Texas Concealed Handgun License

stokesj19

New member
I was just wondering how hard or how easy it is to get a concealed hand gun license. I've heard that it takes months and months, and I have heard that it is really easy; Doesn't take long at all.
 
Took my CHL class @ The BulletTrap in Plano

I took my classroom session the Saturday before Thanksgiving, proficiency exam two days later. They also did photos, fingerprints and even give you the use of a rental gun and two indoor range passes.

Mailed my application to DPS the Saturday after Thanksgiving- 74 days later my license arrived in the mail.

The classroom session is interesting, basically a review of Texas laws regarding firearms. The written test is easy if you paid any attention at all. The proficiency exam is just that. Not a marksmanship test. If you can hit a man sized target at 15 yards you will pass.
 
In Texas it is called a CHL, concealed Handgun License. Since its beginning the percentage of CHL holders who ran afoul of the law is very, very low.
The thorough Police check, the classroom, the test and the firing range are quite easy. If more were licensed it would be a more lawful community and
I think much more curteous toward others.
 
Yes, it is easy, both the range part and the classroom "test". I found it to be interesting, though i would have liked more detailed information on when you can lawfully shoot or not.

You willl be waiting awhile for it to arrive in the mail however, likely a good 2 months.

Is it worth the wait and effort? You bet.
 
The test itself is a joke and the shooting portion could be successfully completed by a blind man. Patience and money are the only thing you need (and a clean background of course).

I got my license last year - it took about a month for them to acknowledge receiving my application, and then 62 days from that acknowledgment to get my license in the mail. The wait is awful, but a small price to pay to take responsibility for the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
 
old holster man

I was sheriff in a rural county in Nevada and for some years after that, I still carried my 44 S&W on a holster. No one minded and many still called me sheriff even though in that small community everyone knew I was not part of law enforcement.

Then my family moved to Texas; we moved to a rural area and I continued to carry my revolver. One time a town officer came up to me and very politely, he asked me why I was carrying a revolver on my hip. I said I had no real reason and had always done it since I was a sheriff in Nevada. Well, he said that it would be nice if I would not wear it open in town. I said I would comply and had no problem over not carrying it anymore to town.

Many yeas later, I got my Texas concealed carry permit; it seems I had to qualify with my 45 ACP to conceal carry a pistol and what I had in mind was a little 380 Walther PPK. I used the 45 to qualify because I have big hands and thought I might not pass with the little Walther, but as things turned out, my mother could have passed the test!

Anyway, I hardly ever carried my little pistol; I do not live in a dangerous area, other than a few feral dogs in the country where I carry guess what? My wife carries concealed and I’m glad. She uses the 45 ACP as a purse gun. If I lived in a populated area, or city, I might carry, but I think it is a good law that people can carry and be verified as not having a criminal record. I guess I use mine for that reason and with it I could purchase a handgun if that day should occur, which I doubt it will since I have enough and more than likely will sell that PPK one of these days.
 
Not a marksmanship test. If you can hit a man sized target at 15 yards you will pass.

Unless it has changed since I took it there was a minimum score that you had to have on the shooting part. However, it isnt to difficult to score 250 out of 250. Nobody in my class failed the shooting part.
 
There's a pretty good forum that you can go to that deals mostly with Texas CHL, it is
www.texaschlforum.com

Check it out. Lots of people asking questions and getting good answers. I was referred to it last year, while waiting for my CHL, and have been a frequent visitor/poster ever since.
 
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