Shownotes
State of the Second sits down with TC from Smoky Mountain Knife Works and Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo, recorded in Gatlinburg, Tennessee ahead of GOA's convention in Knoxville. TC traces an unlikely path into the industry. He grew up on a cattle farm in South Alabama, saved his money all year as a kid to visit the world's largest knife store once a year, met Chuck Buck there at nine, then spent years as a singer and entertainer in Nashville and later at the Smoky Mountain Opry and Dolly Parton's Stampede before his wife spotted a job posting for a media personality. He started on the knife side almost four years ago, and about a year and a half ago took on the gun store's content too.
Most of the conversation digs into what it actually takes to be a retailer in the firearms and knife space online. TC and John lay out the hard math: social platforms and Google won't let gun and knife sellers pay for advertising, so all growth has to be organic. Margins on firearms run roughly 10 to 15 percent, maybe 20 if you're lucky, and manufacturers, not the store, often set the price through MAP, minimum advertised price. As John puts it, if you got into the gun industry to make millions, you're in the wrong industry. TC also explains the tightrope of speaking for a company rather than as an individual influencer, where he can't just give an opinion but can back a top-five list with real sales reports.
The back half turns to community and advocacy. TC contrasts the wide, mixed demographic of the knife world with the more like-minded gun community, and argues both sides are too quick to tear each other down online in ways that scare off newcomers. Kaylee makes a direct case for action, walking through escalating levels of advocacy from a 30-second pre-typed email to calling representatives to showing up at lobby days, and points to Tennessee's fast-moving legislation, including school carry for teachers headed to the governor's desk. They cover the slippery slope of bans from bump stocks to pistol braces to a lead ammo ban, the censorship and shadow banning retailers face, and the collaboration that John credits as the firearms industry's strength. TC closes with what's next: an expanded gun selection at the former Food Lion location, around 600 to 650 new firearm SKUs, vendor events, and his plan to document jumping into three-gun competition for the first time.
Links
Questions this episode answers
Why can't firearms and knife retailers buy advertising on social media or Google, and how does that change how they grow?
Social platforms and Google won't let gun and knife sellers pay for advertising, so every bit of growth for retailers like Smoky Mountain Knife Works has to come organically. That makes content, not ad spend, the main engine for reaching new customers.
What are the actual profit margins on selling firearms, and who really sets the price?
Margins on firearms run roughly 10 to 15 percent, maybe 20 if you're lucky. The store often doesn't set the price either, because manufacturers control it through MAP, or minimum advertised price.
What is MAP (minimum advertised price) and why do manufacturers enforce it?
MAP, or minimum advertised price, is the floor a manufacturer sets on what a product can be advertised for, so the price is dictated by the maker rather than the retailer. It's a major reason firearm margins stay thin for stores.
How is the knife community's demographic different from the gun community's?
TC describes the knife world as a wide, mixed demographic, while the gun community is more like-minded. He also notes both sides are too quick to tear each other down online in ways that scare off newcomers.
How can someone who speaks for a company give honest content without just giving their personal opinion?
Speaking for a company rather than as an individual influencer, TC can't simply offer his own opinion, but he can stand behind a top-five list backed by real sales reports. The data does the talking instead of personal preference.
What levels of Second Amendment advocacy can someone start with, and how long does it actually take?
Kaylee walks through escalating levels of Second Amendment advocacy, from a 30-second pre-typed email to calling representatives to showing up at lobby days. The message is to find whatever level you're comfortable with and start there.
Why does the 'slippery slope' argument matter to hunters who think bans don't affect them?
The conversation traces a slippery slope of bans from bump stocks to pistol braces to a proposed lead ammo ban, showing how restrictions expand over time. A lead ammo ban in particular would reach hunters who assume firearm bans don't touch them.
How is Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo expanding its new store, and what's next for TC's content?
Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo is expanding into a former Food Lion location with an added gun selection of roughly 600 to 650 new firearm SKUs plus vendor events. TC also plans to document jumping into three-gun competition for the first time.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome and meet TC
- 01:09 — The new local store and the Relic Room
- 02:34 — A museum and the world's largest knife store
- 03:01 — TC's road from Nashville to knife works
- 05:46 — Taking on the gun store content
- 08:47 — No paid ads: growth has to be organic
- 10:33 — Speaking for a company vs an influencer
- 12:42 — Thin margins and MAP pricing
- 15:30 — Knife vs gun community demographics
- 19:19 — Being more welcoming to newcomers
- 22:27 — Building the new store at an old Food Lion
- 29:57 — Tennessee, school carry, and advocacy
- 33:42 — Slippery slope: bans and lead ammo
- 41:25 — Censorship, shadow banning, and collaboration
- 47:51 — Where to find them and three-gun plans
About the guest
TC is a media personality and spokesperson for Smoky Mountain Knife Works and Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo, where he produces the companies' on-air, radio, and social media content. He grew up on a cattle farm in South Alabama as the son of a welder and machinist, and describes himself as a third-generation welder and machinist. Before joining the company almost four years ago, he worked as a singer and entertainer, living in Nashville to pursue music and later performing at the Smoky Mountain Opry and Dolly Parton's Stampede. He came to guns through hunting rather than law enforcement or the military. He lives on a small horse farm in Seymour with his wife.
Key quotes
"everything that we do as far as growth has to be organic" — TC
"If you got into the gun industry to make millions of dollars, you're in the wrong industry." — John
"I'm not giving my opinion. I'm just saying, hey, these are the top five sold." — TC
"the more people we have, the stronger that we are" — TC
"Find whatever level of advocacy you're comfortable with and start there." — Kaylee
"You let them take just an inch of that rope and they're gonna hang you with it." — TC
"the one thing that the firearms industry does better than any other industry, is that we collab together" — John
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 TC from Smoky Mountain Knife Works and Smoky Mountain Gun Works.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Close enough.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So thank you guys so much for having me.
Speaker C:I really appreciate it, and it really means a lot to me, especially trying to grow our gun channel.
Speaker C:And it's been.
Speaker C:It's been interesting, especially being in social media, in the political climate that we're in, and also in the industry that we're in, because obviously social media hates everything that we do.
Speaker C:Just recently got our Facebook account shut down and working on getting that back up, which has been an interesting fight,.
