{ "version": "1.0.0", "segments": [ { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "0.0", "endTime": "17.685", "body": "Welcome to the Ascend podcast today. I'm your host. My name is Julia Stallings, and I brought Brandi Elrod to talk about how to go from clay shooting to hunting in the great outdoors. Brandi is an amazing friend, colleague, instructor, and guys, this is going to be good, so stay tuned." }, { "speaker": "VO", "startTime": "19.525", "endTime": "46.365", "body": "Welcome to the Ascend podcast, a podcast by and for women in the outdoors. Every episode delivers real stories, practical how to's, and a welcoming community to help you start, sharpen, or rediscover your passion for the outdoors. Authentic women, real stories, outdoor adventures, Ascend. Presented by Ducks Unlimited, the leader in wetlands conservation. Your next adventure starts here." }, { "speaker": "VO", "startTime": "46.365", "endTime": "47.725", "body": "The Ascend podcast." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "56.61", "endTime": "93.880005", "body": "Welcome to Ascend Podcast. My name is Julia. I'll be your host today. And today's topic that we're gonna go over is how to go from the clay target field to hunting in the great outdoors. Joining me today, I have someone very special. Her name is Brandi Elrod. Not only is she a colleague, a friend, a hunter, an amazing instructor, she has done something super impressive, and that has helped the youth generation help women feel confident in taking that next step in learning how to shoot, learning how to hunt, and learning how to just be confident. Brandi, welcome to Ascend Podcast. Tell us a little bit more about yourself." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "94.415", "endTime": "152.57", "body": "Thank you, Julia. I'm actually really excited to be here. I know we go way back, but I've been looking forward to this forever. So, yeah, I've been in the shooting world for about twelve years now. I got my start in the youth shooting world coaching a high school team, and then that kind of led to going off the deep end. That's how we met, and I started competing in Olympic trap. And from there, that put me on the world stage and kinda gave me this platform to help others. And so since then, I've dove into the instruction side, and I really focus on helping women, youth, and those with limb differences. Probably one of my favorite things to do is is teach kids with limb differences that think they can't even lift a shotgun, how to do it even if they're missing their arms, their hands, whatever. And it's also led me into the upland hunting and waterfowl world." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "152.945", "endTime": "205.51001", "body": "That is just amazing, Brandy. And we are so happy to have you on our podcast today. I know you're just you're a great asset. You are so knowledgeable, and I think these topics that we're gonna discuss, you have so much insight on. So, basically, what I'm thinking is there's been so much talk on recoil and gun fit for beetters. I think you have so much insight to share, and I would love to discuss that today along with tips on anything you can do in the clay target world to practice for hunting in the outdoors, as well as equipment recommendations that you find have been most useful. And then maybe if we have time, I have some rapid fire questions for you that I've gotten from my followers that I think you would be perfect to answer. Awesome. Let's just jump in. Deep diving into recoil, have you ever experienced, like, issues with new shooters with recoil and gun fit?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "205.83", "endTime": "293.2", "body": "100%. I deal with that every time I give a lesson, do a clinic, whether it's a a regular target clinic or a wing shooting clinic. The biggest thing that I find is, a lot of these women or kids, they come to my clinics, especially if they're brand new, and they're bringing a borrowed gun. And, usually, it was their uncles, their grandpas, whoever would hand them a gun, and they pull it out of the gun sleeve, the gun case, and I immediately know, oh, boy. This is this is going to beat them. And so I actually carry guns with me, especially whenever I'm teaching beginners because I want them to have a pleasant experience. One of the things that I have found in, coaching, especially in some of the clinics that I do that I've received grants for is it's all about reintroduction. We have a lot of women that have shot early on in age, and they had an unpleasant experience. The gun beat the crap out of them, and they just put it down, didn't touch it again. And so for me, that's one of the things that I walked in through of recoil is a bad thing, and there are ways to prevent recoil in shotguns with the gun itself and ammo." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "293.68", "endTime": "318.34003", "body": "And so one of the the guns that I have all have had as much recoil reduction taken out of them. I personally cannot handle recoil due to my birth injury, my neck, my back, all of that is pretty much destroyed. And so recoil is a factor for me. It was a factor for me whenever I was, you know, shooting two, three, 400 rounds a day. And even now, it's a factor." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "318.98", "endTime": "361.115", "body": "And I will not pick up a gun if I know it's going to beat me up. With that, having said that, the biggest thing that women want to do is they want to pick up light guns. Light guns are no no's. The lighter the gun, the heavier the recoil, unless if something has been done to it. And what I'm talking about is you can add different stocks that have recoil reduction, whether it's a wood stock that we have added a pad to it, that has some type of hydraulic system in it, springs, weights, anything like that to help the gun in the shoulder." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "361.835", "endTime": "381.84003", "body": "Another thing is we have what's called robo stocks. Precision fit stock, ergonomics, all of those make a robo stock, and they have these hydraulic systems and weighted systems in them. Is that something you necessarily have to have? No. It also starts with how you mount the gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "382.0", "endTime": "411.05", "body": "Mounting the gun is absolute key. Whenever I teach, I always start with we have a natural pocket in our shoulder. I call it the Jesus pocket. I tell every woman that I feel like Jesus thought that all women should shoot shotguns, and we have this natural pocket on in both of our shoulders that the gun just naturally fits into. And I teach them how to mount to the pocket and then place their heads on the gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "411.495", "endTime": "440.5", "body": "That right there, the proper mount, will help take some of the recoil out if they insist on shooting their gun. And then we go on further into, okay, length of pull. If the gun is too long, we're going to have recoil because they don't have as much control of the gun. They can't keep it in their shoulder. They're having to stretch their necks out, or they're way back on the gun, and so they're hitting themselves in the cheek." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "441.215", "endTime": "468.79", "body": "We go into where our eyes are over the top of the rib. Again, that effect that can affect recoil. If you can't see and your eyes are sitting low on the rib, which is very common in women, we have higher cheekbones. Guns are not made for high cheekbones. They're, the average gun off the shelf is made for a five eleven hundred and eighty pound mil, and that is not most women." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "469.43", "endTime": "494.2", "body": "So if you're sitting low on a gun, you lift your head to look for your target, your bird, whatever. What are you gonna do? You're gonna feel that recoil because you're gonna pop yourself in the face. So those are all things that starting with the right mount. And if you have the ability, a gun that fits, you can cut out 60 to 70% recoil right there." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "494.36002", "endTime": "511.725", "body": "And having the right weighted gun, a six pound gun is gonna have a heavier oil than a nine pound gun. But now we're getting into competition guns versus, hunting guns. Hunting guns are lighter. Why? We need to be able to lift them fast." