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Does anyone know what the requirements are to be able to teach an approved CHL course in Oregon? How many hours, what subjects need to be covered, does the instructor have to take some kind of instructor course?

Mods, feel free to move this if it isn't in the appropriate forum.
 
Good question CougFan. I was wondering the same thing. How many rounds have you ran through your pistols? How long have you been shooting?

I've been shooting since I was 10. I've lost count of the total rounds downrange that I have fired. Most of it has been shotgun as I used to shoot Trap and Skeet regularly. In pistols, it's easily in the tens of thousands.
 
Now I'm glad I asked CougFan.

It's always nice to know people that have the experience you do. I only have around 20K rounds through my carry gun, and about 40K rounds through my trap gun, all since June of 06. Here's what I use for a trap thrower: http://traprental.com/

Ray Gunter over at Barons Den in Eugene, Or. issued my CC certificate, I also took an advanced weapons class from him, I will call him tomorrow and find out the requirements for an instructors certificate, and post here.
 
Now I'm glad I asked CougFan.

It's always nice to know people that have the experience you do. I only have around 20K rounds through my carry gun, and about 40K rounds through my trap gun, all since June of 06. Here's what I use for a trap thrower: http://traprental.com/

Ray Gunter over at Barons Den in Eugene, Or. issued my CC certificate, I also took an advanced weapons class from him, I will call him tomorrow and find out the requirements for an instructors certificate, and post here.

I'd be interested. I'm not interested in teaching a class myself as I just don't have the time, but my boss is an NRA instructor and he was asking me about a course they have approached him about doing at Douglas Ridge Rifle Club, where he and I am both members, combining the CHL class with a basic pistol 101 type of class.

I'll look forward to your input.

BTW, 40K thru your Trap gun and 20K thru your carry gun qualifies you in my opinion. ;)
 
If you are a Certified NRA instructor you can teach a NRA safety class like "Home Firearms Safety" which meets Oregon's classroom requirement. There are classes every winter in the Portland area where one can become an NRA Firearms Instructor in Pistol, HFS, Personal Protection in the Home, Rifle, etc..all which because of their safety instruction meet the class room requirements. You can even develop your own class covering whatever you want as long as it contains an element of firearm safety training where the student demonstrates safe handling procedures. Oregon came up with the requirements to make sure that every license holder understood the basics of safety. As far as classes at Douglas Ridge, NWSAFE usually teaches a variety of classes very regularly many weekends on basic pistol, HFS, and even offers instructor training classes.
 
OFA will be hosting Roger Moore's NRA Instructor course in February. It isn't on the OFA calendar yet but we'll be posting it soon. You can enjoy Roger's gifted instruction at a 4-Star NASR world-class training facility...probably the best of both worlds.

Our insurance provider requires all OFA staff to be NRA Instructors so several of our newer Jr Staff will be attending. I will be also attending assuming there is room available as it has been over 25 years since I last attended this course and I'm confident I need a tune-up myself.

For those of you who are interested in getting into the instruction business the OFA staff will be on site during this class to answer questions about how to get started and all the risks and rewards.

By the way "being an experienced shooter or good shot" is only about 5% of the skills required to become an effective instructor. Honestly I've been working as an instructor since the late 1970's and I still don't know it all and have a lot more to figure out. I've found having lots of trigger time is helpful but not essential to teach effectively. OFA has over a 1000 students each year so we get plenty of practice but I'm humbled every time. Being able to run a safe class is our highest priority and safety doesn't come natural for many of us...it is an acquired skill honestly. Also being able to transfer what we can do and know 100% to all students is a full-time challenge. Working with people with different capabilities is certainly a challenge. You must be able to have two to three ways to do the same competency in order, sometimes, to get the new skill to stick with your students.

Teaching the art and discipline of using deadly force is much more than just being able to teach people how to shoot....it is more about teaching people how to live and survive before, during and after the shots are fired. If teaching people how to shoot is like teaching someone how to drive a car then teaching defense small arms/home defense is like teaching race car drivers how to drive and win the Indy 500!

