Storm Tight LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico   Integrity first ... everything else comes next.

New Mexico Concealed Handgun License Information

Do you want to apply for a New Mexico Concealed Handgun License (CHL)?  State of New Mexico, Department of Public Safety approved concealed handgun license instruction is offered to residents of New Mexico and military personnel with Permanent Duty assignments in New Mexico.  Services include instruction and training required to apply for the Concealed Handgun License issued by the State of New Mexico as prescribed by the Concealed Handgun Carry Act of 2005, Chapter 29, Article 19.

• Classes are scheduled to accommodate group registrations and private instruction. 

• Fees include Instruction, Certification, and Firing Range Expenses.

• Classes are structured to accommodate group size and diversity in levels of shooting experience. 

• Classroom hours can be arranged for weekdays, weekends, daytime or evening.

• Full daytime classes start @ 9:00am and continue to late afternoon or early evening, with appropriate breaks, including time for lunch. Half-day classes can be arranged.  Evening classes start @ 6:00pm.

• We generally uses the Albuquerque Shooting Range Park on the west mesa for the firing range sessions of the class. The range is open Wednesdays through Sundays, and closed Monday & Tuesdays. On appropriate occasions, other firing ranges may be used.

Instructors are a husband and wife team that focuses on group, gender-specific, or private one-on-one instruction.  Specialized attention and scheduling is offered to non-profit organizations, senior citizen groups, the physically-challenged, and those in public, private, and home-schooling educational programs.  Inquire as to our special arrangements for individuals in full-time not-for-profit Christian ministries.

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety CHL course requires a minimum of fifteen (15) hours of classroom and firing range instruction.

• Classroom instruction covers New Mexico and Federal firearm laws, types of firearms, proper handling of firearms, methods for avoiding adversarial confrontation, techniques for non-violent dispute resolution.

• Firing range instruction encompasses practicing handgun safety procedures and the students demonstrating competency in the use of firearms. Students will qualify with the category and highest caliber of handgun(s) they wish to be licensed to carry under their CHL. 

Classroom instruction includes:

• Review of state and federal laws on purchasing, owning, transporting, possessing firearms, as well as responsibilities and consequences in the defensive use of handguns.

• Types of firearms (e.g., revolver, semi-automatic, double action, single action, etc.);

• Proper handling and safe use of firearms;

• Methods for applying dispute resolution to adversarial confrontation;

• Techniques for avoiding criminal aggression and violent confrontations;

• Proper techniques when handling, storing and securing handguns;

• Child safety precautions;

• Physiological changes (e.g., denial, tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, hyper-vigilance, adrenalin flow, loss of fine motor skills, etc. that can occur when encountering high levels of stress;

• Possible responses to a violent confrontation, such as flight, fight, or submit.

• Defensive strategies and techniques, including use of cover versus concealment, defensive responses to a car-jacking, etc.

Range instruction includes:

• Practices and procedures for safe conduct and handling of handguns, including the loading and unloading of revolvers and/or semi-automatic pistols;

• Firing positions;

• Sight alignment and sight picture;

• Breathing and follow-through;

• Worst-case scenarios (e.g., misfires, hang-fires, jams, stove-pipes, squib loads, etc.);

• The differences between tactical re-loading and speed re-reloading;

• Shooting while moving;

• Multiple assailant strategies;

• Hostage situations;

• Range commands;

• Live firing of practice rounds;

• Live firing to demonstrate competency as required under the New Mexico CHL statutes;

• Maintenance of handguns.

Range instruction allows ample time for students to fire practice rounds to become acquainted with the qualifying procedures and requirements.

To apply for a New Mexico Concealed Handgun License, the student must meet the handgun competency requirements required under Concealed Handgun Carry Act of 2005, Chapter 29, Article 19, which include:

• Firing the handgun(s) with live ammunition at a target no larger than 12 inches wide and 18 inches high.  Note: The New Mexico CHL statute states that the minimum caliber that is acceptable to qualify with during the CHL instruction is a .32 caliber (revolver, semi-automatic, and/or derringer).  Students will need to use at least a .32 caliber at the firing range to qualify.

• Firing 15 rounds at the target from three yards.

• Firing 10 rounds at the target from seven yards.

• Scoring four (4) points for each shot that hits within the scoring line and zero (0) points for each shot that hits outside the scoring line.

• Students must obtain a score of 72% or higher (i.e., at least 18 of the 25 rounds must be within the target's scoring line) to pass the competency demonstration.

