1 00:00:15,279 --> 00:00:19,060 Over the years, I've noticed as I watch builders or hear people talking about 2 00:00:19,060 --> 00:00:23,960 it, they over -complicated the simple and simplified the complicated and kind 3 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:30,340 missing the essence of what it is to build properly, especially with how 4 00:00:30,340 --> 00:00:31,600 the nature is of what you're building. 5 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:36,980 Everything's got a place where it fits, and so what you're trying not to do is 6 00:00:36,980 --> 00:00:38,320 disrupt it. 7 00:00:38,660 --> 00:00:41,400 I just want to keep it simple for that everyday shooter, for that... 8 00:00:42,890 --> 00:00:47,310 that every man or every woman, so to speak, that doesn't have to be 9 00:00:47,310 --> 00:00:52,290 by the build, but they can also take it seriously and do things the right way 10 00:00:52,290 --> 00:00:59,270 and achieve it without every specific new widget or gadget 11 00:00:59,270 --> 00:01:01,510 that really doesn't help you do anything. 12 00:01:01,990 --> 00:01:05,030 If I can offer anybody anything when it comes to the barrels and the build 13 00:01:05,030 --> 00:01:09,310 itself, after building so many, they don't have to overthink this. 14 00:01:10,780 --> 00:01:12,500 But I don't want them to under -respect it. 15 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:14,320 As an entrepreneur, there always has to be some level of irrational belief in 16 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:15,320 the opportunity. 17 00:02:15,580 --> 00:02:18,380 I'm getting up before the kids are up. My wife's taking care of them all day. 18 00:02:18,460 --> 00:02:20,040 I'm getting home after. The kids are already in bed. 19 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,500 You know, there were those candid moments of, like, is this the right 20 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:24,500 this worth it? 21 00:02:25,780 --> 00:02:28,780 But I could always confidently tell her, we're so close. 22 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:36,140 I moved to Florida. I actually wanted to be a teacher at university. The path 23 00:02:36,140 --> 00:02:39,780 didn't go exactly as we expected. I just stumbled into actually cleaning CNC 24 00:02:39,780 --> 00:02:40,780 machines. 25 00:02:40,940 --> 00:02:42,380 I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. 26 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,080 Frankly, I didn't know barrels was the end path. 27 00:02:45,340 --> 00:02:49,540 The whole goal of being an entrepreneur was just the freedom of just, this is 28 00:02:49,540 --> 00:02:53,140 the life I want to live. Because my dad had been corporate his whole life and 29 00:02:53,140 --> 00:02:58,000 was let go right before reaching full tenure. 30 00:02:58,460 --> 00:02:59,700 It was just low -hanging fruit. 31 00:03:00,110 --> 00:03:04,430 budget cuts, and all that loyalty of being there and just getting cut right 32 00:03:04,430 --> 00:03:07,710 the end. That was one of the most significant catalysts, was seeing that 33 00:03:07,710 --> 00:03:08,429 to him. 34 00:03:08,430 --> 00:03:13,150 I never wanted to have that destiny outside of my hands. 35 00:03:14,390 --> 00:03:19,990 So my first exposure to CNC manufacturing as a whole, it really just 36 00:03:19,990 --> 00:03:22,410 whole mindset to want to pursue something in manufacturing. 37 00:03:23,510 --> 00:03:27,590 Went to enough shops in the area that also make firearms parts. 38 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,460 and had a really key relationship with a gentleman named Phil Bacardi. 39 00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:36,200 Phil bought a machine from that company, and I installed the machine. I'm 40 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,360 basically leveling it, you know, taking the blocks off from shipping. 41 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,600 He's a very outgoing guy. He's talking a lot about what he's doing. He's got 42 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,140 firearms parts all over. And so I'm just asking a lot of questions. 43 00:03:45,860 --> 00:03:49,260 And he's like, you know what, man, if you want, you know, I'm here every day. 44 00:03:49,260 --> 00:03:53,360 you want to come out on the weekends, you just show up, and you can watch. And 45 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,200 if you want to tinker on the lathe, you can tinker on the lathe. 46 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,740 follows through when you're like, yeah, I'll be there. Let me know. I can help 47 00:04:00,740 --> 00:04:03,700 you out. I'm not going to call you and ask for your help. The fact that I went, 48 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,140 it really just, I guess, points to just the passion of what we were trying to do 49 00:04:07,140 --> 00:04:11,660 at the time because it's very contrary to me naturally to take him up on his 50 00:04:11,660 --> 00:04:13,560 offer and actually intrude on his shop. 51 00:04:14,340 --> 00:04:19,380 I would watch him do certain things, and then I remember I would have my own raw 52 00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:23,360 steel that I had gotten from the shop, and I would just sit there and pretend 53 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:24,360 cut threads. 