HCP Class Surprises

[Cherokee Slim]

I had the privilege of ROing the range part of the HCP class put on by the Cleveland Hunting Rifle & Pistol Club on Saturday.  The students, and some of guns surprised me.  

 

Of the 28 students 15 were women.  Some were wives, but there were single gals there as well.  One young gal shot a pistol for the first time ever, her new 9mm Taurus.  She obliterated the  main mass of the target with only one flyer off paper, her 1st shot.  As many women as men used Ruger & Browning .22 autos, the majority guns & caliber that I saw.  That was a surprise to me.  One wife didn't have a shot outside the 9 ring shooting a target Ruger .22.  

 

I saw one old perfect condition Colt Cobra that a girl used, and several single action .22 Rugers.  One guy qualified with a post war, matching s/n, made in West Germany P-38 in 9mm.

 

I qualified with a Colt .45 and did get some odd looks years ago.  USMC, State Trooper and Cowboy backgrounds always have had me shooting big caliber guns.  I had my wife, family and daughters shoot .40 Glocks or K frame .38 S&W revolvers.    I was probably wrong pushing all of them to shoot the bigger guns.  Everyone needs to shoot what they are most comfortable with, especially for a HCP range test.

 

It was good to see so many young women deciding to get a HCP.  After shooting we talked a lot about what & how women can carry now.  It was a most enjoyable time and I would do it again.

 

Cherokee Slim

[TrickyNicky]

So HCP classes are a good place to meet ladies huh? I'll keep that in mind...

Seriously though, good on ya for stepping up and being a part of the process for those folks.
I'm way over due to get my permit, I have been thinking about which pistol to use and originally was going to go with one of the 22s due to the price in ammo, now I'm wondering if it wouldn't make more economical sense to use a .38? They generally get less range time so I won't miss the ammo as much.

Before anyone can say anything, I do not plan to necessarily carry what I use to take the test, I want the test to be economical is all. I will and already do practice with my preferred carry guns frequently. I'm a pretty miserable shot when it comes to bullseye type shooting but have no problem hitting COM on a given target with any of my guns.

[Guest Cami]

I did it with my .45 so there are women out there who like larger calibers. :2cents:

[Mike.357]

the class is only like 48 rounds.  I don't think quantity is much of an issue for taking the class.

[zapfbroad]

Too much thinkin goin on here, hell you could unload & throw by hand at some stages as long as you tear paper. ~50 rounds, get er done & get yer permit afore they ban everything. Just use whatever they'll rent u. My range test is such a foggy memory at this point it truly isn't relevant. If this was a state you had to qualify to carry with your registered weapon id say put some serious thought into sure but its not.

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[zapfbroad]

"pew, pew, pew"

Lawdy I crack me up

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[DAdams]

.38 spl in a L Frame. Nice and easy 48 rounds. I was one of few revolver shooters.
Mine was the only handgun that interested the Instructor.

[Guest Averhoeven]

At mine some woman literally took hers out of blister packaging (like action figures come in.... also, do guns come packaged that way?!). She was sharing like she had parkinsons and required a lot of assistance from the instructor. I would think you might go to the range a couple times first...

[Guest confidence]

At mine some woman literally took hers out of blister packaging (like action figures come in.... also, do guns come packaged that way?!). She was sharing like she had parkinsons and required a lot of assistance from the instructor. I would think you might go to the range a couple times first...

 

Yeah, at my class there was an elderly gentleman who had never even shot his gun before. It was bad news. Wrong ammo. Gun jams. Muzzle sweeps. Not fun. Why not ask a friend to show you the ropes a few weeks ahead of time at least?!

[Superman]

I used a Sig P6 in my permit course. But the HCP class that stands out the most was at Waldens Range. I was at the range when Terry showed up with his class to shoot so I stood off to the side and waited. 1 guy had a 5rd revolver, but they shot 6 rounds at a time. So you here all these shots from 6 people, then a lull while the guy with the revolver loaded one more round and fired it. It cracked me up, it reminded me of that scene form Harlem Nights.

[Guest KCampbell]

A older gent with a 22 that jammed up every 2 rounds and the lady beside me shot my target....twice

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[rugerla1]

When I took my class we had a lady madder than hell because this little Indian guy not only shot her target but put all of his shots in her target during one round. He never realized he was turned the wrong way. Crazy. She was a really good shot and understandably wanted to see how good she was doing.

[MarkInNashville]

My HCP instructor (a retired State trooper) offered to buy my Commander!

[MarkInNashville]

A older gent with a 22 that jammed up every 2 rounds and the lady beside me shot my target....twice

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When I took my class we had a lady madder than hell because this little Indian guy not only shot her target but put all of his shots in her target during one round. He never realized he was turned the wrong way. Crazy. She was a really good shot and understandably wanted to see how good she was doing.

THESE are the types of situations that scare the hell out of me! I am happy that people want to carry but I feel like these are not folks I want carrying around me because in the long run who knows what may happen.

[Guest MilitiaMan]

Ranges in general scare me. Rather, most people at ranges scare me. If I'm not on private property and must go to a range, I try to find a time when it's extremely vacant.

 

It's bad enough being mindful of not being a victim of a crime or shot by someone with evil intent, I hate having to worry about being shot at the range by some idiot.

Edited April 15, 2013 by MilitiaMan

[BlackHawk93]

Ranges in general scare me. Rather, most people at ranges scare me. If I'm not on private property and must go to a range, I try to find a time when it's extremely vacant.

