jmjames
05-06-2012, 01:49 AM
I found myself in the rather unpleasant situation of finding it to be a good idea to re-take my CWP (make a long story short, my instructor had been teaching some classes shorter than the mandatory minimum time, and while I felt that my class met the state standards and we were formally told that we only had to retake the class if the one we took did not meet the standards, I'd rather retake a class than have a prosecutor questioning the validity of my CWP in front of a jury).
I ended up taking the class with Paladin Systems (http://paladin.busman.com/) - Joe & Janet Katz. I chose them for four major reasons:
* I had done a 2 hour personal training course with them in the past, and thought their instruction was excellent.
* They are the ONLY folks that SLED (who administers the CWP program here in SC) recommends for re-certification in the letter they sent out.
* They are the only folks in SC (that I know of) who do a "train the trainers" kind of program.
* In my previous experience, their focus on safety was quite high, in a CWP class that is really important to me.
This class was very well structured. We started off by going through the NRA "Basic Pistol" course, and finished most of that portion by lunch. I learned a couple of things that I did not know before. The only thing they said that I questioned in the slightest, was their advice to get the strongest, most powerful caliber you can manage. They repeated it, so I am pretty sure I heard that right, but I may not have understood what they were trying to say.
After lunch we hit the range. Joe and Janet did an excellent job at getting us through this portion of the class quickly and efficiently, which was appreciated given the near 100 degree SC heat. They nearly pulled one lady off the line due to her not listening to instructions just once, and her husband came close too (finger in trigger guard). This made me grateful, because the last place I want to spend my Saturday is right next to a guy who can't observe even basic safety rules. All of the instructions on the range were extremely easy to understand, well explained, etc. Despite it being pretty hot, and being on a timer with a shrill whistle for start/stop, I did some of my best pistol shooting ever, which put a smile on my face.
After the range, we finished the "NRA Basic Pistol" work and the test. From there, we proceeded with a review of SC laws, and finished with the SC test. The course went on a bit long (8:03 AM - 5:50 PM for me... and I got out a bit early because I just needed my test graded and I got done very quickly), but since short classes are what my previous instructor got in trouble with, I don't mind being over time!
I really liked this course, and I'd definitely suggest it for someone to get an SC CWP. Unlike my previous CWP course, it was focused very little on "teaching the test" and was heavily aimed at teaching firearms basics, with the assumption that passing the test would easily flow from that. The course also covers the bases for a Florida CWP, which fills a lot of bizarre gaps in reciprocity (why GA accepts an FL CWP but not SC's is beyond me given the differences in what it takes to obtain...). It's the kind of course that I'd gladly send my wife to (she doesn't hate shooting but doesn't actively chase it, has a CWP to carry to work in an elevated-risk environment, but she really doesn't know much about guns other than basic safety and how to make 'em go bang) and feel like they came out being much better gun owners.
One thing to be aware of, is that Joe and Janet are very firm in how they do things. They send emails out ahead of time which are very explanatory (5 pages printed!), but have a lot of "if you do this, you will be asked to leave with no refunds given" or "failure to arrive on time will result in not being allowed to take the course with no refunds given" kind of language (those are NOT direct quotes, just made up examples). This can turn some folks off. If you want to be coddled a bit or given some leeway, go seek other instructors or change your attitude, because it won't work out well if you go and can't stick to their rules. As someone who *can* stick to their rules, I liked it a lot since it kept the class on track and quite focuses.
J.Ja
I ended up taking the class with Paladin Systems (http://paladin.busman.com/) - Joe & Janet Katz. I chose them for four major reasons:
* I had done a 2 hour personal training course with them in the past, and thought their instruction was excellent.
* They are the ONLY folks that SLED (who administers the CWP program here in SC) recommends for re-certification in the letter they sent out.
* They are the only folks in SC (that I know of) who do a "train the trainers" kind of program.
* In my previous experience, their focus on safety was quite high, in a CWP class that is really important to me.
This class was very well structured. We started off by going through the NRA "Basic Pistol" course, and finished most of that portion by lunch. I learned a couple of things that I did not know before. The only thing they said that I questioned in the slightest, was their advice to get the strongest, most powerful caliber you can manage. They repeated it, so I am pretty sure I heard that right, but I may not have understood what they were trying to say.
After lunch we hit the range. Joe and Janet did an excellent job at getting us through this portion of the class quickly and efficiently, which was appreciated given the near 100 degree SC heat. They nearly pulled one lady off the line due to her not listening to instructions just once, and her husband came close too (finger in trigger guard). This made me grateful, because the last place I want to spend my Saturday is right next to a guy who can't observe even basic safety rules. All of the instructions on the range were extremely easy to understand, well explained, etc. Despite it being pretty hot, and being on a timer with a shrill whistle for start/stop, I did some of my best pistol shooting ever, which put a smile on my face.
After the range, we finished the "NRA Basic Pistol" work and the test. From there, we proceeded with a review of SC laws, and finished with the SC test. The course went on a bit long (8:03 AM - 5:50 PM for me... and I got out a bit early because I just needed my test graded and I got done very quickly), but since short classes are what my previous instructor got in trouble with, I don't mind being over time!
I really liked this course, and I'd definitely suggest it for someone to get an SC CWP. Unlike my previous CWP course, it was focused very little on "teaching the test" and was heavily aimed at teaching firearms basics, with the assumption that passing the test would easily flow from that. The course also covers the bases for a Florida CWP, which fills a lot of bizarre gaps in reciprocity (why GA accepts an FL CWP but not SC's is beyond me given the differences in what it takes to obtain...). It's the kind of course that I'd gladly send my wife to (she doesn't hate shooting but doesn't actively chase it, has a CWP to carry to work in an elevated-risk environment, but she really doesn't know much about guns other than basic safety and how to make 'em go bang) and feel like they came out being much better gun owners.
One thing to be aware of, is that Joe and Janet are very firm in how they do things. They send emails out ahead of time which are very explanatory (5 pages printed!), but have a lot of "if you do this, you will be asked to leave with no refunds given" or "failure to arrive on time will result in not being allowed to take the course with no refunds given" kind of language (those are NOT direct quotes, just made up examples). This can turn some folks off. If you want to be coddled a bit or given some leeway, go seek other instructors or change your attitude, because it won't work out well if you go and can't stick to their rules. As someone who *can* stick to their rules, I liked it a lot since it kept the class on track and quite focuses.
J.Ja