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "511.725", "endTime": "536.27496", "body": "We're walking through the fields with them. We're carrying them in the mountains. My wing shooting gun, my Upland gun weighs six pounds, but it doesn't have any recoil because I've done things to it to reduce the recoil. My competition gun when I was competing professionally weighs 9.8 pounds. It was a horse, but you want a heavier gun because you're shooting so much." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "536.27496", "endTime": "568.045", "body": "It'll slow you down and makes you more fluid and makes you basically I always used to say it makes you look like a ballerina. Finesse. Grace. So recoil is the number one reason I feel like women do not stick with the shotgun sports wing shooting, because they have an unpleasant experience, whether it's they go to a gun shop, they're they decide they go and tell the gun store cashier whatever, hey, I wanna buy a shotgun. I wanna do x y z." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "568.045", "endTime": "585.46", "body": "This is the budget I have. And they're going to automatically probably give them the lightest weight gun in a 20 or 28 gauge. And it sometimes they give them a use model, and they don't necessarily need a use model, and the fit just is not there." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "585.875", "endTime": "611.1", "body": "Brandy, I feel like that can be definitely applied not just to women, but for youth shooters and junior shooters as well. Like, they're trying to get into the sport, and that could hold a huge problem of, like, if the the gun's too large or the gun's too light. In your profession, since you've, you know, you've instructed a ton of people, where do you find the most problems? Like, is the gun too long, or is the gun too heavy?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "611.1", "endTime": "631.045", "body": "Too long. 100% too long. Too long. Because you can do weight training to make that gun where it's not heavy after about a month. I especially whenever I was coaching youth sports, it was nothing to see, though, especially here in Texas, those nine and 10 year olds with guns longer than they are tall." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "631.92", "endTime": "662.9", "body": "And it was quite interesting to watch them. I mean, some of those kids could 100 handle those guns with no problem. But then you had the little bitty babies that are sixty pounds toting this really long gun, a lot of times, and over and under, which always dumbfounded me. I mean, I'm all for an over and under when you're competing, but not when you're starting out. Like, hefting it over the shooting stands and trying to control it, and then it's beating them backwards." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "663.22003", "endTime": "680.435", "body": "And so a lot of that could be controlled with a shorter stock if it is not hard to cut a stock down. Would I recommend you go get a band saw and go in your shop or garage and cut your stock? Absolutely not. Will I do it? 100%." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "680.435", "endTime": "693.82", "body": "Do it all the time, but not to somebody else's gun. You definitely wanna find what's called a gun fitter, not a gunsmith. There's a difference. Gunsmiths, repair your guns. Gun fitters, fit your guns." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "693.82", "endTime": "698.22", "body": "And they sometimes they're the same person, but a lot of times they're not." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "698.7", "endTime": "713.115", "body": "Would would you suggest, like, a lot of gun fitters are at, like, these events that you know? And I know high school shooters, they have programs where, you know, they go to all these tournaments and stuff. Do you think there are gun fitters out there, or do you think they're gunsmiths?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "713.63", "endTime": "764.555", "body": "I see kind of a mix, especially at the bigger stuff. Mhmm. You're expect and it, like, in main in these gun shops that have, like, let's say, at the National Shooting Complex at the Grand, or at Sparta, places like that that have storefronts, a lot of times they're going to have gun fitters, that are also gunsmiths. Now if you just have John Smith pull up in his trailer and it just says gunsmith on the side, I would question that. I've seen all too much many of my former kids guns ruined because they went to a gunsmith or somebody that was recommended, and they chopped up their gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "765.59503", "endTime": "803.96", "body": "And once you chop, you can't add back. So, I mean, you can, but it's gonna cost you some money to add that back, especially whenever you get into the more expensive stocks. And so Yeah. I really, really caution and do your research whenever you are looking for a gun fitter, especially for youth and women. I feel like gun fitters can fit men, but whenever you get into children because they're gonna grow, and I'm a firm believer in fitting a gun that can be adjusted to grow with the child, or fitting a woman, it's a there's just a difference." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "804.04004", "endTime": "838.89", "body": "There is a big difference in that. And, like, I used to always watch I mainly got, high school kids, but every now and then, I would get occasional middle school middle schoolers or a sibling or something like that. And it was very interesting to watch them go grow from 11, 12 years old all the way to senior year in high school and the difference in their gun fit. That's something else I always recommend. As you are developing in your shooting, your gun fit may change because the way you mount your gun is gonna change." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "839.85004", "endTime": "868.36", "body": "And the way that you are getting into the gun, the use of the gun, all of that is gonna change. And so I'm I'm a big proponent of if you're getting your gun fitted, you need an adjustable comb because of especially as women, we gain and lose weight every month. So we need to be able to move that comb up and down side to side, just based off of how much weight" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "868.36", "endTime": "873.48", "body": "we've lost in our face. Yeah. No. Absolutely. I've I've definitely struggled with this issue." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "873.48", "endTime": "893.56", "body": "You know, we shot together. It is an issue that doesn't get talked about enough, especially with youth shooters. I feel like especially when you get to the high school level, you know, you have a wonderful shooter. She's a young girl, and then all of a sudden her scores are so high, and then they're so low. And it's a simple fix of just adjusting that gun stock Mhmm." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "893.56", "endTime": "913.845", "body": "To make sure she's looking where she thinks she is. That's huge. Yeah. When you talk about gun fit, what is the biggest issue you've seen in you shooters and transitioning, I guess, to the outdoors? Like, is it having that stock or having the heaviness just for you shooters in general?" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "913.845", "endTime": "920.47", "body": "I know we talked about women of, like, it being long. But when you talk about outdoors, what would you suggest?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "920.79", "endTime": "938.45496", "body": "A 100%, the stock is everything. I Stock is everything. Yeah. I don't think that the the weight of the gun per se with youth shooter because they're gonna get stronger. It's amazing how fast kids grow, and get strong." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "938.45496", "endTime": "959.51996", "body": "I had a great conversation with Linda Mears, Travis Mears' mom, one day. And Mhmm. They help with the local four h, and they start the little ones out. They give them literally a can two cans of green beans, and they tell those kids, go home. And then when you can lift those a 100 times a night, then we'll give you a bigger can of green beans." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "959.785", "endTime": "970.105", "body": "And they keep growing those kids up on their size of the cans because it's building their muscles so they can lift the guns. I mean, it's it works." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "970.105", "endTime": "972.905", "body": "So, basically, Popeyes. Literally. Yeah." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "972.905", "endTime": "973.705", "body": "Literally. I mean" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "973.865", "endTime": "974.345", "body": "Literally." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "974.57", "endTime": "1008.64996", "body": "I you know, when my high school team was the most successful is when they had professional athlete coach L Rod because I made those kids have the same workout schedules that I had. At first, they hated me, and then they realized their stamina was there. They weren't because I was noticing their scores were falling off at that seventh, eighth station and Mhmm. Straight fatigue. They're getting tired holding their guns." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1009.20996", "endTime": "1034.0651", "body": "They're running out of breath. Just all these things. And so whenever I started making them do the same exercises I did, yoga, breathing, all of that, the scores started going up. The fatigue stopped dropping off, and they were making it to the end because I mean, some of these tournaments, these kids are shooting two, three hundred rounds a day, three and four days in a row. And so Yeah." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1034.0651", "endTime": "1041.5", "body": "They're marathons. Yes. Literally. And that's what I that's how I always described it. It's they're marathons." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1041.5", "endTime": "1060.1249", "body": "They're not sprints. And it's the same thing when you're starting a kid out. I would tell every kid, okay. I need you to get five pound dumbbells, and these are the exercises you need to do, and you need to do them at least four to five days a week, and you'll have no problem lifting your guns." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1060.2849", "endTime": "1075.44", "body": "Hey. No. That that's amazing that you took initiative. I feel like a lot of coaches, you know, they're so focused on scores and, you know, just shooting the tournament. They forget it's the small basics that help you get through that tournament and make it into that marathon versus the sprint." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1076.24", "endTime": "1099.22", "body": "That's amazing, Brandy. Well, I have one question just because, like, we're talking about, you know, the outdoors and getting people more involved and, you know, stamina. Right? What are some tips that you've seen have been really helpful in transitioning that you can practice on the clay field to prepare you for hunting season. I know that's a huge topic of, like, you wanna dust off the rust." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1099.62", "endTime": "1108.5549", "body": "And what have you seen that has been more helpful? The skeet field. And it pains me to say that. But Oh, no." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1108.635", "endTime": "1142.385", "body": "I feel like the American Ski Field is the best place. One, because you can find American Ski Fields in every state near every metroplex. And because, I mean, I get sporting clays is a thing of states with a lot of land, you know, or a lot of useless land, honestly. You mainly find them in places with, where it looks like Jurassic Park or it's gonna flood. But if you don't have access to sporting clays, the skeet field 100%." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1142.385", "endTime": "1161.1001", "body": "And Stations three, four, and five are your best stations because that's gonna be your crossing birds. Two and stations two and six are gonna help you with your quartering and going away birds. So you basically can practice any upland bird, any waterfowl bird on the ski field." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1161.1001", "endTime": "1176.415", "body": "That is gonna be my biggest question is, I mean, duck seasons are right around the corner. Where would you start as, like, someone who's gonna be like, hey. I wanna dust off the rust today to prepare me to shoot these ducks. Where should I go on the ski field? Name your two favorite stations." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1176.79", "endTime": "1178.95", "body": "Station 1. You would go one." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1178.95", "endTime": "1191.67", "body": "Yeah. Because they're incoming like they're gonna land. And then I would probably go five because those ones that are flying Five. Yeah. Crossing across that pond." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1191.795", "endTime": "1192.435", "body": "One in" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1192.435", "endTime": "1208.39", "body": "five. Seven, you could do seven in five because seven, like, if they're coming up off, you know, the water, and then they're still coming in, and then five, hands down. Five is the best station to practice pretty much any crossing bird." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1208.39", "endTime": "1223.0249", "body": "Nice. Nice. Nice. I agree with that. I, I'm a big fan of seven, station seven, because the going out, obviously, trap target, kinda lover over here, and then, of course, you can get across her every now and then with if it's high or if you have some wind." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1223.1849", "endTime": "1230.865", "body": "Right. But, no, I love that. I love that. I love that. Honestly, I have another question then." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1230.945", "endTime": "1245.22", "body": "For duck hunting, what's the biggest thing you've seen to help shoot more ducks using that shotgun? Because I feel like I've always seen, like, either I get overwhelmed with seeing the target or I take my head off the gun. What are your thoughts?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1245.46", "endTime": "1251.785", "body": "For duck hunting okay. This is gonna sound crazy, and, I mean, and this is gonna depend on your" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1251.865", "endTime": "1252.665", "body": "Bring it on." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1252.665", "endTime": "1286.625", "body": "Yeah. This is gonna depend on your range. So I live in a town with a very tiny range that's actually focused for the four h team, but there's nobody ever there. And I do have my own machines at my house too. But I take a bucket, and I sit at station one or station two, and I shoot from the bucket because you're shoot if you're shooting from a blind, whether it's you know, a ground blind, what I call a coffin blind, whatever, you've gotta be able to raise yourself." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1286.625", "endTime": "1318.055", "body": "Well, when you're raising yourself, you're going in the motion of putting mounting the gun, looking down the gun, all of that. And so doing that all at the same time, which you can do this at home, you just don't have targets, and I highly recommend doing this at home too. But practicing that way and keeping moving, you know, that whole motion of moving to your shoulder and getting your head on the gun. Because I know we tend to wanna oh, crap. Main main main." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1318.055", "endTime": "1323.6099", "body": "And then it's like, head's off the gun. We're hitting our self. Like, no. Practice." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1324.0099", "endTime": "1335.9299", "body": "Oh my gosh. No. That's too funny. I've been in that position where I've I'm like, just got out of, like, trap season where you're pre mounted, and you go to, like, the duck blind, and all of a sudden, you're like, why can't I hit a target? And your your head's not even on the gun." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1335.9299", "endTime": "1345.4949", "body": "You're like, well, what was I thinking? I was like, your head has to be on the stock if you wanna make your shots, Julia. So that is too funny. I like the bucket idea." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1345.735", "endTime": "1353.64", "body": "Yes. No. Seriously. And, again, make sure you have permission. Don't just go whip a bucket out and there's 50 people on the range." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1353.64", "endTime": "1369.825", "body": "Don't do that. You'll probably get in trouble. But if you have the ability to do something like that, I highly recommend it. And even practicing at home, I do I'm a big believer in gun mounts. I know some people don't believe in them." