There is a simple test to find out if your child is ready to fire an UZI:

Buy a 22 ounce framing hammer, a pound of 10d box nails, and a couple of 2X4s. When the child can consistently drive the nails into the doubled 2X4s they have the grip and wrist strength to hold and control an UZI.

Now, buy them a tennis racquet and send them to the ‘Y’ for lessons, because playing tennis is a lot more useful than shooting automatic weapons.

I have fired an UZI and it sucks. I have small hands and the weapon requires really big hands to control with confidence. The military UZIs I fired had folding stocks, which even if not extended added the weight to help to control the tendency of the weapon to jump. I fired it at hip height with my left hand gripping on the top to keep the rounds within the same Zip code as the range.

The US Army replaced the full automatic of the M-16 with the burst mode of the M-4 because full automatic was a good way to waste ammo without increasing effectiveness.

If you must have a weapon that fires a lot of bullets in a short span of time, buy a 12 gauge shotgun and use 00 buck shot – it’s the equivalent of firing about 9 rounds of 9MM with every pull of the trigger, a better hit pattern, and a cheaper cost to own. It also doesn’t require a $250/year Federal license like an automatic weapon.

Position: 40.2N 56.6W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: East-Northeast [065°] near 46 mph [74 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 100 mph [160 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 255 miles [405 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Minimum central pressure: 970mb ↓.

Currently about 480 miles [ 775 km] South-Southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

The storm is picking up wind speed and movement speed. It is forecast to lose its tropical characteristics tomorrow, but will still be major bad news for ships and possibly Iceland as an extra-tropical storm.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]