Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons—April 5, 2025

Summary

Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons instructors all too often mistake (or lazily substitute?) the state licensing standards for a curriculum.  That is a gravely deficient approach.  The state standards have vastly more to do with protecting the state than with preparing you to protect yourself and your loved ones.

At Ministry of Defense, everything we teach is driven by our moral imperative to provide YOU with useful self-defense training and education that safeguards your physical and legal well-being.  The bureaucratic box-checking requirement on your state form certainly resolves itself during our training, but only as a complementary objective to the vastly more important sharing of cutting-edge information.  The truth is that if you find yourself cornered into a fight for survival, you will rely not on the laminated card in your wallet or purse, but on the concepts in your head, the tools you carry, the myelination in your neural pathways, and the righteous fire in your heart.

To best prepare you for a challenge against your life, we propose to challenge you in the classroom.  The subject matter requires more than a junior-high elective, “give a man a fish” approach.  This doesn’t mean you won’t have a great deal of fun—you will!—but it does mean that you should expect to apply yourself.  This class is comprehensive, but comprehensible, and will feel something like a 100-level college class.  We are here every step of the way to help you meet the challenge, and our success in promoting your success is well documented in our Google reviews.

So, the choice is yours.  By law, an Enhanced CWL class requires you to give up a minimum of eight hours of your life.  What do you need in return for those eight hours?  If all you want is the license, there are cheaper options out there that are…how to say this?…worth the $79 price of admission.  But if you want proven ideas, techniques, and perspectives, our class delivers for true defenders.

If you look at other concealed carry classes, you might think of the following items as bonuses.  At Ministry of Defense, we call them essentials and include them with your enrollment:

• Your own copy of “The Law of Self Defense Principles” by Andrew Branca.  This book is a must-read primer on lawful use of force.  Mr. Branca is perhaps the preeminent self-defense attorney and scholar in the United States, and this easy read will set you straight in a world where literally anything can be said about anything.
• Our original Idaho statute packet.  We have compiled relevant laws in a multi-page handout so you can follow along with the legal presentation, take notes, and review after class.
• POM give-away.  As we explore less-than-lethal defense alternatives, one lucky winner will receive a free POM pepper spay unit.
• Free use of our shooting glasses and electronic ear muffs.  Eye and ear protection are non-negotiable during shooting activities, but not everybody has them or remembers to bring them to class.  We’ve got you covered—with an upgrade: our electronic ear muffs filter out the harmful gunshot sounds while a built-in microphone and speakers allow you to safely hear range instructions and conversations.  This technology makes the range experience much safer and more enjoyable.  No charge.  We even clean and sanitize them between users just because we love and care about our students!

Topics

• Firearm safety
• Equipment: ammunition, semi-automatic handguns, revolvers, storage options
• Lawful interstate travel with handguns, ammunition, and accessories
• Idaho law relating to firearms and use of force, presented by our distinguished local attorney
• The fight sequence
  • Before: how to spot and avoid trouble
  • During: FAQs, debunking myths, and what it means to win
  • After: on-scene strategies, managing the fallout, healing
• Carry methods
• Range activities
  • Comprehensive 20-point instruction in a “dry practice” (i.e., without ammo) environment prepares you to tackle the live-fire portion with skill and confidence
  • We help you fire every single round with purpose—no wasted rounds!

Venue

• Classroom: in Meridian, near I-84.  Enrolled students will receive an email 7-10 days prior to class with final details, including classroom address.
• Range: typically in Nampa or Boise.  Varies by season.
  • Indoor: Impact Guns—Boise
  • Outdoor: George W. Nourse Public Range-Nampa

What to Bring

• Your modern handgun, in safe, working order.  (If you do not have a handgun, please contact us.)
  • Semi-automatics and revolvers equally welcome!
  • Please transport your gun in a case of some sort—NOT in your bare hands!
• At least one magazine for your semi-automatic handgun.  Revolver users can bring speed-loaders if they wish.
• At least 100 rounds of reputable-factory-sourced, new ammunition
  • HAND-LOADED or RE-LOADED ammunition presents too many safety questions and is NOT PERMITTED.
  • STEEL AMMUNITION will damage our range equipment and is NOT PERMITTED.
• Approximately $15 for range fees, payable directly to the range (when applicable).
• We recommend that you buy at least five dummy rounds (aka, “inert rounds” or “Snap Caps”) for your firearm for dry practice—both in class with us and at home on your own.  Dummy rounds must be READILY DISTINGUISHABLE from live ammunition.

Class Policies

• All adult MoD students must submit a photo of their current driver’s license or other state or federal ID prior to class.  This is used for class security, for critical accuracy on state forms we must prepare for you, and for our records.
• Each class session must reach an enrollment “tipping point” in order to proceed as planned.  Usually, for MoD.Handgun.1, that means at least four students must sign up, so be sure to invite your friends and neighbors!  In the event that the tipping point is not reached, we will contact you to discuss options.
• Ministry of Defense does not issue state licenses or permits.  We provide you with accredited training and documentation of your training, which you may present to the state if you wish to obtain a CWL.
• Ministry of Defense makes no guarantee of any kind as to whether you will actually receive a CWL.  Variables beyond our control include whether you follow the application process completely within the one-year expiration of your forms, whether you pay your fees, and whether you pass your background check.
• For medical reasons, we do not allow pregnant women to participate in our live-fire exercises.  If you wish to sign up for this class, please do—but kindly let us find a time outside of the term of your pregnancy to complete the range activities.  You will not be charged extra for this service.