New Class – Florida Concealed Carry
Concealed carry classes here in Florida tend to fall into one of two categories: “Pump and dump” classes that typically cost around $50 and are around two hours long. Florida law requires that a concealed carry student must “demonstrate competency with a firearm, and that means an actual gun, not a laser training pistol or an airsoft gun. As such, trainers teaching these kinds of classes usually have each student shoot one round of .22LR into a clearing barrel, and presto, you’ve proven you can shoot a gun!
Question: If you sat in the seat of a car and turned the key in the ignition, does that mean you’ve proven that you can drive? Yeah, I don’t think so either.
The second kind of class is the day-long extravaganza that costs $200 or more and covers everything from Florida gun law to use of force to how to draw from the holster. The problem with this sort of class is that adults can really only learn three things in any given session, so if you throw everything including the kitchen sink at your students, you’re not actually sure what they’ve learned in your class.
If they’ve learned anything at all, that is.
If I’m honest, I much prefer the second sort of class to the first. I’d rather have students learn too much than learn too little. If I’m REALLY honest, though, I’d rather not have to take ANY class in order to enjoy a constitutional right, but that’s a topic for another day.
This is why my class is a) only five hours long, b) split up into two parts and c) includes a 50 round range session where students get a chance to stretch their shooting legs a bit. In addition to this, I’m a big fan of using standardized drills to measure student progress. You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so each student not only demonstrates competency with a firearm by sending rounds downrange, but they also shoot (and pass) the Michigan Concealed Pistol License Safety Assessment as well. After all, collecting achievement badges works gun training, just like it works for the Boy Scouts.
All of this is prelude to say that I will be teaching another Florida Concealed Carry Class this month. The classroom portion will be taught starting at 9am on February 20th, and there will be a two-hour range session on Sunday the 21st. More information is available on the Facebook page or by contacting me through email.
