Challenging the CFSC exam - how bad will no hands-on experience hurt?

Caydel

Caydel

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I've decided to challenge the CFSC test in a few months, since scheduling issues mean I can't take the Sunday portion of any offered course for quite some time (a year at the minimum).

I am not too concerned with the knowledge portion of the test. I am currently reading through the handbook. It's not nearly as tough as most of the textbooks from my university days, and *much* more interesting to learn. It seems 90% common sense anyways, although I am still paying attention to the details.

I am familiar with the steps needed to ACTS and PROVE with the each of the action types, from examining photos and watching countless videos.

However, I've never handled more than an air rifle / paintball gun when I was younger, and I am a bit nervous about how much the lack of practical experience is going to hurt me.

Is this concern somewhat grounded?

Anyone in the Cornwall area willing to take a newcomer to the hobby along for some plinking / familiarization? I'd be happy to pay ammo and gas, of course!
 
Hell, I definitely would do that if I wasn't living in Ottawa now. I moved from Cornwall about a month ago.

Caydel, if you're interested in handling firearms before going for the test, why not make a trip down to Tyotown road and see Mike and L&M guns?

He's got a couple rifles and shotguns that he can show you how to handle. Don't be alarmed: he's missing the majority of his fingers (no I don't know the story behind it).

Call him ahead of time and see if he would mind you stopping by. It would be nice of you to purchase something that you need in return, also.
 
don't worry about it, I never handled one in my life before i got my license

i'm sure you will be just fine
 
Don't stress it! you know ACTS & PROVE, just don't point the firearm at your instructor and use common sense and you should do ok. And always remember to put the safety on after doing ACTS & PROVE ;)

Good luck
 
If you haven't handled firearms, how can you be tested properly? It takes muscle memory and strength to open and close any firearm. If you don't know how much to push the thumb lever on a hinge action, how to turn it over to look inside, or can't keep the point of balance right on a handgun, are you going to be safe with a PAL?

I think you are taking an expensive chance just walking up to the test cold. Spend an hour of your instructor's time (paid of course) and have him drill you on the moves for the test firearms. Not only will you be more confident, but he will have already taught you the test.

But, if you have a physical disability that might prevent you from pulling a slide action shotgun open, you have every right to speak up before the test. I'm sure your instructor will be able to make some consideration for your personal circumstances. (It would be against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms otherwise.)
 
I just did mine today... I've had extensive long gun experience, but no pistol experience whatsoever (except for some replica airgun pistols I own and shoot).

I told the instructor straight away that this is the only thing I'm not certain of during the practical part. To that he replied: "You're nervous... I like that, it's a good sign" (basically telling me not to be too sure of anything when handling a gun).

Anywho, the test went super. I challenged the non-restricted exam while I was at it too and both tests are really similar and I aced them. Besides, the instructor will maniplulate the pistols right in front of you during the class, so don't worry about it if you never even held one in your hand. He knows that most people apply for a licence BEFORE handling a real handgun (legally speaking, it is only logical to assume that).

Bottom line is, READ the manual. Learn the manual. Then go take the course and observe the instructor handling the handguns. Take the test at the end and ace it top of the class! The key is studying the manual before taking the class so you can pay more attention to the gun handling rather than studying theory, and that's all there's to it. :D

No worries...
 
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its not a bad idea to take the course anyhow. im sure your habits arnt 100% and they can be corrected right away.

also you can meet some new gun people and there is always a story or two told by the instructor
 
I had never handled anything more than pellet guns, so I took the courses.

I honestly don't think I would have passed the pratical portion's of the CFSC and CRFSC if I just went to challange. Over the two days, we had about 4 or 5 hours of hands on time with the guns.

So, I feel it is worth spending the extra money. That's just me.
 
Well, it's not a matter of the money. It's just that *every* instructor I've contacted within a 90-minute drive has had a required Sunday portion of the exam, which I cannot make. Really, my Sundays are committed for at least a year going forward.

So, at this point, taking the course isn't really an option :(
 
go to the local gun club and just talk with the members and ask them how they work...hands-on is important. i challenged my restricted a couple years ago having only handled semi-autos. i generally knew how they worked (from vids and talking)...but the thing to remember is that theres NO TIME LIMIT with any of the practical stuff. Take your time if you dont know it and try and work it out/figure it out...just dont drop the gun or point the firearm away from 'downrange' and ull be fine.
 
Caydel said:
Well, it's not a matter of the money. It's just that *every* instructor I've contacted within a 90-minute drive has had a required Sunday portion of the exam, which I cannot make. Really, my Sundays are committed for at least a year going forward.

So, at this point, taking the course isn't really an option :(
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Look... If you're really that concerned, then either go to a range with a pal or go to Canadian Tire and get yourself the Walther P99 (or whatever it's called) airgun and practice on that. It's supposed to replicate the real thing... slide, weight, safeties, etc...