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1370.225", "endTime": "1405.645", "body": "When I was first trying to make the USA team, and my closest range was four hours from me, and I was driving four hours one way, three days a week practicing. And whenever I couldn't practice there, I I did have access to a mod trap that I actually turned up, and to get it to go as fast as possible. I did a lot of gun mounts in my house. A lot of gun mounts. I would leave my gun in the corner of a room that I would have to pass multiple times a day, and every time I pass that gun, I would lift it 10 times." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1406.4501", "endTime": "1429.075", "body": "And so I do the same thing whenever I'm getting I don't compete professionally anymore. I don't shoot near as much as I used to. My body tells me that. But whenever I'm getting ready for hunting season, oh, there are no words. Whenever I'm getting ready for hunting season, I do a lot of gun mounts with my hunting guns because I wanna be able to move them up fast." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1429.075", "endTime": "1442.2299", "body": "I do a lot of upland hunting. I'm not as much of a waterfowl hunter. Not gonna lie. I don't like getting up at 3AM and freezing to death. I like taking strolls in the mountains and in the desert at 10:00 in the morning." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1442.63", "endTime": "1481.205", "body": "So but I I practice the scenarios that I would put myself in. I mean, it is nothing luckily, I live on quite a bit of land, but it is nothing to see me walking down the road with my gun, and I'll continue walking and act like I see birds draw the gun. Bang. Bang. Or, in the house, you know, especially if I'm practicing to go hunt, whether if I'm in a pop up blind, a frame, or whatever, I'm practicing those motions because of that's just not something we do on an everyday basis, and so we've gotta work those core muscles, those shoulder muscles, all of that kind of stuff." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1481.285", "endTime": "1492.97", "body": "And so I'm putting my head on the gun because, yes, I have shot some birds without my head on the gun. Not gonna lie, I've shot some from the hip before, but they're staff." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1494.09", "endTime": "1496.41", "body": "Hey. You're talking to a trick shooter. It's okay." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1496.41", "endTime": "1497.77", "body": "I know. I know." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1497.77", "endTime": "1500.8099", "body": "No no judgment here. I well, a" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1500.8099", "endTime": "1513.2649", "body": "lot of people so I I can do a few shots from the hip and stuff like that, but I use my 12, and people are like, why do you do that? I was like, because less recoil, and I can control it more because the gun's heavier." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1513.4249", "endTime": "1523.0701", "body": "Right. I'm a I'm a 12 gauge girly right here. Like, that is all I shoot. Everyone always asks me, like, why don't you shoot a 20 or a 24 or a four ten? I'm like, I can't do it." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1523.0701", "endTime": "1525.07", "body": "I feel like a BB gun at that point." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1525.15", "endTime": "1537.075", "body": "That's funny. Yeah. No. I I I was like that. And since I started shooting upland, especially if you're, like, twenty, thirty yards, 12 gauge doesn't leave you any meat." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1538.035", "endTime": "1547.72", "body": "So because I you know, coming from that competition Feathers. Yeah. Literally. Well, that's the thing. Coming from the competition world, you're talking about that precision." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1547.7999", "endTime": "1563.2251", "body": "When I first started moving into the upland world, and I would, like, be like, okay. I gotta get set up, and I gotta do this, and I gotta do that. Yeah. I know the birds are gone. And then whenever I figured out, wait a minute, I this is all instinct shooting." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1563.2251", "endTime": "1587.1001", "body": "So I had to completely change my mindset, and then it became a, oh, crap. I'm blowing the birds up. And because I was so dead on the bird, and it's just feathers left, and it's like, oh, I gotta do something about this. And so, yes, I have switched to a 20, probably gonna switch to a 28 eventually. I'm working myself down the baby steps." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1588.475", "endTime": "1589.4349", "body": "So, yeah, I" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1589.4349", "endTime": "1591.195", "body": "do It's okay." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1591.195", "endTime": "1606.33", "body": "I know. I do upland hunt with the 20. I waterfowl hunt with the 12, and then I still shoot clay targets with the 12 except for during hunting season. I only bring my 20 out just because that is my upling gun. Amazing." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1606.6499", "endTime": "1614.1699", "body": "Hey. Look. I need to take the steps. I know I need to take the steps. I just haven't I haven't had the guts to take the steps yet, but I know it's coming." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1614.1699", "endTime": "1625.585", "body": "I'm getting older. I need to be easier on my body. Like, it's needed. But, Brandi, let's just take a few seconds. Let's hear from our sponsors real quick, and then we'll jump back on." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1627.025", "endTime": "1643.715", "body": "So, Brandi, okay, we have talked about recoil. We've talked about gun fit. We talked about what to practice with on the field to help you better prepare for hunting season. Let's talk equipment recommendations. I mean, again, you've had some great recommendations for GunFit." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1644.115", "endTime": "1649.2349", "body": "What's some things you've seen that people just need to, like, check out? Like, they're just awesome." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1649.235", "endTime": "1708.1649", "body": "So the biggest thing this is one thing I will say you don't need to check out. Just because it's pink or it says it's for a woman doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna fit you. There are some companies out there that, yes, I wholeheartedly agree are starting to come a long way with their shotguns, and they are definitely more likely to fit you out of the box. But I caution you, just because you go buy one of those shotguns and you pay a lot of money for it, it doesn't mean it's gonna fit you, but it is a good start. So that's one of the biggest things I see, especially I'll have those have women come to my clinics or younger girls come to my clinics, and they're like, oh, well, we went and bought x y z because it was for a woman, and then they mount the gun, and it does not fit them." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1708.245", "endTime": "1726.86", "body": "And then I have to tell them that their $8,000 shotgun does not fit them. That's not a conversation. Yeah. That is not the best conversation in the world, but I I I do the best that I can. I'm really good with doing what I call a field fit." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1727.5249", "endTime": "1758.5549", "body": "There's a lot you can do to a shotgun with some electrical tape and some cardboard. And so I'll make changes on the fly. Now having said that, I am a firm believer of don't go buy the cheapest gun to start with. I don't care if you're buying for a kid, an adult, or whatever. In the shotgun world, cheap is not a term I would put in the same sentence." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1759.195", "endTime": "1789.535", "body": "I always tell people, especially whenever I used to teach now I was very privileged that I taught at a private school, so there was a little bit more of a fluency there. I would just always tell the parents, go buy the best gun that your pocketbook can afford. I am very open. When someone comes to me and I I I get questions usually weekly out of the blue from people I don't even know from women that say, hey. I need a shotgun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1789.535", "endTime": "1816.895", "body": "My first question to them is how much do you wanna spend? And I know that's probably not a question I should be asking, but it is a question I should be asking because that's gonna tell me what I need to recommend. And then I'm gonna tell them, don't go buy the women's version of that shotgun. Go buy the regular one because that way you're not paying what I call the pink tax, and go find you a good gun fix. It is." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1816.895", "endTime": "1818.895", "body": "I I I mean, it it it really is." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1818.895", "endTime": "1823.03", "body": "No. It's so true. No. It's so true. The pink tax is very real." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1823.03", "endTime": "1825.03", "body": "Yes. Mean, it is. Unfortunately." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1825.1901", "endTime": "1832.39", "body": "I got a question for you. Okay. So we talk about the pink tax. Now I know I've shot shotguns. They're called there's junior guns out there." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1832.39", "endTime": "1847.6549", "body": "Would you recommend a junior gun to a woman or a junior gun to even a small child that may be a little bit you know, maybe in middle school or even high school? They're not really junior, but you can kinda upsize it. What's your thoughts?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1847.655", "endTime": "1879.825", "body": "Yeah. I I'm all for them. I know there's a lot of better manufacturers out there that have what they call those micro or junior stocks, and I'm a firm believer in those if you can switch the stock out or you can add to the stock. So a lot of people don't realize you can add to a stock with spacers. I've done that for a lot of kids, or you can add, Jones pads or extension pads, anything like that to lengthen that gun out so you get more longevity out of that gun when you're talking children." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1879.985", "endTime": "1889.08", "body": "When you're talking women, here's the thing. Most people think, oh, okay. Well, she's five eight. So she can go with a gun right out of the box. Any gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1889.08", "endTime": "1895.1599", "body": "Not necessarily. What if she has a short neck? What if she has shorter arms? You know? So Mhmm." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1895.6849", "endTime": "1921.9299", "body": "I and then I've had I've had kids that are, like, five three, five four can shoot a regular shotgun that's got a length of pull of fourteen two five right out of the box. So I mean, because they've got longer necks, longer arms. It just depends on it just depends on your body itself. I mean, your body is going to determine what shotgun you need to buy." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1922.25", "endTime": "1929.585", "body": "No. Absolutely. And, you know, you brought up a really good point. You talk about over and unders, and you talk about semiautomatics. Right?" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "1929.585", "endTime": "1956.335", "body": "And, you know, I feel like in the hunting world, you always see semi autos and, you know, you see a lot of those, especially when you first start shooting trap. Right? With over and unders, you have the option to have an adjustable stock, right, or an adjustable butt pad that would help you fit that gun. Now with semiautomatics, do you have that same option, or is there something in the box that you can use to get there to make it fit better?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1956.495", "endTime": "1973.37", "body": "So absolutely. And I actually whenever I quit competing, so I whenever I was competing professionally, I was sponsored by Blazer. Great guns. Love the guns. They're not a beginner gun unless if that's what your pocketbook can afford." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1973.6901", "endTime": "1993.7001", "body": "But whenever I quit competing, I'm like, well, I don't have to shoot these anymore. My husband got lucky because he got my hand me downs, and I switched to back to semis. I started with a semi. My very first gun was a field Binelli Montefeltro. Probably should have kept it." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "1993.7001", "endTime": "2014.7449", "body": "Pretty nostalgic, but we didn't know if I was gonna keep shooting. So my husband was like, let's try a field gun. I immediately had that gun fit. I personally have been very privileged to not know what it's like to shoot a gun straight out of the box Because I've always been surrounded by people that were just like, hey. This is what needs to happen, so you are successful." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2015.225", "endTime": "2032.0901", "body": "And so that done, we immediately went to a gun fitter. In my opinion, probably the best gun fitter that has ever lived. May he rest in peace. He unfortunately died recently. But he just had me shooting." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2033.0751", "endTime": "2046.275", "body": "It was a journey, of course, due to my birth injury, but he had me shooting and hitting clays the first day out. And so that's Amazing. A no recoil. That's huge. And then I progressed that That's huge." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2046.5599", "endTime": "2060.4", "body": "Yeah. We started with a 20 gauge. My husband and my gun fitter, both men. So and then six months, I was already out shooting that gun. We moved up to a 12." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2060.785", "endTime": "2077.56", "body": "I made the mistake of buying a women's 12 gauge. Guess what? Didn't fit. Had to go do about $1,500 worth of stock work to it. So then whenever I started competing professionally, I knew that semi was not gonna hold up." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2078.1199", "endTime": "2097.775", "body": "I love me a semi, but at the end of the day, unless if you have multiple of them, they are not gonna handle three, four, 500 rounds a day, five, six days a week. So it's just not gonna happen. The springs are not gonna hold up, all of that kind of stuff. You're gonna constantly have to keep them cleaned and maintenance. So that's why multiple semis is the best option." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2097.855", "endTime": "2115.21", "body": "And so I that's when I moved to an over and under. Now I've gone back to a semi now that I'm not competing professionally because I don't have to lift that heavy gun anymore. Don't get me wrong. I love my Blazer. My Blazer was actually famous on Instagram because she was purple." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2116.2952", "endTime": "2116.935", "body": "Love it." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2116.935", "endTime": "2137.21", "body": "I'm I'm a semi person. I love my semis. I've got eight or nine of them now, as far as in the a four hundreds, and I do have the I do have a siren l four s. The thing is with those is I know that they're not gonna beat me up. I know that I can Mhmm." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2137.2898", "endTime": "2150.615", "body": "Lift them up fast. I know how to clean them. That's the kicker. Whenever you get into those gas driven guns, you've gotta know how to clean them. And I know also one of the other things." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2150.615", "endTime": "2173.0151", "body": "Let's say I'm somewhere and my gun breaks. If someone's got an a 400, I can pick it up and shoot it. I will say, though, when you get into the semis, especially in the hunting world, I'm not gonna go take a wood stock waterfowl hunting. You really need to get into the synthetic stocks. I have had my a 400 knot cycle." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2173.0151", "endTime": "2195.39", "body": "Whenever I was hunting in South Dakota, it was a negative nine with a 40 mile an hour wind, and we were getting snowed on. It stopped snipe cycling because it was so cold. I've since learned how to work through that now. But those are just those can be the downfalls of semiautomatics is they just don't cycle because they can be very finicky." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2195.39", "endTime": "2206.7349", "body": "I know this is like an old trick, but moleskin when you were talking about gun fit, have you ever used moleskin to get a little bit up on the gun for someone that needs a quick fix or, you know, a youth shooter?