High Round Count Classes?

It seems that there is a competition in the firearms training industry to see who can run the training class with the highest round count. It’s not uncommon to see classes advertising that students will shoot 500+ rounds per day of class. That’s a huge number of rounds and begs the question why so many?

Are students judging the value of courses by how many rounds are fired?

Are instructors trying to one up each other by having the largest round count?

Where it is especially curious is in instructor classes. As a baseline, the NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor classes run for five days, including one night shoot, and average about 250 rounds per day.
Each day of an NRA LE class is crammed full of learning and has a well thought out balance of range and classroom time. It is common to see 400+ per day round counts in 2 to 3 day civilian instructor schools. Is the 60%+ daily round count in these civilian classes really necessary?

Fatigue: the Enemy of Learning…

Ever been so fatigued that you pressed the trigger on what you knew was going to be a bad shot just so you could get the shooting over with?

Here are some observations for typical students about round count that are taken from our various classes running the gamut from introductory (6 hours classroom : 2 hours range) to our highly advanced Defensive Combat class (5 hours range). This is the number of rounds fired before muscle, mental, and/or general fatigue sets in:

  • Brand new shooters: <50 rounds
  • Shooters that don’t practice regularly: <100 rounds
  • Experienced shooters that occasionally practice: 150-200 rounds
  • Advanced shooters that practice regularly : <400 rounds

Being able to run the gun quickly and accurately is tremendously important. Unfortunately, FAR too much emphasis is given by many instructors on the hardware aspects of self-defense at the expense of the more important wetware aspects. This misplaced emphasis by instructors translates to students focusing on the gun while ignoring wetware training such as avoiding threats, detecting threats, strategically planning to dominate an encounter, and understanding use of force laws.

We watch our shooters very carefully on the line; when we see them taking shots just to get it over with, their range time is done for the day. They have stopped learning and are just trying to get through it. Worse yet, safety is one of the victims of fatigue.

As a firearms Instructor, it’s important that you be a good shot. With that said, don’t waste time with excessive round counts in instructor training; the person there should already be a good shot (or shouldn’t be there). Make them a better instructor—they can take student classes if they want to become better shooters.

When I go to a class, I want to learn about threat detection, avoidance, and elimination; the gun is only one part of that. When I go to an instructor class, I want to learn new information that makes me a better instructor and that makes me able to better equip my students for what they may face. What I don’t want to do in either situation is attend a class with an unnecessarily high round count, whether the instructor does so because they think self-defense is about a gun or whether they just don’t have enough worthy material to fill the class hours.

So far, the highest daily round count class I’ve run across is 750! Sadly, some other instructor will see this and raise their daily round count to 1000…

Beware of the Charlatan!

The firearms training industry has some incredible instructors—quality people that conduct quality courses. There is much to be learned from them. Unfortunately it also draws people with a variety of significant personality problems—especially those that make false claims of being former Special Forces, lie about their experience, and/or teach tacticool courses that are often unsafe and are entertainment, not training.

If you are looking to become an instructor or to take intermediate to advanced firearm training classes, the first thing you should understand is there is no organization that monitors claims by firearm instructors to determine if they are true—even the organizations that offer certifications. Sadly, the industry has numerous people that regularly lie about their experience. Equally as bad, the industry is filled with people teaching things that are just plain wrong, that they have no training/certification to teach, and/or that are entirely inappropriate for civilians.

Caveat Emptor
(Buyer Beware)

The most common lie by firearms instructors about their background is Stolen Valor, claiming that they were in combat when in fact they never were. Instead, their military service, if any, was spent in a non-combat role. Other lies include giving false information about the quantity of classes/students taught and claiming to teach classes for law enforcement officers, federal agents, military personnel, and security officers.

So why do these charlatans make their false claims? Generally the same reason politicians do; you would be unlikely to hire (elect) them if you really knew the truth about them. They conjure their lies to deceive you into thinking they are something they are not. They count on the fact that VERY few people actually bother to research anything, despite how easy it is to do today. They also count on many of their lies being difficult to research.

Do Your Homework

Stolen Valor
Google Result Found When Searching One Ghost Instructor‘s Name

If you were searching for information on an instructor whose class you were considering attending and saw the Google result above, would you still want to give them your money? Perhaps you mark it off as some kind of misunderstanding and keep looking. How about you then discover an arrest for larceny? Perhaps you mark that off too since it’s only an arrest, not a conviction. You see the instructor claim to teach law enforcement classes, but those classes are NEVER listed on their upcoming events. Further, nothing in the tiny bit the instructor tells you about themselves indicates any reason why law enforcement officers would need to, or even want to, take any training from them.

Facebook Info and Ads

Maybe they claim to have been teaching firearms for the last decade. Here’s a trick for seeing how long their Facebook page has existed, check the creation date by clicking on “Info and Ads” on the left column.

FB Creation Date

You keep searching for information about the instructor, but you’ve reached the end of what can be found without spending a significant amount of time. Congratulations, you’ve unearthed another Ghost Instructor!

