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I was practicing drawing from my holster and firing (which I have done dozens of times without complaint and is one of the main reasons I ever visit the range). I had finished emptying my last mag when the range officer walked up to me and said I needed a Holster Class Badge to be shooting after drawing from my holster.
What?
I need to take the holster safety course. A course offered on Saturdays for $20.
Then I'll receive a badge I wear on the range so they know I have taken their class.
I work Saturdays 5am-5:30pm and don't have time for some "holster class"
Has anyone here taken this class and learned something useful?
Tbh, I don't plan on going back, I'll just find a range that doesn't ask for money to draw and shoot from a holster.
This post is partially a rant and an inquiry about this holster safety course.

None of the ranges I have been to allow drawing from a holster. Nor rapid fire.

I've never been to an indoor range that allowed drawing from a holster. You may want to reconsider since they at least give you that opportunity.

I can understand their policy, to a point.
they want to make sure it is not "wild west draw" from holsters and people tend to get trigger happy, maybe discharge in the floor (best case), or shoot someone (worse case) as they don't understand the dynamics of drawing and keeping the gun in safe position/direction.

I understand your issue with (1) they want you to pay for a class (2) the timing of the classes dont fit your schedule.

what I can offer, is that you are going to The Arms Room, which is only 15 minutes from PSC Range.
And as PSC has thousands of members, and I dare say, many of them are on this forum, make a separate post, asking for someone to take you to PSC, and at PSC, you can a number of things which you cannot do at a public range.

Schleprock wrote:I can easily be mistaken (just ask my wife), but I believe Shoot Smart in Grand Prairie did allow holster draw at one point but it required renting one of the private suites which have a concrete partition between each lane. Whether holster draw is still available, I am not certain but someone may come along with a bit more information.

Shoot Smart is almost anything goes in the suites. Holster draw, shoot as fast as you wish, and use almost any rifle. They don't allow certain types of ammo, but I have no clue what that ammo is. They always just check my ammo.

It sounds as if he is down Houston way though.

Schleprock wrote:I can easily be mistaken (just ask my wife), but I believe Shoot Smart in Grand Prairie did allow holster draw at one point but it required renting one of the private suites which have a concrete partition between each lane. Whether holster draw is still available, I am not certain but someone may come along with a bit more information.

You're correct - both their Grand Prairie and Alliance Fort Worth locations allow for holster draw in the "private suites", that are available for additional cost over the general range.

Carlson1 - unless they've changed it in the last year or so, they only allowed up to .223/5.56mm rifle ammo, and wouldn't let you shoot steel core due to the damage it caused to the backstop. Oh, and no flammable ammo like tracers. I was at the Fort Worth location one afternoon where Cassie, the manager, had to politely explain to a potential customer why they wouldn't let him shoot the .50 BMG he had out in the car. Imagine!

ArmedAndPolite wrote:I was practicing drawing from my holster and firing (which I have done dozens of times without complaint and is one of the main reasons I ever visit the range). I had finished emptying my last mag when the range officer walked up to me and said I needed a Holster Class Badge to be shooting after drawing from my holster.
What?
I need to take the holster safety course. A course offered on Saturdays for $20.
Then I'll receive a badge I wear on the range so they know I have taken their class.
I work Saturdays 5am-5:30pm and don't have time for some "holster class"
Has anyone here taken this class and learned something useful?
Tbh, I don't plan on going back, I'll just find a range that doesn't ask for money to draw and shoot from a holster.
This post is partially a rant and an inquiry about this holster safety course.

Armed - I use to go to the Arms Room myself, I never did do the holster safety course. I was under the impression (the way they talked when I asked) that they use to allow you to sign up and do the safety course at any time, you just had to arrange it with the instructor/range officer.(Maybe this changed due to demand or I just didn't get a clear enough picture) But as I took it, its was not so much a safety course as it is the Range Officer watching you draw and making sure you can do so safely without flagging yourself or others.