54 00:04:24,460 --> 00:04:27,000 And I'd bring him to him, like, what do you think? Ah, you got a little tears 55 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,500 here. You know, he just would critique it and give me advice. And what was 56 00:04:30,500 --> 00:04:35,320 interesting is he didn't want to scale it. He was very much, he knew what he 57 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,720 wanted in the sense of, I want me on one or two guys, and I'm going to be happy, 58 00:04:39,780 --> 00:04:44,240 you know, take care of my bills that way. Where me, I just, I was dreaming 59 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,200 It was just always like, there's an open door. Let's push. There's an open door. 60 00:04:47,220 --> 00:04:48,220 Let's push. 61 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,340 I really started to grow my method, and he started to grow his method. 62 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,640 At one point, unfortunately, we did kind of have a falling out. Yeah, we went 63 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:02,920 several years where it was basically just a head nod, but then I found out he 64 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:03,920 was dying. 65 00:05:04,740 --> 00:05:09,040 We called him, and you could just hear how weak it was in his voice. 66 00:05:09,340 --> 00:05:15,500 And I said, Phil, I just want you to know that you will always be a part of 67 00:05:15,500 --> 00:05:16,500 Ballistic's story. 68 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,420 It was fundamental that you... 69 00:05:19,790 --> 00:05:26,010 This information he shared, and I heard he broke down, and he said, 70 00:05:26,030 --> 00:05:29,250 he said, Adam, you did what I never could. 71 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:33,290 And about four hours later, he died. 72 00:05:36,150 --> 00:05:39,270 Very thankful to have the opportunity to reconnect with him, and you could just 73 00:05:39,270 --> 00:05:45,870 tell we both, it was just a moment of forgiveness and rekindling. 74 00:05:51,850 --> 00:05:53,030 So it started in 2008. 75 00:05:53,370 --> 00:05:57,170 My father -in -law gave me a loan for $5 ,000 and bought an engine lathe, 76 00:05:57,170 --> 00:06:02,310 brought it in the shop, or I guess the garage at that point, and really just 77 00:06:02,310 --> 00:06:07,110 started tinkering, started making custom barrels, and took a 55 -gallon drum and 78 00:06:07,110 --> 00:06:10,550 put a 30 -gallon drum inside of it, poured concrete around it, put dirt in 79 00:06:10,590 --> 00:06:13,830 and that's how I would test fire. And somehow the neighbors never called the 80 00:06:13,830 --> 00:06:14,830 cops on me. 81 00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:19,850 He was working in 8 to 5, and before and after that, he was... 82 00:06:20,170 --> 00:06:21,470 turning barrels in our garage. 83 00:06:22,370 --> 00:06:27,450 And it was a lot of long hours. It was six or seven days a week. 84 00:06:28,310 --> 00:06:32,910 He had gone to his boss and said, you know, I need to make more money so my 85 00:06:32,910 --> 00:06:35,470 can stay home with the kids because that was very important to both of us. 86 00:06:35,990 --> 00:06:41,090 And his boss basically told him, you can't make that much more money. And so 87 00:06:41,090 --> 00:06:44,490 said, you know, I can't just sit back and give up. 88 00:06:44,950 --> 00:06:46,630 It forced me to go all in on ballistic. 89 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:52,600 And I just quit there. I gave up all of our insurance. And I just had, I mean, 90 00:06:52,620 --> 00:06:55,840 literally, we had a three -month -old. He asked me what I thought about him 91 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:58,560 quitting his full -time job, his day job. 92 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,000 I knew it was crazy. Everybody told us it was crazy. They're like, what are you 93 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,660 doing? You have a good job. Don't quit. 94 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,300 And I, you know, you're right. 95 00:07:06,820 --> 00:07:10,180 But if we didn't take a chance, we knew we would regret it for the rest of our 96 00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:11,180 life. 97 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,800 If I'm going to buy tires and a car, and I want to know what's the best to buy 98 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,640 and what runs the best, how do I make it run most efficiently? I'm not going to 99 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,480 ask the driver. I want to go to the mechanic. 