Speaker A:But it's wild, you know, it's insane.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Just the amount of algorithmic pressure, we'll call it, that happens with the Second Amendment community at large.
Speaker A:But on a personal note, I'm gonna get this right at the.
Speaker A:The beginning.
Speaker A:I'm so excited for your new location.
Speaker A:That is my local gun store.
Speaker A:Now, I have already spent way too much money.
Speaker A:I'm no longer a Severe county girl, so.
Speaker C:Living in Knox county now?
Speaker A:No, I'm actually living in Jefferson County.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Really close to.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:You are the reason that I don't have as much money in my bank account.
Speaker A:But I have.
Speaker A:I'm so.
Speaker A:I'm so here for it.
Speaker A:And then on the flip side, the thing that most people might not know about the original location that has also caused my bank account to just dwindle is the Relic Room, which I cannot be trusted in.
Speaker A:But it is so awesome to have you here, and I'm stoked to see the growth in your company.
Speaker B:We're sitting here in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, right now, getting ready for the convention in Knoxville.
Speaker B:And when we pulled into town, I told Ben, who.
Speaker B:Who helps produce the podcast, that we got to go to the big blue roof.
Speaker B:And he goes, what is the big Blue, my bro?
Speaker B:You don't even know.
Speaker B:Like, if you drive through Pigeon Forge, up through Sevierville, and.
Speaker B:And you see that big blue roof that is like a beacon call for everybody.
Speaker B:You just gotta go.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The store is amazing.
Speaker B:It's a fantastic location.
Speaker B:You guys have such a cool store.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:It's actually listed as an attraction in the local area, like on Trip Advisor and stuff.
Speaker C:It's actually listed as an attraction because it technically is a museum in and of itself.
Speaker C:Not only the world's largest knife store, but it's a museum of.
Speaker C:Well, like you said, the Relic Room relics and also knife history and American history.
Speaker C:So it's a really cool place to be and get to work.
Speaker C:It's kind of a dream come true for me.
Speaker C:I grew up in South Alabama and I guess on vacation we would always come here at least once a year and I would save up my money all year and we would make our one trip a year up here and we would go to the store and that's what I would spend my money on.
Speaker C:I would mow grass, I would recycle cans just so that I could come and get a knife every year.
Speaker C:Got to meet Chuck Buck there when I was nine years old.
Speaker C:And then, you know, life kind of took me in another direction.
Speaker C:I kind of grew up.
Speaker C:I grew up on a cattle farm and my dad was a welder and a machinist and I moved away to college, was an entertainer.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:That's what I did.
Speaker C:I was a singer for a living and I lived in Nashville for a while, trying to make it in the music business.
Speaker C:And I was really young and very impressionable and was not mature enough at the time to handle that lifestyle and the choices that were thrown at me.
Speaker C:So I went through some stuff and needed a change in life.
Speaker C: So I moved over here in: Speaker C:Wrote the script and hosted the first six years the Smoky Mountain Opry was open and then moved on to Dolly Parton Stampede and was an emcee and a comedian and a stunt rider there because I grew up on and around horses.
Speaker C:So that's where I met my wife now.
Speaker C:And we've got a small horse farm out in Seymour and got the opportunity to start with Smoky Mountain Knife Works almost four years ago now.
Speaker C:My wife actually saw the job posting and they were looking for a media personality to kind of be the spokesperson for the company and wanted somebody that could do on air stuff, radio ads, all the social media stuff.
Speaker C:And she was like.
Speaker C:I think she was like, you've been wanting to get out of performing constantly.
Speaker C:And I'd gotten kind of burned out on it.
Speaker C:And she goes, you're made for this because of how much of an enthusiast I was.
Speaker C:And so I loaded up my 4 year old, she was 4 at the time, and took her to the interview with me and sat down with the CEO because I was like, I'm gonna tug at his heartstrings.
Speaker C:I'm gonna show him that I need a job.
Speaker C:Walked in and I literally just came out and told him I was like, I'm the guy you're looking for.
Speaker C:And he was like, well, what do you know about steel?
Speaker C:And I said, well, I'm a third generation welder and machinist.
Speaker C:I've been working with steel my whole life.
Speaker C:And he goes, and you're obviously an entertainer, so you can put on a show, so we'll give it a shot.
Speaker C:And I started out part time.
Speaker C:They brought me on full time.
Speaker C:The channel's been growing exponentially on the knife side of things.
Speaker C:And then they came to me about a year and a half ago and they said, well, we need a guy that can do what you do for the gun store.
Speaker C:I'll do it.
Speaker C:And I told him.
Speaker C:I was like, I actually knew more about guns than I did knives when I started for knife works.
Speaker C:And he goes, all right, well, we'll see how it does.
Speaker C:They were like, get us a proposal.
Speaker C:And I drew up, you know, a plan and we started to work on that.
Speaker C:And that has presented even more challenges.
Speaker C:It's been interesting being a retailer in that social media space for guns because most of what we see and most of what's popular out there is going to be the individual influencers.
Speaker C:I mean, I, I was an enthusiast and watching back in the days of nut and fancy and those, you know, 30, 40, 50 minute videos of him just droning on and I loved it.
Speaker C: ike Grantham and Eric Veteran: Speaker C:But then every time I went and I told Ben, I was like, I've got probably 30 videos that I made back 10, 12 years ago that I got them made.
Speaker C:And then I watched them back and I was like, no, that's not good enough.
Speaker C:I'm not confident enough in that to put that out there because I didn't want to just half asset.
Speaker C:So it's, it's presented an opportunity for me to do what I've always wanted to do and be an ambassador for the community and kind of move forward in that realm, not only promoting our company, but promoting the gun community and the second amendment overall.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, you've grown.
Speaker B:The Smoky Mountain knife works exponentially over the years.
Speaker B:I mean, I remember there was a guy before you and he left and then you came on and it just seemed to take off after that.
Speaker B:And watching you got the studio, you do all the things.
Speaker B:I think we were sitting here the other day I was like, whoa, smoking of the mountain.
Speaker B:Knife works.
Speaker B:Got a live video feed going on right now.
Speaker B:This is cool.
Speaker C:We actually just started that and we were sitting around and I was like, you know, a lot of people just sit for like asmr.
Speaker C:They just sit and have like in the background in their office or whatever, like these live cam feeds of like a beach or, you know, a store or something, like maybe the Gatlinburg strip or something like that.
