Massgrunt
28 March 2007, 03:14
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a concealed carry class at The Gun Store Las Vegas. This class, running every Saturday, provides a certificate recognized by Nevada, Florida, and Utah. Concealed carry permits in these states cover 20+ additional states with reciprocity, including most of the south and west. The class consisted of a short qualification course and about 8 hours of class time dealing with the legal issues pertaining to the carry and use of a concealed firearm. I don't recall the exact cost, but it was in the neighborhood of $100.
I'm not going to describe the classroom time in depth, because if you've had one of these classes you've had them all. I was bored to tears for eight hours, but it was relevant legal information and of course you need to know it.
The qualification course was actually decent for a civilian concealed carry course. It's described completely in the link below, but I like the fact that they require mag changes as well as weak hand and one handed shooting. It's very easy, but a realistic standard for an average citizen carrying for self-defense.
A couple of things you should know: If you want to actually carry a gun in Nevada, you have to qualify with the exact weapon that you intend to carry, not just one of the same model. The Gun Store is extremely popular with tourists, and busy as hell on weekends, so don't expect to get it done the same day. I went in a couple days ahead of time and was done in 20 minutes or so. They should let you know this ahead of time, but they don't. I was the only person from out of state, so that probably doesn't come up very often, but I consider this an oversight. Also, for the Nevada permit, you need to show up in person at a city office to turn in your paperwork, which I couldn't do since I was on vacation. No big deal to me, but if I really wanted a Nevada permit I would have been pissed that they failed to mention this ahead of time. The paperwork for Florida and Utah can be submitted by mail. I sent in the Florida application, the fee totaled $117 and the permit is good for five years. It had to be notarized, contain a passport sized photo, and have a fingerprint card which is supplied to you.
All in all, I thought this was a good use of time. Since I was in Vegas on vacation, this was a convenient way for me to get a Florida permit, which allows me to be armed in some of the places I go to often. You could do all of that from home, this just worked for my schedule. The Gun Store Las Vegas is a decent place, expect a little gun store guy bravado (think black BDUs and drop holsters) but not too bad. They deal with tourists all day long. I was a little amused, but they're decent people and were cool to me and my girlfriend while she waited. I was also able to get a spring replaced on my Glock in just a few minutes for a pretty reasonable price. I hope this is useful to some of you, feel free to PM me with any questions.
http://www.thegunstorelasvegas.com/ccw.htm
I'm not going to describe the classroom time in depth, because if you've had one of these classes you've had them all. I was bored to tears for eight hours, but it was relevant legal information and of course you need to know it.
The qualification course was actually decent for a civilian concealed carry course. It's described completely in the link below, but I like the fact that they require mag changes as well as weak hand and one handed shooting. It's very easy, but a realistic standard for an average citizen carrying for self-defense.
A couple of things you should know: If you want to actually carry a gun in Nevada, you have to qualify with the exact weapon that you intend to carry, not just one of the same model. The Gun Store is extremely popular with tourists, and busy as hell on weekends, so don't expect to get it done the same day. I went in a couple days ahead of time and was done in 20 minutes or so. They should let you know this ahead of time, but they don't. I was the only person from out of state, so that probably doesn't come up very often, but I consider this an oversight. Also, for the Nevada permit, you need to show up in person at a city office to turn in your paperwork, which I couldn't do since I was on vacation. No big deal to me, but if I really wanted a Nevada permit I would have been pissed that they failed to mention this ahead of time. The paperwork for Florida and Utah can be submitted by mail. I sent in the Florida application, the fee totaled $117 and the permit is good for five years. It had to be notarized, contain a passport sized photo, and have a fingerprint card which is supplied to you.
All in all, I thought this was a good use of time. Since I was in Vegas on vacation, this was a convenient way for me to get a Florida permit, which allows me to be armed in some of the places I go to often. You could do all of that from home, this just worked for my schedule. The Gun Store Las Vegas is a decent place, expect a little gun store guy bravado (think black BDUs and drop holsters) but not too bad. They deal with tourists all day long. I was a little amused, but they're decent people and were cool to me and my girlfriend while she waited. I was also able to get a spring replaced on my Glock in just a few minutes for a pretty reasonable price. I hope this is useful to some of you, feel free to PM me with any questions.
http://www.thegunstorelasvegas.com/ccw.htm