The Texas Department of Public Safety web-site has a lot of good information regarding the Texas Concealed Handgun License including the most current laws as taught in our CHL classes.
If you want to download a copy of the up-to-date laws, click on;
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/crime_records/chl/chlsindex.htm
There is a wealth of good information there. It offers excerpts from chapters on weapons, the general code, and the penal code, as relating to the CHL holder in Texas.
The most notable part of the law concerns the deadly force statutes. As you read them, note the use of the word "justified". It states the actor is "justified" in the use of deadly force in certain circumstances. It never says an actor is "compelled" or "required" to use deadly force.
I teach it this way; If you can honestly say to yourself or an investigator, "I thought I was about to die (or that an innocent person was about to die)", deadly force might be used. Remember, in Texas, the production of a firearm to create the perception by the attacker that you are willing to employ deadly force, does not constitute the use of deadly force. It is when you pull the trigger.
A final thought.
STOP
CONTROL
NEUTRALIZE
Always remember, the use of deadly force is not used with the intention of "killing" an attacker. You only use deadly force to keep an attacker from killing you. You use deadly force to "stop" the assault, "control" the assailant, or "neutralize" a deadly force situation.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Expensive Ammo & Guns
People who take terrible photographs think that buying an expensive camera will improve the pictures they take. Other folks think that a more expensive power tool will make for better woodworking. They refuse to look inward, and admit they have to learn basics first.
A good photographer, one who sees the picture, understands composition, and can use a camera, any camera efficiently, is able to take beautiful photos with any camera. Photographs, not snapshots.
A man who can work with wood, read how the grains flow, understand the basics of measurement, angles, joints, and construction concepts, is able to create art from scrap.
No matter how much you spent on a gun or ammunition, if you can't hit the target, and hit it more than once, you are flat wasting money and putting yourself at risk in a personal defense situation.
How beneficial is buying expensive personal defense ammunition if you can't hit the target? How much does the bad guy care about how much that custom pistol cost if you can't bring it to action when you need it?
A good photographer, one who sees the picture, understands composition, and can use a camera, any camera efficiently, is able to take beautiful photos with any camera. Photographs, not snapshots.
A man who can work with wood, read how the grains flow, understand the basics of measurement, angles, joints, and construction concepts, is able to create art from scrap.
No matter how much you spent on a gun or ammunition, if you can't hit the target, and hit it more than once, you are flat wasting money and putting yourself at risk in a personal defense situation.
How beneficial is buying expensive personal defense ammunition if you can't hit the target? How much does the bad guy care about how much that custom pistol cost if you can't bring it to action when you need it?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wheel Guns
I am a profound believer in revolvers for self-defense. The gun writers, when recently polled, admitted to carrying a snub-nosed revolver for their own defense. Each of these writers spends thousands of words extolling the virtues of the newest semi-auto pistol in their respective monthly rags, but they carry a wheelie. Why?
Here are my reasons. A revolver is:
1) Idiot proof. Pull the trigger, it works. Some folks complain about the 15 or so pounds of required trigger pull. People, if your life is in jeopardy, you will not think this an issue. Besides, you really need to want the gun to go off, so unintentional discharges are mostly prevented (allowing for the obvious stupidity attack).
2) Reliable. There are two situations which can ruin your whole day with a semi. One is a stove-pipe round, where it doesn't completely eject the spent casing and put a new round in battery. To recover from this, a slap-and-rack is necessary, costing valuable time in a crisis. This cannot happen in a wheel gun.
3) Reliable II. The other is a dud, a cartridge that fails to go "boom". In a semi-auto, the same slap and rack drill is the only solution. In a revolver, just pull the trigger again. A new round is rotated into battery, and you are good to go.
4) The FBI statistics indicate most lethal gunfights occur at seven feet. You don't need those fancy sights. In the real world, you probably won't get the chance to use them. You need to practice. A LOT.
5) The irregular shape of the snubbie allows a pocket carry without the boxy shape of a semiautomatic pistol making the gun obvious.
There is more, but you can see the positives outweigh the negatives. We carry in the real world, wearing real clothes. The folks at Smith & Wesson have an extensive line of really good "snubbies". Many are hammerless or shrouded hammer, so they will not snag on clothes or purses. These aren't designed for Sunday afternoon plinking. For that, buy yourself a Ruger Mark II and have a ball.
Later
Here are my reasons. A revolver is:
1) Idiot proof. Pull the trigger, it works. Some folks complain about the 15 or so pounds of required trigger pull. People, if your life is in jeopardy, you will not think this an issue. Besides, you really need to want the gun to go off, so unintentional discharges are mostly prevented (allowing for the obvious stupidity attack).
2) Reliable. There are two situations which can ruin your whole day with a semi. One is a stove-pipe round, where it doesn't completely eject the spent casing and put a new round in battery. To recover from this, a slap-and-rack is necessary, costing valuable time in a crisis. This cannot happen in a wheel gun.
