Big Calhoun
Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Messages
- 554
So I have one foot in the grave...went for my CHL class on saturday at the Bullet Trap in Plano. Man, it was a looooooooong day, but very informative. There were plenty of things I knew from my own research and reading I have done, but there was also a lot I didn't know. Particularly pertaining to local attitudes. Some things that you commonly see discussed on various forums also came up in class and it was very interesting to kind of mesh the two worlds together:
- Observe and report. Probably one of the biggest things I took away from my CHL class and it reflects my general attitudes. With a CHL, I'm not looking to be John Wayne and save everyone. Certainly if it is a life and death situation that requires a split second decision, then a choice has to be made. But in general circumstances when a CHL could be used or justified, the first priority should be to secure you and yours, followed by observing so you can report.
- Scenarios: Some people love 'em, some people hate them. We discussed a variety of scenarios and I think a face-to-face format is really best to get the most information out of it. With a forum format, it's hard to cover all of the 'what ifs' unless you're specifically saying, "This is the situation, you can't deviate, what do you do?"
- Shoot to kill attitudes. I was surprised (but yet, I wasn't) by the number of people who applied a STK methodology to just about every scenario presented. Even long after the instructor gave us the 'nod' about observing and reporting. Still a lot of 'machismo' out there around firearms.
- Diversity. A good variety of people that appeared to come from a very diverse set of backgrounds were in the class. Young vs old, black vs white, male vs female, rich vs middle class vs indigant. What was so great was out of all of this diversity, the class had fun together as a class as we were able to find and explore on common ground. Met quite a few nice gents that I hope we get a chance to do some shooting and grab some beers.
- Metro TX vs Rural TX...I need to get out of the Metroplex. Nuff said.
- Know the risks! The portion of the class where we discussed legal ramifications was the most interesting to me. I did not know (and someone keep me honest) that in TX, even if the use of deadly force was justified, it still has to go to a grand jury for a true bill/no bill...which will set you back an average of $50,000!!!!!!!! And that's before you even have to worry about the civil part!!!!
From the reactions in class, I don't think most people considered that in their decision to seek a CHL nor do I think a lot of folks comprehended the gravity of it afterwards. Many folks seemed to have an impression that, hey, if ou shoot someone and it was justified, clean up the mess and case closed. It's not that easy.
So again, very interesting class that I advise anyone to take (CHL class in general or the CHL class by Bullet Trap). I think it can be a real eye opener and mature you relative to firearms. I know it was and did for me.
- Observe and report. Probably one of the biggest things I took away from my CHL class and it reflects my general attitudes. With a CHL, I'm not looking to be John Wayne and save everyone. Certainly if it is a life and death situation that requires a split second decision, then a choice has to be made. But in general circumstances when a CHL could be used or justified, the first priority should be to secure you and yours, followed by observing so you can report.
- Scenarios: Some people love 'em, some people hate them. We discussed a variety of scenarios and I think a face-to-face format is really best to get the most information out of it. With a forum format, it's hard to cover all of the 'what ifs' unless you're specifically saying, "This is the situation, you can't deviate, what do you do?"
- Shoot to kill attitudes. I was surprised (but yet, I wasn't) by the number of people who applied a STK methodology to just about every scenario presented. Even long after the instructor gave us the 'nod' about observing and reporting. Still a lot of 'machismo' out there around firearms.
- Diversity. A good variety of people that appeared to come from a very diverse set of backgrounds were in the class. Young vs old, black vs white, male vs female, rich vs middle class vs indigant. What was so great was out of all of this diversity, the class had fun together as a class as we were able to find and explore on common ground. Met quite a few nice gents that I hope we get a chance to do some shooting and grab some beers.
- Metro TX vs Rural TX...I need to get out of the Metroplex. Nuff said.
- Know the risks! The portion of the class where we discussed legal ramifications was the most interesting to me. I did not know (and someone keep me honest) that in TX, even if the use of deadly force was justified, it still has to go to a grand jury for a true bill/no bill...which will set you back an average of $50,000!!!!!!!! And that's before you even have to worry about the civil part!!!!
From the reactions in class, I don't think most people considered that in their decision to seek a CHL nor do I think a lot of folks comprehended the gravity of it afterwards. Many folks seemed to have an impression that, hey, if ou shoot someone and it was justified, clean up the mess and case closed. It's not that easy.
So again, very interesting class that I advise anyone to take (CHL class in general or the CHL class by Bullet Trap). I think it can be a real eye opener and mature you relative to firearms. I know it was and did for me.