Shownotes
Kristen from Laser Ammo joins hosts Kaylee and John on Gun Owners of America's State of the Second to make the case for dry fire training that people will actually do. She runs marketing and social media for Laser Ammo, shoots USPSA and IDPA competition, and trains women through her own firearms business. Her core message is simple: too many people don't practice, and too many get complacent about safety. Laser Ammo is a dry fire training company that has been around since 2009, started in Israel for defensive shooters, and holds about 13 patents.
The conversation walks through how the products work. There's a drop-in laser where you rack the slide and pull the trigger, plus a partnership with Dry Fire Mag for what Laser Ammo calls the Surestrike mag, which auto-resets so you can pull the trigger without racking. The lineup also includes reactive targets with a built-in timer, recoil-enabled Airsoft guns fitted with a laser barrel, a flash bolt that replaces an AR's bolt carrier group, and the Smokeless Range home simulator. The simulator runs on a standard Windows computer with no apps needed, takes a quality projector pointed at a flat wall or screen, and ships with 10 core drills you can run solo or head-to-head, plus 13 different add-ons. Add-ons include a competition match builder you can share and the Video Scenario Trainer with branching scenarios and a hundred built-in situations. Kristen frames the value as cutting the barriers that stop busy people from practicing, like a range an hour away, bad weather, or kids at home, and points out that five or ten minutes a day fixing one flaw beats no practice at all.
The back half gets into who Kristen trains and why. She works in the women's advocacy space because women learn differently and often get talked over at the range, and she pushes them to load their own magazines, clean their own guns, and use the right terminology. John backs her up with a warning for husbands not to train their own spouses. The episode also covers practicing the full draw, including racking the slide and dropping the safety, since those are the first things to fail under pressure. On the Soapbox segment, Kristen argues that gun owners need to get involved locally and politically, vote, do their research, and have hard conversations, while Kaylee ties it to going on offense for the Second Amendment, constitutional carry, and GOA's lawsuit against the NFA. You can find Laser Ammo at laserammo.com and Kristen personally at wtfkristen.com (Women Training Firearms).
Questions this episode answers
What is Laser Ammo and how long has the company been around?
Laser Ammo is a dry fire training company founded in 2009, started in Israel for defensive shooters. It holds roughly 13 patents and builds laser-based tools that let people practice trigger work at home.
How does dry fire training with a laser work, and do you need a phone or app?
A drop-in laser fires when you rack the slide and pull the trigger, and the Surestrike mag (a partnership with Dry Fire Mag) auto-resets so you can keep pulling without racking. The Smokeless Range home simulator runs on a standard Windows computer with no apps needed.
What does the Smokeless Range home simulator include, and what hardware do you need to run it?
It runs on a standard Windows computer with a quality projector aimed at a flat wall or screen, no apps required. It ships with 10 core drills you can run solo or head-to-head, plus 13 add-ons including a shareable match builder and the Video Scenario Trainer with about a hundred branching situations.
How much practice is enough, and how do you fix a specific shooting flaw?
Kristen says five or ten minutes a day spent fixing one flaw beats no practice at all, and there's no rule that you have to drill for an hour. Dry fire removes the barriers that stop busy people from training, like a distant range, bad weather, or kids at home.
Why do women face barriers getting into firearms, and why shouldn't a husband train his wife?
Kristen works in women's advocacy because women learn differently and often get talked over at the range, so she pushes them to load their own magazines, clean their own guns, and use the right terminology. Co-host John warns men flatly not to train their own spouses.
Why does racking the slide and working the safety matter so much under pressure?
Kristen stresses practicing the full draw, including racking the slide and dropping the safety, because those mechanics are the first things to fail under stress. Building them into muscle memory through live and dry fire is what makes them hold up when it counts.
Why does Kristen think gun owners need to get involved locally and politically?
On the Soapbox segment, Kristen argues gun owners should vote, do their research, get involved locally, and have hard conversations because these issues affect everyone. Co-host Kaylee ties it to going on offense for the Second Amendment, constitutional carry, and Gun Owners of America's lawsuit against the NFA.
Where can you find Laser Ammo and Kristen online?
