Here at Guncraft, we are frequently asked if we teach the Texas License to Carry (LTC) class (formerly known as CHL). When we explain that our training is what you need after you've completed an LTC class, we're often given quizzical looks, as if to say “What else is there?”
If you believe that your LTC class adequately prepares you for a self-defense situation, you are not alone. Many people believe that the reason this course is required is because it gives you the skills to protect yourself with a handgun. After all, it's a state-sanctioned course necessary for carrying a handgun, so it must give you all the information you need, right?
Not by a long shot. The LTC class serves several important roles, but preparing you to successfully use your gun in self-defense is not one of them. Read on for four reasons why this is true.
If you believe that your LTC class adequately prepares you for a self-defense situation, you are not alone. Many people believe that the reason this course is required is because it gives you the skills to protect yourself with a handgun. After all, it's a state-sanctioned course necessary for carrying a handgun, so it must give you all the information you need, right?
Not by a long shot. The LTC class serves several important roles, but preparing you to successfully use your gun in self-defense is not one of them. Read on for four reasons why this is true.
Reason #1: That's not its purpose
The LTC class was designed by lawyers and politicians, with the primary purpose of ensuring that you don't not violate the law while carrying a handgun. It provides the minimum information that your representatives determined you should know before issuing you a license. This is not to disparage the LTC class. This is important information for the concealed carrier, as you certainly want to ensure that you're staying within the bounds of the law while carrying a handgun. However, while important, this information is almost entirely administrative in nature, because the LTC class is an administrative class.
Reason #2: It's not long enough
Being prepared to defend yourself is a multi-faceted skill set. You must not only have all the right skills and knowledge, but you must be proficient enough with those skills to use them successfully at a moment's notice, under the stress of having your well-being threatened. Even if an LTC class focused on these skills, four hours (or even the maximum-allowed six hours) is simply not enough time to develop the level of proficiency required. Anyone who claims they can teach you everything you need to defend yourself in four hours is either deceitful or deluded. In my experience, it takes a minimum of four days of training to give you a full set of skills, and even at that, it's going to take some practice on your own after the training.
Reason #3: You won't learn to shoot
Over 75% of the LTC class is spent in the classroom. Of that time, virtually none is spent on learning the gun handling, marksmanship, and defensive techniques that ensure you can use your gun effectively. The one hour that is spent on the range is dedicated to running you through the qualification test. If you've never shot before, you'd better hope your LTC instructor has the time and patience to give you a crash course on shooting so you can pass the test. And speaking of the test...
Reason # 4: The shooting test is a very low standard
The LTC test was designed to be easy to pass. You're only required to achieve 70% accuracy, and you have up to three attempts to pass. The amount of time you have to make your shots is quite generous, as well. For instance, you have 3 seconds to make two shots from a ready position at 3 yards. I would suggest that if your attacker is only 3 yards away, you probably don't have 3 seconds! In our classes, we train our students to be able to fire two shots in just over 1 second from that position. Furthermore, none of the shots on the LTC test are from a concealed holster. Presenting the gun from the holster consistently takes practice, and it seems the height of irony that a License to Carry class doesn't require any demonstration of that proficiency.
Again, none of this is to demean the class or the important work that LTC instructors do. By all means, take an LTC class and get your license. But understand what the class was and was not designed to teach you. Having the skills to defend yourself will take additional training. When you're ready to reach the next level in your shooting, take a Defensive Handgun course to develop a comprehensive skill set and ensure you're ready if you ever have to use your concealed handgun to protect yourself.
The LTC class was designed by lawyers and politicians, with the primary purpose of ensuring that you don't not violate the law while carrying a handgun. It provides the minimum information that your representatives determined you should know before issuing you a license. This is not to disparage the LTC class. This is important information for the concealed carrier, as you certainly want to ensure that you're staying within the bounds of the law while carrying a handgun. However, while important, this information is almost entirely administrative in nature, because the LTC class is an administrative class.
Reason #2: It's not long enough
Being prepared to defend yourself is a multi-faceted skill set. You must not only have all the right skills and knowledge, but you must be proficient enough with those skills to use them successfully at a moment's notice, under the stress of having your well-being threatened. Even if an LTC class focused on these skills, four hours (or even the maximum-allowed six hours) is simply not enough time to develop the level of proficiency required. Anyone who claims they can teach you everything you need to defend yourself in four hours is either deceitful or deluded. In my experience, it takes a minimum of four days of training to give you a full set of skills, and even at that, it's going to take some practice on your own after the training.
Reason #3: You won't learn to shoot
Over 75% of the LTC class is spent in the classroom. Of that time, virtually none is spent on learning the gun handling, marksmanship, and defensive techniques that ensure you can use your gun effectively. The one hour that is spent on the range is dedicated to running you through the qualification test. If you've never shot before, you'd better hope your LTC instructor has the time and patience to give you a crash course on shooting so you can pass the test. And speaking of the test...
Reason # 4: The shooting test is a very low standard
The LTC test was designed to be easy to pass. You're only required to achieve 70% accuracy, and you have up to three attempts to pass. The amount of time you have to make your shots is quite generous, as well. For instance, you have 3 seconds to make two shots from a ready position at 3 yards. I would suggest that if your attacker is only 3 yards away, you probably don't have 3 seconds! In our classes, we train our students to be able to fire two shots in just over 1 second from that position. Furthermore, none of the shots on the LTC test are from a concealed holster. Presenting the gun from the holster consistently takes practice, and it seems the height of irony that a License to Carry class doesn't require any demonstration of that proficiency.
Again, none of this is to demean the class or the important work that LTC instructors do. By all means, take an LTC class and get your license. But understand what the class was and was not designed to teach you. Having the skills to defend yourself will take additional training. When you're ready to reach the next level in your shooting, take a Defensive Handgun course to develop a comprehensive skill set and ensure you're ready if you ever have to use your concealed handgun to protect yourself.