100 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:34,300 I'm not a pro shooter. 101 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,600 I'm not going to teach you how to shoot at 1 ,000 yards. It's not what I did. 102 00:07:38,820 --> 00:07:41,120 I know how to build these and how they're supposed to function. This is 103 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:42,059 can help you with. 104 00:07:42,060 --> 00:07:46,420 I know why certain things are happening, and that's where it stops. 105 00:07:48,340 --> 00:07:50,080 So I'm building, and I'm slowly learning. 106 00:07:50,670 --> 00:07:52,050 the shooting community or what they're wanting. 107 00:07:52,410 --> 00:07:56,710 So a lot of stuff is built to order, but I've already got a bad taste in my 108 00:07:56,710 --> 00:07:57,710 mouth for muzzle brakes. 109 00:07:57,990 --> 00:08:03,010 I've already seen a lot of people do things a bunch of ways that I didn't 110 00:08:03,010 --> 00:08:04,010 were practical. 111 00:08:04,330 --> 00:08:08,610 And I love the idea of an AR -15, something that was meant to be a little 112 00:08:08,610 --> 00:08:11,270 lighter and to do a specific job. 113 00:08:11,730 --> 00:08:16,690 There is something going on with the contour of every barrel. The barrel 114 00:08:16,690 --> 00:08:20,190 actually whips when a bullet goes through it. It just happens. 115 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:25,160 as they get hot all these right angles and different cuts too much weight on 116 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,100 front not enough on the back end is going to make this thing move a little 117 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:34,640 and now your accuracy is going to is going to degrade everybody they want to 118 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:39,059 limit barrel barrel whip they would do a bowl barrel and for and when that when 119 00:08:39,059 --> 00:08:44,460 i learned that or saw that or was building heavy bp profiles on air 15 i 120 00:08:44,460 --> 00:08:47,380 didn't like it i i this doesn't make sense we're 121 00:08:48,150 --> 00:08:51,790 We're making this chassis hold a real heavy barrel, and that's not really what 122 00:08:51,790 --> 00:08:52,709 it was for. 123 00:08:52,710 --> 00:08:55,510 You're not doing anything innovative. You're just making a beefy barrel and 124 00:08:55,510 --> 00:08:57,790 turning this AR -15 into not an AR -15. 125 00:08:59,470 --> 00:09:05,530 So I was like, is there a way to limit barrel whip and keep rigidity and not 126 00:09:05,530 --> 00:09:06,530 so heavy? 127 00:09:06,670 --> 00:09:11,690 At that point, he had an idea for a barrel because he was just shooting so 128 00:09:11,690 --> 00:09:12,690 rifles. 129 00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:15,640 working for another company, just constant, nonstop, nonstop. 130 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,660 And he was starting to develop a feel for the recoil pulse based on profile. 131 00:09:20,140 --> 00:09:24,400 And he had an idea based on adjusting weight, basically getting optimum weight 132 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,640 design. And he gave me a call, and he said, this is what I want to do. I was 133 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:30,820 like, well, yeah, I think I know what you're talking about. 134 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,740 I remember I was going over there for something totally different one day. 135 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,200 And he's like, hey, come here. And he's on a machine. 136 00:09:40,010 --> 00:09:42,970 And he had it typed in. The program was Hanson. He's like, make the first one 137 00:09:42,970 --> 00:09:43,970 right now. 138 00:09:44,070 --> 00:09:47,690 So I kind of just took in my head what I thought he was saying, machined him a 139 00:09:47,690 --> 00:09:50,330 barrel, and sent it back to him. And he's like, this is exactly what I 140 00:09:51,230 --> 00:09:55,750 It made it very mechanical, firearm organic in the sense of it was a 141 00:09:55,750 --> 00:09:59,290 conversation with the fireman. The recoil pulses were where they needed to 142 00:09:59,310 --> 00:10:01,090 The balances were where they needed to be. 143 00:10:01,630 --> 00:10:06,230 And it was the first optimal weight barrel on the market, and it was 144 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:09,960 noticeable. The client was kind of like, you know what, this is our Nike Air 145 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,220 Jordan. Like, this is the B .A. Hanson. 146 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,900 When we first started going to the shot show, we were on the line and people 147 00:10:15,900 --> 00:10:18,180 were shooting, and they would come up and they're like, oh, great, another AR. 148 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:20,940 Yeah, everybody's got an AR on the line. And they would shoot it, and they're 149 00:10:20,940 --> 00:10:22,580 like, why does this feel so different? 150 00:10:26,580 --> 00:10:31,140 And then right there is when things really catapulted and just exploded. 