Iowa Basic and Intermediate Pistol Classes Aug 24th & Sep 28th

Cedar Valley Defensive League will be offering the following classes:

Basic Defensive Pistol, Saturday Aug 24
This class is a beginner class and no prior firearms knowledge is necessary. Range portion will include taking your first shots, acquiring adequate trigger control and shooting from the ready position. Upon Completion a certificate will be awarded for use to obtain Iowa Carry Permit.

Intermediate Pistol Training Saturday, September 28
This class is designed to enhance your shooting capabilities. The total day will be at the range. Holster is required. The class will entail 200-300 rounds of ammo. Upon Completion a certificate will be awarded

Instructors: John and Melody Lauer, NRA Instructors

To reserve your place in class and details:
Contact: Joyce Kienast
Cedar Valley Defensive League (CVDL)
Phone 319-404-5792

We had a lot of good feedback from the ladies only class last month, these upcoming classes are co-ed.

Course topics for the "Basic" include

Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting
Principles of Self Defense
Carry Lifestyle
Iowa Code
Equipment (beyond firearms)
Tactics
A Female Specific handout as well as a 100pg Student Handout and Reference Packet.
Live Fire Training

This is a FULL day class. Not a 2-4 hour thanks for coming here's your certificate type of class.

**************
The Intermediate Class as stated is ALL on the range.

We start with working from the holster and on to reloads, one-handed usage, malfunction clearing, basic movement, multiple targets and shooting from cover.

A New Iowa Gun Forum Starting Up

One of my co-conspirators from IDPA is starting up an Iowa specific gun forum.

http://www.iashooters.org/forum.php


Hope to see ya there.

Iowa: HF 573, Stand Your Ground Bill Moves Forward

HF 573 Passed committee 14-7.

The test of the bill can be viewed HERE

Zombie Rush: Strawmen invade Iowa Capitol against Castle Doctri...

Good deal,

Despite some attempts at fear mongering, the "Stand Your Ground Bill" has made it out of subcommittee. Hopefully it will be kept alive and make it to the House this year.

Zombie Rush: Strawmen invade Iowa Capitol against Castle Doctrine

Justifiable Use of Force and You

Recently here in Iowa, in the town where I work and spend a heck of a lot of time, a man has been charged with assault and going armed with intent after chasing a trespasser off his property, had that been all there was to it, no problem. But the homeowner before chasing off the trespasser retrieved a handgun from his home and confronted the trespasser. The trespasser fled and the homeowner gave chase, left his property and then fired a warning shot at the trespasser after he had failed to adhere to commands to stop.

Here's where things get nasty.

In Iowa, you are allowed to use reasonable force to protect property, reasonable force includes deadly force. However the following bits of Iowa code apply.

704.1 Reasonable force.
“Reasonable force” is that force and no more which a reasonable person, in like circumstances, would judge to be necessary to prevent an injury or loss and can include deadly force if it is reasonable to believe that such force is necessary to avoid injury or risk to one’s life or safety or the life or safety of another, or it is reasonable to believe that such force is necessary to resist a like force or threat. Reasonable force, including deadly force, may be used even if an alternative course of action is available if the alternative entails a risk to life or safety, or the life or safety of a third party, or requires one to abandon or retreat from one’s dwelling or place of business or employment.
[C51, §2773; R60, §4442; C73, §4112; C97, §5102; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12921; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §691.1; C79, 81, §704.1; 81 Acts, ch 204, §2]
“Dwelling” defined, see §702.10

704.2 Deadly force.
The term “deadly force” means any of the following:
1. Force used for the purpose of causing serious injury.
2. Force which the actor knows or reasonably should know will create a strong probability that serious injury will result.
3. The discharge of a firearm, other than a firearm loaded with less lethal munitions and discharged by a peace officer, corrections officer, or corrections official in the line of duty, in the direction of some person with the knowledge of the person’s presence there, even though no intent to inflict serious physical injury can be shown.
4. The discharge of a firearm, other than a firearm loaded with less lethal munitions and discharged by a peace officer, corrections officer, or corrections official in the line of duty, at a vehicle in which a person is known to be.
As used in this section, “less lethal munitions” means projectiles which are designed to stun, temporarily incapacitate, or cause temporary discomfort to a person without penetrating the person’s body.

