New member and instructor in training.

[AThomasson]

Hello all,

My name is Adrian. I'm here trying to reach out to other firearms instructors and individuals who are also looking for firearms instructors.

I'm going to start my journey in the land of firearms instructors soon, first starting with NRA certifications in October and then moving to bigger and better things in my desired area of teaching. Before I continue I'd like to say a bit about myself.

I am fairly (to some, very) young at 23 years old. I've done a contract in the U.S. Army as an indirect Infantryman, worked various odds and ends jobs after my initial contract before shooting back into the Army reserves, and now I'm working in private security. (Fairly short back story...okay so I might be pretty dang young.)

The main reason that I'm attempting to move over into firearms instruction is the fact that over the short few years in jobs that require the use of weapons I've met a lot of people who don't have a clue on what they would do in certain situations when it comes to firearms. And come to think of it, there are plenty of things I don't know either. Expecially when it comes down to the legalities. So my response to that is I not only need to learn it, but I also need to help spread the information. So, self/home defense, concealed weapons, and legalities of using deadly force are the things I want to focus on.

Although since I'll be green in the land of experienced trainers and so on I do want to ask people here what they look for when searching for an instructor? What practices are they most likely to go for a class in? Knowing those types of questions will help me develop a training plan so I can still get the information I learn out there and get the training that people want to them.

And for any instructors out there, I would like to ask for some advice from their end. The pitfalls and the high rises of working as an instructor. Making your own business or working from another.

I look forward to hearing some responses and I'll probably move a lot of this over to another forum just so it's not too much in the welcome area.

Thank you!

Read More

 

[GOG]

Welcome from the great State of Jefferson.

 

[Xaevian]

Welcome!

 

[No_Regerts]

Welcome and good luck!

 

[Muggs919]

Hello and welcome! Great to have you here. Thank you for your service.

 

[gryghin]

Welcome Aboard. Glad you found the forum.

Can't really add to your discussion on firearms training as my career went a different direction. But I can add to the discussion on training adults, as I've done that for a while in the 24 years after military service. Adults learn slow and there are different learning styles so make sure that you find training specifically about that.

Good luck and thanks for stepping up to the line and raising your hand.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Welome to the club. Good luck in your journey.

 

[HaveGun]

Welcome! I'm over twice your age and been around firearms since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Military vet and veteran hunter and outdoorsman.

Still, I'm smart enough to realize that I can still benefit from other perspectives and that you are never too old to train and learn.

I am awful at training others. So when a new shooter asks me for instruction, I refer them to my brother or a dedicated firearms instructor. I will often tag along and observe the training process. I always come away with something new or valuable from the instructor, or more often, reminded of a fundamental that I had forgotten about.

The best trainers I've observed are those that are patient, humble, and excellent listeners. Unfortunately for you, they are also all older men.

If the instructor shows up wearing a too tight T-shirt, Oakleys, 5.11 gear, and an attitude, then I whisper to my friend that it's time to go and not waste our time.

New shooters are generally nervous and insecure about firearms and need to be gently and slowly introduced to how to handle them safely and competently.

When I tried to train new shooters, I took for granted that they knew the basics. I mean, the BASICS. As in, they didn't know how a cartridge worked, where the rounds went, or where the rounds came out. I was trying to teach them safe operation of their new firearm and they didn't even know the difference between a revolver and a semi-auto.

Never take for granted how little a student might know. Explain slowly and allow for questions.

I'd suggest taking a course from a successful veteran instructor and taking notes. See how they interact with and respond to students.

Having a wide variety of handguns for students to handle and fire is a huge bonus. The last course I observed, the guy had everything from Ruger Mark III .22s with cans, S&W snubby revolvers, Glocks, and Sigs, to STI 2011 race guns. The students all shot every gun to see the differences and to see what they were most comfortable with.

Good luck with your endeavors. Looks like there is a growing market for instructors and would be an exciting career choice.

 

[David Sherman]

Adrian,
Welcome to the world of firearms instruction.
I've been teaching NRA classes since the '80s, I hold 8 NRA Certifications. Most of what I teach now are the Basic Reloading Classes. l'm based near Yakima, WA.

if you can, come by my place and we can talk about the realities of teaching firearms subjects.

David Sherman
NRA Instructor
Moxee, WA
509-969-6414
[email protected]

 

[SHOOTZMEDLER]

Hey there! Welcome aboard. Its nice to read something from someone in the 20s age range and not wanna gouge my eyes out and have to google every other word written. No offense but your generation is something special. Haha.

Anyways, I wish you the best of luck.. you keep that mind set and the proper reasons on why your doing this and you will succeed.

If you were closer I would have someone for you to reach out to and learn a lot from but being up in WA I don't see you traveling down here but incase its something you'd do, feel free to PM me and I can get you in touch.

 

[IOM]

Welcome aboard...

 

[AMT]

Thank you for your service and welcome to NWFA.

 

[CountryGent]

Welcome.

 

[Kruel J]

Welcome and good luck!

 

[Hotnhere]

"If the instructor shows up wearing a too tight T-shirt, Oakleys, 5.11 gear, and an attitude, then I whisper to my friend that it's time to go and not waste our time."

LOL!... so true

 

[jester4488]

Welcome and good luck!

 

[cooperdh]

Good luck in your endeavors. I have been an LE firearms instructor for about 20 years. I had thought about becoming certified to be a public trainer but I would never give the corrupt NRA a dime of my money. They have a monopoly on the industry which also makes me sick. I've gone through their LE instructor course which seemed more of an NRA promotional course. I could still teach privately and do for friends/family but that's about it.

The only piece of advice I could give you is to observe as many instructors as you can and take what you can from them to develop your own teaching style. Students appreciate an instructor with experience and wisdom.

 

[fredball]

WELCOME ABOARD

 

[solomtnhunter]

welcome aboard