yahoshua wrote:A frequent problem I come across with CHL holders (and customers in general) is that customers and CHL holders generally do not know how to field strip their sidearms, are unsure of how the sidearm even functions, and/or have horrible range accuracy. The worst ones are those who have a hard time figuring out which end the cartridge faces in the magazine or of how to clear a malfunction in their sidearm, or they are puzzled when I tell them their sidearm is dirty and needs to be cleaned and they look at me like I'd just slapped them in the face. It then comes out that they'd NEVER field-stripped their firearm nor have they ever cleaned it. I found this to be both frustrating and infuriating all the same (and keep in mind that these peoples' vote counts just as much as mine or yours does).
Sadly, I find Law Enforcement Officers to be lumped into this group as well and have chewed out (on more than one occasion) that LEOs' will be depending on their sidearm for emergency situation that they are likely to find themselves in. And if they weren't willing to be proficient with their duty weapon and are incapable of passing the dept. qualification test the first time around then they obviously need to be practicing more or riding a desk or to get out of the force.
I tried to think of ways to efficiently correct this problem and the solution I came up with was two-fold.
1. Make cleaning and field-stripping a firearm part of the New/Renewal CHL courses and drive it into these peoples' skulls so they'll get it the first time around and not from me when I hand them the repair bill.
2. Make range qualifications, at a minimum, an annual event in order to drive the concept into these people that if you want to keep your CHL you WILL be proficient with your sidearm. A double-whammy would be an exam in which the applicant will field strip the firearm in front of the instructor and re-assemble it.
This would help (though not necessarily guarantee) ensure that people are aware of HOW to maintain their firearm and that they are willing to invest the time necessary to be proficient with it.
As much as I hate the idea of "mandating" a requirement like this, I'm coming from the perspective that I expect people to know the basics of handling their sidearm and how to maintain it. So am I being reasonable in what I'm asking for or is this considered "too much" for the average person to handle? (I better shutup before I go off on a tangent)
What's your opinion?
My opinion is that if a gun owner is unwilling to maintain proficiency with a weapon, either on the firing line or on the cleaning bench, they should not have one. A gun they cannot use effectively or cannot maintain is a danger to themselves and to others; Either the shooter will fail, or the gun will.
That being said, do I think the State of Texas or anyone else should attempt to enforce my opinion? No. Never. Not even if my opinion is shared by everyone on this board. I already think that requiring application, registration and proficiency tests to conceal a weapon are overstepping the State's bounds. I have studied State law, I know my weapons inside and out, I can field-strip my carry pistol blindfolded (doesn't mean I can do it quickly
) and I practice with it on a regular basis (or try to; gas and ammo prices have made trips to the range more expensive and therefore less frequent in recent months). I would continue to do so even if Texas allowed unlicensed open carry tomorrow.
I do understand why Texas has these requirements; I am not every Texas gun owner, and after hearing stories about some of the applicants and their merry mishaps during qualifying, I have to admit that there may well be a demonstrated need for Texas to require qualification. Doesn't mean I agree with it costing $250 (average cost of course plus app fee) to get government permission to exercise a Constitutional right. I think the process of getting a CHL should be as similar as possible to getting/renewing a DL; you pay an instructor for an hour's time to oversee your qualification ($50 bux if that), take your proof of qualification to the DPS, fill out the paperwork, take the written test, get fingerprinted, pay $25 and they'll run the background check and send you the card a couple weeks later. Heck, with NICS a background check takes minutes, and the improvements to the system ostensibly mean that they won't find anything more by digging through any other database (that is of course why they put the system in place and then reformed it so it would be current and accurate), so they could give you a temporary card before you leave the DPS office, and if they REALLY wanted to run the FBI check they could do so before issuing plastic.