Ghost Instructors

A Ghost Instructor is one that seems to have no past beyond what THEY tell you about themselves. They are the charlatans of the firearms instruction world. They’ll brag about what awesome instructors they are and maybe the classes they have taken. They are probably a pathological liar, telling so many lies that they aren’t certain of what the truth actually is. Their minimal online presence will be substantially about themselves and littered with pictures of them holding firearms. They are a legend in their own minds!

After one Ghost Instructor took a single class dealing with the use of force, they publicly proclaimed themselves as an expert in the use of force—the very definition of a charlatan…

By the way, don’t trust the number of likes an instructor has on Facebook or other social media. If you’re not aware, there is a thriving market for purchasing likes. Charlatan instructors will purchase a large number of likes to deceive potential students into thinking that they are well established. In one instance, an instructor purchased 5,000+ likes for their Facebook page in the first years they were in business. Over the next several years, their page only grew by a few hundred likes. Facebook has recently been terminating the fraudulent zombie accounts used by the sellers of the likes. This resulted in the charlatan instructor’s page losing around 500 likes—they purchased another 500 zombie likes to make up for the loss and to conceal their fraud…

If you’re looking for an instructor, move on from the Ghost Instructor—find one of the multitude of instructors that actually has a past that they don’t need to hide from you and is honest about themselves, their experience, and their capabilities!

When You Don’t Do Your Homework…

We regularly hear stories from people that unknowingly attend classes put on by Ghost Instructors. The reports include instructors spending a significant amount of class time talking about themselves (primarily embellishments or outright lies…), screaming at students for making minor mistakes, and unsafe drills on the range. Do your research—Caveat Emptor!

Dealer’s Choice Drill

Dealer's Choice DrillOnce the shooting fundamentals have been mastered, training needs to involve thinking and decision making. We are always looking for drills that can be shot on a static range, even one that doesn’t allow holster draw, that cause the shooter to have to think. The Dealer’s Choice Drill requires precision shooting, decision making, target identification, speed, and is fun!

The Dealer’s Choice Drill takes Tom Givens’ Casino Drill to the next level by providing an almost limitless combination of shooting tasks of varying complexity that require very precise shooting. This makes it ideal for Instructors to use in working on decision making skills with a large group of students. The Instructor calls out what is to be shot.

Some Potential Shooting Choices

  • single card (I.E.: “red 7”)
  • specific card where both red and black must be shot (I.E.: “kings”)
  • combination of cards (I.E.: “red 7 and black king”)
  • odd or even cards (I.E.: “red even” =  red 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
  • face cards (I.E.: “red face cards” = red king, queen, jack)

An even harder drill is to call out a number and the shooter must decide which cards, of all of them on the target, must be shot to equal the number using Blackjack point values. (I.E.: “27” which could be shot using two face cards and a 7, or a face card, an ace, and a 6, or…)

Making Targets

The first thing you need is a deck of cards divided by suit. One deck will give you enough for two targets with a red and a black suite on each target. (You can get 12 decks for around $10 on Amazon, making the cost per target less than 50¢.) The cards are stapled onto the backer in some ordered pattern, rather than randomly. You’ll discover the Dealer’s Choice Drill is hard enough without having 26+ randomly ordered cards to have to search through. If you are able to master the drill using patterned cards, you can increase the complexity by several orders of magnitude by random positioning.

While there are various card deck printed targets you can buy, I haven’t found a target with an ordered deck of cards. The closest is the Birchwood casey 37026 Eze-Scorer which is 23″x35″ and is $1.00 per target, but the cards are randomly placed and the face cards aren’t pictures. Beware of other targets where the playing cards are substantially reduced in size, making card identification much harder and requiring you to shoot much closer.

Solo Firearm Training

Using an app like Randomizer+ Random Pick Generator – Decision Maker, you can enter a list of all of the combinations you want to shoot and have the app randomly tell you what to shoot each time you press the button.

Distances and Subjective Performance Measurement

Three yards seems to be an ideal distance to shoot the Dealer’s Choice Drill from. It is close enough that shooters should be able to clearly identify the individual cards, yet far enough to make putting accurate hits on each 2.25″ x 3.5″ playing card a challenge.

The drill can be shot from the holster or the low ready position. The time to complete a given firing command is going to be heavily dependent on the number of cards to be shot and the complexity of that command. The best measure is going to be adding the times for a collection of firing commands. By randomizing the order, the collective time for one session can be compared against previous sessions while eliminating speed increases due to memorizing the drill.

Feedback

We’d love to hear about your experiences with the Dealer’s Choice Drill and any variations you come up with. We have a Facebook page dedicated to the drill for your feedback.

Becoming an NRA Instructor

Once you’ve decided you want to become an NRA Instructor or add a new discipline, your next decision is what Training Counselor to take the class from. This is likely to be the most important decision you make in your instructing career.

