch that, because we need to tell dad that it's out.
Speaker B:I don't necessarily plan on, you know, just leaving things out for my kid to find, but I think just.
Speaker B:I think just in general, the education of kids is so important so that there isn't.
Speaker B:You're in charge of the narrative, right?
Speaker B:You're in charge of how they learn about guns, how they learn about it.
Speaker B:It's not a mystery to them.
Speaker B:They're not seeing it in a video game.
Speaker B:And it's cool.
Speaker B:And it's a toy they're being taught from you.
Speaker B:This is very important.
Speaker B:This can cause harm if it's used wrong and in the wrong place.
Speaker B:And I think that's, you know, once, once your kid's at the age of understanding.
Speaker B:But yeah, I mean, we're both kind of in the point where they're a little too young for any kind of.
Speaker C:Yeah, but it is something, but it is something that you start with the conversation.
Speaker C:And maybe it's because of my line of work, maybe, maybe because it's the fact that we live on a farm, but like guns are just so much a part of everyday life that it's a regular dinner conversation.
Speaker C:And it's a, it's a regular, it's a, it's a regular part of our lives.
Speaker C:So it's not like I'm trying to.
Speaker C:Education will come naturally because it's something that's always kind of in, in the conversation.
Speaker C:You're not having to like create a whole program to where you're like, well, this is, I need to introduce this because, you know, this is something that they're, they're never going to hear about outside of, outside of this like educational moment.
Speaker C:It's going to be part of the conversation.
Speaker A:The reason I brought that up is we talked to Amy Langdon and she kind of told her story about how her son couldn't rack or pull the trigger.
Speaker A:I wanted to pick your guys brain on that.
Speaker A:I know that when I taught youth how to shoot, you know, and when I was teaching classes, the big thing I would tell people is like, hey, kids are naturally, naturally curious.
Speaker A:They're gonna want to know.
Speaker A:So if you tell them, don't do something, never tell a kid, don't do anything.
Speaker A:Because the minute they hear don't, it's go do it.
Speaker A:Because that's what I want to do because they told me not to.
Speaker A:And I, you know, kids are curious and I didn't know if you guys, I wanted to see like, if you had any advice to, you know, soon to be parents or as a parent, you know, what, what's the right age?
Speaker A:I mean, you said you were at three.
Speaker A:I was about the same age when I started learning about gun safety.
Speaker A:You know, it was always the same thing, like, hey, don't touch, become an adult.
Speaker A:You learn these things.
Speaker A:And you know that we, we have a community here and there's a lot of new gun owners out there.
Speaker A:And to pass on the, the words of wisdom of kind of like, hey, this is what you need to do to Teach your kids this is how.
Speaker A:This is a conversation that needs to be had and the shooting sports are fun, but you, it can also be dangerous and to kind of talk through, through it with them and kind of have that conversation at an early age and kind of get that curiosity out of there.
Speaker A:I just didn't know if you guys had any wisdom you'd want to pass along to the millions of new gun owners out there and kind of teach them, you know, hey, you know, there's a, there's a way of, there's a process of doing this and there's a process of making, you know, things safe.
Speaker B:This is terrible, but the whole time you were talking, my brain went down the rabbit hole of how we need a Dr. Seuss book.
Speaker B:And that's like, it's fun to have guns, but you have to know how.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker C:Good idea.
Speaker A:Kaylee, you were writing a book.
Speaker B:Put that down.
Speaker C:Yes, perfect.
Speaker A:I like it now that I shifted that conversation completely.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker A:No, it was great.
Speaker A:I really did wanted to pick you up your guys brain on this because it, it is a topic.
Speaker A:I mean, we saw the Biden administration go after shooting education and gun safety in schools.
Speaker A:I just wanted to pick your brains, you know, going, hey, as, as soon to be parent and parent, you know, where, if there's any tools out there that you would recommend to people and things like that.
Speaker C:So here's what I'll, I'll say.
Speaker C:As a parent, it's your personal responsibility to figure out the best way to educate your child on any topic, not just firearm safety.
Speaker C:But, you know, you decide what comes into your home, you decide how you frame every conversation.
Speaker C:You kind of judge the situation.
Speaker C:You know, if you're listening to this and your kid's older and you know, maybe they don't love listening to you, maybe the best thing to do is take them to an instructor and kind of let them explain everything from an outside source.
