Episodes
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Ever wonder what it's like to be one the fittest people in the entire world? Maybe, but have you ever considered what it takes to reach that level, and then transition that status into new endeavors? Well, our own Jeremy Stone visited world-class CrossFitter and Tactical Games National Champion, Jacob Heppner, to find out.
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This episode of the podcast airs from an “undisclosed location” in the Pacific Northwest, probably meaning Washington State and likely near some Sasquatch village.
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Missing episodes?
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It’s podcast time again, and this month Gun Mag Warehouse’s Jeremy Stone sits down with 2-time National Three-Gun Champion Jack Copeland. The podcasts are always fun and informative, and this one is no different. Jeremy and Jack talk about much more than Three-Gun in their hour together. Here’s a brief rundown of their conversation to prime you for the podcast itself. But make certain you give it a listen. These are just the high points.
Jack Copeland is a 2-time Three-Gun National Champion. (jack_3gun Instagram)
Olympic Gold Medals and National Championships
Jack shot his first competitive match at age 14, which, not-so-coincidentally, was the same age he started training with 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist shooter John McNally. Jack has always loved guns and shooting. He had just bought a Glock 17 at a gun show and stopped by McNally’s booth to look at the latter’s upgraded Glock trigger. It came out that McNally offered training and Jack’s Dad made it happen. So, they shot 1,000 rounds every weekend for a year. Awesome parenting, right there, Mr. Copeland.
Jack has competed in many categories, and even joined the US Modified Team at the 2018 Shotgun World Championships in Paris. That’s Paris, France, not Paris, Texas, in case you’re wondering, though the Lone Star version is a nice little town. Jack performed very well, placing 80th in a field of 700, despite getting a “zero” on one stage thanks to an ill-timed squib load. Jack also shot with the Russians and Ukrainians in Paris, and he has some interesting comments on that.
Jack’s favorite category, though, is Three-Gun. He says it’s more exciting. “I want to run through a course of fire and have my rifle slung behind me, and my pistol, and carrying my shotgun.” Jeremy, as a newer competitor, acknowledged Jack’s preference, but also notes how he likes the simplicity and structured setup of Steel Challenge matches.
A Welcoming Community
Jack allows that shooting Three-Gun can be scary at first, but he emphasizes how nice the entire community is, especially compared to what he calls “purist” competition circuits. Not that those circles are complete snobs, but the vibe is different. Jack relates how another competitor once loaned him an $8,000 pistol to shoot a stage when his Glock wouldn’t cycle his reloaded ammo.
(jack_3gun Instagram)
Jeremy agreed that competitive shooters are very welcoming, citing his first Precision Rifle match, where he says most everyone was excited by his interest in their sport. Similar to Jack’s experience, another shooter offered to let Jeremy use his rifle. Great stuff.
Jeremy also talks about the obstacles to entering the sport, saying they are almost always self-inflicted. But that same PRS shooter told him that “There’s always a reason not to start. You can always come up with something that’s gonna stop you. But if you come out here and shoot, people will lend a hand.”
Now that he’s established, Jack says he’s very selective about the matches he shoots. He particularly likes Jerry Miculek’s Three-Gun match. He mentions several reasons why, but a big one is that “It’s a great group of people.”
Jack says he wishes professional shooting paid better (don’t we all). Jeremy notes that most shooters pay for their own gear and equipment, though some stuff is discounted. “They’re not just handing out rifles to guys who want to shoot,” he says. “Ask me how I know.”
The Importance of Quality Training
This part of the podcast kicks off when Jeremy says the time and expense of training also keeps people from entering competitive shooting. “But starting and moving somewhere is better than doing nothing.” Jack agrees, saying he believes in training, even if it’s just a small local course. Do what you can and build from there.
