Nervous about conceal/carry class

H

handgunchick

New member
I've been out shooting at the range many times and have learned how to load, unload, shoot, clean, cock, decock, and unjam my pistol, as well as my rifles. I've been cautious about safety almost to the point of paranoia. I can shoot tight groups at 7 yards with pistols. My family, longtime gun enthusiasts, thinks I'm ready for my conceal/carry class. I plan on signing up for the 1 day 10 hour course at the outdoor range that I shoot at most often and am going to certify with my Ruger 9mm semiautomatic. Can anyone give me a rundown on what this class entails? My family was vague on the details. All they said was to certify with a pistol, not a revolver (which I don't even own, anyway).
 
Go to the class early. (it's at the range, right?) Shoot the CCW weapon type of

your choice(rent one?) before the class.(now you're qualified)

40% of the class is the instructor hawking his store's products.

30% of the class is anecdotal(war stories)

30% of the class is information and demonstrations.

It's four hours. Don't drink too much coffee, (only 1 break) but don't fall
asleep. If you can apply for your permit at the county seat where you live,
you'll probably have your CWP,CHP, or CCW within a month.

Best of Luck.
 
Don't know about Texas, but we had at least one complete newbie in our CC class and everyone did fine. Sounds like you're ahead of the curve, safety is key.
 
What is there to worry about? Worried you are going to cause an accident or something? I would just ask a lot of questions in the class, listen, take notes, and if you have ANY problems or concerns be sure to let the instructor know about it. If you have confidence problems carrying loaded ammo in your CCW gun, perhaps you want to try carrying snap caps for a week or so loaded in the gun for a sort of dry run.
 
Handgunchick--Just did mine last week.As all in here said to me and are saying to you,,Don't worry you will be fine. I was very nervous also. Everyone in here said don't worry and they were right. It is a very easy class and the shooting is very easy also. Welcome to the club:D
 
Your family is right about qualifying with an semi-automatic. In Texas, if you qualify with a revolver you get a restricted license.

I just took the NRA's "Personal Protection in the Home" class 6 weeks ago and got my MN license to carry a pistol. I and was a little nervous about the live fire exercises but it was a lot of fun. I normally shoot a revolver and do target shooting, but I qualified with a CZ82 without any trouble.

It was quite a bit different than target shooting -- instead of shooting slowly and trying to get tiny groups, the idea was to shoot quickly as long as you can keep all your shots (aimed shots, but not necessarily at eye level) on a dinner plate.
Don't think too much about it, you'll do fine
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That's where I had trouble with one or two of the practice exercises -- when I thought about it too much instead of just doing it.
 
Sounds like you'll do fine in the shooting dept. Relax and do just like you always do at the range. The shooting is not hard. Use your gun that you are familiar with as you will need to load it several times when shooting the qualifying course. Being safe is important and I'm sure you know basic gun safety. The classroom stuff can be a little boring, but it is mostly common sense. Again, relax and you will enjoy yourself. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time keeping pace with the lady shooting her Beretta next to me. She was good.
 
The shooting part of my class (not in Texas) consisted of shooting one .22LR from a revolver into some kind of shooting tank in a trailor - didn't even have to hit the target - pull the trigger once, little bang, that's it....next in line.

I received more instruction and 10 .22Shorts the first time I fired a rifle at camp when i was 8 years old.
 
One of the guys in the class my wife and I went to was remarking how no woman could ever shoot a 45 and his massive experience was more than any lady could compete with.

My wife bit her lip and smiled.

On qualification day my wife used her full size 1911 and commenced to shoot the center out of the target. The guy with the massive experience had to borrow the instructors pistol as he apparently had his permit but didn't own a pistol to shoot.

It made my wifes day!
 
One of the guys in the class my wife and I went to was remarking how no woman could ever shoot a 45 and his massive experience was more than any lady could compete with.
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Those guys are out there... :rolleyes: & sigh ... but there are a LOT more guys in the shooting world who will be thrilled to see you there and will just bend over backwards to make your day a pleasant one. :cool:

Trust me. I know this! :D

pax
 
You should pass by the time you finish at the 7 yard line take your time i know some of the 2 shots in 3 seconds sounds fast but remember alot can happen in a second so 3 seconds is plenty of time dont do double taps just aim squeeze re sight aim squeeze


Range Qualifications for Texas CHL
range rundown
A total of 50 rounds are fired during the course of the qualification test. A score of 70%, or 175 points of a possible 250, is required to pass. The target used is a TX-PT which is a human-shaped silhouette target measuring 45 by 24 inches. All shooting is from the ready position, which means the gun is already in your hands and aimed in. No holster shooting or shooting from concealed is required.

3 yard line - 20 shots:

1 shot in 2 seconds, 5 times
2 shots in 3 seconds, 5 times
5 shots in 10 seconds, once

7 yard line - 20 shots:

5 shots in 10 seconds, once
1 shot in 3 seconds, 5 times
2 shots in 4 seconds, once
3 shots in 6 seconds, once
5 shots in 15 seconds, once


15 yard line - 10 shots:

2 shots in 6 seconds, once
3 shots in 9 seconds, once
5 shots in 15 seconds, once
 
40% of the class is the instructor hawking his store's products.

30% of the class is anecdotal(war stories)

30% of the class is information and demonstrations.
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What's this cost? If it's more than 20 bucks, its a rip-off.

You want an instructor that imparts information, unless you already know it all...... it's a class, you are paying to learn....... not to be marketed to.....

The instructor I had was Paul Horvick, out of Minnesota- great guy, and did not waste any time trying to sell me anything. He quickly covered the required stuff everyone knew already...... asked if there were any questions .... and then went into things we (mostly experienced shooters) did not know very well: Legal Issues. He's a retired lawyer, and covered that material very well!
 
You sound like you'll be just fine. You may find yourself doing better than most people in the class. Women actually make great shooters and great students in my opinion. I wish more women were in the sport. After the class is over and they hand you your certificate you'll be like "Thats it"?

Just have fun and try to learn and reeeelaaaaax ;)
 
What elmata said regarding the shooting part. If you have been practicing, you will do better than good.

The classroom part is also interesting (at least where I took mine). Listen up and you will pass the written part without any problems.

Don't worry, you will do just fine. Now go out and get it. Just make sure you maintain awarness on the firing line. Never know how many people there shooting for the very first time.:eek:

PS - I'm in Houston also. Where do you shoot?

therewolf - don't know where you got your CCL but sounds like there was not that much actual knowledge passed on the CC laws.
 
You sound like you'll be just fine. You may find yourself doing better than most people in the class. Women actually make great shooters and great students in my opinion. I wish more women were in the sport. After the class is over and they hand you your certificate you'll be like "Thats it"?
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What makes you think "handgunchick" is a woman? Might be an overweight 50 year old white guy like the rest of us. Just sayin', don't read too much into a name. ;)

(OK you got me, some of us aren't white, and pax isn't a guy as far as I know.)

One of the best shooters in my Bullseye club is a woman -- she's also a certified instructor. One of the perennially not-so-good shooters is a woman, but her enthusiasm is catching. She's now the club treasurer. It's nice having a few higher-pitch voices around, even if I can't understand them half the time cuz of my high-frequency hearing loss ;)
 
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The TX written exam and shooting part are quite easy. Just relax - you will do fine. It is good to get a review of the legal issues to calm down the Rambos.
 
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