TexasCHLforum.com

Howdy! New to forum, and looking to obtain my CHL in the near future. I wanted to get some opinions on the upcoming change to the class time. I understand that there is a benefit to taking the 10 hour course, as you have an opportunity to learn more. That being said, would you recommend waiting until after 9/1, or just take the 10 hour now? I am concerned that there could be potential benefits to taking the 10 hour over the 4-6 hour course. I can just picture something stating "if the 10 hour course was taken..." as an example. Possibly relating to other states or possibly some other benefits with having completed a "grandfathered" 10 hour course. Thoughts, words of wisdom?

Wait it out and take the short class. Soooooo much of the current course is filler. My wife is currently waiting for the switch

Welcome to the forum

The amount of information and knowledge shared will depend mostly on the instructor you get and how well you retain their information taught. I know people who have been through the full 10+ hour course with some instructors and didn't know any more leaving than they did going in. And these are folks who would have learned.

You only have 2 more weeks to get into a 10 hour class. Unless you can find a recommendation for one that has an opening in that time, I would suggest you just sign up for a class with a highly recommended instructor so you can gain as much knowledge on CHL as possible during the class.

If you will let us know what area you are located in I am sure there is someone on here on the forum who can recommend a quality class to attend.

All of the required material will be covered in either class. New licenses and renewals have taken the same test & the renewals were only required to take a 4hr class.

The longer class may give you an opportunity to get additional information about concealed carry that is not required but usually added to get to the minimum time. The shorter class won't leave you with that mentally exhausted feeling of being in a classroom all day long. Based on comments that I've seen, instructors won't be lowering their prices for the shorter class. Another thing to consider is that the longer class may be a bit more fluid since the instructors have been teaching to the 8-10hr mark. They'll have to make some adjustments for the shorter class, and those things will probably take a while to iron out.

Should be clear as mud for you! Good luck with whichever route you ultimately choose.

If you're in the Houston area, I'd highly recommend our own Charles Cotton-who teaches a monthly class at PSC in Friendswood or Brian Mobley at The Arms Room in League City.

One other thing to consider (though I agree with KeithB's suggestion to wait) is that the old standard was 10 hours including range time, which obviously varies instructor-to-instructor, but in my case was about 2 hours. The new standard is 4-6 hours of classroom time, EXCLUDING the range time. When you consider that fact, you're may wind up concluding that you're not missing much instruction time after all.

Good luck on your class, whichever one you choose!

There are some good books out there too, that are CHL related. The CHL Manual by Chris Bird covers everything that the class offers. Also Massad Ayoob CHL books that covers other states too.
Just a suggestion!

And read this site and ask questions. I learned a lot in my CHL class, I learned even more here.

Jaguar wrote:And read this site and ask questions. I learned a lot in my CHL class, I learned even more here.

This forum helped a LOT!!!!

bigbrew wrote:Howdy! New to forum, and looking to obtain my CHL in the near future. I wanted to get some opinions on the upcoming change to the class time. I understand that there is a benefit to taking the 10 hour course, as you have an opportunity to learn more. That being said, would you recommend waiting until after 9/1, or just take the 10 hour now? I am concerned that there could be potential benefits to taking the 10 hour over the 4-6 hour course. I can just picture something stating "if the 10 hour course was taken..." as an example. Possibly relating to other states or possibly some other benefits with having completed a "grandfathered" 10 hour course. Thoughts, words of wisdom?

If you're taking the class to learn something, make the effort to find a good instructor and take the long class while you still can. If you're taking the class to get a rubber stamp for your application, wait three weeks and find the cheapest and most convenient class. It's up to you.

I just took my course on 8/4 & the instructor said he had lots of cancellations because they were going to wait for the shorter class requirements. He said the joke was on them because he'd still teach a 10hour course anyways.

Of the 3 classes I've been to, his was the best.

LAYGO wrote:I just took my course on 8/4 & the instructor said he had lots of cancellations because they were going to wait for the shorter class requirements. He said the joke was on them because he'd still teach a 10hour course anyways.

Of the 3 classes I've been to, his was the best.

Not sure how he is going to teach a 10 hour course and be in compliance with the law. Maybe the joke will be on him.

Pecos wrote:

Jaguar wrote:And read this site and ask questions. I learned a lot in my CHL class, I learned even more here.

This forum helped a LOT!!!!

Considering all the good information you will find here, I recommend that you take the 4-hour class, then commit a minimum of 6 hours to reviewing the past CHL-related threads here.

LAYGO wrote:I just took my course on 8/4 & the instructor said he had lots of cancellations because they were going to wait for the shorter class requirements. He said the joke was on them because he'd still teach a 10hour course anyways.

Of the 3 classes I've been to, his was the best.

I suspect the joke will be on him when the people who chose to wait for a 4-hour class go somewhere else to get it.

MasterOfNone wrote:

LAYGO wrote:I just took my course on 8/4 & the instructor said he had lots of cancellations because they were going to wait for the shorter class requirements. He said the joke was on them because he'd still teach a 10hour course anyways.

Of the 3 classes I've been to, his was the best.

I suspect the joke will be on him when the people who chose to wait for a 4-hour class go somewhere else to get it.

Based on the number of cancellations we are hearing about, the longer class is not what the vast majority of applicants desire. Instructors will either adapt or become an afterthought. In a business environment where there are no repeat customers you better learn how to market yourself if you want to survive. I doubt requiring students to stay past the legal maximum limit of classroom time is a very good business model post Sept 1. Not to mention risking your livelihood by violating the law.