Speaker C:If they hang onto your every word, maybe you start the conversation and that comes later.
Speaker C:But I think the more that you talk about it, the more that you're listening to the questions that they have, as much as you are giving them the information, I think those are valuable tools that you, as a parent, you know your kid better than anything anyone else and you're going to have an intuition on how to speak to them about dangerous and scary things.
Speaker C:And unfortunately, you probably have to do that more than just about firearms in today's society.
Speaker C:And so I think that knowing where your kid is at, where they are mentally where they are developmentally.
Speaker C:And just the best thing to do is just to start having the conversation and figure it out from there.
Speaker C:And you know, it's not quite a.
Speaker C:A Dr. Seuss style book for the Second Amendment, but one of the best gifts that I was given was actually by my mother in law and it Is like the ABCs for the Constitution and it has like a whole little section on the second amendment and you know, that's awesome.
Speaker C:You know, he may be, he may be tiny, but he is.
Speaker C:He's already started his educational journey.
Speaker B:But that's so important.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:At every, like any age.
Speaker B:I mean, I feel like there's a lot of Americans that don't know anything in our Constitution, unfortunately.
Speaker C:Maybe everyone needs the ABCs to the Constitution.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker C:I like it.
Speaker A:I mean being 90s 90s kid, like I remember not having to worry as much as a kid.
Speaker A:Like we used to ride our bikes everywhere.
Speaker A:We'd go ride our bike up to the convenience store.
Speaker A:Now it's like, yeah, can't do that.
Speaker A:You can't.
Speaker A:And it's, it's sad but you know,.
Speaker B:You didn't have cell phones.
Speaker B:You just kind of disappeared for the day.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, it was like, it was like, get out of the house.
Speaker A:Don't come back until the street lights are on.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:That's dinner time.
Speaker A:And then you can go back out until the lights, the house lights start turning off.
Speaker A:You need to get home.
Speaker A:And I remember we played until we would run around the neighborhood until at least 10, 11.
Speaker B:We were always outside.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Climbing trees in a creek.
Speaker B:Doing stuff we probably shouldn't do, like crawl under the culverts and stuff.
Speaker B:Under the roads.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Going and building tree forts out of things.
Speaker A:I remember.
Speaker B:Oh, we said booby traps in my backyard when I was growing up for my cousins.
Speaker B:Cousins.
Speaker B:If you listen to this.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:You never came to visit though, so you're lucky.
Speaker B:But we used to dig booby traps and like put rocks and pine cones in them and think like, oh, if they come here, they.
Speaker B:They never wore shoes growing up, so they're gonna fall in this and get.
Speaker B:We were apparently we were mean.
Speaker A:We used to do.
Speaker A:It's funny because it's kind of maybe have gotten into my second amendment journey.
Speaker A:But we used to make bows as kids.
Speaker A:We would make our own homemade bows and like test them out out of sticks we found in the woods.
Speaker C:Oh, we the.
Speaker C:The neighborhood kids.
Speaker C:So I have brothers and then all of the kids in our neighborhood were boys.
Speaker C:So I just kind of grew up like very male dominated world.
Speaker C:And we used to pick up like sticks out of the woods and like those were firearms.
Speaker C:And we would have like entire like war reenactments like that span like three or four houses across.
Speaker B:Sometimes nature makes the perfect gun out of like a stick.
Speaker B:I have two in my garage right now that look identical and I'm like, I can't throw these away or burn them.
Speaker B:Like, I have to keep these because they're very cool.
Speaker A:It's, it's sad that, and I don't think we've ever talked about this on the, this podcast, but it's sad that when we were kids growing up, even in school, you know, you'd grab a stick and you'd play wars or cops and robbers and there was just a kindergartner a couple months ago who got in Alabama, in Alabama who got suspended from school for playing with a stick gun.
Speaker C:Oh, it goes so far beyond that.
Speaker C:And, and GOA has.
Speaker C:We, we've been monitoring it.
Speaker C:We've been.
Speaker C:What is it called when you don't file legal action but you threaten legal action?
Speaker C:I'm looking for a word.
Speaker A:Threatening.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:I wish I could help you.
Speaker C:There's a word for it.
Speaker C:Okay, I'm just gonna kind of rephrase this.
