Riding Shotgun With Charlie By cover art

Riding Shotgun With Charlie

By: Charlie Cook: Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Riding Shotgun With Charlie is a aims to entertain and educate people who are into firearms. However, not everything is firearm related. We may talk music or politics or whatever may come up during a conversation between the driver and the passenger.
    RidingShotgunWithCharlie
    Show more Show less
Episodes
  • RSWC #204 Deb Ferns

    RSWC #204 Deb Ferns
    May 28 2024
    Riding Shotgun With Charlie #204 Deb Ferns Women’s Outdoor Media Association The “Olympic Rings” of the gun community are alive and well. At SHOT Show 2024, I was supposed to help Brooke Cheney (RSWC #075) film some video with Deb Ferns. Brooke was able to talk Deb into filming an RSWC with me. But I failed Brooke and got very busy and couldn’t help Brooke. I ended up running around on my last day and making the connection with Matt Mallory to borrow his rental vehicle. (Thanks, Matt! RSWC #096 & 201) Deb is an interesting and busy woman! She didn’t get involved in the shooting sports until she was 45 years old and an empty nester. Her first excursion was with International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). A couple years into it, she connected with Lisa Monson, who is a world class competitive shooter. Lisa offered some help with just about everything Deb was doing. Lisa offered to help Deb at the home range of Kay and Jerry Miculek! That particular weekend, Kay was in the middle of practicing for the World Handgun Shoot. At the end of the weekend, Deb was overwhelmed and didn’t want to leave. She talked with Lisa and Kay and wondered how to get their training out to more female shooters. They told Deb she needed to start a camp and they would teach there. Deb’s background as a corporate meeting planner came in very handy. Brainstorming with others at events like the NRA Annual Meetings, Deb was able to get Sandy Froman to write the foreword for her book, “Babes with Bullets”. Babes With Bullets is the name of the camp where they train women in all aspects of gun ownership. The camps have been empowering women for nearly 20 years! Not only that, the women would go back to their home ranges and pay it forward. They would spread the message to new female shooters. Thousands of women have done this. This is how gun owners get more people involved. Ted and Shemane Nugent reached out to Deb and wanted to host her camp in Michigan. At Ted’s encouragement, he said if she wanted to do something for women, she needed to do it herself. In 2009, she started Women’s Outdoor Media Association (WOMA). Their mission is to train women in shooting, fishing, archery, and hunting. When we filmed the show, Deb was scheduled to go on a hunt with some female veterans. WOMA has a weekend in April where they train women in all the disciplines and they raise money. She said they’ve raised over $300,000 for various groups. Another part of the group’s mission is reaching out to other media to be guests on shows and let people know about WOMA and their doing for female first responders and veterans. Deb tells a story about being interviewed by someone from CNN. The host was trying to get Deb to say something she didn’t want to say. She knew from her media training that they were trying to trip her and she didn’t fall for it. Deb has also been a sponsored shooter with Fiocchi and they sent her to be a Super Senior at the Heavy Metal Three Gun, meaning that she’s shooting .308, 12 gauge, and .45 ACP in competition. She’s the only female in the 65+ age group. For this competition, she had Jerry & Kay as her “roadies” lugging all of her gear. She’s got a great relationship with the Miculeks. At the events, she claims Jerry is her sister, but he denies it. She knows she’s lucky to have them as friends. But most gun owners are great people, willing to help out, and give to others. Maybe let them use some gear if something breaks down. Deb has had lots of great opportunities. She’s made opportunities, too. She’s got Babes With Bullets, WOMA, and she’s empowering and influencing women by the thousands to learn about guns & shooting, fishing & hunting, and all things outdoors related. You’ve got to love and appreciate that. Favorite quotes: “It was amazing to train with all these world female champions.” “What can I do besides Babes with Bullets?” “It was never my intention to be Joan of Arc.” “I felt very blessed that I got to do things that other people didn’t get a chance to do, but I'm more than willing to share those experiences and that knowledge.” Women’s Outdoor Media Association https://www.thewoma.org/ WOMA Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheWOMA/ WOMA Instagram https://www.instagram.com/womensoutdoormediaassociation/ WOMA Twitter/X https://twitter.com/WOMA_the Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/ Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/ Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/ Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/ Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the ...
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • RSWC #203 John Castillo

