Ct Pistol Permit and Finding the right gun club for you.
In this live instructional video, the presenter walks viewers through the entire Connecticut pistol permit process and offers practical advice on locating and joining a local gun club. She explains that applicants must obtain the permit application package from their town’s police department or first selectman’s office, as mandated by a 2023 state statute, though many towns are unaware of this requirement. The core requirements are a state‑approved safety class, a background check, and fingerprinting; any additional requests (letters of reference, medical records, resumes) are not required by law and can be challenged. She details the paperwork, including the need for instructor certification and notarization, and notes that some instructors provide notary services. Cost ranges for safety classes are provided, with examples from Blue Trails Range and Great Start Shooting School. The second half of the video shifts to finding a gun club: she advises viewers to decide which shooting sport (shotgun, rifle, pistol) they want, understand the specific disciplines (trap, skeet, bullseye, etc.), and then locate clubs via their websites, public events, and sponsorship requirements. She emphasizes attending multiple public events to meet members and find a good fit, and recommends resources such as nwcsa.org and nssf.org for club listings. Throughout, she encourages viewers to ask questions, comment, and use the information to navigate the permit process and club selection efficiently.
Chapters
Hey everyone, that intro is for my Suicide Prevention Saturdays, and I forget that it autoplays when I go live. So one of these days I'm gonna get one that's just for, um, the education stuff or these pop-up lives that I randomly do here and there. It's almost always on a day where I'm going to teach a pistol permit class though. So let's talk about pistol permits here in Connecticut. There's a very straightforward way to go about doing this, kind of, sort of. Here's what you need to do in Connecticut. In the town you live in, you either have a police department or a first selectman's office. They have a pistol permit application package waiting for you in their front foyer because per state statute that was passed in 2023, They're supposed to have it easily visible as soon as you walk into the building. Now, that being said, number one, hundreds, if not over a thousand statutes, new statutes get passed every single year here in Connecticut. So does every town know that they're supposed to have their stuff shown in the front foyer of wherever you walk in to get your pistol permit? No, probably not. So There is that. Hello, Abigail. Hello, Foss. Yeah, did you hear me say I have to get, uh, the, um, I gotta get another intro because we have to have another intro for lives and stuff like this. So just something for you to think about because DM Foss here, he is the one who, um, does my intros for me, thankfully, because he's just good at that sort of stuff. And Miss Abigail, uh, just real quick let you know, I think it was yesterday or maybe Tuesday, I got your stuff in the mail, so you should see that soon. Anyway, so here in Connecticut, we have steps. Number 1, in your hometown, you must do the entire application process in your hometown, whatever that is. One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make during this is that they will see some of the information and they think they'll get their perm have their fingerprinting done somewhere. So let's talk about what the process actually is, right? So number 1, you get your package from your hometown, whether it's a police station or First Selectman. Number 2, look at that cover letter. It's going to ask you at least a couple things. Number 1, you have to get a safety class, which is where you go to a Great Start Shooting School and schedule your safety class. Uh, number 2, you are going to get a background check. Number 3, you're going to get fingerprinted. Now, is there other stuff in that package? Yes, there is. There's going to be a, um, privacy statement. There's going to be a full application that you get to fill out, all sorts of things. Now, here's the thing, some towns go a little bit cray-cray and they ask you for a lot of other things. I've had different reports from different students from different towns all over Connecticut where some will ask you for letters of reference, uh, some apparently ask you for your medical records. This is not part of the state statute to obtain your pistol permit here in Connecticut. Fingerprinting, background checks, safety course— those are the main things you must actually do to, um, get your permit here in Connecticut. If they ask for more things than that, you can talk to your person who is issuing that. So again, in a town that has a police department, that's going to be your captain. In a town that does not have a police department, then it's going to be your first selectman. So, um, sometimes I tell people just ask for clarification. Say, here, here are the 3 things that Connecticut state says I need to have, and you're asking for additional stuff. And I don't want to provide it. Or maybe you do. But I know back in 1991, long ago and far away, when I applied for mine and they wanted 3 letters