CCW class last

C

cobraman

New member
My Girlfriend and I took our CCW class last night. There were ten people in the class. 3 Rugers 1 CZ(mine) 1 SIG( my GF) 2 Tauruses 1 Walther/sw99 Couldnt tell and the guy would say which, One rental and a .22 of unknown orgin. One guy(rental) asked if being on Probation would keep him from getting his CCW! Tauras was the PT140. No one including the guy who owned it could shoot it worth a darn. Another guy brought his Ruger in to the building in his hands, no case, no bag nothing. The Pt 140 guys puts his piece on the table pointing at the guy on the other side of the table. The instructor never asked him to remove the weapon or point it in a safe direction. I was not impressed by the poor gun handling during the class. Put now I can send away for my ToTin card.

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Shop Smart! Shop S-Mart**** That's right I'm a gear whore and proud of it***
 
Wouldn't someone being accidently shot in a CCW class give some fuel to the anti fire! :mad:
I think after I had passed the class and had my papers in hand I would have pointed this out to the instructor.
Congratulations on your and you G/F's CCW.

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Gunslinger

I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
 
Thanks GS! Those were my thoughts exactly. I did speak with the instructor and his response was that anyone taking the class should already be somewhat familar with handguns. But that still doesn't make it right in my eyes. Please tell me all NRA classes are not run like this!

[This message has been edited by cobraman (edited October 19, 2000).]
 
Anyone taking the class should already be familiar with firearms??? I wonder if the instructor is aware of incidents like the NJ LEO that apparently shot himself in the stomach, 'accidently,' while cleaning his weapon.

"familiar with" does not equal "safe"

Amazing, simply amazing.
 
The guy was NRA certified. It was advertised as Basic pistol First Steps. Needless to say my girlfriend was POed. She wanted a real class. The Probabtion guy really got me. He asked want the form meant by Carrying into a Pro sporting event is probibted meant.
Many lessons learned last night. I need to talk to owner of range that sponsered the class. He always mentions the four rules every time you come in to shoot.

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Shop Smart! Shop S-Mart**** That's right I'm a gear whore and proud of it***
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cobraman:
Thanks GS! Those were my thoughts exactly. I did speak with the instructor and his response was that anyone taking the class should already be somewhat familar with handguns. But that still doesn't make it right in my eyes. Please tell me all NRA classes are not run like this!
[/quote]

NOT IN MY CLASSES AND NOT ON MY RANGE, G*D D*MNIT!

I teach NRA basic pistol. I'm also an NRA certified range officer and the chief range safety officer at my gun club. We insist that the three basic NRA gun safety rules (and other range rules) are followed: 1) always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (down range), 2) keep you finger off the trigger until you are on target and ready to shoot, 3) keep the action open and gun unloaded until ready to shoot.

I enforce strict muzzle discipline in my classes. If anyone willfully violates this, I will expel them without refunding their fee. Club members who violate club range rules are brought before the range safety commitee (headed by yours truly), and may be permanently expelled from the club.

I've been to classes at several schools, including LFI, Smith & Wesson Academy, and a local organization called Aware. None of the them would tolerate this kind of gun handling.

At LFI-2, when I noticed something that bothered me, I told one of the range officers. He immediately corrected the situation and then thanked me for bringing it to his attention. At S&W Academy, I yelled at a fellow student when he had his finger on the trigger at an inappropriate time. The instructor (and the rest of the line) watched that student like a hawk. He shaped up pretty quickly.

If you see a safety violation at a range, whether in a class or at a range, bring it up immediately. Don't wait until the end of the class, because someone may be dead by then. If the perpetrator and/or instructor will not correct the safety violation, THEN LEAVE, even if it means losing your course fee -- your life is worth more than a few hundred bucks.

And yes, I AM a safety Nazi. One of the reasons that I teach basic pistol classes is that it refreshes me each time on basic safe handling skills. If I start getting into a bad habit, the students will catch me immediately because my behavior won't match the doctrine that I'm teaching them.

