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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.
I, too, am an NRA pistol instructor and I have to agree that the NRA minimum requirements for the basic pistol instruction are quite lacking in curriculum.
The NRA pistol classes are more focused on safety and competition than it is on self-defense or weapon proficiency. However, there are many NRA pistol instructors that don't just give the bare minimum requirements for the NRA certificate and offer "Concealed Carry Courses". Nevertheless, these courses differ from instructor to instructor.
My suggestion is to get instruction from a reputible class...there are many options available, even in Oregon. If you can't find one within your price range or area you can also call up any security company in your area to see if they offer civilian courses or if they know anyone that can. Many security companies contract out or maintain firearm instructors and I'm sure they can point you in the right direction