Speaker C:I was like, why don't we do something like that and just see what it does and, you know, maybe we can incorporate some like, deals of the day.
Speaker C:And we're working on it constantly just to see what we can do with it.
Speaker C:But I guess that's been the biggest hurdle.
Speaker C:And what a lot of people don't realize is both knives and guns, we can't promote ourselves on the Internet, even through Google, let alone on social media.
Speaker C:We can't pay for advertisements.
Speaker C:They won't let us.
Speaker C:And we have people contacting us all the time.
Speaker C:We can get you paid advertisement.
Speaker C:No, you can't.
Speaker C:You say you can just because you want to talk to us, but they won't let us.
Speaker C:And so everything that we do as far as growth has to be organic.
Speaker C:And that presents a whole nother level of challenges.
Speaker C:Because, I mean, I could go and do what I do for a normal company outside of the realm of guns and knives and make a lot more money and it would be so much easier, it would be a lot less work because I could pay for those advertisements, I could pay for that visibility, but I wouldn't get to do something that I'm passionate about and I wouldn't get to do something that I enjoy on a daily basis.
Speaker C:It would be a job.
Speaker C:So it's been fun.
Speaker C:And as my wife puts it, her boss asked her the other day what I do for a living.
Speaker C:And she goes, he plays with guns and knives all day and makes stupid Internet videos.
Speaker C:And I was like, well, when you put it that way, it does sound like a really cool job.
Speaker C:I wish that was all that went into it.
Speaker C:You know, there's a lot of analytics that goes on and I mean, we can't rest at any moment because like you said earlier, the algorithms change drastically on a day to day basis.
Speaker C:So we have to stay on top of that stuff and work through that while at the same time being knowledgeable about all the new products coming out.
Speaker C:And I was talking to Ben too.
Speaker C:It's been interesting getting into guns because that's been a Different ball of wax as far as the individual influencers and the community goes, because there's not a lot of retailers out there that are doing the type of content that we're doing.
Speaker C:And so it's also presented its problems because individual influencers can go out there and give their opinions on things, whereas I'm a spokesperson for a company.
Speaker C:I have to be very diplomatic about what I say and how I say it, because there's a lot of things that I come in contact with on a daily basis that I'm not supposed to know or that I can't let out there.
Speaker C:And it's not always the case of an NDA or something like that.
Speaker C:In a lot of cases, it's just, hey, don't tell anybody about this, because if I do, we lose that vendor or that manufacturer.
Speaker C:So I have to be very diplomatic about that.
Speaker C:But also, when it comes to content, I can't just give my opinion, but I'm trying to use that as an advantage or to my advantage, so to speak.
Speaker C:Because what I can do is I can back up, like, if I do a top five list, so to speak.
Speaker C:So to speak, I can say, these are our top five.
Speaker C:And I've got sales reports to back that up.
Speaker C:I'm not giving my opinion.
Speaker C:I'm just saying, hey, these are the top five sold.
Speaker C:And it's really funny because we get in the comments all the time, oh, there's no way.
Speaker C:You're just.
Speaker C:You're just being paid to promote that gun, or you're just being paid to promote that knife.
Speaker C:There's no way that's.
Speaker C:And I'm like, I'm looking at the sales report right here.
Speaker C:Like, I don't know what to tell you.
Speaker C:I mean, we sold $15,000 of that one right there.
Speaker C:And then I think another thing that a lot of people don't realize is retailers.
Speaker C:We don't set the price on a lot of things.
Speaker C:Like, a lot of things are, you know, regulated by the manufacturers.
Speaker C:So we have to price it at that.
Speaker C:And that makes things very difficult.
Speaker C:And I don't think a lot of people realize how little margin there is on firearms.
Speaker B:There's nothing.
Speaker C:There's nothing.
Speaker B:So, you know, I've been in your shoes before.
Speaker B:I've done the same thing where, you know, doing videos for a company and you gotta be so decisive on your words.
Speaker B:It's so hard because you can't.
Speaker B:You want to give your opinion, but you make the wrong manufacturer mad.
Speaker B:They can pull everything so quickly.
Speaker B:It's hard.
Speaker B:But, like, you said a lot of people don't know.
Speaker B:There's, there's a thing called MAP that's minimized at minimal advertised price.
Speaker B:And a lot of companies have to follow map.
Speaker B:Now there's.
Speaker B:There's some manufacturers that don't have map.
Speaker B:I'm not going to say who, but.
Speaker B:And there's a lot that are very strict on that.
Speaker B:So, like, if you ever see something where it says add to cart to see price, that means they're selling it below that price or anything like that.
Speaker B:But margins on firearms, you're looking at anywhere between.
Speaker B:And so our audience know, because we haven't touched on this, your margins on firearms are anywhere between 10 and 15%, maybe 20 if you're lucky.
Speaker B:There's not a lot of wiggle room because there's a lot of moving parts going on.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:You've got.
Speaker B:Okay, it's gone from.
Speaker B:If you're not direct with manufacturers, gone through a distributor and distributor.
Speaker B:You're buying it from the distributor and they're coming.
Speaker B:Well, they got to make their money and they bought it from the company for that.
Speaker B:So, so much.
Speaker B:And then when you buy it and get.
Speaker B:You got to pay your shipping fees on top of that and gets in the store.
Speaker B:Now you got to figure out, okay, what's your margin?
Speaker B:Or did I.
Speaker B:Did I get a good deal at a show?
Speaker B:And, you know, do can I cost average?
Speaker B:And people think that.
Speaker B:A lot of people think that, you know, the store sets the price, but it's not always the store that sets the prices.
Speaker B:It's mostly the manufacturer.
Speaker B:And they, they do it for the reason of.
Speaker B:They don't want to devalue their brand.
Speaker B:So if, if, you know, you guys sell.
Speaker B:So let's just say SIG, for example, you sell SIG365 at $300, and everybody's got it at $400.
Speaker B:Well, now you're.
Speaker B:They, they think that you're devaluing their brand.
Speaker B:So they want to be at that minimum price.
Speaker B:And it's, It's.
Speaker B:If you got into the gun industry to make millions of dollars, you're in the wrong industry.
Speaker C:You got that right.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:A lot of us are in this because we're passionate about it.
Speaker B:It's not for money.