Speaker C:But yeah, so GOA has been working alongside.
Speaker C:There's a whole story about it on our, on our website.
Speaker C:And then also if you shout out to our sister organization, Gut Owners foundation, their show Shots Fired kind of did a bigger deep dive in it.
Speaker C:But what's awful is not only was this child suspended for playing cops and robbers with finger guns on the playground, but they have put in his permanent record that he's potentially dangerous.
Speaker B:Oh my gosh.
Speaker C:And so when you're looking at a world and this is Alabama that we're talking about, like this is not some crazy like New York or California or New Jersey kind of thing.
Speaker C:This is Alabama, for crying out loud.
Speaker C:And you know, if you look at a world where you have red flag laws that are gun confiscation orders for with no due process, and you have a school district wanting to label someone as potentially dangerous starting at 6 years old, I mean, this has substantial ramifications.
Speaker C:And to be completely honest, that school board and everyone involved in that should have significant ramifications when it comes to election, when it comes to, you know, the policies that they're putting forward.
Speaker C:Because like the world has gone insane when it comes to even the thought police, to the point where you can't play at recess.
Speaker B:Well, you can't anymore.
Speaker B:I actually have a story on this.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So my brother, back to the 90s, my brother, he is technically an 80s baby, but kindergarten, same.
Speaker B:Same deal.
Speaker B:And kindergarten.
Speaker B:They had a project that they had to write a story about what they would do if they had a superpower or what they would do for a day if they were invisible.
Speaker B:I think it was specifically, if you were invisible for a day, what would you do?
Speaker B:And my brother thought it was stupid, so he just kind of went down a rabbit hole of like, oh, he'd pick on his sisters and thanks, Robert.
Speaker B:But he went down a rabbit hole of how he would, like, go and take all the rest of the things that my dad needed for his gun collection.
Speaker B:Specifically naming.
Speaker B:And as a kindergartner, naming, like, individual rifles and different things.
Speaker B:Like, could you imagine if that were today?
Speaker C:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:So my parents did get called about that, and my mom was like, oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Well, this is my husband's wish list of stuff for his collection.
Speaker B:He's a collector, and my kid obviously thought this assignment was stupid.
Speaker B:So he's picking on his sisters and then he's finishing off my husband's collection because he loves his dad.
Speaker B:Yeah, but if you were to do that today, I mean, no, you.
Speaker B:You're on all sorts of lists.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I think that's why so many parents are choosing to homeschool and choosing to take over education.
Speaker C:Because you just look at things and you're like, well, this is crazy.
Speaker C:This goes for far beyond, you know, common core or, you know, not spending time with your children.
Speaker C:This is fundamentally how culture is made, and that has substantial ramifications.
Speaker C:And I think that's why you're seeing all of these.
Speaker C:These movements come up and, you know, to attack a six year old in such an egregious way, it goes beyond the pale.
Speaker A:No, I don't disagree.
Speaker A:So let's move on to another topic.
Speaker A:So you focus on testing different types of guns for everything that you do.
Speaker A:What is your thought process when you're testing a gun and evaluating it?
Speaker B:So really, I probably could.
Speaker B:I probably could do a lot more there.
Speaker B:Like, I'm not somebody that's gonna take a gun out and just like, say it's the best thing ever or just completely bash it.
Speaker B:What I want to see is I wonder what their intention behind, like, pushing this gun out was.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, like, if you look even just in the just concealed carry guns, there are so many different options.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And there is some major hate from some people about different brands, because why Would you ever want this?
Speaker B:Or why would you want a manual safety?
Speaker B:Or why would you need.
Speaker B:You know, there's so many different areas that you can look at for what you want, even just specifically as like a concealed carry gun.
Speaker B:But what I like is options.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So I almost more like to showcase things.
Speaker B:So what is this?
Speaker B:Why is this here?
Speaker B:Why does it have a manual safety?
Speaker B:And why could that be good for somebody that might not necessarily be comfortable carrying one without it?
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's more the line I like to go down is just showcasing.
Speaker B:And if something really is garbage, like, I'll give you my opinion.
Speaker B:But I, I like variety and I like weird stuff too.
Speaker A:So I, I think you and I are the same on liking weird stuff.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I've seen some of your posts where you.
