Cost for CCW permit in FL, possible online

[Impureclient]

I'm ready to get my CCW and live in Pasco, FL. I've heard of $50(6 months ago) for the class on the low end. I haven't checked prices lately.

Asking around locally will only get me the best price for local classes so....Is it possible to take an online class and about what price should it be?
Also are they comparable in what you get from the class in person. I know questions can't really be answered like it was taken in person but, I figure
I can get the unanswered answers in here if I had any afterward.

I also called the Sheriff and they said they won't do digital prints. Are there any other sources to get this done. They didn't seem to want to help
when I asked where to get it done.

 

[SFB]

I can't help you with the class. I'm military and didn't need to take one. I haven't heard of an online class.. but IMO if it was an option I would still go to a class in person, where you have someone who can answer specific questions you might have and correct you on anything that might need correcting.

As far as LiveScan (digital prints), that is the way to go. Supposed to be faster and it's actually a few bucks cheaper. There is a list of where you can get it done throughout FL. I am searching for you... I'll post it when I find it.

This is a list of private vendors offering LiveScan: Private Vendors. There is a list of all the LE departments that offer it also.. I'm just having a hell of a time finding it.. still looking.

Here is another list, looks like one location in Pasco. Electronic Fingerprinting

An electronic fingerprinting FAQ, with a phone number to find locations and make appointments.

And here is what I was looking for, but it just confirms that no LE agency in Pasco offers LiveScan. List of LE agencys offering Live Scan.

Hope that helps you out. Also, don't wait to long, I've been hearing about a 5 month wait on receiving the permit. Still waiting on mine....

 

[withdrawn34]

There isn't an online class because most classes have a live fire component, required for the "proficiency" certification that you need to get your CWP.

 

[kanook]

you have to "live fire" at least one round. go to a gunshow and spend the 3 hours and be done. Or go to a NRA instructor, pay the fees and reconfirm that what you think you know you really do. Most states (if you move) will reconize the NRA certificate as part your requirements of or qualify you for your permit. Your local gun permit person (non NRA) may be enough for now, but if you move you'll need to take another.

I know of people that have taken the free LEO class in one state and be refused for another becuase the LEO class was not reconized in Florida.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

As an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor I'll tell you, "look for the fine print." A lot of instructors make all kinds of promises. My favorite one is in a local gun range/shop.

The class only costs $75 but that doesn't include range fee which is normally $13 unless you buy ammo then it is $11. So on the low end you are already at $86. But with a lot of first timers coming into this they don't own a gun, and at this particular range you have to pay $40 to become a member and then an additional $10 to rent a gun and if it is a .22lr pistol you are renting to complete the course then it'll run you ten bucks for a 100 rounds. So for the first timer who doesn't know better you are looking at $146 on a good day.

Then there is the fabled gunshow. You are supposed to get it all for $140(passport photo, fingerprints, and notary), so if you are an experienced shooter who can get out to the gunshow it's worth it for one stop shopping.

I deal with folks who are first time shooters and I don't really advertise. I keep getting students by word of mouth(well that and the good deals I get my students with my FFL guy, saving folks at least a hundred bucks and getting group buys on ammo together). I do my classes at two separate private properties where I've built berms(eight foot high berms full of rubber crumb media, by ten feet wide and five feet thick, a few fun afternoons), and sometimes I do 'private classes' with a visit to a local diner where they let me breakout posters and do demonstratrions(it's gotten me more customers, and the owner doesn't mind because I bring in fresh new customers who've never eaten there before) we then take a trip to a local range that is virtually empty and shoot. I don't rush my students out. I always have at least a 500+rd brick of .22lr and a few different .22lr pistols. If they want to shoot 9mm I charge a buck more than it costs me to get it and five bucks to use the firearm, usually a heck of a lot cheaper than the range.

For classes on the private properties I have an assistant and he gets ten bucks a student, the private property owner gets five bucks a student, the spent brass and lead in the berms(he casts and reloads and sells them). So I charge a total of $75 that includes range, ammo(I set aside sixty rounds a student), and targets.

When I do the diner it's $65(cause that doesn't include the range but it does inlcude the gun, ammo, and targets) and ten bucks go to the diner with five bucks a students to the waitress and five bucks going towards either ordering appettizers or taking five bucks off the student's bill. We go, we shoot, it's a nice afternoon.

And then once they've done the class I work on setting them up to get deals through my FFL guy but that is another story.

 

[tkopp]

Magnumdweeb:

That's a worst-case scenario. By the time you're interested in carrying a firearm on a daily basis, especially in as gun-friendly a state as Florida where you can have a firearm in your vehicle with no license and (I believe) open carry in back country with no license, you should already own a firearm and be a member of the local range. Most indoor ranges will offer classes, at least in my Seattle experience. You may as well factor in clothes (can't shoot naked), gas to get to the range, and the cost of a vehicle while you're at it

 

[MagnumDweeb]

Hey I factor in a lot of costs, but customers will factor in money as well. That's just business. If someone can save ten bucks and get the same quality or better in instruction why not save ten bucks. Yeah it's counting pennies but if you save ten bucks you can buy more ammo with it. And yes the local ranges host classes, and guess what, I'm still cheaper. Not only am I cheaper, but as aforemetioned I got an FFL guy who generally saves folks as little as $100 and sometimes close to $300 on rare occasssion. So if you can save $100 on a gun, you can buy more ammo to practice with it.

Florida is generally gun friendly, or at least tolerant. That don't mean folks have a clue about how to use or if they should own a gun. A lot of folks have come to me thinking they have to have taken the class in order to own a gun, that they have to register their guns(thank god we don't, hate that commie garbage), or other silly things. About seven out of ten of my students are new to guns, and do believe I show them the difference between dealing with me and the local gunshops. Because there is quite a difference. Yeah I make a little money, on average $30 a student, I'm not doing this to get rich, and I put a lot of that(nearly half) back into growing my classes, getting different and new firearms for students to try out and develop opinions about. I've got Taurus PT92s, Ruger 89s, Glocks, no sigs unfortunately, now a Bersa, Rugers, Heritage Rough Riders, etc..

I graduate law school in May, that's where I'll worry about making my money.