of recommendation, I'm like, this is kind of silly. I mean, for real, it's like you're not doing background checks on the people I'm getting letters of recommendation. And I don't know about you guys, but every time I've asked someone for a letter of recommendation, they're like, what do you want me to write? And, uh, Honestly, we don't know. So, um, yeah, so as far as asking for the, um, well, so here's the thing. The way they get around the HIPAA violation is they're asking you to sign away your rights to your medical records. And that is a little bit of what I actually said to that student. I'm like, yeah, that is not, not okay. And same student actually, and I'm not sure which town it was, said they also asked for a resume to see their past work history. And it's just like, hold on, you're already doing a background check? And the point that my student brought up was like, I don't want them calling my previous bosses. And this particular student happened to have lots of top secret clearance and things like that. So he's like, yeah, I don't know. And here's the thing, here in Connecticut, I've had some students who are just like, not going to go through the process because it's just too much stuff when they start asking for additional things beyond your safety class, your fingerprinting, and your background check. Those are the big three. When you get your permit, or when you get your application, please note the long one that asks for your name, address, all that sort of stuff. At the end, notice, like, it'll say what kind of certification did you get, right? There's NRA, uh, state permit class, or other. And it'll ask for your instructor's ID and signature. Don't worry, when instructors give you your certificate, their numbers and their signature on the certificate, so you don't have to bring that back to them. However, here's the other part of that: make sure at that point you stop, because the rest of that has to be notarized, and there's a nice big box and it says notary public and all of that. Different towns do different things. Now, I do know some instructors actually have their notary, so they can actually just take care of it for you in your class. I am not that person. Um, I haven't figured out how to do that. It's just one more service we can offer you, but I do know that there are a fair amount of instructors who do have that notary for you. So it is not pre-required that you bring your application to your safety class. However, if you go ahead and look at it and read through it, and if you have any questions when you go to your safety class, wherever it is, um, by all means make sure that you ask your questions to your instructor. They should be able to help you out. All right, number 2 on this list of things to talk about, uh, finding a gun club. Here's the deal. For those of you who have not seen the movie Fight Club, the number 1 rule of Fight Club is we don't talk about Fight Club. And so that's why it's hard to find Fight Club, because we don't talk about Fight Club. Now finding a range— well, here's the thing. What are you looking for? Are you getting into firearms because you want to get into the sports? Cool, that's how I got in there. I love it. Um, I think everyone should play a sport because it's fun and it really helps you get better because someone is scoring you, like legit, so you know if you're getting better or not versus all those years I didn't do any competition and I was bored because I didn't know how to pay attention to how to get better. So if you want a sport, cool, but which sport do you want? Because there are shotgun clubs, there are rifle clubs, there are pistol clubs. Okay, cool, so pick one of those three. Which one do you think you want to go to? Shotgun clubs. Cool. Now figure out which game do you want to play. There's trap, there's skeet, there's sporting clays. Some clubs have all of it, some clubs have none of it. Rifle— most my rifle guys are always looking for that high power, long distance stuff. However, there are other types of rifle competitions. So when you're looking for a club, figure out what you want to do when you're there. And then pistol— there are tons of different types of pistol applications. Bullseye is very big here in Connecticut. That is very high precision, very one-handed shooting. It is how I got started, and thankfully I joined the bullseye team knowing it was okay that I sucked. And that's the thing I always try to tell people, like, get into a sport because you suck and you will learn how to get better. The people who put off getting into a sport because they think they suck and they have to get better, I'm like, that's like learning how to do math without knowing what the formula is. Yeah, I can't do the math without knowing the formula. So, um, pick a sport and then start looking for that sport. Now, pretty much all the clubs I know of, you need to find someone to sponsor you in. And this was what took my husband and I almost 2 and a half years to actually get into a club, because it is like Fight Club. It's like, if you're not a member, how do you meet a member to sponsor you into the club? Well, here's what we found, and I wish someone had told this to me, which is why I'm putting this in the video, which is most gun clubs have a website of some