Florida Shooters Network

Hello Everyone

I am going to be retiring and moving to South Florida later this year. I currently live in Maryland which has very restrictive gun laws, so I am sure that Florida will be like a breath of fresh air. I have a variety of handguns and long guns that I will be bringing to Florida with me. Although I have had a Florida concealed carry permit for many years, I finally managed to get one issued to me by the State of Maryland after the Bruen decision came out. But I am still trying to find the most comfortable holster for me (leather seems to work better for me than Kydex). I plan to get membership in a range in the Fort Lauderdale area (Broward or Palm Beach County) so any recommendations for local ranges would be most welcome. I look forward to being part of the 2A community in South Florida later this year.

Cal68

Welcome to SFL and our forum.
What area are you moving in?

FTL area I'd check out Shoot Straight, Gun World, Nexus, Apex-- it really depends if you want a solid "basic" range, or more high end. There other options beyond the ones I've listed, including some I have not tried.

Welcome to a much, much freer environment than MD!

Hi All

Thanks for the warm welcome. I will be moving to Parkland, FL which is near Fort Lauderdale. I bought a house there years ago before the school shooting that made the two infamous. I had rented it out for many years but now I am remodeling it before I move in later this year.

In terms of a range, I just need a basic range. Ideally one that has both outdoor and indoor ranges, although I am guessing that it would be difficult to find an outdoor range in South FL which is so heavily built up. Here in Maryland, it can be tough to shoot outdoors during the winter, so the range I belong to is wholly indoor. That works fine for handguns, but it does not allow me to practice longer distance shooting with a long gun. I'll settle for a range with 50 yard lanes because the one I belong to in Maryland only has 25 yard lanes.

Cal68

Cal68 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 7:16 pm Hi All

Thanks for the warm welcome. I will be moving to Parkland, FL which is near Fort Lauderdale. I bought a house there years ago before the school shooting that made the two infamous. I had rented it out for many years but now I am remodeling it before I move in later this year.

In terms of a range, I just need a basic range. Ideally one that has both outdoor and indoor ranges, although I am guessing that it would be difficult to find an outdoor range in South FL which is so heavily built up. Here in Maryland, it can be tough to shoot outdoors during the winter, so the range I belong to is wholly indoor. That works fine for handguns, but it does not allow me to practice longer distance shooting with a long gun. I'll settle for a range with 50 yard lanes because the one I belong to in Maryland only has 25 yard lanes.

Cal68

Since you've already bought your house, the warning I was just about to give is moot. Florida seems to have an over-abundance of sub-divisions that are "deed restricted" and are managed by HOAs (Home Owner's Associations). I truly hope the house you bought isn't in one of them. These HOA's are evil. They tell you what to do on your own property. And charge you for the privilege. Properties that are not deed restricted are very hard to come by, here in Fl, unless you go further out into the sticks where they may not be as many "services" (shopping, businesses, etc, etc,) nearby.

If I'm fortunate enough to "trade up" here in FL, it will definitely be in a "non" deed restricted development. Anyway, Welcome to FL!

Welcome from rural NE Florida.
I grew up and lived over half my life in Palm Beach County. In the 50's and 60's it was paradise, but by the 80's paradise was paved over and replaced by over development.
Wife and I made our escape in 1995 to a farm in the country.
Good luck to you. Be careful of alligators.

Cal68 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:53 pm Hello Everyone

I am going to be retiring and moving to South Florida later this year. I currently live in Maryland which has very restrictive gun laws, so I am sure that Florida will be like a breath of fresh air. I have a variety of handguns and long guns that I will be bringing to Florida with me. Although I have had a Florida concealed carry permit for many years, I finally managed to get one issued to me by the State of Maryland after the Bruen decision came out. But I am still trying to find the most comfortable holster for me (leather seems to work better for me than Kydex). I plan to get membership in a range in the Fort Lauderdale area (Broward or Palm Beach County) so any recommendations for local ranges would be most welcome. I look forward to being part of the 2A community in South Florida later this year.

Cal68

Cal68 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 7:16 pm Hi All

Thanks for the warm welcome. I will be moving to Parkland, FL which is near Fort Lauderdale. I bought a house there years ago before the school shooting that made the two infamous. I had rented it out for many years but now I am remodeling it before I move in later this year.

In terms of a range, I just need a basic range. Ideally one that has both outdoor and indoor ranges, although I am guessing that it would be difficult to find an outdoor range in South FL which is so heavily built up. Here in Maryland, it can be tough to shoot outdoors during the winter, so the range I belong to is wholly indoor. That works fine for handguns, but it does not allow me to practice longer distance shooting with a long gun. I'll settle for a range with 50 yard lanes because the one I belong to in Maryland only has 25 yard lanes.

Cal68

Welcome to Florida. We're not the "Gunshine State" that many outside of our borders believe we are. We have a number of issues that need fixing and I'm trying to fix them.

Mandatory Waiting Periods (skip with CCW Permit)
Red Flag Law
Under-21 Carry Ban
Under-21 Purchase Ban
Numerous Gun-Free Zones
State Controlled Point-Of-Sale Background Check System (no skip NICS) at FFLs
Open Carry Ban
Bumpstock Ban that is so erroneous, it bans binary triggers, forced reset triggers, and even a simple Apex trigger kit for a GLOCK pistol
Ban on certain ammunition types
Anti-Gun Republican Majority in the Legislature

As a former resident of Southeastern Florida. Sure, Broward County is better than Maryland (to a degree), but that isn't saying much. I've lived all across the Sunshine State and I purposefully fled Southeastern Florida for a reason.

For an outdoor range in your area, look at Markham Park Range in Sunrise or the Palm Beach County Shooting Sports Complex in West Palm Beach.

https://markhampark.com/markham-park-shooting-range/

https://myfwc.com/hunting/safety-educat ... alm-beach/

Get ready to deal with horrible traffic, rising property insurance rates (if you can get coverage), rising property tax rates, higher car insurance rates, and a government that on all levels doesn't want to listen to you unless you're filthy rich. As a gun owner, local and county government in Broward County will hate you and in Tallahassee, the Legislature will try to ignore you.

Yes, this is all better than Maryland. But that isn't a high bar to begin with.

In the end, welcome to Florida and if you're serious about getting involved in the Second Amendment Community, I expect to see you at the Capitol during session.

Welcome to Florida from a recent "returnee" I went to Georgia for a couple of years for work but always maintained my FL residency. It's a great state with a great many issues to deal with. Far from perfect, but I can't imagine living anywhere else. It's like it's own little country really. We have both a west, south and east coast. We have beaches and other oceanfront areas, swamps and forests, and all types of animals. There's even a population of bison somewhere in Florida. Unfortunately there are also a lot of invasive species. The population and demographics are also very interesting. Some people say that the further north you go into Florida, the further south you get, and there's something to it; the northern parts of Florida, especially around the gulf coast are more similar to Alabama or Mississippi than southern Florida. Gun laws are no longer as free as they once were. I believe forced reset triggers and activators such as bump stocks were banned by the state as well as some types of ammo. I'm not entirely clear on the specifics as I never got into those, but class III items are allowed. There are also plenty of gun shows, but you have to go through the usual paperwork to buy any actual firearms. You may want to check into an upcoming event called suppressedfest which is coming out in early October.

So have you moved yet? Let us know how it's going.