Sabrina pose notwithstanding ,the photo is very revealing on the concept of Mission Determines Gear.  This week, Brazil’s Military Police literally invaded a really nasty neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro trying to dismantle a drug organization entrenched deeply in the area and responsible for many murders. Construction in the Favelas of Rio is made with concrete blocks and lots of cement (wood is so expensive only the ultra rich can afford it) so a 5.56 round will have trouble penetrating a wall.  FN FALs (as depicted in the picture) are the choice for blasting hard cover and taking the fight to bunkered down criminals.

This is not to say that 5.56 does not have a place in the Brazilian urban warfare. As we can see in the next photo, either in a scoped version for long range work or short version for house clearing, a rifle in 5.56 is necessary and even desirable.

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Although I cannot imagine the logistical nightmare that must be to heavily depend on two different calibers and weapon’s systems, the fact that the specific need of the moment is what dictates what should be used instead of some procurement dictum stated by somebody who’s never left the office should be applauded.

It might be good for Bad Guys to take notes: When breaking into a home, make sure that the home owner is not armed and prepared to use the gun and also to choose a ground level apartment for the deed. Two critters are now enjoying their turkey dinner at a location hotter than Miami after breaking into a Palmetto Village condo. Apparently the owner shot and killed one while the other was shot in the arm and decided to take a dive out a third foor window.  It seems that the sudden decrease of acceleration combined with a pavement overdose was not a good thing and the critter died.

Gravity is not a suggestion: It is the Law!

UPDATE: A bit more from the Miami Herald.

Dumb quote: “Nothing like this ever happened here before,” said Sergio Tejada, who was visiting his aunt in a nearby unit for Thanksgiving. “It’s a pretty safe neighborhood — or it was.”

It wasn’t safe and the actions of the bad guys demonstrated that. It is a bit safer now that 2 robbers will not fall into recidivism and the word will spread that that area might be dangerous to the health of criminals.

While the Missus is busy in the kitchen preparing the side dishes, I’ll just relax watching the Burn Notice marathon. I’ll get to fire up the grill later and do steaks…yep, no flesh from a feathered animal shall ever cross my lips. And me being the MAN, get to play with fire and endanger the neighborhood.

The menu apparently goes this way:

• Grilled Steaks marinated with (secret marinade recipe remains secret).
• Fried yucca.
• Green Bean Casserole.
• Stuffing (That is the wife’s thing.)
• Fried Plantains.
• Deviled eggs
• Cole Slaw
• Potato Salad
• Apple Pie (Cheesecake was made too early and became a casualty…<burp>)

And to aid digestion, I am blessed that the Dolphins will not be playing and thus saving me from developing and extra dose of heartburn.

And to all a very Happy Thanksgivings. My special thanks to all our men and women serving overseas.

I know it is kinda late but might as well write something other than politics and TSA groping for a change. Last Halloween we had a Monster Hunter Match very loosely based on Larry Correia’s books. I would give it a C+ of B- just due to the fact that I made several mistakes. Mainly I made it too big; even though it was just two stages, we had an IDPA classifier before it and that sapped the crap of lots of shooters and staff. IDPA classifiers are long and tiresome and probably the most annoying part of IDPA. At the end, people just shot the shotgun/pistol stage and left the rifle/pistol for a next time.

Still I think people not only had fun, but learned some interesting things about operating a shotgun… we suck.

Here are the two Courses of Fire shot: Werewolves and Puppies and Gnomes. Oh My! (Shotgun) and Zombies and Ghouls and Lead (Pistol.) Even both events were timed independently, the shooter was told to run them as if it was one single CoF.

In “Werewolves and Puppies and Gnomes. Oh My!” the shooter started at the Low Read with 5 slugs loaded in the shotgun and had to hit the 5 werewolves at 30 yards away in the kill zone (8 inch center or head shot), reload and do it again. Then move behind the Bianchi barricade and engage the previously selected gnomes (red or blue bowling pins) from both sides. Once there, the shooter moved to the final position and engaged 5 pepper poppers (werewolf puppies). Both gnomes and puppies were to be engaged with birdshot.

