Future NRA/CCW instructor questions.

[Todd00000]

I'm moving back to Louisiana with my Costa Rican wife and step-son and I have a tentative job at a new gun store that is building an indoor range and a class room. I would be in general sales, range safety officer, and once I get qualified an NRA rifle/pistol and the LA concelled carry class instructor.

20 years as a US Army Infantry Officer I've conducted a lot of training and observed a lot of training, but even with the Afghans they all had some basic training by they time they got to me. I've never trained a newbie before.

Y'all got any TTPs for general sales, RSO, and instucting civilians?

Thanks,
Todd

[Jellybean]

Get qual'd as a USCCA instructor if possible, at least for pistol. Course and books are better. ;)

[SteyrAUG]

I'm moving back to Louisiana with my Costa Rican wife and step-son and I have a tentative job at a new gun store that is building an indoor range and a class room. I would be in general sales, range safety officer, and once I get qualified an NRA rifle/pistol and the LA concelled carry class instructor.

20 years as a US Army Infantry Officer I've conducted a lot of training and observed a lot of training, but even with the Afghans they all had some basic training by they time they got to me. I've never trained a newbie before.

Y'all got any TTPs for general sales, RSO, and instucting civilians?

Thanks,
Todd

Beyond everything in the program, never, ever assume just because you explained something to somebody that they understand it. At all times be prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep things pointed in a safe direction.

I have seen instructors shot, I know of two incidents where police cadets were shot by another cadet and way too many "holy crap" moments to count where somebody couldn't remember to actually apply the four most basic rules of safe gun handling.

I don't care how advanced or experienced a shooter is or claims to be, be prepared to enforce trigger and muzzle discipline. You don't have to be jerky about it, but you will have to do it and probably more often than you expect. Some times just a calm "ok let's watch where your muzzle is pointed and keep it downrange" is all that is needed.

With new people it will be keeping fingers OFF triggers until it's time to fire, with every body it will be keeping muzzles in a safe direction. Even seen people who have a lot of experience "brain fart" that one when they are taking in a lot of new information and training.

Might annoy some "I know how to shoot" kind of guys but at the end of the day strong attention to safe handling is the ONLY thing that prevents people getting shot "by accident."

[mark5pt56]

Always start with safety and safety.. At first, hammer the fundamentals and after that, hammer the fundamentals, weapons manipulations and safety. Venture on to skill building, adding stress if and when appropriate. Never assume whoever you are teaching knows what they are doing and not review safety procedures. Those four rules aren't just "range rules" I'll say this first, not implying to make mistakes but one could do one of them right and screw up the other three and no person will get hurt, property damage yes.

[bjxds]

I'm moving back to Louisiana with my Costa Rican wife and step-son and I have a tentative job at a new gun store that is building an indoor range and a class room. I would be in general sales, range safety officer, and once I get qualified an NRA rifle/pistol and the LA concelled carry class instructor.

20 years as a US Army Infantry Officer I've conducted a lot of training and observed a lot of training, but even with the Afghans they all had some basic training by they time they got to me. I've never trained a newbie before.

Y'all got any TTPs for general sales, RSO, and instucting civilians?

Thanks,
Todd

You may want to consider taking a few classes from vetted instructors. Tom Givens offers Instructors classes. It may be full by now but Tac Con is in NO this year. If you can't get in this year it would be beneficial to attend in the future.

[Todd00000]

Get qual'd as a USCCA instructor if possible, at least for pistol. Course and books are better. ;)

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.


Beyond everything in the program, never, ever assume just because you explained something to somebody that they understand it. At all times be prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep things pointed in a safe direction.

I have seen instructors shot, I know of two incidents where police cadets were shot by another cadet and way too many "holy crap" moments to count where somebody couldn't remember to actually apply the four most basic rules of safe gun handling.

I don't care how advanced or experienced a shooter is or claims to be, be prepared to enforce trigger and muzzle discipline. You don't have to be jerky about it, but you will have to do it and probably more often than you expect. Some times just a calm "ok let's watch where your muzzle is pointed and keep it downrange" is all that is needed.

With new people it will be keeping fingers OFF triggers until it's time to fire, with every body it will be keeping muzzles in a safe direction. Even seen people who have a lot of experience "brain fart" that one when they are taking in a lot of new information and training.

Might annoy some "I know how to shoot" kind of guys but at the end of the day strong attention to safe handling is the ONLY thing that prevents people getting shot "by accident."
Good points. Thank you.

Always start with safety and safety.. At first, hammer the fundamentals and after that, hammer the fundamentals, weapons manipulations and safety. Venture on to skill building, adding stress if and when appropriate. Never assume whoever you are teaching knows what they are doing and not review safety procedures. Those four rules aren't just "range rules" I'll say this first, not implying to make mistakes but one could do one of them right and screw up the other three and no person will get hurt, property damage yes.
Safety First!