(jack_3gun Instagram)
Jack talks about how he’s worked for several companies, but he always teaches fundamental shooting skills. If you find a course teaching good fundamentals, -
GunMag Warehouse’s Jeremy Stone is back with another entertaining and information-packed Mag Life Podcast. This month, Jeremy sits down with YouTube gun guy and real-life cop, Milspec Mojo. Mojo is widely known as one of the top firearms guys on the internet, especially when it comes to fundamentals. Those fundamentals translate into lightning operations skills, meaning that he’s a good resource to watch if you want to improve your shooting and gun handling.
Milspec Mojo is one of the top gun guys on YouTube. (Milspec Mojo YouTube Channel)
Instagram and Garand Thumb
Mojo started off on Instagram, where he is still very active, but his YouTube channel took off when he started working with YouTube icon, Garand Thumb. As he got further into the training aspect of firearms, Mojo found that he has a knack for teaching. He loves training other people and has developed a style in which he and his friends actually train one another, even if he is the impetus behind it all.
Jeremy agrees, talking about how much fun he had at his earlier session with Mojo and his team. Mojo says it’s important to train with likeminded people who want to get better. Surround yourself with folks like that and you’ll get better. That leads to the experience of everyone training everyone. Jeremy agrees that most people want that kind of situation.
Jeremy observes that not all cops train regularly. Mojo says that it is a problem in the law enforcement community, but he qualifies that by saying he’s not married and doesn’t have kids. If that happens down the road, his priorities may shift.
Mojo also says that, while shooting is an important skill for law enforcement officers, other skills are also very important and maybe even more so. He talks about social skills like talking to people and making your point without sounding like a jerk. De-escalation and talking your way out of a gun fight. Defensive tactics and being physically fit are also big. All those together are probably more important for a cop than pulling a trigger, but he also says that pulling the trigger is a skill that cannot be allowed to lapse.
Mojo has to pay for most of his extra training himself, as do most other cops. (Milspec Mojo YouTube Channel)
Much of the less-than-ideal training can be attributed to budgetary factors made worse by the ill-conceived "defund the police" movement. Agencies simply don’t possess the ammo budget to have cops train properly. If they want extra training, they have to pay for it themselves. Jeremy notes that many departments require cops to provide their own patrol rifle if they want to roll with one. Mojo says he is very fortunate that his agency provides them with some great weapons.
Back to Training
Jeremy returns to his range session and says he enjoyed it because he felt like he learned something and got better. He asks Mojo what he thinks is the best way to know what you’re not good at. He then answers his own question by saying it’s shooting with other people. Mojo agrees and says that shooting on camera helps too.
Those things force you to home in on individual skills to learn where you’re lacking. Mojo says you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, meaning you have to accept that you need improvement and be able to accept and learn from constructive criticism. You have to lose your ego to get better. He has hundreds of video hours that he watches, trying to see what he can do better.
Mojo Doesn’t Shoot Competitively…Yet
Jeremy asks Mojo about shooting competitively, to which Mojo replies that he hasn’t done it seriously. He did shoot a couple of matches, in which he did very well using a stock rifle and a Beretta M9A1 against guys with custom rigs.
Mojo says that he probably should compete, despite some law enforcement criticisms that competition is “gaming” and doesn’t translate to the real world. Mojo says he used to buy into that but has changed his mind. He says he constantly games scenarios at work, -
In this month's podcast, Jeremy sits down with USPSA Grandmaster Hunter Constantine to discuss his meteoric rise in the sport and what it takes to develop and maintain good shooting skills.
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This month, Jeremy had Administrative Results on the podcast to talk about kit, history, and how to be a better man.
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Good instructors, training techniques, mentality, first aid training in firearms classes, and more with Brandon Bridge and Daniel Shaw.
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Otherwise known as Nine Banger and Possum Puncher, these guys from Average Joes Firearms Training Group join Daniel in today's podcast.
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Daniel and Jimmy discuss the story behind Average Joes Firearms Training Group, encouraging beginners to train, gun culture, and more.
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Daniel and Top Shot Dustin Ellerman, a popular 2nd Amendment content creator, discuss social media censorship, training, and more.
