Becoming an instructor

M

Micahweeks

New member
Hey, guys. I've been around TFL for a couple of years. I recently posted a thread about carrying with a back problem. Well, there's a new development in that. I'll be leaving the Criminal Justice field and heading to another city job. The duty belt is just too painful to endure. I may return in the future if it gets better, but only time will tell.

In my spare time, I have thought about going ahead and getting certified as an instructor. I have the proficiency and armed professional experience, and I was a teacher for several years. It just seems to be a natural step. What do you guys think the best route is for this, and how do you even go about finding work?
 
NRA and one of the local instructors that teach CCW classes should be able to point you in the right direction
 
NRA has good instructor courses. The CMP has their Master Instructor Course, and there is the 4H Shooting program.

Not something you're going to get rich doing, the field is full, seems like every ex cop/ex military guy out there is starting some sort of school or other.

What we need in the firearms instructor field is more people willing to donate their time instructing youth and others of low income who want the training but don't have the big bucks for those fancy schools.

I do a lot of instruction, youth, cops, High Power, CMP GSM... and I don't charge a dime.

I get my warm fuzzy feeling teaching 4H and other kids or getting juniors into high power rifle shooting.
 
It sounds like you are interested more in becoming a "tactical" instructor (a la Gunsight, Blackwater, Clint Smith, etc.) rather than a typical NRA handgun instructor. I don't know of any avenue to becoming "certified" as that type of instructor, nor do I know how you might find employment in that field. All the PDs in my neck of the woods use one of their more senior officers as the firearms trainer/instructor.

If you just want to become an NRA handgun instructor, the ONLY way to do it is to find an NRA counselor/trainer in your area who is accredited to train people in the Basic handgun class. Take the training, pass the final exam, pay your money and you are a certified NRA Handgun instructor. That won't get you a job, though.

Instructors around here promote their classes by handing out brochures and by posting business cards on community bulletin boards (the physical ones, not on-line). The NRA class requires a live fire component, so in addition to needing a space in which you can do the classroom segment, you will also need access to a range for conducting the live fire component.
 
I hadn't thought about youth instruction. I taught high school, so maybe I'll think about that. I'm no precision expert with a rifle, but I might have the time to learn it well. I'm not going to try tactical shooting. I'm trying to heal a back injury, so I'm thinking lower impact.
 
I hadn't thought about youth instruction. I taught high school, so maybe I'll think about that. I'm no precision expert with a rifle, but I might have the time to learn it well.
Click to expand...

Well now, that narrows it down, and allows for the answer you're looking for.

The Civilian Marksmanship GSM Master Instructor Course. Don't let the GSM (Garand, springfield, military) part get you, the course also covers Sporting Rifle and the CMP is geared toward juniors.

Here is the information for the CMP GSM MI course, which will certify you as a CMP instructor. It's reatively cheap and taught by Gary Anderson, an Olympic Medic holder, and supper great guy.

http://www.odcmp.com/Training/GSM.htm
 
I posted about this probably about 9 months ago. Browsing around looking for CMP affiliated clubs, I found a youth shooting league. This caught my eye not so much for the CMP affiliation, but for the overall experience. I have since been volunteering there and aside from the joy it brings to help kids learn, it has also helped network a bit. Thats one thing the NRA instructor course will really stress. Since then, we as a club have been doing and planning for various NRA instructor courses. Through the shooting league and NRA courses, not only have I made a good network of friends but people who run courses and schools as well. Being young, it has also given me an oppurtunity to learn more about shooting and the community. I'd find something along those lines and go from there.

Typically, I'd imagine you need some sort of credentials to get involved with something along the lines of a league. Being in the military I beleive was mine and Im sure your LE background will more then suffice. Even so, I still observed for a good while before I really got into it. If you're just interested in courses for now, here is a link for NRA courses that you can search for in your area.

http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx
 
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