On this week's 2nd Best Gun Podcast, we got to hang out with the president of Maxim Defense and find out all the company lore, which may or may not include ninja grappling hooks. Maxim started with just one employee in 2014 —Michael Windfeldt, who is still at the top of the ever-growing company a decade later —and we find out how this small shop became a household name and one of the biggest disruptors in the industry. Here are some timestamps if you want to jump ahead:

00:15 Grand poo-bah
01:01 Florida roots, DPMS water
03:15 PDW/CQB demands, Gemtech and JP Rifles
05:20 10x10 basement booth at SHOT '16
07:45 Right place and right time to pick up a suppressor R&D team
10:20 Pivoting
12:15 Vacuums and Silicon Valley proving ground
14:00 Ninja Warrior Enterprises
17:20 How it all comes together
22:45 Brace yourself
25:30 From idea in the morning to prototype in the afternoon
29:05 PDX pistol will be big for 2026
30:01 Maxims are becoming plot points in TV shows
32:20 Pushing the envelope on two-stamp guns
41:15 New cartridges offer challenges that are worth it

On this week's 2nd Best Gun Podcast, we had a sit-down with GunTuber Johnny Q and dug into his backstory – which is surprising.If you don't already know, Johnny Q has millions of followers on YouTube, but the journey of how he got there is interesting and brings up the overall question of why we buy guns.Here are some timestamps if you want to jump ahead:

0:15 Kind of a big deal. (That started with spin art)
1:40 3 million followers in two years
2:02 Putting on the badge
3:40 "Good question..."
4:30 The flashlight guy
5:20 It's all in the shorts
6:10 People just do not like O-lights (no matter what Ben thinks)
8:20 Let the hate flow through you
11:30 We used to be on YouTube
14:20 The three "Es."
16:30 Why do we talk guns? Philosophy of Pew ensues.

How the ideal firearm worthy of your daily routine has developed over time is the subject posed to our in-house EDC nerds on this week's 2nd Best Gun Podcast. Alexander and Chris sit down in the studio to weigh in on how the human-packable gattable has evolved.

Here are some timestamps if you want to jump ahead:

0:40 The Great Equalizer
1:30 Ugg and M'gugg were strapped (all the time)
3:40 Something about their person
5:15 Better than a sharp poke in the eye
5:59 Enter Mr. Browning with all the ACPs
8:50 All about status
9:40 Running rabbits, lemon squeezers, and $2 pistols
12:01 Thunderstruck flappers
14:02 Keep those packages coming, folks
15:00 How it was done on the Continent
18:20 The American way
21:00 It's so...small
23:20 Ugg and M'gugg pop back up
24:58 Alex really likes Mel Gibson
26:25 EDC has become a personality
29:05 Junk Sacking it
30:30 Embigging the EDC

How best to clothe and feed your favorite light machine gun is the subject of this full-auto heavy installment of The 2nd Best Gun Podcast.

00:34 "Like" in the Last Samurai, right?
02:20 Those pesky Danes
04:50 Banana War escapades
05:20 Three Germans walk into a BAR...
07:22 These LMGs are meant for walking (fire)
08:30 That's me Bren gun!
09:50 Alex nerds out on commie guns or something
10:40 I want my Stoner 63
12:10 FN makes a convertible
13:00 HK for the win, but does it come with crayons?
14:30 It feels awkward now
17:40 Slowing down those LMGs
19:30 The duel continues

Join Chris and Alexander for a tour through history as they discuss their favorite guns from the World War II era.

01:10 Also-ran guns
03:20 Super sleeper guns
05:40 Paging Mr. Johnson...
07:01 Chicago typewriters
07:40 H&R does SMG
11:01 Marlin's unsung sub gun
13:21 Again, Mr. Johnson...
17:39 They just loved those little guns, man
22:40 Vut about a side-loading 8mm machinegun, ja?
25:15 The Ikea rifle
26:50 The 11mm 1911
29:45 Don't count out the French
33:20 From the Vatican to the Viipuri front

On this episode of the 2nd Best Gun Podcast, Alexander and Chris sit down to argue about the need and place for new calibers on the market. With cased cartridges available for over 200 years – Swiss gunsmith Jean Samuel Pauly is generally credited with inventing the first fully integrated self-contained cartridge in 1812 – literally hundreds of calibers have come and, in many cases, gone. So, is anything left to be created?