Couple follow up questions Armed - do you have their membership or do you pay per visit to the range ? The range fees use to be like 20 bucks a person, so 20 for a safety course would be about the same as range fees, or would the 20 bucks be on top of the range fees ?

rtschl wrote:None of the ranges I have been to allow drawing from a holster. Nor rapid fire.

Target Masters over by Jupiter and Miller in Garland allows rapid fire. Still no drawing from holster though.

Pariah3j wrote:

ArmedAndPolite wrote:I was practicing drawing from my holster and firing (which I have done dozens of times without complaint and is one of the main reasons I ever visit the range). I had finished emptying my last mag when the range officer walked up to me and said I needed a Holster Class Badge to be shooting after drawing from my holster.
What?
I need to take the holster safety course. A course offered on Saturdays for $20.
Then I'll receive a badge I wear on the range so they know I have taken their class.
I work Saturdays 5am-5:30pm and don't have time for some "holster class"
Has anyone here taken this class and learned something useful?
Tbh, I don't plan on going back, I'll just find a range that doesn't ask for money to draw and shoot from a holster.
This post is partially a rant and an inquiry about this holster safety course.

Armed - I use to go to the Arms Room myself, I never did do the holster safety course. I was under the impression (the way they talked when I asked) that they use to allow you to sign up and do the safety course at any time, you just had to arrange it with the instructor/range officer.(Maybe this changed due to demand or I just didn't get a clear enough picture) But as I took it, its was not so much a safety course as it is the Range Officer watching you draw and making sure you can do so safely without flagging yourself or others.

Couple follow up questions Armed - do you have their membership or do you pay per visit to the range ? The range fees use to be like 20 bucks a person, so 20 for a safety course would be about the same as range fees, or would the 20 bucks be on top of the range fees ?

I appreciate all of the responses. I understand it's better to be on the overly cautious side of things, I've seen some pretty strange things at ranges myself.

I do not have their membership, and tend to go on weekdays so the range fee is only $15. I took my CHL class there and know plenty of nice people. The range officer told me the holster safety course fee is all inclusive.

A friend of mine used to work at Arms Room, he told me they were talking about starting the holster safety course before he left. So I'm certain the class is something fairly recent, within the past year or so.

Based on all the responses, I'll be looking into another range in the friends wood/clear lake/Dickinson area.

There is an outdoor shooting range in League City - the clear creek shooting range http://www.clearcreekgunrange.com they are fairly cheap - like 9 bucks per shooter (each shooter gets 1 gun) and 3 or 4 bucks for each additional gun. The wife and me go there on the weekends when the weather is decent.

It's not always easy finding a range that is decent. I can say that I've gone to a few ranges, without my uniform top, and just wearing my duty belt with gear, expecting to be able to draw and shoot from my level III Serpa Blackhawk holster. Wrong. After being asked if I had "their" certificates, and being told I needed them to use a holster, or shoot in rapid succession, I vacated.

A few places have allowed me to, being LEO. It is something I must practice, and something I have received a lot of training on. Some places just lack customer service. I'll probably go out sometime late this week and do some practice, I have a firearm re-qualification coming up soon.

I know of more "accidents " by LEOs than anyone else . Why don't you use the academys range?

MONGOOSE wrote:I know of more "accidents " by LEOs than anyone else . Why don't you use the academys range?

I take it that you assume everybody has an academy, and that everybody has a range. Quite the contrary. There are very few police academies, and very few ranges.

I also can think of more negative things posted by you than positive. Doesn't mean that you're a negative person, that's just the small bit of information I have seen. Your statement can make one think that by being a LEO, I am more likely to have an "accident." I am sorry if you do not like LE, but aside from those that do not take it seriously, and do a terrible job, there are many who take pride in work, and actually train. I'm not even sure why it continues to get brought up. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that you intend to bash at LE, regardless of what I say.

Inherently, a LEO has far more training then a regular Joe who has a gun. Inherently, a LEO has holster training.

I use my own personal range, but outdoor shooting is not always the best option, due to weather.

I did assume all police departments had there own ranges. You seem to think you should be afforded special privileges at a range because you are a LEO. I don't think your judgement or experience is any greater than mine. You talk of your holster which even Gunsite will not allow.