I am an NRA Certified Instructor...

[S&WsRsweet]

i feel that the NRA instructor title at least shows that you are serious about the quality of teaching you are doing or attempting to do .One thing I have learned thru the years though is there is a huge difference in being highly skilled and being able to teach that skill to someone else.

 

[Old TexMex]

I don't know for certain if any instructor I've been under had NRA certification. (Somehow I assume so).
All were (or had been) either TXDPS, or FBI Academy instructors, and various military.

I'm certainly not deriding NRA certification.

 

[Old_Cop]

I have one which I will let expire this time around due to age and lack of opportunity. It was a good source of materiel and provided a lesson plan for new shooters. They learned in a formal setting and got a certificate for their effort. It's basic, it does not turn out high speed low drag operators.

 

[jdlii]

Right next to Kentucky Colonels.

.....and Jack Daniel's Squires!

 

[s&wchad]

It depends... I've met some really good instructors and I've encountered some who have no business teaching. Without NRA instructors, Michigan wouldn't have number of CPL holders that we have today (about 1,000,000). I've been an NRA Certified Instructor and RSO since 2001 and I'm proud of my involvement!

When Michigan passed "shall issue" in 2001, people were waiting up to a year for a training course. A number of us at the local club got our instructor certification and voluntarily taught classes. Over the years, I've been involved in the certification of well over 1000 Michiganders. I've also helped a number of people get started in reloading and informally assist new shooters at the club pistol range.

I no longer do group instruction, because Michigan has a surplus of instructors and classes are readily available. I still maintain my certification, for the odd friend or family member who want their CPL. I think it's a worthwhile program and the NRA does a decent job administrating it.

 

[jack the toad]

I've done the Okla. SDA (licensed carry class, aka; Self Defense Act) since the 90's. The requirements for that are previous military, LE or NRA. I have both military and LE but never went the NRA route. I almost did a couple years ago in order to be in charge of the shooting range and training for local Scout troop(s). BSA wouldn't accept anything but NRA credentials and without it, I could only assist a licensed instructor..

 

[Kanewpadle]

My father certified me some 50 years ago. Then the military.

 

[NYlakesider]

I was a RO and certified instructor many years ago. Let my certs drop.

With that said my wife has taken up shooting and shoots about 4 times a week (different sports and different gun clubs) As for me at this point I'm shot out and just do not have the drive to attempt to get back to my old skill level. (I do plenty of practice with my CCWs) Mostly on my range at my rural property.

I did teach the wife the basics and safety factors long before she started shooting at the clubs. Occasionally I accompany her and let me be clear about this many of the ROs and instructors I see in action are basically worthless. Most of them I find to be quite naive.

No doubt I would get in arguments with some of these people, so unless its something very serious I hold my tongue and mention it to the wife on the way home.
Heck I even had one young RO tell me if he could do it he would not allow any revolvers on the range.

One thing that does happen sometimes when I go with her to the range is many realize due to my age and over 60 years of being around gun sports to pick my brain(or whats left of it) for information and sometimes settle arguments. Kind of a shooter emeritus!

 

[hobby-gunsmith]

I am a NRA Certified Instructor

As a Certified NRA Training Counselor/Instructor, I hold firmly the requirements to become a NRA Certified Instructor. As a Training Counselor to teach the class, a mandatory NRA minimum of four applicants have to be registered for the class and and pass a mandatory NRA Firearms qualification and complete a questionnaire regarding their experience and history of firearms shooting. I hold these qualifications to the letter and their firearm history will weigh heavily on the application for becoming a Certified Instructor for each discipline. As to a NRA 8 hour basic pistol course, there is a mandatory firearm qualification and written test to pass the course. Yes, I have failed to issue a certificate to several students in the past for not passing the firearms qualification. I express remedial training dry fire and live fire to evaluate themselves in the prescribed basic pistol course. If they feel they are ready for the firearms qualification, I avail myself to them in the next basic pistol course scheduled for their range time. Yes their are thousands of NRA Certified instructors but how many of them can shoot well and stick to the NRA platform. The NRA has one of the best lesson plans that have been in the making for years with the input of other instructors and training counselors from around the country. I am proud to be a NRA Training Counselor/Instructor and uphold the qualifications to become a Firearms Instructor.

