Carry'in:
Damn - glad I don't live in CA....
OH has no requirements whatsoever about the actual firearm. Toledo and some other cities (Columbus' being the worst) have some local laws that probably aren't valid that prohibit
some weapons by name or factoring criteria similar to the GCA '68 rules, but that's it.
We do have to qualify on the range. Two hours - 40 rounds, with a final 10 that'd better be in the circle or something to that effect. And another 8 or 10 hours of classroom time. (It's been 18 months - who remembers?)
I qualified for OPOTA back in the late 60's as a rent-a-cop. Other than spending some time with a shotgun, and being about 20 degrees
inside the building that day, it wasn't much different. 'Bout the only difference was that I was trying to make it with a 2" Charter (all I could afford at the time). Nice warm April afternoon when I did it last, with a 4" S&W M10HB. I could have phoned it in by comparison to the 1968 round.
(Yeah - I did shoot after the OPOTA qualification.... That's OH's "Police Academy". At the time everybody took the same course. "Regular" LEO's now take a much longer course. Dunno what their range time looks like, though, but I think the range they're using is heated now....)
(In fairness to the folks in charge, way back when, the City PD provided the range, the heating system croaked, we had a sort of deadline, and were the second or third class after OH started to require
any training. Shotgun range was outdoors anyway....)
OH will accept a bunch of different "courses" - OPOTA's current courses, Military qualification, and privately run affairs that use a slightly upgraded version of the NRA "Basic Pistol" course - updated to cover the peculiarities of OH law. To quote myself, I could have phoned it in. Expletives wouldn't take my 1968 OPOTA certification
. Six years....
Not to sound arrogant, but the OH training requirements, other than the OH law material, almost boil down to "don't kill the guy beside you."
The rangemaster or lead instructor has to approve the weapon you bring to class, but it's more of a common sense thing than any sort of hard rule. I suppose it's written down somewhere, but the kid who ran my course is the careful type. I think my M10 is older than he is.... (Not a problem - his aunt is a good friend of mine, and just a little younger than I am. She's also a certified instructor. Good enough for me....)
We shot in two sets of 21 people each. I won't swear to the size of the second group - the range has seven positions, and three groups of shooters were present. One group on the line, one group coaching and handling ammunition, and one group just watching. I didn't see the second 21 at all.... This sounds a little silly, but if you've ever coached anybody you'll understand the value. The folks just watching learned a bit, too.
Cropcirclewalker:
OH is a little odd about this.... There are so many "don't shoot" and "don't show" rules that you're playing Russian Roulette whether you're on your own property or not. It's pretty much "don't ask, don't tell" as to whether or not you're carrying until you actually have to shoot.
Open carry is legal wherever firearms aren't banned entirely, but I'm not going to recommend it, and printing is OK too, if not necessarily a good idea either.
We had a case about a year ago where a woman was having problems with an ex-companion (I forget whether it was her husband or ....). Late night hang-up phone calls, doorbell rings with nobody there, etc. Dunno about a CHL at this point, but she kept a gun handy as this seemed to escalate.
The doorbell rang, she had her little one in hand, and picked up the gun to answer the door. Kid selling Girl Scout Cookies was not amused.
Local PD took her (child endangerment), and the kid went to Social Services. I'm not sure how this ended up.
(Short answer - open carry on your own property's probably not going to be a problem. Unholster and you're toast....)
Could be worse.
Regards,
