TexasCHLforum.com

Welcome to the forum.

Please send a private message to Crossfire on this forum. She is a female instructor in the DFW area.

Many of your concerns will be answered with time and familiarity. Having a CHL is no more exceptional or weird than having a driver license or credit card. Did your driver license or your first credit card seem special for, what, a month? It's just another piece of plastic that is required in this modern world.

Please trust me on this issue and give it a try.

- Jim

vrentropy wrote:I Ain't been in the state long enough yet.

A couple of days is long enough. You just have to be able to prove your residency. For practical purposes, you need a Texas driver license or state ID.

The cost of a Texas CHL is not trivial; but when you need a weapon, you would be willing to pay every penny you own to have one.

- Jim

Good luck with your application. Just get the paperwork from the clerk of the court and send it with your application. That will avoid delay.

I'll be glad to give you a tour (which takes about five minutes). I did it today.

- Jim

OK. Deferred adjudication on a charge of unlawfully carrying weapons 13 years ago will not be a problem.

- Jim

Misdemeanor convictions other than domestic violence more than five years ago will not prevent you from getting a CHL. You just have to get the dispositions.

I don't know what you mean by this:

... a deferred adjudication I got on a scam sting in Texas City coming from a football game at the astrodome back in '91 that i'm uncertain of ...

- Jim

The cost that I refer to is for operating an outdoor range. It's for maintenance, insurance, water, electricity, taxes, etc. The state would not have to pay taxes, but they would have to pay employees to do what is done by volunteers in my range.

Most DPS facilities are in strip malls or leased space in urban or suburban areas. They would have to have an indoor range. Those are even more expensive to build and maintain. I don't have any inside information about them, but the hourly rates of $10 to $30 that they charge indicate that they are costly.

Most of the law enforcement agencies in my county do not operate ranges. Their officers go to public ranges or private clubs.

I'd be surprised if the full cost of a state trooper was less than $100,000 a year with salary and benefits.

The state legislature can set the budget any way it wants, but they keep a tight cap on most programs and even ratchet down while requiring more services. That has happened to DPS. I dug up the numbers a while ago: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... =42&t=2732

There are 20,000,000 or so drivers in Texas, and they are a majority of voters in every district. It's in the interest of legislators to make sure that they are satisfied.

There are 300,000 CHL holders spread throughout the state. They obviously don't form a political constituency.

On the other side, there are thousands of CHL instructors and range owners who would not like to see the state take away their business.

Also keep in mind that reciprocity and NICS bypass depend upon licensees passing the background check before a license is issued.

I'm not trying to be excessively negative. I'm just explaining what I see as political reality. If you can persuade a majority of members of the House Law Enforcement Committee and the corresponding Senate committee to support your idea, and a majority of each house to approve it, and the governor to sign it, by all means go for it.

- Jim

mr.72 wrote:IMHO, DPS should operate a firing range for the qual (which takes one person about 5 minutes), you pay $25, take a written test (the same test, is fine), do the 5-minute shooting qual and you should leave with a temp license just like with a driver's license.

It costs about $100,000 a year to operate a shooting range with minimal facilities (I know this for a fact). DPS could not possibly operate a range in every county only for the purpose of CHL tests and possibly use by their own personnel.

The Texas CHL qualifications are what they are because they were what was politically viable in 1995. Over time, some requirements will be relaxed as they are seen to be unnecessary. That already happened with 30.06 and the restrictions on hospitals, places of worship, and government meetings in 46.035.

- Jim

The list of instructors is here:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administra ... uctors.pdf

Some don't advertise, and they might be hard to locate, because this list contains only names and ZIP codes.

Almost everyone does one-day courses. It's hard to find one that is held on multiple evenings.

- Jim

The fee and course requirement for a Texas CHL aren't going to change in the foreseeable future. If you want a CHL, deal with them. Over 260,000 Texans have. Or get a Utah or Florida license.

- Jim

Wildscar wrote:However a class does have a time limit and its 2 years.

Right.

- Jim

Wildscar wrote:Just rember that it has to be with in 6 months of your 21st birthday or you will have to start all over.

Please remind me which rule sets that 6 month time limit.

- Jim

BShook wrote:So I can go ahead and register and get the packet now?

Where's the link, I'm on it. :D

I don't think you can apply online if you are under 21, because the web site asks if you are 21 (or in the military).

You can take the class and get a packet from the instructor. You just have to wait until you are 21 to sign the affidavit.

The link is the word here in the message from llwatson, which is now on the previous page of this thread.

- Jim

BShook wrote:The day I turn 21 I'm starting the process.

You can mail the packet on your 21st birthday.

You have to be 21 on the day you sign the affidavit.

- Jim