704.4 Defense of property.
A person is justified in the use of reasonable force to prevent or terminate criminal interference with the person’s possession or other right in property. Nothing in this section authorizes the use of any spring gun or trap which is left unattended and unsupervised and which is placed for the purpose of preventing or terminating criminal interference with the possession of or other right in property.


704.7 Resisting forcible felony.
A person who knows that a forcible felony is being perpetrated is justified in using, against the perpetrator, reasonable force to prevent the completion of that felony.


702.11 Forcible felony.
1. A “forcible felony” is any felonious child endangerment, assault, murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, robbery, arson in the first degree, or burglary in the first degree.
2. Notwithstanding subsection 1, the following offenses are not forcible felonies:
a. Willful injury in violation of section 708.4, subsection 2.
b. Sexual abuse in the third degree committed between spouses.
c. Sexual abuse in violation of section 709.4, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, subparagraph (4).
d. Sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, or school employee in violation of section 709.15.
e. Child endangerment subject to penalty under section 726.6, subsection 6.
f. Assault in violation of section 708.2, subsection 4.

713.3 Burglary in the first degree.
1. A person commits burglary in the first degree if, while perpetrating a burglary in or upon an occupied structure in which one or more persons are present, any of the following circumstances apply:
a. The person has possession of an explosive or incendiary device or material.
b. The person has possession of a dangerous weapon.
c. The person intentionally or recklessly inflicts bodily injury on any person.
d. The person performs or participates in a sex act with any person which would constitute sexual abuse under section 709.1.
2. Burglary in the first degree is a class “B” felony.
3. For purposes of determining whether the person should register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of chapter 692A for violations of subsection 1, paragraphs “a”, “b”, or “c”, the fact finder shall make a determination as provided in section 692A.126.

724.30 Reckless use of a firearm.
A person who intentionally discharges a firearm in a reckless manner commits the following:
1. A class “C” felony if a serious injury occurs.
2. A class “D” felony if a bodily injury which is not a serious injury occurs.
3. An aggravated misdemeanor if property damage occurs without a serious injury or bodily injury occurring.
4. A simple misdemeanor if no injury to a person or damage to property occurs.

702.16 Reckless.
A person is “reckless” or acts recklessly when the person willfully or wantonly disregards the safety of persons or property.

708.1 Assault defined.
An assault as defined in this section is a general intent crime. A person commits an assault when, without justification, the person does any of the following:
1. Any act which is intended to cause pain or injury to, or which is intended to result in physical contact which will be insulting or offensive to another, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act.
2. Any act which is intended to place another in fear of immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious, insulting, or offensive, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act.
3. Intentionally points any firearm toward another, or displays in a threatening manner any dangerous weapon toward another.
Provided, that where the person doing any of the above enumerated acts, and such other person, are voluntary participants in a sport, social or other activity, not in itself criminal, and such act is a reasonably foreseeable incident of such sport or activity, and does not create an unreasonable risk of serious injury or breach of the peace, the act shall not be an assault.
Provided, that where the person doing any of the above enumerated acts is employed by a school district or accredited nonpublic school, or is an area education agency staff member who provides services to a school or school district, and intervenes in a fight or physical struggle, or other disruptive situation, that takes place in the presence of the employee or staff member performing employment duties in a school building, on school grounds, or at an official school function regardless of the location, the act shall not be an assault, whether the fight or physical struggle or other disruptive situation is between students or other individuals, if the degree and the force of the intervention is reasonably necessary to restore order and to protect the safety of those assembled.

708.8 Going armed with intent.
A person who goes armed with any dangerous weapon with the intent to use without justification such weapon against the person of another commits a class “D” felony.

To make a long story short, The guy saw someone trespassing, which is not 1st degree burglary, grabs a gun, goes out to confront him with a gun, the buy bolts, the home owner gives chase leaving his property, and then fires a warning shot into the ground when someone almost 7 yards away "takes an athletic stance"

At no point was he A: Defending property. B. Defending himself or another. C. Acting to prevent a forcible felony.

