The Rifleman

Several years ago Melanie Davis began interviewing veterans and collecting their stories in a project designed to preserve the stories of these individual veterans and their struggle to overcome the challenges of transitioning from the military to civillian life and many of whom did so with combat and service related injuries, including PTSD. Melanie's project has been growing and spreading out and is taking her places where she can help American veterans with these transitions. I floated a project to Appleseed a while back hoping we could find local charities to partner with so that we could give back to our communities locally. It did not go anywhere, but, that does not mean you can not get involved and help out in some way by supporting the people who are trying to help others. Before big government took over the role of handing out money to charities and organizations who helped their fellow Americans, American citizens took care of everyone in the country on their own, and at a much better rate. We know what our local charities need and don't need. We are perfectly willing to help out with money, donations and physical and mental labor without anyone taking it out of our paychecks by force. Listen to the show tomight and take a look at the work Mrs. Davis is doing and let it inspire you to help out in any way you can. Be it with LoveYourVeterans.org, or some other charity or support organization in your neighboprhood. You can call in to the show to make comments or ask questrions by dialing 347-308-8790. Hope to see you there! -Scout

Last week we did a show about the recent event held by Appleseed in a Colorado school. And I think the subject matter was important enough that I am continuing with the message this week, following up on that story with a talk to some folks who are working on getting events such as the Colorado School Appleseed mainstreamed. Mary Schow is working on an project called Marksmanship in The Schools and she is going to tell us how we can help to get rifle marksmanship instruction re inserted in American schools. We will also have Rachel Malone, Appleseed Shoot Boss and founder of Texas Firearms Freedom Project She will be talking about her path into shooting, into Appleseed and how she got started with the 2nd Amendment work she is doing to help Texans, and firearms owners everywhere in America, protect their 2nd Amendment rights. The call in number is 347-308-8790 to add your voice to the mix tonight Hope to see you there! Scout

Up until just a generation ago, rifle marksmanship programs were familiar features on school campuses in America. Millions of Americans learned to shoot at school programs taught in school basements, in school gyms and at ranges the schools took school children to as part of their school's marksmanship programs. Then it started disappearing in the 60s, even more in the 70s. By the 80s it had almost vanished. Very few schools remain that have active rifle marksmanship programs. But, that is starting to change. And we can help change it. When I was a kid, everyone I knew had firearms and did at least some type of shooting. Hunting, skeet, target practice and just plinking on evenings and weekends. Even all of the girls I knew growing up knew how to shoot. Now, I live rurally, and of the kids living out rurally today, very few have had any kind of experience, introduction or instruction in firearms and shooting. I imagine the kids in cities have had even less. This poses a very real problem for the future of our 2nd Amendment rights. When these millions of kids, who have never had any involvement in the shooting sports industry become of voting age, they will have no dog in this hunt. To them, having the right to posses or use a firearm means nothing. They have never owned a firearm, never experienced shooting, so what would they miss? Getting rifle marksmanship into the Schools should be a priority for Americans who are concerned about the direction the erosion of our 2A rights has been taking. We should be pushing for a very up front and aggressive educational program for rifle marksmanship in our schools. Jim and Kim Heath, two of the Appleseed Project volunteers have been doing just that and they will be on the show tonight to tell us how to go about getting rifle marksmanship programs into our schools. You can add your voice to the discussion by calling 347-308-8790 Hope to see you there!

Hannibal ad portas, Hannibal is at the gates, Roman parents would tell their misbehaving children this, invoking their fear of Hannibal. We need to be doing the same thing now. Hannibal it seems, is at the gates again. With the current push for gun consfication in Connecticut, we are entering into a very dangerous area. With almost 80% of the states firearm owners refusing to register their firearms and risking having the state start going door to door and confiscating folks arms the state is on the verge of a serious and dangerous situation. Anti gunners yell about pro gun folks resistence to registering their firearms, but this is the exact scenario 2A folks fear. I would like to hear from listeners about their opinions of the current situation in Connecticut. Call in number is 347-308-8790 Hope to see you there! -Scout

Fernando Aguirre, also known as "FerFal" has become somewhat a legend in the Prepping/Survival communities among folks who have read about his troubles and experiences there while he and his family lived through the economic and financial collapse which occurred in Argentina during the depression there in 1998-2002. Many Americans have never heard of the Argentinian Collapse, and some of the others who have think that Argentina was some kind of third world country and that an event like that could never happen in America. However, though Argentina has been suffering through a 60 year cycle of financial and economic ups and downs, with vast natural resources, wealth, science and culture, it is far from being a third world country. And if it can happen in Argentina, it can happen anywhere. Listen to FerFal recount what lead up to Argentina's collapse, what he and his family had to do to survive, while thousands of other Argentinians perished and cities burned. With America printing money as fast as we an spend it and our government leading us into a financial tornado, this could well be a future we may soon experience. The show tonight will be prerecorded since I am having to straddle a six hour time span between Texas and London, so I won't be able to take calls tonight To learn more about Ferfal's experiences in Argentina and his advice on how to prepare for any type of natural or man made disasters, you can purchase his book for Amazon here- http://www.amazon.com/The-Modern-Survival-Manual-Surviving/dp/9870563457 and read more on survival and prepping on FerFal's Blog at http://ferfal.blogspot.com/ To get updates from Rifleman Radio and BattleRoadUSA click on this link and follow the subscription to receive our newsletter, Thanks! http://eepurl.com/AmtFv Be sure and give this a listen! -Scout