If you plan to base the decision of who to train with on cost alone, it’s a simple matter to look at the NRA Instructor classes in your area and find the lowest price. You might get lucky and that Training Counselor may do a great job, but more likely basing your decision on price is going to cause you to lose out on a much better educational experience.

In every field or product, quality costs

NRA Training Counselors are free to set the cost of their NRA Certified Instructor class at whatever price point they wish. Some will look at what others charge and price their classes cheaper than everyone else. Most others will pick a price somewhere in the middle. Almost all will avoid being the highest.

Our classes are almost always the highest.

Students coming to Strategic Outfitters to become NRA Instructors, or for any of our classes, benefit from the depth and breadth of our experience, a custom designed training facility, and trainers that help you towards success.

Our Experience

  • Doug has 24 years of experience in teaching including: FBI Academy in Quantico, VA; the Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM); and he is a professor at Valencia College in Orlando, FL
  • In addition to being an NRA Training Counselor, Doug is also an NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor
  • Doug is one of only a handful of Training Counselors that is also licensed by the State of Florida as a Firearms Instructor and can therefore teach and qualify armed security officers and armed private investigators
  • Unlike some Training Counselors that are only certified to teach NRA Pistol Instructors, Doug can teach the following NRA Instructor courses:
    • NRA CCW
    • Pistol
    • Rifle
    • Shotgun
    • Personal Protection In The Home (PPITH)
    • Personal Protection Outside The Home (PPOTH)
    • Refuse To Be A Victim (RTBAV)
    • Home Firearm Safety
    • Range Safety Officer/Chief Range Safety Officer (RSO/CRSO)
  • At Strategic Outfitters, you don’t get a single trainer, you get a husband and wife team. Jody is an NRA Instructor certified in multiple disciplines and offers different perspectives to the topics covered
  • Both have years of law enforcement experience, Jody at the local level and Doug as a Special Agent for the State of Florida
  • Doug and Jody are successful business developers and owners, having created, run, and sold businesses in both the retail and service sectors for over two decades
  • We have held an FFL for nearly a decade, giving us a great deal of insight into the hardware aspects of firearms, including NFA items (suppressors, short barreled rifles, etc.), and federal regulations covering their manufacture, sale, and transfer

What You Will Experience

  • Our NRA Instructor classes go well beyond the required material. We share our insights and experiences in everything from establishing a business to marketing it
  • We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and many thousands of hours in designing, building, equipping, and maintaining a concierge level training facility with classrooms, an onsite range, and a Pro Shop that is within easy driving distance from anywhere in the greater Orlando area
  • Your manuals will already be assembled into notebooks so you can concentrate on learning and don’t have to bring empty three ring binders with you
  • We mentor Instructors that train with us. Our professional guidance is always available to our students; it doesn’t end when the class does

Becoming an NRA Instructor: Value not Price

The cost of the training to become an NRA Instructor is an investment in your future. You can maximize that investment by making certain to attend the class that is going to teach you the most, especially as it pertains to the business side of being an Instructor.

To put cost into perspective, NRA Instructors typically charge around $65/student for classes to obtain a Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License. The cost difference between our classes and most others is only a couple of students—the tangible benefits you’ll receive are immeasurable.

Here’s a previous post on choosing a Training Counselor that goes into detail. Use it to compare us to the others and you’ll see that we offer the greatest value in training in the Central Florida area.

More information on our class to become a Certified NRA Instructor, including the registration page can be found here.

Distance

By JL Rehman

Distance is your friend…

Being in and around law enforcement and security for most of my adult life, I tend to exercise situational awareness when out in public as a matter of daily routine. We had plans in place when our kids were small, especially due to the very public spotlight on Doug’s career in online child exploitation investigations and the arrest and convictions of those people. For us, it was just a way of life. Most people don’t or have not had to live that life, but the lessons learned can apply to anyone.

Now with grandchildren, that situational awareness is even higher. Now it’s not just about the kids, but about our kids and their kids. Watching how strangers react to our grandchildren and how our kids in turn react to the stranger.

Distance

I’m a big proponent of distancing. Keeping enough space between me and a stranger to allow myself reactive time if the stranger, for whatever reason, decides to become a threat. When someone gets too close, my internal brain alarm goes off. I’m not a fan of crowds either.

The same went for our kids in public. Pulling them back whenever they were practically nestled up on the hip of someone waiting in line, or too close when suddenly engaged by attention and conversation by a stranger, or just zoned out and not paying attention from a long day. Distance.

For the first time an issue arose that, looking back, could have been handled differently. I was out with my daughter and grandchildren, we stopped to eat and took a table. They were seated with their back against the wall with me on the outside. There were tables lined down the wall, most filled. A guy came over, a bit disheveled, and began talking to us as if he had known us for years. I get that some people are like that and perfectly harmless. He could have been too.

