I’ve noticed a definite drop-off in the number of students in the last few months. Other instructors have noticed similar trends, although I had one tell me that business picked up a little starting last month. All in all, it seems that there are fewer people getting a CHL these days, and the CHL business is generally off substantially from the levels of a year ago.
There is a lot of speculation about why. I think that the changes that allow people to keep handguns in their motor vehicles is a big factor. Before that change, I had some students who were applying for a CHL just to get around the hassle-factor involved in keeping a gun in the car. Now, I suspect that current CHL holders are not renewing because they no longer think they need the license.
Another factor — with Arizona going to “constitutional carry,” I think some folks in Texas are expecting (hoping?) that something like that will happen here. Some states allow open carry without a license, and there has been some push for that in Texas.
I don’t have any philosophical objection to constitutional carry, but even if you aren’t required to get a license, you should know the laws pertaining to the use of deadly force if you are going to carry a gun. Ignorance of when you are permitted to use deadly force can land you in serious trouble. Even get you killed.
And, while I don’t have a philosophical objection to open carry, I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea. I believe that concealed carry is a better deterrent to crime. Personally, I don’t expect either constitutional carry or open carry to come to Texas in the next few years.
Anyone who chooses to carry a gun needs to learn how to shoot well. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a handgun is something will protect you if you don’t get proper training and practice with it. That’s one of the reasons that I have started teaching the NRA Basic Pistol Course.
The NRA BP course covers the fundamentals of how guns work, how to properly maintain a gun, and marksmanship. Students in my class get to shoot a variety of different handguns, which gives them more insight into what to look for when they go shopping for a handgun. My students gain confidence in their ability to safely handle a gun and shoot well. Even students with significant shooting experience have told me that they got a lot out of the class.
In the long term, I do expect that the role of the CHL instructor will be diminished, or may go away entirely. That trend has already started. A lot of the paperwork for the CHL is already done online. It would not surprize me much if the DPS went entirely to online CHL classes, and the instructors only administered the range test. In that case, I will switch over to mainly providing Basic Pistol classes.
