Shownotes
Tre'Von Barber joins State of the Second hosts Kaylee and John to make the case that firearms training is an investment in your life, not an optional extra. Barber walks through his own path: born and raised in Rock Hill, South Carolina, he grew up wrestling and in Boy Scouts, wrestled through college at USC Upstate, and got into guns at 21. After a back injury ended his wrestling, he went straight into competition, found a competition coach on YouTube, and started teaching concealed weapon permit and basic handgun classes about two years into gun ownership before moving up to higher-level marksmanship for competitors and law enforcement.
The conversation centers on new gun owners and how to start right. Barber explains where to find local competitions (practiscore.com), how a squad will walk a first-timer through the rules, and why reliability matters more than chasing the cheapest option. His line for cheap-gun shoppers is blunt: how cheap is your life? He pushes education over impulse buys, says there is no such thing as a girl gun, only a gun that fits your hand, and stresses that South Carolina's constitutional carry removes the permit requirement but not the responsibility to know the laws and operate safely. Kaylee ties this to GOA's view of personal responsibility, framing training, ammo, the optic, and the holster as an investment in your own value and safety.
Barber covers self-defense insurance through Right to Bear, where he now manages social media, influencers, affiliates, and content. He explains it covers both civil and criminal defense, includes a member portal and attorney access within 24 to 48 hours, and costs about $17 a month. He shares his three most-skipped drills (the five by five, the bill drill, and strong-hand/weak-hand shooting), recommends trainers and facilities like AR Tactics in Charlotte and Buck Doyle in Utah, and lays out his gear gripes as an instructor: no SERPA holsters, no cloth holsters, and always bring a belt. The episode closes on the firearms community itself, the people who lend a battery or a belt when something breaks, and Barber plugging his own business, Barber Training Solutions.
Questions this episode answers
Where should someone interested in competition shooting actually start, and how do they find local matches?
Tre'Von Barber points new shooters to practiscore.com to find local competitions. At a first match, the squad walks the newcomer through the rules, so you can show up and learn the format on the spot.
How much should a first-time buyer spend on a reliable handgun, and is a cheap gun worth the savings?
Barber says reliability matters more than chasing the cheapest option, and challenges cheap-gun shoppers with the question of how cheap your life is. He frames the gun, ammo, optic, and holster as an investment in your own safety rather than a place to cut corners.
What is the biggest mistake new firearm owners make when buying their first gun?
Barber says new owners make impulse buys instead of educating themselves first. He stresses that there is no such thing as a girl gun, only a gun that fits your hand and recoils in a way you can control.
Does constitutional carry mean you no longer need any training or education?
No. Barber explains that South Carolina's constitutional carry removes the permit requirement but not the responsibility to know the laws and operate safely. It is your right to defend yourself, but you still need to educate yourself.
What does Right to Bear's self-defense insurance cover, and how much does it cost?
Right to Bear's self-defense coverage handles both civil and criminal defense, includes a member portal and attorney access within 24 to 48 hours, and costs about $17 a month. Barber now manages social media, influencers, affiliates, and content for the company.
What are the top three drills most people leave out of their training?
Barber's three most-skipped drills are the five by five, the bill drill, and strong-hand/weak-hand shooting. He points to these as the work people tend to avoid but shouldn't.
Which trainers and facilities does Tre'Von Barber recommend for situational and long-range training?
Barber recommends AR Tactics in Charlotte and Buck Doyle in Utah. He runs his own instruction through Barber Training Solutions, based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
What gear do instructors not want to see in a class, and why?
As an instructor, Barber's gear gripes are no SERPA holsters, no cloth holsters, and always bring a belt. These are the details that get in the way of running a safe, smooth class.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome and rapid fire
- 01:54 — Tre'Von's background and path into guns
- 05:18 — Getting started in competition shooting
- 07:21 — Two-gun matches and PRS goals
- 08:33 — Writing PSA's training curriculums
- 09:38 — From first firearm to first class
- 10:53 — Budget, reliability, and the value of your life
- 14:00 — Biggest mistakes new buyers make
- 15:39 — Personal responsibility and knowing the laws
- 18:35 — Why self-defense insurance matters
- 22:56 — From the Soapbox: top three drills
- 29:19 — Recommended trainers and facilities
- 33:46 — Instructor gripes: holsters, guns, and belts
- 37:39 — The community and wrap-up
About the guest
Tre'Von Barber was born and raised in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and grew up wrestling and in Boy Scouts. He wrestled through college at the University of South Carolina Upstate. He got into guns at 21 and moved into competition shooting after a back injury ended his wrestling. About two years into gun ownership he began teaching concealed weapon permit and basic handgun classes, and about two years after that he started teaching higher-level marksmanship to competitors and law enforcement. After meeting Frank Cannon, a president and one of the owners of Right to Bear, he came on to run the training program at Palmetto State Armory (Right to Bear's sister company), writing new curriculums and hiring staff, then moved into a full-time Right to Bear role managing social media, influencers, affiliates, and content. He owns and runs Barber Training Solutions, based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina. He has a five-year-old child.
Key quotes
"There's no such thing as a girl gun. There's a gun that fits your hand, there's a gun that recoils in a way that you can control it." — Tre'Von Barber
"how cheap is your life? Is your life 300 bucks or is your life 500 bucks?" — Tre'Von Barber
"when you're investing into your carry gun, you are investing into your value as a person as well and protecting that value." — Kaylee
"It's your right to defend yourself. However, you need to educate yourself." — Tre'Von Barber
"someone who takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them." — Kaylee
Transcripts
Welcome to Gun Owners of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kaylee.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined by Trayvon from Wreck to Bear.