Speaker B:If I, if I wanted to make a lot of money, I'd be in selling steel or something, or something crazy.
Speaker B:But I'm, I'm.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:A lot of us are very passionate about this.
Speaker B:That it's not.
Speaker B:Like you said, it's not a job I enjoy Coming to work every day.
Speaker B:I enjoy having fun.
Speaker B:I enjoy being in this industry and having fun with people and it's a great industry.
Speaker B:Now you've got the knife side and you got the gun side.
Speaker B:The knife side is night and day different from the gun side.
Speaker C:It is.
Speaker C:And that's kind of one of the things that I wanted to talk about.
Speaker C:It's been very interesting to see the difference, I guess you could say in depth demographic, because on the knife side it's a much broader spectrum of people and their beliefs.
Speaker C:So you get people from all walks of life.
Speaker C:Whereas in the gun community I could safely say that we're all kind of a very like minded people.
Speaker C:We all kind of value the same things.
Speaker C:We all kind of look at, especially the second Amendment the same way.
Speaker C:But on the knife side of things, it's from one end of the spectrum to the other.
Speaker C:And I guess one thing that I would like to see more of is us be more of a cohesive unit because we're all in this together.
Speaker C:Honestly, when you look at the things that go on around the world, that could be all of these people that love all of these things at some point.
Speaker C:And so I think a lot in a lot of cases, especially in the gun world, but across the board, I think we can be our own worst enemy sometimes when it comes to how we look at each other and how we treat each other online.
Speaker C:That's one of the biggest things that I'm trying to combat now with a lot of the content because I'm trying to open it up to people that are maybe on the fence or wanting to get into it.
Speaker C:Because it can seem very intimidating, it can seem very daunting, especially when they're trying to research and they don't know what to get.
Speaker C:And then they go into the comment section and they just see people getting blasted left and right and they're like, oh, well, I don't want to touch that because I mean if I make the wrong decision then people are going to look at me horribly and they're going to just make fun of me.
Speaker C:And that turns a lot of people away.
Speaker C:That I feel like we could use their help and their advocacy.
Speaker C:So I think being a little more welcoming would help us all tremendously.
Speaker C:And that's kind of what I'm trying to steer a lot of my content towards.
Speaker C:Being more inviting and being more informative to the people that don't know as much or the people that may be looking into it more.
Speaker B:Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker B:I mean, being More welcoming to community.
Speaker B:If you've ever.
Speaker B:And I know you've been to Blade show, but if you've ever been to a Blade show, it is a totally different animal than going to a.
Speaker B:Like, our convention.
Speaker B:There is a.
Speaker B:There's a wide demographic.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:There's a group of people sitting in the hallway playing with Bella songs and spinning them around.
Speaker B:And it's eye opening because my first Blade show, I figured it was going to be like, going to shot show, like, going to.
Speaker B:Going to.
Speaker B:And seeing a lot of the same demographic.
Speaker B:And I got there and I was blown away about how wide that demographic is.
Speaker B:And it got me thinking, like, how do we, like, the same thing?
Speaker B:All of us like the same thing, but how do we get the people who are on the fence there?
Speaker B:Because it is a different ball game, a different room.
Speaker B:How do we get them to come and go over to our side or over to the gun side and go expand their.
Speaker B:Their journey?
Speaker B:And I think, you know, the big thing with the Internet and I.
Speaker B:You love it, you hate it.
Speaker B:It's the Internet, but everybody's hiding behind a monitor and they're the.
Speaker B:The filter comes off and to build a community of people who can talk.
Speaker B:I mean, and I've told Kaylee this, when we first started this podcast, I'm like, don't read the comments.
Speaker B:Don't read the comments.
Speaker B:You know, you're going to read the comments, you're going to get frustrated with it, but then you start responding to them and they.
Speaker B:And you talk to them and you kill them with kindness, is what I like to say, and go, hey, you know, I. I see you don't agree with me on this.
Speaker B:Why.
Speaker B:Why do you not agree with me on this?
Speaker B:Or.
Speaker B:Oh, you're making fun of me.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, I could afford to lose a couple pounds.
Speaker B:You know, hey, do you want to.
Speaker B:I used to do it all the time.
Speaker B:People would say, hey, you could lose weight.
Speaker B:I'm like, yeah, cool.
Speaker B:I would love to.
Speaker B:You want to come and train with me?
Speaker B:Let's go train.
Speaker B:Like, let's get together and they go, I'm not going to come train with you.
Speaker B:Why not?
Speaker B:Let's go.
Speaker B:Like, I'm welcoming you to my community.
Speaker B:I want to be your friend.
Speaker B:And I think that's what really needs to happen.
Speaker B:I mean, people like, let's look at the gun side.
Speaker B:Talk about lower budget guns.
Speaker B:People call you poor or you call this, you know, I'm just happy that you have one again.
Speaker B:I'm just happy you got into this so, you know, hey, cool, I, I, this is a budget friendly gun, you know, what do you recommend?
Speaker B:Why, why are you not like, have you tried it exactly?
Speaker C:Or hey, I've owned a High Point, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker B:You don't own a high Point.
Speaker B:Are you really a gun person?
Speaker B:I feel like that's, that's what you need.
Speaker C:That'd be a great video title right there.
Speaker B:Right there.
Speaker B:You go steal it.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:I love that free idea.
Speaker B:But it is like I've shot a wide spectrum of firearms from high points all the way up to Wilson Combat.
Speaker B:You know, they're not for everybody.
Speaker B:But to be in the community, like, I don't want to, you know, Cool, you've got a high Point.
Speaker B:Hey, at some point you're going to want to upgrade.
Speaker B:Let's talk about this.
Speaker B:Let's get you trained.
Speaker B:Let's get you, you've taken, you've taken the personal responsibility of self defense in your hand, like Kelly likes to say, with purchasing a firearm.
Speaker B:Now let's go get you trained.
Speaker B:Let's go.
Speaker B:And hey, you, you shot the high Point.
Speaker B:I don't really like this.
Speaker B:Okay, well, what's your budget?
Speaker B:Let's see, let's see what else we can get you into.
Speaker B:You might like.
Speaker B:And I think as a community, we just need to stop poo pooing on each other because I don't want to cuss and be more welcoming.
Speaker B:I mean, they've taken the step to get into this now let's keep them into this because if we start pushing them away, just like anything, if you play golf for the first time and your buddies are making fun of you because you hit the guy on the golf cart,.
