What a Life

Apparently, I lead a fairly blah existence. Hey, don't get me wrong, I am OK with blah.

L_R- Vinny and Miles

This past weekend was Memorial Day so what did we do? Not much...... Well my mom and dad came over on Saturday morning. Dad wanted to go to our range and shoot some new guns he recently purchased. Now mind you he is 80 years young and still going strong. So we went and slung some brass while mom and the Mrs. watched the French Open on our new TV.


Dad slinging brass

Dad and I got back to the house about 1300 hours. Well, let me tell ya, we men are calorie burning machines so we were hungry. Off to Bob Evans we all went. Now, I won't bore you or me with our menu selections, but it was right good. Sorry I didn't take pictures...darn your luck.

The folks headed back across SR 60 to their side of the state shortly after lunch. So what did we do?  I cleaned guns and knocked out two articles for my other Blog and corresponded with some clients. She did laundry and took a nap. I fell asleep watching the WWII movie marathon on TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

Understand what I am about to say is a miracle. I never sleep past 0500, but on Sunday my Beagle "let me sleep in" until his hunger pains turned him into a raging lunatic at 0630. Made my black tar coffee, fed the boys and did a bit of reading before church. We got ready and left for Sunday School about 845.

After services concluded, we hightailed it home for a quick change of clothes and off to Disney World we went. EPCOT to be exact. We entered through the back gate of the park and were "selected" for enhanced security screening. I emptied my pocket contents into the little tray and went through the security scanner. Of course it went off, so they wanded me. I actually forgot about the titanium in my lower parts until she asked me why her wand was beeping. My bad.

Last weekend for the Flower and Garden Festival

We wondered over to the American Pavilion to hear the Voices of Liberty sing in the rotunda of the building. If you have never heard the group sing, you are missing out. It is a group of eight who sing Americana songs, all acapella. The sound is spectacular. Throughout the bottom floor of the exhibit are scenes from throughout the history of our nation. Once the singing ended,  we were hearded up to the second floor for the show, which lasts about 20 minutes. That was the only thing we did. We exited the way we came in, through the back gate.

Don't tell anyone, but we parked in the "working cast members" lot across from the Boardwalk hotel. We are not working cast or even non working cast members, but we have annual passes. It feels so good to be so dirty.

Back on I-4 headed back to Cowville. Not so fast there speedy, the intrastate (I-4 is not really an interstate since it never leaves Florida) was bumper to bumper. We exited at Champions Gate and came home the back way. Took forever. Had to watch the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 which I recorded earlier. Hey that was a lot in one day.

Monday rolls around and I start yard work early. Now, what I do is not real yard work mind you because my yard is cut and trimmed by professionals. My once beautiful St Augustine yard is now a Bermuda, weed filled patch which needs to be re-sodded. My vision of yard work now is weeding the beds, throw a few bags of mulch here and there and my all time favorite chore is trimming Robelini Palm fronds. These suckers have thorns which penetrate leather gloves.  Napped in the man lounge after all that.

The Mrs made chicken tacos for din-din which is a favorite. Did some more writing and pillowed my head about 2100.

I am thankful for my quite and boring life, just had to share.

Later.

This Ain't no European Carry-all

This is purse, a man purse. We he-men, typically don't refer to our shoulder bags as purses, but they all do the same thing. They carry our important stuff!

My purse is actually a large shoulder bag, called the Colossus Versipack made by Maxpedition. Coach, Gucci nor Michael Kors bags can match the diverse use these bags offer. These bags are made of 1000 denier ballistic nylon and are soil and water resistant.

For those familiar with Maxpedition's line of shoulder bags, the bag is larger than the Jumbo pack by about 25%. Another great feature the bag has are all of the paracord ties on the YKK zippers which make access quick into any compartment.

The rear compartment is designed to hold a 50 ounce bladder. Which means you can attach a sip tube to the reservoir and run it through the pals webbing on the top of the bag for a quick drink without having to stop.



I have carried this bag more than any other bag I own. It is a great day hike pack and has over 500 cubic inches of space on the inside. Two rows of PALS webbing on each side and three rows on the bottom make the bag expandable based on use and need. The padded, ventilated shoulder strap is adjustable and helps distribute weight evenly. Other uses are a range bag, bug out bag, every day carry bag, travel bag, carry on the airplane bag, camera bag, a most awesome tactical diaper bag and go to Disney for a day bag. As a medic bag it would easily accommodate the needs of a platoon.