151 00:10:31,140 --> 00:10:33,580 was no plan we could predict. 152 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:38,480 Over the next couple years, this is our plan. No, we would blow that out in six 153 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,620 months, seven months. We're already there. Now we've got to get smarter 154 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:43,880 We've got a few more hats we've got to put on. 155 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:45,860 A couple more people, not enough space. 156 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,320 This is actually the original machine that started in the garage. 157 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:05,040 This is what originally all barrels 100 % were made on this by hand. It took me 158 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:06,060 probably three hours a barrel. 159 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,960 So it's a little bit different process then to now. But amazingly, we actually 160 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,700 still use the machine in day -to -day operations for some fine -tuning up 161 00:11:12,700 --> 00:11:16,060 polishing pieces when needed. So I'm surprised it's still running. 162 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,560 And, you know, it's kind of just appreciative of those roots, the 163 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:23,100 from my father -in -law to purchase it. It's definitely surreal sometimes to 164 00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:26,760 think about those early days in the garage and then, you know, coming out 165 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,240 and pretty much 24 -7 these machines are turning and just a pretty neat piece 166 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:31,550 of... BA history here. 167 00:11:31,930 --> 00:11:35,690 So the process of making a blank is really kind of three primary operations 168 00:11:35,690 --> 00:11:36,669 it's been cut. 169 00:11:36,670 --> 00:11:40,890 We've got our line of drills, reamers with some additional reamers over there, 170 00:11:40,970 --> 00:11:42,290 and then also our three buttons. 171 00:11:43,270 --> 00:11:45,770 So at this point, it's going to go into the turning side of the operation. 172 00:11:46,230 --> 00:11:49,510 The first thing we want to do is what we call cut and face. We're basically 173 00:11:49,510 --> 00:11:52,290 going to be cutting the blank to the length that we want and creating 174 00:11:52,290 --> 00:11:53,290 perpendicular surfaces. 175 00:11:53,850 --> 00:11:56,750 so that we can then turn it on centers and create that outer diameter parallel 176 00:11:56,750 --> 00:11:59,730 to the inner diameter to make sure that we're holding true through the rest of 177 00:11:59,730 --> 00:12:00,730 the operations. 178 00:12:00,990 --> 00:12:05,470 So at this point, we take this qualified blank and turn it into a chambered 179 00:12:05,470 --> 00:12:07,030 blank, and from there, it'll move on to profile. 180 00:12:07,490 --> 00:12:10,530 One of the things that we do unique is we actually chamber first. That kind of 181 00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:11,530 goes back to our roots. 182 00:12:11,710 --> 00:12:14,090 If we ever had a problem with the part, it typically always happened at 183 00:12:14,090 --> 00:12:16,650 chambering, so we wanted to be able to make sure to turn that barrel into a 184 00:12:16,650 --> 00:12:20,550 shorter barrel as opposed to scrapping it. We just didn't have any reserve 185 00:12:20,550 --> 00:12:22,130 revenues to afford scrapping. 186 00:12:22,540 --> 00:12:24,140 We have five lines of profiling machines. 187 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,000 They're all geared towards different calibers profiles. 188 00:12:27,020 --> 00:12:30,380 So depending on one day or another, we just have different parts running 189 00:12:30,380 --> 00:12:31,199 each line. 190 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:32,340 Profile in two operations. 191 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,200 So here you have our chambered blank. 192 00:12:36,980 --> 00:12:39,440 And then we cut the front and the rear profile. 193 00:12:39,820 --> 00:12:43,600 I prefer not to use a steady rest. As long as you have your concentricities 194 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,300 throughout the operation, being able to cut two profiles is giving us a very 195 00:12:47,300 --> 00:12:48,300 fantastic result. 196 00:12:48,500 --> 00:12:51,400 So from this point, it would be doing the machine next to you there. 197 00:12:51,850 --> 00:12:55,810 and it would come out as a full profile. So this is kind of a medium -heavy 18 198 00:12:55,810 --> 00:12:56,810 -inch 308 barrel. 199 00:12:57,210 --> 00:13:00,530 The last operation on the turning side of it is we cut the muzzle threads. 