Rick, I understand and appreciate what you're saying, especially the "cool factor" part. I posted this here in hopes of hearing from the kind of folks I'd like to teach, mature & responsible adults that are over the "tough guy" stuff.
donsm60--
I would want the 'B' class.
Since you are in Fl how does that work for people with other states home addresses? We spend 4 winter months in Fl. (Bowling Green-volunteers at Paynes Creek State Park). Would that make me eligible for a CCP in Fl.?
Thanks
DICK
37'--'98 Endeavor
toad--'05 Crewcab GMC
Viet Vet '65, Ia Drang Valley survivor (We Were Soldiers)
Elks www.4ezdaz.com Same site, different URL
as a retired LEO and having a permit for all 50 states i agree the more hands on one on one is much better, BUT for a hundred bucks more are people going to think the same when the end results no matter if you take A or B you end up with the same permit. money might win out with most people.
donsm60 wrote: {post trimmed}
I'd like to hear from folks that have an interest in getting their "concealed carry permit" to carry a gun, but don't have any practical firearms experience.
Instructor (A) holds a class with a lot of processing helpers that takes 4 hours. 20-30 students and no 1 on 1 time. Cost is $100.
Instructor (B) holds a class without any helpers that takes 8 hours. Class size limited to 6 with the entire base of instruction being 1 on 1 time. Cost is $200
In my opinion, neither class is acceptable for someone that has no practical experience. Multiple weeks of instruction would be required for the inexperienced.
You could advertise Class A for experienced shooters only, Class B for people that are familiar with their firearm but wants that 1 on 1 training, and Class C over multiple weekends for people that are unfamiliar with firearms.
I'm not an expert in this area, but I suspect that if you could spend about 15 minutes of your lecture having your students view several dozen pictures of gun caused wounds might go a long way towards insuring caution on the part of your students...
Odd that you mentioned this subject, it's a hot subject in my area right now. This article was in Today's paper and talks about the local LEO giving classes
Women go for their guns after death of Cheryl Dunlap
By Nic Corbett
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER Print Email to a friend Subscribe
Cindy Jones of Sopchoppy doesn't like guns.
But she's planning to get one following the mysterious killing of her friend Cheryl Dunlap, who was reported missing Dec. 1 and later found dead in the Apalachicola National Forest in Leon County.
"A lot of people that knew her felt that if it could happen to her, it could happen to anyone," said Jones, 47. "She was a wise woman. She didn't take risks."
Jones was among 30 women taking part Saturday in a firearms and personal- safety course sponsored by the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office.
It started with classroom instruction on weapons safety, from handguns to non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray and stun guns, and ended with the women getting real experience firing guns at the Otter Creek shooting range.
Dunlap's car was found Dec. 3 with a flat tire off U.S. Highway 319 in Leon County. Detectives say there's a possibility that someone other than Dunlap put her car there, but many of the women at the class asked instructors what they should do if their car broke down in an isolated area and someone approached them.
"It happens so fast," Jones said. "What would you do?"
Wakulla County Deputy Sheriff Ed Tyer recommended rolling down the window a little bit to ask someone for help, listening to your sixth sense and calling for help on your cell phone.
"The biggest thing is to prepare and have a plan," he said.
Jones said a friend told her you could put a sign up in your car window that says to call police.
Tyer said if you are questioning whether or not to carry a gun or other weapon, it is generally not a good idea to get one.
"Firearms are not for everyone by any stretch," he said. "You have to be in the frame of mind to use the weapon. If you don't use it, they'll take it from you."
Deputies began planning the safety course before Dunlap went missing. It was supposed to begin in February, but when Sheriff David Harvey got wind that women were planning to buy guns without any experience handling them, he decided to move up the date.
Jones said she thinks the world would be a safer place if more people learned how to defend themselves against criminals.
"We need to be educated so that we're not reacting but have a plan," Jones said. "Right now, I'm so scared, and I don't want to be scared. I want to be educated."
Since the course was publicized in the newspaper, hundreds of women have called to sign up. Another course set for Jan. 12 is already full. The Sheriff's Office is planning to hold a third one in February.
Frances Sellers, 53, of Tallahassee, said she has six guns — one for her car and the rest for different rooms in her home. She participated in the course because she wanted to learn how to better handle a gun.
"The reason most of us are out here is the personal protection and the fear of the recent murders, and this (class) just happened to come at the right time," she said.
The body of Michael Lee Gerrard, 35, was found Dec. 4 off Tram Road in Jefferson County. He had been stabbed. No arrests have been made.
James Crum, 59, of Otter Creek, accompanied his wife to the firing range. Crum, who owns numerous firearms, said he thinks all women should carry a gun to be safe. But he said they need to know how to handle them properly. He also said they need to keep them locked away from any children.
"It's like driving a car — it's dangerous just like a car is," he said.
Cindy Wommack, 48, of Crawfordville, also attended the course and plans to buy a gun.
"Obviously, the Cheryl Dunlap thing has got us all scared to death," she said.
Contact reporter Nic Corbett at (850) 599-2161 or ncorbett@tallahassee.com.
I’m a certified firearms instructor with a Federal LEO agency and I can tell you from experience, that the class room is fine for the do’s and the don’t’s but you must go to the range and shoot for the full experience .
I’ve seen students that could learn real quick in the class room but when they actually got out on the range, they froze up.
By the way, 90% of my students are experienced LEO officers and they only allow us to instruct six students to every one instructor.
I've been around guns my whole life, I have a CCP, and I believe everyone should have more instruction on a regular basis, I think it's to easy to get a permit.
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