2 full rows of PALS on each side

550 cord attaching poncho via the PALS channels on the bottom
of the pack, configured for a day hike.

The main compartment measures 8"X4.5"X10". What does that mean? It'll hold a lot, that's what.
The compartment is also padded and has some insulating qualities. But mostly it holds the gear you need to tote with you.

Another plus for the bag is it has a bunch of smaller compartments to hold ancillary gear needed to support whatever endeavor you embark on.

Fire starter kit

Flashlight and cigar compartment



The bags also comes in a multitude of colors ranging from Khaki, Foliage Green, Dark Brown and Black. As a general rule I despise black bags unless the interior is a contrasting color. It makes locating key items difficult at times when looking into a black abyss. The Khaki color has held up well, has not faded or stained and the light color contrasts well with gear stowed inside.

There are not many places I go that this versatile bag does not accompany me.



In the paddock at Sebring for an HSR race 2 weeks after
surgery 6.

Like Coach, these bags are not cheap with the Colossus checking in at $149 on Maxpedition's website. However I have seen them under $120 on Amazon and Optics Planet. The old adage "you get what you pay for" is proven with this bag.

Pain Free...finally.

Let's just say, aging just doesn't do us any favors. Agreed? Basically it sucks.

Being active and exercising has its drawbacks, at least it did for me. I have been an exercise fanatic and extremely active for most of my life. Playing sports in school included, Cross Country running, Football, Soccer, Track & Field and Baseball.

As I became an adult (I use that term loosely) I continued being active and going hard at exercise. Running was a constant. In my late 30's I began to log lots of hours in the weight room trying to fight the aging process. Hey, did I mention running?

Me completing the Stop Soldier Suicide 22 Mile Challenge in 2015.

I sustained my first significant knee injury in 2002 while running, at night in the rain. The result was a torn medial and lateral meniscus and injury to the back of the knee cap. Surgery #1 in the books.

As time progressed my knees really took a pounding from my inability to restrain my activity resulting in a total of seven surgeries on both knees. The older I grew, the more intense my work outs became, until I proclaimed a fitting motto was: "workout right up to the edge". Roughly translated this meant workout right up to the edge of puking.

Eventually, it got to the point where I was having trouble walking and in constant pain and I mean blood sucking agony, keep you up at night kind of pain. Being in chronic physical pain can cause damage to other areas of your life and it must not be ignored. Your body is telling you something is wrong and you need to get it checked out. Please don't tough it out, it will come back to bite you in more ways than one.

When I was 46, the surgeon performing surgery 4 told me both of your knees need to be replaced now, but you are too young for the procedure. What the...?  Fast forward a few year and I finally decided I couldn't stand it any more. So I sought out a local Orthopedic surgeon for help. After X-Rays on both knees and a hip he told me he was going to treat me with Pain Management. I can't even explain how low I felt. Stunned and obliterated is about as close as I can do.

So I looked for a second opinion. I was fortunate and blessed to have been able to get an appointment with reknown Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Jeffery Rosen of Orlando Orthopedic Center. After a thorough examination, he asked me "how are you even walking"? This knee (the left one) was bone on bone in about 50% of the joint and almost no space left in the rest of the joint.  At the time, the only remedy was a total joint replacement called total knee Arthoplasty. I scheduled the surgery before leaving the office.

The day of surgery was filled with a bit of apprehension but no fear. The Anesthesiologist talked to me about the process of going under and that he also would also be performing a femoral nerve block which would last for about 24 hours and help with managing pain afterward.

The procedure itself is brutal and involves sharp knives, some chisel like tools, drills, guide rods and a hammer. All I can say is thank goodness for the drugs which keep you in dream land during the procedure. My first conscious thought some time later was being in the recovery room with about 20 other surgical patients before being moved into a room on the orthopedic floor of the hospital.

In recovery, sporting my always present Tampa Bay Lightning hat. (GO BOLTS!)

