CHL quals with a revolver

[sf340b]

Instructors,

If you don't mind schooling me on this. If a guy decides to qualify with a revolver, do you need speed loaders for the shooting event?

What other points of interest to qualifying with a revolver do you have?

Thanks

[joe817]

sf340b, IMHO most(if not all) forum members will agree with me on this one.

Using a revolver to qualify with is fine and good, but it permanently restricts the choice you can make when carrying a handgun. And I like the freedom of choice of qualifying with a semi-auto pistol, as you can carry either/or and even both.

[USA1]

I'm not an instructor but I did see a guy using a revolver in my class. He just loaded it one round at a time.
I would think that since this is not a timed event that a speed loader is not necessary.

[WildBill]

Instructors,
If you don't mind schooling me on this. If a guy decides to qualify with a revolver, do you need speed loaders for the shooting event? What other points of interest to qualifying with a revolver do you have? Thanks

If you shoot your qualification with a revolver, you will only be able to carry a revolver with your CHL. The shooting portion of the qualification is such that a speed loader would not help.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Instructors,

If you don't mind schooling me on this. If a guy decides to qualify with a revolver, do you need speed loaders for the shooting event?

What other points of interest to qualifying with a revolver do you have?

Thanks

Reloading is "off the clock" so they won't need speed loaders.

Chas.

[Kevinf2349]

I hate to thread hi-jack but I have a question that is related.

Say you qualify for a CHL using a revolver and decide later on you want to 'advance' to getting a SA CHL. Do you have to retake the 10 hour class, just do the shooting part of it? How does that work?

I know mine is a SA CHL but I am just curious to know how you would go about 'upgrading'.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm not an instructor, but I have to ask....

Since you are not required to qualify with your own personal carry weapon, why qualify with a revolver at all?

The reason I ask is this: If you qualify with a revolver, you may only carry a revolver. If you qualify with a semi-auto, you may carry either a revolver or a semi-auto. Indeed, many of us here have both types of guns in our carry rotation, and qualified with the semi-auto so that we would have more carry options.

I typically carry a .45 caliber semi-auto, but I also occasionally pocket carry a .357 magnum J-frame revolver.

A lot of instructors will rent you a sem-auto (frequently something easy to shoot like a 9mm Glock) for a minimal fee. Then you qualify with the SA, but carry the wheelgun. And, God forbid you should ever find yourself in such a situation, you'll be legal to pick up and use a semi-auto in a self-defense shooting if necessary; or buy and carry one after trying it out someone else's at the range and deciding you really like it.

My wife is a perfect example of this. Her daily carry gun is a S&W 642 J-Frame .38 Special. But she qualified with a rented Glock 19 (9mm) and liked it so much that we went out and bought her one just like it the very next day. She never carries it, but she is licensed to do so if she ever changes her mind. And if, God forbid, we are involved in a shooting together and I get taken down, she is legally able to pick up my more powerful and higher capacity .45 - with its faster reload capability - and use it. This would be faster and easier for her to do than to try and reload a 5 shot revolver, under fire. Plus, she actually shoots the semi-autos better than her revolver... ...it's a matter of her unwillingness to make fashion concessions that prevents her from actually carrying her Glock.

[USA1]

I would like to know why that silly restriction even exists.
Does it serve a legitimate purpose or is it just a product of bureaucratic red tape?

[Charles L. Cotton]

I hate to thread hi-jack but I have a question that is related.

Say you qualify for a CHL using a revolver and decide later on you want to 'advance' to getting a SA CHL. Do you have to retake the 10 hour class, just do the shooting part of it? How does that work?

I know mine is a SA CHL but I am just curious to know how you would go about 'upgrading'.

You just shoot the course with a semi-auto and get a new CHL-100 for the range portion only. Then send it in along with a modification form.

Chas.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Does it serve a legitimate purpose . . .

Not at all. It was something we had to accept to get SB60 passed, but it's such a low priority item, we've never focused on fixing it.

Chas.

[sf340b]

Thanks guys.

I was aware of the SA restriction, should have mentioned it.

I was considering the Instructor License and an instructor must qualify with a revolver.

I was curious what the COF was for the revolver and if I needed the speed loaders.

Thanks again.

[Kevinf2349]

I hate to thread hi-jack but I have a question that is related.

Say you qualify for a CHL using a revolver and decide later on you want to 'advance' to getting a SA CHL. Do you have to retake the 10 hour class, just do the shooting part of it? How does that work?

I know mine is a SA CHL but I am just curious to know how you would go about 'upgrading'.

You just shoot the course with a semi-auto and get a new CHL-100 for the range portion only. Then send it in along with a modification form.

Chas.

Thank you, sir. That makes sense.

[Beware of Doug]

Instructors,

If you don't mind schooling me on this. If a guy decides to qualify with a revolver, do you need speed loaders for the shooting event?

What other points of interest to qualifying with a revolver do you have?

Thanks

Nope. Plenty of time between strings but if you have em you can load em up and save time.

Points of interest to qualifying. Concentrate on the front sight and trigger control and you should ace it. Test is easy and only the last few shots are further than spitten distance.

[Greybeard]

Since 1995 I can only recall having 3, maybe 4, students who wanted to qualify with a revolver. When such happens, it requires a minor modification of the second exercise (10 rounds. each 2 shots in three seconds). It's pretty easy to make time to let em load 6 then 4. Or with the 5-holers, 4, 4 and 2.

[srothstein]

I would like to know why that silly restriction even exists.
Does it serve a legitimate purpose or is it just a product of bureaucratic red tape?

I think you will find that it is a carry over from law enforcement training. Way back in the good old days, when cops all carried revolvers, there was no problem with changing weapons. As they started the switch to semi-auto's, the cops found that they all worked slightly differently (safety up or down for on, etc.). So, most agencies started requiring cops to go through transition training courses before carrying the new pistol.

From this came the idea that you could only carry the same type of gun as you qualified with (Single action, 1911, Glock, DAO, SA/DA, etc.). As time passed, some agencies now require you to qualify with every weapon you will carry or use, some with each type of weapon, and some (but very few) just qualify once and you are good to go. The concept of semi's being so different from revolvers carried over to CHL's.

TCLEOSE requires firearms instructors to also qualify with both revolvers and semi's, which carried over to the CHL instructor too. It makes no sense for police since they will normally only use what the department issues, and it makes no sense for the CHL since they are not actually trying to instruct in how to shoot, just law and watch you qualify. As private businessmen, CHL instructors should also be allowed to choose which they will use for instructing if we really want to separate the two.