I think you will find that it is a carry over from law enforcement training. Way back in the good old days, when cops all carried revolvers, there was no problem with changing weapons. As they started the switch to semi-auto's, the cops found that they all worked slightly differently (safety up or down for on, etc.). So, most agencies started requiring cops to go through transition training courses before carrying the new pistol.USA1 wrote:I would like to know why that silly restriction even exists.
Does it serve a legitimate purpose or is it just a product of bureaucratic red tape?
From this came the idea that you could only carry the same type of gun as you qualified with (Single action, 1911, Glock, DAO, SA/DA, etc.). As time passed, some agencies now require you to qualify with every weapon you will carry or use, some with each type of weapon, and some (but very few) just qualify once and you are good to go. The concept of semi's being so different from revolvers carried over to CHL's.
TCLEOSE requires firearms instructors to also qualify with both revolvers and semi's, which carried over to the CHL instructor too. It makes no sense for police since they will normally only use what the department issues, and it makes no sense for the CHL since they are not actually trying to instruct in how to shoot, just law and watch you qualify. As private businessmen, CHL instructors should also be allowed to choose which they will use for instructing if we really want to separate the two.