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Clatsop County accepted mine, as it had the NRA instructors number on it... However, that was a dozen years ago, and many things have changed since then. Best bet it to just call the Sheriffs office where you are going to apply and see what they want. Most of the people behind those desk have been very helpful!
 
Do you mean "will the state accept it as fulfilling the requirement" or "prepare me to competently carry and use a fire arm to defend myself or another person"?

Yes to the first and in no way shape or form to the second.

If you are serious, then there are some good schools out there but none of the NRA stuff should be considered among them.
 
I suppose this should have been my first step, but I just called the Sheriff's office in The Dalles, OR, and they confirmed that the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course does indeed work for them. Living on a border town like I do, I've got to deal with two states. So this will be great for the people taking my course.

Lange22250, I totally agree. But it's a good first step. The next step is endless study and practice. I've been shooting for 30 years or so and consider myself still a beginner/intermediate, and perhaps I flatter myself with even that.
 
Lange;
Thanks for posting your information. I hope we all reach for the top of the skill sets.
If it weren't for the NRA setting a standard, there wouldn't be a foundation for all the classes out there.
I've been shooting for 45 years, and my body can no longer keep up. Just as 3-Gun is getting fun, my
joints creak and whine, RATS!
 
If you are going for a concealed carry permit you are talking about fighting with a gun, that means that the NRA Basic class, or any of their classes intended for non-LEO's have almost nothing to contribute.

The saying goes "buy once, cry once". If you don't take a decent defensive class you won't even understand what to practice let alone good situation specific techniques or have the legal and tactical knowledge that will help keep you alive and out of prison. So in the end you're wasting money on the initial class because it has nothing to do with what you want to learn, and then practice things that will probably not accomplish what you want.

The majority of non NRA instructors, civilian and LEO, feel that the NRA curriculum is stagnant and fails to address the demands for the current new wave of firearms owners and users. If you don't think things have change just look at how many people show up to bullseye, high power matches or get hunting licences. Even worse it seems that the majority of NRA instructors fail to take any non NRA classes creating an insular feedback loop that perpetuates the problem.

The good classes I've taken had nothing to do with any NRA curriculum and we're now at the point that the NRA is chasing new trends in shooting. Making excuses for them does nothing but make it easier for them to stick with the stale old program.
 
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Well I guess, from what Lange up there says, I need to destroy my CCP right away. I haven't taken any special classes to keep my dumb arse from getting in trouble. Come to think of it, I bet I should probably just get rid of the guns I have. One never knows, when I go to the safe next time, I may end up pointing the hole in the end at my face when I pull the trigger. Oh wait, I think I'm supposed to check to see if there's a bullet in it first.....Is that right Lange22250?
 
2:20 minutes away from here. Not too bad. But there's another issue at hand. If someone needs a CC permit, how are they to know where to go for training, especially when they don't' even know what the questions are no less the answers? At this point, a newbie only knows they need a piece of paper saying they took a handgun safety course to get their permit. They may not be lucky enough to have someone so knowledgeable as Lange22250 to advise them.
 
The CC class I attended was based on the NRA Basic course.
Mostly older couples, without any firearms training.
NRA Basic raised their skill level with safety, gun mechanicals, do's and don'ts.
The Instructor added Oregon laws, Kevin Starrett's book (included).

I may or may not have needed the basic class, but I took it and affirmed it's content.
Now legally carrying concealed having fulfilled the basic requirements of the law.
I like to 3-gun.
 
I had to look up 3-gun, I'd never heard of it. Now that sounds like fun. But all I have are handguns. If I can't stick it in my pants, I have no use for it. :) Love IDPA though. Very Jack Bauer.
 
I took Shaun's NRA Instructor Pistol Shooting Course. He's good. I really enjoyed his teaching style. Wasco will issue a permit to someone from Klickitat County. That's what they told me the other day.
 
If you are going for a concealed carry permit you are talking about fighting with a gun, that means that the NRA Basic class, or any of their classes intended for non-LEO's have almost nothing to contribute.

The saying goes "buy once, cry once". If you don't take a decent defensive class you won't even understand what to practice let alone good situation specific techniques or have the legal and tactical knowledge that will help keep you alive and out of prison. So in the end you're wasting money on the initial class because it has nothing to do with what you want to learn, and then practice things that will probably not accomplish what you want.

The majority of non NRA instructors, civilian and LEO, fell that the NRA curriculum is stagnant and fails to address the demands for the current new wave of firearms owners and users. If you don't think things have change just look at how many people show up to bullseye high power matches or get hunting licences. Even worse it seems that the majority of NRA instructors fail to take any non NRA classes creating an insular feedback loop that perpetuates the problem.

The good classes I've taken had nothing to do with any NRA curriculum and we're now at the point that the NRA is chasing new trends in shooting. Making excuses for them does nothing but make it easier for them to stick with the stale old program.

So where would you recommend I go to get certified to teach handgun safety?
 
The best defensive class I have taken were from Mike Seeklander, he was the head of the revamped Air Mashals firearms program during the build up post 911. Gabe White is also a great instructor, really innovative with a good emphasis on knowing when you can go fast, need to go slow and when to get the hell out of dodge. Both will travel and offer free tuition to the person organizing the class and both really know good technique and can teach it.

Oregon Firearms Academy is a good basic start based on what the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (police academy) teaches.

I hear good things about Roger's Shooting School and The Firearms Academy of Seattle but have not been to either of them.

http://pistol-training.com/ is a good resource to research various instructors and schools/classes. Lots of experienced people with lots of different backgrounds and a lot of reviews/after action reports.

Until you really start getting into the legal, moral and technical issues of what it means to fight with a gun you have no idea how much you don't know. And that can get you dead, in jail or bankrupt. So are a couple of classes too expensive to keep that from happening to you or a loved one? Every good class I take I get some new, smack me in the forehead with a 2x4, epiphany.
 
Well I guess, from what Lange up there says, I need to destroy my CCP right away. I haven't taken any special classes to keep my dumb arse from getting in trouble. Come to think of it, I bet I should probably just get rid of the guns I have. One never knows, when I go to the safe next time, I may end up pointing the hole in the end at my face when I pull the trigger. Oh wait, I think I'm supposed to check to see if there's a bullet in it first.....Is that right Lange22250?


If firearms safety is your only bench mark for carrying and possibly using a firearm in self defense your missing the important parts to keeping yourself out of trouble.

Can you -
articulate AOJ/OMI standards for the state you live in along with the use of deadly force and continuum of force laws
know and articulate what the 21 foot guide line really means as has been established by court
precedent
understand what the ramifications of just reaching for or drawing your gun are tactically and
legally
understand and evaluate background and articulate the risks
know what your average draw times really are and what that means concerning the threats proximity and articulate the ramifications
understand what to realistically expect a threat to do if you do shoot them and articulate the reasons why
know the restrictions on where and when you can carry
know what kind of legal representation you should have, the relationship you should have with them and how it's getting paid for
what you should do post shooting both before and after the cops get there then when to lawyer up.
know the ramifications of coming to aid of another person and risks associated
what works and doesn't technique wise

And those are just the things off the top of my head.

If you don't understand and can't articulate those things you leave yourself open to all sorts of really bad, life destroying things. When you are up on the stand for a potential criminal case then a civil suit after you defended yourself you can bet that the attorneys will ask you those questions and about where you were trained, then make you look like a reckless vigilante if you can't and your only training was an NRA gun safety class.

So what's a couple of good classes worth when the downside is that big? Most good classes are fun as well.
 
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