00:30 Somebody thinks there's room.
05:10 What's a gun's lifespan?
06:20 Does it really not get any better than 9mm?
09:23 The everlasting people's champ!
11:42 It just seems like everything old is new again
12:55 You have to have the guns to use it!
14:20 Buy...why?
15:15 The secret sauce (unlocking the coefficient)
17:40 Making your way uphill to acceptance 
20:01 Awaken the sleepers
22:50 Forced to reload
25:02 Moving forward

The guys sit down to talk about the stubby guns that some people love, some people hate, and some people just love to hate on. Bullpups undeniably have a place in the world of defensive guns, even hunting and precison guns can make a case, but where people stand on those issues couldn't be more polarizing.

We're here to talk about some of the bullpups we've been shooting lately and to break down all the pros vs cons. 

1:03: The 10,000 ft view on bullpups
3:59  No, the AUG was not the first
7:10 The Great British hype
10:55 Downsides of the 'pup
17:07 Moving away from the 'pup
18:08 Yet the innovation, the innovation, man
20:12 Are bullpups over?

On this episode of the 2nd Best Gun Podcast, Alexander and Chris sit down to talk about that seemingly unkillable of firearms actions: the lever action "cowboy gun." As American as the chili dog and Rocky road ice cream, the lever gun is over 175 years old and should be obsolete, but has instead become an enduring classic that has, perhaps, never been more popular. 

01:00 It's all very, very American
03:10 More deer shot at...
03:45 The Gunsmoke effect
06:10 Remlins in the mist
07:08 Ruger enters the game
09:35 Smith "returns" 
12:05 No slouch in home defense
13:10 The quiet game 
15:40 Just good, wholesome, plinking, man
18:45 The lever-vantage!
21:08 You aren't shooting your grandpa's lever gun ammo

On this episode of the 2nd Best Gun Podcast, Alexander and Chris sit down and hash out what they feel are the worst guns they have come across in their travels. The guys have been in the business for a minute, so they have seen a lemon or three. Ironically, some of these are so bad they are cool, and have become wildly collectible and sought-after. And remember, this is all in the eye of the beholder.

1:28 I mean, they gave them 2 (TWO) for free
3:06 But it was only $69 for a brand-new pistol
6:05 Pot metal is still a type of metal, right?
7:03 There's no terrible milsurp guns, are there?
8:37 "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could..."
10:15 Greatness from small beginnings
11:56 Plummer's dream
14:40 I blame Jurassic Park
15:30 Beautiful, but mechanically suspect
16:40 The Faygo Cola of 1911s
18:13 The gun everyone loves to hate
20:20 A pain-bringer is a whole different thing

On this episode of the 2nd Best Gun Podcast, Alexander and Chris sit down and talk about their favorite historical burp guns. Pistol-caliber submachine guns have over 100 years of history, pre-dating the NFA by a generation, and the guys are true fans. Uzi does it!

0:18 You want I should go get a Babka, huh? Maybe a submarine sandwich?
1:50 Why the sub gun?
4:50 Failure to learn from history
8:10 Handguns kinda suck
11:30 Bringing too much gun
12:15 Bridging the gap
13:30 I'm not going to not shoot a sub gun
13:50 MP40 love
14:30 Craftsmanship goes right out the window
15:20 Bicycle workshop STENs
16:20 Can we please get a 7.62x25 Renaissance?
17:50 Cold War Classics
18:30 The downfall of the SMG
20:10 With great conflict comes great regression
23:01 Millions and millions of little mushroom men...
24:40 Is the PCC the SMG we have at home?
26:00 Do you need a mustache to run that gun?
27:20 Oddball favorite sub guns