Speaker B:How are you, my friend?
Speaker C:I'm doing well.
Speaker C:How are y' all doing?
Speaker B:Great.
Speaker B:Well, we're gonna go into our rapid fire segment.
Speaker B:We're gonna ask you five questions.
Speaker B:We just need to answer from you on those.
Speaker B:What is your favorite rifle to train with?
Speaker C:Favorite rifle to train with?
Speaker C:I'm going to say a PWS mark 111.
Speaker C:That's, that's my, that's my go to.
Speaker A:Very nice.
Speaker A:Are aliens real?
Speaker C:I'm gonna say yeah, because there's, there's a lot of weird stuff you can't account for and a lot of weird people.
Speaker C:So it's just gotta be aliens.
Speaker A:I like that response, especially the weird people.
Speaker B:For the people that you trained, what is your largest demo?
Speaker C:I would say you're 25 to 45 year old males.
Speaker A:Ladies, you got to step up your game.
Speaker C:They're a very close second, though.
Speaker A:What are your top three guns for home defense?
Speaker C:Ooh, good one.
Speaker C:I'm gonna go with a pistol, 9 millimeter pistol, light optic and short suppressor on the end.
Speaker C:Number two is gonna be a SBR, or Short Braced Firearm and 300 Blackout, also suppressed.
Speaker C:And then my third is going to be a shotgun, 12 gauge, something short with the light.
Speaker B:All right, and I'm guessing there's an inside joke here, but what is your favorite brand of beach sandals?
Speaker C:Beach sandals?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:Somebody put the question on her sheets.
Speaker C:I don't even know beach sandal brands, honestly.
Speaker B:Whatever.
Speaker C:Whatever's going to be cheap and soft on the feet because they're getting kicked off once I hit the beach anyway.
Speaker B:Perfect.
Speaker B:So that wraps up rapid fire.
Speaker B:Let's go ahead and get into this.
Speaker B:Give a little bit of backstory about who you are, how you started with right to bear all that stuff.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So Trayvon Barber, born and raised in Rock Hill, S.C. grew up wrestling and then boy Scouts.
Speaker C:Wrestled through college, went to usc.
Speaker C:So University of South Carolina, but the upstate branch because the main campus was just too big for this small southern boy.
Speaker C:Grew up in a house of five.
Speaker C:Got into guns once I turned 21 and immediately went into competition since I couldn't wrestle anymore.
Speaker C:Hurt my back and that kind of got me started down the two way path.
Speaker C:So realized I sucked very fast and looked on YouTube and found Robbie Latham.
Speaker C:Realized he was a competition guy.
Speaker C:Didn't even know competition was a thing.
Speaker C:And that kind of got me started in the competition world.
Speaker C:So those guys and girls opened me up to a whole new world of how to properly train how to shoot.
Speaker C:And being taught by some grand master guys taught me how to teach others.
Speaker C:So about two years into gun ownership, I started teaching like concealed weapon permits and basic handgun.
Speaker C:And about two more years after that, I started teaching more of your higher level marksmanship to competitors, law enforcement, etc.
Speaker C:About a year and change ago, a year and a half ago, met Frank Cannon, who's the president, one of the owners of Right to Bear.
Speaker C:By happenstance, we both got stuck at the Chicago airport going to Shot show and our flight got routed through Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker C:We rented a car together and drove for five hours from Phoenix to Vegas for Shot Show.
Speaker C:And so I got to know him a little bit.
Speaker C:Still didn't know anything about Right to Bear.
Speaker C:But he told me who he was.
Speaker C:He was you know, essentially a big wig, but a really down to earth, really cool guy.
Speaker C:Sung a bunch of songs.
Speaker C:I didn't realize he was like a famous singer too.
Speaker C:And about a month after Shot show rings me up and says, hey man, we want to, we want to talk to you.
Speaker C:Come down to Columbia.
Speaker C:Initially it was to work at Right to Bear.
Speaker C:I wasn't really in that mindset.
Speaker C:And about a month after that they said, hey.
Speaker C:Palmetto State Armory, which is their sister company, actually needed a training director for the training program.
Speaker C:So I actually came in, started running the training program, wrote up a few new curriculums and hired a bunch of new people and kind of got that off the ground and then rolled into a full time Right to Bear role where I am managing the social media, their influences, influencers and affiliates and then also creating content for them.
Speaker C:That's a whole bunch of words.
Speaker C:But that's who I am, what I'm doing.
Speaker B:Yeah, I've done that drive from Phoenix to, to Vegas multiple times.
Speaker B:It's a very long, boring drive.
Speaker C:And it was a nighttime too.
Speaker B:Oh, for those of you who don't know, you leave once you get outside of Phoenix, there's nothing until Kingman.
Speaker C:It's the desert.
Speaker B:And then you leave Kingman and then there's nothing until Henderson.
Speaker A:My favorite is when you're driving to the WikiUp shoot, which we stay in Kingman for that shoot.
Speaker A:The random rocket with Snoopy on it.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:It's so out of place and I love it.
Speaker B:That's just Phoenix.
Speaker B:Everything is just kind of out of place and weird.
