Yes, you read that title correctly.
Ben over at The Reasonable Nut blog has earned his New Mexico Concealed Carry License.
They seem to treat firearms the same way they treat motocycles in New Mexico because he tested with a 1911 in .45ACP, so his permit lets him carry “.45 or smaller caliber” weapons.
Ben has this to say about their system:
I qualified for semi-auto and revolver and they actually got it right on the license. You’ll note that I’m qualified up to a .45 caliber. The geniuses in New Mexico figure that the largest caliber you qualify with, you can carry anything lesser. Thus, if you qualify with a .44 magnum semi-auto/revolover, you can’t carry a 1911 in .45. If you think about that long enough, your brains will leak like shit out of your ears.
And that folks, was the smartest thing I’ve read all damn day.
When Oregon first became a “may issue” state for concealed weapons back in the 1920’s (open carry required no license), the license was issued for a particular firearm, with that weapon’s serial number on the permit.
My Dad qualified with a USGI .45 Auto out in E. OR where he was serving as a camp doctor in a CCC camp, but the USMC, which had issued the weapon to him, took it back when he went on leave back to Portland. When he came back, it had been re-issued to someone else, so Dad had to start all over again, with another fifty cents and a 30-mile trip over bad roads to the county seat (in his Stutz roadster).
When he finally got a modern CHL in OR in the mid-80’s as OR had become a “shall-issue” state, the Sheriff’s people asked him if he had ever had a CHL before. My Dad then pulled out the old OR one, and one from Philladelphia that was dated about a year later. They had a good laugh at that. The PA one was signed by a police captain, and was issued after my Dad took the advice of his Commanding Officer at the Philladelphia Navy Yard seriously and got a permit and a gun to go with it. The gun was a S&W New Departure in .38 S&W. I sold it after Dad died.
The obvious solution: do the qualification with a .50AE Desert Eagle.
Phil,
Thanks for the link. I’ve been a bit like you lately, as far as getting my fat ass out to the range. Hopefully that changes tomorrow.
Also, give my best to David.
As to Heartless Libertarian’s comment, I’ll say that my father would whole heartedly agree.
Best regards,
Benjamin