Riding Shotgun With Charlie

#225

Charlie Hiltunen III

NRA BOD, NRA 2.0 Candidate

 

Here’s another great interview with one of the NRA Board of Director members and NRA 2.0 Reform Candidate, Charlie Hiltunen III. At the Great American Outdoor Show, I got to meet several of the NRA 2.0 Candidates and set up to film some shows with a few of them. He had some commitments on the morning we filmed and asked if I could get him back so he was able to get to the airport. I told him I could do him one better and take him there. Currently, he’s finishing his first term on the board. 

 

Hiltunen was born and raised in Indiana. He grew up shooting and hunting as part of the midwest family life. He grew up in a time where high schoolers would bring a .22 rifle to school to hunt on the way home. This was a tradition with his father and he wanted to pass it along to his own children. When his kids were old enough, he was instructing and coaching them in the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Program. With all the coaching and working with young people, he thinks he got more from it than they did. 

 

His career was as an attorney working with government affairs, lobbying, and politics. When the traditions he shared as a son and father were at risk, he got more involved in activism. Part of this journey got him involved with the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association. The “family bond in the 2A community became even stronger.”

 

 As an instructor and coach and president of ISRPA, he was asked if he wanted to be a candidate for the NRA BOD. While on a hiking trip in Michigan, he got the message about the offer. When he asked when they needed a bio, they said right away! With his experience as an attorney, lobbyist, and as the president of a state association, it was a great fit! One of his personal goals is to reconnect the NRA with its members, new and old. 

 

The messaging from the BOD members I’ve talked to have all been the same. They want to increase members which will bring back some political clout. They want to focus on safety training, education, and competitions. The board is working more with each other to make the improvements they see fit. They all want to make sure the association stays around for another 150 years. But they do know that getting the message out is going to be a challenge. 

 

Part of the conversation is about permitless carry and training. When Indiana went to permitless carry, there were more people who wanted to get training. Of course, it's needed for responsible gun owners. The need for those without permits is different from a regular licensing course. When the state requires training for a carry permit, that’s often the only thing people take. But when they don’t need a license, they have more practical needs for shooting and training. 

 

We talk about training the women being the largest growing demographic of gun owners. He brought up fellow board member Rick Ector and the event he does in Detroit every year. It is important to get new people to try shooting so that they get that shooting is fun and training and safety are important for everyone. 

 

It is important to vote for all 28 of the Reform Candidates. In the past, people have encouraged “bullet voting” to try and get a message to the board. That method raises only a few candidates and pushes the others down. But this slate of candidates is going to work together to make the changes they think are needed. With more of the reformers on the board, there will be less of the “old guard” who had allegiance to the former EVP. Ballots were sent out in the February issues of the NRA magazines. They’re due on April 6, 2025.

 

It was great to get to know Charlie more during this conversation. I’m looking forward to seeing what the reformers will do and hoping the changes they make will be positive changes for the association. 

 

Favorite quotes:

“There’s so many great people on the board of directors.”

“Change is difficult for any organization.”

“The NRA is not an organization, it’s an organism.”

“If you forget your history, you’re going to lose your future.”

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Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

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