I had the opportunity to take the Utah concealed firearm permit class from THR moderator Larry Correia on November 12-13, 2007. The class was given at the Lehi, Utah Cabela’s on Monday and Tuesday evening and was approximately 5 hours long. After taking some time to reflect on the class I would now like to post a review.
The first night covered basic topics including firearm operation and safety, shooting stances, shooting fundamentals, concealment holsters, and carrying options. It also included no-nonsense recommendations on CCW guns to stay away from, minimum defensive calibers, shot placement, and ammunition choice. The second night was equally divided between the legalities of carrying a concealed firearm and several role-playing demonstrations.
THE GOOD:
Mr. Correia was dressed professionally and acted in a calm, self-assured, and respectful manner. He did an excellent job showing what a responsible CCW permit-holder should act like in public.
Mr. Correia had a very effective teaching style that demonstrated an obvious mastery of the class material. At the same time, there was no macho gun store commando garbage. Mr. Correia made all of the students feel both welcome and comfortable. He took a genuine interest in making sure that his students learned and appeared to be having a fun time teaching the class. He used humor very effectively to put the students as ease and to maintain their interest during the class.
Mr. Correia did an outstanding job presenting condensed yet readily understandable discussions of handgun stopping power versus killing power and the physics underlying wound ballistics.
The class had a nominal fee of $40. In a very nice act of public service, Mr. Correia offered the class free of charge to active duty military personnel and to college students / instructors.
THE BAD:
There was actually very little that could be improved upon. I will mention two very minor things, neither of which was in the control of the class instructor.
1. A small portion of the material in the curriculum mandated by Utah wasn’t all that useful in a class designed as an introductory CCW class for private citizens. For example, there was no actual shooting component of the class yet the instructor had to discuss range safety rules. The instructor also had to cover the LEO escalation of force continuum. In a class only 5 hours long this time could probably have been better spent on other topics.
2. The inexpensive chairs in the Cabela’s conference room were very uncomfortable to sit in for 5 hours.
MOST USEFUL:
1. Mr. Correia delivered an excellent presentation on several real-life self-defense scenarios. In a non-judgmental way he discussed the various choices that can be made by a CCW permit holder in each self-defense situation (i.e., “head to the sound of the guns” and engage the lunatic shooting up the local city hall or take your family and run to safety etc.).
2. The discussion on the legalities of carrying a concealed firearm was very well done. It was both informative and understandable.
3. For me, the most useful parts of the class were the role-playing demonstrations on the second night. I won’t comment on the exact scenarios in order to maintain their teaching effectiveness for future students, but they were all very well done. The one I participated in really reinforced several key concepts of the class and also forced me to rethink my concealed carry options.
OVERALL CLASS GRADE:
A+
If you are going to take the Utah concealed firearm permit class, take it from Larry Correia!
Larry, thanks again for such a well done class.
DAT
The first night covered basic topics including firearm operation and safety, shooting stances, shooting fundamentals, concealment holsters, and carrying options. It also included no-nonsense recommendations on CCW guns to stay away from, minimum defensive calibers, shot placement, and ammunition choice. The second night was equally divided between the legalities of carrying a concealed firearm and several role-playing demonstrations.
THE GOOD:
Mr. Correia was dressed professionally and acted in a calm, self-assured, and respectful manner. He did an excellent job showing what a responsible CCW permit-holder should act like in public.
Mr. Correia had a very effective teaching style that demonstrated an obvious mastery of the class material. At the same time, there was no macho gun store commando garbage. Mr. Correia made all of the students feel both welcome and comfortable. He took a genuine interest in making sure that his students learned and appeared to be having a fun time teaching the class. He used humor very effectively to put the students as ease and to maintain their interest during the class.
Mr. Correia did an outstanding job presenting condensed yet readily understandable discussions of handgun stopping power versus killing power and the physics underlying wound ballistics.
The class had a nominal fee of $40. In a very nice act of public service, Mr. Correia offered the class free of charge to active duty military personnel and to college students / instructors.
THE BAD:
There was actually very little that could be improved upon. I will mention two very minor things, neither of which was in the control of the class instructor.
1. A small portion of the material in the curriculum mandated by Utah wasn’t all that useful in a class designed as an introductory CCW class for private citizens. For example, there was no actual shooting component of the class yet the instructor had to discuss range safety rules. The instructor also had to cover the LEO escalation of force continuum. In a class only 5 hours long this time could probably have been better spent on other topics.
2. The inexpensive chairs in the Cabela’s conference room were very uncomfortable to sit in for 5 hours.
MOST USEFUL:
1. Mr. Correia delivered an excellent presentation on several real-life self-defense scenarios. In a non-judgmental way he discussed the various choices that can be made by a CCW permit holder in each self-defense situation (i.e., “head to the sound of the guns” and engage the lunatic shooting up the local city hall or take your family and run to safety etc.).
2. The discussion on the legalities of carrying a concealed firearm was very well done. It was both informative and understandable.
3. For me, the most useful parts of the class were the role-playing demonstrations on the second night. I won’t comment on the exact scenarios in order to maintain their teaching effectiveness for future students, but they were all very well done. The one I participated in really reinforced several key concepts of the class and also forced me to rethink my concealed carry options.
OVERALL CLASS GRADE:
A+
If you are going to take the Utah concealed firearm permit class, take it from Larry Correia!
Larry, thanks again for such a well done class.
DAT
That's why I say no "credible" info... I won't fault his choice of a .380 because I'd have no problem with a .380 or 9x18mak but I seriously doubt he has gelatin tested shotgun blanks.