Laser Ammo is at laserammo.com, and Kristen's personal training business is at wtfkristen.com, which stands for Women Training Firearms.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Welcome and rapid fire questions
- 02:35 — Who is Kristen and how she got into the industry
- 03:55 — What Laser Ammo is and why it matters
- 04:38 — How the products work, from drop-in laser to Surestrike mag
- 05:46 — The Smokeless Range home simulator and hardware
- 07:15 — Drills, scenarios, and the Video Scenario Trainer
- 09:35 — Why practice matters and cutting the barriers
- 12:24 — Training women and the barriers to entry
- 15:56 — Why men shouldn't train their spouse
- 21:16 — Armchair quarterbacks and practicing under pressure
- 24:19 — Carrying in the chamber and working the safety
- 25:43 — Soapbox: getting involved locally and politically
- 29:41 — Constitutional carry, the NFA, and the 27 words
- 33:38 — Where to find Kristen and Laser Ammo
About the guest
Kristen is from Laser Ammo, where she runs the company's marketing and social media. She took her first firearms class at 18 from the San Diego Police Department because she wanted to be a cop. As a military kid she moved through Virginia and then Texas, where she joined a ladies group that led her into competition shooting. She shoots USPSA and IDPA, and became a sponsored shooter for Laser Ammo after meeting Pat and Mary Grace McMahon in competition. Her day business is marketing, and she also runs her own firearms training business focused on training women. She sits on the board of her local Republican women's group. Her personal website is wtfkristen.com, which stands for Women Training Firearms.
Key quotes
"So Laser Ammo is a dry fire training company." — Kristen
"there's no rule that says you have to practice 60 minutes a day." — Kristen
"practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent." — Kaylee
"You're practicing with the tool that hopefully you'll never have to use for self defense, but when you do, you'll have it in muscle memory if you're actually practicing live and dry fire." — Kristen
"You need to, you need to vote politically, you need to do your research, you need to get involved because all of these things that impact us" — Kristen
"If you're a man out there and you have a spouse, do not train your spouse." — John
Transcripts
Welcome to Getters of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kayleigh.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined by Kristen from Laser Ammo.
Speaker B:How are you today?
Speaker C:Hey, I'm doing great, thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me.
Speaker B:Well, thank you for being on.
Speaker B:We're going to start off with our first segment which is rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:We're going to ask you five questions.
Speaker B:You kind of answer them as quickly as you want.
Speaker B:So what is the best training tip you've ever heard?
Speaker C:Practice.
Speaker C:I mean that's pretty, pretty straightforward.
Speaker C:Practice safely, of course.
Speaker A:What was the first class you ever took when it came to firearms training?
Speaker C:Actually it was in San Diego by the San Diego Police Department.
Speaker C:When I was 18, I learned, I took a basic firearm safety class because I wanted to be a cop and I was in California so figured what better to take a class from professionals?
Speaker B:What is your dream gun?
Speaker C:Dream gun?
Speaker C:All of them.
Speaker C:I really don't have a dream gun.
Speaker C:I'm a girl and I don't know that all girls are that way, but a lot of the girls that I train are that way.
Speaker C:They want the one that just seems to work and we can make work for us.
Speaker C:So I'm a Smith and Wesson person, so pretty much most of mine are Smith and Wesson.
Speaker A:What do you consider the most influential platform for consuming educational content in the firearm space?
Speaker C:Influential content?
Speaker C:There's just so much out there, I guess.
Speaker C:I mean you guys are great.
Speaker C:I get stuff in your, my email all the time from you guys.
Speaker C:I, because I do laser ammo social.
Speaker C:I see a lot of content outside of my personal channel.
Speaker C:USCCA puts a lot of content out, which I think it's great.
Speaker C:Just, you know, then I see a lot of influencers because I deal with influencers, so I don't really have one.
Speaker C:I just, and I think that that's a good thing.
Speaker C:I think it's kind of like financial planning.
Speaker C:You don't put all your eggs in one basket and everybody's got different opinions, especially news worthy things or biased, potentially biased information.
Speaker C:So I think it's good to kind of see a different points of view so that you can just make your own decisions on things.
Speaker B:Okay, and the last question is, what is the most overlooked skill for a shooter to practice?
Speaker C:Overlooked?
Speaker C:I think too many people don't practice and too many people get complacent in their safety, I think.
Speaker B:Well, that wraps up our rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:No, let's go ahead and dive into this.
Speaker B:Who are you?
Speaker B:How did you get into the industry.
Speaker B:What is Laser Ammo, all that stuff.
Speaker C:So again my name is Kristen.
Speaker C:I wanted, as I said I wanted to be a cop when I was younger.
Speaker C:So I learned how to shoot and I just naturally found that I was good at it, you know, basic.
Speaker C:So I kind of stuck with basic target shooting and moved to Virginia.
Speaker C:Military kid moved down to Texas and joined a ladies group.
Speaker C:Somebody mentioned something about competition and because I was really good target shooting, it kind of gets boring and so like oh, let me check out this competition thing.
Speaker C:So in doing competition I met a couple, Pat and Mary Grace McMahon because she was in competition and he worked for Laser Ammo.
Speaker C:So I became a sponsor shooter of Laser Ammo.
Speaker C:My day business is marketing and so then kind of blended in with the marketing side of things while I'm shooting competition.
Speaker C:That's how I got my, that I'm now do all the marketing with Laser Ammo and because I'm in competition and you know, women just find the people that have this experience of the things that they want to learn how to do and became the hey, you know how to do this.
Speaker C:So I need you to help me.
Speaker C:And so I started my firearms training business.