He sat at the table next to us so he was closest to the kids and immediately started interacting with them. Not us, them. He clearly had experience with kids in how to engage them for conversation and the ability to get them comfortable enough to answer questions. He got down to their level. Even so much as encouraging the youngest to howl like a wolf. This may all sound harmless and cute, but on the other hand, it felt like “grooming”.

We ate quickly and left, but it compelled me to re-evaluate the way I handle those situations now. Next time, the kids will be buffered from the stranger. One of us (adult) will be in-between. Distance.

There is a fine line between being socially kind and polite, and taking action on a possible threat. It’s hard. It means constant evaluation. It means reading body language. It means listening to what the stranger is saying. And not saying. It means allowing your natural instincts the ability to do its job (that gut feeling) and doing what it tells you.

Fatigue—the Enemy of Safety & Learning

Strategic Outfitters Defensive CombatOnce a month, Jody and I hold a Defensive Combat (DC) class. The real world scenario based class involves lots of moving, decision making, and of course shooting. By moving, I don’t mean the typical take one step to the left (right, forward, or backward) that you find in classes with 30 students on the line—I mean continuously moving while engaging multiple reactive targets. In the blazing Florida heat, safety dictates that watching for any signs of fatigue in the students is paramount. Once we observe it, it’s time to conclude the training as both safety and learning will decline.

With the news of a negligent discharge (ND) this past weekend by one of the icons of the firearm training industry, I evaluated what information was available to seek the root cause. The ND happened at the end of the training class, just before the qualification shoot. At least three people had confirmed that the revolver was unloaded prior to the ND. So how can three people, one an industry icon and another a Range Safety Officer, miss seeing a round in a revolver’s cylinder?

Some will cite confirmation bias—we see what we want to see. If we expect to see a cylinder devoid of cartridges because we know the gun is unloaded, that’s what we tend to see. We know the gun is empty, so we go through the rote of opening the cylinder and then closing it. But at least three people failed to see the cartridge; confirmation bias alone does not explain this safety mirage.

I don’t know what the weather conditions were that weekend where the class was held and I don’t know how long everyone had been on the range that day or the day(s) leading up to it. Based on typical descriptions for the type of class where the ND occurred and this being just before the final qualification, everyone had likely been on the range a great deal.

Let’s face it, we tend to get sloppy when we are fatigued; with firearms, sloppy equals dangerous. This doesn’t usually get taught in Instructor or RSO classes, but it should! While it is critical for Instructors and RSOs to be watching for signs of fatigue in others, it is just as important for every person on the range to be watching for signs of fatigue in others AND THEMSELVES.

Signs of Fatigue

Signs to look for in others and ourselves include loss of motivation, slowed reflexes and responses, poor concentration, sore or aching muscles, and weakness. We don’t learn well when we are fatigued, nor do we perform well.

One of the unmistakable signs of fatigue is wanting to get the shooting over with. When you find yourself taking shots that you know aren’t going to be good, you have reached the end of valuable training.

Staving Off Fatigue

None of us want to face it, but we are all getting older and fatigue sets in earlier and often more suddenly than when we were in our prime. There is no magic cure for fatigue; when we’ve pushed our body to its limits, we start entering a state where it is much easier—and likely—to make mistakes. We can, however, take some steps to delay the onset of fatigue.

Starting off the day well rested will have considerable impact on delaying fatigue. Staying hydrated means consciously forcing yourself to drink; if you wait until you are thirsty it’s already too late. Particularly in the heat, stick with water and products designed to replace vitamins and minerals lost through exertion and sweating.

Speaking of sweating, pay close attention to the amount of sweat produced by yourself and others. The cessation of sweating is a telltale sign of heatstroke—a medical emergency.

Instructors should be giving their students regular breaks where there can go inside to an air conditioned environment or at least get into the cooler shade to sit down and relax. Instructors should also be constantly reminding the students to drink. Eating small snacks is another good idea.

Range Gazebos and Shade SailsOur range has shade sails suspended over it so that shooters can avoid the sun as much as possible. It has large gazebos with picnic tables for the non-shooters to remain in the shade and be able to sit down. We are also in the process of adding fans in the gazebos and on the range to help as well.

Medical Factors

People with medical issues can become fatigued much more rapidly than others. This is why paying attention to everyone on the range, shooters or Instructors/RSOs, is vitally important to the safety of all. As certain drugs can have side effects brought about by sunlight, everyone should be aware of the potential effects of what they are taking.

For Instructors, finding out if anyone has a medical condition that could impact their range experience is important. It can be as simple as asking at the beginning of a class for anyone with any potential issues to speak with you during a break. Including a short section in the range briefing about fatigue is another good idea.

Train Smart

Get a good night’s rest before the class or range session. Take water and sports drinks, along with snacks, with you. Recognize those signs of fatigue in yourself and others so that you can have a safe and valuable range experience. Most importantly, know when it is time to stop training.

New NRA CCW Course!