The trespasser at no time demonstrated ability, or opportunity to put the home owner in jeopardy from a reasonable person's perspective of the situation. Going armed with intent will probably be dropped as he will probably plea down to the assault charge which if the article (which I think made a mistake as "aggravated assault" does not appear in the Iowa code) is correct in the chain of events.

I'll ask around and see what the deal is with this, I'm actually surprised I didn't hear about this sooner....

As to the intent of the trespasser, I doubt he was looking to pick flowers, but as someone who recently went looking for a lost pet in the neighborhood...stuff happens and sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

We'll see how this one pans out but it doesn't look good for the homeowner.

Central Iowa Defensive Training: CIDT Iowa Defensive Pistol Class - June 11th - Tra...

Central Iowa Defensive Training: CIDT Iowa Defensive Pistol Class - June 11th - Tra...: "This course is cousin to the Wolf Creek Carry Class offered last fall, it is an Iowa specific carry class detailing Iowa code and the fundamentals of carrying and using a pistol for self defense. An excellent course for those looking to further their knowledge base having taken other less informative classes or for those looking for information regarding the recent changes in Iowa law or those looking to renew their permit."

Central Iowa Defensive Training: Permit Renewal Shoots

Central Iowa Defensive Training: Permit Renewal Shoots: "Iowa code requires one renewing their Iowa permit to carry weapons to either take another class or 'qualify' on the range with either a law ..."

Central Iowa Defensive Training (CIDT) Blog

We're rolling out an additional site for Central Iowa Defensive Training to compliment our main website, you can check it out @ cidt-news.blogspot.com

CIDT Iowa Permit to Carry Class - April 30th - Traer, IA

This class is on our class listing as "Basic Carry Class" but after reviewing the class we're now calling it Iowa Defensive Pistol. 

This course is cousin to the Wolf Creek Carry Class offered last fall, it is an Iowa specific carry class detailing Iowa code and the fundamentals of carrying and using a pistol for self defense. An excellent course for those looking to further their knowledge base having taken other less informative classes or for those looking for information regarding the recent changes in Iowa law or those looking to renew their permit.

This class incorporates both lecture and range instruction. It is designed to educate the Iowa Permit to Carry holder on the mindset, equipment, tactics, law, and handgun safety associated with carrying a firearm every day for self defense. Learn where you can and cannot legally carry your firearm, the best means of carry, in what situations the use of a firearm may be justifiable and the best tactics involved in deploying your firearm in a self defense situation. Range portion will include working from the holster (if applicable), acquiring multiple targets and shooting at different distances.

This class is for those with a comfortable, working knowledge of their firearm. If you have never fired your firearm before or are not comfortable with its operation we strongly recommend taking the NRA Basic Pistol or Developing Pistol classes before enrolling for this class.
This class will take place rain or shine so be prepared for all weather conditions.
Training Prerequisites:
NRA Basic Pistol or Equivalent, Carry Permit or Relevant Experience

What To Bring:
Center fire handgun in good working order (rentals available)
A strong-side belt holster (Not required but strongly recommended)
Minimum 200 rounds of ammunition
Preferably 2 magazines or speed loaders and carrier(s)
Note taking material
Weather appropriate clothing
Ball Cap (Not required but generally recommended)
[b]Eye protection
Ear protection[/b].
Water or other soft drinks.State ID

What Is Included:
CIDT student handout
CIDT certificate of completion

This course meets Iowa requirements as well as Florida requirements for their nonresident Concealed Weapons License, if you are interested in applying for the FL permit, inform us at time of registration and we will provide the FL application packet.

Cost: $60 + $10 range fee ($50 + $10 range fee for returning CIDT students)
Maximum of 12 students.

Sign in will start at 08:30 and class will run till 17:30. Students may bring a lunch (bring your own cooler) or adjourn to Traer for lunch.

See our website for registration information.

NRA Basic Pistol Class - Marshalltown, IA - April 16th, 2011

CIDT will be holding our next NRA Basic Pistol Class on April 16th, this will be the last Basic Class before we raise costs in June.

