Transcript
Mark
Welcome to another Shooting and Shaving podcast with Steve Struvy of The Shave Shack of Texas and me, Mark, mantic59 of Sharpologist Com. And today we’re going to talk about a number of things, both shooting and shaving.
Steve
Alright, Let’s go.
Mark
You actually have a pistol competition going on today, which we’ll be talking about a little bit later. What’s the competition all about right now for this weekend,?
Steve
It’s the area 4 USPSA Steel Challenge and got people from all over the country, got people from Idaho, people from California, people from all over about 300 shooters.
Mark
And this is a pistol competition. What’s involved with that kind of competition? I noticed that when we were out there, there are different stages?
Steve
Different stages would be right. A different target target raise. Yes.
Mark
How does that work?
Steve
Well, we’ve got 10 stages. And like I said before, when we were talking the Steel Challenges a set of rules in every stage, it doesn’t matter where you go in the United States, they’ve all got names. And if you shoot on a stage here, it’d be the same as if you shot anywhere in the United States and that you’ve got a series of steel targets and it’s all against the clock. And then you’ve got a stop plate which stops the clock. So you shoot your targets, then shoot the stop plate. And that’s it.
Mark
And how many people have showed up this weekend for the competition?
Steve
We’ve got between 250 and 300. There are quite a few people out there right now. Yeah. A lot of people shoot multiple weapons, different classes, if you will. And so total, we’ve got up in the high three, maybe 400 guns.
Mark
I noticed the vast majority were pistol types, but they looked like a couple of rifle types too, like the old style Carbine. Was that correct?
Steve
That’s PCC, which is a pistol caliber Carbine. It’s a nine millimeter. Looks like an AK 47. I mean, I’m sorry, AR 15 that could look like anything, I guess. But anyway, shoots nine millimeter pistol bullets coming out of a carbine
Mark
And these are mainly for accuracy versus distance.
Steve
Yes. Well, it’s time and accuracy.
Mark
Okay. So we’ll be discussing a little more on that later. But Meanwhile, Let’s talk about some shaving things.
I noticed in the Shave Shack when we were out there a couple brands that I hadn’t seen before. One was Bath House and the other was Portus Cale.
Steve
Portis cale is comes from a city in Portugal where the River Delero dumps into the ocean. And then Ribero Dider is a River that runs through Spain and is where the best wine in Spain comes from the Rivera Dildar region.
And anyway, that’s a side point. But anyway, where the River Dear dumps into the ocean there at Portus, there’s a Shave Soap company called Portes Collie. And it’s an excellent stuff and really don’t see it too much. And the people that were importing it, I don’t believe have it anymore.
So I’m trying to find it right now.
Mark
Well, I know you’ve got some there. I didn’t look close enough. Was it just a single scent, or were there multiple versions, multiple cents of the soap?.
Steve
So this one is just a single scent.
Mark
Okay. Can you kind of describe the scent?
Steve
Generally? It smells good.
Mark
Okay. And the other brand that I noticed was Bath House. Where are they from?
Steve
They’re English. That’s another one that the importers kind of disappeared. And I’m kind of in negotiation now to try and bring it in direct. Excellent stuff.
Mark
I noticed there were a couple different scents of that. Is there anything that is selling more than the other?
Steve
No, actually, all of it kind of seems to sell equally.
Mark
And they are on the Share Shack website. Correct?
Steve
Yes. And I’ve got one customer in Dallas that drives down. It’s a three hour drive. He comes to get it, he can’t find it on the Internet. I can’t find it anywhere except here.
Mark
And hopefully once the whole COVID thing settles down and shipping returns to something approaching normal, you’ll be able to get more of it in.
Steve
Yes, but I don’t know about just when COVID starts to settle down. Seems like they dream up another excuse. So we’re on the Delta Epsilon Beta five variant now, so no telling what they’ll dream up. But that’s another story.
Mark
And speaking of low inventory, I happen to notice that you still have two of the old Fine Accoutrements shave soaps left. So if anyone listening is interested in the old formulation, there is still one or 2 left. Take a look at this is the website.
Steve
And then soon the new stuff will start coming in. Soon the new will be there. That was the old. And in with the new.
Mark
Let’s talk a little more about the shooters as they relate to Shaving. I see when I was there, there was some interest from the shooters. What kind of reaction do you get from the shooters as they come in and see the Shack?
Steve
Well, I can put it down basically, all of them into two words, shock and awe. They walk in. And of course, most of the people are a type A personality, Manly man types. And of course there are children. And I shouldn’t say children, but younger people and females that shoot, but general majority are male and they walk in and they’re shocked. They just go, Oh, my God. Of course the smell of the place knocks them down. It’s kind of knocks them down in a good way. And they’re just, like, stunned.
Mark
Do you try to guide them in some fashion, like asking them, for example, what kind of smells they like or what kind of shave products they currently have? And then for them in a different direction?
Steve
Absolutely. That’s a big challenge. Just let them say, well, I can’t shave with a double edge razor, a safety razor, because I had one. And I cut myself all up. And I’ll say, Well, what kind of razor was what blade? I don’t know. It was my Grandpa’s. I don’t know. Well, chances are they found it’s 40 years old. And it’s got the same blade from 40 years ago. And it’s been, you know, shift and pass and thrown in the drawer. And Lord knows what shape the blades in. But anyway, we try and get them going.
I had a representative from a major pistol company. Unknown initials are S and S, I won’t say who it is. But anyway, came in and he spent about 3-400 dollars. He bought a brush, he bought some Sterling soap. He bought just a little bit everything. Bought a razor. Think if I remember already bought a Merkur, some type. I don’t remember which one. But anyway, it doesn’t matter. Got him set up in about a month later, he comes, he he walks. And he says, Man, I want to kiss you. And I went, Oh, Whoa. What’s this all about? And he explained how I had changed his life. And every morning, that’s one thing you did look forward to shaving. So there’s some good experiences that come out of it.