The NRA has been deluged for a very long time with requests from the public for an actual NRA CCW class (as opposed to the Basics of Pistol Shooting class that is aimed at any and all legal uses of handguns). In response, the NRA announced a new modular CCW Course that will allow Instructors certified in this new discipline (Basic NRA CCW) to teach an NRA CCW class.

In order to attend the NRA CCW Instructor class, you must first be an NRA Pistol Instructor and successfully complete the NRA CCW student class. I would strongly advise contacting the Training Counselor (TC) that you plan to take the CCW Instructor class from as most of us are requiring that Instructor Candidates take the CCW student class with us to ensure that the appropriate CCW student modules are included.

Here’s an overview:

  • The course is modular so that the Instructor can teach only the portions needed to meet the requirements of their state permitting process. This means that the course can vary in length from 1 to 16 hours. It also means that a state specific, non-NRA legal module and/or live fire qualification can be included. (Note: if your state doesn’t have a required course of fire, the live fire module MUST be used if there is to be any live fire.)
  • The NRA CCW course takes sections from the Basics of Pistol Shooting and Personal Protection Outside The Home (PPOTH), along with some new material and all new range exercises in order to create the modules. While an NRA CCW handbook is in preparation, the Basic Pistol and PPOTH handbooks are currently being used for the class.
  • In order to become certified to teach the Basic NRA CCW course, you will have to be an NRA Pistol Instructor, successfully complete the Basic NRA CCW course (student), and successfully complete the NRA CCW Instructor course.
  • Instructors that haven’t taken Basic Instructor Training (BIT) in the last two years will have to take it again in order to add the new rating. (That’s a requirement for adding any new rating and a good reason to get all the ratings you plan to within that two year period.)

The length of the student class for Instructor Candidates will vary according to what modules the TC includes, but figure one to two days. (ours is one day.) The Instructor Candidate class is two full days; basically one day in the classroom and one day on the range.

Some reasons you might want to consider adding this rating include:

  • This is a way to differentiate your classes from the typical 1-3 hour CCW classes seen everywhere. This is an actual NRA class with an NRA certificate.
  • You’ll be teaching NRA approved curriculum instead of something you created yourself. Unless you have the credentials to be developing curriculum yourself (NRA civilian ratings DO NOT provide those credentials), this makes the new NRA CCW class particularly attractive.
  • Since NRA CCW classes ARE NRA classes, you’ll be able to register them on the Instructor Portal. This means that your classes will show up in searches anyone does on the website. Despite the trashing from the main stream media, the NRA remains the most respected source of firearm training and people will seek out these classes.
  • The modular format of the class means that you can easily break it down into multiple sessions/days. You could even break it into the initial class covering all of the necessary modules and then additional classes covering other modules. Some very successful trainers are already employing this tactic to increase attendance.

Understand that the NRA CCW Instructor rating is far more difficult to earn than any other discipline. During the period where NRA HQ Staff were doing the initial certification classes for Training Counselors, 40% failed! The vast majority failed due to the qualification course of fire which is shot from concealment with every stage being timed. HQ has told the TCs that we cannot release the course of fire.

So that you can test yourself to see if you have the required level of proficiency, here are some things that we can tell you:

    • Practice your draws to get out of the holster (from concealment) to the target as quickly as possibly so that you have the maximum time to take the shots
    • Practice one handed shooting (shooting hand only) from 3-7 yards
    • Practice shooting from 15 yards
    • Practice the NRA Defensive Pistol Qualification Course of Fire as annotated in the graphic to the right (click on it to see a full-size version),

Here are some specifics on the scoring of the NRA CCW Instructor shooting qualification:

  • The qualification is shot from a covered firearm (jacket/shirt/vest/etc.) holstered on the waistband (we require outside waistband, OWB, holsters).
  • All stages are timed—a combination of speed AND accuracy is required to pass.
  • A safety violation is an automatic failure of the class.
  • A 2-point penalty is assessed for firing after the buzzer, not firing a shot, not scanning & assessing on a stage, or other procedural error (I.E.: shooting a 1-handed stage with 2-hands, etc.)
  • USPSA/IPSC or IDPA targets are used. A 3-point penalty is assessed for each hit in the -3/D area of the targets
  • A single round outside the -3/D line or off of the target is an automatic disqualification for that attempt.

To see our scheduled classes, visit:

Calendar of Upcoming Training Classes

Listing of All Upcoming Training Classes

NRA Instructor Class Expectations

Before I go to a training class, I try to find out everything I can about what I’m going to learn, what I’m going to do, what is expected of me. I want to know how is the class going to help me toward reaching my goals and pretty much anything else that comes to mind. Hopefully this post will answer some of those questions for those of you that are contemplating becoming an NRA Instructor or already  signed up for an NRA Instructor class.

The NRA requires that the Instructor Candidate successfully complete the Basics of Pistol Shooting student class prior to the two day Instructor class. Effective 1/1/2018, the same is now true for all Instructor disciplines.