You may want to consider taking a few classes from vetted instructors. Tom Givens offers Instructors classes. It may be full by now but Tac Con is in NO this year. If you can't get in this year it would be beneficial to attend in the future.
I'll try to attend as many classes as I can in the future.

[Todd00000]

So, for now, I'm watching legitimate Youtube channels on civilian safety/training to verse myself in the lingo, etc. Any links would be appreciated.

[T2C]

I've trained well over 2,000 students in my capacity as a NRA pistol instructor and hundreds of people in Concealed Carry. A lot of the NRA students had never handled a firearm before the class. A part of the NRA course is recruiting people to help fight the far left's war against private firearm ownership.

Two major points are the important IMHO.

1) Muzzle and trigger discipline are of paramount importance and non-negotiable. If we have a chronic muzzle sweeper who does not respond well to follow up instruction, they get bounced from class. Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence.

2) Be patient with new students and never assume they previously knew or remember a concept covered during a lecture. Don't take offense if another instructor explains a concept the same way you did and the student responds well to the new instructor when they did not understand what you were trying to teach them.

I don't know the requirements for a Louisiana Concealed Carry License. Our state requires 16 hours of instruction and the live fire portion of the course is IMHO nothing more than a 30 round function test of the firearm. Don't be afraid to teach above and beyond what is required by your state and applicable to a civilian carrying a concealed firearm in public.

Welcome back to CONUS.

[Todd00000]

I've trained well over 2,000 students in my capacity as a NRA pistol instructor and hundreds of people in Concealed Carry. A lot of the NRA students had never handled a firearm before the class. A part of the NRA course is recruiting people to help fight the far left's war against private firearm ownership.

Two major points are the important IMHO.

1) Muzzle and trigger discipline are of paramount importance and non-negotiable. If we have a chronic muzzle sweeper who does not respond well to follow up instruction, they get bounced from class. Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence.

2) Be patient with new students and never assume they previously knew or remember a concept covered during a lecture. Don't take offense if another instructor explains a concept the same way you did and the student responds well to the new instructor when they did not understand what you were trying to teach them.

I don't know the requirements for a Louisiana Concealed Carry License. Our state requires 16 hours of instruction and the live fire portion of the course is IMHO nothing more than a 30 round function test of the firearm. Don't be afraid to teach above and beyond what is required by your state and applicable to a civilian carrying a concealed firearm in public.

Welcome back to CONUS.

Thank you.

[SteyrAUG]

So, for now, I'm watching legitimate Youtube channels on civilian safety/training to verse myself in the lingo, etc. Any links would be appreciated.

Feel free to borrow any content you find useful, it's a public page and you don't need a FB account to view it.

https://www.facebook.com/Four-Simple-Rules-237267769814095/

Here is an example of a post that a lot of instructors have used as a visual aid.

https://www.facebook.com/237267769814095/photos/a.237275459813326.1073741828.237267769814095/268335563373982/?type=3&permPage=1

[Todd00000]

Feel free to borrow any content you find useful, it's a public page and you don't need a FB account to view it.

https://www.facebook.com/Four-Simple-Rules-237267769814095/

Here is an example of a post that a lot of instructors have used as a visual aid.

https://www.facebook.com/237267769814095/photos/a.237275459813326.1073741828.237267769814095/268335563373982/?type=3&permPage=1

Thank you.

[RetroRevolver77]

They pushed civilians directly into combat during WWII just after they completed basic training- so just stick to the fundamentals.

As far as having a Costa Rican wife, I have no advice for that because I've been married to one for over ten years and she's still annoying.

[Todd00000]

They pushed civilians directly into combat during WWII just after they completed basic training- so just stick to the fundamentals.

As far as having a Costa Rican wife, I have no advice for that because I've been married to one for over ten years and she's still annoying.

Like I said, they had basic training, and LOL.

[RetroRevolver77]

Like I said, they had basic training, and LOL.


What does basic do exactly? Takes a group of civilians from all walks of life, gives them essentials over a short period of time, and makes sure everyone is on the same page when they finish the training. So apply the same logic to your students while focusing on that core firearms training aspect. The average American firearms owner if they grew up around firearms has quite a bit of experience already. So just focus on the basics for the ones with less experience.

[SeriousStudent]

Always start with safety and safety.. At first, hammer the fundamentals and after that, hammer the fundamentals, weapons manipulations and safety. Venture on to skill building, adding stress if and when appropriate. Never assume whoever you are teaching knows what they are doing and not review safety procedures. Those four rules aren't just "range rules" I'll say this first, not implying to make mistakes but one could do one of them right and screw up the other three and no person will get hurt, property damage yes.

We really need a Like button on this website.

[Todd00000]

I got the job. Now to get the NRA classes.

[RetroRevolver77]

I got the job. Now to get the NRA classes.


Sounds like a great job. Congratulations.

[Todd00000]

Well, day 4 on the job, love it. Helped a lot of people shoot better, and they let me shoot their weapons. The coolest I've shot are a South Korean army pistol and a 1918 Luger.