Mark
Good. Okay, Let’s talk about blades for a minute. You mentioned by coincidence, you are mentioning that this other fellow was talking about blades and razors and things. What about blades for the beginner? What do you have in the shack that might be more appropriate for a beginner versus somebody that’s been saving for a while?
Steve
Well, I’m dyed in the wool Feather guy, but that may not be for the beginners. We’ve got Derby, Derby, seem do real well. I’ve got all the Russian, anything that comes out of Russia. I’ve got the Gillette black, Gillette green, yellow. I mean, whatever you need. And just about any of the Russian blades are perfectly fine.
Mark
Do you find that these new people are resistant to trying more than one blade? Or do you try and encourage them to try different blades?
Steve
Now, sometimes I’ll sell them like a little sample pack, you know, like five blades of half a dozen different brands. And you always try and get a Derby. And the Derby seems to be a crowd pleaser for the beginner.
[Segment Break]
Steve
Okay, this Steve, on a hot July day, we just got finished with a full weekend. I’m here with Trenton Matsuoka, five times speed champion shooter. And Trent’s going to talk a little bit about his ideas of shooting and kids and bringing it up and what he shoots and how he does it. Here we go. Welcome to the show.
Trent
Thank you. It’s good to be here.
Steve
Alright. So just tell us a little bit about we talked earlier about your ideas about you want a red dot and you gave it off and what’s that all about?
Trent
Yeah. So as I have as I have won over the years, you kind of get showered with prizes and eventually you end up with prizes that maybe you don’t really need.
Steve
Or maybe you just have too many of them.
Trent Yeah, exactly. And you know, rather than throwing stuff away or throwing it on Ebay or gun broker or whatever, it’s kind of the worst case scenario in terms of a sponsor who donates to a prize table, they don’t really don’t want to see it go on Ebay because it’s going to mess up their MSRP and blah blah blah.
But the best case scenario is for it to end up in just the right hands. Which I like to do is if I find a prize, a gun or a red dot or whatever is to find the absolute best case scenario.
Steve
Right.
Trent
Today’s case was a young Lady named Trinity and I gave her a vortex red dot, which I have tons of I don’t need. And she’s an up and coming shooter. And not that that’s a bad thing to have, but a person can only have so many. And I found an up and coming junior shooter that could really use it. And that’s really the best case scenario when it comes in terms of sponsored prizes and things like that is to put it in just the right hands. And then I made a point to explain to her that shooting is not about the glory and the victory and winning trophies and all that. What we’re really doing is we’re trying to self improved. Obviously you don’t come out to the range to shoot worse than you did yesterday, and Unfortunately that happens sometimes it does.
Steve That’s not your intention. Yeah. The intent is to come out and do better than you did yesterday. And if you can encourage the young ones to apply that not only to their shooting but to life in general, what will happen hopefully is that they’ll become better human beings for it. and hopefully it will be better for the sport at large that way.
Steve
And what exactly type pistol or brand or what is it that you shoot most often?
Trent
I’m mostly known for shooting a Rimfire rifle with the red dot on it, but I also shoot a PCC, which is a pistol caliber carbine with the red dot on it as well. And I also shoot a nine millimeter open class gun, which is anything goes category and also Rimfire pistol, open division. I’m mostly a red dot shooter these days, although I did start out as an iron sight shooter. It’s just that the typically the faster divisions or the open class. So I wanted to go after those divisions.
Steve
Okay, I notice that you’re here with your dad and you’re traveling in a nice motor home. Are you on the road all the time, or what is your schedule?
Trent
Like, I try to get to a major match no matter where it is in the nation or, in fact, even the world in a non covered world. But I try to get to major match once a month during the shooting season, which is usually March until November. So you’ll find me around. You could find me anywhere around the country looking for the fastest shooters, the biggest matches. Like I said, I’m not the one that’s going after the matches with the biggest payout, the best prizes, and blah, blah, blah. What I’m looking for is the best people, the best run matches, the ones that all my friends are going to. And then while I’m there, I drag that along and we have the main goal nowadays is just have fun with Dad.
Steve
What a great idea. So here at Cawthorn Cartridge Club outside of College Station, how did you hear about this place and what made you decide to come here?
Trent
Well, Dad kind of talked me into it. He’s always perusing looking for matches for us to go to. And I was sort of on the fence whether or not I wanted to go. And then he kind of talked me into it. Said, Vegas is on the way and on the way back. And that’s pretty much what I have to do is talk me into going right.
Steve
Well, how was your time here? Did you enjoy the place? Oh, Yeah, I loved it. The match was run great. The flights started right on time. The food was good. The people were awesome. The match director was very accommodating, yourself very hospitable to us. And the dogs don’t bite.
Steve
No, the dogs are great.
Trent
Actually. Would have traded my red dot price for one of your dogs.
Steve
Could you make that two red dots?
Okay, well, so that about wraps it up. Thank you for stopping by. And where were you when you came here? Where’s your last shoot?
Trennt
My last shot was Oregon in Bend, Oregon.
Steve
Do you live in Central California? So you went North to Oregon and then came kittycornered down here?
Trent
Yeah.
Steve
That’s a pretty nice ride from Oregon to here, wasn’t it?
Trent Yeah. And then our next stop will be actually at my home range. And then after that, we’ll be on the East Coast of Pennsylvania. Oh, September.
Steve Okay. All right. Well, that about wraps it up here. Cawthorn Cartridge Club for shooting a shave. And I’m Steve. And that was trend. We thank you a lot.
