Well, it's been a few weeks since I finished the course. Blue, you hit the nail right on the head. They broke that stuff down simple-stupid, and there were a few of "those guys." SS, I saw a lot of derp in there, so I fully encourage you to attend.

I guess you could call this an AAR.

STUDENTS:
I'd say about 1/3 of the class were some level of LE. Nothing significant about that, I just thought it interesting. Almost all of the rest were either retired, or owned/worked for a range/training co/etc. It seemed that many of the non-LE students liked to get into [manhood] measuring contests every time someone brought up an experience or question. That really was the most difficult part of the course. ...that, and every time a certain few of the students tried to tell the instructors that their (the instructors') interpretation of the laws was incorrect.

INSTRUCTORS:
At the beginning of each class, the instructors would introduce themselves. With only one exception, they all have over 10 years with DPS. That exception was also the only one who had been at the facility for less than three years (he was working on just over one). When listening to them teach, you could tell who had been doing it a while, and who hadn't. Overall, they were easy to follow and easy to learn from. They covered everything as in-depth as necessary until the special ones started asking redundant questions; then they beat the info to death.

COURSE MATERIAL:
The course was essentially the LTC course with instructor's notes. It was via power point, but it was mostly bearable. Each point was broken down from several points of view, common questions were answered in advance, and tips were given to aid in our presentation to our students. The two-day classroom portion was finished with a written test.

LIVE FIRE:
There was no practice firing before qualification. I wasn't extremely happy about that until I found out how ridiculously easy it was to pass. 50 rounds each from a revolver and a semi-auto (on separate strings) from the 5, 7, and 15. The target was on a DPS-modified B-27 (basically standard scoring ring dimensions). Scoring was according to the small diagram in the upper left corner (eight ring and better counts as five points). Times were very generous. Students scored each others' targets, and the score was verified by the instructors.

Overall, it was a fun experience. I got to meet folks from all over the state, and experience a different part of Texas than what I'm used to. (And I got to stop by Sons of Liberty Gun Works to pick up a lower. ) I hope to run my first class by the end of the month!