Yeah, Bexar Community Range is the place on the SE (well, east side) of town! I talked with a guy once who shoots there and he really liked it. Being up near Helotes, it is a bit of a drive for me.
And I have heard the same thing about Cedar Ridge, and that the owner can be a bit "eccentric" especially if he doesn't know you. I have never gone to one of the Texas Tactical matches, but they do seem popular. Still, that would put me off...
The River City Shooters match I went to was well run, and no ridiculous restrictions (you could drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages during the cease fires). My then-11-yr-old-son went with me and the folks there looked after him while I was shooting. I appreciated knowing someone was ensuring he was staying safe, so as you can see I highly recommend those matches...
I still want to hit one of those matches, but like you said, the way they run things on regular days is pretty off-putting.
Thanks for the welcome, all! majormadmax, that's some good info right there thanks for sharing -- I'm with you on the safety, I'm an IDPA SO and USPSA RO so am on board with your thoughts. Much appreciated, I'll just have to shoot some matches at both clubs and spread my cheesy humor around. M. Sage - when I flew down a week ago at the car rental agency... "do you have a VW, like a Golf? that's what I am used to" "No sir, American cars and pickup trucks only." hah. You know you're in Texas when...
I'll have to give you a business card. Seriously, there are a lot of yahoos here who think they can work on VW, but only know enough to be dangerous.
OK fellas, this may seem like a dumb question to you but remember where I'm coming from (nanny state). In my Googling about Texas gun laws it appears that you do NOT have to use any sort of FFL/dealer to buy and sell handguns - you can just meet up, show each other some valid ID to say you're over 18 (21) and then buy/sell each other things. Is this true, did I get that right? Are there any limits on how many a month you may buy, how many at one time or anything else that I should know about?
This is the best info I'm finding:
Gun laws in the United States (by state) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Do I need to have a Texas DL first (I'm assuming that will take me 6 months to get?) or just proof that I'm an actual Texas resident and not some yahoo from Cali who drove over...?
Yes, you need a TX DL/ID, but it won't take 6 months to get it. No FFL required for anything, the government is not involved in transactions that aren't something like NFA.