Attention RevolverGuys: Mike will be teaching a one-day, Defensive Revolver class in Northern California, on Saturday, the 26th of October, under the LMS Defense banner.
If you’re interested in attending, please check out the course description here.
We had a great class last year (see the debrief here), which was attended by several of you. I’d enjoy seeing more RevolverGuy readers at this one!
Author: Mike
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mike Wood is a bonafide revolver nut, a certified law enforcement instructor in handgun, shotgun, patrol rifle, less-lethal, and diversionary device disciplines, and the author of Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis, the definitive study of the infamous, 1970 California Highway Patrol shootout in Newhall, California. Mike wrote the "Tactical Analysis" column at Police1.com for 8 years, and enjoys teaching both armed citizens and law enforcement officers.
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Mike,
Does a non-resident have to abide by the DOJ list when visiting CA for a course? #askingforafriend ; )
Michael
Michael, tell your friend that he wouldn’t want to “import” any “assault weapons” or “high capacity magazines,” but it shouldn’t be a problem bringing a DA revolver and ammo to a class. WARNING: His CCW permit from out of state would not be honored, though, and he would want to transport it unloaded, and in a locked container.
How are CA authorities, including line officers, treating out-of-state serving and retired cops under LEOSA?
Lobo, my general sense is that the line officers and deputies are OK, as long as you don’t fail the attitude test. There are a few zip codes where the local culture is a little more hostile to armed citizens, but I haven’t heard of any retirees carrying under LEOSA that got hassled.
The DA’s here are another story—lots of those radical-left types, funded by Soros money. If you actually got into a shooting, they won’t be too friendly towards you. They hate the active cops, so they certainly won’t cut any slack to a retiree under LEOSA.
We don’t have any hollowpoint ammo bans like NJ, but we do have a 10-round mag law. I’ve never known a LEOSA carrier to get hassled about that by patrol cops, but one of these DA’s might choose to make an issue of it, if they decided they wanted your head.
It’s not right, but it is where we’re at.
Thank you. That disease seems to have infected DAs everywhere.
Yep. When I travel to 10-round states (I have family there) I always carry revolvers, since several of those states ban pistols “capable of accepting” higher-capacity magazines, but don’t codify what “capable of accepting” means. Since any pistol with a detachable magazine is “capable of accepting” bigger ones, that term means whatever the prosecutor or state AG decided it means when they woke up this morning. And even if you’re carrying, say, a Glock 26, and don’t own anything other than 10-round mags for it, it’s still “capable of accepting” bigger magazines. There’s presently a bill in Congress, HR 354, that modifies LEOSA to let retired officers carry higher-capacity mags in 10-round states, and it’s been passed by the House, but I don’t see it being passed by the Senate and signed by the President during this Congress, with the present turmoil in DC. Maybe when the new Congress convenes next year. . . .
(Whenever I bring up LEOSA I always hear comments that range from “Cops are no better than anyone else” to flat-out ACAB types. The latter are not worth responding to but to the former, I can only say, “You’re right, but a journey of a thousand miles . . . ” etc. Once the retired LEOs prove they can be trusted, trusting Joe Citizen will eventually follow. That’s my hope, anyway.)
I’m with Old 1811 on the revolver hardware choice for states with “less liberty”. I’ve had to travel to California pretty frequently the last few years by road and by air. My “go to” gun has become a Taurus 856 3″ Ultra Lite Defender, with 3 reloads (a strip, 2X2 pouch, and a speedloader). The last space in a 25-round box of ammunition (Hornady and Remington still pack them that way as opposed to 20 rounds) is filled with a Double Tap shot load. It makes a pretty simple parcel to fly with, and it gives me more peace of mind than a 5 shot J frame with shorter barrel. I wish I was packing it to Mike’s class in October!
Mike, wish I could attend your class but the distance is a wee bit too far from the free state of Georgia. In addition to my HR 218 qualification a few months ago I also took a combat shooting class geared for off duty, concealed carry (yes, Georgia has Open Carry and Constitutional Carry – see I told you that my adopted home state is free!)
Instructors from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center offered the course at a nearby Sheriff’s department range. Out of 20 officers I was the only retiree and the only guy with a revolver, my five shot S&W 642. Instructors and fellow officers politely encouraged me to consider capacity as a factor in my carry weapon. I added that I have “a high capacity semi-auto, a Glock 23 that came with three 13 round magazines.” Once again I was politely reminded that I’m no longer in New York, those Glock magazines are “standard capacity.”
Opa, I’ve got a feeling you can do more with five rounds of .38 Spl than 90% of your fellow students in those classes could do with their double-stack pistolas full of booolits.
I was shooting our weekly CCW-oriented practice at the club last week (which hasn’t been “weekly” for me lately—more like, “semiannual!”) and I was a little frustrated with my performance with my Glock 26. I wasn’t doing poorly, but I wasn’t shooting as well as I should have been. At the end of the practice, I put the plastic away and got my upgraded Taurus 856 out (article on that, coming soon), and things changed dramatically. I was making all the hits that I wasn’t making with the Glock!
Hmm . . .
For anyone close by I definitely recommend the course, the previously ran course was a great time and good training with other revolver guys.
Thank you Sir!
Good to see more revolver class offerings from instructors who know what they are about. Keep it up dude!
Thank you Sir!