 

It's bad enough being mindful of not being a victim of a crime or shot by someone with evil intent, I hate having to worry about being shot at the range by some idiot.

This. Here recently I went to get in a little practice because the private land I usually use the owner was out of town. While I have his permission, I still like to let him know. At the range, I had people on either side of me who had no business holding a gun, much less shooting one. One guy kept pointing the gun in any direction he turned, which was towards me 3 times asking me questions, as well as behind him where a window was looking out at the store portion. The other guy had never used his gun before and he loaded a magazine, took it out after racking the slide, and while loading the rest of his mags I guess forgot and pulled the trigger, as he had been pulling the trigger multiple times before inserting the mag, and the gun went off and into the divider between us. Needless to say he was asked to leave but MAN! I guess some people need to be screened. Scares me that alot of these people have carry permits.

[Guest confidence]

This. Here recently I went to get in a little practice because the private land I usually use the owner was out of town. While I have his permission, I still like to let him know. At the range, I had people on either side of me who had no business holding a gun, much less shooting one. One guy kept pointing the gun in any direction he turned, which was towards me 3 times asking me questions, as well as behind him where a window was looking out at the store portion. The other guy had never used his gun before and he loaded a magazine, took it out after racking the slide, and while loading the rest of his mags I guess forgot and pulled the trigger, as he had been pulling the trigger multiple times before inserting the mag, and the gun went off and into the divider between us. Needless to say he was asked to leave but MAN! I guess some people need to be screened. Scares me that alot of these people have carry permits.

 

Aw, man... So frustrating and SO stupid.

 

:wall: 

 

Glad you are still alive.

 

:stare:

[ncldwell]

During my HCP shooting qualification I was flanked by a man on one side and a woman on the other. I don't think either had ever held a handgun and both were uptight. Both hit the target holder at some point during their shooting. Both passed. Makes me wonder if some additional hands on instruction might be advisable for those that have zero experience with a weapon.

[Troutburger]

I think a lot of people take the hcp class because they want to learn how to shoot a handgun. Hopefully they get more training before carrying...

[Guest confidence]

I think a lot of people take the hcp class because they want to learn how to shoot a handgun.

 

True. They actually think that the HCP class is going to teach them how to shoot their handgun, lol -- which I can say by experience is absolutely not true. Myself, I didn't want the class to be my first experience so I asked my friend to teach me the ropes a couple of months ahead of time. By the time I did the class, I was a reasonable target shooter, had the basics of safety down and had experience dealing with gun jams. I wasn't a sharpshooter by any stretch of the imagination, but I most certainly didn't muzzle sweep anyone!

[battleop]

I used a S&W 617 .22lr with a red dot scope;  :)  I could have picked any caliber between .22 and .45 but I decided on one of my pinking guns because 22 is cheap.   I did bring a Glock 22 in my bag just in case there was some reason I could not use the 617.

[Guest RedLights&Sirens]

My ex-wife and I shot side by side her with a Sig 226 in .40 and I had a Glock 23 (thats a .40 for non-Glock owners). She scored 100% and I scored 98%. Oh and one of her shots was as my brass went down the back of her shirt, the instructor saw it happen and she didnt flinch until after her shot (on target) and she did get burned from it.

[Guest VJGthe3]

My wife and I took our class this past weekend at MCSC, Glock 22 for me and M&P22 for her (she scored better). We've been shooting for about 9 months now, but I definitely saw some people there who were new to shooting, and even more that were new to the guns they had that day. Thankfully everyone was attentive and safe, no issues that day, but I've been there before with people who weren't paying attention. It usually gets straightened out pretty quickly though.

[BigK]

I did it with my .45 so there are women out there who like larger calibers. :2cents:

 

Whoa! I thought size didn't matter? This changes everything!

[Tri-Cities Bob]

I'm an instructor for my local Tennessee Certified Handgun SAFETY Course (emphasis added) and an NRA Certified Instructor.  As the title suggests, the primary purpose of the course is to provide instruction on safely handling a handgun, not to turn out fully trained tactical fighters.  The state-mandated curriculum closely follows the classroom portion of the NRA's Basic Pistol curriculum, which is directed toward target shooting and not self-defense situations.  There are several points in the required curriculum which address issues which are obviously not appropriate for a handgun carry situation.  One which comes to mind is in the cleaning presentation.  The required presentation says that guns should be cleaned "after every use (no problem with that) and BEFORE USE WHEN STORED FOR EXTENDED PERIODS".  As we tell our students, unless you have a fully functional crystal ball, you will not know when you will need to use you carry handgun in advance, so we suggest they institute a regular program of cleaning and inspection to ensure their gun will work when and if they need it.  This is just one example and there are several other issues in the required curriculum which don't effectively address the requirements for a carry situation.  We point these out as they come up in class (especially when a test question concerns one of these issues).  Our job as instructors for the TN Handgun Safety Course is to turn out graduates who are familiar with basic firearms safety procedures and have at least a minimum level of ability to hit what they are shooting at.  We emphasize the need for additional research and training and assure our students that satisfactory completion of our class does not mean they are ready to respond effectively in a high-stress self defense situation with an armed attacker -- but they are ready to start the process of learning what to do in that situation.  As I am sure you know, the legal aspects of having a carry permit are covered by the State-provided DVD which we show in class.  The State forbids non-attorney and non-law enforcement instructors from sharing their opinions on these with our students.