Speaker A:You did a gun a day.
Speaker B:I did.
Speaker A:And you had some of the coolest and weirdest things and you just broke down the history and what kind of.
Speaker A:What was the response from people on that?
Speaker B:So that was.
Speaker B:I had no idea going into it, like, how much people would really enjoy that.
Speaker B:But specifically on Facebook, right?
Speaker B:So Facebook, there's a share button and people could be like, oh, this girl's posting a gun of the day every day.
Speaker B:And it really was awesome.
Speaker B:But what I loved was reading the comments.
Speaker B:People would share stories.
Speaker B:Like, I posted a Sears shotgun and they were like, oh, yeah, my granddad had one of these and this is the first gun I ever shot.
Speaker B:Like, I'd get people's stories and how it related back to them.
Speaker B:Or on a different note, they'd be like, I've never seen this before.
Speaker B:And what I was really trying to accomplish with that was, one, I'd never seen it done before.
Speaker B:But two, I wanted to show people that everything's not just like a Glock.
Speaker B:Everything's not just a black ar.
Speaker B:Like, there's so much different stuff.
Speaker B:And we went down like history rabbit holes.
Speaker B:I found.
Speaker B:There's a pawn shop that got this crazy collection close to us, and they called me in and they were like, hey, we just got all these guns if you want to come do some gun of the days.
Speaker B:So it really turned into like a community project.
Speaker B:And I ended up spending a little bit of money on that collection, totally unintentionally.
Speaker B:But they had two Chicago palm protectors.
Speaker B:I don't know if you know what those are.
Speaker A:I've heard of it.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker B:It almost looks like a makeup compact.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But I think it would be considered like early revolver technology.
Speaker B:So little gun squeeze the entire gun to pull the trigger, to shoot.
Speaker B:They had two of them.
Speaker B:I've never seen one in person.
Speaker A:Is that like a lemon squeezer?
Speaker A:Is that the other one?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know what that is.
Speaker B:But the Chicago Palm Protector.
Speaker B:I'll show you a picture when we leave.
Speaker B:Anyway, I walked out with both of those.
Speaker B:Cause I'd never seen one before.
Speaker B: And they're also like,: Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So not a gun anymore.
Speaker A:Well, it's funny that a lot of people don't know or don't remember that Sears used to be, like, one of the largest suppliers of guns in the whole country.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Catalog.
Speaker A:You could pick out what you want.
Speaker A:There was a photo that's been floating around every holiday season of the Sears catalog from the 60s, I want to say, with the family around the Christmas tree.
Speaker A:And everybody has a gun in their hand.
Speaker A:I'm like, I want to do that again.
Speaker A:Please, let's do that.
Speaker A:But, like, people make fun of me because I have weird stuff in my collection that all ended up in a boating accident.
Speaker B:Crazy how that happened.
Speaker B:At the same time in the desert,.
Speaker A:Too, by the way.
Speaker B:Well, didn't y' all get, like, a flood this year?
Speaker B:I heard there was a hurricane or something.
Speaker B:Yeah, we did get the great flood.
Speaker A:Yeah, the great flood in Phoenix.
Speaker A:But yeah, we have.
Speaker A:Like, he won't make fun of me because I've got, like.
Speaker A:Especially Mike Mills from tactical considerations.
Speaker A:He comes up to me and goes, how many Makarovs do you have?
Speaker A:I'm like, shut up, Mike.
Speaker A:I've got.
Speaker A:I've got two.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:He goes, well, how many Tokares do you have?
Speaker A:I'm like, I've got two.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Like, leave me be.
Speaker A:But I collect weird stuff.
Speaker A:And people are always like, why do you collect weird stuff?
Speaker A:I'm like, because this is our history.
Speaker A:If you look at.
Speaker A:Let's take Australia, for example.
Speaker A:Australia, they had.
Speaker A:Took away all the guns.
Speaker A:How much history got destroyed?
Speaker A:How many things.
Speaker A:Look at the gun buybacks.
Speaker A:We see it all the time.
Speaker A:There was a lady.
Speaker A:Where was it?
Speaker A:It was in.
Speaker A:I can't remember the state, but it was some state.
Speaker A:She had an STG44 original.
Speaker A:And she turned it in.
Speaker A:And the cops were like, you don't want to turn this in.
