I have shared numerous thoughts and posts with respect to concealed carry and what it is going to mean in Illinois. While there certainly has been a fair number of neighbors and Evanston residents that are afraid of concealed carry, don't want to own an "evil" firearm, and are angry that those of us that want to will have the right to defend ourselves outside of our homes, I am surprised and flattered by the sheer number of Patch readers that have expressed an interest in acquiring a first handgun, learning to shoot and asking about classes for the CCW permit. We will know more about the CCW permit Instructors and courses when the Illinois State Police publish the official rules on both topics as of Sept. 7.
In the mean time, if you don't own an firearm and considering....get yourself out to a local range, such as Maxon in Des Plaines, The Outdoorsman in Winthrop Harbor, or On Target in Crystal Lake. The good news is more ranges are getting built. One was just approved for Waukegan. Wouldn't it be GREAT if they let Shore Galleries in Lincolnwood open a range, or someone did so in Skokie, or heaven forbid west Evanston?
In the mean time, if you own a firearm...get out and PRACTICE shooting it...as often as you can reasonably do. Sign up for a class and get some real practical training. I try to get to the range a minimum of 2X per week, and shoot competitively...I will share more about competitive shooting in a subsequent post. However, I thought I would share a target from this Sunday morning at the range.