Speaker B:Drive old 66 and 40, you'll see some weird things.
Speaker A:So I want to kind of get back to you and who you are.
Speaker A:What are the competitions that, that you find yourself, you know, going back to time and time again?
Speaker A:And where do you recommend people who may be interested in competition shooting?
Speaker A:Where.
Speaker A:Where do they start?
Speaker A:Because that seems like a daunting task for some people.
Speaker C:Great question.
Speaker C:So I actually started up a local competition down in Columbia.
Speaker C:It's actually Swansea and my buddy's range champion defense.
Speaker C:So we have a local competition.
Speaker C:It used to be every month, but that was a, A lot.
Speaker C:So it's now every other month on the fourth Saturday.
Speaker C:So people are welcome to come out to any local competition in their area.
Speaker C:And to find those local competitions, you want to go to practicescore.com and you can just use their search tool and you can find any competition.
Speaker C:So long as you are a safe gun owner.
Speaker C:You don't have to be John Wick.
Speaker C:You don't even have to run like the rest of us quite yet.
Speaker C:You can baby step it and walk, but honestly, if you just, if you're safe, you've got some solid fundamentals, just get into it.
Speaker C:A lot of people ask, where do I start?
Speaker C:Just like you did.
Speaker C:You just start by going.
Speaker C:And I know it's, it can be scary just to say, I'm just gonna go.
Speaker C:But you'll get on a squad.
Speaker C:Let people know, hey, I'm, I'm a new shooter.
Speaker C:Not necessarily new to guns, but new to the competition.
Speaker C:And they will hold your hand essentially through the competition, tell you the rules, the do's and don'ts, give you some tips and tricks.
Speaker C:There's lots of great trainers out there that can help with, with your competition journey as well.
Speaker A:So what was the first competition you ever shot?
Speaker C:It was in Spartanburg.
Speaker C:It was the Spartanburg Practical Shooters Association.
Speaker C:They've actually moved to the Clinton house.
Speaker C:Now.
Speaker C:Too many people have bought houses around the area, so they, they shoved them out.
Speaker C:Good old Eddie.
Speaker C:But that was the first one I went to.
Speaker C:And you asked previously, which ones do I frequent the most?
Speaker C:It's of course going to be my own.
Speaker C:But then I also go to Salisbury, North Carolina, to Rowan.
Speaker C:There's one in Columbia at Mid Carolina Rifle.
Speaker C:And then for championship matches, the North Carolina and South Carolina section matches are some of the best in the country.
Speaker C:And I just so happen to be a local.
Speaker C:Those are the ones I tend to hit up the most.
Speaker B:So besides doing pistol, what other competitions have you done and what competitions do you want to get into?
Speaker C:Yeah, so this year was the first Year I actually did a two gun championship match which is you can shoot pistol and PCC or pistol caliber carbine and 9 millimeter.
Speaker C:Some people shoot 45, but most shoot 9.
Speaker C:Or you can shoot 9 mil and 223, 9 mil and 308.
Speaker C:So that was a two gun competition somewhere in the middle of North Carolina.
Speaker C:I don't remember where.
Speaker C:I'd really like to get into some PRs like 22 stuff just because real PRs cost too much shooting 308 and 6, 5.
Speaker C:So some, some PRs or NRL type of shooting.
Speaker C:I'd love to do an NRL hunter match which is they're shooting like coyote silhouettes and stuff like that out at 500, 600 yards.
Speaker C:But it's mostly on the west coast so if I could, I'd like to get in some stuff like that.
Speaker C:But typically I'm shooting pistol matches.
Speaker B:So you got, you met the team over at Right To Bear.
Speaker B:We figured that you went over to psa, you wrote their program.
Speaker B:What, what kind of programs did you write for psa?
Speaker B:And, and how did you get people involved through those programs?
Speaker C:Yeah, so I mostly wrote kind of your entry level courses because that's the vast majority of gun owners out there and people who are looking for information not necess new, but anywhere from that new to intermediate shooter because most people kind of, kind of stop around that intermediate to medium level of learning.
Speaker C:Not too many people want to get into the advanced skill sets, but there's some.
Speaker C:So I wrote Your Basic Pistol 1, Basic Pistol 2, Intro to Red Dot, Rifle 1, Rifle 2.
Speaker C:I brought in my team from AR Tactics.
Speaker C:They were teaching stop the bleed, first aid and cpr.
Speaker C:We had a ladies only pistol, ladies only rifle.
Speaker C:And we had one segment at Myrtle beach because they're very busy that actually did some one on one.
Speaker C:So if you wanted a one on one with the team down there, you could do that too.
Speaker C:So it was a, it was a five to eight new curriculums that rolled out pretty successful.
Speaker C:And then getting people involved wasn't that difficult just because a PSA is a big company, got a lot of people coming through those doors.
Speaker C:So we, you know, we just did your traditional marketing and also social media.
Speaker B:Now becoming a new firearms owner from.
Speaker B:Because all of us sitting here have been through this process, it can be kind of daunting and things like that.
Speaker B:How do you encourage, and what is the encouragement you get to people to go from purchasing their first firearm into getting a class and how's that kind of look?
Speaker C:Yeah, so if you're purchasing a firearm, especially your first one.
Speaker C:The vast majority of us purchase one for feeling protected, self defense, protecting your home and your loved ones in some way.