Speaker C:You're gonna be less apt to go and play again.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You're not gonna happen to go play again.
Speaker B:Like I have done that before, but anyways.
Speaker B:But yeah, you're less likely to play again.
Speaker B:And it's the same thing with all sports and you know, all activities.
Speaker B:If you, if you're not good at it, just keep trying.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Keep getting into it.
Speaker B:And I think that's what we just need to do as a community is just encourage more people to be a part of it.
Speaker A:So talking about encouraging people to be more a part of the second amendment community, you guys expanded into my area.
Speaker A:My area is much more rural and people would consider it kind of underserved.
Speaker A:As far as a gun store.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:What was kind of like the behind the scenes decision because you didn't just like put in a gun store.
Speaker A:You, you Put in a gun store where a grocery store used to be.
Speaker A:For those of you, like, who are listening to this, who might not understand, like, the same scale.
Speaker A:Like, this was not like, oh, you put in like a gun.
Speaker A:This is a gun store.
Speaker A:Like, it's huge, right?
Speaker C:So you kind of have to go all the way back to.
Speaker C:So originally, knife work started in the late 70s.
Speaker C:1978, They moved around.
Speaker C:They actually started here in Pigeon Forge, over by the old mill, moved into Sevierville, and then eventually out to 66.
Speaker C:The building that we're in now was the original building was built in 91, and they were growing.
Speaker C:Our founder, Kevin Pipes, was really involved in the knife industry.
Speaker C:His son comes along, goes to college, comes back and is learning the business.
Speaker C: And I believe it was around: Speaker C: , but I believe it was around: Speaker C:He comes to his dad and is like, I think we should open a gun store.
Speaker C:And Kevin was like, I don't know.
Speaker C:If you want to, I'll give you a loan.
Speaker C:Something of that nature.
Speaker C:That's, that's.
Speaker C:I mean, and I'm.
Speaker C:I'm paraphrasing a whole lot.
Speaker C:So Tyler was like, okay, decides to open it.
Speaker C:And of course, it was at that time within the confines of knife works.
Speaker C:So he was like, I'll give you, you know, this many square foot of space inside our 108,000, 110,000 square foot showroom that we've got there.
Speaker C:And so they started it then and were in really deep before they knew about it.
Speaker C:But the knife community and the knife industry kind of led them in that direction because they had already made a lot of the contacts in the industry through working with Smith and Wesson and different companies like that Ruger.
Speaker C:So they brought it in there.
Speaker C:And then just a few years ago, they started scouting out because they wanted to grow it more.
Speaker C:They wanted to be a legitimate outdoor outfitter.
Speaker C:Their focus wanted to be primarily for hunting supplies and stuff like that.
Speaker C:And they wanted to be able to sell blinds and camo and all of the equipment that you're going to need.
Speaker C:Not just firearms either, also for archery, because our owners are big hunters.
Speaker C:That's what they've always done.
Speaker C:And coming from my background, that's what I grew up doing too.
Speaker C:That was my introduction into guns, was as a hunter.
Speaker C:I wasn't in law enforcement, I wasn't in the military.
Speaker C:Almost everybody else in my family was.
Speaker C:I was the only one that wasn't.
Speaker C:But I loved hunting, and that's what Got me into it.
Speaker C:So they started that and then started looking for different properties.
Speaker C:Well, then this one came up.
Speaker C:It was an old food lion.
Speaker C:And they bought the property and went in and completely remodeled it.
Speaker C:It's currently between a 48 and 50,000 square foot showroom there.
Speaker C:We are actually expanding the gun selection even more now.
Speaker C:So you'll be happy to know this.
Speaker C:We're actually running a sale right now.
Speaker C:We're liquidating some stuff that we've got in the store right now.
Speaker C:And not that it hasn't done well, but we.
Speaker C:We had a huge fishing section there.
Speaker C:We're moving some of that out because we've got so many firearms that we don't have room for in a 40,000 square foot, 48,000 square foot showroom, which boggles my mind.
Speaker C:But we're bringing, I think it's around 600, 650 new SKUs of firearms that we haven't had on display as of yet.
Speaker A:I can't hear the money leaving my bank account.
Speaker C:Yeah, just 650 new SKUs of firearms.
Speaker C:And so we're expanding that and really excited about that.
Speaker C:And there's always been room for more growth.
Speaker C:That's the way that we've looked at it.
Speaker C:And when they brought me on, they were like, we just need some creative content.
Speaker C:And that's where I guess my performing background kind of.
Speaker C:Kind of stepped in and my writing background.
Speaker C:I was like, well, you know, what, what can I do and what can I not do here?
Speaker C:And they kind of gave us a very long leash as far as that goes, as far as what we were allowed to do, especially considering what we do, as far as the content that we make and the way that we come across.
Speaker C:We're a little more on the edgy side, especially in the knife community.
Speaker C:But it's one of those things where, like I said, we're just trying to open up and bring more people into the community because.
Speaker C:And I love what you guys do because you guys bring are really where the rubber meets the road.
Speaker C:That's where the fight comes in.
Speaker C:Because I don't think a lot of people realize how important it is to stay after it.
Speaker C:And I can.
Speaker C:I can be just as guilty as the next person at being complacent.
Speaker C:I don't watch the news as much as I should, especially when it comes to serious political litigation when it comes to our community.
Speaker C:But you guys are bringing that to the forefront and bringing that in people's minds so that they see it on a daily basis, which is what really has to happen because you're not gonna.
Speaker C:We can't just sit back and relax and not be fearful that this could be taken away because there's people out there working every day, longer hours than we are against us.
Speaker C:And it takes, it takes so much energy and effort.
Speaker C:And that's what you guys are doing so well.
Speaker C:And folks like us really appreciate that because without you guys, we don't have a livelihood.
Speaker C:We don't have.
Speaker C:We don't have a way to put food on our tables, so.
Speaker A:Well, I appreciate you saying that and the vote of confidence that gives.
Speaker A:You know, we both live in Tennessee.
Speaker A:You work for a Tennessee company.
Speaker A:We're about to hold a convention in Tennessee.
Speaker A:Tennessee is, is definitely at the forefront of, of our minds right now.
Speaker A:And it's amazing how fast a state can change.