Speaker B:They actually told her that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:No, because they kept.
Speaker A:They're like, one of them actually knew what it was.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And they're like, this belongs in a museum.
Speaker A:Like, this is an original.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And a lot of people don't see.
Speaker A:Like, it's not just a gun.
Speaker A:It's history.
Speaker A:Like, I have guns from World War I. I've got guns from World War II.
Speaker A:I've got stuff that some people are like, what?
Speaker A:Where did you find that?
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:And that's the thing.
Speaker A:It's like, we're.
Speaker A:By doing these programs and things like that, we're getting rid of not only our history, but world history.
Speaker A:And that's kind of why I got into collecting, because I'm like, I want one of this and one of that, and I want things from World War I, and I want things from World War II, and I want things from the Cold War, and I want this, and I want machine guns and hashtag, get.
Speaker A:Repeal the nfa.
Speaker A:So I had to get that in somehow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But, yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:I appreciate you doing that because there's a lot of cool things that people don't get to see or you get to see.
Speaker A:You read it in a magazine, you're seeing a book or in a museum, and they're out there.
Speaker A:You can buy them if you find them.
Speaker B:Well, you know, it's kind of amazing to think that we live in a world where there's so much technology at our fingertips, but then something like that could happen at a gun buyback.
Speaker B:Like, you didn't just happen to look up what you had.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:We have so much information right here.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:That's not the.
Speaker A:The first one I heard.
Speaker A:I had a buddy who worked at a Dunhams, and this lady came in.
Speaker A:Her husband died.
Speaker A:He was a World War II vet.
Speaker A:And they cleaned out the attic, and they found a Whip it gun up in the attic.
Speaker A:Original bir.
Speaker A:Whip It Gun.
Speaker A:And he's like, you need to go take this home and you put it away.
Speaker A:Because if you.
Speaker A:First off, we can't buy it.
Speaker A:Second off, like, this is a piece of American history.
Speaker A:Like, if you can trace that back to who originally owned it, it's like, the sky's the limit.
Speaker B:That's incredible.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:It's great.
Speaker A:Like, that's the thing.
Speaker A:Like, there's so many things.
Speaker A:Like, one of my buddies, and I'm not gonna mention his name, he was tearing down a barn in.
Speaker A:I wanna say it was Missouri.
Speaker A:And under the floorboard, they found a Schofield.
Speaker A:And on it was a note that said, this belonged to Billy the Kid.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker A:And he's like, we're not getting rid of this.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:And that's the thing.
Speaker A:There's like, think of the history of things that could just disappear if they get, if they get their way.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:And then the only way people have to remember any of this by is watching movies.
Speaker B:But that's not like I like the hands on stuff.
Speaker B:That's why I like going to Knob Creek.
Speaker B:Some of those guns I've never seen shot anywhere else but the creek.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:We need, I think we need the hands on stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Either that or even just walking around the pole barn there.
Speaker B:I mean you'd see stuff that you'd never see anywhere else.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it's the experience.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker C:And that's the thing that they can't take away.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It doesn't matter if you're going to a machine gun shoot or you're taking someone to the range for the first time.
Speaker C:If you can give them an experience, if they can have a positive relationship with the second amendment community, with the firearms, it changes the perspective and it makes us stronger as a community.
Speaker C:And that is the thing that I love the most is when there's an event and you see the apprehension sometimes.
Speaker C:I'll give you an example.
Speaker C:So GOA has been sponsoring this event that happens outside of Detroit for many, many years and it is a women's range day and it has expanded to now it's multiple ranges right outside of Detroit.
Speaker C:And you have women who have gone one year and then they bring five friends and you talk to them before they go into the training class for the first time and they're nervous and you know, you can tell when someone's really closed off and this is so anti the culture of that area.
Speaker C:And so, you know, they're maybe hiding from the cameras as people are taking selfies and all the, you have like the people who are really excited and the people who are really apprehensive and you can really tell the difference.
Speaker C:And something happens once you take them through that couple hours of an experience and they come out and they are so excited that they did it.
Speaker C:They're so excited that they, they change their mindset and they're like, wow, you know, I can do this, I can participate.
Speaker C:And I think that that is the same kind of momentum that is so important when we go to especially things like machine guns that have become so rare.