Being hooked up to a hydromorphine drip under my control every eight minutes was kind of nice. To my horror, at 0900 the following morning a physical therapist who we shall call "satan's son" came into the room. He actually expected me to get out of bed. Just moving the leg hurt like hell as he helped me up. He indicated "we" would be taking a few steps in the room. As I supported myself over the walker, I recall thinking few steps my butt,  I set my sights on walking to the nurses station-about 30 feet away. After the trip out and back, he then put this machine in the bed, straped my leg to it and said you need to do this 6 hours a day. At which point I pushed the little red button causing a bit of liquid pain relief to drip into my veins. I probably said something snarky like, realllllyyy?

The machine he placed in the bed is called a C.P.M. or Continuous Passive Motion machine. Basically it flexes the knee to a preset angle and all the way to flat in a very smooth motion. The goal is to work two hours per session, three times a day, increasing the flex angle each time.

Strapped into the CPM Machine

CPM control indicating -5 degrees flat, set at 115 degrees

The 26 with the arrow indicates the machine is bringing the leg from max preset flex

to the preset flat setting. All of this is controlled by the patient.

Blah,blah, blah, yodda, yodda, yodda, more PT and exercising before I left the hospital three days later. Rehabbing joint replacement is hard work. Physical Therapists came to the house to work me hard. Nurses came to check too make sure I didn't croak from the painful activities.

Fresh cut!

The first milestone occurred on the sixth day after surgery, when I woke up in the morning with a noticeable reduction in pain. Yippie! Three days later the staples were removed, all 22 of them. Once the staples came out progress moved a little quicker. I ditched the walker at 11 days and sat in the front seat of a car at 15 days. I walked a mile 21 days post op-it took 25 minutes, but I did it.

Walking the mile on day 21. The surgery is also a great way

to loose weight.

Rehab is NOT laying in bed popping pain pills. Rehab IS working your butt off at least six hours a day on the C.P.M. and exercises in between.....if you want to walk again without pain. We went to EPCOT 28 days after getting the new knee, we didn't stay very long but we went.

Let me talk about pain management. You will be given some heavy duty pain meds when you come home. I was given 4 mg Hydromorphine tablets. Take them for the first few days weather you are hurting or not. If you get behind the pain curve, it is difficult to catch up, as I found out the hard way. I went through two refills before transitioning to 10 mg Hydrocodon tabs. Unexpected relief came from the ice wrap which circulated ice cold water around the knee. I think this is how I was able to sleep at night as you are forced to sleep on your back for about a month.

Circulating ice water wrap brought tremendous relief.

Today, that knee is completely pain free. Total recovery time was roughly 12 weeks which included 22 out patient physical therapy sessions.

The second knee replacement, a year and a half later in December 2015, was much quicker to heal from. I went home the same day, resumed normal activities three weeks later, and went through far less narcotic pain medicine. Why was the second one easier? My frame of mind knew what to expect,  a skilled surgeon like Dr. Rosen helps but also the technique has improved to the point of there is no more cutting of the thigh muscle, less surgical trauma to the knee cap and a shorter incision.

And on the horizon is Stem Cell Therapy which could eliminate most joint replacement surgery all together. The treatment involves a Dr. withdrawing your blood and separating the white blood cells. The white blood cells are then injected back into the injured area and the repair begins naturally. No cutting, hacking, no drilling, no staples and no pain. However the treatment is expensive now and not covered by most insurance. As the science evolves, I envision this treatment becoming more common place.

Shameless plug for my incredible surgeon. The day after the first replacement, (remember both of my knees were shot) as I was in an out of the bed walking and exercising on the CPM, my right knee really got over worked. I was having trouble supporting my weight with it. During his rounds, I told Dr. Rosen about the issue with the right knee and I thought an injection of Cortisone would help. He agreed. He and his surgical assistant, Victoria, who I code named "Superstar" went back to his office to fetch me some C-juice. The injection took place about an hour after our conversation. It really calmed down the inflammation in the "good knee" and allowed me to complete my rehab with relative relief. By the way, I had an Orthoscopic surgery (#6) on the right knee four months later in an effort to buy me a little time before eventually replacing it as well.

I share this information for the purpose of encouraging you to seek proper medical advice if you are in a position similar to mine. There is no worse feeling than believing your pain can't be permanently remedied. I would not wish that on anyone.

Saved the Fake Baby

I have been known to pull the trigger on a loaded gun about a billion times in my life. More is better  as long as return fire is not coming back at you, right? I enjoy competitive shooting weather in sanctioned matches or at the range playing the equivalent of horse with guns. As I am fond of saying, anyone can shoot the center out of a defenseless paper target. But I digress, as you can tell.