Each student will need to provide for their own:

• Holster designed to hold and secure the handgun(s) they will be using to qualify with during the firing range instruction.  These do not need to be holsters that one will use for concealed carry.  Ideally, it will be a common exposed holster attached to a belt, such as "cowboy" or "law enforcement" styles simply to hold the firearm secure during the firing range instruction.;

• Appropriate safety protection for both the eyes and ears;

• No less than 25 rounds of ammunition for each category and highest caliber of handgun the student wants to qualify with and be licensed to carry under their CHL.  We recommend bringing more (+/- 100 rounds would probably be plenty, just to give you an idea), if the budget allows, as there will be an opportunity to practice some (strictly optional) tactical and defensive shooting-while-moving procedures.;

• Food and refreshments for the classroom and firing range sessions;

• Students can qualify with a category and highest caliber of firearm that they do not currently own, if they have a family member or friend that will loan one to them for the CHL instruction.  However, the student will be expected to know the basics in safely handling, loading, firing, unloading, and maintaining the firearm.

New Mexico approved CHL instruction requires students to attend at least 15 hours in classroom and firing range training.  Our classroom and firing range training schedule is divided up into 4 training segments.  Segments "1" through "3" consist of specific topics suitable for the classroom and/or the firing range.  Segment "4" includes firing live ammunition and therefore always takes place at the firing range.  The total hours of Segments "1" through "4" will not be less than 15 hours, and will satisfy the New Mexico Statutes for length and content.  The segments are set up so that students can have some flexibility to attend portions of the CHL class over a period of times, depending on their individual scheduling requirements.  Furthermore, for individuals that need to complete the two-year re-qualification demonstration or the CHL renewal qualification, portions of our Segment # 1 and/or # 4 will satisfy those requirements.  The full 15 hour course requirements are:

• The student must have attended all four (4) segments;

• Segment "4" cannot be taken before attending segments "1" through "3", except for those seeking the two-year re-qualification, and the four-year CHL renewal instruction;

• Attendance is by prior registration only, and available space is not guaranteed until the registration is submitted and confirmed by us. 

Segments 1 & 2 can start at 9:00am as a one day classroom session.  For many of our classroom sessions, we use the conference rooms of a hotel in NE Albuquerque.  Segments 3 & 4 start at 9:00am and meet at the firing range at Albuquerque Shooting Range Park, also as a one day session.  Evening sessions (Typically relating to Segments 1, 2, or 3) start at 6:00pm.  Attendance at two (2) evening sessions is generally equivalent to one all day session, to accommodate those that cannot commit to an all day attendance.

Class sizes are limited to ensure all students receive appropriate instruction relative to shooting experience, understanding of New Mexico and Federal laws, and unique physical situations.  Our class sizes typically range from one to fifteen students.  If your group of four or more is interested in attending a class, please complete and submit our on-line registration form.  Those seeking private instruction can also use the registration form found in the links at the top of this page.  We promptly respond to registration requests by email - usually the same or following day the registration is received.  Payment for the for CHL instruction, certification, and firing range fees can be paid during attendance at Segments #1 or 2.   Cash or personal check is necessary as we do not accept credit cards. 

Full refunds are provided in the event of cancellation of the class or if the student decides at the end of the Segment #2 that they no longer wish to pursue the instruction to qualify for the New Mexico Concealed Handgun License.  No refund is provided once the class moves from the classroom sessions to the firing range segment of the instruction.

Four or more in a group are welcome to contact us to schedule special class arrangements to accommodate the group's availability, including:

• Family members;

• Gender-specific;

• Physically-challenged;

• Senior-citizens;

• Co-workers;

• Civic & Social groups;

• Employees and/or volunteers in non-profit organizations;

• Etc.

Holders of the four-year New Mexico CHL are required under New Mexico statues to attend a 2-hour re-qualification session between the 22nd and 26th month term of their license.  We provide that instructor certification by having those individuals join part of our scheduled Session #4 classes at the firing range. 

We also provide New Mexico CHL renewal certifications, which requires at least a 4-hour session of classroom and firing range attendance.  We provide that renewal certification by having those individuals register for one of our scheduled Segment #1 classes (+/- 3 hours attendance), and also a portion of a scheduled Segment #4 class (+/- 1 hour attendance) at the firing range to demonstrate competency in each category and highest caliber of handgun to be listed on their CHL.

Alternatively, private sessions (convenient to the attendees availability) can be arranged to apply, re-qualify, or renew a CHL.

Please contact us with any questions.

Thank you.

To print our Concealed Handgun License Instruction Brochure in PDF format, click here.

To access the State of New Mexico, Department of Public Safety official CHL web site, click here