Thread: NRA Instructor Pistol Shooting Course... anyone complete one?

Has any one attended one of the NRA 'certified _______" coursed?

I found on the internet, through the NRA web site (NRAInstructors.org - Portal for NRA certified Instructors, NRA Education and Training) that a course is offered in Brush Prarie, Washington.

Please posts your thoughts and/or experiences on obtaining/becoming a Certified NRA Instructor.

Thanks.

- John

I have attended several different NRA classes.
Have been fortunate enough to attend classes by Jim jacobe,Wendel Joust ( Stressfire,awesome class and spendy ) Michael Jones,along with others who are by the book NRA instructors that believe in what they do.
I Am also an instructor for basic Pistol,Rifle,Shotgun,Shotshell and Metallic Cartridge Reloading,plus a few other disciplinesas well as a Range Safety Office.
At one time i would volunteer my time with PFTT,( Portland Firearms Training Team )so for me yes it was worth it since i enjoyed the folks i worked with as well as the majority of the people we instructed.
Would recommend looking into a personel insurance policy if you do decide to become an instructor,it is a very good investment if you own anything.
There is monetary investment as well as time,materials are no longer inexpensive as they once were. I have since devoted most of my time to working with Jr. shooters since they are the future of shooting.
If you have any questions,PM me and i wil try to answer best i can.
RK

I did it last year as part of a club program to build and instructor cadre.
Frankly the class was a huge waste of time for everyone the club was putting through. We were all experienced action sport shooters and had back grounds which involved formal training programs as a part of our professions.
All of the materials coming out of the NRA are either very basic or about 10-20 years behind the time.
That said it's about the only way to get teaching credentials which will help to mitigate some of the liability inherent in teaching anything involving firearms and helps get cheap insurance.
It may be a possible stepping stone to some other goal, but using the actual NRA programs for most people is a waste.

Originally Posted by juandelaselva

Has any one attended one of the NRA 'certified _______" coursed?

I found on the internet, through the NRA web site (NRAInstructors.org - Portal for NRA certified Instructors, NRA Education and Training) that a course is offered in Brush Prarie, Washington.

Please posts your thoughts and/or experiences on obtaining/becoming a Certified NRA Instructor.

Thanks.

- John

I have taken both civilian and law enforcement instructor courses via the N.R.A.. As a training experience, they were all worth the time and effort. Learning to become an instructor is a multi layered education. It's not just about shooting well, but being able to teach and communicate with your students.

The N.R.A. are one small part of the puzzle if you are interested in being an instructor. Should you wish to do that, I would suggest not only the N.R.A. courses, but also take some operator courses, and other instructor courses as well. I have been instructing civilian and law enforcement, and private armed security for ten years, and still consider myself a rookie. I still continue to go to user courses and instructor courses each year.

One instructor course that you should consider is the one put on by Oregon Firearms Academy in Brownsville. They put on a course once a year in the summer that is a week long. On the last day, your practical exam is actually teaching a class of students a defensive handgun course all day. Teaching techniques, firearms safety, communication, shooter improvement, and lesson plans are all part of it. As a course, it reflects some of the N.R.A. Law Enforcement course and also the Oregon requirements for law enforcement. It is a great course.

We need as many good instructors as possible to train people how to be safe and protect themselves. I wish you luck on your search for good quality training courses. Remember. No course is a waste of time or money. If you learn even one thing that can help you, or be passed onto your students, it is worth the time and effort you have invested.

Peter

I really, really want to become a state-certified instructor, basic safety/ccl requirement fulfillment to start, then move along from there. I've got a 'disability' (MAN how I hate that word...), so I'd like to direct my energies towards making no-attitude instruction( * ) available to others with physical issues, those who've had bad experiences with some of our less-friendly firearm enthusiasts, women, and others who might have whatever kind of issues with firearms in general.

I reckon I'll start with the NRA instructor training classes then pursue other courses... reality being that though I'm an NRA member, many people who own or want to own firearms/get training/get a ccl don't want to have anything to do with the NRA for whatever reason. But I reckon we'd all like to have MORE law-abiding people trained in the proper, safe use of firearms... I've taught audio engineering seminars/private lessons off & on for ages, and for sure teaching others a skill-set takes practice. And I know I'll need all the practice I can get to teach firearm safety clearly and concisely.
I too would appreciate any suggestions you all might have.

(*I don't mean to imply that the average instructor has 'attitude'-- the few training classes I've taken so far have been fantastic.)