After you obtain your HQL, use us to take the required 16-hour training class for your Maryland wear and carry pistol license.
We are a self defense school that incorporates the 16 hour training
required for the Maryland Wear and Carry license. Beware of trainers that sit you in a classroom for 14 hours then only have you shoot the minimum 25 shoot course.
SET YOUR STANDARDS HIGH
Our students shoot hundreds of bullets to gain proficiency and excellence for self defense of themselves, their family and the United States
We offer one on one private pistol, rifle and shotgun instruction outside of the scheduled training dates.
We can come to you for your group of shooters
READ EVERYTHING
$600
Next Wear and Carry Classroom dates
Get Tickets
TOTAL OF 16 HOURS
GET TICKETS HERE
June 7th 2025 Saturday Class
10am to 3pm
American Post 278
800 Romancoke Rd.
Stevensville. Maryland 21666
Then
June 9th, 2025
0830 to 1430
One 6 Hour live fire session
Held at Schrader's Outdoors in Henderson Maryland
&
June 10th, 2025
0830 to 1430
One 6 Hour live fire session
Held at Schrader's Outdoors in Henderson Maryland
YOU MUST ATTEND ALL THREE DAYS
YOU MUST ATTEND ALL TIMES AND DATES LISTED ABOVE 16 HOURS TOTAL TO COMPLETE WEAR & CARRY
YOU MUST READ ALL BELOW
MARCH 2025 UPDATES
Wear & Carry Live Fire Information
Please make every effort to be on time. Please don't inconvenience other students. Time is extremely limited. We will not have an opportunity to make up time lost. We will meet inside the clubhouse (Schrader's Outdoors, Henderson, Maryland.410-758-1824)
PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP SOMEONE ELSE OTHER THAN YOURSELF FOR THIS TRAINING. OUR PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THIS IS THAT WE GENERALLY HAVE SOMEONE IN THE CLASS THAT DOES NOT WANT TO 100% BE THERE AND THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS WHEN DEALING WITH GUNS.
PLEASE DO NOT SIGN SOMEONE UP AS A GIFT TO THEM. THIS CONTRIBUTE TO THAT PERSON NOT BEING 100% VESTED IN THE TRAINING OR THE SAFETY ASPECT.
WE NEED YOU FULL NAME PRIOR TO THE CLASS FOR YOUR CERTIFICATE. THAT WOULD BE YOUR LEGAL NAME THAT IS ON YOUR CURRENT DRIVERS LICENSE , NO FACEBOOK NAMES, NICK NAMES, OR ANY OTHER NAMES YOU USE OR ARE CALLED.
Make sure to bring more WATER than you think you will need. Gatorade and flavored drinks are not sufficient by themselves to correctly hydrate in the extreme heat on the range. Bring snacks (lots). Fully charge your cell phones. Remember to bring all of your ammo with you also.
There is no pistol ammo to buy at this range. You must buy it in advance and bring ammo with you, Better to bring too much ammo than too little. The more you bring the more we will shoot. Bring at least 300 rounds
Be mentally and physically ready to be able to do the following on your own during the live fire sessions. You will be doing these tasks all day by your self.
(A) Safely Load and unload your pistol. Loading magazines.
(B) Lock the side of the pistol open.
(C) Cycling of the slide in order to load or unload your pistol
(D) Follow directions of the Instructor and remain focused.
(E) Safely handle your pistol and always keeping the pistol pointed down range in a safe direction.
An instruction and review of all these tasks will be conducted on the range prior to live fire shooting as a refresher
Things to remember:
1. We shoot in the rain or other poor weather. (We need training to be ready in all weather environments) We also shoot in extreme cold or heat. It will be very hot on the range. Begin hydrating with water well before the training. Yes, you can dehydrate in cold weather also.
2. You should buy a holster for your pistol. A hardshell one for outside the hip with a finger release locks suggested. Training with a pistol by picking it from a table is not really training you to your full potential. We highly recommend that you obtain a Blackhawk Serpa CQD holster (one that loops through your belt) and Safariland 3 magazine ammo pouch. We recommend holsters that will be good to use under a business suit or jeans with cover shirt. We will not be drawing from an in the belt holster during this training because of the high risk of accidental discharge. It's ok if you don't have a holster or ammo pouch. We will simply work from the table. Just keep in mind to get a holster in the near future. We have a holster and mag pouch for Glock you can borrow if needed. PLEASE WEAR JEANS OR SHORTS WITH BELT LOOPS AND YOUR STRONGEST BELT (FOR HOLDING A GUN AND AMMO ON YOUR BODY) NOT A CHEAP BELT FROM THE 99 CENT STORE.