3) Reliable II. The other is a dud, a cartridge that fails to go "boom". In a semi-auto, the same slap and rack drill is the only solution. In a revolver, just pull the trigger again. A new round is rotated into battery, and you are good to go.
4) The FBI statistics indicate most lethal gunfights occur at seven feet. You don't need those fancy sights. In the real world, you probably won't get the chance to use them. You need to practice. A LOT.
5) The irregular shape of the snubbie allows a pocket carry without the boxy shape of a semiautomatic pistol making the gun obvious.
There is more, but you can see the positives outweigh the negatives. We carry in the real world, wearing real clothes. The folks at Smith & Wesson have an extensive line of really good "snubbies". Many are hammerless or shrouded hammer, so they will not snag on clothes or purses. These aren't designed for Sunday afternoon plinking. For that, buy yourself a Ruger Mark II and have a ball.
Later
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Keeping a gun ready and yet safe from unauthorized users ( pronounced "kids") has been the subject of a lot of preaching time in front of my classes. Now the folks at Gun Vault have raised the bar higher still. Not only is their old faithful touch-combination safe great for these applications, but now they have combined it with a biometric lock. I don't need to exhaustively describe it here. Read about it yourselves at:
http://www.gunvaultsafe.com/GVB2000.html
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Greg Recommends
Join the TSRA.
The Texas State Rifle Association is by Texans for Texans. These folks offer a great service to all shooting sports, but particularly to Texas CHL holders. Their bi-monthly magazine (I wish it were monthly) is full of good information and resources, and always has a particular section for the Texas concealed Handgun Laws.
Membership is not expensive, and the staff is always helpful. I always look forward to receiving their magazine.
While I am not political, I do disagree with the philosophy of some of the other associations to which I belong. Don't get me wrong, I belong to a number of these groups and they are all doing us a service. I believe I should support first amendment rights as well as second amendment rights. It's just that they sometimes come on too strongly for my individual taste. If I disagree with something TSRA says, I will not hesitate to say so, but so far, I am very pleased with their position on the issues.
I want to recommend all Texans join the Texas State Rifle Association. These fine folks are doing an outstanding service to all of us by keeping us informed of new and proposed legislation regarding Texas CHL laws. Their bi-monthly (sure wish it were monthly) magazine always contains the latest scoop on new laws and a whole bunch of interesting articles about the shooting sports. It is by Texans, for Texans.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Opening Round
October 26, 2007
This is the first day of my CHL blog.
As the many students that have graduated from my class will attest, I am very strong in my beliefs about what is right and what is wrong with today's marketing of handguns to the general public. It is more attuned to the opinion of the salesman and the efficacy of marketing by the manufacturers. Too many times, I have had students show up for class with a handgun completely inappropriate to their imagines purpose. It was the biggest, baddest one in the display case or simply the "gun du jour" at the store.
I can thank the media for all their hype and overplaying of not-so-common oocurances regarding the "armed citizen". It is one thing to be prepared. It is wholly another to be paranoid. When I teach a class, I teach as a private citizen, not some para-military, SWAT guru. I am a private citizen. I have carried a pistol for thirty years. I have not yet had to draw it in self-defense. I don't need to know how to accomplish a tactical sweep of a house or store. My training and instinct says run like hell and call 911. I don't wear BDUs or tactical black to teach a class. I wear shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. After all, isn't that how I would normally dress?
Through these pages, I will offer opinion, advice, and criticism. There are certain guns I like and others I don't think are right for the average person, man or woman. I will discuss many of those here and will get particular on brands and models. I will not slam any brand, except the "Saturday Night Specials".
A gun is a tool you hope never to have to use, but you need to know how it works...thoroughly. They are my opinions, and those of no one else.
This is the first day of my CHL blog.
As the many students that have graduated from my class will attest, I am very strong in my beliefs about what is right and what is wrong with today's marketing of handguns to the general public. It is more attuned to the opinion of the salesman and the efficacy of marketing by the manufacturers. Too many times, I have had students show up for class with a handgun completely inappropriate to their imagines purpose. It was the biggest, baddest one in the display case or simply the "gun du jour" at the store.
I can thank the media for all their hype and overplaying of not-so-common oocurances regarding the "armed citizen". It is one thing to be prepared. It is wholly another to be paranoid. When I teach a class, I teach as a private citizen, not some para-military, SWAT guru. I am a private citizen. I have carried a pistol for thirty years. I have not yet had to draw it in self-defense. I don't need to know how to accomplish a tactical sweep of a house or store. My training and instinct says run like hell and call 911. I don't wear BDUs or tactical black to teach a class. I wear shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. After all, isn't that how I would normally dress?
Through these pages, I will offer opinion, advice, and criticism. There are certain guns I like and others I don't think are right for the average person, man or woman. I will discuss many of those here and will get particular on brands and models. I will not slam any brand, except the "Saturday Night Specials".
A gun is a tool you hope never to have to use, but you need to know how it works...thoroughly. They are my opinions, and those of no one else.
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