200 00:13:00,730 --> 00:13:03,570 We're going to remove a couple hundred thousands from the muzzle, make sure 201 00:13:03,570 --> 00:13:06,250 we're in clean rifling, cut the threads, and then crown it. 202 00:13:06,510 --> 00:13:08,570 At this point, the barrel is basically complete. 203 00:13:09,050 --> 00:13:12,390 It's going to go to final polish and then final inspection step. 204 00:13:17,850 --> 00:13:22,340 Every barrel, before it leaves the shop, I get... eyes on it and i prove it to 205 00:13:22,340 --> 00:13:27,620 be sent out we actually have games that we play around here where if someone 206 00:13:27,620 --> 00:13:31,760 buys a new rifle or barrel from a different company we bring it in here we 207 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:36,440 scope it to compare it to see how we're doing compared to them and 99 of the 208 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:42,120 time we're blowing the competition out of the water so i'm currently 209 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,220 analyzing the threads 210 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,380 of these barrels to make sure that the pitch and major is where they need to be 211 00:13:49,380 --> 00:13:50,380 for the barrel extension. 212 00:13:51,140 --> 00:13:56,460 Small little things that you can do when building a rifle to make it as accurate 213 00:13:56,460 --> 00:14:00,800 as possible is making sure your extensions are perfect, making sure the 214 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,520 receiver is lapped so that the barrel extension fits nice and snug, making 215 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:11,280 your muzzle chamfer and your threads are good, doing all that to make sure that 216 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,660 your barrel is going to shoot nice and straight. 217 00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:21,380 Here we are looking at the inside of the board, the chamber of the rifle. So 218 00:14:21,380 --> 00:14:22,700 here, let's see the chamber. 219 00:14:23,740 --> 00:14:26,400 Enter the chamber. 220 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,860 This is the main body of the chamber. 221 00:14:29,180 --> 00:14:31,400 The case is going to sit against the wall. 222 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,080 And here, now we have the neck. 223 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:41,640 Here we have our lead right before the rifling starts. 224 00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:45,260 Now we have nice, concentric rifling fat. 225 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:48,900 So this is a nice, clean button. 226 00:14:49,740 --> 00:14:50,740 No damage. 227 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,400 It's hardly any feed lines to speak of. 228 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,660 This is a very good barrel. 229 00:14:57,540 --> 00:15:03,060 Now this is an example of one that is in the raw. It has not been coated, and it 230 00:15:03,060 --> 00:15:04,060 has not been lapped. 231 00:15:04,220 --> 00:15:08,180 Our lapping process utilizes an abrasive compound and a brush. 232 00:15:09,070 --> 00:15:13,050 And we blast and slowly take away the very top layer of metal. 233 00:15:13,390 --> 00:15:18,490 And this evens out the finish inside the chamber, inside the rifling itself. 234 00:15:19,050 --> 00:15:20,450 So we go through here. 235 00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:24,130 Everything is a bright, shiny silver. 236 00:15:25,310 --> 00:15:31,510 This makes everything even and smooth throughout the entire 237 00:15:31,510 --> 00:15:32,510 barrel. 238 00:15:35,810 --> 00:15:37,730 So you can't even see any feed lines. 239 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:39,660 Nothing left. 240 00:15:40,820 --> 00:15:46,760 The reason we do that is so that when we coat the barrel, the rifling comes out 241 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,460 perfectly clean and beautiful. 242 00:15:53,580 --> 00:15:55,540 I take a high amount of pride in my work. 243 00:15:56,660 --> 00:16:00,840 We are a very high -volume manufacturer, and we get a lot of barrels out there. 244 00:16:01,540 --> 00:16:06,120 I get worried about the barrels that did not make the cut that we missed. 245 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,720 I come from the Marine Corps. I was a designated marksman. 246 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:14,000 I'm a shooter. I love firearms. I know what it means when the barrel or the gun 247 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,500 does not do what it's supposed to, and that means the bullet does not go where 248 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:20,820 it's intended, and that can have drastic consequences. So that's what worries 249 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:25,160 me. So I always press my guys and everyone on the floor to have the 250 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:30,180 degree of professionalism and quality control that we can because these are 251 00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:34,840 just a toy or a piece of plastic that gets out there. This is going to be 252 00:16:35,150 --> 00:16:37,590 determination if someone lives or dies, maybe it's the right person. 