This year has been weird. I only shot three sanctioned matches. I will blame it on having two knee surgeries in the last 15 months and not on a lack of desire or declining skill, although my eyesight has unimproved.

19 staples holding everything inside the 16" incision

The other surgery




The tactical walker got a lot of use this year.

The first two matches I shot this year be like...hey dude you ever done this before?  And the results were less than exciting, to me at least.

So I have a seventh surgery coming up in December (hopefully it will be the last one) and the plan is to shoot in November and then not shoot again until next year or basically when the morphine and rehab run out.

My mindset going into the November match was to shoot well enough to feel good about things. Let me give you a little clue, competitive shooting is more about thinking your way through a given course of fire than it is about shooting. I have had days where I blasted my way through a match to record the quickest raw time, only to have penalties and misses bring me back down to mid pack. It is always a balance between speed and accuracy.

 

As my fearless squad of shooters assembled for the walk through on our first stage, I took one look at the baby carrier and realized this was going to a one handed stage. One handed shooting can be intimidating to those who don't train that way, however one handed shooting is part of the way I train. The scenario had us walking with our precious plastic kid when we are suddenly attacked by a gang of stationary cardboard thugs. At the start we are to draw our gun from concealment and engage the limited view targets with 2-shots each, move to cover, engaging targets as we go, all the while toting the fake youngin in our weak hand.

I was moving through the stage getting good hits, performed my reload flawlessly and needed to move to another position of cover to pop the last two targets. All of a sudden, a massive adrenaline dump occurred and I felt I could cover the last 15 feet or so in a blaze of speed. With baby in tow, my mind began to send signals my body was going to have a difficult time implementing.

And yet, my being tried to comply. Mind you, I am running with a loaded gun in one hand and ten pounds of fake baby stuff in the other, on unstable terrain. Guess what happened? Yep, I landed on my bionic leg and then on my non bionic chin. As I was falling, in s l o w - m o t  i o n, I recall reminding myself to not drop the baby. Instinct and training dictated that my trigger finger rest on the frame of the gun and to keep the muzzle pointed down range. Safety first is a good way to live.

I gathered the poor kid and my senses to polish off the last two perps in tactical sequence. It was then I realized how much everything in and on my body hurt. Forget the ego, it was on life support.

So this whole event must have knocked some sense into me, because I shot well the rest of the match, in fact decent enough to win my class (Enhanced Service Pistol). I believe had I not taken the tumble, the over all match win would have been mine. "I could have been a contenda". Oh wait I was but finished juuuussst a bit outside the top spot.

SSP - Mark Walsh

ESP - Joe Johnston

CDP - Andrew Casavant

CCP - Neil Munson

The moral of this story if you save the baby, good things will come your way....maybe. Don't quote me on that, but it might happen.

Be safe.

PS- I drove the truck to get there listening to AC/DC, JJ Grey & Mofro and Doyle Bramhall II. May have to repeat that cycle, not that I am superstitious or anything. Carry on.

Man In The Lounge...MY LOUNGE!

Does anyone park cars in their garage these days? I haven't parked a vehicle inside a garage in years. Not counting the riding red lawn mower with Ferrari and Momo stickers all over it.

The former car park is now formally, my space, a man lounge if you will. I do important man stuff out there. Like watching hockey, racing, rugby and football. Lifetime movies are banned in the lounge.

Manly pictures and hats adorn the walls.

 

 

I keep manly gear neatly stacked and ready for a manly deployment at a moments notice.

 

A work bench allows for manly fixing and repairing of stuff and tinkering.

Even got me a big ole rug in the "Mike Lima"

Every lounge must have quality reading material. Check-got it.

And sometimes, you just need to go old school with the music in the man lounge. Good to go there also.

Any man lounge MUST have a recliner- yep. Although it may be time for an upgraded version here soon.

 

Coffee table and a place to hold your Ginger Ale? How about a race used tire from a Dallara Judd from the 49th Running of the 12 Hours of Sebring? Yeah, got that also.

 



Screen to keep the bugs out and the dogs in.