Speaker C:So the way that I would normally market that or ask the instructors to push or people who are selling the guns is hey, you're buying this for protection, right?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Well the education that goes along with this firearm is really where your protection comes one, you don't shoot yourself in the foot, you don't shoot someone that you care about.
Speaker C:You understand the laws and what you can and can't do with this firearm.
Speaker C:So that's an easy way to sell most people on, on classes is hey, you really need the education to go along with that firearm so that you don't get yourself in in some hot water.
Speaker C:And that's also where right to bear comes in.
Speaker C:We have a, we have information for our members in our member portal that goes over some basic information, advanced information, laws, reciprocity, etc.
Speaker C:But it's really the educational part that gets people hooked.
Speaker B:Yeah and, and as people come in, you know, a lot of people are at different budget levels.
Speaker B:What would you suggest for people who are just getting into this and they, they've got a low budget threshold.
Speaker B:So you know, picking up a firearm and training, you know, what would you suggest for them to do?
Speaker C:I would say if you can, if you can save 500 bucks, you should be able to get into some reliable handguns that aren't going to break or fail on you lifetime warranty and you can even find some in the used market that are still good to go because guns for the most part they aren't going to wear down.
Speaker C:I've had a lot of students who say I've got 300 bucks so I'm going to go and buy the the sky this sccy pistol which is now out of business for a reason.
Speaker C:But they, you know, I want to buy this super cheap gun and and my response to that is how cheap is your life?
Speaker C:Is your life 300 bucks or is your life 500 bucks?
Speaker C:Is your life 700 bucks?
Speaker C:So if you can save $300 you can probably wait another month or two or however long to save that additional 200 bucks and get something that when you press the trigger to save yourself or save someone else fact it's going to go off.
Speaker C:So typically you just have that kind of heart to heart of your life is worth more than being frugal.
Speaker C:Just wait a little bit, get something that's reliable so that if that day ever comes you're not second guessing that firearm.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think that's a really important piece.
Speaker A:So much of our culture is almost devaluing self defense, devaluing the right to protect yourself.
Speaker A:And when you purchase a firearm, when you purchase training, ammunition, the optic, the holster, all of those things are an investment into your individual safety, security, and it's, it's a nice physical reminder to your own value.
Speaker A:And I do think that that's something that we often leave out of the conversation because, you know, it's not that we want it to just be seen as a hobby or just be seen as self defense, but when you're talking to someone who is a new gun owner especially, and I think we saw this particular market in droves during the pandemic where they for the first time were considering, I need to defend myself.
Speaker A:What is it gonna cost me?
Speaker A:I think it's so valuable for us to be upfront about the costs of getting in, but explaining that this isn't a fleeting fad or something that is like going out for a nice steak dinner.
Speaker A:Although that's awesome, when you're investing into your arsenal, when you're investing into your carry gun, you are investing into your value as a person as well and protecting that value.
Speaker C:I love that outlook.
Speaker C:Let me use that.
Speaker B:You know, Kaylee brought up, we see a lot of new firearms owners coming in.
Speaker B:What do you think is the biggest mistake or biggest misnomer that these new firearm owners when they're coming in, and what advice can you give them when they come in to purchase their first gun on how to avoid those mistakes?
Speaker C:I'd say the number one mistake that I see is looking for the gun that's popular, like in a song or just in a movie or things like that.
Speaker C:Or especially ladies.
Speaker C:Like when my husband or my grandfather told me I needed to get this because I'm a girl.
Speaker C:And telling them there's no such thing as a girl gun.
Speaker C:There's a gun that fits your hand, there's a gun that recoils in a way that you can control it, things like that.
Speaker C:So I'd say that's, that's one of the number one things of shopping for a firearm.
Speaker C:The same way you would go and shop for a new pair of shoes.
Speaker C:You know, you got to try them on, see if it fits.
Speaker C:You like the way it looks, does it feel good on your foot?
Speaker C:Same thing with firearms.
Speaker C:Make sure it fits your hand.
Speaker C:If you can test fire, that's a big thing.
Speaker C:Test fire the firearms before you just buy it and take it out of the store because you saw a cool YouTube video on it or something and then the educational portion.
Speaker C:So South Carolina is now constitutional carry, meaning that you don't.
Speaker C:We don't require a permit to carry concealed or open.
Speaker C:Open.
Speaker C:So a big thing of folks sharing that online of you don't need a permit, you don't have to take a class to get a gun, just go buy it.
Speaker C:Which I'm all for being a two way guy, like, yes, go get your gun.
Speaker C:It's your right to defend yourself.
Speaker C:However, you need to educate yourself.
Speaker C:That doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a formal education in a class, but if you're not going to do the minimum of knowing the laws and how to safely operate that firearm, I don't know if the gun is really, is really the tool that you're looking for right now.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think when it comes to firearm ownership, when it comes to gun advocacy, the most important thing that it all comes down to is that personal responsibility.
Speaker A:At goa, we have a very basic definition of what a gun rights activist is.
Speaker A:And that's someone who takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them.
Speaker A:And you know, we understand as gun owners, as people who carry our often if not all the time, that it is our personal responsibility for everything that happens with that firearm.
Speaker A:And it goes on the political side of that as well as the physical firearm itself.
Speaker A:And so when you're having those conversations with new gun owners or with people who are maybe gun aware but haven't purchased their first firearm, that personal responsibility element is often something that, you know, we might take for granted just because it's so second nature to us.