OFA requires our staff to have a minimum of 60 hours of defensive small arms training (not including the NRA instructor course) or around 10-12 defensive small arms classes before we even consider someone as a candidate for a Jr. Instructor position. OFA's instructors must be able to operate most/all revolvers and semi-autos in market circulation and master it both right and left handed (including one handed firing, combat reload, tactical reload, phase one and two malfunction clearences). Our newest instructors understand it will require 3 to 5 years of instructor on-the-job training in order to become a senior instructor.

Also for those willing to kick your instructor's skills "up a notch" OFA is offering our highly popular LEO 44 Hr Defensive Handgun Instructor Development Course in June 2010. This course already has several people enrolled and will fill quickly at the beginning of next year. This course is open to qualified armed civilians but it is geared toward training new police officers in the defensive use of a handgun. Check out to OFA schedule for dates and more info.
 
By the way "being an experienced shooter or good shot" is only about 5% of the skills required to become an effective instructor.

Agreed. Those that say "those that can't do teach" have never taught. My degree is in Music Education even though I'm not working in that field. I've known many excellent musicians who were not really good teachers. It takes a certain personality and mindset, loads of patience, and the ability to communicate effectively with people of all different personalities, abilities, and motivations.
 
By the way "being an experienced shooter or good shot" is only about 5% of the skills required to become an effective instructor.

Agreed. Those that say "those that can't do teach" have never taught. My degree is in Music Education even though I'm not working in that field. I've known many excellent musicians who were not really good teachers. It takes a certain personality and mindset, loads of patience, and the ability to communicate effectively with people of all different personalities, abilities, and motivations.

Amen!! With teaching firearms you also need the gift of anticipating what a student is going to do before they do it...it may be able to read non-verbal cues...but the best instructors can read a student and see they're about to poke their eye out before they do it.
 
Amen!! With teaching firearms you also need the gift of anticipating what a student is going to do before they do it...it may be able to read non-verbal cues...but the best instructors can read a student and see they're about to poke their eye out before they do it.

Funny that you mention this. When I was in High School, a friend of mine asked me if he could go shooting with me some time. I said sure and asked him if he had any experience with firearms. He said "Oh, yeah. I used to go shooting with my Uncle all the time.". We get to the range and I take him thru some basic safety instruction. To make a long story short, when he goes to shoot my High Standard .22 target pistol, I see him put the gun up to his face with the slide and rear sight about 2" away from his right eyeball. :eek: I was able to stop him before he pulled the trigger. :s0084:
 
Funny that you mention this. When I was in High School, a friend of mine asked me if he could go shooting with me some time. I said sure and asked him if he had any experience with firearms. He said "Oh, yeah. I used to go shooting with my Uncle all the time.". We get to the range and I take him thru some basic safety instruction. To make a long story short, when he goes to shoot my High Standard .22 target pistol, I see him put the gun up to his face with the slide and rear sight about 2" away from his right eyeball. :eek: I was able to stop him before he pulled the trigger. :s0084:

When people tell me they have 20 years experience I generally understand that to mean 1 year of experience over the last 20 years. Experience means exactly that - experience. It doesn't necessarily mean COMPETENCE!

I've been driving since 1971 or 38 years of "experience." So a few months ago I attended and successfully graduated from a 1.5 day Motor Vehicle Defensive Driving course which included driving with an instructor after instruction. My prior driving experience prior to this course included operating autos, light duty trucks, and heavy duty commerical trucks including some time operating heavy trucks in an emergency service application for a municipality. So, my experience is more diverse than just pickups and cars. However, what I know now is I only had 1 year of experience over the last 38 years. I found out that "I didn't know what I didn't know" as a driver. In other words I was unconsciously incompetent. I didn't know (I was unconscious or unaware of) what I didn't know (that I was incompetent as a "defensive" motor vehicle operator/driver).

I learned so much and changed so many ineffective skills I'm now going back to the intermediate and eventually advanced level course. Oh, and I was certified as a Defensive Driver instructor during this 1.5 day class! This class is like the NRA Instructor class. It is an "Instructor Mill" cranking out graduates many whom are still incompetent. There is a difference between "developing into an instructor" (which takes many years of development) and "becoming an instructor" (which happens by a mere fiat of the NRA and/or the stroke of a pen on a graduation certificate after one class!).