Speaker B:So what is for the folks that are out there that don't know what is Laser Ammo and why is your product important to the industry?
Speaker C:Well, going back to what we had said before about practice, it allows you to practice.
Speaker C:So Laser Ammo is a dry fire training company.
Speaker C:So we do everything, dry fire training as far as laser users.
Speaker C:So we have like 13 patents.
Speaker C: We've been around since: Speaker C:Started in Israel for you know, defensive shooters, meaning like military.
Speaker C:So we're for military, we're for law enforcement, we're for the edc, we're for firearms trainers.
Speaker C:So pretty much competition shooters.
Speaker C:So anybody that shoots, they can find our products.
Speaker C:We have everything from a drop in laser to a home simulator that's affordable, most affordable simulator I think on the market that's of quality.
Speaker B:And so how does, how does the product work?
Speaker B:Is it a rack and pull the trigger for it or is it, does it auto do everything?
Speaker B:Like how does the product work as a.
Speaker C:Well that's the cool thing about us.
Speaker C:We don't just have one product.
Speaker C:So we do have the drop the laser in your, in your firearm.
Speaker C:Rack the slide, pull the trigger.
Speaker C:Rack the slide, pull the trigger.
Speaker C:So there's that.
Speaker C:We also partnered with Dry Fire Mag and we have something we call the Surestrike mag.
Speaker C:They may still, they call it the smart mag.
Speaker C:But it's their magazine that's different from their standard dry fire mag.
Speaker C:And with our laser now you can put the magazine in your Glock or Sig.
Speaker C:They're working on some other models right now.
Speaker C:So now you can pull the trigger and you don't have to rack the slide.
Speaker C:It automatically resets.
Speaker C:And then now you have the laser.
Speaker C:So now you can hit a target.
Speaker C:We also sell targets that are reactive audibly and visually and you've got a built in timer with it.
Speaker C:And then we have recoil guns.
Speaker C:So basically Airsofts that we replace their barrel with a laser barrel.
Speaker C:So now the Airsoft is now a laser recoiling firearm.
Speaker C:And then we have the Smokeless range, which is basically your home simulator.
Speaker C:13 Different add ons and oh, and we have the flash bolt which basically takes your ar.
Speaker C:You replace the bolt carrier group with a laser.
Speaker C:So now you can continuously pull the trigger, do mag changes and work on any of our targets as well as our simulator.
Speaker B:Now is the product, does that work with current technology?
Speaker B:You have like a laptop or a cell phone or is that something you.
Speaker C:Have to get separately so the simulator separate everything else is there's no other tools.
Speaker C:You don't need to apps or anything like that.
Speaker C:You just basically plug in the battery, put the batteries in that we provide and you go with the simulator you could use.
Speaker C:You have to use a Windows computer and it's not a high tech gaming computer.
Speaker C:So most likely will.
Speaker C:With a standard Windows computer that you have, you'll need a projector.
Speaker C:You need probably a quality projector to be able to pick up the laser, you know, bounces off your wall or a screen.
Speaker C:So you can use a flat wall.
Speaker C:You don't have to have a screen, but those are pretty inexpensive.
Speaker C:The projector is going to be the thing that's probably going to cost the most because you need a quality projector.
Speaker C:We have two types of cameras.
Speaker C:We have a standard camera which comes with your purchase or we have a short throw.
Speaker C:So if you're limited on space, let's say you're just a standard bedroom, you know, maybe 10 by 12 or something like that.
Speaker C:You could put this the short throw and it could be gosh, like less than like five feet away.
Speaker C:So it allows you to stand behind it instead of or mount it on the ceiling, something like that.
Speaker B:And then with the simulator, do you guys have different scenarios plugged in?
Speaker B:Can you set up different scenarios, all that kind of stuff?
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:So the standard package, the smokeless rain package comes with 10 different drills and like One of them might be like Speed speed round where it has a whole bunch of little bullet bullseye targets and you'll, you can either do it, you know, just yourself or you can do against somebody else every 10.
Speaker C:All 10 of the core drills you can do solo or you can do against a buddy.
Speaker C:And then, then there's different ways to change it up.
Speaker C:You can make the targets bigger or smaller, how much the field is showing, how many no shoots are in there, et cetera.
Speaker C:So it gives you so many options just in those drills.
Speaker C:And then we have like I said like 13 different add ons.
Speaker C:So different scenarios, different.
Speaker C:There's different things you can do like competitive shooter Pro, you can build a match right in the online version and I can share my match with you.
Speaker C:Then there's the judgmental simulator which is you're going to be your scenarios like you're at the grocery store and these things happen.
Speaker C:It's a pre recorded situation.
Speaker C:But each one of those situations have branches.
Speaker C:So let's say I'm the instructor and I'm teaching you.
Speaker C:You're going to be running through the scenario.
Speaker C:I'm going to determine what's going to happen based on how you're talking to the bad guy or whatever.
