Reviews

Review of the 7/6 NYS Pistol Permit Class

I arrived right at 6pm, when I thought the class started, only to find that I was the last to arrive and James already teaching. I sheepishly signed in and found a corner table, expecting to spend the next three hours fighting to stay awake. I’d sat through three-hour lectures many times in the past and they’ve always been tests of endurance. But I was here with a determined purpose: To get the certificate that would start me on the road to the highly sought after NYS pistol permit.

To my delight and surprise, I wasn’t bored at all. As a rank newbie to firearms, I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the class. While the material is straight out of a book, James presents it in an interesting and practical way, adding lots of insight and knowledge gained from years of personal experience. His teaching style is friendly and informal which I appreciated after a long day at work.

Safety was the number one topic of the evening and rightfully so. He drilled the importance of pistol safety. He used illustrations and visual aids that kept the topic interesting and helped drive the point home. He provided an airsoft pistol and some of those blue rubber guns so we could actually practice the safe handling of a pistol without handling a firearm. The lessons that immediately come to mind are: Make sure the chamber is empty, don’t point it anywhere where someone might be, know how to handle a misfire and keep your finger off the trigger. He covered much more but these are the points that stand out in my mind.

In addition, James gave a brief overview of guns laws in NYS, stressing that they can change constantly and that it’s up to us to keep up on them. He also covered some basics of pistols like revolvers vs. semi, SA vs. DA., targeting and shooting. This was all very informative for a newbie like myself.

I was stunned when the class ended because I felt like he was just getting warmed up. I don’t doubt that he could expand it to a 5 or 6 hour class and still keep it interesting and practical.

After class, he said he would stick around to answer questions and I took him up on that offer. I bugged him for several minutes and found him to be friendly and passionate about firearms. He said to phone or e-mail him with any other questions, which I’ve also taken him up on (which he may be regretting.) He’s been prompt and helpful in all his replies.

Overall, I highly recommend the NYS Pistol Permit class offered by FTWNY. While it’s the only pistol permit class I’ve ever taken, I can’t imagine that they get much better than this. At some point, I’ll almost definitely sign up for some of their other classes.

Ryan from Buffalo

 

 

Another happy customer!

Took the NY course last night. I had a great time and it isn’t a bore fest, before you know it its over. Highly recommend any of the classes they have to offer. Thanks a lot!

Niagara Falls student