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Daniel and guest Mickey Schuch of Carry Trainer discuss firearms training trends, fighting the ego, predecessors, and why we train.
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Daniel and Paul of Grey Man Tactical discuss the company's genesis & latest product offerings. Check out these vehicle seat back MOLLE panels!
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In this episode of The Mag Life Podcast, Daniel visits with Ed Calderon, a former Mexican police agent with extensive experience and understanding of border control issues, drug cartels, and the complexities that exist between the US and Mexico.
Born in Tijuana, Mexico in the 80s, Ed decided to go into police work when he was 21. For over a decade he worked in counter-narcotics, investigation of organized crime, executive protection, and public safety along the northern border of Mexico. Later, he came to the US and is now recognized as one of the world's most preeminent researchers and personal security trainers, offering security consulting, seminars, and private training in anti-abduction, escape and evasion, unarmed combat, unconventional edged-weapon work, and region-specific executive protection.
Together, Daniel and Ed discuss complex issues about the escalation of the Mexican Drug War, foreign gun-running, US intervention, issues of governance and firearms ownership in Mexico (and the parallels in the US), human trafficking, and more.
https://media.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/s/content.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/187_Ed_Calderon_Things_Most_People_Don_t_Know.mp3
Host: Daniel Shaw
Guest: Ed Calderon
Introduction/Timeline: Eric Huh
Ed Calderon is recognized as one of the world's preeminent researchers and trainers in the field of personal security.02:22 Imparting Valuable Skills to Others
Daniel inquiries about the life-saving skills Ed learned on the job while he was active in Latin America and Mexico. Ed’s extensive background in counter-narcotics work has covered escape and evasion—namely, how to:
escape from handcuffs,
manufacture tools for survival,
be armed in non-permissive environments,
look for early warning signs of an ambush in an urban setting, and
understand the social norms in Mexico.
He has brought his in-depth, hands-on experience in the undercover narcotics world to other law enforcement agencies in the United States (FBI, Secret Service, among others) so that they may be better equipped for threats across the border.
06:05 What scares you?
Daniel asks Ed what genuinely scares him. Ed replies that his one fear is to not live without a purpose. Having faced a great many near-death experiences, Ed has become numb to the idea of physical danger. Rather, it is the concept of having gone through what he did and not being able to bring meaning to his experiences.
“You know, people think ‘Hey aren’t you afraid of the cartels coming after you and shit like that?’ If I was I wouldn’t have gone into this line of work when I was 21. So that specific thing doesn’t really… make me lose sleep. What does make me lose sleep is having gone through that whole experience and not making it worth it. Or not giving it some sort of purpose.”
Ed Calderon, counter custody expert.
07:22 What should scare the American public?
Daniel flips the question: “Based on everything you know… what should WE be scared about?”
Ed feels that American public scrutiny immensely neglects the sheer amount of Chinese government influence with Mexican drug cartels, and how their activities are increasingly becoming a threat to national security. He cites that the Chinese have a direct hand in fentanyl supply to cartels, a strong influence in major American industries. He further adds that this is occurring with full knowledge of the Communist Party in China.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación or CJNG) actually managed to grow in size and in influence during the COVID epidemic when all other organizations and institutions halted, due to being able to receive fentanyl shipments. They were able to do so because they had supreme control of the ports that faced the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the Sinaloa Cartel has been smuggling fentanyl from the US, processing this into their product, then smuggling it to be sold into the US. In essence, -
JJ Racaza, one of the greatest competitive shooters in the world, talks with Daniel about marksmanship fundamentals, self-control, and more.
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This week’s Mag Life Podcast brings on a man who needs no introduction (but we’ll give one anyway). Kyle Lamb is a former decorated US Army Delta Force operator, Sig Sauer Academy firearms instructor, writer, and the founder of Viking Tactics. He was made famous by his incredible firearms accessories, training classes, and his military service in Somalia during the events of that inspired the adaptation Black Hawk Down.