Speaker C:And so then each one could be done differently.
Speaker C:So I can do the next person have the same scenario and give them a different branch, a different course of action.
Speaker C:And then it has after action.
Speaker C:There's a hundred of those built into the.
Speaker C:We call it the Video Scenario Trainer VST Pro and it has a controller which allows you to basically just pick the branch branch.
Speaker C:Pretty amazing.
Speaker B:That is pretty amazing.
Speaker C:And if you want to record it yourself, you can that we, we give the instructions but you know it's, it's a lot of work because you're going to have to record the scenario, the branches and make sure that you're in the same position for the, you know, the next stage.
Speaker C:Like if you have one that set the guy falls down because you shoot him, then there's going to be one that he's going to be charging at you.
Speaker C:He needs to be in the same spot, spot at the end, you know, to make it look like, you know, it's like he shows up and now he's not all of a sudden over, you know, on the far left or something like that.
Speaker C:So, so it's a little bit of extra work.
Speaker C:But if you have the video technology and the know how then it's pretty easy to do.
Speaker A:And I love that, you know, it kind of goes into that, you know, the importance of practicing.
Speaker A:I know you started talking about that in the rapid fire portion where you know, practice, practice, practice.
Speaker A:And I love the, the, the saying, you know, practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent.
Speaker A:And so we want to be practicing good fundamentals.
Speaker A:We want to be actively reminding ourselves that if there's one area that you know in your day or you're in your month that you want to relax on, training and, and being an active participant in your own protection and the protection of your family is not the area that you want to relax on.
Speaker A:And so I think that this is a great opportunity to bring that, make it a little bit easier.
Speaker A:We're all running really busy lives and so this, this makes it easier and I think in many ways brings a fun aspect to it.
Speaker C:Of course, because dry fire can be boring if you're just, you know, racking the slide, pull the trigger, rack the slide, pull a trigger kind of thing.
Speaker C:And I, and not only that, but it just kind of cuts out some of the barriers.
Speaker C:Like maybe a range is an hour away from you and you finally get to settle down at 7 o' clock at night.
Speaker C:Now you got to drive an hour to that range or maybe it's an outdoor range and the weather's bad or maybe you have littles at home and you got to wait for them to go to bed.
Speaker C:Well then either get a babysitter or you know, or you go by yourself or you know, whatever.
Speaker C:So this kind of cuts out a lot of the barriers for like you just said, for those busy people that just may not have a lot of extra time.
Speaker C:And then there's no rule that says you have to practice 60 minutes a day.
Speaker C:It's like put, putting your hands on it maybe, you know, five or ten minutes a day is, is something I tell ladies when I train them when I'm trying to fix scars.
Speaker C:Like you have the teacup grip or something.
Speaker C:It's like, you know, you could practice five minutes a day just picking it up, getting a good grip and putting it down.
Speaker C:You don't have to go from picking it up, pulling the trick, you know, like all the whole rotation just picking apart a piece that you're struggling with and maybe pick it up 20 times or you know, or pulling the trigger 20 times to get, you know, to train your brain about pulling it, you know, in a steady pace versus, you know, jerking that trigger.
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Speaker A:I know that you've mentioned it several times about the women that you.
Speaker A:You train.
Speaker A:Dive into that a little bit more.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And what makes you want to be in the women's advocacy space?
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And why have you chosen to kind of.
Speaker A:And why have you chosen to educate women?
Speaker A:And what are the barriers to entry that you think stop a lot of women from owning firearms?
Speaker C:Have you guys ever been to Shot Show?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:A lot.
Speaker C:I call it.
Speaker C:I called it Beer, Beard and Sausage Fest.
Speaker C:Because seriously, like, there is.
Speaker C:I mean, even a shooting match.
Speaker C:I shoot competition, USPSA and IDPA, and there's definitely.
Speaker C:We're looking at less than 10% of the population in competition are women or at Shot show are women.
Speaker C:So it's, you know, it's definitely a smaller demographic, and I think women get intimidated.
Speaker C:We learn differently.
Speaker C:And so when there's a lot of men instructors or you go to a gun range and it's all men, you know, I don't know how many times I've taken a gal to the range to do our session.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And, you know, Doc starts telling me how to.
Speaker C:How to do the.
Speaker C:His, you know, weaver stance, and I'm just like, you know, buddy, can you just let me do my session we paid for to be here.
Speaker C:Can you just let me go?
Speaker C:Let me, you know, let me train her and stop, you know, and then they sit there and they watch, and it's just like, once you take a picture and step aside, you know, let us do our thing.
Speaker C:You know, even when I started in competition, it would be like, well, little lady.
Speaker C:And you're just like, what.
Speaker C:What are you gonna.
Speaker C:What are you gonna tell me about?
Speaker C:And I'm actually a good shooter.
Speaker C:So it's like, can you just back off, let me shoot one time and maybe offer your suggestions?
