Packin'

Okay, if you are stalking me then you already know I am packing.

Not boxes. Not at this moment, anyway.

My CHL, referred to in the write up of my class, came through.

I haven't completed even 30 days of carrying on a daily basis and already not being armed feels "wrong".

I have 4 situations when I don't have a gun immediately upon my body. One of them is in the shower.

I wouldn't count on being able to tell when I'm in the shower if you really are stalking me.

Over a year ago I decided what I WOULD carry when I was licensed. I have kept to that decision, choosing to train with the Glock firearm system. I own other firearms but what I have on me is normally a Glock. What I have near me is normally a Glock.

What I carry is normally a Glock.

If you haven't stalked me I won't make it easy to figure out the carry methods. I keep experimenting with them, anyway. What is true last week may be different next week.

I even carry at home. I'm not one to lock up my gun just because I'm in my house. Since I read that most armed citizen encounters occur in the walls of one's own home I have committed to making sure I'm armed there.

Yes, I could have been doing that all along without the plastic. If had read that tidbit before now I probably would have carried at home before now.

I follow the letter and spirit of the laws that I am licensed under. I will, however, continue to lobby to increase the legal recognition of my real rights.

It begins

The envelope to DPS went into the metered mail bin at the UPS store a little over 45 minutes ago.
Let's see how soon before I can post an update to this thread.

Tired, but happy

I took the minimum required courses for a CCW in Colorado, then decided to move to Texas so I never applied for the paperwork.

Texas has much more stringent requirements, including an actual test that questions an applicant's knowledge of the law (after instruction) and shooting proficiency.


Readers of this blog will not be surprised that I aced the shooting portion. It was less demanding than the "qualifier" I shot in the spring. I hadn't fired a shot since the last time I shot IDPA and still managed to score 250 out of 250. I'm not Mr. Accuracy. I'm just Mr. Persistent. As Franklin observed, he believed in luck, but noted that the harder he worked the luckier he became.

Written test I didn't ace. I plead guilty. Yes, I had been awake more then 24 hours, had put in 12+ hours of work and fought to stay awake during the class. I still flubbed two out of fifty questions. I passed. I should have made this one be 100%, too.

It was NOT my instructor's fault. I admit that I didn't know what to expect from my Texas CHL instructor but Larry Arnold was as sincere, as dedicated to train and as effective as if I had sat in a class of 10. Perhaps more since I couldn't hide in back in a class of 1.

Texas is not just interested in making sure a CHL holder doesn't shoot his own foot. In this they surpass the Colorado requirements. They want to make sure you understand the responsibility of packing that gat. Larry Arnold wasn't running a scare show. He was trying his level best to prepare someone for assuming grave responsibility.

I hope to finish up the paper work and submit this week.