The Texas License to Carry, also unofficially referred to as the concealed carry permit, is the license required to concealed or open carry in Texas. Whether you are an expert shooter or brand new and have no experience, the same training and license is required to get your license. There are 3 main areas license to carry instructors look at to determine if you will pass the LTC training.
The first is passing the written examination. This 30 question multiple choice and true/false test is administered at the end classroom portion but before the shooting qualification. The majority of the questions are common sense/gun safety type questions. As long as you payed attention during the LTC class, the test is nothing to be concerned about. Three attempts at the test are also allowed, which means you have plenty of opportunity to pass it.
The next area that LTC instructors are looking at is safe gun handling. You are not expected to be a weapons expert or a professional shooter. You are expected however to be able to have a basic knowledge of pistol handling. This means knowing the firearm safety rules, following them at the range and a prior knowledge of how to operate your pistol. You need to be able to load your magazines, load the gun and shoot your pistol safely without any assistance. Many new shooters get their License to Carry, just be sure to take a beginners class before the proficiency demonstration. One of the benefits for the online LTC class is that there is no experience necessary at all to go through the online course. The online course can be taken, where you will learn about safe gun handling, gun laws and much more, then before the proficiency demonstration, take a class to learn how to shoot. I would also advise taking more firearms training classes and concealed carry classes before starting to carry a gun.
The third area LTC instructors evaluate is the shooting qualification. Students are required to shoot 50 rounds into a B27 style target and score a 70% (175 points out of 250). 20 rounds are shot from 3 yards, 20 rounds from 7 yards and 10 rounds from 15 yards. Although passing the qualification is the only shooting required by Texas DPS to get your LTC, additional practice and training is highly recommended before you start carrying a gun.
Many people that do not intend on carrying a gun for self defense still end up getting their Texas LTC. They want to become more familiar with gun laws in Texas, and the LTC class is great way to receive that. The other advantage is waived background checks when purchases guns from an FFL dealer (gun store).
In the end, whether you are new to shooting or highly experienced, everyone has to go through the same class and meet the same training requirements.
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