Speaker C:Because you might find that I should be the one offering you suggestions.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:I think that's.
Speaker C:The barrier is women get intimidated.
Speaker C:One, because we want to know more about the thing, the gun, how this.
Speaker C:All the things work.
Speaker C:Whereas men, you just pick up a gun and just like, you know, they're off to the races.
Speaker C:Whereas women, we just do everything emotionally, and we want to know all the things, especially if we're caring, we we go beyond the I can protect myself.
Speaker C:It's like what's going to happen if.
Speaker C:And can I live with myself about killing or hurting or whatever this other person.
Speaker C:So we just do so much more in our head and, and that's why.
Speaker C:So that's the why is I enjoy doing it.
Speaker C:I enjoy empowering women and seeing more women getting into the sport, getting more into practicing and caring people in general just don't practice.
Speaker C:And I keep trying to remind, hey, you need to practice, you need to put hands on it.
Speaker C:Can you at least put eyes on your gun?
Speaker C:You know, like look at it.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:I really, really encourage that.
Speaker C:And I even started doing a training tip Tuesday again, just little, little pieces of nuggets for, for people to just kind of like wrap their heads around and, and again, situational awareness, you know, so there's that, you know, because the goal.
Speaker C:And you see the anti gunners are like, you know, coming at us and it's like, dude, my first instinct is not to grab a gun and you know, shoot and ask questions later.
Speaker C:It's like to not be in that position in the first place and then work to that spot.
Speaker C:So yeah, my firearm is my last resort, but it can be my first resort if the situation presents itself that way.
Speaker C:But it's just, it's all of those things that we have to start thinking about.
Speaker B:I'm going to give a piece of advice to all the males out there because we're very simple brained.
Speaker B:She said it properly.
Speaker B:You know, we pull trigger, trigger go boom.
Speaker B:Make big happy.
Speaker B:If you're a man out there and you have a spouse, do not train your spouse.
Speaker B:Please don't try to have someone let somebody else train.
Speaker B:Coming from experience, let somebody else train them.
Speaker B:Yeah, let them, let them be there, be supportive, but let somebody else do it, please.
Speaker B:I'm going to get.
Speaker B:That's my PSA for the day.
Speaker C:I have a good business because of it.
Speaker C:And it's not that you're not great at what you do, it's just you might have a harder time explaining things to people who don't learn the same way as you do.
Speaker C:Just like if I were to.
Speaker C:I haven't, I can't think of an idea right off the hand, but maybe if I was to try to teach you something about a car.
Speaker C:You know, it's just we're women or men are completely different.
Speaker C:We are innately good at certain things and educating people on how to do things with a firearm is not it for women.
Speaker C:So you need, we need you guys to.
Speaker C:To be, like you said, supportive and not necessarily just put a gun and load the magazine.
Speaker C:Because I've had a lot of ladies, too.
Speaker C:They're like.
Speaker C:I'm like, have you loaded a fire?
Speaker C:You know, your magazine before?
Speaker C:And it's like, no, my husband always does it.
Speaker C:I'm like, all right, well, stop that.
Speaker C:You need to learn how to do it the hard way, which is manually.
Speaker C:And then with the reloader, I'll show you how to do the reloader.
Speaker C:And so it's just, you know, all the things I talk about, what the parts are called.
Speaker C:So you don't go to the gun store.
Speaker C:And it's like, so that I want the thing that looks like that thing.
Speaker C:And it's like, now you can use the words.
Speaker C:Use your words.
Speaker C:The right terminology.
Speaker C:You know, I joke about the clip thing.
Speaker C:I'm like, this is a clip in my hair.
Speaker C:This is a magazine.
Speaker C:You know, so.
Speaker C:So they.
Speaker C:And the old guys may still call it clips, but you get a. I just want you to at least know the right terminology that is used in the present day.
Speaker B:I must be a cruel husband because I made my wife load all her own mags.
Speaker C:Good.
Speaker B:I'm glad that's the first thing I taught her.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I was like, you need to learn how to load it and how to rack it and go through the functions properly.
Speaker B:That was the first thing I taught her because I was like, I can't.
Speaker B:I'm not going to be there.
Speaker B:I'm not going to.
Speaker B:You're going to need this basic knowledge.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm also a big proponent of at least.
Speaker A:At least 50% of the time, because I will definitely let my husband do this sometimes.
Speaker A:But I think it's important to clean your own gun.
Speaker A:And that's a job that traditionally he has taken on.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But it's.
Speaker A:It's important.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wait, you're supposed to clean those every.
Speaker C:Once in a while.
Speaker C:Just throw boar snake through it.
Speaker C:Spit on it a little bit.
Speaker C:You're all good.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:Squirt, couple oil, boar snake.
Speaker B:Done.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Simple.
Speaker C:Well, and I was like.
Speaker C:I was with you, too, Kaylee.