Details can be viewed at the Iowa Firearms Coalition discussion forum. For other upcoming classes/schedule, see our website, Centraliowadefensivetraining.com.

Iowa Permit to Carry Classes, NRA Basic Courses, and Private Instrution

We have ventured in to our own training entity, Central Iowa Defensive Training and are offering the NRA Basic Pistol Course, and two Iowa specific carry classes covering open and concealed carry. We will also be expanding our curriculum this Summer to offer the NRA Basics of Personal Protection Outside of the Home and a women's only course covering everything from empty hand to armed defense. We are also providing private instruction for those needing / wanting more specific instruction.

We will still be conducting classes in Traer and hopefully this summer we will also have the Marshall County Izaak Walton League as a hosting venue as well, if that works out well we will make efforts to bring in outside talent such as InSights Training, Suarez Intl., I.C.E. Training, and possibly an Aim Fast Hit Fast series of courses.

We are also able to provide live-fire qualification for permit renewals in accordance with SF2379.

We look forward to serving Marshalltown, Ames, Grundy Center, Waterloo and surrounding areas in providing good quality handgun training at a fair price in our your own back yard.

Permit Insanity....

So on 1-1-11, Iowa became shall issue, having not been present in any of my previous states of residence when the change took place I can't relate to what happened then but some of what's happening know is just ridiculous.


1: Sheriffs requiring instructors to verify their credentials - turning down apps until those credentials are proven and not being willing to verify them via the NRA Instructor Website. Really? Come on, they were even giving your their ID and zip code so you could log in and verify their creds.

2: "There's a 30 day waiting period" BS, state law says you have 30 days to issue or deny a permit or the person is able to carry, that's not a waiting period, that's a grace period for issuing authorities to have some breathing room if they get swamped or to keep some from dragging their feet on the issuance. So what does this one particular Sheriff's Office (SO) do? Calls it a waiting period and stone walls the applicants for the whole 30 days (Or rather has implied as such), gee Sheriff, that's really mature now isn't it. Why not stick your tongue out at them as they're walking out the door?

3: Petty complaints from "our side" as well. "They are only accepting application on these days at certain hours"...boo hoo. Guess what, they're not Seven Eleven and have other jobs to do other than issue you a permit. Maybe they are doing this to reduce back log and get people permits to them in a more timely manner by having a buffer to run all the NICs checks? You're going to get your permit, chill out.

4: On the topic of training certificates, one SO is requiring all certificates to have some sort of reference to "Handgun Training" on them, this one is somewhat palatable as the law does specify in part that applicants need to have gone through "handgun training" but seriously? Tel me you're not trying to be a jerk.

There's other instances of "wrong doing" I'm not going to list them all as it's nearing the end of the day for me.

Most of these instances are counties not known for fair issuance practices prior to 1-1-11 so is it any real surprise that they're being jerks about it now?

On a happier note, my Sheriff who was not fond of carry was very pleasant to deal with this morning and while I overheard him on the phone with an applicant discussing training I gave him some cards for my NRA Classes and he even asked if I had a flier to for them to post at the SO. This is a big change from when I talked to him prior to moving to Iowa. I for one am kind of proud of him as I know how he feels about carry but is not making waves and is complying with state law without being a burden to the people.

My new permit should be in the mail box by the end of the week, my SO had a little bit of a wait time as they apparently got swamped yesterday. As it's a smaller department, the dispatcher is the one doing the permits as there is not a dedicated admin staff and it's fine with me if I have to wait a while, she has more important things to do like dispatching police, fire and EMS to their calls.


On a side note, if you're looking for a good belt, check out the 5.11 Casual belt, I all ready had one in 1.75" for my competition holster and liked it so much that I bought two 1.5"ers for carry, one brown and one black. Not a bad belt if you ask me.

Just in Time for Shall Issue...

A brand spankin' new Milt Sparks Versa Max II for my Nighthawk Bob-Rail that appears to have been made by the man himself.

Much thanks Tony K, I still have to give the VMII "Best" (if there really is such a thing) IWB holster available. I ordered this just after I ordered my Nighthawk in June, while I wish I would have had it before now I understand backlog and lead times. Besides, it's not like a VMII for a railed 1911 is a stocking item anywhere.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the Sheriff's office to renew my neutered permit to carry and will hopefully have my unrestricted 5yr permit in hand when I leave.