There is even an unofficial pet in the lounge....a 6 foot Black Snake. He doesn't live in there, he just comes and goes during the cooler weather. We used to have a real problem with Pygmy Rattlesnakes a few years back. Not now, thanks to Mr. Bravo Sierra. Since there is an abandoned orange grove behind us, every cold snap sends the field mice scurrying for warmth. Guess where they would end up before my slithering buddy showed up? Yep, in my garage. He is kind of clumsy for a snake though. He once fell off the roof of the house and landed at my feet. That was a bit startling. He seems to enjoy sunning himself on the top rail of the fence in the back yard....wife is not very enthused about his choice of tanning location.. And just a few days ago as I put a bag of trash in the can, he stuck his head out of the bushes as if to say "what's uppppppp". Maybe one day I can get him to pose for a picture.

Prepare To Survive the Storm

Portions of article are taken from a piece I wrote several years ago. 

As a native of the Sunshine State, I have been exposed to natural disasters in the form of hurricanes all of my life. My first memory of a hurricane was 1961. I remember riding my red, hot rod tricycle through standing water which covered the street, sidewalks and went all the way up to the front steps our house located in South Miami.

My next memory was more frightening and occurred a few years later. At the height of Hurricane Cleo’s fury, I recall my parents putting my brother and me in the hallway of our house to wait out the worst of the storm. We listened to a transistor radio as the howling winds of the storm battered our neighborhood and toppled giant Ficus trees in our yard. The aftermath of the storm left an indelible impression upon me.

Events occur in our lives which dictate a measure of preparation is prudent. Each year at the beginning of hurricane season (June 1), the wife and I review our stores of bottled water, non-perishable foods, batteries, medicines etc. Although our survival strategy revolves around “bugging in”, we do have the ability to depart to a safe location if necessary. Preparation is the key to survival.

Take for example the recent flooding here in Central Florida or out in Texas earlier this year. Who would ever dream in their worst nightmare, their home and everything they had worked for would be gone because of rising water? (My worst nightmare may have gone there but that is a different story).

I rant because I care (somewhat) so here is rant #1- If you live in an area prone to flooding, know your evacuation route and if necessary, have sandbags already bagged during the rainy season- they won't go bad and they don't have an expiration date like a package of ground chuck.

Here is nifty sandbag alternative I ran across while researching for this article. They are re-useable and self deploy when contacted by water. Once dried, they resume their flattened state.

Non Sand Bag Water Barrier

 

See, that rant wasn’t so bad.

OK back on task here. Instead of providing a lengthy list of survival supplies, I would rather share some thoughts on developing a survival strategy and allow you to fill in the blanks on specific and necessary items. Here we go:

 

-Don’t let The Jones’ dictate your mindset. In other words, what works for others may not be what is best for you and your family. The first step in developing a survival strategy, is to determine the most probable threat. For my family, we have decided weather presents the most significant danger. This was reaffirmed in 2004 when three hurricanes (Charley, Frances and Jeanne) hit us within the span of seven weeks. We lost power in all three storms and wound up living out of our garage for a time. 2005 brought three more storms (Dennis, Katrina and Wilma) which tagged us.  We continue to update our plan and tactics as our needs and abilities change.

-Each family member should have an assigned list of tasks. This would include preparing their individual bug out bag and assist with gathering supplies for the family. For instance a child could be placed in charge of looking through the newspaper for ads of bottled water while other family members insure batteries, food, medicines and transportation needs are looked after.

 

-Rant #2..sort of - Don’t get so hung up on the use of a pack vs a bag or suit case. Packs don’t work for everybody. Evacuation or bugging out is not a military exercise and should not be treated as such. It is about survival in the short term. Living away from your surroundings, trying to survive, will beat the living crap out of you, if you do not train to live this way for extended periods. Mother Nature is a powerful foe and must be respected. The method of how supplies are carried is not near as important as the method of prevailing against the catastrophe which displaced you. Tote your stuff in a re-useable shopping bag if necessary, but insure you and your family survive.


Communication may be hindered during an emergency. Having an alternative too smart phones and the internet will be necessary to insure communication. A suggestion is to purchase CB, Ham or FRS radios for each member of your group. Being able to communicate is vital to survival during a evacuation. Family members could become lost or injured and having the ability to verbally communicate may be a life saver. It is prudent have a back-up power source such as replacement batteries or a solar powered charging station.  Pin flares and whistles should also be part of the communication package.