Speaker C:Like, I didn't.
Speaker C:Even in competition, I didn't clean mine.
Speaker C:I mean, I could take, you know, the slide off and do some of that, but I didn't break it all down, you know, But I'm doing more and more, of course, for myself because I've had to shoot competitions and, you know, you have to take parts.
Speaker C:Things apart because something might break and.
Speaker C:Well, I want to not be that girl that's like, oh, I broke this.
Speaker C:Can somebody help me?
Speaker A:And to be fair, most people in a situation where something breaks, they're more than happy to jump in and, and they.
Speaker C:Oh yes.
Speaker A:And I want for people that are listening to this that may be on the fence 99.99% of the time.
Speaker A:Like they don't make you feel this mom.
Speaker A:Like they just want to help you and they're happy that you're there.
Speaker A:And you know, as a general rule, we are much prettier to look at.
Speaker A:And so it is a welcoming environment.
Speaker A:But, but there is a pride in knowing that you know your firearm, that you can make the fixes and that you're confident with it.
Speaker A:You know, cleaning the firearm is one example where no one likes to do it.
Speaker A:Let's just be so for real.
Speaker A:And so, you know, it often can get pushed on the husband duty.
Speaker A:But I encourage you, if you're out there and you've never done would be a good idea to become more intimately aware of all of the components of your firearm and to feel confident in, in cleaning.
Speaker A:And, and then, you know, then it naturally gets better.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:The more comfortable you're with it.
Speaker A:Then you start wanting to upgrade things and then before long, you know, you've gone full into the, into the rabbit hole and there's, there's no saving your bank account.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:But it is a great time.
Speaker C:It's an addictive thing for sure.
Speaker A:The water's warm.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker C:Come on in.
Speaker C:I'll agree with you.
Speaker C:I'll say for the most part, very large proportion of, you know, that percentage is.
Speaker C:Everybody is just so nice in the two way community.
Speaker C:I mean you can have your phone left at, you know, a bay back and two bays later you're like, ah, crap, I forgot my phone.
Speaker C:You go look for it.
Speaker C:Still sitting there in the normal, you know, population.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:The minute you left it and you turned your eyes, it's gone.
Speaker C:So I definitely the two A community has been really, really good community to be around.
Speaker C:Except for maybe some of those armchair quarterbacks.
Speaker C:I like to punch them in the face every once in a while.
Speaker A:All right, so you gotta, you gotta give a, you gotta give some, well, some definition.
Speaker A:But for that.
Speaker C:Okay, well I can totally.
Speaker C:Because I do laser ammo social and I've been told that I'm very, very patient because I want to respond, but it's like you're.
Speaker C:I'm not trying to make enemies, but you'll have the.
Speaker C:We're posting ads and stuff for laser training, dry fire, you know, this, that and the other.
Speaker C:And you'll get people like, I was in the military, I don't need to practice.
Speaker C:And I'm just like, okay, I'm glad that that works for you.
Speaker C:But a lot of other people like to practice a little bit more, especially with something that is, could be life saving.
Speaker C:You're practicing with the tool that hopefully you'll never have to use for self defense, but when you do, you'll have it in muscle memory if you're actually practicing live and dry fire.
Speaker C:Or somebody will say, oh, I go to the range, you know, three times a year.
Speaker C:And I'm like, well, I go at least twice a month and I probably shoot more, you know, in one month than you do in, you know, a year.
Speaker C:It's like, but, but I don't say that because it's like, it's not a pissing contest.
Speaker C:It's like we're trying to encourage people to be practice, to practice to get more comfortable with their firearm, to use their EDC more often, to learn, you know, money running up range, downrange, you know, reloading on a, you know, on a clock, all these things.
Speaker C:Because when goes downhill, it's not going to be all ready, wait, can you stop?
Speaker C:I'm not ready.
Speaker C:I need to put it in over here because I'm, I'm used to appendix and right now it's on the side or it's in my purse.
Speaker C:Let me go grab it first.
Speaker C:All those things, you don't necessarily get a do over and you don't get the time.
Speaker C:It's like in an instant, you know.
Speaker B:So my favorite, okay, I'm gonna say this, this is my favorite armchair quarterback that I ever had.
Speaker B:And I taught this guy a lesson, which I guess that was mean by me, but I taught this man a lesson because he was armchair quarterbacking.
Speaker B:So a guy told me that he didn't need to carry around in the chamber because he could rack it fast enough to stop a threat.
Speaker B:And I said, okay, let's, let's see this.
Speaker B:So we unloaded his gun, gave him a blue gun, and we're like, all right, I'm gonna charge at you, I'm gonna count to three, I'm gonna charge at you, you gotta draw and put a round on me.
Speaker B:He goes, all right, we'll do it.
Speaker B:Go.
Speaker B:One, two, three.
Speaker B:I charged at him, pulled the gun out and pointed it at the blue gun, pointed at me and pulled the trigger.