Speaker A:But a lot of people don't even realize the different laws and traveling across state lines and like all of the things that you have to know and that knowledge base that's required as gun owners.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's our responsibility.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, I'm distracted.
Speaker B:Are those Ross Martins behind you?
Speaker C:Yes, at least one of them.
Speaker B:That's what I thought.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:I've been looking at it.
Speaker B:Chris is, Chris is good friends of ours.
Speaker C:He makes nice guns, man.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, he does.
Speaker C:Manufacturer.
Speaker B:They're so good.
Speaker B:Squirrel.
Speaker B:I had a squirrel.
Speaker B:You know, you brought up the laws and understanding the laws and that's a big thing with constitutional carrying that going on.
Speaker B:You know, you have to take the time.
Speaker B:What is, does right to bear have good resources to help people understand the laws and how.
Speaker B:And how do you point people in their Direction to self educate themselves about what's going on in the world around them.
Speaker C:Yeah, good question.
Speaker C:So yes, we have some member resources.
Speaker C:So anytime somebody becomes a member, we have a member portal that has information on their specific states.
Speaker C:They also have access to our attorney.
Speaker C:So if they shoot over an email, typically attorney gets back to them in 24 to 48 hours with the direct answer for them.
Speaker C:We also have a lot of videos online that go into, not necessarily always going state by state of information, but general nomenclature, general understanding of laws.
Speaker C:Bill Kirk is a good friend of ours and he does a lot of informational stuff on that for us.
Speaker C:We're also, or we're actually building out a full content calendar that's actually going to cover more of the state by state legislation to know what you can and can't do with that firearm.
Speaker B:Another thing that a lot of new firearms owners, they'll get the gun, they'll be prepped, they'll be ready for concealed carry and things like that.
Speaker B:As an instructor and as working for Right to Bear, you know, what is the importance of having a self defense or concealed carry insurance on your side?
Speaker C:So I have had a form of self defense insurance for probably five years and of course now I'm with Right to Bear.
Speaker C:But understanding that even if you, even if you are completely within the law of self defense, there is still the high possibility of going to jail, having the gun taken during the course of investigation, emotional trauma or mental trauma, the legal fees if you, if you get sued or if you have to go through a court case while they're figuring out was this actually justified self defense, all those things cost money, all those things cost time and all those things can be covered for less than your Netflix subscription through Right to Bear.
Speaker C:So as far as it being important, I look at it like your life insurance.
Speaker C:You hope to God you'd never have to use it.
Speaker C:Although we know with life insurance you're eventually somebody's going to need to collect on that.
Speaker C:But I hope for the next 40 or 50 years I don't have to use it.
Speaker C:Or like my car insurance, I hope I never have to use it.
Speaker C:Right to Bear or any form of concealed carry insurance, self defense insurance is like that, having that peace of mind, knowing that if I have to defend myself, my family or a bystander, I don't have to worry about these court calls.
Speaker C:I don't have to worry about needing mental therapy or help.
Speaker C:I don't have to worry about trying to find another gun, which I don't really have.
Speaker C:That issue.
Speaker C:But if I want that particular one back, Right to Bear is going to cover that for us.
Speaker C:So I think it's a very no brainer sort of expense.
Speaker C:It's 17 bucks a month.
Speaker C:We pay more than that probably a day.
Speaker C:Going to get some food that we shouldn't be eating.
Speaker A:So I want to, before we transition into our next segment, I do want to just ask a couple questions about Right to Bear that I know for most people who are gun owners that are maybe looking at some different options for insurance, prepaid, legal.
Speaker A:Do you guys cover the civil side?
Speaker A:Because we hear a lot about the criminal side but you know there are multiple different types of lawsuits that can come from a self defense incident.
Speaker C:Yeah, so we do cover civil and criminal defense.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker C:Straightforward as we can get.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:So I want to circle back on one more thing and then we can kind of go into the next segment for these new buyers and things like that.
Speaker B:What kind of classes if, if their understanding of constitutional carry and they don't want to take a concealed carry class, you know what other classes are out there that PSA offers that would be ideal or what is the first step that you would suggest somebody do?
Speaker C:I would go to a entry level class.
Speaker C:Even if you're say, man, I've been shooting my grandpa for 20 years.
Speaker C:I've gotten a lot of folks especially living here in South Carolina who are right in that bucket and I've just shown them like hey man, you're gripping the firearm improperly.
Speaker C:What?
Speaker C:I've been hitting targets fine for 20 years, that's okay.
Speaker C:But if you need to shoot that gun more than once or if you need to extend that distance, that grip is not going to work out very well for you.
Speaker C:Can I show you?
Speaker C:So just these entry level classes just to show people the proper fundamentals.
Speaker C:How to grip the gun properly, how to press the trigger properly, how to press the trigger more than once for bullseye style shooting.
Speaker C:Because if you're in a self defense situation, statistics show us that typically it takes anywhere from three to six shots to actually stop a human being from doing whatever action that made you pour your gun in the, in the, in the first place.
Speaker C:So just a basic handgun course or going to an instructor and taking a one on one because you might be a little more advanced but you need a little specific help in this one particular area.
Speaker C:So I'd say just at PSA specifically their handgun one or a handgun two sort of course.
Speaker B:This is brought to you by Patriot Mobile use code GOA for one month free for freedom loving mobile service.