Personally, I've never handled a real handgun either. I have an extensive long gun experience, but no handguns so far. IT DID NOT MATTER FOR THE TEST! I told the instructor that I never handled a handgun in my life and that I'm concerned about how to make the revolver cylinder open & close, etc... He nodded and on my practical test I didn't even have to pop the cylider on the double-action revolver or to manipulate anything on it... he just told me to forget about it and to concentrate on respecting the ACTS and PROVE, even though I really wanted to see how it works (I really want a six shooter!). :)

Bottom line is that I passed and got pretty much 100% on all my tests. The point of the testing is NOT to test your gunsmithing skills, but rather to see that you can safely manipulate a handgun (any handgun) in general terms. You'll figure out the technicalities once you read the instructions of YOUR OWN gun. In other words... let's say that you have extensive experience with a semi-auto pistol through a friend, but your final practical exam might be on a single-action revolver (like mine was, partially)... should you fail because you didn't have a single-action Buffalo-Bill style six-shooter to train on? I rest my case. ;)

P.S. If you read the course manual (available on these forums) and study it in detail (like I did before challenging my non-restricted along wwith my RPAL), you will be all set. Honestly though, it is all you need. Good luck to you!
 
I didn't have anything to practice with before hand. I watched the videos, and studied the manual. I did have some limited experience with semi's and bolt action, but honestly, during the test was the first time I operated anything pump action. I guess it does come down to what kind of learner you are. My examiner did give me about 20 minutes before hand to work all the diff. action types, and that certainly helped. It would have been nice to take a course, but this way was my only option. Just be confident, and take your time. As previously mentioned, there's no time limit, so be safe, and you'll do fine.
 
Ask you instructor for some time to familiarize yourself with their guns. If you don't know how to load/unload, manipulate the safety (if present), etc then ask before you start the test.
 
You can watch youtube videos, find videos on the functions of the most common pistols, ex:
-Glock, 1911, Sig, Walther, M&P, XD, Beretta, Hk, etc.
It's not hard to do, but you can learn a lot just by watching some videos.
I never handled a REAL pistol in my life (But I have a CP99 wich is as real as it can get for a "fake" pistol), but when I'll pass the exam, I will be able to unload/clear any pistol the instructor gives me, I could field strip it too.
The basics are all the same, you can't really srew it up unless you get your finger on the trigger or you point the pistol on the instructor's way, wich will give you an automatic fail (I can understand that, the exam concerns SECURITY). ;)
 
762mm said:
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Personally, I've never handled a real handgun either. I have an extensive long gun experience, but no handguns so far. IT DID NOT MATTER FOR THE TEST! I told the instructor that I never handled a handgun in my life and that I'm concerned about how to make the revolver cylinder open & close, etc... He nodded and on my practical test I didn't even have to pop the cylider on the double-action revolver or to manipulate anything on it... he just told me to forget about it and to concentrate on respecting the ACTS and PROVE...

Bottom line is that I passed and got pretty much 100% on all my tests. ...
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It's pretty easy to ace a test when the examiner is cheating for you!! How do you do ACTS & PROVE if you don't open a firearm's action?!? :mad:

There's only one practical test for the CFSC/CRFSC across Canada and it's supposed to be administered in exactly the same word-for-word way across the country. The examiner is not allowed to explain anything to you after the start of the practical exam (that includes telling you what ACTS & PROVE is, how any controls on the firearms work, etc.).

Some examiners skip parts of the practical test. If you don't have to handle and do ACTS & PROVE on three different firearms and load two of the three, the examiner isn't giving you the full test. If you never have to use a secure locking device, the examiner is skipping parts of the safe storage/transport section. If the examiner asks you to explain how you would do something, it's probably because he's skipping having you actually do something you're supposed to demonstrate. There is no requirement for you explain anything in the tests - it is simply not a part of the test - you have to demonstrate safe firearms handling NOT talk about it.

Also, the written test is a closed book test, although I've heard of examiners letting people use their books.

In Ontario there have been some instructors who have lost their certifications because of not delivering the required hours of instruction on courses and/or cheating on behalf of students. Some have even been convicted of fraud for taking people's money but not doing the proper testing. If instructor/examiners aren't doing the proper instruction and/or testing, customers should contact the CFO in their province. IMHO these guys aren't doing you any favours, they're undermining firearms safety standards.

Some of the longest, most painful exams that I have adminstered have been to people who just read the manuals but never handled firearms. It's usually a very stressful experience for the challengers as they try to figure out how things work, while following ACTS & PROVE. A competent firearms user can easily do the practical exam in 10-15 minutes. I've had complete novices take an hour. Hell, it has taken some people 10 minutes to figure out how to open the sliding latches on a pistol case! Obviously, the failure rate is quite a bit higher for these unprepared people when the test is honestly administered.
 
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