Bennie Cooley is a 3 Gun National Champion many times over. He also competes in the PRS (Precision Rifle Series) and NRL Hunter competitions. A man of the mountains, he excels at these outdoors, long-range rifle shooting challenges. Bennie has also worked at the Department of Energy on their SWAT team and trains most of the Tier 1 units. Besides being a passionate competitor, Bennie also enjoys teaching people about self-defense and has a common-sense approach to gun choices and tactics. In this episode, Bennie shares the following tips:

–Why an AR15 is the best bedside gun for home defense.

–Why we can't understand time and the pressure it puts on the mind.

–How he used his long-range shooting skills to get better at close-up targets.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Bennie's Instagram

Les Kismartoni is a phenomenal competitive shooter. Just don't give him a hot dog with ketchup on it! He is from Chicago where good hotdogs have other accessories like pickles, mustard, and relish. That being said, Les is a Distinguished Master in IDPA and a Grandmaster in USPSA, which means the boy can shoot. His gun of choice is a Beretta 92 from Langdon Tactical and he shoots both iron and red dot sights. Like me, he prefers the irons. Les just won the South Florida Defensive Challenge and explained in this episode how he got started in IDPA which was a challenge living in Chicago. Also in this episode, Les throws out these nuggets:

–Why he still closes one eye while shooting iron sights and why that works.

–What he learned training with world champion Eric Grauffel.

–What is the best type of pizza to get in Chicago!

Watch this podcast on YouTube @FirearmsNation

Links to train with Les: Instagram Profile

Do you want to be the best competitive shooter, soldier, and protector? I was lucky to sit down with Matthew Little who is not only a former Army Special Forces veteran, a former Chicago police SWAT officer, and a competitive shooter but the author of an exciting new book. It's called, "The Way is in Training" and it covers everything you need to know about shooting and more! Grappling, low-light engagements, and breaching are all part of this epic read. Matt shares important insights like:

–How to throw away bad habits and learn better shooting with competition.

–Why you should set up drills based on problems you need to work on.

–Why he hates the press out presentation and what works better.

Go sign up for Matt's training courses here:

Grey Beard Actual

And buy his book here (affiliate link)

Amazon: "The Way is in Training"

Larry Correia is not just a NY Times Bestseller or sci-fi fantasy writer, but he is also a huge advocate for the 2nd Amendment. Larry has been involved with firearms for over 30 years as a firearms instructor, competitive shooter, and gun store owner. Recently, Larry felt the need to write his new book "In Defense of the Second Amendment" as an educational book for both gun owners and folks that hate guns. In his book and on this podcast, Larry debunks all the arguments that befall the average gun owner, especially after a horrible shooting. The media and social birds come out and attack the 2nd Amendment with gusto, but Larry takes all the arguments on and provides salient responses for them. This is a must-have book!

Links mentioned on the show:

Monster Hunter Nation

"In Defense of the Second Amendment" Amazon affiliate link

Yong Lee is back dropping more knowledge bombs in 2023. Yong is a 5 division grandmaster shooter in USPSA. He recently retired as a 30-year veteran police officer, swat operator, and firearms instructor from his department. Now, Yong is traveling to other police departments teaching their instructors and officers how to shoot a gun with a red dot.

In today's episode, Yong covers:

–How to bump fire your finger to get fast splits.

–Why new shooters are the easiest to train.

–How to make kinesthetic connections with your sights.

You can follow Yong on Instagram here:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch the live stream of these podcasts and join in the conversation. @firearmsnation

Christian Sailer won the 2022 IPSC World Shoot in the Open Division. He is 22 years old. How did he do it? Christian started shooting when he was a "short" kid of 13 when his mom took him to the range the first time. He then started competing and learned what it took to win a match. Through his extreme passion and goal setting, Christian went on to win Area Championships and then National Championships. The one goal he wrote down years ago was to win a World Championship. He did…

What are some of the things Christian did?

–He is an extreme goal setter, defining how to achieve each aspect of the goals.

–Christian felt confident at the first stage of the World Shoot, and knew it would go well for him.

–Christian has humility and respect for his competition but always knew the trophy was his.

You can follow Christian on Instagram or on his YouTube channel.

Keith Garcia is a 3 Gun champion. He made a name for himself winning the 3 Gun Nation championship back when "they" allowed it to be on NBC Sports. Keith always distinguished himself as a very fast and efficient shooter with a pistol, rifle, and shotgun. Keith also retired from a long career as a police officer and firearms instructor. In this episode, I catch up with Keith at the 2023 SHOT Show and we talk about his new venture as a full-time firearms instructor.

Topics we get into on the show:

-What is the latest and greatest products being released at this year's SHOT Show including a NEW trigger system from Glock (about time…)

-What kind of focus does a shooter need with both iron and optical pistol sights?

-What he would tell his younger self to focus on when he first learned how to shoot.

Links to Keith:

https://www.instagram.com/keithgarcia_3gun/

Dave Benton also known as "Boon" was one of the Global Response Staff of the CIA working in Benghazi during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2012. During that attack, Dave and his partners attempted to rescue the US Ambassador and defend the CIA Annex while completely outnumbered. This account was told in the book "13 Hours" as well as the great movie of the same name. Sarah Adams also worked for the CIA as a Targeter and was in Benghazi leading up to that fateful day.

Many years after that attack, Dave and Sarah decided to write a book not only explaining what led up to the attack but also started a cold-case investigation into all the terrorists who perpetrated the attack and provide a detailed dossier on each of them.

Points from the podcast:

-Dave explains how training was the best preparation for dealing with the attack and their response.

-Dave and Sarah break down what led up to the attack on the US Consulate and why the media and Obama Administration covered it up.

-Dave and Sarah share how we need to be prepared for more attacks in the future since we have given up on Afghanistan and now it's back to being a safe haven for terrorists.

What does it mean to train to "obsession, dedication, and madness"? 4 time grandmaster practical shooter Yong Lee says it took him to train six days a week, 2 hours each day to make GM. Yong is a retired police officer, SWAT team member, and firearms instructor. Yong also competes in USPSA as a grandmaster in 4 divisions. In this episode Yong explains:

-What it takes to go from a C-class shooter to GM.

-Why his dry fire practice is the same speed as his live fire practice.

-How he developed eye speed in order to compete at a higher level.

If you would like to see this interview, watch it on YouTube @firearmsnation.

Eric Grauffel is now a 9 time World Champion. There is no one like him in shooting sports. He has dominated practical shooting for over 20 years. What makes him so special? Why does someone consistently win? Is Eric ever going to lose? I was able to talk with Eric at his new training academy and range in France, over the internet.

In this episode Eric talks about:

-How he prepared for the World Shoot.

-How to get ready for any match.

-What makes a winner.

If you want to see this episode, watch the podcast on YouTube.

Links mentioned:

https://eg-czacademy.teachable.com/ Eric's online course.