Speaker C:When we talk about the fact that not everyone can own one, very few people get the chance to shoot these sort of things.
Speaker C:When you can give people the experience, it changes from wow, that is incredibly dangerous to well, I did that and that was super safe and I had a great Time.
Speaker C:And why can't I have this?
Speaker C:When you take people through that experience, it changes everything.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I think so for me too.
Speaker B:I have enjoyed.
Speaker B:I've had the opportunity to go to a ton of industry events.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There's stuff pretty much every month.
Speaker B:But something that I wanted to do when we did our all American shoot was I wanted to make sure it was public and that like I said earlier, people actually got hands on experience.
Speaker B:And to me, that is cooler than anything else because while it's cool to be able to go to some industry only events, I think it's even more special when we can open it up to the public.
Speaker B:While it's also, I mean, I know the liability and stuff on that too now after doing an event.
Speaker B:But it's so important because you watch a kid get to shoot a gun for the first time or you watch somebody pull a trigger on a machine gun for the first time.
Speaker B:And while I will say yes at every opportunity I get to shoot one, it's almost more special to watch somebody else get to do it the first time.
Speaker C:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, since you said the Detroit event, we've got an event coming up in March, March 8, International Women's Day at the range in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker A:So that is coming up here.
Speaker A:Put it on your calendar.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Open to the plug.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:It's going to be open to the public.
Speaker C:We're going to have hopefully a lot of women come out and it's going to be a great day.
Speaker C:We're excited.
Speaker C:It's one of those things where.
Speaker A:We're.
Speaker C:Changing the conversation because everyone wants to talk about, especially on International Women's Day.
Speaker C:Let's call it International Women's Range Day.
Speaker C:That'd be awesome.
Speaker C:And that's our event.
Speaker C:But that's not the name of the day International women say, you know, we're always talking about, you know, women, you know, are powerful and, you know, all of these things, but we never give the ability to say, okay, yes, you are powerful, but you are also able to defend yourself in a powerful way.
Speaker C:And how the disconnect has happened in our society where those things aren't just understood is crazy to me and I think is something that we need to change.
Speaker C:And I'm excited.
Speaker C:I'm excited to see everyone come out to the range.
Speaker B:I'm both excited that y' all are doing this, but also bummed because I'm gonna have a baby like one week before that, so I'm not gonna be able to make that one.
Speaker C:It is all good.
Speaker C:We'll get you on the next year.
Speaker B:I'll be there the next year.
Speaker A:Well, we've been over an hour now.
Speaker A:Let's go ahead and wrap up thing.
Speaker B:We need a part two.
Speaker A:Yeah, we need a part two.
Speaker B:I got more stuff to ramble about.
Speaker A:Definitely part two with Rachel coming soon to a theater near you.
Speaker A:Wow, that was a great weird.
Speaker B:I can't wait to see the movie poster.
Speaker A:Yeah, we actually took a dope Charlie Angels picture before this.
Speaker A:That's the movie poster.
Speaker C:That's the movie poster.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker A:So, Rachel, where can people find you and what's the next cool thing you're going to be at?
Speaker A:People want to say hi.
Speaker B:Okay, so find me at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, I mean X, whatever It's called now.
Speaker B:TikTok.
Speaker B:All that's rapid fire Rachel or Instagram is Rachel B333.
Speaker B:Probably have to spell that all the way out because you know how shadow bands and things work these days.
Speaker B:The next cool thing I'm going to be at.
Speaker B:So I'm actually going from recording this podcast to CanCon.
Speaker B:I don't know when this will be posted, but that'll be the next and probably the last thing I'll be at for the year and potentially before I give birth.
Speaker B:So I'll miss shot show this year.
Speaker A:We'll miss you there.
Speaker B:Nothing sounds good about being 36 weeks pregnant in Vegas, though.
Speaker A:She went through.
Speaker A:Don't blame you.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Well, Rachel, thank you again.
Speaker A:We appreciate you being on.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, thank you for having me on.
Speaker B:This was a fun podcast to be on.
Speaker A:So part two coming soon or tease it?
Speaker B:I'm lobbying now.
Speaker C:Yes, I love it.
Speaker C:We'll do it.
Speaker C:Yeah, Cool.
Speaker A:All right, we'll catch you guys on the next one.
Speaker B:Check you later.
