In Virginia, as a licensed bail bondsman and/or/also a licensed PI... you have to have a CCW for each position... and since I am also a Virginia citizen... I also have a private CCW for the state... I don't think you necessarily need all three but I don't like to take any chances on my legality... so, I have all 3... anyway...
I have to re-certify each year for the two DCJS licenses... just to make sure I have a basic level of ability and so the state can get a few more bucks out of us starving bondsmen and/or PI's...
At my age (that has a lot to do with what I am about to say here)... I often use myself as an example of not only "what to do" but often "what not to do"... I am old enough that I can laugh at myself and I am not hung up on trying to be a "macho/manly rough and tough guy"... like all us men sometimes do when we are young and trying to impress everyone (mostly the girls... or guys if you swing that way??
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Anyway... I just wanted to try and give a bit more of my "free" advice... as usual, it is worth every penny...
This week, as said, I did a recert' on my gun classes for my CCW permits... to that end I thought I would offer a bit of insight.
Here is the main target I shot during the class... I do not profess to be a good shot... only able to hit what I aim at when it is in a fairly close range... which is what CCW is pretty much about...
First weapon I used was a 9mm Beretta PX4 Storm/full size... I have found this gun to be a good shooter and the 9mm is not too difficult to handle... in other words, I shoot it fairly well... at least well enough to qualify for the license. Paper targets are pretty easy... they don't usually shoot back so it really only shows that you can handle the gun under ideal conditions... real life scenarios are a different thing... of course, you should already realize that...
We shot 60 rounds at 7, 10 and 15 yds... which equates to 21, 30 and then 45 ft.... which with a pistol is about all I really care about... if whatever I need to shoot at is further away than that... I will just go in the other direction... as quickly as I can move...
At 7 yds. I ate the center up... at 10 I spread a bit and then at 15 a bit more... but this also included firing with my weak hand also, so all in all I suppose I did ok... this also included some "low light" firing... which again... I spread out on ... but managed to do fair...
These were all 9mm and to that end, I want to provide the lesson.
Here is the "head" portion of the same target... which I changed up to a .40 S&W/M&P Shield...
Note the difference in the spread of these rounds... this was at 10 yds... a measly 30ft... and it brings out what I want to talk about. I was pulling that .40 Smith to the left and down when I fired... obvious from the holes... I was anticipating the shot... which is what you want to try not to do............ anyway...
There is a marked difference in recoil and handling between these two calibers and guns... and here is the lesson...
The 9mm Beretta is a full size weapon and as such, in this caliber, is quite controllable... FOR ME...
The .40 M&P Shield is a much smaller, lighter weapon and the .40 IMHO has a harder recoil than even the .45... again, that is my opinion but I think it points out a thought here...
The .40 is of course a larger round and as such produces a bit more downrange power than the 9mm... "foot pounds or energy" but in the final analysis... the difference in the caliber is probably not enough to make a real difference in the end result...
I carry the .40 but use the 9 to qualify with ... that is very likely a big mistake... Lesson one: qualify and practice with the gun you carry...
Lesson two: try out different guns and calibers and stick with the one you can control and hit your target accurately and do not be fooled by someone telling you that you need a big gun and caliber to "get the job done".
The vast majority of us are not "Navy Seals" or Marine "Recon"... most of us are just regular people who wish to carry a concealed weapon for protection... at least most of us...
And that is all I wanted to point out here... as much as I shoot, it is readily and easily seen that I can shoot that 9mm much more accurately than the .40... I need to practice..
... and as I always say... "do not over estimate your skills"... practice with the largest weapon you can accurately handle... even a small .22 that you can shoot accurately is better than the "big ole gun" that you can not shoot well....
... and remember............
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE............
I actually was sort of proud of myself on this one.... although I am certainly no sharpshooter... I did manage put all but 8 or 9 out of the 60 rounds in the 9 plus.... which computed to 295 score out of 300.... but of course, and as said... the target was paper and did not shoot back... and I had an AC blowing on me from behind and I got to sit down and rest every once in awhile.... oh... and afterwards I got to go to Ruby Tuesdays and have a cold drink with my buddies and talk about how macho we were... and what bad azzes we were... I just smiled and kept quiet because I knew I couldn't shoot my way out of a paper bag.... 
