Open Source Defense

Joe Fox and Cameron Toor are the founders of ShotPay, where they're building payment infrastructure for the shooting, hunting, outdoor, and tactical industry. 0:00 - Introduction 3:57 - The Genesis of ShotPay 8:57 - Challenges in the Firearms E-commerce Space 12:27 - Innovative Payment Solutions: BNPL and Layaway 18:52 - Navigating Payment Processing Complexities 28:40 - Building a Stable Payment Infrastructure 30:56 - The Evolution of Payment Processing 37:09 - Navigating the Buy Now, Pay Later Landscape 46:40 - Supporting Veterans and Community Initiatives 54:46 - The Importance of Mentorship and Guidance

Doug Ritter is the founder of Knife Rights, which for our money is one of the most effective single-issue advocacy groups out there. See how they've singlehandedly changed the path of knife laws in the US, with a tiny staff and budget. Go to ultimatesteel.org to see the gear available in the Knife Rights' 2026 fundraiser. 0:00 - Introduction to Knife Rights 2:43 - The landscape of knife laws 5:52 - Bipartisan strategies in advocacy 8:47 - Legal challenges and court successes 11:40 - Building relationships with legislators 14:44 - Lessons from Knife Rights for other advocacy orgs 17:50 - The origins of Knife Rights 34:20 - The Federal Switchblade Act and its impact 39:05 - The origins of knife bans and their implications 44:09 - Legal battles and the future of Knife Rights 51:44 - Knives as tools and their role in self-defense 57:06 - The future of Knife Rights and advocacy

Marc is the president and CEO of GrabAGun. 0:00 - Intro 0:29 - Why to IPO, and what it’s like 3:54 - Navigating regulatory scrutiny and having mission-aligned shareholders 13:29 - Stock buyback 15:10 - M&A opportunities in the gun space 22:33 - An everything store for guns 24:43 - GrabAGun technical systems 29:07 - Data and analytics in the industry 32:59 - Operational challenges and opportunities for growth 37:03 - GrabAGun’s board of directors 41:01 - Building a team 46:52 - Managing risk in the early days of a startup

Tim is the founder of Hoffman Tactical. 0:00 - Intro 0:23 - How has 3D printing evolved compared to what Tim expected? 9:16 - Does 3D printing need a killer app? 14:22 - Opportunities in destructive devices 18:20 - Tim likes anti-materiel rifles 18:49 - Gun designs are dictated by their manufacturing technology 20:39 - Hoffman Tactical’s customers 24:24 - Drones, automated defense systems, and the potential there 35:12 - Community isn’t strictly required for private defense 40:59 - The Super Safety 43:30 - Debating the value of forced reset triggers and full auto fire 52:12 - Why small companies out-innovate big ones 56:32 - Tim on hot air balloons

Rob is the founder of Constellation Response, the store for gun culture 3.0. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro to Rob and Constellation Response 4:44 - Why modern civilian comms are changing from the old days 8:11 - The rise of Meshtastic and its applications 18:45 - Acceleration in radios 21:43 - Why Constellation Response is getting into drones 24:17 - Drone training courses 30:01 - The impact of regulation on the cool things you could do with drones 36:31 - The future of autonomous drones 42:11 - 3D printing, drones, AI, and comms feel like something really cool is swirling into shape 46:18 - Are signal jammers going to become a thing in the US? 51:16 - Tethered drones 56:38 - Follow Constellation Response

David is the founder of Canine Defense Technologies, which makes drones for defense professionals and serious civilians. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - Drone nomenclature 1:44 - Counterdrone tech and the competition between offense and defense 8:42 - Technological lessons from Ukraine 16:16 - Applying those lessons to civilian drone tech 19:16 - What is the FAA getting in the way of? 25:50 - Panics that could drive bad regulation 32:08 - History and mission of Canine Defense 43:29 - Supply chain as limiting factor 44:55 - Innovations in drone propulsion and power 50:10 - Drones as Second Amendment arms and why fears of misuse are probably overblown 58:50 - Growing Canine Defense’s business 1:05:38 - Future products from Canine Defense 1:08:22 - Decentralized community-building with drone swarms

Jon and Sarah run PHLster Holsters, makers of the Enigma, other holsters, and groundbreaking education about how to carry comfortably. Timeline: 0:00 - The journey to making holsters 7:58 - What was the need PHLster was responding to? 17:34 - When did Sarah know the Enigma was going to be good? 35:57 - How much of a breakthrough was the Enigma for PHLster? 41:35 - Education and holster fitment as a science 49:28 - What's wrong with telling people to dress around the gun 58:13 - The importance of online communities 1:08:52 - The dynamic around gun products marketed to women 1:20:21 - Social media as a design and manufacturing tool 1:29:48 - Nobody goes to the anti-gun range

Jay is the founder and technical director of Pew Science, the world's top silencer testing company. Timeline: 0:00 - Are low back pressure silencers the end of history? 4:50 - Why silencers break the FN SCAR 17 7:12 - Pistol silencers are hard 19:21 - What were the breakthroughs in silencer technology? 24:06 - Consumers, not the military, are now driving the silencer industry 44:16 - Is there value in modular cans? 48:48 - The mechanics of silencer assembly 54:59 - Standardization in silencer attachment 1:00:41 - Consumer demand vs. military standards 1:05:36 - Flash hider vs. muzzle brake for suppression 1:09:34 - Understanding the SCAR's sensitivity to silencers 1:18:27 - About Pew Science

Isaac Botkin is a longtime leader at T.Rex Arms and the perfect first guest for the Open Source Defense podcast. We talk about the beginnings of T.Rex, whether guns actually prevent tyranny, and future tech in the civilian defense industry. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro and Background 2:44 - Milestones and Growth of T.Rex Arms 9:51 - Challenges of Growth as a Company 17:45 - Hiring for Passion and Mission Alignment 25:55 - Transparency and Honesty in Marketing 32:58 - The Evolution of Gun Culture 38:56 - Gun Culture 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 51:44 - Do Guns Prevent Tyranny? 1:02:33 - The Future of Gun Culture, Body Armor, and Night Vision 1:21:47 - Lightning Round on Upcoming Gun Tech