Nick

 

[Gaffer]

Well I am a certified NRA Instructor. I spent the money and took all the courses to teach rifle, pistol and shotgun to help out the club that I then belonged to. I also have RSO and other certificates to aid other clubs and help with our Junior Rifle program.
If done properly these are good qualifications, and yes I know that many do not use them properly. I am an NRA Benefactor member but that does not mean that I accept or back everything they do.
Because many states various licencing procedures accept the NRA certifications I feel that such qualifications are respected and should carry some weight. Does that mean that I should be looked up to; no, but I should respected that I spent the money and took the courses to help others.
I am now just a couple of weeks away from being 87 years of age and I will probably not renew my certifications or the liability insurance that I faithfully kept going all these years and will hang up my hat.

 

[REM 3200]

Not any more than someone telling me they're a PhD. It's about the man, not the title.

PHD...… Poppa Has Dealership

 

[OFT II]

I thought PHD stood for "Papa has dough."

 

[Warren Sear]

To the OP's question, that means nothing to me, along with all of the folks who casually mention their "students", implying their own "teacher" status. I have several relatives who call themselves "writers"; I am still waiting to see any of their books published.

Bachelor of Science; well, we all know what BS stands for. MS means More of the Same. PHD = Piled High and Deep.

Yeah, OK, whatever...

 

[pharmer]

I thought PHD stood for "Papa has dough."

PHD= Piled High &Deep. Joe

 

[Rastoff]

i feel that the NRA instructor title at least shows that you are serious about the quality of teaching you are doing or attempting to do .

I wish that were true. Alas, I've asked many NRA certified instructors why they got their certification. The number one answer is so they can call themselves instructors. Out of those in my Basic Pistol class, only two, myself and a military range master, went on to actually teach a class. In the Basic Shotgun certification class we had at least 20. Out of all those, I'm the only one who ever taught a shotgun class.

The NRA has one of the best lesson plans that have been in the making for years with the input of other instructors and training counselors from around the country.

I couldn't agree more Nick. All the NRA lesson plans are very well written. If the instructors would actually follow them, we'd have a lot of really good shooters out there. I've heard many certified instructors say that they don't care for a portion of the lesson plan, teaching the sitting position for example, so they just don't teach it.

I don't agree with everything the NRA says or does. Their instructor training is very good though. I just wish they were more strict with their certification process. I also think NRA instructors should have a refresher/shooting requirement to keep that certification. It would add value to the cert.

 

[Inusuit]

It cost me $300 and 32 hours of training to become an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor. I team teach four classes per year through the local Junior College and Sheriff's Department. We follow the NRA curriculum with 10 hours of class room and 200 rounds live fire. Students must qualify for accuracy as per NRA requirements.

In order to qualify for a concealed carry permit in our state, applicants must complete a course taught by "an NRA certified instructor." There are such instructors in our community who teach a 3 hour class with no live fire. Their students are eligible for a permit. I know this because I process permit applications as a volunteer at the Sheriff's Office.

There were 5 students in my instructor course. I'm the only one teaching on a regular basis.

I don't brag about being an instructor, but it is rewarding to have worked with several hundred students over the last five years. We often have individuals who have never fired a gun of any kind, and who leave the class excited about firearms use and ownership.

 

[gman51]

Reading what it took to become an NRA instructor I thought a person had to be a really good shooter to pass the shooting tests. I didn't think I could even come close to passing the shooting tests. I am sure that is different for others that have been shooting for many more years than I have and more often also.
I always thought being an NRA qualified instructor really had merit to it. I really do believe a person new to guns should by all means take a safety and shooting skills class.

 

[Old TexMex]

It cost me $300 and 32 hours of training to become an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor. I team teach four classes per year through the local Junior College and Sheriff's Department. We follow the NRA curriculum with 10 hours of class room and 200 rounds live fire. Students must qualify for accuracy as per NRA requirements.

In order to qualify for a concealed carry permit in our state, applicants must complete a course taught by "an NRA certified instructor." There are such instructors in our community who teach a 3 hour class with no live fire. Their students are eligible for a permit. I know this because I process permit applications as a volunteer at the Sheriff's Office.

There were 5 students in my instructor course. I'm the only one teaching on a regular basis.

I don't brag about being an instructor, but it is rewarding to have worked with several hundred students over the last five years. We often have individuals who have never fired a gun of any kind, and who leave the class excited about firearms use and ownership.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

 

[cballman]

A few years ago I went thru the NRA Range Safety Officer class. Why?? Because I have been working with our Scout troop and teaching young men whom most have no parents that know anything about rifles and shotguns. I teach them the proper way to handle a firearm and keep them safe. To be able to teach these young men I have to have the RSO part per the BSA.