We have a ton of chores we need to keep up with as Appleseed folks pushing the mission, promotions, finding new locations close to populated areas, keeping our own training up to standards, learning new skills and teaching techniques, becoming better story tellers, trying to schedule Liberty Seeds and on and on. But one of the most important jobs we will do for Appleseed is to recruit new instructors to help carry the load. I have tried everything I know to make this a success locally and nationally and I could sure use your help in insuring we are doing everything possible to grow our ranks and add new instructors to the Appleseed Instructor Crews. Call in tonight with your ideas and suggestions at 347-308-8790 We will also discuss getting everything ready for planting your spring crops, what to plant, and why your preps should be on a regular schedule. I have been having a bit of trouble with the current email system for the show so I am including a sign up link for a dedicated email service which should do a better job of sending out emails and where you can sign up for additional information on upcoming Appleseed events, BattleRoad events and prepping news and info. You can sign up here http://eepurl.com/AmtFv -it is a mail chimp account so your info is completely safe and no one will get your email from them. Look forward to seeing you guys here tonight 7:00PM CST! -Scout

America has been a country filled with Riflemen at many different points and times in our history. Sometimes more than others, sometimes less. Right now we are less. How do we fix this? How do we make folks understand the importance of Rifle Marksmanship? Join me tonight to discuss the ways we might might best get Americans attention and impress upon them the importance of insuring they are learning these skills and get them to attend an Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship event. We will also cover some of the history of the American Revolutionary War for the month of February and the after action for the BattleRoad 5 Day Combat Tracking course, as well as your weekly reminders for continuing your own individual and family preps. I am including a sign up link for a newsletter where you can sign up for additional information on upcoming Appleseed events, BattleRoad events and prepping news and info. You can sign up here http://eepurl.com/AmtFv -it is a mail chimp account so your info is completely safe and no one will get your email from them. Call in number is 347-308-8790 Please call in to give your fellow Appleseed volunteers a pat on the back on air, and to let us know what you have coming up in your area or after action reports from recent events. Hope to see you there tonight, 7:00PM CST! -Scout

Putting the skills and preparation together

Broadening your perspective, to make good preparation choices. Survival isn't good enough, we want to thrive.

We have covered the battles of Princeton and Trenton before on the show, but I do not think they can be discussed enough. The hardships the Colonials endured and the strength and courage it took to not only to fight in this horrible weather, but just to endure it. No food, little or no clothes or supplies for cold weather. Men marching through the days and night without sleep or in many cases without shoes on their feet. We will also talk about the Forage Wars, and what they meant to the men and women on both sides of the battles. Join me tonight to see how the men who stood together in ranks pushed themselves to make a stand during the hardest days in the American Revolutionary War, and think about how you would fare in those conditions. Hope to see you there! -Scout

We have covered fire before on the show and it is time to go over it again as well as making sure you are working on your first aaid program. When I talk with folks about their fire skills, I will hear people all the time tell me they have flint and steel or fire sticks or bow kits, but when I ask them about the last time they started a fire with them, I get a glassy eyed look and a "not in a while" answer. Fire making skills are like rifle skills. They perish and erode without use and practice. We will also discuss your first aid program. To make sure you are prepared for an event requiring first aid skills you need to be constantly working on your first aid skills and improving your gear. We will also talk about adding new Appleseed ranges to your area. This is something we need to be working on constantly in order to broaden our coverage and to make it easier for folks to decide to join up as instructors. The call in number is 347-308-8790 See you there! Scout

We have spoken many times about the importance of creating and running a dry fire game in order to help you build your rifle marksmanship skills and to maintain them over the year in between visits to the rifle range. Your dry fire game is very important because it does not require you to visit a rifle range in order to work on your skills and techniques, requires no live ammunition or a sunny warm day and is something which can be done on a regular basis at home. In addition we will be talking again tonight about making sure you are working on your water preps. Water is one of the key pillars of survival. You may survive for a month without food, might, but without water you can perish within days. Making sure you have considered this and are figuring out what to you have to do to insure you have water for yourself and your family is an important part of your prep. Please call in with your water prep ideas and your dry fire game advice by calling 347-308-8790 Hope to see you there! -Scout

Join us tonight as we discusss the seeds of The American Revolution. You might think that 1775 was the beginning, but the seeds which eventually grew into revolution and into the birth of a new nation were being sown in the revolutions of 1689 in New York in the colonies. Call in number is 347-308-8790 Hope to see you there! -Scout

After along hiatus off the air, I felt compelled to speak to you. When we were a young nation, with no financial capital and minimal government, we still needed to provide the minimum essential services to keep people safe and secure in their posessions. We had no "tax base" and no government to speak of. We did it through Voluntary Association. As Alexis de Toqueville wrote it" "Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small; Americans use associations to give fêtes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools. ...... Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United States.

Join me tonight for The Rifleman Radio Show, 7:00PM CST with our Guest John Hurth of TYR Group LLC. John Hurth is the founder and CEO of TYR GROUP LLC. John is a retired Special Forces A Team member, Combat Veteran with multiple deployments in support of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and was Lead Instructor for the Army's Combat Tracking School when it was up and running in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. John now spends all of his time either at his school in Louisiana, or out on the road, heading up TYR Group and teaching individuals and groups the science of tracking and teaching tracking teams the skills and techniques needed to work together as a group. Most folks think the science of tracking is an archaic sskill set, and that it is part magic and part voodoo, but tracking is an actual scientific skill and one that is just as valid today as it was 200 years ago. Join us tonight to learn about the science of tracking and why it is a great skill to have in your skill sets tool box. Be sure and call in with any questions you would like to ask John by calling 347-308-8790 and following the call screeners instructions.