Podcast of the Week: Handgun World Show

The Handgun World Show, www.handgunworld.com, is a podcast hosted by Bob Mayne, who is a man after my own heart. He’s not law enforcement, not military, not a firearms trainer, he’s just a regular guy who likes guns.

Why does Bob carry a gun? Because he can’t carry a cop.

Handgun World is a fast paced mix of information, reviews, competition advice, interviews, and general gun stuff. Bob Mayne is a salesman living in San Antonio, and his sales territory covers a lot of central Texas. So, he gets to record a lot of his shows in the car. I admit I may steal his idea some day.

I just discovered his podcast, and I must say I’ve enjoyed every episode. Bob is a big fan of the Glock 19, but he’s not afraid to air episodes about other guns. Since he competes regularly in IDPA, a lot of his shows cover competition, practice, and lessons learned. He also shares a lot of practical information on concealed carry, which makes sense, given his line of work and his background. He recently did a show on concealed carry for business that I found very informative.

He has also interviewed a lot of firearms trainers. I especially enjoyed his interviews with Gabe Suarez, and with Suarez International trainers Don Robison and Jon Payne.

The Handgun World Show is available for subscription on iTunes, and it’s a welcome addition to my afternoon rides.

Podcast of the Week – The New Shooter Podcast

As you know, I’m always on the lookout for gun podcasts to make my 1-hour-plus commute tolerable. A new one I recently came across is the New Shooter Podcast, on the interwebz at www.newshooterpodcast.com, and on Twitter at @newshootercast.

Nick is the host, and he is what he says, a new shooter. He came to shooting recently, and decided to share that experience with the rest of us through the podcast medium.

So far, Nick has posted five episodes, and I’ve enjoyed all five. He starts, as a lot of gun podcasts, with a list of what he’s done with guns (an admitted homage to the Gun Dudes), news, and email feedback, then he moves into a main topic.

Topics have been varied. The first episode was a very interesting interview with a documentary filmmaker about her latest project, a film called A Girl and a Gun. Other topics included how to teach first time shooters, and the Zombie Shooters Association, which I reviewed some time back.

Nick’s style is easy and enjoyable. He presents a good amount of information on his topics. His interview style isn’t as polished as a TV new anchor, but he’s as good as most other podcasters, and I like it.

The New Shooter Podcast is a welcome addition to my iTunes subscription page, and to my commute. Thanks, Nick!

Love The Smell of New Podcast in the Morning

Smells like . . . victory.

The Rimfire Podcast was my morning drive today, and I was impressed. Host Ken Kowalski dispensed with the whole “this is why I started this podcast” explanation, and even the “this is what a rimfire cartridge is,” and jumped right into a meaty subject, .22LR caliber AR-15 conversions. He covered two options, a .22LR bolt swap, and a complete dedicated .22LR upper. You’ll have to listen to his podcast to find out which one he recommends.

You can listen online at http://therimfirepodcast.com or subscribe via iTunes. The podcast has a Facebook page as well.

I look forward to future installments.

Podcast of the Week – the Gun Dudes

Carl, Stan, Tom, and Travis are four UPS drivers in Utah who share a love of shooting. They get together once a week and share that love with us as the Gun Dudes Podcast. For me, they are my Tuesday drive to work.

Imagine four good friends at a barbecue, eating meat sandwiches, cutting up, and talking about guns. That’s what this show is like, a sometimes irreverent mix of serious talk and general horsing around. Along the way they share some really good information, things they have used and they know work.

Now, I admit that this podcast took a while to grow on me. Sometimes the fooling around almost gets in the way of the real show, but they always come back to the topic. Somebody is almost always fiddle with a gun, and you can hear them racking the slide, working the cylinder, or handling the guns some other way. Sometimes there is a secondary topic going on with a couple of the guys. And there is always sarcasm and endless needling of each other, especially of the one or two of them who aren’t on this week’s show.

Because there are things they always do right, I keep coming back. They all shoot IDPA so there is a recurring focus on competition, training, and practice. Some of them are Glock guys, and they actually published the first Gen4 to Gen3 conversion chart I could find. They are also involved in Scouting so they talk a bit about training new shooters.

The show starts with the question, “What did you do this week with guns?” and each of them tells about their week. Then there are segments with news, emails to the show, and “Missfire Awards,” a round-up of miscues and gaffes, usually ending in a bad guy captured or worse. They always urge listeners to join the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, and US Concealed Carry Association.

In addition to the regular segments, there is always a topic of the show. Some topics have included dry fire practice, IDPA competition, becoming an IDPA Safety Officer, taking new shooters, and various training classes they’ve taken. They also publish some videos of segments on the podcast, and they maintain a Facebook page as well.

I get a lot out of this podcast, and yes, I find myself laughing at a lot of what happens, and wincing at some of it. But despite the shenanigans, there is a lot of good information in this hour, and it’s time well spent for me.