In this episode of Taking Aim, host Rich Nance sits down with CJ Cowan, a Marine Corps combat veteran and the Training Coordinator for the Surefire Institute, to talk about his journey from a childhood spent learning marksmanship fundamentals with his grandfather to route clearance in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, and ultimately into a career built around training law enforcement and civilians alike. CJ and Rich dig into the real differences between training, practice, and competition, why a "gunfighter's mindset" matters more than a match score, the science of myelination and how skill actually gets built in the brain, and the low-light tactics, weapon lights, and red dot fundamentals every serious shooter should understand.

Follow CJ Cowan on Instagram: @cj_cowan_
Learn more about the Surefire Institute: https://www.surefire.com/
Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA
Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction & CJ's Background in Shooting and Hunting
02:57 – Marine Corps Service and Route Clearance in Afghanistan
04:51 – Competition Shooting vs. Training: The Gunfighter Mindset
09:49 – The Science of Skill: Myelination and How the Brain Learns
27:28 – Inside the Surefire Institute: Master Coach and Low-Light Training
39:15 – Weapon Lights, Handhelds, and Low-Light Best Practices
41:55 – Red Dots vs. Iron Sights: Building Automaticity and Speed

In this episode of Taking Aim, host Rich Nance sits down with Casey Starling, a professional BMX street rider who has crossed over into the firearms world through sponsorships with Walther and Geissele, a move that cost him his nearly decade-long partnership with Kink BMX after the brand said it didn't want him mixing firearms content with his BMX career to explore the surprising parallels between the discipline, precision, and calculated mindset required to push the limits of BMX and the focus needed to shoot at a high level.

Follow Casey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CASEYCASED/?__d=11

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

Chapters 

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:55 - Casey's Background & Learning BMX

00:05:03 - Getting Sponsored & Going Pro in BMX

00:12:10 - Mindset: Full Commitment & Parallels to Shooting

00:17:12 - The Kink BMX Controversy & Firearms Sponsorship

00:39:44 - Gear Talk: Red Dot vs. Irons & Wrap Up

In this episode of Taking Aim, host Rich Nance sits down with Brad Fenson, an award-winning outdoor writer and photographer who has written for over 60 publications and co-authored the Canadian editions of the Total Outdoorsman, Total Fishing, and Total Gun manuals. They discuss Brad's childhood roots in waterfowl hunting, the craft of writing a compelling hunting story, and the evolution of bow and crossbow technology. Brad also shares his firsthand experience using red dot optics on dangerous game in Africa and while handgun hunting, emphasizing that consistency behind the trigger matters more than the gear itself. Along the way, he reflects on his podcast, Harvest Your Own, and how his daughters' growing involvement in the outdoors reflects his mission to pass hunting knowledge on to the next generation.

Follow Brad on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/bradfenson/?hl=en

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of Taking Aim, host Richard Nance sits down with acclaimed author Steven Pressfield best known for The War of Art, Gates of Fire, and The Legend of Bagger Vance for a wide ranging conversation about the creative process, the nature of resistance, and what it truly means to turn pro. Steven opens up about his long road to success, not publishing his first book until age 52, and shares the pivotal moment of sitting down at his typewriter one night that changed the trajectory of his life forever. The conversation digs into the concept of resistance as a universal force that sabotages anyone pursuing a meaningful goal — not just writers, but athletes, martial artists and anyone striving to become the best version of themselves. Steven also discusses his latest historical fiction novel The Arcadian, his recent experience losing his home in the Malibu fires, and how continuing to do the work has been the thing that has kept him grounded through it all.

Visit Steven’s website at: https://stevenpressfield.com/

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of Taking Aim, host Rich Nance sits down with John McAdams — West Point graduate, combat veteran, and founder of The Big Game Hunting Blog & Podcast  to explore the unlikely journey from Army deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan to becoming one of hunting's most trusted voices. The two dig into the real lessons learned on dangerous game hunts in Africa, from the humbling experience of missing your first shot to why red dots have a legitimate place on big bore rifles. John also breaks down the biggest misconceptions in cartridge selection and the mental pressure that separates a clean kill from a costly miss.

Visit John Mcadams blog at: https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of the Taking Aim podcast Richard Nance sits down with John Correia, founder of Active Self-Protection, whose YouTube channel has analyzed upwards of 50,000 real-world violent incidents to extract actionable lessons for armed citizens. The conversation covers the nuances of video analysis, the importance of articulation in legal self-defense cases, and Correia's work as an expert witness — including his philosophy that an expert's job is to educate the jury, not advocate for a side. They also dig into training principles, the advantages of pistol-mounted optics, and the gap between hard shooting skills and real-world decision-making under stress. Correia closes with a firsthand account of a home intruder breaking into his Phoenix home in March, walking through what went right, what he'd do differently, and the legal aftermath that followed.

Visit Active Self Protection website at: https://activeselfprotection.com/

Subscribe to Active Self-Protection on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsE_m2z1NrvF2ImeNWh84mw

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of Taking Aim, some of the most impactful conversations from the podcast with renowned firearms instructors like Mike Pannone and Scott Jedlinski, as well former Navy SEAL Andy Stumpf are revisited. Together, they explore the mindset of high performers, discussing what it takes to develop skills, maintain competency, and continually improve under pressure.