 

-Water will keep you alive and must be a priority regardless if you are surviving in place or evacuating to a different location. Plan on 1 gallon per day per person depending on body weight, climate and physical exertion. Keep in mind water weighs 8.35 lbs. per gallon. Here is a hydration calculator to use in your planning.  HydrationCalculator. Have the knowledge and ability to purify water gathered from streams or lakes. Every member in your group should have the ability to carry water with them.

 

-Temporary Shelter should be planned to accommodate each member in your group if your plan involves leaving your home. This may include tents, evacuation shelters, or other safe structures. Part of your sheltering plans must include a method of going to the bathroom. Below is an idea I have used in the past. It involves cutting the bottom out of a 5 gallon bucket. Turn the bucket upside down and this becomes your temporary toilet. Dig a hole under the bucket for the waste to be dropped into and this hole is then covered up when you leave or becomes full. Shovel and toilet paper round out your shelter supplies.

-Food will also be necessary. I suggest careful planning as it would be better to have more than you need than not having enough since replenishment may not be immediate. Recommended calorie intake is 2000-2500 per day. MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat) provide about 1200 per meal, so 2 per day times 4 people times 3 days equal 24 pouches or a minimum of 2 cases. Other forms of compact calorie intake could be dehydrated soups and noodles. Even consider carrying foil packed tuna or chicken which is a very good source of portable protein.

-Fire starting is a skill everyone needs to survive. In addition to cooking, fire allows you to boil water in order to make it potable or safe to drink. It also provides a source of staying warm or even making smoke for signaling. Being able to make fire is an incredible morale booster as well. Part of your fire kit should include a utility knife capable of splitting wood. Mine is a well-used 7” K-Bar Utility knife with serrations on half the blade. This full tang knife keeps a good edge and has chopped and split lots of wood. In addition to the K-Bar, I carry a variety of fire starters, waterproof matches, lighters and magnesium rods in my fire kit.

 

-Pack enough comfortable clothing for 72 hours and have one complete change of clothing kept in an in waterproof bag. If for whatever reason you get soaked to the skin, being able to change into dry clothing is necessary to ward off hypothermia, even in the summer. Having a quality poncho has the ability to keep you dry but also will keep you incredibly warm. On a personal note, I HATE WET FEET so I always have extra dry, thick socks in my kit. But that is just me.

 

-Footwear should be comfortable above everything. Don’t purchase footwear just for your bug out bag and then never wear it. Hot spots will develop on your feet and that will lead to blisters both of which will slow you down. Keep some foot powder handy and use thick quality socks. The picture below represents the most comfortable foot ware I own. The shoes up front are made by Rockport, they are lightweight and rugged. I use them as my competition shooting shoes. The 6” tan boots (back left) are 5-11 Advance with slip resistant soles, the 8” tan boots (back center) are made by Belleville with Vibram soles and are made in the USA and the black 6” boots (back right) are made by Bates and perform well in rugged terrain.

 

Miscellaneous Gear which should be considered are gloves, watch cap, good multi-tool, para cord, flash light for each member in the group and first aid supplies.  A good wide brim hat such as a boonie hat is also recommended, and cash.

 

 

 



 

Don’t forget to include your pets in your plans. You have an obligation to take care of them. Know what shelters in your area allow pets and what the regulations are. Insure you fur babies have up to date vaccinations. Make sure you pack their food, medicines and restraints.
 

Once you have assembled your gear, plan on conducting several mock disaster drills. These drills should allow deployment of all of your gear by all members in your group, including children. This could be done in the privacy of your backyard or at a primitive campground which does not offer any amenities. The goal is to practice survival skills before you actually need them. Be sure to take notes of equipment failures or deemed unnecessary, equipment which should be added and field skills which to be improved.
 

Life is uncertain and fragile. None of us can predict the future and this often times leads to supposition and unfounded beliefs. Be prepared for weather events and take immediate action to safeguard yourself. Pay attention to social unrest and remove you and your loved ones from harms way when appropriate. Government does not have the capacity to make preparations for you. That is your responsibility.
 

A note about firearms: If you intend to make firearms part of your kit, do so with safety in mind. Review the rules of firearm safety with everyone in your group and insure everyone has an understanding how to safely use them. Give considerable thought how much ammunition you will carry. Ammo is very heavy and you should plan for this in your load out.

Be Safe.