Joel's Firearms Links

This page is devoted to links about carry, in Minnesota and elsewhere.

General Information

The NRA — the gold standard and 800 pound gorilla in firearms rights preservation and information. Honestly, I've got some disagreements with the NRA about some things — I think they're too accomodationist — but they're utterly indispensable, and have been working long and hard on firearms safety, and on political matters. They really do get that the antis are trying to play divide-and-conquer with the self-defense folks vs. hunters, and are working on combatting that.

If you haven't, please join the NRA.

Packing — the best information available on the net about the various states' laws. These people are very conservative in what they tell you can do, and they are very good about keeping things up to date.

Recguns.com — a lot of good information about carry, and they go to quite a lot of trouble to present both sides of many issues.

Open Sites — my carry blog: short commentaries and web links that don't quite deserve an essay on this website.

NCASA guidelines — the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault produced this very good set of guidelines for choosing a self-defense course of any kind, although it certainly applies to carry courses, as well.

I really like this, from their FAQ:

Q: How can I tell a "good" course from a "bad" one?

A good course covers critical thinking about defense strategies, assertiveness, powerful communication skills, and easy-to-remember physical techniques. The instructor respects and responds to your fears and concerns. Instruction is based on the belief that we can act competently, decisively, and take action for our own protection. Essentially, a good course is based on intelligence and not muscle. It offers tools for enabling a person to connect with her own strength and power. These courses are out there. Good luck in your research. Taking a self-defense class is one of the most positive things a you can do for yourself!

Yup.

Minnesota-specific

twincitiescarry.com — the gateway to here, to the LiveJournal, and to the Forum, among other things.

The Twin Cities Carry Forum — an often lively place to discuss issues, with permit holders, experts on all sorts of things, and a wide variety of some of the best instructors in Minnesota. Other folks' classes, as well as mine — and not just carry classes: shooting classes, holster making, personal safety, etc. — are often posted there. Strong opinions are welcome, but personal attacks are discouraged, and the rules are enforced by a cadre of very helpful but firm moderators and other sysadmins.

CCRN — the grass-roots organization that did more than anybody else to get the MPPA passed. The look of the web site isn't great — I'm being generous: it's fairer to say that it sucks rocks — but the information is pretty good.

Please consider making a donation to CCRN. They do good work.

Burnsville Pistol Range — my favorite place to shoot. Prices are reasonable; the facility is well-maintaned; and their attitude toward safety is utterly no-nonsense. What's not to like?

The BCA — The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has good information on what's required to get a Minnesota carry permit, and what the rules are. The BCA program is run by SAC Jeff Luther, a very good, service-oriented cop about whom I've said nice — and deserved — things, both to his face and behind his back. He's one of the good guys; please don't bother him with questions you can get answered elsewhere.

David Dyer-minute's carry journal, and related essays. David's dealing with a lot of the day-to-day issues of somebody new to carry — and there are interesting issues even for people who, like David, have owned and shot handguns for many, many years. Very good stuff.

One of my favorite things about David's attitude is that he lets his intellect make a lot of decisions for him. Read his essay on revolvers. He doesn't like revolvers, but he often carries one. It's not — or shouldn't be — about what's fun, but about what's more likely to work, for you.

So, should you carry a revolver for self-defense, or a semi-auto?

I don't like revolvers much. I don't find them fun to shoot. They're not "salty", either. Revolvers are wussy.

Do you see anything in the previous paragraph about how suitable revolvers are for self-defense? I don't.

(Full disclosure: David's a close friend, and we teach some classes together. David wrote the Beginner to Carry course with me. For more about that, click here.)

Twin Cities Pink Pistols — personal protection and carry permits aren't just for straights, of course. Gay men, statistically, suffer huge numbers of assaults.

MADFI — the Minnesota Association of Defensive Firearms Instructors is the first and largest nonprofit, Minnesota-specific, firearms instructor organization; it's one of the ones I'm certified by, and if I didn't think it was a good group, I wouldn't be associated with it. If you're considering teaching carry permit classes in Minnesota, this would be a good place to start.

This is a placeholder — I'd like to include a link to a local pro-self-defense/gun rights African American group. But, alas, I don't know of any. There should be: personal protection and carry permits aren't just for white folks.

Beginners' Classes

Right now, the only course designed to take people with no handgun experience up to and through a certified carry course is the B2C course that David Dyer-Bennet and I have developed. We've licensed the course to other instructors — if you're a beginner, ask your potential instructor if they teach "B2C". Another other option is to take the NRA Basic Pistol course, and then find a carry course. But the NRA course is a 10-hour course all by itself, and after that you still have to take the carry course.

The entire B2C course, including the carry course, runs about eight or nine hours. We make that possible not by taking shortcuts — we're very opposed to shortcuts — but by focusing the beginner portion of the course on both the safety and handling issues for snubby revolvers. I think that the NRA course gives a very good overview of gun safety and gun handling — I should know; I'm certified to teach NRA Basic Pistol — but it covers things like rifle shooting positions that aren't relevant to a carry course. All in all, for those new to handguns who want to be able to get a carry permit reasonably quickly, I think a more focused course makes more sense. If you're interested in the B2C course, you can call me at 612.501.8229 or email me at joelr@twincitiescarry.com.