Shooting distance for qualifying for Tn hand gun permit

[owejia]

Granddaughter is taking her class sometime in March and she needs to practice to qualify, need to know proper distance to set up targets. Thanks

[gregintenn]

When I took it several years back, you had to hit center mass of a man sized sillouette at 5, 7, and 15 yards. 

As I remember, you had to score 70 out of 100. I scored 100 and my wife 98. We aren’t good shots with a handgun.

Edited February 10, 2018 by gregintenn

[Sidecarist]

My wife just got hers. Course of fire is:

20 shots at 3yds

20 shots at 5yds

10 shots at 7yds

A perfect score would keep all the shots in the 7 ring on the B29 target. This is equal to keeping them all on a standard sheet of copy paper.

There is no time limit. Passing score is 70pts, each shot is worth 2pts. 

Good luck!

Edited February 10, 2018 by Sidecarist

[bersaguy]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

When I took it several years back, you had to hit center mass of a man sized sillouette at 5, 7, and 15 yards. 

As I remember, you had to score 70 out of 100. I scored 100 and my wife 98. We aren’t good shots with a handgun.

When I took mine the requirements where the same as yours. I shot 98% with my first round being head high 3 inches right. The next rounds all center mass. When the instructor was grading my target I saw a slight grin on his face and he looked up at me and said Lawyers Bullet and I just smiled and he graded it at 98%. They have made it a little harder to pass the shooting session than when we were shooting at them but since then I have downsized my targets to printer paper targets to keep up with whats going on with the classes. I will be glad when doctor turns me loose so I can get back in the range but he says 3 more weeks minimum.

[Grunt67]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

When I took it several years back, you had to hit center mass of a man sized sillouette at 5, 7, and 15 yards. 

As I remember, you had to score 70 out of 100. I scored 100 and my wife 98. We aren’t good shots with a handgun.

 Yeah, and my heart bleeds for both if you, LOL. 

[Sidecarist]

My wife's instructor graded her 100 and commented that there was no way to count 50 holes because she had done well. Considering the long time they had, over 45min to complete shooting 5 round strings. It isn't hard to keep all of them on an 8x11 sheet of paper with that much time.

She practiced by shooting paper plates at 7 yds.

[analog_kidd]

My wife and I took ours at different times and at different places (about a year apart). the 5/7/15 yards is what we each had to do. I had to shoot at a standard silhouette and had to get all counted shots inside the rings. For her, they used an IDPA block man (or whatever they are called) target, and a hole anywhere in the cardboard counted.

I've heard that some places even allow do-overs. The instructors are generally 2nd amendment loving folks, so they are usually eager to pass testers, as long as you are not an idiot.

Regardless, an hour or two on the range sometime before the test generally will get even an amateur in condition to pass the test. My wife was really nervous about it until I took her to the range and ran through it once, then she realized how easy it is.

And, they don't care what gun you use for the test. My wife used our Ruger 22/45 with a 6" barrel. That thing is a tack driver that even the greenest of shooters can hit a tin can at 15 yards.

[DWARREN123]

Do 3, 5, 7 and 10 yards using copy paper or paper plates. 5 rounds per mag and practices until it is easy.

[Murgatroy]

In TN the instructor looked at my target and just wrote 100% on it.

 

In Kentucky the instructor laughed and called me cocky (20 shots at 10yd anywhere on the target.) I rolled it out to 20yds and did a mag dump and reload on a 3" group of headshots in something like ten seconds. The rest of the class was loving it. I was the first person to test out, less than a minute into the range portion. I then spent the rest of the two hour range time helping an elderly lady learn to shoot. She also passed with a perfect score of center mass. I did explain to the instructor that I was a ringer, since I have been coaching my daughter for many years as a successful competitive shooter.

 

Personally, I think it is all a money game. I appreciate the effort put into explaining the laws, I think that should be done for anyone interested in carrying. The shooting portion of it just a dog and pony show, they stack the test to where it is practically impossible to fail.

[owejia]

When I took mine many moons ago they used a paper man sized siloutte and I did all head shots, but can't remember the distance. Granddaughter will be using a revolver probably a s&w m&p 38 spl with 4" barrel. Thanks for the info.

[Steelharp]

All head shots now will fail. That's a 50. You have to score 70 to pass. Aim center mass, get 35 of the 50 rounds in the rings, and you're fine.

On the new, smaller target, the outside 7 ring equals the 9 ring on a standard B27 target. 40 rounds are fired at the closer 3 and 5 yd distances, 20 rounds each. 10 rounds at the 7 yd.

[Jeb48]

I think in my class there was only one person that didn't do 100% and he was a relatively new shooter using a loaner gun from the club putting on the class and got a 96 or 98. Someone asked the instructor what the average score was and he said 95+. I didn't mag dump but I was done and mag reloaded for the next round before everyone was finished shooting.

Most of us used .22s so we didn't waste expensive ammo.

[Sidecarist]

I just realized that my avatar is my hcp target... no mag dumps in my class as we shot 5 shot strings. I spent most of the shooting time watching others. Only one older woman struggled because she was trying to shoot with a laser on a revolver. She turned the laser off and shot twice as good.

