TexasCHLforum.com

bryang wrote:Only my close family, my sister and two daughters.

When I first received my CHL I was so proud of it I was tempted to tell everyone I seen...however, I joined this forum before I had my CHL, so... I learned that is was not a good idea to do that and I am thankful that I did not have to learn that the hard way.

-geo

Those of us who did have to learn the hard way are glad we were able to help others here avoid making the same mistakes.

atxgun wrote:

seamusTX wrote: I'm envious that they let you draw from a holster, though.

I would be envious as well however they don't. "Standard" range rules at this range, no drawing from holster, no 'rapid fire'. Even though I enter with a concealed carry my procedure is to empty the clip and the chamber once at the assigned range, putting my hollow points in aside, loading range rounds, shooting by the their rules, and reversing the process when I'm done.

I very seriously would love to find a place where I could practice drawing & shooting as that's how it would work out IRL but I understand their concerns for not allowing it.

Lone Star Gun Range. It's my regular range. Just a bit south of Austin in Lockhart.

They allow drawing from the holster and moving/shooting. Rapid fire is fine as long as you are controlling your shots.

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We've had some discussion on this topic before, and here's a quote from one of those discussions:

NcongruNt wrote:
With the exception of my father/stepmother, my girlfriend, & the one friend who got me into shooting and ultimately my CHL, I don't disclose to anyone that I am carrying. The only time it IS revealed is at the range with friends, when I go to the line and clear my carry gun to change out to practice ammo. By then we've already done some rifle shooting and is a good time for discussion about CHL and self-defense with new shooters. At that point, we've gone past the "guns are scary" feeling of most shooters to a more realistic exposure to what guns are and what shooting is really like.

Since that post, the list of people who know I carry has opened up a bit, but the guidelines of who I tell is still the same.

My direct family for the most part, knows I carry. I have a younger sister and older brother whom I've never told directly, but I believe at least my brother knows via my dad. We're having a post-thanksgiving family range day this weekend, so it should be quite clear to all of my siblings that I carry by the time that is over.

There are a couple of close friends added to the list, mostly folks I have taken shooting and one friend/coworker whom I hunt and talk guns with. I still don't disclose whether or not I'm carrying (except at the range or in new-shooter pre-range safety instruction) and anyone who knows about my CHL is asked to respect my privacy and not to tell other people about my carry status. My girlfriend's parents and her sister, brother, and brother-in-law also know that I carry, as we've all gone to the range together and cleaned guns at her sister/brother-in-law's house while out of town.

Obviously the people at forum days and local meet up events know, but we're pretty much all CHLers there.

seamusTX wrote:Many episodes like this have been described here.

The bottom line is to keep the lips zipped at work until you know for a fact that your boss is gun nut.

One day my boss told me how he had pulled a shotgun on a prowler the night before. I took that as a good sign. Then his boss was telling hunting stories over lunch.

But even with that kind of signal, you can't be sure that they are comfortable with concealed carry.

- Jim

Yup. The coworker in my situation had an expressed interest in guns for self defense. That all changed when the topic changed to concealed carry.

I am sometimes surprised at the people I know who are avid hunters who are offended at the idea of defensive or carry guns. I have a friend I converse with quite often who is a hunter, whom I have occasionally discussed guns with. When the topic shifts to some of the firearms I'd like to purchase (such as a Dragunov SVD, pointing out its 4" grouping at 600 meters), he has historically made statements like "what would you EVER need that for?". I have not discussed concealed carry with him because of this.

It is an interesting turn of events however, that this friend has changed his tune on the subject since the elections and talk of new gun bans. He's asked me about purchasing defensive firearms, even the evil black guns he previously saw no use for. He's gone to making statements of "I want something I can shoot with as far away as possible", and we've discussed handguns - a topic that he has never brought up before. He's also surprised at the stupidity of some of the proposed legislation, especially when I pointed out and explained what a barrel shroud is, and why the antis think it should be banned. I'm hoping that this becomes a trend for other hunter-types who are historically complacent on bans that don't affect "their kind of guns". We need all the help we can get.

CainA wrote:I live in Harris County, so I'm on the loooong waiting list; I don't have that problem as of yet, so I didn't vote.

-Cain

Oh you can still have the problem, even pre-CHL. I had a bad experience at my former job by simply discussing the possibility of CHL with a coworker (who had displayed an interest in getting a gun of her own in previous discussion). Bad things happened, I was accused of carrying a gun at work, and had to have a discussion with my manager about it. I was fired within a couple of months, in circumstances that indicated they were looking for an excuse to do so.

There is a thread about the event, and I would recommend reading it, especially pre-CHL. Watch who you tell, folks.

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