Good times.

Carry What You Shoot, Shoot What You Carry

Yesterday I did a re-qualification shoot for four gentlemen to renew their Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons (PTCW), one of them was shooting his carry gun which was a laser equipped Ruger LCP. At first I was unsure about permitting the use of the laser for requal, but as the title of this post indicates I am a fan of shooting what you carry, and carrying what you shoot. As the LCP was his carry gun, and he fully intends to use the laser, (For a good read regarding lasers, check out this article) I might as well help him use the tools he will be taking to a gun fight should he ever have the misfortune of needing that pistol.

Of the other three students, two were shooting pistols that they do not use as carry guns. One gentleman was shooting a Sig 226, but often carries a 239. He claimed that he couldn't hit anything with the 239 due to it's short barrel...but he uses it for carry where he may need to hit something with it. The range we shot at has fixed 50' target points, we shot THIS qualification using standard IDPA targets in stands between the 50' target line and the firing line. The guy shooting the Sig commented that he had never shot at a target this close. So here's a guy shooting a gun that he won't carry, instead of his carry gun and has never practiced on a target at "normal" self defense distances. He did well enough with his 226, he dropped a few out of the "Down Zero" zone of the target, but passed the accuracy requirement.

Another gentleman was shooting a metal framed S&W single stack 9mm (I'm rusty on my S&W autos other than a few select models) but commented that he did not carry this one, but liked to shoot it more. He needed some assistance and passed the qual on his second run, but switched to his carry gun between runs.  Both guns were S&W Autos of about the same size and operation, for all I know they were the same model with some subtle differences. I'll be following up with him later on the details of both guns. Why he prefers to shoot one gun vs. the other will be posted later.

Regarding carrying what you shoot:

I own range only guns that will never see carry. My Browning Buckmark is a great range plinker and I shoot bullseye with it and all, but I know the role for that gun and it stays in that role.
My wife and I make it a point to carry the guns we shoot at the range, IDPA, and training classes. While there are times that an alternative gun may be a good idea, such as using a .22 Conversion kit in times of an ammunition shortage etc. But one should make an effort to shoot their carry gun every chance they get and be MORE familiar with their carry gun than their "range" gun. The gentleman with the LCP did not know the manual of arms for his pistol and we had to figure it out together.

Without a doubt there are some out there that never really get familiar with their carry gun, I recall in one class I was attending that the guy next to me did not know enough about his gun to lock the slide to the rear and I had to show him how. Other than the NRA Basic / First Steps Pistol, while attending a training class is not the place to learn the standard functions of your firearm. For anyone reading this, if you have questions about your gun, how it works, or just want instruction on basic firearms handling and safety, contact your local NRA Instructor and get some one on one training.

Maybe I'm being to harsh as as there is an accuracy requirement and shooters want to use what they shoot best, but when the course is carry related, I feel that one should use their carry gear and that the course is passable with such gear. I will freely admit that when I took my Iowa permit course that I shot a .22 Conversion kit but when shooting an NRA B3 bullseye target at 50' for score, it's more of a bullseye match than a defensive pistol class.

 In summary, know your guns and be as familiar with your carry gun as you can be.

Coming Soon to Marshalltown, Iowa. NRA Basic Pistol Course(s) & Iowa Permit to Carry Requalifications

We are finalizing an agreement with the Iowa River Gun Club (IRGC) that will allow us to use their range for the firing portion of the NRA Basic & First Steps Pistol courses. My wife and I will begin hosting classes so a womens' only class will be a possibility.

Class itself will be held at 201 W. State St (The RACOM building) Marshalltown, IA 50158 once arrangements with the range are finalized.

Course cost for the NRA courses will be $30, there will be a $10 range fee for non IRGC members. If you are looking to do a live fire requalification for your Permit to Carry Weapons, we can do that too on a person to person basis. IRGC members will not be charged for requalification shoots. A requal shoot will cost $25, group rates will also be available.

For further information and updates, see WolfCreekTraining.net.