Speaker A:You know, it was not very long ago that our governor was signing permitless carry to now, you know, going for a red flag law in a special session.
Speaker A:And that's where a level of vigilance has to, has to be there and a persistence from the second amendment community.
Speaker A:And, you know, I am so proud of GOA members.
Speaker A:I went to the gun owners lobby day.
Speaker A:I've been at every gun owner's lobby day that we have co.
Speaker A:Hosted.
Speaker A:We co host it every year with the Tennessee Firearms association.
Speaker A:And it's a long standing tradition.
Speaker A:And it is, it's incredible because.
Speaker A:And I love that event probably more than any event I get the opportunity to do all year because it is my state.
Speaker A:I never want to ask someone to do more than I am willing to do.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And so when you hear me say, you know, get involved, send emails, call your representative, show up for lobby days, I mean that because I'm sending emails, I'm calling my legislature and I'm showing up for lobby day.
Speaker A:It isn't, it isn't something that we can be passive in.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so being there and showing up is so vital to the overall success of the second amendment.
Speaker A:And so I'm so proud of our state for not just going well, you know, the political winds changed.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:But we actually took action and are winning that fight.
Speaker A:We're securing our schools and we're doing the things that need to be done so that Tennessee is on its way to being more free, not less free.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:And that not only makes for a stronger second amendment, but it makes that barrier to entry for people to join the community lower, which hopefully means more people are interested in walking through your doors.
Speaker C:Exactly, exactly.
Speaker B:You said protecting your schools.
Speaker B:Tennessee just passed carry for Teachers, Correct?
Speaker A:Yeah, it just passed the Senate, so it's on its way to the governor's desk.
Speaker A:It is again, like all legislation.
Speaker A:This is not legislation analysis, that's a whole other channel.
Speaker A:We got it.
Speaker A:That is not this podcast.
Speaker A:But you know, there's improvements to any bill.
Speaker A:I have yet to come across a perfect state with a perfect legislature with perfect legislation, and Lord knows it's not coming from the federal government.
Speaker A:We take incremental wins for the restoration of the second amendment and when we can't get them through the legislation, then we will fight it in litigation.
Speaker A:But we're laser focused on that and it is a big win.
Speaker A:All of the mass shootings, you look at the vast majority and it's not just like, oh well, the majority by one.
Speaker A:No, the vast majority majority.
Speaker A:Like greater than 90% of mass shootings happen in gun free zones.
Speaker A:You have to be able to protect and defend yourself.
Speaker C:Where people are defenseless.
Speaker C:That's, that's where it's happening.
Speaker C:And the other side is going to skew those numbers because they're going to say that it involves, you know, more than two or more people.
Speaker C:They're going to spin those numbers any way that they can to make them work in their favor.
Speaker C:But we all know what those numbers really mean and what they really are and where that's coming from.
Speaker C:And another, I guess, kind of segue off that is, I feel like the community has always been divided.
Speaker C:So we look at, you know, we've got the tactical guys that are, you know, and you could, you could lump it into law enforcement, military, and then you've got the enthusiasts that are just having fun, want to enjoy it.
Speaker C:And then you've got the hunters.
Speaker C:And a lot of those end up staying out of arguments because they're like, well, that doesn't really affect me because I don't have a dog in that fight.
Speaker C:And I speak mainly from the hunting side of things because that's what I've seen the most of and that's what I grew up as.
Speaker C:So I saw so many of them.
Speaker C:Well, you know, an assault weapons ban doesn't really affect me that much because I don't, I don't have any.
Speaker C:And I don't think they understand what a slippery slope that is because all it takes is one thing, it's a step in that direction.
Speaker C:And I mean, we look at right now and what a lot of hunters don't realize is the lead ammo ban, I mean that's, that's a huge deal where they are just Ignoring science completely.
Speaker C:And again, it's a slippery slope.
Speaker C:You let them take just an inch of that rope and they're gonna hang you with it.
Speaker C:It's dangerous.
Speaker B:I think the big thing that opened Pandora's Box for this recently was the bump stock ban.
Speaker B:A lot of people said, I don't have a dog in this fight because I don't think bump stocks are cool.
Speaker B:I know I don't have one.
Speaker B:They're dumb anyways.
Speaker B:Who cares?
Speaker B:Open Pandora's Box that now you know, first it was bump stocks, then it was pistol braces, and next then it was FRT triggers.
Speaker B:And then it's this and that.
Speaker B:And it just, It's a.
Speaker B:Like you said, it's a slippery slope.
Speaker B:And who's to say, you know, they're.
Speaker B:You talked about the lead ammo band.
Speaker B:That's a huge deal.
Speaker B:But the same thing the hunters are.
Speaker B:Well, it's not my daddy's Remington 700 or it's not my daddy's Mossberg 500.
Speaker B:It's not something I use every day.
Speaker B:But we've seen legislation on state levels where, okay, if you're a bird hunter, well, semi automatic, semi automatic, doesn't matter if it's a shotgun or a rifle.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And they're going after that.
Speaker B:Well, now it does affect you, but you don't think of it because you're looking at it from the eyes of an AWB or assault weapons ban.
Speaker B:You've got to realize like that's one step to losing everything.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We can't afford apathy, right.
Speaker A:In the Second Amendment community.
Speaker A:Regardless if you are someone who is.
Speaker A:Well, you know, this is my camp within, within the Second Amendment community.
Speaker A:You know, think thank goodness for GOA members because when it came to that lead ammo ban, over 90% of the comments came from GOA members.
Speaker A:And I love waking up to go to work in the morning because I truly believe in what we're doing.
Speaker A:And it's easy to have that view the first year you work somewhere.
Speaker A:Maybe even the second year, we're way beyond that.
Speaker A:I've been here a while and it's still that case because regardless of what fight, what camp, they're willing to stand up and protect the Second Amendment.
Speaker A:Whether that's an ATF comment, whether that's a comment to the Department of the Interior, whether that's calling your, your representatives, showing up to a lobby day.
Speaker B:We're.
Speaker A:We're here.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, and that it can't be overlooked.
Speaker A:Now what I will say to anyone who is not a GOA member that may have stumbled upon this podcast.
Speaker A:Find whatever level of advocacy you're comfortable with and start there.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:If you only have the ability to send an email, that is a pre typed out form that takes you 30 seconds.