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Speaker B:They use the same towers as the big brands and even to the point where if you have that, you can switch between networks between AT&T and Verizon and all that just because Patriot Mobile does that for you.
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Speaker A:So it's now time for my favorite segment of the show, which is from the Soapbox where we get to dive into the slightly spicier side of the comrade conversation.
Speaker A:So as somebody who has not only trained a lot of people, gone to a lot of competitions, but also written curriculum that have helped hundreds if not thousands of people, what are the top three drills that people are missing from their everyday training platform?
Speaker C:Dang.
Speaker C:The top three drills.
Speaker C:You might make me go to my notes on this one.
Speaker C:No, just because I train often, but I switch up my personal training based on where I'm lacking.
Speaker C:But I'd say for the average person, they're going to get the most out of a drill.
Speaker C:I call the five by five.
Speaker C:This came from one of my coaches, Mason Lane.
Speaker C:He works for 6R, but this is not his drill.
Speaker C:It's just something that gets passed down through time.
Speaker C:But five by five is essentially five shots at the 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 yard line.
Speaker C:So you could do this indoors, outdoors, etc.
Speaker C:So everybody should have access to a 25 yard range and it's just five rounds at each one of those distances.
Speaker C:So it's 25 shots and it's really going to check your recoil control, making sure that you can be target focused.
Speaker C:Especially in the self defense shooting, you're just going to naturally focus on that target, pressing the trigger properly, being able to return the sights in a consistent manner.
Speaker C:And it really just goes into all the fundamentals over and over.
Speaker C:Second drill.
Speaker C:And I say probably a bill drill.
Speaker C:I know it's big in the competitive space and it's starting to kind of trickle into the, into the cool guy shooters.
Speaker C:But the build drill is just six round string of fire.
Speaker C:The standard is you want to be able to get off six shots in under two seconds from the draw.
Speaker C:So it really pushes your speed, it really pushes your sight acceptance or you know, what do you need to see to actually put hits on target and not just on target, but in the dead center of that target and trying to keep a tight group at speed.
Speaker C:Because if you need to, if I need to get rounds on a target, I need to get them there right now before their rounds.
Speaker C:Make it this way.
Speaker C:And number three, I would say strong hand and weak hand or right and left hand.
Speaker C:We shouldn't have a weak hand per my coaches, but a strong and weak hand shooting.
Speaker C:So shooting one handed with the right and one handed with the left.
Speaker C:Understanding that if you're a person like me, I have a five year old child who is a little rugrat.
Speaker C:So if bullets or things start to go awry, I might have to catch her with one hand and possibly defend her with the other.
Speaker C:So just being, just making sure we're good to go with both hands.
Speaker A:I love what you're talking about on that last drill.
Speaker A:Specifically of understanding what situations you might be in when it comes to defending your family is something that I often think about.
Speaker A:I have two little people.
Speaker A:One is very mobile, one is not quite yet, and second, so there's often situations where I'm thinking and how am I going to manage two kiddos and be able to defend us all safely, securely.
Speaker A:Because as a parent you want to be 100% in control of the situation.
Speaker A:God forbid something happened.
Speaker A:And I love what you're talking about on, on training that weaker hand.
Speaker A:And I agree with you.
Speaker A:I think that understanding those situations and preparing for those situations, even though it would absolutely be a parent's worst nightmare, knowing you can defend your family is so valuable.
Speaker C:Oh yeah, I do it.
Speaker C:I try to do it weekly if possible, just, just to keep it, keep it sharp.
Speaker C:Because I just like you.
Speaker C:God forbid I go to the target or to the mall and oh crap, I haven't shot one handed in three weeks.
Speaker C:And now, now this dude decides to come in the mall and act a butt.
Speaker B:Yeah, other drills.
Speaker B:So you brought up your three drills.
Speaker B:I won't bring up my three drills because I can.
Speaker B:The bill drill is one of my favorites because it's under time.
Speaker B:You don't know stress until you're on a timer.
Speaker B:That's one thing.
Speaker B:And that's the only thing that can really prepare you for self defense situations.
Speaker B:That being under the time the stress.
Speaker B:Mozambique is one of my favorites.
Speaker B:And then also to tie in with Mozambique is the body armor drill.
Speaker B:And if you don't know what the body armor drill is.
Speaker B:Two chest, one to the head.
Speaker B:Two chests, one to the legs because you don't know.
Speaker B:And then the other one, it's a drill I worked on when to an event with CCW safe.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:They call it the box drill.
Speaker B:It's under time.
Speaker B:It's three shots in a, in a small rectangle, then two shots in a Smaller rectangle and then one shot and this like one inch rectangle under time.
Speaker B:And that is.
Speaker B:You think you're good until you start doing that under time and stress.
Speaker B:And you're like, okay, this is going to be fun.
Speaker B:And I got made fun of by Julie Kolb, which is funny because she's a competitive shooter, but she's really good.
Speaker B:But no, and that's the thing being.
Speaker B:And that's the one thing I kind of want to bring up to the community aspect of training and taking a class.
Speaker B:And the people that you meet at these classes, sometimes you become lifelong friends with them.
Speaker B:The classes that I've taken with Fred Masterson from Force Options, he's been really great.
Speaker B:He's a longtime friend now.
Speaker B:So just learning that and going into those drills and talking to people and then you just try to get better and then you meet up.
Speaker B:And that's the whole point about being in this firearms community, is build a community.
