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I took the NRA Basic Handgun Instructor Course and I was surprised how poorly some people shot during the shooting qualification. One guy missed the target all 20 times. Only two of us qualified the first time through. (myself and another current CHL Instructor) Has anyone else seen this when taking the NRA course?

Yep. The NRA qualification is not a given like the CHL qual is for most folks. Gets even more interesting at an outdoor range in the wind.



PHASE 3 – PISTOL SHOOTING
Location: Range
Candidate will shoot any gun of their choice, regardless of action, sights or
caliber, at a blank 9 inch diameter paper target at a distance of 15 yards.
Candidates will fire 20 shots from a two-handed, unsupported, standing position.
Targets will be broken into two ten-shot targets or four five-shot targets. Three
points will be given for each scoring hit. In order for a hit to count, it must fall
inside a ½” border from the edge of the plate. Shots that break the edge of the
½” border will count as hits. All Scoring hits on a target must be within a 6” or
less extreme spread. Candidates will be allowed to shoot their own firearms if
desired. Two re-qualifications shoots are allowed within any 24-hour period.

howdy wrote:I took the NRA Basic Handgun Instructor Course and I was surprised how poorly some people shot during the shooting qualification. One guy missed the target all 20 times. Only two of us qualified the first time through. (myself and another current CHL Instructor) Has anyone else seen this when taking the NRA course?

I did a 3 day class. It was a mixed bag. One guy had magazines in pouches backwards, lots of incorrect grips and poor trigger work.

Half of my class (of about 30) I would say were there simply to learn, not that they would ever instruct or do CHL.

They were easy to pick out as they acted/looked a lot like Walter from "The Big Lebowski", but had a ton of fun.

The shooting portion was kinda boring. Learning/getting experience to run stages in a training environment while staying in control of the class in a safe manner is what I think was most helpful.
I went back to my trainer and volunteered to work a few basic classes afterwards to get my feet wet in an actual training environment (as an instructor) before I started running basic and advanced classes on my own.

YMMV.

The instruction was good in the class with a lot of very good emphasis on safe gun handling. The range was...interesting. I'd agree about a third was there just to learn.

WOW Had 17-18 in my class last July. Only one guy had to re-shoot and he did OK second time. No one else was even close to not making it. Several students were current CHL Instructors and several more were fulfilling reqs to apply to be instructors, couple of cops, and most ex/retired military. Even had one guy who was the coach of a college shooting team.

Did not think that the qual was too much to expect from someone wanting to be a pistol instructor.

Now just waiting to hear from DPS as to when I can get in to their CHL Instructor course. Understand that one is going on now, but guess I didn't make the application cut-off for this one.

My class was before the new requirement came on the radar when there was a lot less interest in getting the cert. I imagine the current students seeking NRA classes for PI are different now that it is a requirement for a CHL Instructor.

The last time I took mine, there were about 15 in the class. It was a "mixed" topic class. One student in the class failed three written exams; instructor not too happy about that.

My Basic Pistol Instructor course was in Gatesville - had a couple of folks from Fort Hood, a couple of current LEO's, and a couple of guys who had done private military gigs in the past, and a couple of us clearly civilian types.

One guy had trouble qualifying with his .45. I lent him my Berreta .22 for the second try, and he did much better.

n5wd wrote:My Basic Pistol Instructor course was in Gatesville - had a couple of folks from Fort Hood, a couple of current LEO's, and a couple of guys who had done private military gigs in the past, and a couple of us clearly civilian types.

One guy had trouble qualifying with his .45. I lent him my Berreta .22 for the second try, and he did much better.

I used my Ruger Mark II Target and I was very glad I did. Holding 18 out of 20 inside 6" at 45' is not a gimme.

kg5ie wrote:I used my Ruger Mark II Target and I was very glad I did. Holding 18 out of 20 inside 6" at 45' is not a gimme.

Nope - that is definitely true!

I took the NRA course back in March 2013, The counselor vetted all applicants before accepting their application. The class ran smooth and kept and was very interesting because of the counselor and the students.

Mine was a good course and learned a lot. The shooting qualification was the most fun part of the course however the qualification is more difficult than the CHL qualification.

I'm offering a multi day NRA instructor training class near Austin, Jan 18-20, 2014.
It includes
Home Firearm Safety Instructor
Pistol Instructor
Personal Protection In the Home instructor

Contact me for details.
Karl Rehn
NRA Training Counselor
512-633-8232
rehn@krtraining.com

kg5ie wrote:

n5wd wrote:My Basic Pistol Instructor course was in Gatesville - had a couple of folks from Fort Hood, a couple of current LEO's, and a couple of guys who had done private military gigs in the past, and a couple of us clearly civilian types.

One guy had trouble qualifying with his .45. I lent him my Berreta .22 for the second try, and he did much better.

I used my Ruger Mark II Target and I was very glad I did. Holding 18 out of 20 inside 6" at 45' is not a gimme.

My understanding is that .22's aren't allowed for the NRA Instructor qualifications. Supposed to be 9mm/38 or bigger.

texasjeep44 wrote:

My understanding is that .22's aren't allowed for the NRA Instructor qualifications. Supposed to be 9mm/38 or bigger.

Nope, you can use a .22, it's fine. http://www.wcwinc.org/club/firearmsedfo ... RA-Std.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;