TexasCHLforum.com

Good job Vol Texan. My range safety briefing includes a warning that sweeping anyone with the muzzle will result in your being off the relay. They are also told that, if I have to warn them more than twice that they are getting too close to sweeping someone, they'll be off the relay. I do tell them that I will stay after the class is over to let them shoot the course. Thankfully, that has happened only once.

Chas.

Scott B. wrote:In the last two years I've 'failed' 3 students on the shooting proficiency. Those failures were 60% wrong gun for the student and 40% lack of shooting experience. Put a better gun in their hands with some one-on-one instruction and they all passed in the 200s on the second try. Nothing like the smile on a student's face who went from shooting a 140 to shooting a 240.

Have never had a student fail the written.

Wrong gun has always been the problem with the few students that have had to shoot twice and one a third time. I also agree about giving them a better/bigger gun makes a world of difference.

The most glaring example of this was with a very small elderly lady whose husband made the classic mistake of thinking "the little lady needs a little gun." She didn't weigh 100 pounds, so he bought her a Taurus Millennium compact. Every time she pulled the trigger, she winced and flinched badly -- as bad as I've ever seen. She shot a 129 and I thought I had finally seen my first student that wasn't going to pass.

I was carrying my 1911 lightweight Commander .45ACP, so I knew that wouldn't be any better. My buddy walked by with his full-size M&P in 9mm and I asked if she could shoot it with the next relay. I let her dry-fire it several times to get the feel of the trigger, then she shot the course. She shot a 219 with a gun she had never fired! That's an increase of 90 points because she used a gun that didn't hurt every time she pulled the trigger. Since that day I always have a 9mm in my bag or on my side for just such an occasion. I may bring a .22LR pistol now that the law changed.

Chas.

Liberty wrote:Are they allowed to retest if they do fail?

They can shoot three times in a single class, but I'm not sure about the written exam. I believe I recall a DPS instructor/speaker saying they could do both the written exam and range portion of the class three times, but I could be wrong. I guess I should find out in case it happens.

Chas.

I've never had anyone fail the written exam, but a few have had to shoot the course a 2nd time.

Chas.