sort. Now, for you techie people out there, please understand gun clubs are run by volunteers. Good morning, Mr. Moo! How are you, sir? I hope you're having a very happy— what is this? Today is Thursday. Um, so gun clubs are run by volunteers 99% of the time. So when you go and look at that lovely website and it's not like fancy and stuff, just remember some volunteer decided to put that up there. So go to their website, see what they have to offer. Pretty much every gun club has open to the public events. That's how you get in, even if it's an event you're not interested in. Go check it out. Uh, cowboy action shooting, um, all sorts of things. Because go to the public events. When you go to the public events, then that's how you meet people. It also gives you a flavor for that part of the club. So maybe, you know, when you walk into a place, you know if it's like for you or if it's not for you, because, you know, we do all vibe on things like that.. So that is the secret sauce to getting into a gun club. Look for gun clubs in your area and then look for all of the stuff that you're interested in doing. And if you don't know what you're interested in doing, then definitely go to as many events as you can as a— just go watch. I mean, they love you. I have to say, when a new person shows up at an event and they're just curious or they're just watching, you're gonna get stories. People are going to tell you all about the sport that they are doing because they love the sport they are doing, and they will try to recruit you. So this is the other reason I'm like, yes, go to as many events as you can. And you never know. And let's say you've been around guns forever, check out all the different events. There might be something you've been missing, because I gotta tell you, I'd been around guns all of my life. Did I know anything about guns? No. Did I know there were competitions? Yeah. Did I know they were in my backyard? Also no. So, um, that is the secret, is go find out what events there are and go visit, because that's how you'll be able to figure out— it's like, okay, is this the club for me? How do I meet people? Well, this is how you meet people. And well, this isn't for me, but what is? Just make sure you do that. Don't go to a single event like, oh yeah, this is not for me. Go to multiple events. I'm going to give you one of my clubs, nwcsa.org, nwcsa.org, and go to their events calendar. They have tons of connect— of stuff. They're here in Coldbrook, Connecticut, and they have something weekly, and on the weekends they've got rifle, shotgun, handgun. We have Steel Challenge there, IDPA, USPSA, Cowboy Action Shooting just started up this year. Bullseye on Tuesday nights, and I think other things, um, and that sort of stuff. So I think that's everything. Um, pistol permit, start at your town, get all the checklists so you know what you're in for, because it's expensive. It's not cheap. Uh, cheapest pistol permit class I know of in Connecticut, and I haven't looked at it lately, but I believe it is Blue Trails Range And last I heard, now this is, this is old news, so this may not be still good, but look it up, Blue Trails Range, I believe, does a pistol class for $69. Here at A Great Start Shooting School, you can get your pistol class anywhere from $150 to $250, to just give you a range. Most pistol classes in Connecticut range between $99 and $150. So there is that. And oh, for finding a club, as much as we all love our Google searches and we can just go to Google and ask them stuff, that I really suggest going to nssf.org. I'm pretty sure it's dot org. nssf.org, because that is our National Shooting Sports Foundation, NSSF, and that's like the Better Business Bureau for all of us. Gun people who are in the, in the business, whether it's factories, shops, ranges, that sort of stuff. And the nice thing about going to nsf.org instead of Google is you don't get 5 million sponsored ads. They actually show you on a map where everything is, and it has most of the information there. Now, some of it's outdated, I will say that, because I went there the other day and there was one that showed up, King 33, which has been closed for a while. So, trust but verify, one of the posters you'll see when you come to my classes. But, um, there is all of those things. And yes, good morning, Steve. I, I saw you, but I'm like, I gotta stay on target. So, um, thanks for popping on. All right, I think I've covered it all. I've killed about 15 minutes of the 20 more minutes I gotta wait till my store opens, which is why you got the live, because I've been thinking about all this stuff, thinking about all the questions I've been getting lately on Connecticut pistol permits, and the fact that sometimes I remember to tell you all in your class how to find a club and sometimes I do not. So that is what I have for you. If you're watching the replay on this and you have questions, please go ahead, feel free to pop it in the comments, whether you're on Facebook or YouTube. And I think that's kind it for this morning. I hope that was helpful. Anything else you need to know, like I said, feel free to comment. I will do my best to answer your questions, and who knows, maybe it'll create a new, uh, video for us. All right, thanks for joining everybody. I'll see you later.
