RSWC #074 Mike Hughes & Britt Lentz, Next Level Training

Riding Shotgun With Charlie

#074

Mike Hughes & Britt Lentz

Next Level Training

I met Mike & Britt at SHOT Show 2020 thanks to Klint Macro & Matt Mallory from Meet The Pressers. They said they’re great guys from Next Level Training and they needed to get in the stagecoach. You may have seen Mike Hughes from History Channel’s Top Shot Season 3.

Before Next Level Training and SIRT pistols, Mike was a football player and a patent attorney who enjoyed competitive shooting. He spent a lot of time training and running his business, but having a family took over, and competitive shooting took a backseat.

The SIRT (Shot Indicating Resetting Trigger) pistol was Mike’s idea. It took a lot of work, effort, and research to make the pistols and assembly them, which is all done in Washington state. They’ve got a number of types of pistols, like a GLCOK 17/22, S&W M&P, SIG P320, and a bolt for the AR 15 platform.

We did cover a little about the differences in intellectual property and functional features about making a training pistol that is similar to other pistols. Mike is a great person to cover that, being a former patient lawyer.

Britt brings up Mike being on History Channel’s Top Shot and we talk about that process to get onto the show and some of the behind the scenes stories. Mike really likes how Top Shot brought firearms to a bigger and broader audience and put firearm ownership in a new light for people. He shares that Top Shot was unscripted. It was a long six weeks for Mike, but he shared his secret to success.

Britt has a similar background to Mike. They played football against each other in college. They became best friends at birthing classes. Britt has been on board since the beginning of NLT.

Mike shares one of his favorite and first moments on Top Shot. His first gun to shoot was a Smith & Wesson 500 against Cliff Walsh, a Grand Master with the USPSA.

Mike & Britt were kind enough to give us a coupon code. If you use the code, “RSWC” at https://nextleveltraining.com/ you’ll save 10% on your purchase. Please let them know you saw them on RSWC! A SIRT pistol would be a great item to buy while we’re still in quarantine/lockdown/stay at home. So use RSWC in the coupon code and save 10%!

Favorite quotes:

Mike: “We’re talking about hard times, two or three years in, you basically fail. But we’re too stupid to realize it. We’re the walking dead for 9 months. ….in the end, you just keep at it. Pick up the battering ram and keep hitting the wall. …Things are going pretty phenomenal now.”

Mike: “From what I understand about reality shows, they’re scripted reality… Top Shot is not scripted.”

Mike: “Achievement is kinda simple. You just understand the parameters, and what can go wrong, and you prepare like crazy. And you win. You succeed.”

Mike: “It’s like everything in life. Which is premised on relationships: respect, courtesy, being kind.”

Next Level Training Website (Use RSWC for the coupon code!)

https://nextleveltraining.com/

Next Level Training Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/NextLevelTrainingLLC/

Mike Hughes Top Shot Facebook Page/

https://www.facebook.com/MikeHughesTopShot/

Next Level Training Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nltsirt/

Top Shot: Trick It Up Clip