3.You are required to pay for the cost of the use of the range which is $15 per hour. We understand this can all be expensive, but consider this as an investment in yourself and you are certainly worth the time, effort and money that you will be spending.
4. You need to bring at least 300 NEW rounds of ammo for your gun. We will be doing a lot of shooting. Do not buy reloaded ammo, we will not put it in our guns. You may have an increase jam of your weapon probability with poor or reloaded ammo. You are welcome to use it in your guns if you like. They do not sell pistol ammo at the range YOU NEED TO BUY IT PRIOR TO THE SHOOTING SESSIONS. SEEK AMMO AT YOUR LOCAL GUN SHOP
5. We have ear and eye protection for you if you don't have it.
6. Please remember that time is extremely precious . Please make certain that if we are going to meet, please do not cancel. Cancelling creates a HUGE inconvenience. Prioritize this training. We are prioritizing you, so please prioritize us. There is very limited range time. We are hearing that there will be approximately 800,000 more applications in 2024 getting put in for wear and carry licenses. The longer we wait to get this done, the more applications will be in front of yours thus making the process longer.(who knows). There is now a $300 cancellation fee that was started May 21, 2024. Once a date is locked in, you are liable for any changes
7. Bring lots of food, water, and whatever you need to remain focused in the shooting range for 6 hours.
8. Please respond to this posting and rsvp times that you plan to attend live fire sessions. We will mark you to confirm the dates.
9. Please bring the best tactical pistol you have. The pistol you would use for self defense. (preferably made or designed in the last decade or so.) There is no need to bring 2 or 3 guns. (it will only confuse things). Best to focus on using the best gun in your inventory for this training. If for some reason you have no pistol, you may use our Glock 17, 9mm or Smith and Wesson 915 9mm. Today's best tactical pistols have no safety and no hammer, if your pistol has one or both of these, then it is already obsolete in the world of tactical shooting in 2024 (no offense intended). We highly recommending getting a Glock, S&W Shield, a Springfield XD or a pistol that is right up there with those pistols. Unfortunately, revolvers are no match for our criminal opponents that are now carrying high end pistols with high capacity magazines (17 shots)(see Baltimore City Police facebook page for guns they are taking off criminals these days). It's just food for thought. No worries if you come with a revolver. We train with them too. Be aware that things will go much slower with a revolver during the training. If needed, we will get you up to par with a revolver or what ever pistol you have also.
10. We are hearing that appointments for fingerprinting may be needed, so call before you show up at a fingerprinting location. Make an appointment for your prints around the time you will be done with the live fire training. 16 hours. A student recently told us that the QAC Sheriffs office also need to have appointments for fingerprints. I would call before showing up there. There is a live scan fingerprinting location in Easton and Annapolis that can be used.
11. We cannot qualify you with less than 16 hours of training. We are mandated by the Maryland State Police to provide the training and we are legally required to provide the full 16 hours of training and the qualification live fire course. It's the law. Please do not ask us to make an exception and do less then 16 hours of training.
12. You may be on the range shooting with multiple other shooters also obtaining their wear and carry permit. It is loud, cold, hot, uncomfortable and sometimes hot brass can contact your skin in the course of shooting from other pistols. Like with the hobby of horse ridding, you can fall off the horse, you can also get bumps, cuts, burns and bruises while shooting.
13. No pictures, videos or other recording devices during training. We don't want our picture taken and other students need to have their privacy respected, please no videos or photos, we really appreciate it. We also do not have time to provide a photo shoots during the precious shooting time. We need all focus on safety and listening to the commands of the range official and on shooting.
14.This 16 hour training is NOT a PAY & PASS COURSE. You can fail.
Here are a few ways to fail.
1. Not shooting a qualifying course (Although, you will get many chances)
2. Not completing the required hours for training.
3. Failure to follow or have the inability to commands for instructor.
4. Any display of obvious overt anger, arguing, emotional distress or mental imbalances or dysfunctions from students during live fire may eliminate a student from the training for the safety of our staff and other students.
5. Habitually demonstrate unsafe gun handling conditions for yourself, Instructor and other students on the firing line.
15. DO NOT bring anyone with you that is not a registered student in the wear & carry training (husband, wife, kids, friends). It is a huge liability for you to bring someone with you and have them wait in the car. Ultimately, we are responsible even for persons sitting in a car that is watching of there get hurt. We are not able to train you and supervise someone you decided to bring who is in their car watching. They will be asked to leave the range and wait at the clubhouse. Our apologies. PLEASE DO NOT bring any pets with you.