Seeing a lot of traffic re: Iowa Open Carry....

So if you're reading this, sound off on your thoughts about it!

I'm wondering what the rest of the gun carrying (and even the non-gun carrying)persons int the state are thinking regarding this matter.

Open Carry in Iowa After SF 2379 Goes into Effect.

I haven't really touched on this matter as I am not that large of an open carry (OC) advocate. I have lived in a couple open carry states where the "Open Carry Movement" has been a big thing, those state's being PA and VA.

Currently open carry is legal in Iowa provided the following:

1: In unincorporated areas you may open carry without a permit while on foot. You may not OC in a vehicle without an Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons.

2: With an Iowa Permit to carry weapons. The Iowa permit is not a concealed carry permit no matter what some ill informed persons try to claim. However issuing authorities can currently restrict permits to being concealed carry permits.

3: Of course while on the range etc. / hunting trapping you can OC.

After the Jan. 1st 2011 the issuing authority will no longer be able to add restrictions. SF 2379 does not change Iowa's status as an OC w/ permit state. What has kept a lot of people from open carrying is that currently issuing authorities can revoke permits almost as easily as denying them outright and many think (and rightfully so) that a "Man with a gun" (MWAG) call from a "concerned" citizen could lead to their permit being revoked by a not so carry friendly  Sheriff. While I have not heard of this happening. It's not too hard to imagine.

It should also be noted that any permits issued prior to 1-1-11 can still be restricted and such restrictions would still be legal and valid until either the permit expires or an unrestricted permit is issued. If you live in a county known for jackassedness regarding permits, if you are not in immediate need of a permit, just wait till 1-1-11.

So where does that leave us post 1-1-11?

Iowa to be Shall Issue as of 1-1-11

Governor Culver Signs Bill Standardizing Weapon Permit Process

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver today signed into law Senate File 2379, legislation that standardizes the weapon permit process across Iowa.

Iowa has historically been a “may issue” state, meaning that decisions on whether to issue an individual a permit to carry a weapon were made at the local level at the sheriff’s discretion, with inconsistencies among counties. Senate File 2379 makes Iowa a “shall issue” state in which individuals will be granted weapon permits unless they meet certain criteria for denial.

“I am signing this bill because I believe there doesn’t need to be any conflict between the freedom to carry firearms and public safety,” Governor Culver said during a signing ceremony at the State Capitol. “Instead, I believe that law-abiding citizens who are placed in situations in which their life and property are threatened should be able to protect themselves, and their families. When firearms are used properly by people who are trained in their use, public safety can increase in terms of crime prevention.”

The law does not grant automatic approval of application for permits for people who are likely to be a danger to themselves or their communities, but it provides that Iowans start with an assumption that an application will be approved, with reasonable safeguards for public safety. Sheriffs will be required to deny permits based upon applicants’ previous illegal acts, age restrictions (applicants must be over 21), and to applicants who are likely to commit a violent act with the firearm. People denied a permit under these limitations may appeal their case to an administrative law judge. Applicants for a carry permit must be knowledgeable and trained in firearm safety, and continue to show proficiency in control of the firearm.

“This bill strikes an appropriate balance, recognizing the rights of law-abiding Iowans guaranteed by the Second Amendment and the duty of local law enforcement officers,” Governor Culver said. “We all have a role to play in public safety. I believe this is a good bill that has the potential to keep Iowans safer.”

A sigh of relief as we were getting close to a veto due to inaction. Can't wait till 1-1-11 to ditch my nanny permit. Odd that as I'm typing this I am enjoying the fact that MI honors all State's permits (Yes I am thumbing my nose at my Sheriff) and am able to carry. This will be one happy new year indeed.

IOWA-SF 2379: "Shall Issue" Bill Passes House and Sentate!

Senate Bill 2379 passed both the House and the Senate today and is going on to the Governor who sources say will sign the bill.

What this means is that IA will be shall issue and recognize ALL State's permits for non-Iowa residents. Residents of Iowa must have an Iowa PTCW in order to carry. The permit will be valid of a period of five years and a re-qualification will be done as part of the renewal process.

If signed, the new law will go into effect Jan 1st, 2011.