What an NRA Instructor Class Is

NRA Instructor LogoThe NRA Pistol Instructor class is two days with the first being Basic Instructor Training (BIT) and the second being the Pistol Instructor training. BIT is the NRA way of teaching a class and is very good. I was already a college professor before taking BIT and I found it helped me immensely in teaching.

The second day delves into specifically teaching the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting curriculum.  Day two of the Instructor class is learning how to teach the class, not the actual information that is presented to the students—that was learned in the preceding student class.

There are multiple exercises over the two days where the Instructor Candidates teach sections of the class. Each time an Instructor Candidate makes a presentation to the class, with the other’s playing the role of students, they are evaluated by their classmates. (This is why the NRA requires a minimum of four Instructor Candidates in an Instructor class.) The evaluation is conducted by the Training Counselor with the class first providing positives about the presentation, followed by improvements that can be made in the presentation style, and then the positives are reviewed.

Negatives are not allowed in the evaluation. For example, saying that the presenter did a terrible job presenting the section is not allowed. Instead, an improvement that could be shared with the presenter might be to ensure that all of the important points of the section are covered.

Each day has its own written examination. They are open book and require a minimum of 90% to pass.

At the end of the class, those that have passed the two examinations, passed the shooting qualification, passed the firearm handling requirements, demonstrated an absolute commitment to safety, and demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to be an NRA Pistol Instructor will be certified (after registering and paying a $50 non-member or $30 member certification fee).

What an NRA Instructor Class Isn’t

There is more to certification than paying for/attending a class. The class is for well experienced shooters. In order to become a certified NRA Instructor, you must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary for an NRA Instructor. The class will require your active participation and attention. Merely attending the class does not guarantee that you will become certified; it provides you the opportunity to achieve certification.

Instructor Candidates are expected to already have a firm knowledge of firearms and shooting. The NRA Pistol Instructor class is intended to teach candidates with that knowledge and skills how to teach the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting course. The class is not a remedial shooting skills course—you should be able to pass the shooting qualification before you attend the class. (20 rounds fired from 45 feet at a nine inch target with a minimum of sixteen hits within a six inch circle.) If you can’t shoot to this level, seek out an Instructor that can help get you to this level before the class. Failing the qualification means not getting certified.

Staying in Your Lane

One thing that many Training Counselors fail to stress is that being an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor does NOT mean that you are qualified to teach anything you would like to—actually, the NRA is only going to certify you to teach the Basics of Pistol Shooting student class (four different versions),  a Gun Safety Seminar, a Women On Target class, and a laser marksmanship class— nothing more.

Absent other instructing certifications, an NRA Pistol Instructor is way out of their lane in teaching anything beyond basic firearm safety and handling, the fundamentals of pistol shooting, and a few other basic topics. Teaching holster draw, concealed carry, and anything “tactical” is well beyond the limited instructor training they have received and potentially opens them up to substantial civil liability should one of their students discharge a firearm and cause an injury.

An NRA Pistol Instructor desiring to be able to teach true concealed carry classes, which would include teaching drawing and firing from a holster, would need to go through the process to become certified to teach the NRA’s Personal Protection Outside The Home (PPOTH). That process involves first becoming an NRA Personal Protection In The Home Instructor (PPITH). As the NRA requires taking the student course of a discipline before taking the Instructor version, the order of classes for someone that is already a Pistol Instructor is: PPITH student > PPITH Instructor > PPOTH student (Basic & Advanced) > PPOTH Instructor.

What to Expect

The first thing to understand is that the class is really three days worth of material forcefully compressed into two days. The pace has to be fast in order to meet all of the objectives. Some topics will only be touched upon and you will need to do your own studying after the class is completed. Above all, you need to be paying attention.

Strategic Outfitters Classroom

Don’t expect this to be one of those classes where you can be a passive observer. NRA Instructor classes are highly interactive—you are expected be an active participant and will be presenting to the class multiple times. You’ll also be expected to work with your classmates to put together presentations.

Hint: pay careful attention when you take the required Basics of Pistol Shooting class for students as you’re going to be expected to know the information taught there and are going to be teaching that same information during your Instructor class.

The range portion of Day 2 is particularly fun and educational. The Instructor Candidates are paired up and take turns being the “student” and the “Instructor”. We have highly skilled shooters shoot with their non-dominant hand when playing the role of student. The idea of the range exercise is to give each Instructor Candidate an opportunity to help a “student” to correct any errors in the shooting fundamentals.

Attitude

Hopefully you noticed that I keep italicizing attitude. I do so to draw attention to how important your attitude is. NRA Instructors, first and foremost, should have a genuine desire to help others to learn how to safely handle, fire, and store firearms. They should want to help others to be safe, confident, and proficient gun owners and to help their students to reach their goals with firearms.

I stress in my Instructor classes that they must focus on the needs of their students. They must put themselves into the students’ shoes and ensure they meet the students’ needs. Every class you teach will be different because every class will be made up of different people with different knowledge, skills, and attitudes—especially attitudes towards guns.