16. Block off the entire days you are in this training on your calendars. Do not set up other responsibilities for you to handle right after training, such as picking up someone from BWI airport or needing to be at work right after training. We do not want people in a rush or worrying about other responsibilities when they are training with a deadly weapon.
SOME ADVICE FROM PAST HQL AND WEAR & CARRY STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY GRADUATED
Our recent Feb. 2023 poll yielded some great advice from former HQL students of ours.
QUESTION: As a graduate of our pistol training, what advice would you give to new students attending our upcoming pistol classes?
ANSWERS
Stay current on changing laws.
Take notes and listen to a very experienced professional about firearms.
This program is outstanding. The content was very thorough and coached with tremendous competency. Barry’s expertise combines real life examples from an established expert and his teaching style was terrific and constructive. Our class was equally divided between women and men and everybody felt very comfortable with the content, environment and pace. We even got a chance to simulate some tactical drills. Needless to say, I highly recommend this class to anyone interested in expanding their confidence and knowledge.
Do some pre-reading in case you're not familiar with the basics.
Take it seriously. Go slow. And practice in your mind - through visualization and rehearsing of the steps, principles, and scenarios.
Be prepared for hands on tactical type training. This is not your run of the mill rushed over booked class. This is closes thing to one on one personal training.
Do as much research on your firearm prior to the class.
If you own a firearm and think that you know all you need to know about it, you don’t,… pay attention!!
I have a VA drivers license and a home in VA plus a residence in MD and I received a HQL - for future reference and info
Practice often, support 2A advocate groups, always prioritize safety
Take notes and ask questions
Make sure you are fully paying attention and take notes.
Know that you are being trained properly, don't take any corrections personally Barry wants you to be comfortable with your weapon and will take the time to make sure you are! Sure.
I feel more confident in how I handle a handgun and how to protect myself.
Act like a sponge and soak in Barry's knowledge and experience
Need to be true to yourself and understand the undertaking you're embarking on and all it's responsibilities... self defense is fine, but what that really means to you is different for everyone and those responsibilities are also different... be true and aware for self analysis .
If your background is good, take wear and carry due to day one of two is considered your HQL.
This class made me feel competent to use a gun. It also instilled a proper amount of caution about gun safety. I feel safer with a gun in my home and the knowledge on how to use it. Thank you.
Leave your ego at home, bring plenty of ammo. You will come out of training a better shooter. (Wear and Carry Student)
Be responsible
Listen, Pay attention, Ask questions and relax. You'll learn well what you need to know.
Come with an open mind and ready to learn.
Pay attention to the details and allow yourself be taught the right way even if you think otherwise. It’s a lot of class time and they need to find practice time. But, I was not comfortable practicing on my own at first.
Come with an open mind, even if you are experienced with firearms. Always seem to learn something new at each attendance.
Ask that question if you have one, don't be shy.
Listen to Barry because I learned he has been spot on with all his information and training.Practice, practice practice.
Prepare to have an educational and fun experience!
They're in for a very important, valuable training that is real necessary if you want to properly use a firearm.
Pay attention and learn
Make a plan to continue practicing your new shooting skills.
Pay attention to everything!
Get good insurance if you’re going to carry.
Pay attention.
June 23rd 2022
Supreme Court Decision Update
We are working full-time to offer the 16 hour training to wear and carry candidates in Maryland.
What's next after the June 23rd 2022 decision?
Our best guess is that the State of Maryland will now include SELF DEFENSE as a category to apply for a wear and carry permit. It was not a listed category prior to June 23rd 2022. We believe everything thing else in the application process will remain the same. Contact your attorney or the Maryland State Police for the final say.
What can you do now?
Keep following all the rules and laws under Maryland law and the Handgun permit section of the Maryland State Police until they make changes to the wear and carry application process
We think you should obtain your 16 hour wear and carry training in advance of the changes that are coming in order to get it done and be ready to submit your application.
How do I arrange times and dates for the training?
Call us 855-589-2267 or sign up on line. Go to the "Make a Payment page on our website"
There is a massive surge in requests for this training and if he does not answer he will return your call asap. You can also email him at barrydonadio@yahoo.com or text him.
We usually have 16 hour wear and carry candidates come to the soonest HQL class in order to refresh in safety and pistol operations. We count this towards your 16 hours. We then meet 2 other times a the pistol range (usually Schrader's in Henderson, Maryland) to complete the 16hrs
You will need a minimum of 300 bullets
You will need to pay for the use of the range in addition to your fees.
Are you ready?
Pay by going to the "Make a Payment section"
Please read all the instructions and expectations below.
16 Hour REQUIRED Initial Maryland State Pistol License Course
UPCOMING CLASSES