NM CCW: Caliber & Gun Type Explained

You know that you want to have a Conceal Carry Endorsement (or maybe you already have it!) and you know you have come to the right place for safe, calm, and effective classes. You may be reading that every state has different rules, and sometimes reading through the state’s website on the subject gets a little mind baffling. 

One specific and often confused area for New Mexico Concealed Carry License is the Caliber & Gun Type. We explain the difference below and what you can do to make sure your license is accurate.

Caliber

Maybe you have a super nice 9mm that feels so good in your hand, shoots so nice at the range, and fits so snug in your conceal holster. Did you know that when you qualify on range day of your CCW class, your instructor will tell NM DPS you qualified with that 9mm and the state rules say “you may conceal carry this type of firearm and others THAT ARE OF SAME CALIBER OR SMALLER.”

What does that mean? Well, for you it means when you decide 9mm is still super awesome, but you have found a .45 that tickles your conceal carry fancy, you can not conceal carry your fancy .45 semi auto since your license states “9MM”.

Not to fear, you are reading this before taking class and you know that you can rent a firearm from our instructor or like me, I borrowed one from my dad. 

Oh wait, you already have a NM Concealed Handgun License? And you have a year to wait for your next refresher or renewal? Bummer. Yah, right! Vigilant Firearms Training will help you get that fixed now! You will just need to sign up and attend the next 2 year refresher with your fancy .45, pay $35 for the class, and send old CC card with $10 to the state. This is called an endorsement and it will replace your normal license with the new caliber. 

Whew! 

Gun Type

Hold on, we haven’t even talked about Gun Type yet and you are thinking about conceal carrying a revolver. For those new to CCW, when you go to class you will also bring your wheel gun to qualification!  NM has 2 type of qualification, semi auto and non-semi auto. Semi-automatics with slides fall under Semi-Auto category.  Revolvers, Derringers, and anything else falls under Non-Semi-Automatic category.

The same caliber restrictions apply. I own a .357 revolver and I knew I would not ever carry bigger. If I change my mind, I’ll either wait for my refresher/renewal or get in on a Range day with my new revolver to up my caliber carry.

Recap

2 types, Semi-Automatic and Non-Semi-automatic.  You need to shoot 2 different types of guns if you want the ability to carry both. Only going to carry Semi-Auto? Then you only need to qualify with the semi-auto. The caliber you shoot for qualification is the largest caliber you can carry and will be stated so on your license.  You can get a higher caliber or different type endorsement by qualifying again and applying for a new endorsement at any time to include 2 year refresher or 4 year renewal.

Hope this helped clear up caliber and gun type carries in NM.

Random bit of trivia: the smallest caliber allowed for qualification by NM DPS is .32 caliber. You can’t qualify with a .22 or .25 caliber, but you can carry them after you qualify with a .32 caliber or higher firearm. Check out the picture to get a good idea of handgun calibers.

For the legalese types…. Check out the New Mexico Concealed Carry Act which explains all of this and more. 

Written by Rika Tillen.