Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Hey all, I didn't really know where to post this so here it is. If its in the wrong place, please feel free to move it.

I took a Conceal Carry class about a year ago in Fredericksburg. It was a decent class and I applied and received my permit.

Now my wife is thinking that she would also like to have a permit and remembers me telling her that the state now allows people to take the classes on line.
My question is can anybody recommend a decent on line class? I know its probably not as comprehensive as a hands on class but I'm trying to fill in the blanks for her as I've already had a decent class.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Tiki

I'm sure that someone will post the links for the various online classes but for about $20 more, wouldn't she benefit more from a real class with a live instructor?

I know I'm biased here, but any decent instructor will tell you that an hour of watching a video can't compare to an interactive class with real guns, equipment, questions and answers, etc.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a huge fan....

I agree 100% with the above poster....I don't like the online option at all....well only if the person taking it is very familiar with a vast array of firearms and only needs the course for the paperwork. We have instructors around here that offer the class for 25. bucks ....I don't know what your market affords.....

I used this class.

http://www.concealed-carry.net/

1 hour video, 20 questions.

I agree and im not a fan of this either, but in my defense i only needed a certificate to present the court. Been around handguns, rifles, shotguns, etc my whole life... My dad was an NRA instructor for years when i was growing up.

As usual I'm on the fence with this one.

On one hand any yahoo can take the online course, get a permit, and be a concealed gun totin cowboy or pretend they are 007.

On the other hand there are many responsible gun owners who do not need traditional training yet they need an avenue to get a CHP.

Last, most of us scream loudly against more control (some of us against any control) and when we are given less control we scream too. Which is it.

Thanks for the input all.

I used that online training course. I had previously taken a class at Silver Eagle, but even though it was more rigorous than their current CCW class, it didn't count.

Though it is good to have training in a class and at the range, I think the requirement for the CHP is bogus. In VA, the hunter-safety courses have always been qualifying courses, and how much handgun safety is in those? When you think about it, if somebody takes a 4 hour in-person class and gets 2 hours of range time to qualify for a CHP and then they don't ever do any training ever again, what good is that? 3 years down the road they've likely forgotten it all. Besides, PA doesn't require classes and it hasn't been a problem up there.

I think in-person classroom training is important. I plan to take more of it myself and plan to send my wife to one. But as a qualifier for the CHP, I think it is bogus.

LFS wrote:...... I had previously taken a class at Silver Eagle, but even though it was more rigorous than their current CCW class, it didn't count.

What kind of course was it, and why didn't it count?

zephyp wrote:As usual I'm on the fence with this one.

On one hand any yahoo can take the online course, get a permit, and be a concealed gun totin cowboy or pretend they are 007.

On the other hand there are many responsible gun owners who do not need traditional training yet they need an avenue to get a CHP.

Last, most of us scream loudly against more control (some of us against any control) and when we are given less control we scream too. Which is it.

ok I'm guilty as charged... , I'm just sayin that if someone is unfamiliar with safe operation of a weapon, handgun or long gun.... they should seek out a human being to teach them ....

i agree with the online Conceal Carry program 100% its cheaper and why pay a extra $20-$30 so a person can teach you how to load your gun and basic rules that any real gun owner already knows...its just throwing away your money to someone who probably has a big ego...i say save the money, buy a box of ammo, and hit a range...

TDavis85 wrote:i agree with the online Conceal Carry program 100% its cheaper and why pay a extra $20-$30 so a person can teach you how to load your gun and basic rules that any real gun owner already knows...its just throwing away your money to someone who probably has a big ego...i say save the money, buy a box of ammo, and hit a range...

That is a very broad brush that you paint withTDavis. Obviously you have been burned by someone with that big ego that you mentioned...that's too bad that you have that impression of all instructors.

Let me tell you about the "basic rules that any real gun owner knows". Today, I was at the gun show held at RIR. I was there along with thousands of real gun owners....dealers, permit holders, etc.

I was swept at least 5 times that I could tell during the show. Once by a husband and wife each holding their newly purchased 9mm. Once by a shotgun, once by a rifle....shall I continue? These real gun owners were pointing guns at me while I sat at my table and they were pulling the trigger. Not once did I see a dealer open the action and check the gun before he handed it to them. Not once did I see a real gun owner open the action himself and check the chamber before he took aim at me and pulled the trigger. Have you heard about the countless negligient discharges at many Va. gun shows? Know who committed the vast majority? Gun Dealers! Yep, real gun owners. Sometimes it was permit holders trying to show an "all clear" and OOPS!

If you think cheaper is better, so be it. I'm amazed that in your mind, and extra $20 for at least 4 more hours of live classroom training is a waste of time. If you ever took my class, you'd know that it was more than loading your gun and basic safety rules.

