miami fav #99 / big al’s gun range

i used to be a republican (don’t judge), and yet never shot a gun in my conservative days (wha? and i was so close to the nra in dc!). so, in my ‘independent’ state, i decided why not have a shot (dur hur) at it. and what better place than hallandale. and what better venue than big al’s gun range. the place kind of freaked me out from the outside. and then i walked in, and it freaked me out from the inside too. there was a dog that carried around a blankie. and he would come up to you like he wanted to play. but my recommendation is that you don’t touch the blankie. he does not intend for it to be a toy. he intends for it to serve as his actual security blanket. just some words from the wise. he could totally take a finger in a hot second. okay, onto the guns. there were a lot of them. i actually wasn’t able to take photos of the store (only the store, the range, however, was within limits). i wonder if it was because the owners didn’t want me to photograph the guns, or if it’s because they didn’t want to be seen in another ‘look-at-these-amazing-mullets-album.’ either way, the actual lesson that i took there was fabulous (although, i did not take the class from them, but from miami gun classes). david, the instructor, was french (which even he finds ironic). regardless, he was great. now, i’d like to take a moment for a quick note. most people would say (and did say) ‘why would i pay for a lesson? it’s not that hard to shoot a gun. they do it on tv all the time.’ if you are one of these people, you, more than anybody, need the lesson. because you are also going to be the person that puts your finger in front of the muzzle and gets it blown off. or tries to swing the gun around your finger and shoots you or someone else in the foot. the lesson was more than helpful. if anything, it was great to get some common sense reminders and remember that humans are prone to human error. and that error is usually really unfortunate when it involves a gun. so the more safety you learn, the better. after the lesson (which also can include a really interesting perspective on gun rights if you’re willing to be open-minded about it) you don some really awesome goggles and ear muffs and strut up to the range. and then you get a drawing of a bad guy on a white piece of paper to shoot at. your instructor gives you more techniques. and you shoot the crap out of that piece of paper. and it is thrilling. (after all the safety talk/darwin-award winning horror stories, you may be a little nervous, but you’ll get over it). and i’m not going to lie. i shoot like a pro. basically, i’m your huckleberry. and i cannot wait to get my permit and go again. thanks big al, whomever you are, for unlocking my first gun-range badge.

miami gun classes: http://www.miamigunclasses.com/home.html

big al’s gun range: http://www.bigalsguns.com/