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The training class idiot - tell your story

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:20 am
by 45Carrier
I know well the training classes are essential, and certainly a great chance to get some pertinent info, and also required.

My class was excruciating.

Not because of the instructor, he did a great job, and I thought the course material the state provided was very well done.

I sat between Cletus 'Armageddon' Redneck and Snow White.

I've been shooting all my life, am easy going, and like to think I have a lot of patience and common sense. I used both more than I have in a long time on class day.

Who was the most annoying person in your class ?

Tell us the story so you can get the resentment off your chest and we can empathize.

This ought to be... ummm... educational :grin:

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:34 am
by KaProw
We had "Jerry" in our CHL class.

Jerry was in his 60s and told a story about how he and his girl friend's daughter and her friends were sitting around drinking about 10yrs ago in Indiana. There was some type of confrontation at their "get together". Friends beat Jerry in the face and it cost him 10K for reconstructive surgery. Thus the reasoning for obtaining his CHL license.

Jerry had a Glock that seem to have exploding magazines and would refuse to remain pointed down range. Instructor stood directly behind jerry the entire time he was on the range.

Jerry needed some remedial practice, but still passed the class.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:36 am
by Keith B
I think my class was great! Everyone was friendly and interacted well. They all seemed to understand the information and provided questions and feedback. Maybe I was the class idiot, so it all seemed good to me. :lol:

We did have a couple of folks who were less than average shooters, but Marty and Linda helped them over their issues and everyone passed. We learned a lot and I felt very prepared to have my CHL and know what my roles and responsibilities were. Overall, it was really awesome!

Re: The training class idiot - tell your story

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:37 am
by flintknapper
45Carrier wrote:I know well the training classes are essential, and certainly a great chance to get some pertinent info, and also required.

My class was excruciating.

Not because of the instructor, he did a great job, and I thought the course material the state provided was very well done.

I sat between Cletus 'Armageddon' Redneck and Snow White.
I've been shooting all my life, am easy going, and like to think I have a lot of patience and common sense. I used both more than I have in a long time on class day.

Who was the most annoying person in your class ?

Tell us the story so you can get the resentment off your chest and we can empathize.

This ought to be... ummm... educational :grin:

But apparently, not much tolerance? :???:

Did these folks in some way impede your training? Just curious.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:50 am
by AEA
It's been 4 years since my first class. I don't recall much other than a few Ladies that had NEVER held a gun in their life and a couple that actually thought the class was going to be a Handgun Learning Class!

I do remember two guys that had MANY questions about eligibility and they did not come back to the class after the first coffee break!

All in all it was good. I had a new (used) OACP that I was going to qualify with. I had run it thru it's paces a few days before. When we got on the range, the very first thing the Instructor did was physically check ALL weapons for safety. He found that my grip safety was not functioning and disqualified the gun. I had to get a rental and shoot the Qual. I later fixed the grip safety on that gun and carried it for the first 2 years or so.

Sunday the 28th I will be taking my Renewal Class. It will be interesting to see what types of people are in it and the difference between it and the first class.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:06 am
by Wildscar
Don't even get me started on our CHL shooting test. One of the shooters had a AD that almost took out a co-workers wife and all she did was giggle like little school girl that just got her first kiss from a boy.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:17 am
by lws380
Thank god my instructor gave me the class one on one.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:33 am
by jimlongley
We had a guy in our class who asked numerous questions about a criminal record disqualifying from eligibility, he disappeared after we started the paperwork.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:34 am
by Moonpie
Yes there was one in one of my classes.
I don't mean to be disrespectful but some folks have no business handling firearms.
He was an older man of about 60.
He FAILED the written part of the test TWICE!
The instructor worked patiently with him and got him through it while we waited.
Later, when we met on the firing range, this guy breaks out this HUGE honking .44 Mag S&W revolver! It had at least a 10inch barrel and just gleamed in the sun with its shiny nickel plating. It was gorgeous.
Problem was Old Guy DID NOT KNOW HOW TO LOAD IT!!!!!!!
He handed it to the instructor, who demonstrated how to load it, then handed it back. Old Guy MISSED all six shots!
At this point the Instructor told the guy, "You have no business being out here. You need to go home. I will refund your money".

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:39 am
by seamusTX
I know one instructor who pre-screens people who want to attend his class, so at least he doesn't get felons or people who can't shoot.

That seems like a good way to avoid unhappiness for everyone involved.

- Jim

Re: The training class idiot - tell your story

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:41 am
by 45Carrier
flintknapper wrote:
But apparently, not much tolerance? :???:

Did these folks in some way impede your training? Just curious.
Main Entry: tol·er·ance
Pronunciation: \ˈtä-lə-rən(t)s, ˈtäl-rən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina
2 a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own b: the act of allowing something : toleration
3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
(4): relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought that was very apparent. Sorry I didn't point that out more clearly.

Actually, I and many others in the class showed a great deal of tolerance. If that weren't the case many of the attendees wouldn't have completed the course.

.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:56 am
by HankB
In my first class, the instructor told us to take out the handgun we'd brought and place it on the table in front of us. I was the only one who "cleared" the gun, removed the mag, and locked the slide back before doing this . . . two other shooters followed. The instructor lectured the others about this, and told them to follow my example.

One woman couldn't . . . her husband had TOLD her she WAS going to get a CHL, and she had no idea of how to clear her pistol . . . so the instructor demonstrated . . . and discovered it was fully loaded. :shock:

During the shooting part of the class, I pretty put all my shots into one ragged hole at 3 and 5 yards, but did get a few outside the main group at 15 yards :oops: . . . but I figured I had a perfect score.

So what was that hole in the target just below the silhouette's navel?

Turned out the woman I mentioned earlier was in the lane next to mine, and missed her target entirely about 8 times . . . one of her errant shots must have hit my target, so I got a 249. :sad: (She still passed!)

Other things I learned from both my first class and renewal . . .

* Makarovs are not the perfectly reliable pistols some claim . . .
* Neither are Kimber or Colt 1911s . . .
* Austin and Pflugerville LEOs can't be depended on to take usable fingerprints.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:04 am
by jimlongley
Moonpie wrote:He was an older man of about 60.
You mean he was a youngster, don't you? :lol:

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:09 am
by shootthesheet
I searched and found a guy that would give me the class one on one. I had to drive 100 miles each way but I think it was worth it. I was able to learn more initially and go deeper in my renewal class. The instructor is a...character but, knows CHL.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:17 am
by KD5NRH
HankB wrote:So what was that hole in the target just below the silhouette's navel?
Heck, I put 3 in the groin area by rushing to catch up after riding the slide not-quite-into-battery.

Instructor accepted my excuse of "well, I'd stop if somebody triple-tapped me there with a .45."