Speaker A:I timed it.
Speaker A:28.6 Seconds is what my time was to fill out that form because I want it to be accurate.
Speaker A:It takes less than 30 seconds to fill out that form.
Speaker A:And if that's the only level of advocacy that you can do, do that.
Speaker A:If you get comfortable with that and you say, I'm going to take it to the next level and I'm going to pick up the phone and I'm going to call my representative, which the number's always listed.
Speaker A:Call with them.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And leave a message.
Speaker A:And if you are, are all in and you say, you know what?
Speaker A:Hey, it's election season and guess what?
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:Politicians are everywhere right now.
Speaker A:Town halls, fundraisers, Anything and everything that they can do to secure your vote for another year, they're.
Speaker A:They're there right now.
Speaker A:And if you feel comfortable to respectfully go to them and say, hey, why are you a C rating?
Speaker A:Do you, do you not get the fact that this is a constitutionally protected right?
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:I don't agree with where you're at.
Speaker A:And if you're going to earn my vote, I'm going to need you to step up or, hey, what, what happened now?
Speaker A:Now you're an A minus.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker A:I think we need to, to correct this course before you go the way of the career politician.
Speaker A:Like, those are things that you can do as an individual.
Speaker A:But regardless of what level of advocacy that you feel like you can accomplish, whatever is your starting point, do that and do that well and do that often, and then watch how exciting it is because it's a dopamine hit.
Speaker C:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:When you send that form and you're like, ha, I told you exactly what, what I'm thinking.
Speaker A:I told you exactly where I stand.
Speaker A:You can't escape the truth of this.
Speaker A:Now I've made an actual difference.
Speaker A:It changes.
Speaker A:It changes things.
Speaker A:And you get that.
Speaker A:That moment of, all right, we can actually win this.
Speaker A:We can actually do this.
Speaker A:And it's exciting to see.
Speaker A:And I want everyone, regardless of whether you consider yourself an advocate or an activist or not, just start somewhere.
Speaker B:Yeah, well said.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I have on my soapbox.
Speaker B:No, I love it.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:I dig it.
Speaker C:The state has changed a lot.
Speaker C:And we've seen a huge influx of people coming to this state from other states that I would say are a lot less free.
Speaker C:And we've also seen a lot of those people try to bring their way of life here.
Speaker C:Well, there's a reason they came here, and that's because we've already got it good.
Speaker C:We know what we're doing.
Speaker C:There's a reason why you came to us.
Speaker C:And we can't let those kind of things dictate how we live our lives here, because there's a reason why we're here, too.
Speaker C:And like you said, we're proud of where we're at.
Speaker C:We're proud of where we're from.
Speaker C:And we gotta continue to keep that up because if we, if we don't, if we just sit back and are complacent, then we start losing things.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:And it's going to.
Speaker C:There's going to come a day if we are that complacent, that we lose something that really matters to us, like our rights.
Speaker C:And I get.
Speaker C:I get on my soapbox about that.
Speaker C:Not just about the Second Amendment, but also about the First Amendment that we've also seem to have lost in our community on the Internet and on social media.
Speaker C:Like I said, our Facebook account got shut down.
Speaker C:We got silenced.
Speaker C:And I will tell you that is I eat, sleep and breathe social media, as much as I hate it, because that's my job.
Speaker C:And I know those community guidelines like the back of my hand and the terms and conditions, all that stuff that everybody just clicks through and never reads, I know that stuff like the back of my hand.
Speaker C:And I'm like, I didn't violate anything.
Speaker C:I specifically made my post and created this page based on what you said I was allowed to do.
Speaker C:And even though I did that, they still took it away.
Speaker C:And so it makes me even more frustrated to see that and then to still see people that don't take the initiative.
Speaker C:And so that's again, why I try to bring new people in.
Speaker C:Because the more people we have, the stronger that we are.
Speaker C:And it just really, it means so much to me.
Speaker C:And I think it, it means a lot more to all of us than a lot of people realize.
Speaker B:Yeah, I couldn't say that any better.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, we hate social media, but we also need is a vital function as a company, as an organization to be on there, to reach your customer base, your audience, to spread.
Speaker B:If you have a sale or if you've got something going on, or if you're fording through a river announcing a new knife.
Speaker B:I had to bring that one up because that was hilarious.
Speaker B:I loved it.
Speaker B:But they've gone to, like, no longer is It.
Speaker B:They're not telling you that.
Speaker B:They're shadow banning you.
Speaker B:Because now you're getting, hey, this content has been restricted.
Speaker B:And you're like, well, where did I violate the community guidelines?
Speaker B:Well, you.
Speaker B:Dangerous goods.
Speaker B:What are dangerous goods considered?
Speaker B:Well, you know, fire.
Speaker B:Now they're lumping.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:Now it was.
Speaker B:It was just firearms and ammunition and knives.
Speaker B:Now they're lumping us in with drugs, too.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker B:And with marijuana.
Speaker B:It's just ridiculous how much they go, hey, here's my post.
Speaker B:It's on this cool new object.
Speaker B:Don't tell you where to buy it.
Speaker B:Don't tell you what.
Speaker B:You're just saying this is what this is.
Speaker C:Figure it out.
Speaker B:Figure it out on your own.
Speaker B:You're smart enough, there's a link somewhere, somewhere hidden in something.
Speaker B:But now they're like, well, no, you can't show that anymore.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's only limited to the people who follow you.
Speaker B:Okay, well, the people will follow me.
Speaker C:I already know about it.
Speaker B:I already know about it.
Speaker B:I've got the, you know the numbers.
Speaker B:With social media, you.
Speaker B:You're shooting for 10%.
Speaker B:10% Engagement is what you want.
Speaker B:If you got a hundred thousand, it'd be a hundred, you know, 100 people or a thousand people, whatever.
Speaker B:And now it's so restricted that you can't even get your 10%.
Speaker B:You're lucky if you get 1%.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And the thing that I've seen with our community, which I really applaud, is the collaboration.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:A lot of us have seen that, that kind of stab from social media and from meta going, hey, you can't do this or we're going to restrict you.
Speaker B:And now we're like, well, cool.
Speaker B:I'm going to take your audience, I'm going to take our audience, I'm going to take somebody else's audience and we're going to collab together to show this thing off.
