TFB Behind the Gun Podcast

Tom Willingham, founder and CEO of Range USA, joins TFB's Behind the Gun to talk about how a career in commercial real estate turned into building the largest indoor gun range and firearms retail chain in the country. Tom opened the first location in Blue Ash, Ohio in 2012 at age 51, after a bad first experience at a gun shop convinced him the industry needed a more welcoming, mainstream retail approach. We trace that growth from a single Cincinnati-area store to 51 locations across 14 states, including the company's newest opening in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and talk about what staying rooted in Ohio still means for Range USA's culture as it keeps expanding nationwide.

Follow Range USA:

• Online Store

• Instagram

• Monroeville location

Dan Wolgin of Ammunition Depot returns to TFB's Behind the Gun to talk about AmmoVault, the company's new reserve-and-storage service that lets shooters buy ammunition over time, have it held in a climate-controlled facility, and ship it whenever they're ready. We also dig into Ammunition Depot's new partnership with the NRA, which adds a checkout donation option funding NRA and NRA-ILA litigation, and get an update on Rhode v. Bonta, the long-running challenge to California's ammunition background check law where Ammunition Depot has been a plaintiff from the start. The case is now before the full Ninth Circuit following March 2026 oral arguments, with a ruling still pending.

Follow Ammunition Depot:

• Instagram

• AmmoVault

Martin from FALCO Holsters joins TFB's Behind the Gun to talk about the company's 1989 founding in a small Slovakian garage, where it got its start making falconry gloves before growing into one of the most recognized custom holster makers in the world. We trace that history back to founder Ivan Kovac, a forestry teacher who started sewing gloves for his students' falconry classes, and talk about how the shop's home in the Štiavnica Mountains still shapes the way FALCO builds holsters today. Martin also gives us a first-hand look at gun culture in Slovakia, a country that spent decades under communist Czechoslovakia and landed on a system with more parallels to the US than most countries in the rather gun-unfriendly European Union.

Follow FALCO Holsters:

• Instagram

• YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czuchJUdnX4

Aryan, known online as Mocka or @mockashoots, joins me on this week's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun for a conversation about competitive shooting, content creation, and what it's like owning and shooting firearms as a civilian in the UK. We talk through his background across his competitive shooting career, then dig into his other, newer role in the sport: commentary. Aryan has breathed some new life into shooting sports in the way of live commentary for major matches, including Polenar Tactical's Lynx Brutality, and has real opinions on what's missing from most shooting-sports commentary compared to how other sports handle the play-by-play.

Follow Mocka:

• Instagram
• YouTube

In this episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, I'm happy to welcome Evan Murdoch, founder of Murdoch & Co, the first company producing a fully stamped, one-to-one semi-auto version of Britain's L85/SA80 in the United States. Evan grew up in England wanting to own an SA80 of his own, and when he couldn't buy one, he built one instead, founding Murdoch & Co in 2022 and working with Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, to verify the EM-85 against original service rifles.

We dig into the EM-85's use of genuine Ministry of Defence and Enfield-made parts, why that scarcity caps the Collector Series at 100 rifles for $12,000 apiece against a $4,500 base EM85A3, the engineering fixes addressing the SA80's early reliability problems, the A1, A2, and A3 configurations tracing the rifle's real service history, and where Murdoch & Co is headed next with Cadet and Light Support Weapon variants in development.

• Murdoch & Co website: https://murdochandco.com

• Murdoch & Co on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murdochandco

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, Russell Phagan — founder of FAST and a longtime fixture of the Brutality match series — joins us again to talk about FAST's newest addition: the Auto-Rifle Division. It's the first division of its kind in a mainstream two-gun series, built specifically for NFA machine guns and FRT-equipped rifles, with belt-fed and heavy-barrel setups finally getting a place to compete. We get into how the division came together, what equipment and stage requirements competitors need to know before showing up to the Parma, Idaho debut this October, and what it says about where practical shooting competition is headed now that FRTs have cleared federal court.

Learn more:

• KE Arms: https://www.kearms.com
• XTech Tactical: https://www.xtechtactical.com
• Red Right Hand: https://redrighthandllc.com
• FAST Matches: https://www.fast-matches.org

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, we sit down with Derrick Ratliff, founder of Horizon Firearms and VP of Kaspar Outdoors — the same conversation that started on the range at this year's Relentless Rifleman. Derrick's name is tied to the .22 Creedmoor and a reputation for custom long-range rifles, but Horizon is just the entry point into a bigger operation that includes iota Outdoors and, through Kaspar, brands like Circle Y Saddles. We get into how the .22 Creedmoor came to be, what it's like running a saddle company and a precision rifle company side by side, and Derrick's read on Relentless Rifleman as a first-time competitor — plus what it's actually like to talk shop with the guy who built the rifle you're about to shoot a match with.

Learn more:

• Horizon Firearms: https://horizonfirearms.com

• iota Outdoors: https://iotaoutdoors.com

• Kaspar Outdoors: https://www.kasparoutdoors.com

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, we sit down with Ian and Will of Stuff & Things Inc. (STIncUSA) — familiar faces from TFBTV's GunCon coverage, now getting the full interview treatment. This one's a behind-the-scenes look at how a small outfit like STIncUSA came together and how they operate: the origin story, the day-to-day of designing and building products most companies wouldn't bother with, and how they've turned that approach into some of the more talked-about releases in the firearms space. We also get the first real details on their still-early ST-579 — a modular, serialized chassis/lower design in 5.7x28mm and .22 variants that they've been showing in prototype form at GunCon. If you've only seen their gear in action, this is the conversation that explains how it gets made and what inspired all of it.

Follow Stuff & Things Inc.:

• Website: https://stincusa.com
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stincusa
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Stuff-and-Things-LLC-100076393565629/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuffandthingsinc/

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, we welcome back Jonathan Wild, founder of Wild Arms Research and Development, to talk about his newest venture: Wild Arms Solutions. Johnny built his name on meticulously researched DIY launcher builds and the companion books that came with them — now he's taking that expertise into military contract work, developing drone-threat countermeasures through the new outfit. We dig into how that opportunity came about, what skills transfer from replica weapons research to active defense programs, and what he's able to tell us about where counter-drone technology is headed.

• Wild Arms on YouTube
• Wild Arms on Instagram

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast, I'm happy to welcome back Harrison Benson, founder of Double Tap Coalition, a USCCA-certified firearms training organization based in Stockbridge, Georgia. Harrison and Double Tap's mission is straightforward: educate, train, and empower responsible gun owners of all backgrounds and skill levels, from first-time shooters to those looking to sharpen advanced skills.

Since his last appearance in episode 175, Harrison has been busy. Today we talk about his new range facility, how his training resume has grown, and he shares some candid thoughts on the current state of the training market, including what gear he's seeing students show up with and what that says about where the industry is headed.

• Double Tap Coalition: https://www.doubletapcoalition.com

• Double Tap Coalition on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doubletapcoalition