Things I learned in my Concealed Carry class

[David Armstrong]

Yes, there are those instructors out there that have no idea what they are talking about, unfortunately have no idea that they have no idea what they are talking about, and sadly really do think they know what they are talking about. And then there are those who are just in it to make a buck. I've only refused to sign off on one person over the years, and that was a renewal. Had an older lady who, when the qualification shoot came up, drew her gun, closed her eyes, turned her head to the side and pulled the trigger on her revolver 6 times as fast as possible. When I suggested that wasn't a particularly good way to do it she became rather agitated because that was what her original instructor had let her do and he hadn't had any trouble with it. In spite of my pleas she refused to shoot any other way. She may have gone back to him for renewal, but I wouldn't put my name on the paper. Everyone else I've been able to pull through, often with a lot of correction regarding use of force, legal issues, etc. but not with her.

[NETim]

Given my superior powers of prognostication, I could see CCW coming to Nebraska in '07. Therefore I immunized myself from state mandated derpitude by investing several kilo$$$ on training at TR. The worst transgression I can remember is the CCW instructor informing me not to drop empty mags on the ground when reloading "'cause it might hurt them." Fortunately he wasn't much into bravado or self-aggrandizement.

All in all, I think Nebraska's training regimen isn't bad as it spends quite a bit of time in the classroom, dwelling on legal matters. Still, I'm glad I got prior REAL training for the firearms bit. I saw some scary gun handling stuff by self-proclaimed "gun guys" in the class. I had bigger issues with their carelessness than the curriculum or the way it was taught.

[BobLoblaw]

At my last CCW class we were instructed to have our first round as a shot shell because they're more lawyer-friendly. There was also an older lady who increasingly slurred her words as the class went on. She said she loads her Taurus Judge with .410 so I hope it was pain meds setting in after head-butting her front sight. Didn't stick around to find out.

[RoyGBiv]

^^ A CC class should not ever be a gun handling/shooting class.
Laws, particularly use of force and deescalation are CC topics, not actual shooting skills. YMMV.

I'm not a big fan of having to demonstrate proficiency either. I worry less about folks who can't shoot at all, because the likelihood of them pulling their heater in public (I assess) is quite low as compared the the derps who really do scare me, but would not have any trouble passing a proficiency. I don't think proficiency testing accomplishes what those who demand it set out to accomplish. The range time would be better spent talking over a list of local instructional opportunities and the need for and goals of good training.

Of the 4 other people in my TX class, the two ladies were visibly shaking as they waited with me at the range and one gentleman managed to snake bite the thumb webbing in his weak hand because he gripped with his thumb over the back of his strong hand, after I specifically pointed out the problem with his grip while we waited to shoot. All of them passed the proficiency, leaving me completely unimpressed with that particular piece of vetting.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Why, I found the TX CHL test to be quite useful. A man in tactical gear came up to me and said I shot too well. I should miss some (hard to do in the TX test). Why I asked - "well, when you go to trial, you will be asked why you didn't shoot him in the leg. I know this because I am a sniper."

The TX

[TheTrevor]

At the NV-required live fire qual, I spent 10X more time watching for safety issues with the shooters near me than I did actually shooting the qual. Premature finger on trigger was, unsurprisingly, the most common by far. Sometimes there's a fine line between having a friendly word about safety with the guy next to you vs. time to step back and ask one of the instructors to please address the issue.

I was really glad I asked to shoot in the first relay and could GTFO before the second wave of shooters stepped up to the line. No one person in particular was especially bad, but there were so many folks uncertain of their safety practices that I found myself wishing I had a vest on just in case. I also found myself repeatedly checking that my GSW trauma pack was readily accessible, because vest or no my personal nightmare scenario is getting hit in a femoral artery by someone ADing with the gun pointed down.

[MVS]

Why, I found the TX CHL test to be quite useful. A man in tactical gear came up to me and said I shot too well. I should miss some (hard to do in the TX test). Why I asked - "well, when you go to trial, you will be asked why you didn't shoot him in the leg. I know this because I am a sniper."

The TX

Please tell me you just made that up.

[RJ]

Gah dang reading these posts as a noob makes me glad I escaped with my life at my recent Fl CWL class.

Seriously though, our (Mrs. And I) class was taught by an experienced Hillsborough County LEO. She was excellent. We spent the majority of the time in the classroom covering law. This was in the aftermath of the Travon Martin trial jury decison.

I felt she struck a good balance between educating us on the law and practical street experience. One thing stuck in my mind. She said "Budget $30k in legal fees if you end up shooting someone, even if you are 100% in the right."

Our proficiency part was brief. She asked us to load, fire a few rounds and then moved to the next person. We'd been to the range a few times so I was well prepared.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

MVS - that is the absolute truth. The CHL class is a hoot at times. There were a set of older folks (more power to them) that were sharing a Colt 1903 380 for the shooting test. They loaded the rounds backwards in the mag. At the class in Oregon, a gentleman shot down the cable of the target moving machine at the indoor range. Since he reloaded the ammo, he knew they were good rounds. However, he decided that rental gun (a 2nd gen SW semi) must have a curved barrel which caused the round to course upwards to shoot down the cable.

This is also the truth. I've seen people shoot the target next to theirs.

[hufnagel]

You people need to stop. The more I read these stories the more I start to wonder if maybe the ANTI's are right and the vast majority of "gun owners" really are too stupid to own and operate said guns safely.