Wear and carry course disappointment.

[CrabbyTurtle]

Love the changes in Maryland but it's costing me a fortune to get the training for what is a constitutional right. My class is this coming tues and wed. Can't wait!

 

[Dutchshooter]

So I took a wear and carry course and the classroom was more of a "So you've never held a gun before, let us teach you the basics of pistols".
Apparently its a HQL and wear and carry class. I had to show the 3 people next to me how to load a magazine. Now I am all for teaching people about firearms and how to handle them properly, but a wear and carry class is not that place. I can't wait until the range portion next class.
The really sad part is the fact that this is a highly respectable firearms training company. All I will say is it's on the Eastern Shore. If you are over here and want to make sure you don't go there message me privately.

Has anyone else's wear and carry class been like this? I feel like I got jipped on some training, especially for the price I shelled out.

I could not agree more, I also have a quality instructor if you do or do not have experience. Local to Central MD.

I hope any that apply know the true meaning of what they are applying for. This should not be taken lightly.

 

[Jimdick2949]

The requirement to be a MD approved instructor is being able to teach a NRA Basic Piston Course. The information MSP gives as a guide to what they expect instructors to cover. Each instructor has to take information and develop a class meeting those instructions. It is a timely process and as everything else "some are better than others in putting a class together. There are those who slap stuff together just to get by and make the money. There are instructors that should no teach classes due to no experience but .......... I had training as a LEO ,25 years and Military Police and it took me 4 months to develop my class and was constantly updating training material. Actually no one ever received the exact class as I considered it a work in progress.
I recommend researching the instructors the MSP has on the instructor page . There are some that have rushed to get qualified and some have been teaching since 2014 .
You may be able to find a seasoned instructor or not. I taught over 1500 students and never had any complaints but I was committed to the fact I was teaching a class that could have a final result of a death and wanted to do the best I could do for the students. As far as the 16/8 hr training I think it is a good thing due to fact some people don't know much and they are caring a lethal weapon . I have a good friend of mine and he qualified foe W & C initially and renewed two times and he only shot 3 times during that time. At least every 3 years you get refresher training. Is that perfect, NO. It is called personal responsibility. People need to realize constant training to be proficient. I recommend individuals take time each week to practice. Each day you need to think "This could be the day".

 

[mpollan1]

Having everybody regardless of knowledge/experience in the same W&C class is akin to having every 10th grader in the same math class.

 

[Biggfoot44]

As I mentioned in other thread , lots of Instructors / companies physically use MSAR , and they vary greatly .

Moe does most of the training offered by MSAR themselves .

Moe is a good instructor . Outside companies , or other employees of MSAR must be judged individually .

 

[Ecestu]

Having everybody regardless of knowledge/experience in the same W&C class is akin to having every 10th grader in the same FIRST GRADE math class.

FIFY

 

[Jaybeez]

The "I know more than the instructor" crowd is the exception not the rule in class.

If you feel like a 10th grader in a kindergarten class, everyone else there is really in kindergarten.

The basic function and safety portion of my class is adjustable to the students' competency. If everyone is competent, it goes fast, if some need to learn a bit more it takes a little longer. If the students are majority noobies, it can take 3 hours.
Fortunately the way my class is scheduled I can continue to "call back" into previous topics as the class progresses, in order to tie all concepts together. And I "call back" into the basics continually, to reinforce safety amd handling, even when doing the more advanced stuff.

 

[Applehd]

I guess not everyone can ge a Gunman Superstar...

 

[Action]

I understand completely. Md regulations are good for novices, or thise who want refreshers and a bit BS to rest of us as it is part of our constitutional rights. Understand I want everyone to be competent.
I am a ‘collector’ range rat, VA non resident carry permit multivstate( not accepted in Md of course) I still have my fingerprint card from CJIS, had class 3 permits for firearms I’ve owned and sold, Im well schooled in this are and still Md expects me to take a class, have them evaluate my skills, pay for the classroom training and fingerprints they and batf have had for years. You tell me this isn’t a bunch of Liberal paranoia and money making bs. I reload 3 pistol calibers and several rifle calibers an I an a benchrest shooter. So Biden would say ‘Come on Man’ .