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2206.7349", "endTime": "2224.69", "body": "100%. I actually carry what I call my little coach's box, and in my coach's box has moleskin. It's got athletic tape. Athletic tape is good too for building up a little bit if you have to. Or let's say, you've got a kid that's rolling their hand up on the grip." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2224.93", "endTime": "2239.6252", "body": "If you'll put a little bit of athletic tape further down that grip, they have that feel so they leave their hand. Because if you roll your hand up on the grip, you can trap your trigger. So, yeah, I've got moleskin in there. I have cardboard. I've got foam." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2240.0251", "endTime": "2265.1252", "body": "I have I this is cheap of me, but whenever you're having to fit thirty, forty guns at that time, I cut up Styrofoam plates to make little long rectangles to use to build up stocks and, electrical tape. The beauty of electrical tape, and this is why I love electrical tape, it does not leave a sticky residue on wooden or synthetic stocks." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2265.205", "endTime": "2276.485", "body": "Oh, that's good to know. Yes. Especially when you're trying to, you know, have instructors or even coaches. Coaches. That's huge for I feel like coaches need to have these tips when you're dealing with kids." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2276.7", "endTime": "2293.0752", "body": "Yes. I have a lot of and then I have tools to work on pretty much any gun, and I travel with that stuff. So I I have instructed all over The US. I've even been invited to instruct in Dubai, but no. No." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2293.155", "endTime": "2327.0151", "body": "And so one of the things is I I travel with this stuff because you never know what's gonna happen. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to fix a gun out in the field, on the range, whatever, not just for gun fit, but just in general, something happened to the gun. I've taught myself how to break down most of these guns for that reason and then put them together, of course, because, that's the worst thing, especially whenever you break one down and you're like, oh, no. How do I where does this spring go?" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2327.0151", "endTime": "2334.215", "body": "Where does the spring go? Oh, no. Okay. I got a question for you. In the you know, I have a Benelli." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2334.6099", "endTime": "2343.33", "body": "So they're great. They can go through anything. You can use them as a paddle. You can use them as a walking stick at that point sometimes. Like, they are they're beast mode." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2344.6099", "endTime": "2349.57", "body": "They have shims in them. Would you recommend people using those shims" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2348.905", "endTime": "2349.3052", "body": "Yes." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2349.3052", "endTime": "2350.5852", "body": "To make that fit better?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2350.5852", "endTime": "2354.665", "body": "I had that in the back of my head, and it just wasn't coming to the front. Okay. So" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2355.145", "endTime": "2355.705", "body": "No. You're" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2355.705", "endTime": "2376.52", "body": "fine. If you buy a gun brand new, you're gonna have a bunch of stuff that comes in your box. You're gonna have your chokes, probably a choke wrench, maybe some oil or lube, your manual, but they're gonna come with these little black things that are rectangle, oblong. Those are your shims. Yeah." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2376.52", "endTime": "2419.3901", "body": "And they're gonna have numbers on them and letters. Those mean things, whether you're going to cast on, cast off, also changing the height of that comb up and down. I highly recommend, one, finding someone you don't have to go to a gun fitter, but if you have someone that you know, especially if you're brand new, that knows how to see an eye over the top of the rim and can understand, okay, I know it needs to be directly over the top, but my eye is looking down the left. What shim do I change that out with? Moving putting the shim in the gun is gonna move that stock and bring your eye closer to the top of the rim." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2419.71", "endTime": "2435.315", "body": "So whenever you open those boxes and oh my gosh. When I used to coach and I used to have a very large team, 60 to 70 kids on the team, they would throw them away. And I'm like, what? No. Do not throw those away." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2435.315", "endTime": "2473.3801", "body": "So I at the beginning of every year, whenever I would give my spiel on, okay, parents, get those wallets out, And I would say, bring everything to the first practice. Do not even take the gun out of the box. Just bring the whole box, the gun, everything to the first practice, and let me put it together. Let me do the shims, all of that kind of stuff. But the cool thing is, especially, Bunnelli, Beretta, your two main, semi auto manufacturers, you can buy those online, and they're not that expensive, thankfully." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2473.94", "endTime": "2483.86", "body": "And I've even seen people three d printing them now. So it Oh, that's amazing. Yes. Where you can get the different degrees and all of that kind of stuff. It's pretty cool." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2484.285", "endTime": "2493.085", "body": "And sometimes you even have to use more than one. So it just depends on what you're having to do. Yeah. But, yes, the shims are everything." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2493.4849", "endTime": "2505.9602", "body": "I definitely feel like the they are super important, and they're not talked about enough. I see tons of hunters, even old school hunters where they're like, hey. I I need trouble. Like, I'm having trouble shooting a target. And I'm like, no wonder you're having trouble shooting a target." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2505.9602", "endTime": "2514.0051", "body": "Have you ever patterned your gun? It's going the wrong way, man. Or you're looking, like, 10 feet below, not even your eye's not even over the barrel." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2514.0051", "endTime": "2523.285", "body": "Yes. That goes back to recoil. Those shims can help reduce recoil too because they can get your eye higher so you're not looking up and then punching yourself in the face." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2524.28", "endTime": "2535.64", "body": "Let's talk about that honestly because I feel like that's not talked about enough is your sight picture. How do you know if you are looking if you're low on the gun? What would you recommend for people to look at?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2536.875", "endTime": "2560.72", "body": "Literally, no pun intended. So, basically, if you're just seeing, like, all gun and you're not, like, seeing above the gun, you've got a problem. I this is weird. Again, one of my little tricks that I do, I never said I was normal. I tell the kids to mount in the mirror and look and see Yeah." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2560.96", "endTime": "2578.3", "body": "Where their their eye is at. And I tell them, hey. Even have your parents zoom in and take a picture of where your eye is on over that rib. Whenever I first start teaching someone to mount, I take pictures and show them. I I take pictures of their profile." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2578.3", "endTime": "2599.765", "body": "I take pictures of where their eyes are over the rib, all of that because I want them to be able to go home and mimic it. And so that's the easiest way that I tell them how to figure out, okay, am I low? Am I high? Whatever. Another telltale sign is, a, they've got bruises on their cheeks, and, b, if they're shooting over the top of everything." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2600.085", "endTime": "2612.56", "body": "Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I I think also another telltale sign is if you are taking your head off the gun, right, which refers to the bruises on the cheeks because you cannot see your target. You're like, oh, hey." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2612.56", "endTime": "2623.085", "body": "Where'd it go? Yep. And you're just like, man, that I missed that shot. I have no idea. And you have that no connection kinda feel that you probably get all the time coaching the little ones." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2623.165", "endTime": "2645.695", "body": "Well, here's another trick. The best way, especially with women, because we're such visual learners, And another thing with women is we want to research everything, and we want to think about everything. Like I tell women, our hands are just holding the gun. These are not moving the gun. Our eyes are moving the gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2645.695", "endTime": "2659.55", "body": "So think about if you're driving down the road and you're driving and you're driving and you see a deer over off to the left. What happens? That hand goes to the left because it follows your eyes to the left. So the steering wheel goes to the left. The car goes to the left." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2659.71", "endTime": "2674.275", "body": "Wherever you are looking is where that barrel is gonna go. Wherever you're looking, your hands are gonna follow. So if my gun doesn't fit and I'm sitting low on the gun and I'm having to look up, that gun is gonna go up." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2674.275", "endTime": "2685.075", "body": "That's that's exactly right. That's a 100% right. And, again, that falls back into recoil, gun fit, feeling confident. You can name all the things, and it's like the full circle, a trifecta." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2685.075", "endTime": "2685.955", "body": "Yep. Right" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2685.955", "endTime": "2696.48", "body": "there. Okay. Question for you then. With, like, you know, you wanna have everything fitted, customized, stuff like that. Obviously, that's not in everyone's pocketbook." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2696.48", "endTime": "2709.995", "body": "What brands would you recommend if you have a couple that you've worked with that that have worked for you or just a great starting point where you can at least modify it to be more advanced if you want to that would you suggest?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2710.7952", "endTime": "2737.085", "body": "So if we're buying a semi, I am under a thousand dollars, the Beretta Ultima, Beretta a 400 Ultima. Hands down, you can take that that gun on the range. You can take it duck hunt waterfowl hunting, upland hunting, anything. It is a synthetic stock, though, so it is a little bit harder to modify. But as long as you've got a good gunfighter that knows about dealing with synthetic stocks, you'll be fine." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2737.645", "endTime": "2754.3901", "body": "You, a lot of times, can find those guns for in a 12 gauge around $800. You cannot go wrong with an $800 gun. You wanna go up a little bit in price? I love the Beretta a 400 line. I have the entire line." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2754.7102", "endTime": "2763.8948", "body": "And so it just depends on what you wanna do. I love the Beretta a 400 Explorer. It is an all around gun. It is a Woodstock. Do I take it duck hunting?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2763.8948", "endTime": "2782.47", "body": "I do. I just wipe it off if I get it muddy. But that gun is gonna run you around $151,600 dollars. If you wanna go up even further in price, I really like the Siren l four s's. Hence, I like a gas driven gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2782.5498", "endTime": "2818.1152", "body": "So I know, like, you're an inertia driven person because you like the Benellis. And totally understandable, the Benelli Super Sport is a pretty awesome gun. But, again, you're getting above that $2,000 range. And so I don't think there's any gun on the market that can be beat the Beretta a 300 Ultima for under a thousand dollars. There's just not one out there, in my opinion, that is going to give you that soft recoil, can potentially fit you out of the box because that gun comes with spacers." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2818.435", "endTime": "2847.155", "body": "And so you can take the gun from, I believe, 14 inches length of pull all the way up to 15 inches length of pull. And so, like, my husband has a 15 and a half inch length of pull, we actually had to add a few more spacers, but the gun fits him. And then whenever we get into the over and unders, there's a new gun on the market. Absolutely love. AKKAR USA, a k k a r, is now making a women's gun." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2847.155", "endTime": "2874.9048", "body": "I have had them in my hands. They're $1,700 out of the box. They're absolutely beautiful. They come the dimensions on the stock, in my opinion, are probably one of the closest I have ever seen to fitting the average woman, and they come with an adjustable comb. And that gun weighs seven and a half pounds and has no recoil." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2874.9048", "endTime": "2897.79", "body": "I have put the 12 and the 20 to the test. The 20 weighs, like, 7.3 or 7.4 pounds. The 12 weighs, like, 7.8 pounds. We've put both gauges to the test with varying ammo all the way up to some heavier hunting ammo, and the recoil stays the same. It's super, super light." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2898.535", "endTime": "2933.995", "body": "I'm very, very impressed by that gun. And for a over and under with an adjustable comb that's pretty, it has a very pretty receiver and really nice wood for under $2,000, you can't beat that. You cannot beat that. I would even recommend that gun for a youth shooter, a smaller male just because of the the length of pull on that gun out of the box is 13 and a half. So the average woman is in that 13 and a half to thirteen seven five range, and super easy to add add to it." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2934.235", "endTime": "2936.715", "body": "But the big thing is that adjustable comb is huge." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2936.715", "endTime": "2951.1", "body": "No. That that is definitely huge. I always tell people like, hey. If you're getting into, like, clay target sports and you kinda wanna get into hunting as well, you wanna kinda do both an adjustable comb, especially especially if you're a woman. Because I know I've I've I've had trouble." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2951.1", "endTime": "2963.735", "body": "It's hard to see over that barrel if you have, like, a smaller frame. I feel like they just don't make shotguns for women. They really don't. And so that's amazing to hear that that that's coming available." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2964.055", "endTime": "2978.76", "body": "Yeah. Dave Miller, a lot of you have probably heard of him. Mister has broken several world records. Pretty cool guy. It's his company, and he is a personal friend of mine, but I I'm I'm honest." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "2978.76", "endTime": "2992.745", "body": "And if I didn't like the product, I wouldn't recommend it. And whenever he shipped me the very first one that came in The United States, and I was like, oh my gosh, Dave. Like, you've done it. Like, I was shocked. Very, very shocked." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2993.145", "endTime": "2996.67", "body": "It's unlocked. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Okay." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "2996.67", "endTime": "3010.835", "body": "I have one more question for you. We did talk about, you know, recoil gun fit and all that, and we did mention ammo. When you talk about ammo for recoil, what ammo would you recommend ounce wise for beginner shooters?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3011.315", "endTime": "3034.0298", "body": "I am a huge proponent. Now it depends. Because semiautomatics sometimes will not, cycle the, lighter ammos. If you can get a a semi auto that will cycle lighter ammo, seven eighths ounce, 1,200 FPS, seven and a halves all the way. I know people get into that, oh, you need 1,300." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3034.0298", "endTime": "3039.445", "body": "You need thirteen fifty. No. You don't. Science proves that it breaks up. It breaks up." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3039.445", "endTime": "3059.74", "body": "In regular target shooting, that stuff breaks up so fast. If your gun will not handle a seven seven eight ounce, one ounce 12 hundreds, seven and a halves, all the way. I shoot that for everything. Now, obviously, I didn't shoot that whenever I was shooting international. But now even now, I've kinda switched into the Hallease world." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3059.82", "endTime": "3067.875", "body": "I shoot that, and people are like, what? Why are you shooting that? I just like it. It's low recoil. It goes where you know, it goes vain." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3067.875", "endTime": "3068.9153", "body": "I dislike it." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3069.7952", "endTime": "3086.23", "body": "Oh, no. Hey. If it helps with recoil, you know, that's the biggest thing I feel like people struggle with is they are scared of the recoil. When you talk about shotguns, they're like, oh, I don't like shotguns because of that recoil. And so you can accommodate that right off the bat with gun fit and ammo." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3086.23", "endTime": "3090.23", "body": "Mhmm. You've sold people. You're like, okay. Hey. I actually like this now." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3091.015", "endTime": "3105.255", "body": "Okay. So, Brandi, I have a couple rapid fire questions for you since we do have time. I'm so excited. I've asked my followers, you know, hey. What do you want to know from Brandi Elrod?" }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3105.255", "endTime": "3109.6099", "body": "And okay. Here they are. So first one's first, and then these are really quick." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3109.6099", "endTime": "3110.25", "body": "Okay." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3110.65", "endTime": "3117.69", "body": "When is it worth waiting or saving for a better gun versus accepting a starter option? When's that timeline?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3118.5352", "endTime": "3131.8152", "body": "Never accept the starter. Always buy the better gun. So I would wait. Wait until you can afford that gun that that your pocketbook can afford. But, again, remember, cheap and shotgun do not belong in the same sentence." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3132.51", "endTime": "3139.3901", "body": "Okay. Okay. Okay. Next question. The gauge you prefer and why I think I can guess this." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3139.3901", "endTime": "3145.31", "body": "Yeah. So I love a 12, especially when you're starting out. And people are like, what? Wait. Why?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3145.7048", "endTime": "3169.99", "body": "Because at the end of the day, you're sending more lead downrange, and you're gonna be a lot more successful the more lead you can send downrange. Now if you're starting out hunting or if you are you've got a young kid, a toy might not be a bad idea just for the mere factor of the weight. I'm not gonna go stick an eight or nine pound gun in the hands of a sixty pound kid." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3170.15", "endTime": "3181.445", "body": "Okay. I have a question on that. So if you do have, you know, a younger kid and they wanna do a 20 gauge, would you recommend anything to help with that recoil or help them have a better experience?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3181.605", "endTime": "3203.93", "body": "Yes. So, again, I'm not sponsored by this company. Love their product. I have their pads on all of my guns. Falcon Strike makes a pad that's got a recoil system built into the pad, and that, pad will go on any shotgun any shotgun, and it takes out about 80% of the recoil and muzzle bump." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3204.215", "endTime": "3209.415", "body": "Oh, I love it. I love it. Okay. Favorite shotgun model you have ever shot?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3210.295", "endTime": "3226.89", "body": "My Blazer. I mean, I love my Beretta a four hundreds. Oh. But sparkles, my purple Blazer, I think from the the nostalgia and what she gave me. That gun gave me this amazing platform." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3226.89", "endTime": "3246.035", "body": "I actually whenever I quit shooting professionally, I sold off a couple of them, but I kept the original one, and she has a purple trigger too. And my husband actually shoots it. I switched out the stock and the forend and everything forend, but the purple trigger still stays, so we know that was the original Blazer." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3247.55", "endTime": "3254.91", "body": "Oh, it's a purple trigger. I love it. Oh my goodness. So you if we see your husband shooting purple, we know we know that sparkles. Yep." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3254.91", "endTime": "3256.03", "body": "You know that sparkles." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3256.03", "endTime": "3262.43", "body": "Love it. Last question. What is the one mistake you see beginners make all too often?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3262.51", "endTime": "3276.5151", "body": "Buying a cheap gun and just going straight to the shotgun range. Find an instructor. Find a reputable instructor and spend the money on an instructor because it'll save you a lot of heartache in the long run." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3276.77", "endTime": "3287.41", "body": "It's like music to my ears because I completely agree with you on that. Like, that is a 100% the way to go. Yep. Get an instructor. Start off on their right foot." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3287.41", "endTime": "3290.69", "body": "Enjoy it the first time before you make mistakes." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3291.01", "endTime": "3303.875", "body": "Hunt yep. That has always been my philosophy. It's an expensive sport, and I don't want people wasting money whenever they could save money by starting with an instructor." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3304.1902", "endTime": "3315.1501", "body": "Absolutely. I I couldn't agree more. We have really explored so much today. I could I feel like I could talk to you for hours, hours about, you know, shotguns. It's my passion." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3315.1501", "endTime": "3340.69", "body": "I know it's your passion. We met over it. Yep. We've we've really just deep dived into literally how to go from clay target world to hunting world, recoil, tips and tricks of what to use on, you know, the clay target field to make you a better shooter, and then basic accessories that help you become a better shooter. I'm so thankful you joined us on this podcast, Brandy." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3340.69", "endTime": "3344.85", "body": "Like, thank you so much. Could you tell the audience where they could find you?" }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3345.09", "endTime": "3355.1252", "body": "Absolutely. You can find me. The best way to find me is at lady outdoor lifestyles. I actually post a lot of tips and tricks videos on there. That's my magazine." }, { "speaker": "Brandi Elrod", "startTime": "3355.605", "endTime": "3366.9102", "body": "We are the only women's magazine in the world that covers the entire firearms industry. So fall, that's the best place to follow me, and you can actually find my personal social media through there." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3367.07", "endTime": "3375.63", "body": "Awesome. Okay. Everyone go follow Brandi and ask her a bunch of questions from the podcast. We love it. Thank you for tuning in to Ascend podcast." }, { "speaker": "Julia Stallings", "startTime": "3375.63", "endTime": "3384.415", "body": "Be sure to like and share with all your fans and favorites. I'm your host, Julia, and I'm encouraging you to follow your story wherever it might take you." }, { "speaker": "VO", "startTime": "3387.615", "endTime": "3411.805", "body": "Thank you for listening to the Ascend podcast. New every week, the conservation driven podcast one week and our adventure video series the next. Watch the Ascend adventure episodes on the Ducks Unlimited YouTube channel, and be sure to like, share, and subscribe. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited. Until next time, follow your outdoor story wherever it leads you." }, { "speaker": "VO", "startTime": "3412.205", "endTime": "3412.685", "body": "Ascend." } ] }