By reminding the Instructor Candidates how nervous they feel in getting up in front of the class, they can empathize with the student that is nervous in handling a firearm, perhaps for the first time in their life.

Wrapping Up

This post was quite long and had a lot of information in it—just like your Instructor class will be. Come prepared to have long days filled with learning!

Training Counselor: One Night Stand or Relationship?

I’ve written before about choosing a firearms Instructor, but what about if you are looking to become or already are an NRA Instructor seeking a Training Counselor? (Training Counselors train Instructors.) The basics of choosing an Instructor apply to choosing a Training Counselor and links to my posts on the topic are at the bottom of this one.

What follows is long, very long…
(unfortunately it needs to be)

The first question to ask is of yourself:

Are you only looking for a certificate, or are you seeking to be mentored?

If you are only looking for a certificate, you can get that with any Training Counselor. If you are looking to truly learn the material and much more in order to be a great Instructor, seek out a great Training Counselor.

If you’re seeking to choose a great Training Counselor, it should be a long term relationship. Paying attention to the factors outlined below won’t guarantee you find one, but it will substantially improve your odds.

Traits of a Great Training Counselor

  • Open Book
  • Follows NRA Rules
  • Stays Current
  • Is a Mentor
  • Is a Student
  • Teaches
  • Knows their Limitations

Open Book

Do you want to take a class from someone that appears to be in witness protection, held at an undisclosed location that you’ll find out only after registering for the class?

There is a very limited amount of text that can be placed into the comments section of a class listing on the NRA’s Instructor portal and it’s impossible to get a complete picture of the quality of a class from it. A Training Counselor can put website addresses into the comments, however, to lead a potential student to information sources. Evaluate what they put into the comments for the class: are the comments designed to give you information to make an informed choice; are the comments solely about classes they have taken; are there no comments, minimal comments, or aloof comments?

One of the first steps to choosing a Training Counselor is to do an Internet search on their name and another on their business name (putting the name into quotes such as ” John Doe” often helps focus on the right person/company).  What can be found in a few minutes spent doing research can be tremendously enlightening.

Where are the classes being held? If it is an undisclosed location that will only be revealed after registering and you are seriously considering that Training Counselor, contact them to ask why they are concealing that information and the exact location BEFORE you register. You have a RIGHT to know where and in what environment a class will be held before you register for it.

Do an Internet search for the address of the class. In some instances, you’ll find that it is the Training Counselor’s home. Depending on the arrangements, being in someone’s home could be awkward and a poor learning environment, or it could be comfortable and a good learning environment. Regardless, it almost certainly means that range portions of classes are held somewhere else; contact them to find out the location of the range they use—Google/Bing/etc. the range location.

If shooting portions of the class are held at a “private range”, you should ensure that it is safe (has an adequate backstop well above the targets—you are responsible for every bullet that leaves your gun, whether in a class or not) and that it is actually insured commercially as a firing range (don’t be afraid to ask for proof).

Follows NRA Rules

The NRA’s firearm training programs for both students and Instructor Candidates are well thought out, as are the rules for teaching them. Instructors and Training Counselors must teach the curriculum completely and as it is designed; they can add supplemental information, but they can’t skip parts.

By not following the program as it is designed, Training Counselors are depriving the Instructor Candidates of receiving the training experience that they paid for and need to be prepared for teaching their own students. Two of the most common areas where this happens is insufficient Instructor Candidates and not having them conduct the range portion.

Failing to have the Pistol Instructor Candidates conduct the range portion of the class is a particularly egregious violation of NRA Rules. The Instructor Candidates are supposed to be learning how to conduct the range exercises. The best way to actually learn it is to conduct it under the watchful eye of the Training Counselor.

Stays Current

The firearms training world is constantly evolving; the same goes for the NRA training program. A Training Counselor needs to be constantly seeking out the latest information. This requires reading a great variety of information sources and being actively involved in online groups and forums for firearm trainers, especially those targeted at NRA Training Counselors.

This, however, doesn’t mean adopting the latest, greatest, cutting-edge training/tactic/etc. and passing it along. The great Training Counselor evaluates everything they are going to teach, personally vetting it. We live in a media driven world where everyone in the firearms industry is trying to make a name for themselves by “inventing” the latest training/tactic/etc. and marketing it through social media. It’s the responsibility of the Training Counselor to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Is a Mentor

The NRA concept of a Training Counselor is that they don’t just teach Instructor Candidates, they mentor them so that they can become the best possible Instructors. The relationship isn’t supposed to end after the class ends—Instructors are supposed to take their questions to their Training Counselor. If the Training Counselor doesn’t know the answer to an NRA related question, it’s their responsibility to contact NRA HQ, get an answer, provide it back to the Instructor, and know it the next time an Instructor asks.

Mentoring doesn’t end with NRA questions, it includes the vast array of knowledge about firearms, firearm training, business, teaching, and more.