 

[Sloopjonb]

The unfortunate thing with the MD requirements is the course content really doesn’t prepare you for any level of proficiency in wear and carry. It is just a course that checks an arbitrary box established by the MD General Assembly to make it harder and more expensive to the general public to exercise a Constitutional Right. Don’t blame the instructor, blame the GA!

That said, I just completed my course (didn’t even have to take it as I have a DD-256) and it was a good review of basic safety and at least introduced the topic of How to wear and carry. I’m involved in several other activities that require training each year and yes, it gets boring, but look on the bright side, you may actually get a couple useful tips or ideas that will improve your proficiency.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Here in Tennessee its 8 hrs 4 in class 4 to shoot, 50 rounds at various yards. The classroom lasted 4 hrs you carried a gun in with no mag allowed in class. The shooting was 45 minutes away in the next town on top of a mountain. I had a new High Point only one I could afford at the time, they weigh a ton and it was 95 deg. I made an 88 there were just 6 of us and this teacher was a retired cop. First thing out of the box the first girls Glock jammed he had to fix it for her guy next to me had a 22 the cop said nothing less than a 380 to shoot? We got done shooting at 1:30 He said we could sit around until 4pm or leave now since we all passed well some of us stayed and talked to him until about 2 so we actually had a 6 hr class. I learned more talking to him after the shooting than in class. His class was 50 bucks cheapest around at the time.

 

[Biggfoot44]

The "I know more than the instructor" crowd is the exception not the rule in class.

If you feel like a 10th grader in a kindergarten class, everyone else there is really in kindergarten.

The basic function and safety portion of my class is adjustable to the students' competency. If everyone is competent, it goes fast, if some need to learn a bit more it takes a little longer. If the students are majority noobies, it can take 3 hours.
Fortunately the way my class is scheduled I can continue to "call back" into previous topics as the class progresses, in order to tie all concepts together. And I "call back" into the basics continually, to reinforce safety amd handling, even when doing the more advanced stuff.

Or ....

You might somewhat commonly know more than what the teacher is teaching in the class . That's not necessarily everything the teacher knows .

 

[mpollan1]

Having everybody regardless of knowledge/experience in the same W&C class is akin to having every 10th grader in the same math class.

The "I know more than the instructor" crowd is the exception not the rule in class.

If you feel like a 10th grader in a kindergarten class, everyone else there is really in kindergarten.

The basic function and safety portion of my class is adjustable to the students' competency. If everyone is competent, it goes fast, if some need to learn a bit more it takes a little longer. If the students are majority noobies, it can take 3 hours.
Fortunately the way my class is scheduled I can continue to "call back" into previous topics as the class progresses, in order to tie all concepts together. And I "call back" into the basics continually, to reinforce safety amd handling, even when doing the more advanced stuff.

My possibly poorly worded point is that perhaps there should be tiers (novice, intermediate, advanced) of W&C classes that satisfy the 16 hour requirement. I consider myself intermediate in knowledge and would like to forego the very basics that a novice would require and feel like I got something for my time and money. Likewise, I think this would be better for the instructor catering to a somewhat homogenous group of students. In almost all disciplines (autocross, skiing, etc.) students are grouped by skill/knowledge. I think there is an opportunity to do so here as well. I get it, this class is to fulfill the basic requirements so suck it up butter cup and pay for more advanced training if you want it. Me personally however, would like to feel like I am getting some bang for my buck and not hold back those that are more advanced than I.