Speaker B:And I think that's the one thing that the firearms industry does better than any other industry, is that we collab together.
Speaker B:And yes, you know, Smith and Wesson and Glock may be competitors, but they'll collab together every once in a while it may be somebody else collab together it.
Speaker B:And that's the cool thing about our community is that, yes, we.
Speaker B:You're our competitor.
Speaker B:I hate you.
Speaker B:Hey, you want to work together on this project, Right?
Speaker B:We need to get some stuff done.
Speaker B:It's the same.
Speaker B:It's the same thing.
Speaker B:And I love seeing that because on the outside, if you're on the outside looking in you're like, oh, they.
Speaker B:They're sworn enemies.
Speaker B:And then behind the scenes, you're like, hey, what the heck?
Speaker B:There's a Smith and Glock guy sitting there at the bar, hanging out.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Going on here.
Speaker C:Because we're all in this together.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's only the people in the comment section that are like, my team, is this.
Speaker A:Not the companies.
Speaker A:It's the reception from the individuals that have like, decided, this is my one flag.
Speaker A:And on this hill, I will.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's crazy because, I mean, like, how many times have we.
Speaker A:You know, and maybe it was unintentional, maybe it was an intentional.
Speaker A:Started the debate on what is the best concealed carry caliber.
Speaker A:And like, you want to make a room fight.
Speaker A:Oh, like, that is the question.
Speaker C:I create content based on that.
Speaker C:Like, I put out a video last year that was like, is 380 good enough?
Speaker C:And like, I make titles that are intentionally to get people fired up about that stuff.
Speaker B:You want to get people fired up, you just say, 40's dead.
Speaker B:That'll get everybody.
Speaker C:But from a sales perspective, it is dead.
Speaker C:I'm not going to lie.
Speaker A:But, you know, those are the.
Speaker A:Those are the conversations where, like, people will plan to flag and they're like, they will, like, create a camp.
Speaker C:I will die.
Speaker A:And that is the only thing that.
Speaker A:That exists in their world.
Speaker A:My.
Speaker A:Hey, guys.
Speaker A:Just has, like a public service announcement.
Speaker A:You can own multiple things in multiple calibers.
Speaker A:Like, there's not a limit.
Speaker A:There's not.
Speaker C:There's not that.
Speaker A:You can.
Speaker A:You can.
Speaker A:You can do what you.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:There are options.
Speaker C:That's a groundbreaking.
Speaker C:It's a groundbreaking process right there.
Speaker C:But it's.
Speaker A:It just.
Speaker A:It drives me crazy.
Speaker A:It does.
Speaker B:Like, my favorite thing I ever did.
Speaker B:I made so many people mad by this.
Speaker B:So we did a. I did a bracket the one year for March Madness on calibers, and I pitted 9mm and.45 in the first round.
Speaker C:Oh, God.
Speaker B:I saw how many people were getting mad.
Speaker B:I was like, well, that was the point exactly.
Speaker B:Engagement is great, but the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The minds that literally exploded, they were like, you.
Speaker C:These.
Speaker B:These are both number one and number two.
Speaker B:Why are they fighting each other in the first round?
Speaker B:Like, because I could.
Speaker A:Because I could.
Speaker B:Also, I drew them randomly, and that's just how TC working people find you guys.
Speaker B:Socials, website, everything.
Speaker B:Where to go?
Speaker B:Big blue roof.
Speaker C:Yeah, Big blue roof.
Speaker C:So we've got two websites for both companies.
Speaker C:Smkw.com which is Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and smga.com for Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo.
Speaker C:On social media, it's either going to be Smoky Mountain Knife Works all one word or SMKW and the same Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo or SMGA across all social media platforms.
Speaker C:As soon as I get our Facebook back up on the gun side of things.
Speaker C:But I mean we're all over the place out there.
Speaker C:We've got a lot of really cool events coming up.
Speaker C:We've got our case President's Day event at the Knife Story coming up.
Speaker C:We've got a ton of events coming up with different manufacturers at the gun store.
Speaker C:We've got Ruger Days coming up.
Speaker C:We've got a big FN event coming up.
Speaker C:Dave Svegny is going to be there.
Speaker C:We've got a lot of vendor sponsored days coming up where you can come and meet the vendors, talk to the representatives from the companies and we're going to have insane sales going on with those.
Speaker C:We've got our fall festivals coming up and our hunting festival coming up around the end of September, beginning of October.
Speaker C:And as far as our content goes again, I'm going to continue to try to bring more people in.
Speaker C:So I'm doing a lot of newcomer to the industry kind of content, including you guys.
Speaker C:As in passing.
Speaker C:I saw Kenzie leaving here and I was on her podcast a while back and did a, did a handshake on actually doing my first competition event.
Speaker C:So like I said before, I come from the hunting world, I own a lot of different guns, but I'm actually going to try my hand at competition shooting and I'm going to jump in like head first with three Gun.
Speaker C:And I already agreed to do it and I'm going to document it for the channel because I want to show people that it's not such a daunting task that you can't get into it.
Speaker C:Because I feel like there's a lot of people that, you know, want to get into stuff like that, but they don't know where to start.
Speaker C:So I'm going to show you guys that even somebody that's never done it before and has no idea what they're doing can get involved with it and can still have fun with it.
Speaker C:Even if you're not intending on competing for a win, you can go and have fun with it.
Speaker C:And so that's going to be all documented.
Speaker C:I might fall flat on my face, I might make a fool out of myself, but I've never been afraid to do that.
Speaker C:And so I guess that's why I have a lot of fun with what I do.
Speaker C:And I like to think that that's why people like our channel and like what we do so well.
Speaker B:If you want to watch him for the river, go over to smoking.
Speaker C:Well, we just, we just filmed last night a second part to our series of what it's like to live in the world's largest knife store.
Speaker C:And so we were there pretty late last night of filming a bit with me waking up actually going to bed in the store and then waking up and taking a shower in that really nasty waterfall.
Speaker C:And it was insanely cold.
Speaker C:It was awful.
Speaker C:So I want you guys to know that I do that content for you.
Speaker C:You're the only ones I do that content for because I definitely don't do it for myself.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us this week on the State of the Second.
Speaker A:We are so happy that you joined us.
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Speaker A:And if you have not registered for the Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit, Please go to goals.gunowners.org thank you and.
Speaker B:Have a great rest of your day.