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On this episode of the Mag Life Podcast, two warriors formally meet and for a heavy discussion about their war and peacetime experiences. Daniel is joined by Tu Lam, a Vietnamese-American former US Army Special Forces Green Beret, martial artist, trainer, entrepreneur, and TV show host. Known for his tactical gear and training company, Ronin Tactics, he is also known for his on-screen appearance on Forged in Fire: Knife or Death, as well as being featured as a playable character in Call of Duty: Warzone. Tu has carved out a public image of himself as a disciplined modern-day warrior and teacher.
Daniel explores Tu’s unforgiving upbringing as a Vietnam War refugee, his decorated career as a US Army Special Operations soldier, his passion for the martial arts, and his Bushido mindset to find peace during adversity.
https://media.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/content.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/184-Tu_Lam_Finding_Peace_as_a_Warrior.mp3
Host: Daniel Shaw
Guest (usual Co-Host!): Tu Lam
Introduction/Timeline: Eric Huh
02:41 Escaping Death
Daniel asks Tu about his upbringing and what lead him to where he is today. Tu reveals a tragic and violent past, being born literally in the midst of the Vietnam War. Upon the US leaving South Vietnam and Saigon falling, the North Vietnamese forces rounded up the majority of Tu’s family and had them executed. His mother took her children and fled with thousands of others to escape oppression. What awaited the Lam family was more cruelty and suffering as they, along with hundreds of other refugees, were cramped into tiny boats, sailing in the South China Sea.
Upon reaching the coast of Malaysia, they were denied entry into the country. The Malaysian troops cut their motor and left the entire boat of refugees out to die. For 30 days straight, the refugees drifted out with no access to clean water or food. Just as Tu’s mother had given up all hope and contemplated feeding poison to her children to spare them of further misery, a Russian naval supply vessel spotted their boat. Despite being on opposite sides of the war, the Soviet troops showed mercy and saved the refugees by providing food and medical aid. This was nothing short of a miracle made by fortuitous timing. If the war was still ongoing, the Soviets would have been compelled to follow wartime protocol and would have taken the refugees back to Vietnam.
The horrors the Lam family faced, unfortunately, did not end there. The refugees were relocated into a camp in an Indonesian jungle, with no actual facilities or resources. Dead bodies would be regularly found in the jungles near the camp as people attempted to forage and find food. The strength of Tu’s mother was all that held them together.
“[My mother] is my strength… [During that time] there was a slim to no chance that we would have lived. And she goes, ‘I would have rather died than to have lived in fear’”
After a year and a half, Tu’s uncle was finally able to pay for his family to immigrate to the US.
12:55 Living in a Post-War America
One of Tu's earliest memories of living in the states was entering a grocery store in North Carolina with his mother. From living through horrific starvation to suddenly being able to pick any food item of his choice was a culture shock. But post-Vietnam War America was not without its faults. Tu’s entire childhood was riddled with instances of racist encounters and harassment from his white counterparts. The context Tu gives is that the entirety of the Vietnam War was not at all popular in the US, which in turn spawned many racist anti-Asian sentiments.
At eight years of age, Tu experienced bullying from a racist white classmate. One day the situation escalated to where both Tu and his bully were sent to the principal’s office to be reprimanded. The bully’s mother was called in and was informed about the incident. When she turned to speak to Tu, instead of offering any hint of an apology, -
This episide features a one-of-a-kind super-human: Chadd Wright: former decorated Navy SEAL and leader of the 3 of 7 project.
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What new products is Streamlight rolling out in 2021? Listen in and learn about the company's competitive innovation and design principles.
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Listen in as Daniel and Ian Boehm discuss the optics division at Primary Arms, new optics coming out for 2021, and what the future holds.
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Daniel and Jason Henkel dive into ShotStop’s 2021product offerings, the future of the company, and the future of ballistic protection tech.
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