Speaker B:And I go, cool.
Speaker B:What didn't you do?
Speaker B:And he goes, what do you mean?
Speaker B:I shot you with this blue gun.
Speaker B:And I was like, no, you didn't wreck the slide.
Speaker B:And he goes, oh, Yep.
Speaker B:Case in point.
Speaker C:I've had ladies that have been.
Speaker C:Been like, I don't want to hold one and I don't want to carry one in the chamber for.
Speaker C:You know, I'm not.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker C:I don't feel comfortable.
Speaker C:I said, you know what?
Speaker C:I don't mind you start there.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:I don't have a problem with you starting there.
Speaker C:But what I do want you to do is when you go to the range, every time that you draw it, you need to rock the slide because that's what you're.
Speaker C:You're practicing.
Speaker C:But I want you to get past that point so where you are carrying one in the chamber so that now you have a different thing.
Speaker C:Same thing with the safety for people who have a. I don't have safeties on my firearms.
Speaker C:So if you're going to have a safety on, even when you place it down, it needs to go off and on, off and on.
Speaker C:Because that's how real life.
Speaker C:That's where it's going to be.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Is in that position that you plan on using.
Speaker C:So continue to do those things.
Speaker C:For sure.
Speaker B:Yeah, I. I did.
Speaker B:I did a shooting competition the one time.
Speaker B:No, it's a class.
Speaker B:I did a class one time and it was a rifle class where we needed a backup.
Speaker B:Just a backup pistol.
Speaker B: like, I'm just gonna bring my: Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:I learned that day that I needed to flick off the safety, and I had never practiced it second round in.
Speaker B:I forgot to flick off the safety.
Speaker C:Ah.
Speaker B:And that teaches you.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:To remember those muscle skills.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And then when you're on a clock or, you know, if something you guys are running and it like, quick, quick, quick, you know, grab your, you know, backup, and you're like, ah.
Speaker C:And that's.
Speaker C:That's the first thing that goes.
Speaker C:Is those little things that you have in practice on a regular basis, you're going to be able to shoot it just fine.
Speaker C:But yeah, that racking that, you know, racking that slide or dropping that safety is going to be those extra things.
Speaker A:All right, it is time for our segment from the Soapbox where we go to the spicier side of the conversation.
Speaker A:Although I must say, um, this.
Speaker A:This episode has been fairly spicy so far, so I'm excited to see where we go.
Speaker A:So throwing it over to you what are the big challenges that you see in the two way space that you would like to see improved so that we can be a stronger coalition together?
Speaker C:Well, I was looking through your notes as well and just talking about being more involved.
Speaker C:And while this is a two way thing, it's not necessarily a two way, but it's just getting involved locally and politically which eventually does lead to our two way.
Speaker C:I think too many people, because I wear very public, very voicey shirts, spicy shirts that, you know, when I travel and people a lot of times say, you know, oh I love your shirt, or, you know, you're bold or whatever.
Speaker C:Well, I tell, and especially when there are people that say, oh, I love that.
Speaker C:I said, well, you need to tell your friends.
Speaker C:Or people say I'm not very political.
Speaker C:And it's like, why not, why aren't you, like, why aren't we having these conversations at the dinner table about politics and religion?
Speaker C:Because we need to have these conversations.
Speaker C:You need to, you need to vote politically, you need to do your research, you need to get involved because all of these things that impact us, you know, you have your local elections where your city, well, they're, they're controlling your drainage, they're controlling, you know, all of the things in your, in your community.
Speaker C:The school controls our taxes and raising our children.
Speaker C:So again, your politicians determines our gun laws and, and fights for us or against us, depending on what state and, you know, area that you live in.
Speaker C:So I, I think my biggest thing is people not feeling the need to be politically involved, even from the lower level all the way up.
Speaker C:That's, I think that's one of my biggest ones.
Speaker C:And I'm very involved in my local Republican women group.
Speaker C:So I go to those meetings.
Speaker C:I'm on the board.
Speaker C:I've been doing it for years.
Speaker C:Yes, I wasn't as active maybe say 20 years ago, but I think it's part of, as we age, you kind of get more mature into the things that you realize that you need to be a part of and paying attention to the news.
Speaker C:My daughters are 26 and 29 and I don't think either one of them watches the news.
Speaker C:They get their news from social media and it's like, well, we know how true that is.
Speaker C:So that's another issue, I guess, is social media not, not allowing all platforms to speak without being censored.
Speaker C:Especially with lasers, laser ammo.
Speaker C:We have, have a hard time doing ads on Google and Bing and all these different things where we can't show guns.
Speaker C:And it's like why not?
Speaker C:Guns can be good for things as well.
Speaker C:So just, those are my, those are my hot topics pretty much.
Speaker A:No, I think it's, it's vitally important.