Speaker B:So take what you learn from these classes, make friends and then try to go compete, quote unquote with each other while on arrange day or something like that.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's.
Speaker C:That's where it's at, man.
Speaker A:Is there any.
Speaker A:And I'll throw this out just because I know a lot of people that get into this training mindset.
Speaker A:It's addicting.
Speaker A:You want to go and learn from other people and everybody kind of has their legends list of I would like to go and train under XYZ person.
Speaker A:But is there any situational driven trainers or facilities that you would recommend to somebody who might only have access to their local guy who runs one concealed carry class a month?
Speaker A:Maybe because so many of our members are in the rural areas where they might not have as many options as those that are living kind of closer into town, so to speak.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So you're asking like, where should they, if they decide to travel out to go seek training?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Who should they go see?
Speaker C:Okay, well, Shameless plug.
Speaker C:My friends own AR Tactics in Charlotte.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:It's one of the only civilian indoor shoot houses in the country, I believe, but definitely on the east Coast.
Speaker C:Very popular online because they will take the grandma, the auntie, the, the law enforcement, the SWAT team and throw you in this shoot house with a bunch of different scenarios and sim sim guns and show you when stuff hits the fan, how you're going to act, how you should react and give you just some, some straightforward training.
Speaker C:And then I'm very local too, so you come see me after for some live fire shooting down in Texas.
Speaker C:There is gladiator group.
Speaker C:Will runs gladiator training.
Speaker C:He runs some awesome stuff.
Speaker C:I believe he was ex special Forces, but I don't remember which.
Speaker C:And I don't want to throw the wrong name out there and get beat up later, so.
Speaker C:But gladiator training down in Texas and for any other situational style, I have lots of other local trainers that I could possibly plug here or there.
Speaker C:But for the for sure, those two would be my first two to go.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would go with Fred because Fred's classes are great.
Speaker B:I've taken his vehicle tactics drill or class.
Speaker B:So if you haven't taken a vehicle tactics class, definitely do it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's a whole different ball game.
Speaker B:It's something you never think of.
Speaker B:I've taken his pistol classes.
Speaker B:I take it as carbine class.
Speaker B:I took his long range class, which I don't recommend taking unless you're ready to be addicted to long range shooting.
Speaker B:Because that is the most addicting thing.
Speaker B: you watch the projectile fly: Speaker B:Really quick gun sight's always a good place to go to.
Speaker B:I've had really good times up at gunsight.
Speaker B:Trying to think of who else.
Speaker C:Now for just naming awesome trainers.
Speaker C:I got plenty of those.
Speaker C:She said situational trainers.
Speaker A:See, John just wants to talk about his credentials.
Speaker A:He's like, I told my wife that it was an investment.
Speaker A:I need to plug these every 10.
Speaker C:Since you like long range, I'd definitely go see Buck Doyle out in Utah.
Speaker C:He runs some awesome classes out there shooting across the freaking canyon.
Speaker C:It's pretty cool.
Speaker C:That was my first experience shooting.
Speaker C:It's medium to long range.
Speaker C:He won't call it long range, but I'll call it long range.
Speaker A:Long range in.
Speaker A:On the east coast, at least in Tennessee and long range on the west coast.
Speaker A:They're not like.
Speaker C:They're a big difference.
Speaker B:What do you mean?
Speaker B:You guys got what, what, three, 400 yards?
Speaker B:You know, I've.
Speaker B:We did 16, 50 out in Idaho.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Without even trying.
Speaker C:That's a total terrain.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It is not.
Speaker A:They're not equal.
Speaker B:Clinton House has a mile.
Speaker C:Yeah, but it's a mile.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You got to travel for those places.
Speaker A:They're not as readily available as they are.
Speaker C:Very true.
Speaker B:It's because, you know, we have flat.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:We have mountains.
Speaker B:You have mountains.
Speaker A:Fair enough.
Speaker A:Fair enough.
Speaker A:I like where I live.
Speaker A:I'll stand good old Tennessee as an.
Speaker B:Instructor and things like that.
Speaker B:We see a Lot of instructors teach a lot of classes and things like that.
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:Because this is my biggest gripe with.
Speaker B:There's certain holsters that I would never allow in a class.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's certain.
Speaker B:I would allow any firearm, but there are certain holsters.
Speaker B:Things like, what would you recommend?
Speaker B:Like, is there any gripes as a, as an instructor?
Speaker B:Like somebody walks in with a specific gun and you're like, here we go again.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:I'm going to have to go spend this much time or any like a specific holster or something like that.
Speaker C:I definitely put on my, my curriculums or let people know if they're not booking a full class.
Speaker C:I haven't taught a full class this year because I'm being selfish and focusing on my own goals.
Speaker C:I've been only doing private groups or one on ones.
Speaker C:But I let them know like, hey, no serpas.
Speaker C:Anything that you have to release the trigger guard or release the gun by using your trigger finger, that's going to be a no no.
Speaker C:Because if that trigger, if that finger slips into the trigger when you're unholstering or holstering, it's going to be a bad day.
Speaker C:And I typically don't allow any cloth style holsters because once you draw from a cloth holster, it just collapses and now you really got to stick the gun basically at yourself to get it back in.
Speaker C:Specific guns.
Speaker C:I haven't banned any guns from classes.
Speaker C:I do give people warnings when they say, hey, I'm coming with a, let's say like an OG Taurus.
