Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
The Walk the Talk America Podcast is where firearm culture and mental health meet with curiosity, not confrontation.
Each episode brings together voices from the firearm community, mental health professionals, researchers, and everyday gun owners to have honest conversations about suicide prevention, culture, and practical solutions.
We focus on education over outrage, nuance over noise, and collaboration over division, because reducing negative outcomes requires diverse perspectives.
And because this work is personal, every episode closes with a simple but powerful question: How do you stay mentally healthy?
Guns and Mental Health by Walk the Talk America
Ep 172: Ton Jones on Grief, Resilience, Firearms, and the Conversations That Save Lives
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Ton Jones is known by many as the larger-than-life personality from Auction Hunters, but behind the television career, firearms expertise, and decades in the outdoor industry is a story shaped by loss, resilience, responsibility, and human connection.
In this deeply personal conversation, Ton joins Michael Sodini and Kevin Berry to discuss the unexpected rabbit holes he discovered while listening to the Guns & Mental Health podcast, his concerns about how suicide prevention and firearm policy are approached, and why meaningful progress requires people from different communities to sit down and truly listen to one another.
Ton shares a powerful story about supporting a suicidal veteran during a hunting trip, reflects on helping researchers better understand firearms at SHOT Show, and explains how his years working in Hollywood taught him to translate complicated and emotionally charged topics between people with very different perspectives.
He also opens up about surviving on his own as a teenager, losing nearly everything when his home was robbed and burned down, the sudden death of his father, the loss of his grandfather, and the lessons that helped him rebuild rather than allow grief and anger to consume him.
The conversation also explores responsible firearm ownership, the family traditions that shaped Ton’s understanding of safety and secure storage, and the daily practices he now uses to protect his own mental wellness.
This episode is ultimately about showing up: for family, for friends, for veterans, for people who are struggling, and even for those whose perspectives may be very different from our own.
Because sometimes a conversation, a phone call, a shared campfire, or a simple question “How are you doing?” can help bring someone back to life.
