Hi, Lynne - Great post. I've also done a lot of research on gun. At a workshop in Dallas some years ago a man had one of the old Navy Colts. Those things are long. I couldn't hold it up long enough to shoot.
I got my CHL a few years ago but need to take the Gun Safety class. One can never learn too much. Growing up in Texas, my family has always had guns around, mainly rifles, but then my husband got interested in pistol competition and he added several semi-automatic pistols. Are you going for you CHL next?