253 00:16:50,590 --> 00:16:53,230 Kevin Holderby, and I'm the president of Frogman Outdoors. 254 00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:59,270 We're a 501c3 nonprofit that supports wounded SOCOM veterans through guided 255 00:16:59,270 --> 00:17:03,330 fishing and hunting trips. The goal was bring some people together, make new 256 00:17:03,330 --> 00:17:06,240 friendships. And then maybe they can reach out and check on each other. 257 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:09,980 Adam from Ballistic Advantage just happens to be my neighbor, moved in 258 00:17:09,980 --> 00:17:10,980 years ago. 259 00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:14,780 Asked what he could do to help. When I told him about the nonprofit, he said, 260 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,900 well, maybe I can build you some rifles. So we've been using his platform since 261 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:19,780 I think this is our fourth year with the Hummel. 262 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:23,280 So my name is Joel Fleming. 263 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,599 I'm an associate manufacturing engineer at Ballistic Advantage. I was a 264 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:29,500 reconnaissance scout sniper in the Marine Corps. 265 00:17:29,700 --> 00:17:32,860 I've never actually been on like any kind of big game hunting or actually 266 00:17:32,860 --> 00:17:33,860 hunting in general. 267 00:17:34,010 --> 00:17:37,750 I've shot squirrels here and there, but never actually gone on a hunt. 268 00:17:38,110 --> 00:17:42,510 So pretty excited to be afforded the opportunity to come out here and hunt 269 00:17:42,510 --> 00:17:43,510 hogs. 270 00:17:49,690 --> 00:17:50,690 Got him. 271 00:17:50,730 --> 00:17:51,930 Good size pig? 272 00:17:52,190 --> 00:17:53,190 Yeah. 273 00:17:53,230 --> 00:17:54,690 There's a couple in there that are big. 274 00:17:58,770 --> 00:17:59,770 All right. 275 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:42,640 Good shot, buddy. 276 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,120 Smoked him. 277 00:18:45,660 --> 00:18:46,700 Good shooting. 278 00:18:47,260 --> 00:18:48,260 Oh, yeah, dude. 279 00:18:48,340 --> 00:18:49,420 That was so quiet. 280 00:18:50,260 --> 00:18:51,580 Of course, that was money. 281 00:18:52,620 --> 00:18:53,640 Of course. 282 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:54,880 Those 283 00:18:54,880 --> 00:19:02,580 are 284 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:03,820 the times that we're after right there. 285 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,140 Looks like a great shot, too. 286 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,020 That's a damn good one. 287 00:19:12,490 --> 00:19:16,190 You can hear that thing thumping back there. Really? Yeah. Oh, yeah. We did it 288 00:19:16,190 --> 00:19:17,250 all the way down the road. 289 00:19:17,470 --> 00:19:20,150 It looked like you had some fun. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It was a lot of fun. 290 00:19:20,370 --> 00:19:22,150 First time shooting anything that big. 291 00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:33,290 A gentleman came up. He has two daughters. 292 00:19:33,490 --> 00:19:37,290 And he said, I'm so -and -so SWAT officer. 293 00:19:37,910 --> 00:19:40,970 And he said, I just wanted you to know that my duty gun has a BA barrel. 294 00:19:41,390 --> 00:19:46,250 And when I just built rifles for my daughters, I put BA barrels in it. I 295 00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:50,510 wanted you to know that whether I'm on duty or at home, we trust your product 296 00:19:50,510 --> 00:19:51,469 with our life. 297 00:19:51,470 --> 00:19:54,690 And that just resonated so strongly with me. 298 00:19:54,910 --> 00:20:00,230 And it really reinforced the intention all along is, you know, every barrel 299 00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:02,610 coming out of the shop, the end user needs to be able to trust. 300 00:20:03,330 --> 00:20:07,990 It's very surreal for me, especially to think like right now we have barrels in 301 00:20:07,990 --> 00:20:09,210 Ukraine and Israel. 302 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:14,720 global pursuit of protecting individuals and the innocent. 303 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:20,360 I moved to Florida thinking I was going to become a professor, and to wind up in 304 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:23,840 manufacturing and creating one of the largest barrel manufacturers in the 305 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,360 country, it's almost fantastical. 306 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:34,340 And the fact that that's a possibility and a potential, it highlights what the 307 00:20:34,340 --> 00:20:35,340 real American dream is.