Finding a CHL instructor / course

[straybrit]

I'm on my 4 week relocation countdown. Tick tick ......

One thing that did make me think - how do I go about choosing a CHL course / instructor? I don't know anyone in the area I'm moving to (Austin) so I can't do my usual "ask the guys at the gun club". I can see that there are numerous instructors advertising on the internet but I have no way of evaluating them.

A little background - I shoot bullseye pistol (sharpshooter/expert/master depending on the phase of the moon/work stress levels/amount of sleep) so I can hit things one handed that aren't moving and are 25 or 50 yards away. For CHL I suspect that constitutes bad habits :-).

I'd welcome any suggestions on suitable selection criteria or even name recommendations.

Thanks
Derek

[Big Tuna]

Tom Schaefer teaches CHL classes on the south side of Austin.

[A-R]

To what part of Austin are you moving?

I teach small classes in the Austin/Cedar Park area. Purposely keep class sizes to only 5-10 students and concentrate on laws and overall CC mindset, with plenty of time to answer questions etc. PM me for some more details if you're interested.

As for your shooting experience, you're miles ahead of most students. You'll do fine.

[PracticalTactical]

Other than going on internet forums (you've done that LOL), I'd recommend calling them on the phone and picking their brain for a bit to see if they are your kind of instructor.

It seems like many instructors are human cliche machines, that might be very entertaining and fun for you or it might drive you up the wall.
Some are wannabe drill sergeants, others are real life versions of Caspar Milquetoast.....and so on. If the personality isn't a fit, the class will suck for you.

Also see if the instructor is more geared toward stuff you're likely to encounter (criminal attacker) or far out stuff (active shooter, zombie apocalypse) or a mixture of both.

Without being a jerk, ask the person why he or she thinks she is qualified to teach a CHL class. Basically what you're looking for here is to have the person list off experience of some kind or another (military, LE, competition shooting, NRA instructor certification, been shooting since knee-high to a grasshopper) to show they're ready to help you learn. I've read stories in the instructor's corner where people show up to the Texas instructor course and the DPS people have to show an instructor candidate how to load the gun and disengage safeties. Unless those instructors have done something since they took the class to improve, I would try and avoid taking a class from one of those people.

[straybrit]

Thanks for the replies and help. I think I've sent PMs - but my phone and this forum are not the happiest of collaborators

Derek