    RSWC #203 John Castillo
    May 14 2024
    Riding Shotgun With Charlie #203 John Castillo Father of Kendrick Castillo While on a trip to Denver to film some shows, Laura Carno (RSWC #188) introduced me to John Castillo. He’s the father of a hero, Kendrick Castillo, in the truest sense of the word. Just over 5 years ago, there was a school shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Two students decided to attack the school and shoot as many people as possible then commit suicide. They entered in two separate locations. According to one of the students, one of the shooters entered a room and yelled to everyone ‘don’t move’. Kendrick jumped up and attacked one student, while getting shot in the chest. This gave two other students time to jump up and go after the shooter. One was shot with non-life threatening injuries. Kendrick’s injury was fatal. John tells me how he was notified and went to the school. He was texting some other parents, looking for Kendrick. No one saw him. Eventually he made it to the police. There he was able to describe Kendrick and what he was wearing. The officer told him to follow them. They confirmed that Kendrick was shot and died. But John and his wife, Maria, were not able to see Kendrick as his body was at the crime scene. It was several days before he was able to see Kendrick. Just the week before, John and Kendrick were out doing some shooting and training at Front Sight Training Institute in Pahrump, NV. There they learned that the best thing to do is to go after the shooter. Most of the time, the shooter is not expecting someone to fight back. Kendrick knew what he was facing, dying while hiding or dying while fighting and saving others. While in Littleton, I was able to visit Castillo's home. Kendrick’s bedroom is a shrine to him and his bravery and heroism. There are lots of posthumous awards from several organizations. There’s also awards he earned in robotics. There is also a local brewery, Strange Craft Beer Company, that makes a special brew in honor of Kendrick every year. John gave me a can from the most recent batch of “Kendrick’s Ale.” The silver lining is that John and Maria know it wasn’t any of the firearms used that are the reason for Kendrick’s death. It’s the people who wanted to do harm to others before they took their own lives. It’s Kendrick who saved lives and gave his for those people. This hasn’t turned the Castillos into anti gun people. Quite the opposite. They are totally on board with arming school staff. This led to Laura Carno and John connecting. Laura is with FASTER Colorado FASTER has trained a few thousand school staff in over 300 schools around the country. The program isn’t just for teachers. It’s for any school staff- secretaries, custodians, or teachers. The program started with Jim Irvine (RSWC #186) after the Sandy Hook tragedy. It’s been spreading across the country and currently in Colorado, Ohio, and Arizona. The program takes school staff who want to protect students from learning firearm safety and fundamentals, through trauma first aid, and then into responding to active shooters. I’ve been through the Level 1 course in Ohio a few years ago. It was very impressive! The active shooter training for my group was done in a real school when school was out of session. John has been able to go out and speak at various rallies around Colorado talking about how arming school staff. is what needs to be done for the people who want the training and are willing to carry in schools. He does this so other parents won’t have to go through what he and Maria have gone through. They live close to where Kendrick was put to rest. They visit the site everyday. I think it’s time to crack that beer. I’ve been waiting to have it until I put this show out. Thank you for your heroism. Rest In Peace, Kendrick. Favorite quotes: “Mr. Castillo, Kendrick rushed the shooter.” “We discovered FASTER Colorado, which supports having armed school staff.” “He knew what the consequences and the odds if he didn’t act at that moment.” “Mental health threats, or self harm threats, are not the same as a physical threat." “We don’t want his life to be in vain that he just rushed a shooter and it was over. There has to be more to it than that.” FASTER Colorado https://fastercolorado.org/ FASTER Saves Lives https://fastersaveslives.org/ Denver 7 News recent story https://www.denver7.com/follow-up/nearly-70-000-donated-to-construct-memorial-to-2019-stem-school-shooting-hero Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/ Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/ Dennis McCurdy Author, ...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • RSWC #202 Paul Kirchner