” Zombies and Ghouls and Lead” was the pistol stage to be shot as fast as possible but from cover and designed to confuse shooters a bit. Zombies required one well placed brain shot but ghouls demanded 2 hip bone shots (blue zone) before shooting the head and before shooting the zombie. “Why shoot from cover? They are zombies and ghouls” I got asked this and the best and fastest I could come up with was ” Because they spit poison!” I know, lame as hell but I had been awake for 25 hours by then.

Lessons learned: Safety Officers and Shooters were the reason the match even got started. Everybody collaborated setting up, pasting and having fun. Safety was one thing also run tight and fine. We had a cold range where you could carry your sidearm, but long-guns were to remain in the case, flagged and only manipulated when the shooter was called to the line.

Many people are now realizing that a shotgun is a bitch to reload fast, even if you are shooting a Saiga (we had 2 shooters with their “Abominations”) and a rifle might be a better choice for TEOTWAWKI. Nobody managed to place 2 slugs in the kill zones at 30 yards and that was also an eye opener. We shoot a lot of pistol so pistol scores were damn decent accuracy wise. We need more shotgun practice so we will be planning some classes in the future including Defensive Shotgun.

NEVER AGAIN DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS…… following another event. Too tiresome and although fun was had, it took on everybody. I didn’t even git to shoot and had to leave the range before the end under orders of the Missus or suffer the consequences… and she is scarier than a rabid werewolf.

I haven’t seen the winner yet since that day, but he will receive a cheaply printed certificate and a copy of Monster Hunter International.

That is all…. carry on.

The real Ted Shaffrey contacted me (3/20/2012) and informed me that the quote below was wrongfully attributed to him. He was kind enough to include the AP correction to the original story. You will see two “Ted” which officially mean “unknown idiot who enjoys being patted in the groin by TSA agents” and not Mr. Shaffrey.. Are we clear people?

Chicago (AP) _ In some versions of a Nov. 24, 2010, story about Thanksgiving holiday security at U.S. airports, The Associated Press wrongly attributed a comment supporting more invasive screening measures to AP reporter Ted Shaffrey. It was a traveler interviewed by Shaffrey who
said, “Tell all the people whining about getting patted down to remember 9/11. They’re all whine-bags.” In a paragraph attached to the story,
Shaffrey was correctly listed among AP contributors.

My apologies to Mr. Shaffrey and i hope that this correction helps clear any further problems or misconceptions people may have for somebody’s mistake in naming him the owner of the quote.

“Tell all the people whining about getting patted down to remember 9/11,” he said. “They’re all whine-bags.”

Hey Ted, call me silly but I seem to recall the 9-11 Terrorists were not carrying the box cutters in the groin.  And in case you think TSA Perverts are doing a good job with the scanners and the pat downs:

Feeling any safer yet Ted?

Great Photoshop and well done faux article.  Somebody has a great imagination!

Sometimes you come across with people achieving a level of stupidity so big you wonder how they manage to breathe without printed instructions to follow. Bill Holda, president of Kilgore College in Texas actually is on the record saying that the Luby’s Cafeteria Massacre was caused by multiple shooters (Check video at 1;20). This beautiful figment of his imagination comes about his opposition to Campus Carry and I imagine that gives him the reason to lie in the name of the “greater good.” Well, he is either lying or he is the biggest disconnected moron since Al Gore invented the Internet.

Of course, Suzanna Gratia Hupp had a word or two to say about Mr. Holda.

Dr. Hupp, a former Texas State Representative and the author of From Luby’s to the Legislature, responded to Holda’s comments by stating, “I’m not sure which is more offensive, the apparent complete fabrication of Dr. Holda’s Luby’s Cafeteria story or the lack of journalistic effort by the reporter to correct his fictional tale.”  Addressing Bill Holda directly, Hupp added, “Dr. Holda, the only person who had a gun was the madman slaughtering those around me like fish in a barrel.  I defy you to name one place in this country where a mass shooting has occurred despite the people there being allowed to carry concealed handguns for protection.  These madmen go where they know they will get a high body count.”