 

[Boondock Saint]

My possibly poorly worded point is that perhaps there should be tiers (novice, intermediate, advanced) of W&C classes that satisfy the 16 hour requirement. I consider myself intermediate in knowledge and would like to forego the very basics that a novice would require and feel like I got something for my time and money. Likewise, I think this would be better for the instructor catering to a somewhat homogenous group of students. In almost all disciplines (autocross, skiing, etc.) students are grouped by skill/knowledge. I think there is an opportunity to do so here as well. I get it, this class is to fulfill the basic requirements so suck it up butter cup and pay for more advanced training if you want it. Me personally however, would like to feel like I am getting some bang for my buck and not hold back those that are more advanced than I.

Indeed.

Let me demonstrate basic competency required for the permit without sitting through tedium and/or let me spend my training dollars on something that will demonstrably advance my skill set beyond that which is required. Everyone wins.

But alas, Maryland.

 

[rwbow1969]

If a shooter is that advanced then maybe they should get their NRA basic pistol instructors credentials, sign up with MSP as a QHIC and then be exempt from the training portion of the wear and carry qualifications. Then you can teach a class and see what it's like, because right now, every Tom, Dick and Harriet are signing up for the class.


Maybe instructors could ask the students what their skill level is.............. because nobody would lie about that...... lol.

 

[mpollan1]

If a shooter is that advanced then maybe they should get their NRA basic pistol instructors credentials, sign up with MSP as a QHIC and then be exempt from the training portion of the wear and carry qualifications. Then you can teach a class and see what it's like, because right now, every Tom, Dick and Harriet are signing up for the class.


Maybe instructors could ask the students what their skill level is.............. because nobody would lie about that...... lol.

What's it like?

 

[teratos]

If a shooter is that advanced then maybe they should get their NRA basic pistol instructors credentials, sign up with MSP as a QHIC and then be exempt from the training portion of the wear and carry qualifications. Then you can teach a class and see what it's like, because right now, every Tom, Dick and Harriet are signing up for the class.


Maybe instructors could ask the students what their skill level is.............. because nobody would lie about that...... lol.

Hey, Rod! Good to see you!

 

[Biggfoot44]

Only slightly cynically ; the bang for the buck is the Piece of Paper that allows you to apply for W&C .

It's a $250- 500 Poll Tax . That sucks , but it is what it is a present .

Eventually , market demand will cause the marketplace to offer different products for different audiences .

But for the present , the scramble is for any class at all , to get the piece of paper .

And right now * our * priority is to get the maximum number of warm bodies with W&C Permits by the start of the MGA Session in January . The more of us there are , the more lobbying muscle we will have .

 

[mpollan1]

I get that Biggfoot and am in total agreement. Hopefully when the tsunami recedes there will be an evolution in the process and offerings provided by the marketplace. Until then, and as I initially wrote, suck it up buttercup. And as Henry Ford said/wrote, "you can have any color car you want as long as it is black."

 

[gorgeman]

thanks

 

[MGDubya]

So I took a wear and carry course and the classroom was more of a "So you've never held a gun before, let us teach you the basics of pistols".
Apparently its a HQL and wear and carry class. I had to show the 3 people next to me how to load a magazine. Now I am all for teaching people about firearms and how to handle them properly, but a wear and carry class is not that place. I can't wait until the range portion next class.
The really sad part is the fact that this is a highly respectable firearms training company. All I will say is it's on the Eastern Shore. If you are over here and want to make sure you don't go there message me privately.

Has anyone else's wear and carry class been like this? I feel like I got jipped on some training, especially for the price I shelled out.

When I took the class, I felt the same way. A high percentage of trainees should have been in some sort of firearm basics course. Even though it will be inconvenient for me, the carry class should be much more rigorous. I train independently of regulations, but many people do not. I am more than a little concerned about the increasing numbers of concealed carry permit holders in Maryland. Just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. It is not easy to train in Maryland. There are limited public facilities and quality training tends to cost quite a bit. I hope new permit holders look at carrying as a HUGE responsibility and take it very seriously. When I drive around and witness the incompetence of people that “qualified” to operate a motor vehicle, I can’t help but worry about the people who may soon be carrying firearms.