From overcoming the fear of failure and embracing the learning process to understanding the responsibility that comes with firearms proficiency, each guest offers practical insights drawn from decades of experience. Whether you're looking to become faster, more efficient, or simply more capable, this episode is packed full of essential firearm knowledge.

Be sure to follow the guests of today’s episode on Instagram at the links below:

Mike Pannone: https://www.instagram.com/cttsolutionsllc/ 

Andy Stumpf: https://www.instagram.com/andystumpf212/ 

Scott Jedlinski: https://www.instagram.com/modern_samurai_project/ 

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of the Taking Aim Podcast, host Rich Nance sits down with Ken Good — Navy SEAL veteran, low light combat pioneer, and founder of Shooter First — to explore the principles behind operating and fighting effectively in low light environments, including the science behind strobe and oscillating light techniques that Ken helped bring into the mainstream. Ken shares his remarkable journey from the SEAL teams and the Sure Fire Institute to designing and manufacturing innovative modular steel target systems in South Dakota, revealing how his decades of end-user experience as a trainer and operator directly shaped every product decision. Whether you are a law enforcement professional, military operator, or armed citizen, this conversation is packed with timeless insights on combatives, force-on-force training, and why understanding the principles behind your tools will always matter more than the tools themselves.

Visit Shooter First’s website at: https://shooterfirst.com/

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of Taking Aim, host Rich Nance sits down with Scott St. Clair — Marine Corps veteran, BJJ black belt, former 14 year law enforcement sergeant and SWAT team leader, and now full time head instructor for Effective Fitness Combatives — for one of the most practically useful conversations the show has produced on what it actually means to prepare officers for the full spectrum of violence they may encounter on the street. The central thesis that defines everything EFC teaches and that Rich has been advocating throughout his own career is simple but radical in practice — firearms training and empty hand combatives are not two separate disciplines but one integrated fight, and the decades long tradition of keeping those worlds in separate silos has produced officers who are dangerously undertrained and who revert to instinct when their choreographed technique based defensive tactics fail against a resisting suspect. Scott and Rich cover an enormous amount of ground including the case for principle based over technique based training built around EFC's five core principles of awareness, mobility, win the angle, manage distance and lastly improvisation, why BJJ is valuable for law enforcement but must be filtered through a law enforcement specific lens with constant awareness of gear entanglement and the need to disengage at any moment, the mechanics of firearm retention and why the flippant response of I will just shoot them off reveals a dangerous misunderstanding of how a real gun grab unfolds, the cancer of tool over reliance and why officers need a plan for when the Taser fails, and the growing importance of competition shooting and sport grappling as pressure testing environments that build hard skills under stress that most agency training never produces. The episode closes with both men expressing genuine optimism that the culture is slowly changing and that the next generation entering law enforcement is arriving more willing to seek out serious training on their own time than any generation before them.Visit EFC Combatives website at: https://www.efcombatives.com/homeFollow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSAVisit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn morePRODUCED BY IRONCLAD

In this episode of the Taking Aim podcast, host Rich Nance sits down with Jeff Siewert, a recently retired ballistics engineer with 40 years of experience and the author of Ammunition Demystified, for one of the most genuinely educational conversations the show has produced. Jeff stumbled into his career completely by accident after returning from 18 months in Saudi Arabia training the Saudi National Guard and landing in a job at an ammunition group in Burlington Vermont that he never left — and the depth of knowledge he brings to the conversation makes it immediately clear why. Rich frames the entire discussion from the perspective of an experienced cop and gun writer who knows what he does not know, which creates the perfect dynamic for Jeff to break down concepts that most shooters think they understand but really do not. They cover the four types of ballistics — internal external intermediate and terminal — with Jeff offering remarkably clear explanations of everything from what happens inside a cartridge case in the milliseconds after the firing pin strikes the primer to the little understood phenomenon of in bore balloting and how the dynamic interaction between a vibrating barrel and a projectile in flight is responsible for far more dispersion than most shooters ever realize. The conversation moves into cartridge case materials explaining why brass remains the gold standard and what steel and polymer cases actually do to your firearm over time before getting into barrel twist rate the gyroscopic stability factor and why most handgun barrels are spinning bullets far faster than they need to be. Jeff shares some of the most fascinating projects of his career including dispersion reduction work on the M855A1 and M80A1 for the military a bizarre 22 rimfire nontoxic bullet that produced two inch groups at 50 yards and two and a half foot groups at 100 yards due to a fundamental aerodynamics problem he identified and solved through computer modeling and his classified but clearly significant work on the 6.8mm Next Generation Weapon System. The episode closes with Jeff discussing his book his ballistics classes at a local Scheels location and the Chin Award he received in 2024 for a lifetime of contributions to the advancement of small caliber weapons and ammunition — and if you have any interest in what is actually happening between the primer and the target this is the episode to save and come back to.

Visit Jeff’s website at: https://bulletology.com/

Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSA

Visit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn more

PRODUCED BY IRONCLAD