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I took the CHL course that cabelas offers on the second saturday of every month. It was a good class,only $85(including range fee). Which after research is the cheapest youll find in the Austin,New Braunfels San Antonio area. However,the difference is that they dont do your fingerprints,passport photos or affidavids(sp) on the spot. It was a good class,just caused some extra running around getting that extra stuff done.

You might want to check Firearms Training Plus in San Antonio. They do the complete package including gun and ammo for one set price, except for the fee to the state.

I agree, seek another source for training next time. I took Ross Bransford's class in Austin, and he does everything. IMHO, nothing beats walking out of the classroom knowing that you have literally zero responsibility but to drop a check in the provided envelope, and just seal it/stamp it/drop it.

Snake Doctor wrote:I agree, seek another source for training next time. I took Ross Bransford's class in Austin, and he does everything . . .

I took Ross' class when I first got my CHL, and he did a very good job of teaching it, and showed a LOT of patience with some of the other students. I took the class at what was then Cook's in Pflugerville, but is now Red's.

But as for getting everything done . . . the Pflugerville cop he had doing prints at the time was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I had to have them redone at DPS HQ when I turned my packet in. (Fortunately I live near Austin, so I was handing the packet in personally anyway.)

HankB wrote:But as for getting everything done . . . the Pflugerville cop he had doing prints at the time was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I had to have them redone at DPS HQ when I turned my packet in. (Fortunately I live near Austin, so I was handing the packet in personally anyway.)

That's such a bummer. Sorry to hear that. When did you take the class? Mine was in March of 2007 and the gentleman doing prints used to do them for the FBI. Heck, he even knew how to properly mark the form because I only have nine fingers!

Snake Doctor wrote:

HankB wrote:But as for getting everything done . . . the Pflugerville cop he had doing prints at the time was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I had to have them redone at DPS HQ when I turned my packet in. (Fortunately I live near Austin, so I was handing the packet in personally anyway.)

That's such a bummer. Sorry to hear that. When did you take the class? Mine was in March of 2007 and the gentleman doing prints used to do them for the FBI. Heck, he even knew how to properly mark the form because I only have nine fingers!

Since I'm coming up on my second renewal this year, it must be almost 8 years ago. Ross did a great job of teaching, my only problem was the prints.

I renewed with Tom Schaefer of KR Training . . . the class was OK - took quite a bit longer than a renewal should have - but once again the prints were no good and I had to have them re-done at DPS HQ when I went to hand in my packet.

So trained & certified fingerprinters using a regular kit with a co-operative subject were TWICE unable to produce acceptable prints . . . it greatly undermines my faith in the use of fingerprints as evidence in prosecuting criminal cases.

HankB wrote: So trained & certified fingerprinters using a regular kit with a co-operative subject were TWICE unable to produce acceptable prints . . . it greatly undermines my faith in the use of fingerprints as evidence in prosecuting criminal cases.

You know, I have wondered this myself. If we have such a hard time getting acceptable prints from willing subjects... how does a cop ever manage to get decent prints from someone who DOESN'T want to be printed?

BTW, we have never had a fingerprint card rejected...yet .

Marty is an awesome fingerprinter. Slower than molasses... but still awesome.

HankB wrote:

Snake Doctor wrote:

HankB wrote:But as for getting everything done . . . the Pflugerville cop he had doing prints at the time was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I had to have them redone at DPS HQ when I turned my packet in. (Fortunately I live near Austin, so I was handing the packet in personally anyway.)

That's such a bummer. Sorry to hear that. When did you take the class? Mine was in March of 2007 and the gentleman doing prints used to do them for the FBI. Heck, he even knew how to properly mark the form because I only have nine fingers!

Since I'm coming up on my second renewal this year, it must be almost 8 years ago. Ross did a great job of teaching, my only problem was the prints.

I renewed with Tom Schaefer of KR Training . . . the class was OK - took quite a bit longer than a renewal should have - but once again the prints were no good and I had to have them re-done at DPS HQ when I went to hand in my packet.

So trained & certified fingerprinters using a regular kit with a co-operative subject were TWICE unable to produce acceptable prints . . . it greatly undermines my faith in the use of fingerprints as evidence in prosecuting criminal cases.

Yeah, I took my class from Tom as well. The class itself was good, and he seemed to keep everything on point without letting the conversations wander too far. I had some serious concerns regarding the integrity of my prints, but they did not get rejected. I'd also submitted prints for a background check in anticipation of joining the Ausin Rifle Club (pre-CHL for me - they require non-chlers to get the background check) a couple of months earlier, so it's possible they went with those, since DPS had them on file so recently. That electronic print machine is scarily amazing.

llwatson wrote:You know, I have wondered this myself. If we have such a hard time getting acceptable prints from willing subjects... how does a cop ever manage to get decent prints from someone who DOESN'T want to be printed?

Elbow to the chest works wonders!

35 years ago I worked in the ID division of Houston PD. It really isn't hard to get good prints from normal fingers.

But I saw more abnormalities than I would have ever imagined. Some have such poor surface texture that the print looks like it was made with a sponge, no ridge detail at all.