M1911
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cobraman:
My Girlfriend and I took our CCW class last night. There were ten people in the class. 3 Rugers 1 CZ(mine) 1 SIG( my GF) 2 Tauruses 1 Walther/sw99 Couldnt tell and the guy would say which, One rental and a .22 of unknown orgin. One guy(rental) asked if being on Probation would keep him from getting his CCW! Tauras was the PT140. No one including the guy who owned it could shoot it worth a darn. Another guy brought his Ruger in to the building in his hands, no case, no bag nothing. The Pt 140 guys puts his piece on the table pointing at the guy on the other side of the table. The instructor never asked him to remove the weapon or point it in a safe direction. I was not impressed by the poor gun handling during the class. Put now I can send away for my ToTin card.

[/quote]


We were not allowed to handle our pistols during the class. Always in the holster. Sounds like your instructor is not the best.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cobraman:
Thanks GS! Those were my thoughts exactly. I did speak with the instructor and his response was that anyone taking the class should already be somewhat familar with handguns. But that still doesn't make it right in my eyes. Please tell me all NRA classes are not run like this!
[/quote]

That was one of the requirements before taking CCW. Either the NRA basic pistol class or familiarity with firearms. Safety was paramount though as the instructor had been shot in a class in the past :(.



[This message has been edited by EricM (edited October 19, 2000).]
 
M1911 you are my kind of RSO. Next time I want to take a class I am going to talk to the instructor before signing up. The whole experience kind of soured my opinion of the nieghborhood range. You guys are restoring my faith in NRA instructors. Thank You

[This message has been edited by cobraman (edited October 19, 2000).]
 
The wife and I took a Basic Pistol and CCW course at Anthony Arms in Pittsburgh a month ago. We paid for a private lesson and our instructor was an NRA certified instructor. He was carrying a loaded Glock 36 in his pants pocket with no holster, when he added that he had a 3lb trigger pull on it I nearly passed out. He also didn't know the differenc ebetween muzzle velocity and energy, attributing the .22LR round exiting the muzzle of a Ruger Mark II with the energy of a .223 Rem and adding that all glocks had a New York trigger and that this was another name for the safe action trigger.

Anyway, I must be the only English non-resident of the USA who has a CCW course completion certificate, and it was worth it just for that so I can scare the neighbours.

Mike H
 
Way to go Mike. Just don't tell them (the neighbors) what an idiot the instructor was and do not judge all American classes by this one experience.
I can envision what your English friends reaction when you tell them of the class. :D

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Gunslinger

I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
 
Thanks JeffOTMG, my thoughts exactly. I hope the antis don't get hold of this post. This goes right to the heart of the arguement of rights vs. responsibility. If we don't police ourselves, then we will certainly be policed if we don't.
 
Cobraman's class sounds very different from the CCW classes I've taken in my state, where no guns are allowed in the classroom except the instructor's (empty) gun for use as a safety teaching aid. Guns are kept locked in the students' vehicles until the practical exam, when they're taken directly to the range, and are then locked up again after the exam is over. Disciplined procedures are the rule, with strict emphasis on safety, and no careless handling. If an instructor finds a student demonstrably unfit for the license, he can so advise the issuing authority. To assure that the instructor is conducting his classes properly, the issuing authority is allowed to monitor them.

As for the guy on probation, he'd have been eliminated during pre-screening, with possibly an exception for the least level of misdemeanor. He wouldn't even be sent an application packet. Although it'd be unusual, he probably could sign up for the course without an application. But he'd be throwing his money away.

My $0.02.



[This message has been edited by jimmy (edited October 22, 2000).]
 
Been thinkin bout this one since the first post.

You pointed out the unsafe condition to the instructor and he brushed it off. The instructor is practicing and teaching unsafe practices without concern for correction.

In view of the above, I think I would report the situation to the state department that issues the CCWs and to the NRA.

Same with the instructor that tutored Mike H.

We need SAFE instruction.

Sam...bang is neat, BANG is way kwel.
 
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