Episode Details

State of the Second hosts John and Kaylee sit down with Rapid Fire Rachel, one of the original female gun influencers, for a conversation that runs from machine guns to motherhood. Rachel explains that her social presence started almost by accident. She was against getting an Instagram at first, then posted her family's Mother's Day at the range tradition and woke up to a phone full of notifications. She grew up around firearms and her dad has held an FFL for over 30 years. Her name came from her dad after she skipped college classes to go to Knob Creek with him, tried the jungle walk side competition, and won it her first year, walking away with prize money and a T. Rex from Dinosaur World that now hangs over her fireplace.

Much of the episode centers on machine gun culture and the events that hold it together. Rachel describes Knob Creek as its own beast, an event that ran for 50 years before its finale, and the family-like community of vendors and shooters that formed around it. After it ended, she and her team hosted the All American Machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina, opening it to the public with vendors like Barrett, LMT Defense, Rugged Suppressors, and Glock so people could get hands on rather than just spectate. Kaylee ties this to GOA's no-compromise position, noting the organization sends teams to shoots because they keep the community together. The hosts dig into the cost barrier to legally owning machine guns since the 1986 ban, the difference between criminal Glock switches and lawfully owned full-auto firearms, and the ATF redefining items like bump stocks and FRT triggers.

The back half turns personal. Rachel, six months pregnant, says she could find almost no information on carrying while pregnant and plans to keep carrying throughout because she now has something extra to protect. Kaylee, a mother of twins who is five feet tall, shares how she switched to a crossbody bag when on-body carry stopped working. Both stress educating kids early, treating guns like any other dangerous thing rather than a mystery, and they react to a six-year-old in Alabama suspended and flagged as potentially dangerous over finger guns at recess. The episode closes on firearms as living history, an upcoming International Women's Day range day in Dallas on March 8, and a promise of a part two.

Questions this episode answers

How did Rapid Fire Rachel become one of the original female gun influencers?

She grew up around firearms and was reluctant to even join Instagram, then posted about her family's Mother's Day at the range tradition and woke up to a flood of notifications. That post launched her social presence almost by accident.

Where did the name Rapid Fire Rachel come from?

Her dad gave her the name after she skipped college classes to go to Knob Creek with him, entered the jungle walk side competition, and won it on her first visit. She walked away with prize money and a T. Rex from Dinosaur World that now hangs over her fireplace.

What was Knob Creek and what made its machine gun shoot special?

Knob Creek was a machine gun shoot that ran for 50 years before its finale, building a family-like community of vendors and shooters around it. Rachel describes it as its own beast, unlike anything else in machine gun culture.

What is the All American Machine Gun Shoot and how did it differ from Knob Creek?

After Knob Creek ended, Rachel and her team hosted the All American Machine Gun Shoot in South Carolina and opened it to the public. Vendors like Barrett, LMT Defense, Rugged Suppressors, and Glock let attendees get hands on rather than just spectate.

Why has owning a machine gun become so expensive and rare since the 1986 ban?

The 1986 ban froze the supply of legally transferable machine guns, so the few that can be owned carry a steep cost barrier. The episode digs into how that limited pool drives the price of lawful full-aut