Class Information

CHL Class details for Sunday, Aug 29th

Please call or email me if you have any questions or concerns after reading this page.

Location

The class location is 10201 Plano Rd, Dallas. The building location is about 150 yards north of LBJ on Plano Rd, just across from the Ivey Lumber store.

The range now has some new “city approved” signage, which is a 3×6 sign on the roof ledge. The one over the main entrance says “Texas” in large white letters on a black background. Since the signs are new, they won’t show up on Google Maps Street View for several months. There may be someone in the parking lot directing traffic. When you arrive, you may need to check in at the Digital Fingerprinting office (if it is open, otherwise, I’ll just be rounding everyone up myself). You will then be directed to the proper classroom. When you get to the classroom, you will check in with me.

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Parking will not be a problem for this class, since there is not much going on around there on Sundays.

Please arrive at 12:30 for check-in (I plan to be there around noon, and there will probably be somebody in the fingerprint office). Dress comfy, in layers; the A/C unit tends to be either too warm or too cold, or alternating between both. Even though it’s warm outside, you may want to bring a light sweater. The range is ventilated, but not air-conditioned, so it’s going to be warm in there.

Range Appropriate Attire

Make sure your shirt or blouse buttons up high enough to prevent hot brass from going down your front. If you have an open-neck shirt/blouse, bring a crew-neck T-shirt to wear in the range, either over or under the shirt/blouse. Or wear a scarf, or whatever it takes to keep hot brass out of your shirt. Wear CLOSED-TOED shoes. Sandals, flip-flops, etc, which expose any part of the foot are not allowed. Hot brass hurts your feet, too!

The range provides eye and ear protection, but if you have your own, it’s probably in better shape. If you wear glasses, that is considered adequate eye protection, but additional safety glasses may prevent your glasses from getting scratched. Bring a brimmed hat to wear in the range (baseball cap recommended, but any hat or visor that has a brim over the forehead will do). It helps keep hot brass from getting behind your eye protection or in your hair.

Please bear in mind that the range procedures are primarily for safety, and secondarily to get us in and out on time. Your 100% cooperation is vital for both. In the (rare) case that a student does not pass the range test on the first try, I will have a repeat range test after the rest of the class is finished.

Schedule

Check-in will start at 12:30, and the class will begin promptly at 1pm. If you arrive late, the rest of the class gets to vote on whether or not to allow you to stay, because the class time will have to be extended to accommodate you. The renewal class is 4 hours minimum by Texas law. I could lose my instructor certificate for violating that, so I won’t make any exceptions.

Don’t forget your driver’s license (or other government-issued ID such as passport or military ID). We will need to see it in order to notarize your affidavits. Renewal applicants no longer need to submit photos or fingerprints.

If you have a packet from the DPS, please don’t do anything with any of the forms you get from the DPS in your packet before we discuss them in class. Some of them we won’t need at all, and some of the directions are vague and misleading! I want to insure that everyone’s forms are done properly. Note that some of the application procedures have recently changed, and I will fill you in on those in class. If you don’t have a packet, don’t worry. I have all of the paperwork you will need.

You may bring one guest to audit the course, space permitting. Your guest must be a spouse, significant other, or a close relative, minimum age 18. There is no charge for your guest, but the guest will not receive a certificate, and will not be allowed into the range area. If you are bringing an auditing guest, let me know a day in advance to assure enough seating.

Handguns, Ammo

Bring your handgun UNLOADED in a case, and leave it in your car until range time, even if you have a current CHL (this is a requirement of the range owner). If you are being dropped off (or riding a motorcycle or any vehicle without a trunk) and unable to leave your handgun in a car, bring it to me and I will keep it in a locker for you. Try to bring at least 100 rds of ammo for your handgun (normally, you will only need 50). Be SURE(!!!!) you bring the correct caliber of ammo for your gun. If you wish to rent a handgun, please bring cash for the rental (current price is $30, which is not a bad deal). The range rentals are Glock 17’s (large-frame 9mm) — a fine handgun, but may be a bit cumbersome if you have very short fingers or a small hand. Range rental includes 50 rounds of ammo. Since ammo has been expensive and hard to find for some time now, many of my students rent just so they don’t have to shoot up their own. If you shoot 9mm, I have a small stash of 9mm that I can sell for $20/50rds. Not a great price (for only $10 more, you can rent the handgun to go with it); Walmart occasionally carries 100-round boxes for around $25, so you might want to check there first.

Minimum caliber allowed for qualification is a .32. The range berm is adequate for a .357 magnum or .45, but please do NOT bring any caliber of handgun larger than a .45. If all you have is a 50-cal hand-cannon, you should consider renting a Glock from the range if you can’t buy or borrow something between a .32 and a .45 for the class. If you have a speed-loader, be sure to bring it. If you don’t have a speed-loader, you can get an adequate one for less than $10 at nearly any gun store. The really fancy ones go for about $30. They will save a lot of wear and tear on your fingers (and time in the range), and they are definitely worth the money.

We have had some problems with re-loaded ammo in the past, and its use is strongly discouraged. If you use re-loads, be sure to visually inspect all rounds. The range will not be responsible for damage to weapons caused by reloaded ammunition, and if you have a handgun (or ammo) failure, you may have to rent a gun to finish the range test. The ammunition shortage is easing, so you should be able to obtain factory-new ammo at relatively reasonable prices.

You are welcome (encouraged!) to bring drinks and snacks to consume in class. I encourage you to brown-bag a lunch, but there is a convenience store a few blocks away, and you should be able to make it down there and back during a break. There is a soft-drink machine in the building, which sometimes actually works, but don’t count on it having your favorite beverage. If you do bring food or drink, I ask that you carefully clean up afterward. The range doesn’t have any coffee, so if you are a coffee drinker, you will probably want to stop at your favorite coffee shop on the way to class. Or bring a thermos. Last time I was there, I saw a refrigerator and a microwave, but my experience with the range is that those things tend to come and go, so don’t rely on either of them being there (or working). There is no water fountain, so you probably will want to bring bottled water.

I think that covers everything. If not, give me a call or email. Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to meeting all of you on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.

—

Howard

This page was last updated August 26th, 2010