You’ve been wanting and waiting to get your New Mexico Concealed Carry License for quite some time, and now you’ve begun trying to find an appropriate concealed carry course and instructor. We’ve been there and probably had the same questions that you’re having now. We’ll help answer many of those questions and point you towards some considerations that you should make when deciding which concealed carry instructor to train under.
Make Sure They’re “Legit”
You’ll want to make sure that the concealed carry instructor and course that you are considering is “legit”. The concealed carry instructor has to be approved by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the course itself must be approved by the same folks in the NM DPS. The easiest way for you to verify whether or not an instructor has been approved by the NM DPS is to see if they are on their approved list of concealed carry instructors. If they’re on that list, they have been approved by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to teach NM concealed carry courses.
Read Their Reviews
See if their web site has a “testimonial” section, or if they have received any reviews on Google. Check their Facebook page. Post a request on their Facebook page asking their previous students to give you their opinion on the instructor and the course (ask them to provide it to you in your private email box or FB messenger). If they delete your request, that should be a red flag. We encourage our potential students to reach out to our previous students and will often times connect the two if both parties give their consent (some students don’t want to be bothered, and that is understandable). Call the instructor up and have a conversation with them, check out our post on Questions To Ask Your Potential Concealed Carry Instructor for some ideas and questions to ask your potential concealed carry instructor.
Read our short post on What Questions to Ask Your Potential Concealed Carry Instructor to find out what questions you should ask your potential concealed carry instructor, and the common sense logic behind those questions (and best answers)
Check Out Their Images/Videos
It’ll be an easy way to kill sometime. Do the students look to be engaged and having an enjoyable time? Do you notice any safety concerns? What are the instructors doing?
Do They Offer A Course That Fits Within Your Schedule?
Typically, concealed carry courses are held on a Saturday and Sunday, from 9:00 to 5:00. Some courses are stretched over 3, five hour days. Another option that is gaining popularity is a New Mexico Online Concealed Carry Course. Yes, we are one of two companies that offer such a course that will allow you to obtain a New Mexico Concealed Carry License. So we are a bit partial to it. However, if you think about it, many collegiate and accredited degree programs are conducted online. Our online course allows you to complete the majority of the coursework online at your own pace and place.
Does Their Course Fit Within Your Needs, Expectations, and Lifestyle?
Awhile ago I had a former student comment that I was the best concealed carry instructor in the State of New Mexico. While I was flattered by this comment, I was quick to comment and correct this student that while I may have been the best concealed carry instructor for him and many of our students, I was not the “best” instructor – there is no single “best” instructor. The best instructor is relative to the student. There is a demographic of students that I would not be the best instructor for, these students tend to be the students that have extensive firearms training and combat experience (although these students have found our courses to be informational, educational, and practical for them). The reason is simple: We pride ourselves on being able to take the student who has never shot a handgun before, or has shot very little, and being able to get them confident, comfortable, and proficient with a handgun in the 15 short hours that we have with them. Our concealed carry courses are designed and catered to the student who is a beginning or intermediate shooter. Those students who have the extensive handgun training or combat experience in which the handgun was their primary platform, may very well find our concealed carry course to be slow.
Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe that we have the best concealed carry course. However, that thought is not our primary consideration, nor do we rest on our own beliefs (or the beliefs of our students) that we have the best concealed carry course. We focus on making each course better than the previous and connecting with each shooter on the individual level that they need to become a better defensive shooter. Please take a minute to read our post on Who Our Student Is for an idea on the type of student who we feel we are the best instructors for.
Does The Course Meet The Requisite Hours?
There are a few concealed carry instructors that are happy to skirt the 15 hours of instruction requirement, and there are students who unknowingly sign up and pay good money for these abbreviated courses. Sure, you will get the required certificate at the end of the course, however, once these instructors have their credentials revoked, their students will have their concealed carry licenses revoked as well (and have to start the process all over again).
What Type of Hands-On, Handgun Training Will You Receive?
New Mexico does not require that the student receive any hands-on, handgun training, other than the required qualification shoot. This leaves the instructors a great deal of discretion when it comes to deciding what, if any, additional hands-on handgun training will be provided. You should look for a course that offers more than the required qualification shooting drill. We recommend that you take a course that has their students shoot a minimum of 100 rounds of ammo. Few instructors will cover, train, and have their students practice/demonstrate presenting the handgun from concealment (they will most likely offer this training in a follow-up additional course that costs money). Any course that does not show and train the student on how to present the handgun from concealment should not be considered a concealed carry course by the student (this is a critical skill). Read our short post on Why Your Concealed Carry Course Should Train You How To Present The Handgun From Concealment (if the logic behind the question is not painfully obvious to you).
The Skinny
Choosing which concealed carry instructor and course to take on your path to obtain your New Mexico Concealed Carry License is an important decision, one that should not be based solely on the cost of the course. Here’s a summation of what you should look for when considering a concealed carry instructor and course to train under:
- The instructor and course have been approved by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety;
- They have positive reviews, or do not prevent you from seeking out previous students for their opinion on the instructor/course;
- Their students appear to be engaged and enjoying their time, while the instructors appear to be engaged with the students and maintaining a safe shooting environment (through their pictures and videos if they have them);
- There’s a course that fits within your schedule (you can take an online NM Concealed Carry Course);
- The course makes sense for your lifestyle, the expectations that you have, as well as those needs that you have;
- The course meets New Mexico’s required 15 hours of instruction time;
- As a student you will receive hands-on training in presenting the handgun from concealment, grip, stance, trigger control (hands-on training means you will actually complete these fundamentals while the instructor coaches you), and you will shoot more than 25 rounds of ammo during the live-fire range day (we recommend those courses that shoot a minimum of 100 rounds).
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