    RSWC #202 Paul Kirchner
    Apr 30 2024
    Riding Shotgun With Charlie #202 Paul Kricher Artist & Author, Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad I’ve seen the book “Jim Cirillo’s Tales from the Stakeout Squad” online for years. It’s always been very expensive, often selling for $250. I saw that Alex Sansone, The Suited Shootist, (RSWC #162) was suggesting that folks buy the book no matter the cost. Well, I started hunting for it. I found a copy at GunBroker for $30 with shipping. I messaged the seller asking if it was a pdf of the book. Well, I found gold! Paul Kirchner, the author, was selling the book on GunBroker. Not only that, he lives about an hour from me in Connecticut. We talked and set up to film a show after I read the book. Not only has Paul written the book about Cirillo and the SOU, he’s penned a several other books including “The Deadliest Men” and “More of the World’s Deadliest Men”. He’s also a comic book artist with several credits to his name.. And he’s done the drawing in several of Jeff Cooper’s books, including “To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth” and several others. I headed down to Connecticut to Paul’s house on a trip that was bringing me to Virginia. Paul invited me into his office. It was what I would expect: a drawing table, lots of art gear all around the studio. He had some copies of his books, both of his comic books and his other books. We talked for about an hour to get familiar before we headed out. Paul studied art in New York and didn’t want to be a fine artist, he wanted to do comic books. After a few years in art school, he found a gig and took it. He eventually moved to Connecticut while working in New York. During his nearly 2 hour commute, he decided to read books about real life heroes. This led to him writing “The Deadliest Men” covering people like Alexander the Great, Geronimo, Andrew Jackson, and Wild Bill Hickok. He had a hard time finding a publisher but Paladin Press thought it was exactly what their readers would want. They wanted another book, which is “More of the Deadliest Men Who Ever Lived”. The second book was about more contemporary men. Paul had the chance to interview some who were still around. One of the folks was Jim Cirillo, former NYPD member of the Stake Out Unit. Spending hours on the phone with Cirillo, Paul decided that Jim was worth his own book.Cirillo had his own book, “Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights” which covered several of his stories. Paul wanted to make a serious book about Jim. Paul and Jim became good friends through these calls. Jim was retired from law enforcement and training, but wanted to get together with Paul for some social hangout time. Unfortunately, Jim’s life was taken in a car accident and they never met. Reading the book, in my mind’s ear I heard what I assumed someone from NYC who was a police officer sounded like. Paul also had a close connection to Jeff Cooper. He ended up doing several drawings for Cooper’s books like “To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth”, “C Stories”, “Another Country”, and “Principles of Personal Defense”. He said he’s got a pile of handwritten letters from Cooper that is about 8 inches high. Paul shared several amazing stories about Jim, Jeff, and some of the people that are associated with them. He confirmed what we know, that gun owners are the best people. We’re just like everyone else. I’m really honored to have his stories and that he gave me some time. These stories need to be written down and preserved for the future. You can find Paul’s books on GunBroker.com. His username is “stayingamused”. I’ve got copies of a few of the books and I’m looking forward to reading them. Favorite quotes: “I think he (Cirillo) realized that I was trying to write a serious book. And that he kind of switched gears from the storytelling to trying to nail down what really happened.” “He (Cirillo) imparts a lot of wisdom from his experience.” “I am fascinated by people whose lives and experiences are so much different from my own.” “He (Cooper) said ‘Whatever you have done, whatever you have experienced, if you do not write it down, it will one day be as if it had never happened’.” Paul Kirchner Website https://www.paulkirchner.com/ GunBroker.com https://www.gunbroker.com/a/feedback/profile/2175461 to buy Paul’s books Second Amendment Foundation https://secure.anedot.com/saf/donate?sc=RidingShotgun Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms https://www.ccrkba.org/ Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts & hoodies, stickers & patches, and mugs at the store! http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/ Dennis McCurdy Author, Speaker, Firewalker http://www.find-away.com/ Self Defense Radio Network http://sdrn.us/ Buy a Powertac Flashlight, use RSWC as the discount code and ...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr
Comedy & Humor
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available