Hello THR,
First off I must apologize for neglecting to introduce myself here, something I should have done in my very first post. I am 29 years old, Chinese-American and living / working in Hawaii with my wife of a year and 9 mos. I am employed by our federal government, a mechanical engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. I got started with firearms in high school when I joined the rifle team as a freshman. We shot .22 rimfire match rifles in standing, kneeling and prone positions. Back then, there were only 3 other public schools on Oahu with rifle teams. Now, I think there are a lot more although air rifle has probably taken over. I really enjoyed those years, although I think I could have done better (highest score 221 out of 300) if I had just concentrated more. Anyway, fast forward to a couple years ago when I finally touched a firearm again (just didn't have the opportunity in between). First it was rimfire again at an outdoor activity center - .22 semi pistol and rifle. The pistol was chained to the bench - and I'm a little taller than the average person here, so it wasn't that great. Then last year my wife and I went to Las Vegas for our 1st Anniversary. I wanted to try out full-auto, so we went to The Gun Store and I tried out an MP5. I took short bursts for both mags - I think I should have tried longer bursts for increased fun factor. Then, I rented a 1911 in .45 because after reading all these different forums I just had to find out if I could handle it, thinking I'd like to own one someday. It felt pretty good in my hand, but of course I could do with some instruction because I've never had any instruction in using handguns before. Which brings me (finally) to my question.
Can anyone recommend who to go to for the required firearms instruction here? I know most of you are in the other 49 states, but I did see a couple people from here, or at least used to live here. Here is the statement from the Honolulu PD website:
For handgun acquisitions, no person shall be issued a permit under this section unless the person has completed a Hunter's Education Course,or a Firearms Training or Safety Course.
You must have a notarized affidavit, signed by the certified firearms instructor or certified military firearms instructor who conducted or taught the course, providing the name, address, and phone number of the instructor and attesting to the successful completion of the course by the applicant.
I only know of three places here that provide this instruction: Firearms Academy of Hawaii, Lessons in Firearms Education, and Magnum Firearms. Can I just go to any one of these places for the purposes of getting the permit, or is there another place that outshines the rest? By the way, I'm looking towards a handgun for home protection (we're at the verge of moving from a condo to a single-family home), and shooting at the range. Although I started off with rifles, and have an affinity for rifle marksmanship, I'm not sure if I (or my wife) could manage an AR and dial 911 at the same time.
Brian
First off I must apologize for neglecting to introduce myself here, something I should have done in my very first post. I am 29 years old, Chinese-American and living / working in Hawaii with my wife of a year and 9 mos. I am employed by our federal government, a mechanical engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. I got started with firearms in high school when I joined the rifle team as a freshman. We shot .22 rimfire match rifles in standing, kneeling and prone positions. Back then, there were only 3 other public schools on Oahu with rifle teams. Now, I think there are a lot more although air rifle has probably taken over. I really enjoyed those years, although I think I could have done better (highest score 221 out of 300) if I had just concentrated more. Anyway, fast forward to a couple years ago when I finally touched a firearm again (just didn't have the opportunity in between). First it was rimfire again at an outdoor activity center - .22 semi pistol and rifle. The pistol was chained to the bench - and I'm a little taller than the average person here, so it wasn't that great. Then last year my wife and I went to Las Vegas for our 1st Anniversary. I wanted to try out full-auto, so we went to The Gun Store and I tried out an MP5. I took short bursts for both mags - I think I should have tried longer bursts for increased fun factor. Then, I rented a 1911 in .45 because after reading all these different forums I just had to find out if I could handle it, thinking I'd like to own one someday. It felt pretty good in my hand, but of course I could do with some instruction because I've never had any instruction in using handguns before. Which brings me (finally) to my question.
Can anyone recommend who to go to for the required firearms instruction here? I know most of you are in the other 49 states, but I did see a couple people from here, or at least used to live here. Here is the statement from the Honolulu PD website:
For handgun acquisitions, no person shall be issued a permit under this section unless the person has completed a Hunter's Education Course,or a Firearms Training or Safety Course.
You must have a notarized affidavit, signed by the certified firearms instructor or certified military firearms instructor who conducted or taught the course, providing the name, address, and phone number of the instructor and attesting to the successful completion of the course by the applicant.
I only know of three places here that provide this instruction: Firearms Academy of Hawaii, Lessons in Firearms Education, and Magnum Firearms. Can I just go to any one of these places for the purposes of getting the permit, or is there another place that outshines the rest? By the way, I'm looking towards a handgun for home protection (we're at the verge of moving from a condo to a single-family home), and shooting at the range. Although I started off with rifles, and have an affinity for rifle marksmanship, I'm not sure if I (or my wife) could manage an AR and dial 911 at the same time.
Brian