The great Training Counselor doesn’t see other Instructors, or even other Training Counselors as competitors. They share their knowledge so that the training industry can evolve, making it better for students. They want to see others succeed, raising the bar and thereby the quality of available training.

Is a Student

It is said so frequently in the firearm training world that it has become cliche, but it remains true that a great teacher is foremost a great student. The great Training Counselor thirsts for knowledge and seeks it continually.

This can include taking training offered by other firearm trainers, but it must also include studying things such as adult learning and methods of instruction, shooting issue diagnostics, legal, trauma response, and anything else that impacts upon them, the Instructors they train, and the students of those Instructors.

Teaches

Teaching is far different from instructing. Instructing is delivering material typically developed by someone else. Teaching includes instructing, but the great Training Counselor takes steps to ensure not just that the material is covered, but that the material is learned and understood by their Instructor Candidates. The great Training Counselor can also add their own material that enhances what is learned and retained.

The great Training Counselor understands that people learn in different ways. They have the knowledge and teaching skills to present important points in ways that all of the Instructor Candidates can grasp and retain. Any stories they tell will be aimed at illustrating a learning objective, not self-aggrandizement.

Knows their Limitations

The great Training Counselor is keenly aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know the answer to a question, but they will either seek out the answer or refer the Instructor to someone that knows it.

Likewise, a great Training Counselor isn’t afraid to refer students to other Training Counselors and Instructors, especially if the training being sought is better received from someone else.

Evaluating Options When Selecting an NRA Training Counselor

First and foremost, you should consider the Return On Investment (ROI) of the training dollars you are going to invest. One of the worst mistakes you can make is allowing price to be a deciding factor—value is the appropriate yardstick.

Pricing set by a Training Counselor may be based on any of a variety of factors:

  • What are their financial expectations?
    • full-time occupation
    • part-time occupation
    • hobby
  • What is their investment in training?
    • training classes they have taken
    • training aids they have purchased (SIRT pistols, computer simulators, etc.)
    • do they lease a dedicated storefront
    • do they own a dedicated facility
  • What is the level of their experience and expertise?
  • What is their reputation?

Of course, those factors don’t always enter into the Training Counselor’s pricing method. Some will simply seek to undercut the price of everyone else so that they get  Instructor Candidates that are selecting classes on price, not value. Others may simply set a price that is in the ballpark of everyone else.

So how do you determine the method a Training Counselor uses to set a price? Simple—ask them! If they are lower than most, ask them to explain how they can provide the same quality of training for less than others Training Counselors. If they are higher than most, ask them how that higher cost translates to the training experience that you will receive.

If you are going to ask them questions concerning pricing, the most important question is how does the cost charged equate to value for you, the student?

Factors for Consideration

  • What did you learn from the NRA Instructors portal listing for the Training Counselor’s class?
  • What did you learn about the Training Counselor and what you will experience in their class from their own website and Facebook page?
  • What did you learn about the Training Counselor by doing an Internet search for their name?
  • What did you learn about the location where the classroom portion of classes will be held?
  • What did you learn about the location where the range portion of classes will be held?
  • What did you find about the Training Counselor’s philosophies pertaining to firearms, firearm training, and mentoring?

Taking the answers to all of those questions, you’re now in a far better position to discern the true value of taking a class from that Training Counselor.

Previous Blog Posts on Choosing an Instructor

Choosing an Instructor

Did your instructor do this?

Lots of Bad Instructors—Choose Carefully

Firearm Safety in the Classroom

Family Safety: Our Significant Others

By JL Rehman

In the defensive firearm world with the focus on hardware, proper grip, etc., as it should be, what often falls between the cracks is consideration of our significant others. They can unintentionally become an afterthought in the long-term preparation of safety and action. Planning for family safety must involve all members.

It is easy to make assumptions of their response based upon your perspective and the expectations of their involvement during a deadly encounter.

It is not uncommon for our partners to have a fear and hands-off attitude toward firearms. No one should be made to feel guilty because of their personal feelings about firearms. On the other hand, it can lead to lack of cooperation for a plan in the event of a crisis.

Does that mean the end of the conversation? No. A crisis will involve them regardless, without their permission and with no regard to their feelings.

Have a Plan

When a predator makes a choice to invade and threaten your life and the lives of your loved-ones, passive ignorance by a partner really isn’t an option. During a deadly encounter, whether at home or out, their reaction can make the situation much worse if a plan of action and preparation isn’t in place.

Panic is your enemy. Consider these options. Have an honest conversation. Plan what they need to do. Whether it is grabbing the phone and hiding in a safe closet, running to a neighbor, or knowing what to do in the public arena, give them something to do. Taking the attitude that you will “protect them” isn’t good enough. Frightened people panic, freeze and often become unintentional targets. They can become distractions or obstructions to your engaging a threat.

Coming the Summer of 2018

Strategic Outfitters is launching a new class for family safety, Critical Home Defense, a three-phase course: Classroom, Computer simulator and in-house practical located at our dedicated facility.

Teamwork can make the difference between life and death.