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Becoming An Instructor

422 views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  SIGP250 
#1 ·
I didn't know where to put this thread - I hope this forum is OK.


I am looking for some advice, thoughts and comments.

I have been shooting since 2013 with a Glock 17 Gen 4, Glock 30 Gen 4 and a SW M&P Compact 22 and I had my CCW license since 2013. I truly enjoy introducing my friends to shooting at my NSSF 5 star range. I always give the person about an hour of training at my or their house before we go the the range consisting of gun safety, gun operation, loading, sight alignment/sight picture, etc. I think the preliminary training away from the range is better than trying to explain and show them all the information at the range as it's really hard to have a good conversation with all of the shooting noise in the background. All of my friends that I have done this with have all been extremely complimentary of my knowledge, teaching ability and methods.

After saying all of this, I would really like to become an NRA instructor but I feel there are several obstacles in my way. I don't mind paying the cost of the NRA instructor training, etc. to become NRA certified. After doing some reading and research I have discovered that to protect myself and and or my students I should:

- have liability insurance
- be incorporated
- have a location other than my house in which to hold the non-range training sessions
- find a range where they allow "outside" instructors to bring students to shoot

In my view, the above requirements make becoming an instructor a lot more difficult and expensive.

I think the above requirements still apply whether I would be a "NRA Certified" or non NRA instructor. I could try to get a job and be employed by a range or LGS and teach under their umbrella instead of trying to do this all on my own.

The bottom line is that I really enjoy teaching and introducing pro and anti gun new comers to the shooting sports and I would like to somehow make that possible.

I would appreciate your advice, thoughts or comments. Bill
 
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#2 ·
NRA instructor status enables me to certify students for Ohio's CHL qualification. The insurance you are talking about runs a little over $300/year. I operate as an LLC. Classes can be given just about anywhere.
 
#3 ·
Keep in mind that one of the most popular NRA courses, basic pistol just went blended which means the instructor has the students little to no time in a classroom setting and mainly only sees that student on the range. The classroom portion is a web based training.

I'll not get into whether this is good or bad but it does make it a bit more challenging to know if the student really did get what they needed before going to live fire.
 
#4 ·
This first question I would ask you is why are you doing it? Are you expecting income from it? Are you expecting it to be your livelihood? Or are you simply wanting to help introduce people to something you enjoy and there really aren't income dollars attached?

I'm not trying to rain on your parade here but knowing the KC area as well as I do I think it's only fair to say that we're pretty well saturated with firearms instructors. I think your best bet would be to find someone to work for because I can tell you that you're probably not going to actually make much of an income doing it on your own. That's just the reality of it.
 
#7 ·
Thanks to everyone especially TX expat from Kansas City for your eye opening comments and thoughts. I have been wanting to post my thread for quite a while and I am glad I did. I would not be an instructor for the money but because I enjoy teaching and helping new people into shooting.

I will continue to do as I am doing now with my friends and acquaintances rather than being a paid instructor, NRA or otherwise.

Thanks again for your good words of advise and wisdom. Bill
 
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#6 ·
Gramps and I were both NRA basic pistol instructors. But the cost - insurance and many other "costs" including some imposed by the NRA, like for your teaching materials, etc. - became more than we wanted to deal with since we were not going to be doing classes regularly and often. There is also quite a bit of ongoing paperwork involved.

We also talked to a couple of ranges in our area that have regular classes and asked about being substitute teachers for them, but they all had more qualified instructors than they needed.

It is not an easy thing to get into, and you also have to be re-certified regularly by the NRA. It's not a one time forever thing. That is as it should be, though.

Good luck.
 
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