Open Source Defense

Joe Fox and Cameron Toor are the founders of ShotPay, where they're building payment infrastructure for the shooting, hunting, outdoor, and tactical industry. 0:00 - Introduction 3:57 - The Genesis of ShotPay 8:57 - Challenges in the Firearms E-commerce Space 12:27 - Innovative Payment Solutions: BNPL and Layaway 18:52 - Navigating Payment Processing Complexities 28:40 - Building a Stable Payment...

Doug Ritter is the founder of Knife Rights, which for our money is one of the most effective single-issue advocacy groups out there. See how they've singlehandedly changed the path of knife laws in the US, with a tiny staff and budget. Go to ultimatesteel.org to see the gear available in the Knife Rights' 2026 fundraiser. 0:00 - Introduction to Knife Rights 2:43 - The landscape of knife laws 5:52...

Marc is the president and CEO of GrabAGun. 0:00 - Intro 0:29 - Why to IPO, and what it’s like 3:54 - Navigating regulatory scrutiny and having mission-aligned shareholders 13:29 - Stock buyback 15:10 - M&A opportunities in the gun space 22:33 - An everything store for guns 24:43 - GrabAGun technical systems 29:07 - Data and analytics in the industry 32:59 - Operational challenges and opportuni...

Tim is the founder of Hoffman Tactical. 0:00 - Intro 0:23 - How has 3D printing evolved compared to what Tim expected? 9:16 - Does 3D printing need a killer app? 14:22 - Opportunities in destructive devices 18:20 - Tim likes anti-materiel rifles 18:49 - Gun designs are dictated by their manufacturing technology 20:39 - Hoffman Tactical’s customers 24:24 - Drones, automated defense systems, and the...

Rob is the founder of Constellation Response , the store for gun culture 3.0. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro to Rob and Constellation Response 4:44 - Why modern civilian comms are changing from the old days 8:11 - The rise of Meshtastic and its applications 18:45 - Acceleration in radios 21:43 - Why Constellation Response is getting into drones 24:17 - Drone training courses 30:01 - The impact of regulati...

David is the founder of Canine Defense Technologies, which makes drones for defense professionals and serious civilians. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - Drone nomenclature 1:44 - Counterdrone tech and the competition between offense and defense 8:42 - Technological lessons from Ukraine 16:16 - Applying those lessons to civilian drone tech 19:16 - What is the FAA getting in the way of? 25:50 - Panics...

Jon and Sarah run PHLster Holsters, makers of the Enigma, other holsters, and groundbreaking education about how to carry comfortably. Timeline: 0:00 - The journey to making holsters 7:58 - What was the need PHLster was responding to? 17:34 - When did Sarah know the Enigma was going to be good? 35:57 - How much of a breakthrough was the Enigma for PHLster? 41:35 - Education and holster fitment as...

Jay is the founder and technical director of Pew Science, the world's top silencer testing company. Timeline: 0:00 - Are low back pressure silencers the end of history? 4:50 - Why silencers break the FN SCAR 17 7:12 - Pistol silencers are hard 19:21 - What were the breakthroughs in silencer technology? 24:06 - Consumers, not the military, are now driving the silencer industry 44:16 - Is there valu...

Isaac Botkin is a longtime leader at T.Rex Arms and the perfect first guest for the Open Source Defense podcast. We talk about the beginnings of T.Rex, whether guns actually prevent tyranny, and future tech in the civilian defense industry. Timeline: 0:00 - Intro and Background 2:44 - Milestones and Growth of T.Rex Arms 9:51 - Challenges of Growth as a Company 17:45 - Hiring for Passion and Missio...