CCW Class: the rest of the story

Now that I've had a bit of sleep and some food, etc, I feel like tapping out the rest of it.

I'm not going to ID the instructor publicly, because I have zero doubt that he does regular searches and wouldn't hesitate to send me a lawsuit for defamation. If you're looking for a class in the Metro KC area, drop me a note privately and I'll explain further.

That said, here's the rundown on the day:
Class scheduled to start at 8. It did, plus or minus a few minutes. The instructors (four) were well-groomed, wearing the de facto gun instructor uniform of cargo shorts and epaulet shirts with various patches affixed.

Instructor intros. Ex-military. Ex-cop. Ex-cop. Etc.
Head instructor... medically-retired cop. "FBI-trained sniper" draws oohs and ahhs from the class and an eyeroll from me. (Average distance of a police "sniper" shot? 51 yards.) Department armorer. Firearms instructor.

Class begins. Four rules.
Four rules again.
Range rules.
Four rules again.
Class is asked for "experienced shooters" to volunteer to go shoot quals. I and four others raise our hands; three more are added to the group, we go shoot quals. Pistol is a S&W M&P22, at the previously-mentioned 7 yards. I rapid-fire a forty-round tennis-ball size group on the left edge of the X-ring. A quick glance across the other targets suggests that's a pretty standard grouping.

Back to the classroom.
I kind of zone out as the instructor spends more time yammering on about parts of a handgun, ways to carry a handgun, and the like. I started scribbling down the little tropes he was throwing out and getting angrier and angrier about this clown wasting my time and money. I had to get the piece of paper to get my CCW though, so calling him out on it during class wasn't going to do any good.

So, in no particular order, here's a few of those chestnuts he placed in front of 38 students yesterday, without comment from me:
- Hornady Critical Defense uses a polymer insert in the hollowpoint because polymer is harder and stronger than steel (you know, like the frames of Glocks and Springfield XD9) and it makes the bullet expand faster.
- You should only carry hollowpoints because they'll limit overpenetration.
- Never buy a "Magnum" handgun because the prosecutor will use it against you. If you insist on buying a Magnum, only load it with .38s.
- Never load Magnum rounds in a long-barrel handgun because the velocity is too great and it will overpenetrate.
- Dry-firing is terrible for guns, will damage your .22 beyond repair, and will wear out the firing pin springs on centerfires.
- A shotgun is the ideal home defense weapon because 1) the sound of the slide will scare off bad guys. 2) You don't have to aim, just kind of point. 3) You should saw off the barrel as short as you can (pause ... legally) so it's easier to use. 4) Ladies should use a 20ga semi-auto so they don't have to worry about working the slide under pressure.
- Birdshot is the best home defense round because it won't overpenetrate. Buckshot will go through your target, the wall, the exterior wall, the house next door...
- Every student he teaches needs to buy a NAA Mini Magnum, and load the first two in the cylinder with snakeshot. He tested this load himself, at 21 feet, and, "I pulled the trigger and suddenly it felt like my face was on fire. I had to squeeze out three or four pellets that had embedded themselves in my forehead and chin. They'd gone 21 feet down, bounced back, and still had enough energy to embed in my face."
- A revolver is the best defensive gun because it doesn't have malfunctions, you just pull the trigger again.
- Open carry is stupid, bad tactics, and if you're in line at 7-11 and it gets robbed you're going to be shot first and the robber is going to have two guns to kill people with.
- .22 is the deadliest bullet ever because it bounces around inside the body and destroys multiple organs. (Like the .50BMG tumbler rounds the military uses that bounce around inside enemy trucks and kill everyone inside.)
- Anyone wearing body armor while they're out and about is obviously up to no good.

At some point in the afternoon I tried to kill myself with the BlueGun on our group's table. It didn't work.

He has not maintained currency with MO law changes, and was giving advice in contradiction to just-passed state laws.

His case full of guns for show-and-tell? A dozen Taurii in various flavors (including a Judge), two NAA Minis, one Glock 36, an LCP, and an LCR. His taste in firearms is ... questionable at best. (He repeatedly talked up Taurus as quality guns.)

I'm going to be contacting the county sheriff this week to see what the process is to file a complaint about a CCW instructor. I don't want this clown giving bad info to more people.

On the plus side of things, our class of 38 was fully 1/3 female. That was good to see.