Yesterday I served as Safety Officer for a private shooting party at Trail Glades Range. We had shooters of all kinds but mostly they were Gun Owners with very litle trigger time on their private gun and zero experience on any other.

Shooters had many choices of firearms to shoot from as can be seen in the next pictures:

On rifles alone, the examples present ranged from a 1903 Springfield to the latest M4 going through M1, M1 Carbine, M14 and M-16. All in all we had 112 years worth of US Military Service rifles present. Quite a bit of impressive history in my humble opinion.

But the most fun I had was seeing shooter’s skill growing exponentially after the proper amount of  instruction was given. I took over the pistol side of things and went from station to station checking on shooters and adjusting a grip here or advising on concentrating on the front sight for a reliable hit on the steel targets.

My shooters ranged in age from a boy 8 years to a lady in her 60s. Both extremes were the more satisfying. Both were first time shooters, both started on .22 caliber weapons and both left after shooting a Springfield 1911 in .45 ACP and getting solid hits on the steels. In fact the lady was so proud, she commanded her husband to take a video of her shooting the big boomer.

My biggest joy was seeing a shooter get hits after a few seconds of corrective instruction and the huge smile in their faces when they hit the gongs regularly after that. They left the range sweaty, dirty and happy, I cannot ask for anything else.

And for that I am thankful.

I live in a quiet neighborhood in North West Miami Dade County just a stone’s throw from the Everglades. Violent crime is so rare kids actually play on the streets and they do the Halloween house by house candy raid.

Yesterday morning while I was doing some work on my laptop and enjoying the mild weather in my back porch, I heard what seemed to be all the Police and Fire Rescue sirens come on at once. Since the Florida Turnpike exit is nearby, I thought there might be a nasty accident on the entrance or exit ramp. Not 5 minutes later, news choppers were flying the area but it was not an accident.

A husband, for reasons yet unknown, went into the restaurant where her wife worked as a cook and shot her twice in the head.

I drive by this place every single day. It is just 6 blocks from my house, the house in a quiet neighborhood. But when a killer’s mind is made, there is no “quiet neighborhood” or “safe place”, there is just a location for a murder to happen.

And that is why I not only carry when I go out but I have a weapon always at arms length when I am at home. The saying goes: “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Even though the shooter only aimed his ire against the wife, nobody else in the restaurant was armed and it was only by the grace of God and a sick one-track mind that nobody else got shot.

It seems that they got the husband who went out in a confrontation with Miami-Dade Police.

There. Is. No. Safe. Haven. Anywhere.

I am still trying to digest the fact that I am a professional writer.

No, you are not making boatloads of money, but it gets you in the SHOT show since you are a Media-Type guy. The fact I can’t go to Las Vegas is a whole ‘nother subejct. 🙂

Some people I know are going to be mighty pissed.

Update: I want to thank Art Director Betty Shonts for the great work she did illustrating my article. If anything, it is proof positive that you can lay up make-up on a pig and make it look good.

After watching all the movies, TV series and websites, I have decided that we in good ole SoFla are more than ready to tackle a Zombie Horde without breaking a sweat and the reason is simple: Hurricane Building Codes, Hurricane Preparation, Firepower & other available resources.

Hurricane Building Codes are perhaps the most important part of the equation. We in South Florida do not evacuate when a hurricane comes because our only option is going north and it takes one car breaking down to be caught in the interstate highways. So we prepare and hunker down in our abodes built to withstand your average Big Blower.

How many times have you seen Zombies breaking in a house via doors and windows? And the victims keep making the same mistakes over and over: Either do not protect those weak points or nail a couple of boards from the inside to fend off a zombie crush. The result are always the same: Zombie food. Down here our doors are usually metal and open to the outside which prevents just plain pushing to access the inside. Add to that the installation of hurricane panels in all other apertures and you get yourself a nice zombie proof bunker.

Unless the Zombies figure out how to use power metal cutting tools, we are pretty much covered. And don’t worry about accessing the house from the basement: there are no basements in South Florida.

For some reason or other, Zombie Outbreaks always happen in the Summer which, coincidentally that is also Hurricane Season. By the end of April, we renew our Hurricane Survival kits & stock up on gas (for the generators) food and water. I personally follow the Southcom Hurricane Survival List which I think is the most comprehensive out there and tested during past Hurricanes. While the Gulf Coast was losing their everloving minds because of Katrina, we were pretty much doing fine and even when we got hit by Wilma (Cat 3) a couple of months later, I bet you do not remember seeing horror stories coming out of Miami. People here have learned to be ready.

There is no other way to say it: We have a trainload of guns in South Florida and they come out to play when SHTF. Weeks upon weeks of no power and resources strained you’d think looting would be normal and bands of marauders would be attacking residents. Well, not down here. When the grandmother that lives 5 houses down and has to move arouns on her motorized wheelchair is running around with a .357 on her lap, you know you are not to screw with the neighborhood (and she is not a figment of my imagination, she is a neighbor!) And Cops are smart enough to leave people alone taking care of their safety which in turns saves government resources that can be used in real emergencies that cannot be dealt by your standard civilians.

And having a heavy Caribbean & South American presence in the area gives us another great weapon against the Zombie Hordes: The Machete. They are kept very sharp and are a great tool to loop zombie heads in one strike, specially in the hands of people that have been trained for centuries. Ninjas do not like to mess with an old Cuban fart with a machete in hand. And let us not forget that baseball is a very favored sport to the same people so bats are plentiful and known how to be used in case of emergencies.

And I hate to admit it, but State and Local governments do a damn decent job during crisis. Political BS apart, a good infrastructure is set in place to deal with most common major disasters. Even FEMA did not botches stuff up after Wilma and that is saying a lot. Of course, crap goes back to normal BS once the emergency is over.

About the only drawback we have is the hot weather. You know all those corpses are gonna stink to high heaven and our temperatures never drop below freezing. We can only hope that the east to west breezes are kind and constant sending the obnoxious fumes over the Everglades which will also become dumping grounds for the bodies that will feed the gator population.
So, if you really fear the Zombie Apocalypse, move to South Florida! We are ready to take the Undead head on!

(FTC Disclaimer: Paid for the Florida Zombie Apocalypse Business Alliance and the AZLU (American Zombie Legion Unified)

Broward Sheriff’s Office opting out of Shot Spotter.

You’ve seen it in movies and TV where the system magically detects shots fired in a neighborhood and notifies the location to PD with a GPS locator. The problem apparently is that is too expensive and gives way too many false reports.

Acoustics is a funny thing and contrary to some scientists, it is not solved with a couple of math formulas.

And that is why we must oppose the National Reciprocity Law.  <snicker>

But let’s see what the judges say:

We may have a Gold Medal winner folks!

Police: Texas dad shoots suspect holding daughter at gunpoint during attempted home invasion.

Kudos to Daddy, not only he saved her daughter’s life but make sure no dumb teenager will try anything dumb with her for the next decade. Or if she ever marries, hubby will not be abusive.