Speaker C:I think like the second model, like a G2 or something used to have a really long gritty trigger that just naturally leads to people pushing into the gun or given some unnecessary impulses into the gun because of the trigger.
Speaker C:So typically if somebody has a entry level gun, I'll bring a bunch of guns off the wall so that they can try it out and just kind of see the differences between maybe this price point versus this price point or this model versus this one.
Speaker C:And last gripe is folks who don't come with a belt.
Speaker C:It's like, how, how do you think you're going to keep this three pound object on your, on your waistline for the, for the duration of class?
Speaker B:Yeah, I had, I always used to bring two belts because I had a belt break on me in one class.
Speaker B:In class it just happened like I just moved wrong and the belt broke.
Speaker B:So I bring two belts I had.
Speaker B:I always bring a backup gun because I had a gun go down that was like completely down down.
Speaker B:And I was Like, I'm so glad I brought a backup with me just in case.
Speaker B:Serpa Holsters, 100% agree with anything like that.
Speaker B:And then the cloth holsters.
Speaker B:And I get why people buy those items because they're very cheap, they're easy to get into.
Speaker B:And I don't want to discourage anybody, but for a classroom scenario where you're practicing a lot of holster in and out of holsters and stuff like that, they just don't tend to work out for that.
Speaker C:Wilder Tactical is local to me.
Speaker C:They're in Gastonia, so maybe 40 minutes away.
Speaker C:And they were generous enough to donate a bunch of belts to me.
Speaker C:So I can.
Speaker C:I normally have those in my.
Speaker C:My Forerunner in the back.
Speaker C:So if somebody does come and they don't have anything, they're going to stick a belt on me to tell them, like, hey, when you want to go buy a belt, just support that company if you can, because they made your class today.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:And I think that speaks to the culture of the Second Amendment community.
Speaker A:You know, people are often giving advice on things that worked for them, letting you try different things, supplying belts in case somebody doesn't have one or forgets.
Speaker A:Those things could be make or break for someone staying involved in the community versus a firearm just sitting in a safe and collecting dust.
Speaker C:For sure.
Speaker C:That was when you asked about the Ross Martins earlier.
Speaker C:They actually sent those down for use in classes.
Speaker C:So now instead of me grabbing whatever else, I'll grab the Ross Martins and let people play with those things.
Speaker C:And they're.
Speaker C:They're awesome.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, I appreciate Chris and them over there, but that's a big thing about this community.
Speaker B:I've seen a lot of things happen at class because once you're in a class, you could have the most tactical cool gear out there.
Speaker B:Until you're in class going through the motions and doing everything, you don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker B:Things break, optics lose battery.
Speaker B:The funny one, I was in class, we were doing shooting with your optic off.
Speaker B:Just to go with it was an AR class.
Speaker B:Looking through the optic.
Speaker B:My optic kept turning back on because it was shake awake.
Speaker B:And I kept telling them, like, I can't help it.
Speaker B:Like, my optic keeps turning back on.
Speaker B:And he's like, hold on.
Speaker B:Slaps duct tape over it so I can't see.
Speaker B:Like now you should figure out how to shoot without your optic.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But that's the thing.
Speaker B:Like, I've seen people batteries go down and just in class like, hey, I've got an extra spare battery.
Speaker B:Or hey, I've got an extra holster.
Speaker B:I've got an extra gun.
Speaker B:Or I've got this.
Speaker B:That's the cool part about taking a class.
Speaker B:You're building a community and there's so many people in that class who are in the same situation as you who may have something go down or something happen that you will need to.
Speaker B:That will come out and help you and get stuff done.
Speaker C:Oh yeah, I had a battery tray fly out of my optic on my first stage at the national championship last year and I had probably four guys in all of five minutes bring me a battery.
Speaker C:Just.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:Oh man, we saw that happen.
Speaker C:Or a battery tray actually and stuck it back in there and shout out to Hollow sun for sending me five more afterwards.
Speaker C:But yeah, it hurt my feelings for sure.
Speaker C:But no, just.
Speaker C:Just a testament to the.
Speaker C:The shooting community in general.
Speaker C:Like if you need.
Speaker C:If you need it, you got it.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:Well, we are getting the signal to wrap up, so go ahead.
Speaker A:Plug social media website.
Speaker A:All the places where people can find.
Speaker A:Find you.
Speaker C:I'm sorry.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's Barber training solutions everywhere.
Speaker C:So that's Instagram, Facebook and website.
Speaker C:I'm not really on any other the social media platforms, but Instagram, Facebook, website, Barber training solutions and based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Speaker C:And like I said this year, mostly doing private groups and individual training sessions.
Speaker C:Next year I'll reopen books to travel around the country.
Speaker C:Country teaching full group classes again.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And before we forget, we have our gifts for our guests from Palmetto State Armory and AAC ammo.
Speaker B:So you'll be getting a gift from them as a thank you for being on the show with us this week.
Speaker B:I don't know how that works with you.
Speaker B:Just work for the sister company.
Speaker B:Yeah, just.
Speaker B:Just go yell at Cameron.
Speaker B:Easy thing to do, guys.
Speaker B:Make sure to like share and subscribe.
Speaker B:Hit the little bell for notification.
Speaker B:Leave a review on all the podcasting host.
Speaker B:That really helps out a lot and thanks for watching and we'll catch you on the next one.