I'm not arrogant enough to believe I'm ready and capable of instructing others in the discipline of defensive driving anymore than I was when I graduated from my first NRA Instructor course many decades ago. Not at least until I get many more hours of instruction myself under my belt and then work side-by-side with a mentor. (I have no intent on being a defensive driver instructor). A one or two or even three day class cannot prepare someone for dealing with new or even experienced drivers anymore than a one or two or three day class can prepare people to deal with new or experienced individuals who want to learn how to defend themselves with a small arm. But that is my opinion and one I'm sure that is not shared by all. And I readily admit I don't much and that is why I'm still a full time student!

Oh, speaking of experience...an "experienced" multiple certifed LEO Firearms Instructor for their State Agency was in an Instructor Development "Tune-up" Course at OFA a Friday or two ago...this "experienced" instructor was training with his defensive handgun at 5 yards and shot over the top of the simulated threat and shot thru a $75 cable that is used to guide our laterial electronic "Running Man" system. He shot over a threat by about 5 feet! So, again experience and/or certification doesn't neccessarily equate to competence.
 
You can become certified in as many disciplines as you have the time for. More the better.Tri County in Sherwood has offered classes in the past and that is where I obtained mine. More training only helps you improve and grow in your knowledge of firearms,safety, and discipline. NRA has great support for it's instructors. As a side benefit....if you ever have to be in court regarding a firearm incident a jury will most likely evaluate you differently as a trained instructor .
 
I apologize for reviving a severely old thread here but, it seems like the answer was simply get an NRA license. I am a certified DoD firearms instructor. Does this qualify to teach a CHL class in Oregon? Does the NRA have a monopoly on civilian firearms instruction?
 
As an active NRA instructor, I am aware of no state-mandated requirements to be a private firearms instructor in Oregon. The more appropriate question a person interested in providing Oregon CHL training should ask themselves iss: "What type of training does a person seeking training to qualify for the Oregon CHL need, and what type of certification or authority, if any, does the instructor need?"

The answer is found in the Oregon Revised Statutes, Section 166.291:

(1) The sheriff of a county, upon a person's application for an Oregon concealed handgun license, upon receipt of the appropriate fees and after compliance with the procedures set out in this section, shall issue the person a concealed handgun license if the person:

(f) Demonstrates competence with a handgun by any one of the following:

(A) Completion of any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife or a similar agency of another state if handgun safety was a component of the course;

(B) Completion of any National Rifle Association firearms safety or training course if handgun safety was a component of the course;

(C) Completion of any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by law enforcement, community college, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or a law enforcement agency if handgun safety was a component of the course;

(D) Completion of any law enforcement firearms safety or training course or class offered for security guards, investigators, reserve law enforcement officers or any other law enforcement officers if handgun safety was a component of the course;

(E) Presents evidence of equivalent experience with a handgun through participation in organized shooting competition or military service;

(F) Is licensed or has been licensed to carry a firearm in this state, unless the license has been revoked; or

(G) Completion of any firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a firearms instructor certified by a law enforcement agency or the National Rifle Association if handgun safety was a component of the course;

In other words, As far as the State of Oregon is concerned you don't need any qualifications or certifications to teach a course. However, if your students want to use that training in order to qualify for a CHL, then you need one of the certifications/associations described above.

I'd say, given your DoD certification, you would be good-to-go under paragraphs (C) or (G) "... a law enforcement agency..."

Calling your Sheriff and asking their Concealed Handgun licensing unit would be the best way to confirm.

I apologize for reviving a severely old thread here but, it seems like the answer was simply get an NRA license. I am a certified DoD firearms instructor. Does this qualify to teach a CHL class in Oregon? Does the NRA have a monopoly on civilian firearms instruction?
 
I have been trying to find out what I need to do to teach a official Washington State CHL Class. I have been NRA Certified, and took classes in Washington, I have a Oregon, and Utah License. I would appreciate a solid response, thanks.
 

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