Could I create a one hour video and sell it on our website with a "print at home" certificate? Sure. I won't do that though. To me, that's just stealing money and offering nothing in return. My business and your safety means more to me than that.

ProShooter wrote:

LFS wrote:...... I had previously taken a class at Silver Eagle, but even though it was more rigorous than their current CCW class, it didn't count.

What kind of course was it, and why didn't it count?

It was suppose to be their basic handgun course, Handgun 102 I think. But I was there for 8 hours, out at the range 3 times, doing holster draws, fast trigger reset drills, and a bunch of stuff. Honestly, the whole gun safety thing was covered in the first 30 minutes -- the rest was one-on-one with some former special forces guys. Drew and Matt were their names -- excellent guys and I hope they are still there.

This was the very first class Silver Eagle taught. When it came time for me to think about getting a CHP, I went back to Silver Eagle and discovered their CHP qualifying class only taught half as much as I'd learned that day. And I learned I had to retake their new class.

Instead, I did practice holster draws at home until I was comfortable with it. Then I went to the range with some B-27 targets and did live fire holster draws. And when I felt I had it down, I took the on-line course one evening.

This is not to discredit Silver Eagle. I plan to take some of their classes again if time and money can accommodate it. But I'm also looking around to see what other classes are offered. After all, what's the saying? "Who should you be more scared of? A man with 100 guns who has taken one class, or a man with one gun who has taken 100 classes?"

If someone has little or no experience with firearms then yes it would be a good idea to get classroom instruction. I'm sure with my 35 plus years experience ProShooter could teach me something new or vice versa. A little learning is good for everyone.

LFS wrote:

ProShooter wrote:

LFS wrote:...... I had previously taken a class at Silver Eagle, but even though it was more rigorous than their current CCW class, it didn't count.

What kind of course was it, and why didn't it count?

It was suppose to be their basic handgun course, Handgun 102 I think. But I was there for 8 hours, out at the range 3 times, doing holster draws, fast trigger reset drills, and a bunch of stuff. Honestly, the whole gun safety thing was covered in the first 30 minutes -- the rest was one-on-one with some former special forces guys. Drew and Matt were their names -- excellent guys and I hope they are still there.

I'm not familiar with the class, but it sounds like it would have been enough to use towards a CHP.

Vahunter wrote:If someone has little or no experience with firearms then yes it would be a good idea to get classroom instruction. I'm sure with my 35 plus years experience ProShooter could teach me something new or vice versa. A little learning is good for everyone.

I learn something new just about every time I teach. Helps keep the mind fresh!

I have no dog in the "online" vs. "in person" instruction debate but it does seem to me that the better question is "Why must I have any training to CC?" After all, I have the right to own a gun and I have the right to OC with no training whatsoever. Why, then, should I be required to have training to wear my shirt untucked or to take off my jacket?

I have a VA CHP and a Utah CFP and both required training with a live instructor at the time. In both cases, I learned some stuff that was useful for both OC and CC. So I'm not against training; in fact, I am very much for it. It just seems to me that, taken to its logical conclusion, an argument for any mandatory training in advance of CC, regardless of form, is an argument for manadatory training in advance of OC. It's a only short step from there to mandatory training in advance of gun ownership. That's starting to sound an awful lot like the District of Columbia, and I want no part of that.

Personnally, I don't understand the whole on-line training thing. If VA only wants "trained" people to carry concealled, watching a video and taking a quiz over and over until you memorize the required answers can hardly count as being trained. On the other hand, if the idea is that one shouldn't have to "qualify" in order to exercise a Constitutional right, why not abolish the training requirement all together?

Call me paranoid but I think there's some kind of trap involved here.

What Bewaffnet said!

If high school students were being taught gun safety as a module of phys. ed. or health, I would feel better about the online class. ProShooters' experiences at a gun show and the video of an ATF agent in a classroom tell me that there's a lot of folks that are not well enough versed proper firearm handling.

BTW, most people think that they are better than average drivers, myself included. Think about it...the numbers don't add up. I haven't heard about any surveys of gun owners, but I'd bet that the results would be similar.

Hi, I am a brand new member. I found the site while searching online for a company I own and am impressed! I actually own one of the two companies that offers the online concealed carry qualification courses. I can certainly see both sides of the argument here; on one hand, it is a leap of faith to believe that someone with no mandated practical experience should be able to obtain a concealed carry permit in Virginia. On the other hand, many people believe that there should be NO training requirement as carrying is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.

As mentioned before, I am biased. For years, the Virginia State Hunter's Safety class has been a qualifier and it contains no shooting. We decided to put up our class in order to make it as accessible to as many people as possible and to make a few bucks doing something we love. We have certainly succeeded on both counts but I can see the other side of the argument.

Thirty