[monkeylizard]

As a general guideline, if a person is even semi-competent at hitting the broad side of a barn, then they can pass the TN HCP test. It's stupid easy.

Honestly, if a person CAN'T pass that test, they really don't have any business with a firearm in public.

Edited February 11, 2018 by monkeylizard

[bersaguy]

Our instructors Chad had the patience of a Saint when we got down into the range. There was on elderly gentleman that came to take the test. He had a brand new S&W Snub 38spl still in the new box and he had never fired the gun. Everyone else had completed and where back in the class room and an hour and 10 minutes Chad and the Gentleman came back into the class room and he had passed the range test, three boxes of ammo later...........LOL Chad was determind to have a perfect class and he did.

[gregintenn]

21 hours ago, Grunt67 said:

 Yeah, and my heart bleeds for both if you, LOL. 

In the interest of full disclosure, we both shot it with a model 18 Smith and Wesson. Hard to miss with one of those.

[TripleGGG]

In the interest of full disclosure, we both shot it with a model 18 Smith and Wesson. Hard to miss with one of those.

We used Mark IIs or IIIs, can't remember for sure, provided by the range. Almost impossible to miss with those. Lol. My wife did shoot all 50 rounds in a very very tight group.

[seez52]

I got mine a while ago, probably 20 years ago. Was one of the first when the law was passed. I'm thinking we did 48 rounds and one was at 25 yards. Nothing was less than 7.

[hipower]

1 hour ago, seez52 said:

I got mine a while ago, probably 20 years ago. Was one of the first when the law was passed. I'm thinking we did 48 rounds and one was at 25 yards. Nothing was less than 7.

We must have been around the same time then. I did shoot 50 rounds 7/10/15 yards at my course. I did ok, got a 96. Jerked on shot off the torso, and in reloading, I left/lost a round in my pocket. Found it afterwards. And of course got penalized for it.

And yes that sounds strange. I only had 2 mags, so I was told to dump extra rounds in my pocket and load between rounds of shooting.

[JAB]

I used my five inch S&W .22A.  This was back around 2008 and I think the instructors might have had more autonomy as to where to set the targets.  We did six shot strings for a total of 48 rounds fired.  We qualified using B27 (full sized human silhouette) targets.  IIRC, we did six rounds at three yards, six at five yards, six at seven yards, six at ten yards, six at about fifteen or twenty yards and six that was our choice of distance (I ran it out to twenty five yards for 'my choice', just for the heck of it.)  Our shots just had to be somewhere - anywhere - in the black to count.  The instructor had us count our own hits and walked down the line as we did, kind of to keep us honest (he shot competition so he could probably tell at a glance if someone qualified or not.)  When he walked behind me and saw that all of my shots were in the black he said, "Don't bother counting.  You passed."  I think I was the only person in my group to whom he said that but am pretty sure that we all passed - except for the one guy who was taking the test for the third or fourth time and still couldn't pass the written part.  Generally I believe that pretty much every adult should have the right to carry for personal defense but must admit that, in his case, I mentally made and exception and was kind of glad that the qualification requirement was in place.

Edited February 12, 2018 by JAB

[wttam]

My class actually had a gentleman fail the range portion of the test.  He was completely off paper at 3 yards.  The instructor worked with him for about 45 minutes but he still couldn't hit the paper at 3 yards, much less the target.  It was painful to watch them tell the guy he wasn't getting a permit but I'm glad they did.  He doesn't need to carry.

[seez52]

8 minutes ago, wttam said:

My class actually had a gentleman fail the range portion of the test.  He was completely off paper at 3 yards.  The instructor worked with him for about 45 minutes but he still couldn't hit the paper at 3 yards, much less the target.  It was painful to watch them tell the guy he wasn't getting a permit but I'm glad they did.  He doesn't need to carry.

Jeez, 3 yards? Hide when you're around him!

Biggest issue we had in our class were people who could not manipulate their weapon. A couple of women had issues. One had a brand new PPK/s and just could not pull the slide back. She could not grip it tight enough. A blow back .380 probably not the best choice for a petite woman.

Edited February 12, 2018 by seez52

[JayC]

My wife shot a pistol for the first time when taking her carry shooting test, she passed with flying colors...   Have your grand daughter focus on 3 and 5  yards and she'll ace the test no problem.

[Murgatroy]

4 hours ago, seez52 said:

Jeez, 3 yards? Hide when you're around him!

Biggest issue we had in our class were people who could not manipulate their weapon. A couple of women had issues. One had a brand new PPK/s and just could not pull the slide back. She could not grip it tight enough. A blow back .380 probably not the best choice for a petite woman.

The elderly woman I helped at the range had bought a Bersa .380ACP that day, exact same issue. She bought at the store we took the class at. I told the instructor that whoever sold it to her should be fired. 

[Steelharp]

On 2/12/2018 at 3:34 PM, Murgatroy said:

The elderly woman I helped at the range had bought a Bersa .380ACP that day, exact same issue. She bought at the store we took the class at. I told the instructor that whoever sold it to her should be fired. 

You don't buy a gun and take the class without practice. That salesman was more interested in the sale. Not good. I would never let a customer do that.