Friday, June 21, 2013

Preparing for my Utah concealed carry

Day after tomorrow -- Sunday -- I will be spending the entire day taking my Utah concealed carry class.

I already have my Idaho concealed carry. Why Utah?

It's because the Utah concealed carry allows me to carry in 33 other states including, crucially, Washington. Being right next door to Washington State, and traveling as often as we do into Spokane, I want to be able to carry during my trips to the city.

Besides the extensive course work necessary for this permit, there will also be a proficiency portion requiring me to shoot 20 rounds at seven yards into a target the size of a pie pan, within two minutes.

Must. Practice.

Shooters these days face a quandary: we need target practice, but ammo is far too precious and expensive to waste on target practice. Catch-22, anyone?

Nonetheless this morning Don built a target and we set it up against the clay berm in the pasture. Don measured seven yards.


Seven yards turned out to be right where this cow plop was located. Good marker.


Accouterments: Makarov .380 handgun, box of .380 ammo, two magazines (six rounds each), eye and ear protection.


Twelve shots, fairly rapid fire. No bull's eye, but certainly within a pie pan diameter.


Don taped over the holes while I reloaded the magazines, then I shot another twelve rounds. This time Don timed me. It meant I had to remove the empty magazine and replace it with the full magazine; then remove the second magazine and reload more ammo. I ended up with twenty-five seconds to spare, and had similar accuracy.


Younger Daughter also received a bit of instruction.


This photo was a nanosecond after her shot (which is why the handgun is aimed high -- you can see the puff of smoke). She shot five rounds total and rivaled my accuracy.


Wish we could practice more! -- but can't waste the ammo, not with the present prices and scarcity. Grrr.

21 comments:

  1. Patrice, That is just a big ball of excellence! Concealed carry, shooting practice and a nice .380 Mak. Well done!

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  2. Practice is not a waste of ammo. Shooting is fun and the expense of the ammo is offset by the family time, along with a little bit of competition.

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  3. Check out Luckygunner.com. They have .380 ammo. I have done business with them and have found their prices to be competitive.

    Huggs..

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  4. Thank ya thank ya!

    The Lewis Family never fails to inspire.

    A. McSp

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  5. Get yourself a .22lr handgun. The muscle memory practice it allows is priceless as long as you don't let bad habits develop from the lack of recoil.

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  6. Reloading can help make it a little more affordable.

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    Replies
    1. It used to but components have gotten so expensive that it's the same cost as buying boxed unless you're shooting oddball or really big rounds.

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  7. Patrice, Good for you on the practicing, but you should get a larger caliber your way under gunned.

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    Replies
    1. 380 is not under gunned. Take a look at some ballistic info that was shot with modern rounds.

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    2. Ever see a cop carry a .380?

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  8. Patrice,

    Great shot girl! You'll do just fine when taking your Utah CCW test.

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  9. Patrice,much of the practice to the art of the handgun involves muscle memory and repetition.You need not have to fire ammo all the time.Practice the draw and the aim.get your muscle memory down pat...

    had enuff

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  10. Patrice, if you would have held the target up to your chest- all good kill shots. Good shootin!!
    I checked the map, you're good to drive all the way to Florida legally packing...

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  11. It's great to see Don teaching your girls to shoot. Having the confidence to defend yourself is a good asset for a young lady to have.
    The scarcity of ammunition is worrisome. It is an interesting turn in the state of our nation.

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  12. Patrice, where are you taking your Utah concealed carry that includes extensive course work and actual shooting? I took my class at Cabela's, and there was a brief slide show (and I mean REALLY brief, he just flew through them so fast I couldn't even see what was actually on each slide), and the rest of the time was spent on filling out paperwork, getting fingerprints and pictures taken, etc. I spent about $80 for the course, plus extra for each different state concealed carry (Nevada and Oregon), and I was extremely disappointed in the class, because it wasn't a class, just a workshop to fill out paperwork!

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    1. Try Center Target Sports in Post Falls. Eight-hour course, including firearms qualification, plus assistance with paperwork. An ID concealed carry is required in advance. Cost is $110. Here's the link:

      http://centertargetsports.com/edu_classDetail.cfm?co_id=38

      - Patrice

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    2. Apparently there is some conflicting information out there on what is required for Utah non-resident. I just sat through my Utah non-resident class a month ago (yet to receive the card for it) and it was just shy of 4 hours, no shooting qualification, and a lot of that time was spent filling out application forms. Scroll to the bottom of this page for the description of the class I took. http://lawfulcarry.com/aboutusfaq.htm. I paid $50 for the class and sent $51 to Utah for them to do their thing.
      I have a permit for SC but was never required to provide a copy or note its existence on any application.
      You may be able to save some time and money if you do a little more homework. I found my instructor from this list: http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/documents/insoutstate062213.pdf. One instructor who was more local was asking $150 just to teach the 4 hour class so I drove a while to see the guy I linked to above. This is just to show that there’s a lot of discrepancy out there on pricing for what I think is all the same service.

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  13. since .380 cost the same as .40cal I don't blame you!

    Old Soldier

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  14. For Judy Ann- Utah BCI solicits comments on their instructors, if your instructor didn't do the 4 hour class let them know. An 8 hr class is nice but not a requirement, I am a Utah instructor and have never had a student paperwork returned nor do I tell them they need to have their signature notarized. It is all about what you need, most of my students know how to shoot. We are allowed to charge whatever the market will support, I do it for fun so charge $50 and get your own photo at Walgreens! Still a good thing to have.

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  15. Nice Shooting! Just right for self defense hand gunning. The idea is to create multiple wound channels center mass not one wound channel multiple times. Instant incapacitation is a relative rarity. More wounds channels means a faster "stop".

    As noted by another poster presenting the firearm from the holster and getting "online" should be practiced with the motive to develop muscle memory. Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast. If developed properly, when under severe stress the practitioner will "default" to its practiced habit. This is a good thing as the body tends to behave "oddly" when under heavy stress.

    I find fault in most CCW classes as while they teach basic safety and proficiency, they don't teach situational awareness, stress reduction, shoot no shoot, etc. etc.

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  16. After I birth my son in October, purchasing a handgun, and getting Idaho and Utah permits are the first things on the list. The Utah permit covers all the states I care to visit.

    Renee

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