Got my PIN

[Harold]

Hey everyone,

I was a total newb a few weeks ago and had to figure a lot of stuff out for myself. So I'm going to be really basic for others who may be as I was. One important thing I learned is that LEO stands for Law Enforcement Officer. That's probably the least obvious jargon I had to figure out as someone new to this "scene".

I signed up for CHL class when I purchased my handgun as the shop said they took care of everything (photos, fingerprinting, etc.). I showed up in late Dec for my class and really enjoyed the day. They did take care of everything.

I mailed my packet the next day and started searching the web for info and found this here forum as the "best" place to be (at least for us Texians, in my opinion).

I started reading about PIN letters and had no idea what that meant. I now know that DPS is supposed to send a letter to the CHL applicant with a PIN# used to check status of the application progress online. I called my bank a few days after the app was sent to find out it took 10 days for my check to clear after I mailed the packet.

I read here that phone calls by others of you to DPS yielded info that it takes 2-4 weeks before I would be entered into the system and a PIN # generated. So after about 5 weeks, I had no PIN letter and I called. "Simone" told me I still wasn't in the system and that it really usually takes 4-6 weeks.

So I waited another week and called again today (still haven't received my PIN letter). This time the guy who answered said that they don't give PIN numbers over the phone and that I had to email them at chl@txdps.state.tx.us with my full name and some personally identifiable information such as my Texas driver's license#. So I did that when I got off the phone today and received a reply a few hours later with my PIN!!! I guess I'll get the letter in a few days.

So now ... I wait as patiently as possible ... watching my status say ... "Processing Application" ... I understand I could be here for a few more weeks at worst and maybe a few days at best waiting for that status to change ...

In the mean time, I've been carrying in my car and around the house "practicing" and this past weekend I took Brian Hoffner's Pistol I class in Houston. Wow it was awesome. I learned so much and not just about pistol combat. I was a bit concerned about taking the class as there was some minor criticism of Hoffner's that I read on other forums (although most who had actually taken one of his classes was positive). I gotta say, the *only* negative thing about that class is my sore right hand from firing almost 1000 rounds in 2 days with my smallish high-recoiling 45 ACP 1911. I am so very impressed with Mr. Hoffner (who is a full time cop, actually an instructor at the Houston Police Academy). Most of my "classmates" were CHL holders - Mr. Hoffner spent a considerable amount of time teaching the proper way to approach a variety of situations that I would have never thought about, even after reading several books on combat handgunnery in the past few weeks, including Ayoob's excellent resources. I learned so many things, I could write for an hour - but now I know if I ever have to pull (and I pray that I never do) and then stand before a jury, and a lawyer starts asking the "why?" questions, I have the right answer: "because that's how I was trained to do it".

My grandfather taught me to shoot when I was young but my father is a "sheep" (I learned on this forum that each person is by choice either a sheep, a sheepdog or a wolf - use the forum search to find the excellent analogies). So I only shot targets with my grandpa once every blue moon knowing there would never be guns in my house.

At any rate, not sure how exactly, but just thinking over the years about how American society is degenerating overall and virtually no one else in my circles seemed to even be noticing has led me to the point of action - I now intend to be the best 24/7 sheepdog I can be in order to protect my family. Until someone invents a pocket sized portable forcefield that can protect my family members unconditionally from the wolves, I am resigned to correct my prior errors of naively leaving their protection to others and to chance and will now accept my duty to protect them myself to the best of my abilities. I hope the plastic arrives soon.

Sorry this was so long ... but I think typing all this helps me with my patience ...

Harold