Speaker A:So often, you know, we want to, to see the fruits of our labor without actually going through the difficulty of, you know, having the conversations, bringing people to the range, being politically active and taking the time to really see what's going on in Congress, in the executive branch, in the courts, and I think even more vitally than at the national level, what's happening at the state and local level.
Speaker A:And it is so important that we understand what's on the line.
Speaker A:You know, we want to see constitutional carry go nationwide.
Speaker A:We want to see the restoration of the second Amendment.
Speaker A:Well, why?
Speaker A:It's because what we want, we want to be able to defend and protect ourselves and, and to be able to enjoy the shooting sports, but we also want for our kids to live in a freer country and society that we have currently.
Speaker A:I think oftentimes that we, especially in the two way space, can spend so much time focused on, you know, the defense that we forget to go on offense and we forget that we're not just trying to protect the status quo now, but we're actively trying to make it so that our, our children and our grandchildren experience a better level of freedom and not one that is, that is stripped away.
Speaker A:And so it's exciting when we have things like our big beautiful lawsuit where we're trying to dismantle the NFA so that we can enjoy more freedom than we've had for almost 100 years.
Speaker A:Because, you know, the NFA has been around for a really long time.
Speaker A:And it's that whole scenario of, you know, the frog in the, in the pot of boiling water.
Speaker A:And so it is incumbent upon us to do everything that we can to ensure that this inalienable right, this natural right is, is not granted by the government, but protected by the Constitution.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:And on that note, I believe the constitutional carry, because I've read some articles about that as well, I find it very, what is the word?
Speaker C:Repetitive Constitutional carry.
Speaker C:We already have the right to, to, to carry, but now we're grant, we're being granted the right to carry without a permit.
Speaker C:It's like, was it, wasn't that in the amendment or the second Amendment in the, in the beginning was saying that we had that right and now we have to be re.
Speaker C:Given that right.
Speaker C:So just very interesting how, how that kind of come out to play and getting that permission back again.
Speaker A:So yeah, it's, it's very weird.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So like I, I'm a big numbers person.
Speaker A:It's just, it's part of who I am and it's, it never ceases to amaze me how many words it takes to create new gun control or to get rid of gun control when at its core we're protecting 27 words.
Speaker A:So it really just shows you how much the legalese has just embedded itself in our society.
Speaker A:Because at the end of the day, it's 27 words that we all understand.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:That, that's in plain language.
Speaker A:And it's, it starts very simply.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker C:It's shall have, shall not be infringed.
Speaker A:Yes, we have the right to keep him bear arms and it should not be infringed.
Speaker A:And it's simple.
Speaker A:It's to the point.
Speaker A:And all of this debating is just really allowed the, the courts and, and the legislatures and, and executive branches for many, many years to add a ton of restrictions to it.
Speaker A:And it's, it's time we start peeling back that onion and peeling it back more aggressively when it comes to that restoration.
Speaker C:When you just get a big old chopper and just chop the heck out of it.
Speaker C:The onion.
Speaker C:Not, not, not the second amendment.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:All I can say is why use many words when few do trick.
Speaker B:Just saying 27 then listen, simple creature here.
Speaker B:Simple, simple, simple.
Speaker C:You said it because I was trying to be nice.
Speaker C:No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker B:No, listen, we learn different.
Speaker C:It's for sure.
Speaker C:Just like just before the segment she'd asked you to do something.
Speaker C:Here you are, we're talking about something else.
Speaker C:I showed my shirt.
Speaker C:We gone.
Speaker C:He's like, what?
Speaker C:Perfect.
Speaker B:It is true.
Speaker B:I'm sorry.
Speaker B:Kristin has said thank you for being a guest on State of the Second.
Speaker B:We have this awesome gift for our guest from AAC Ammo and Palmetto State Army.
Speaker B:So we want to thank AAC Ammo and Palmetto State army for doing that.
Speaker B:We'll shoot you an email after the show to get that handled.
Speaker C:Well, that's awesome.
Speaker C:It was a pleasure being here and thank you guys for having me on.
Speaker C:It was just, just had a good time.
Speaker C:Laughing a lot.
Speaker A:So where can everyone find you on social media?
Speaker A:Do you want to go ahead and plug all of that?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:So basically easiest way is laser ammo.com all the socials are on the website.
Speaker C:If you want to find me personally, you can actually reach out there because I'm the one behind all of them.
Speaker C:Or you can look for WTF Kristen.com that is WTF.
Speaker C:Kristen K R-I S T-E-N.com that is my personal website for women training firearms.
Speaker B:With Kristen that is the best wtf Kristen I'm happy.
Speaker C:That is awesome.
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Speaker B:Make sure to leave a five star review on all podcasting hosts and make sure to grab your ticket today for the Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit Goals happening August 1st and 2nd in beautiful Des Moines, Iowa.
Speaker B:Go to gun owners.orggoals to secure your tickets today and we will see you in Des Moines.
