TexasCHLforum.com

Feed&Guns wrote:

superchief wrote:Many of my students scare the heck out of me. I purposely and passionately tell them NOT to carry their gun if they're not going to practice. I know, i know, 2nd amendment and all that stuff. I encounter many many many many many students that can barely pass their test, and openly admit that they haven't practiced in quite a while and I don't get the impression that they will start just because I ask them to.

I just taught a CHL class with 12 students. Not one shot 250. One girl loaded her magazine backwards (the cartridges bullets first). While we're not supposed to "teach" per se, I did figure it was a safety issue so I told her "they go the other way". One student didn't pass the first time but she did on the reshoot at the end of it. The first time she was gripping like a lefty and pulling the trigger with her right index finger. She figured it out by the second run. Apparently her husband told her she wouldn't pass and was being mean to her before the class. Hopefully that's not why she was taking the class!

I didn't see ONE even remotely decent shooter. The good news is that most of them know it and about half of them are planning on taking some of my other classes (intro, post CHL 1, post CHL 2).

My own mother decided not to carry despite having her CHL because she's too dingy. She nearly flagged the line and would have if I didn't grab her hand with the gun. Too easily distracted. We need more RESPONSIBLE gun owners carrying, for sure. Did you know in some states the shooting requirement fails you for ANY misses. That kind of makes sense. If you miss even once, that's one bullet heading downrange and not into the assailant.

Feed&Guns wrote:

ArmedAndPolite wrote:

Crossfire wrote:

cb1000rider wrote:

Abraham wrote:I find sales pitches highly inappropriate when attending a CHL class.

I do too. I assume the relationship exists for the financial benefit of the instructor.
Although ours swore up and down that he didn't get "anything" from said well known law-whatever...

Yeah.... right. Somebody is getting something for this.

My class had a pitch also. I remember the pitch went something like,

"Defending yourself can cost over $100,000, even if you're innocent! But if you pay only 99$ per year, you're covered!"

I know sales and they sold pretty hard.

Well, of course it's a sales pitch. And if they said they weren't being compensated, that's almost surely a lie. But as for "avoid it like the plague", that'd be like saying "avoid any insurance (etc) sales pitch like the plague". Why not listen, make an informed decision, and decide if it's for you? I wouldn't care for the high pressure pitch, but being told "this product exists....". Now, I'd hope the CHL instructor vetted the program he was offering.

Incidentally, I know those programs will compensate "solicitors" about $30/year for a signup or renewal. It's their form of marketing. One program advertises on radio so maybe thats their advertising. Have you ever worked at a company where an investment advisor comes in and talks to you about retirement planning or "annuities" and protecting your retirement portfolio with guaranteed minimum rates of return? Many people have.

And it's not a scare tactic. Sure, there are plenty of stories in the news about justifiable use of force and no charges presented. I remember one such story where a hispanic (white at the time of the reporting) followed a suspicious black guy. The black guy started pounding his head into the concrete so he defended himself with his gun. Black teen dies. Justifiable use of force. See no problems there.....oh wait a sec. Thats right. The overzealous DA decided to press charges anyway despite there being basically no reason to. She caved to political pressure and the "defendant" racked up huge legal bills. Okay. Forget that story. Here's another one. This cop was being attacked by a giant "kid"...a gentle giant at that. He was in fear for his life and used his duty weapon in self-defense. Fortunately, the evidence and many eye witnesses corroborated his story and he was free to gooooo....no, wait a second. That's right. They sent it to a grand jury and tried to press the issue despite the overwhelming evidence. Not sure if the police union stepped up on that one but his life was ruined by a "good shoot" also.

So if you think that if you don't do anything wrong that you're in the clear, you're delusional. Maybe the "prepaid legal" isn't for you, but it might be for some. And just as the people in France are wishing they had CHLs right about now, if you find yourself on the other side of a new liberal DA in a "good shoot", you'll probably wish you had some "insurance". The retainer alone if you're locked up will exceed 20 years of "premiums" for these services. And remember the advice of the cops as they're handcuffing you: "You can tell it to the judge" and "if you didn't do anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about." Tell that to Zimmerman and Ofc Wilson.

Even Joe Horn had some crazy legal bills as I remember...and he was acquitted or no billed.

"On June 30, 2008 a Harris County grand jury cleared Horn by issuing a no bill after two weeks of testimony." -Wikipedia. I'm sure his lawyers did this pro bono....ya, right.