I do think thats a good point, but I just know there is a lot of guns being sold out there last black Friday I stopped by Sportsmans Wayerhouse and the gun counter was packed you would have to take a number. I also know there are a lot of gun owners out there that have never taken formal training... I bet they are a majority even on this forum. I think the ticket would be to figure out how to convince all these untrained gun owners to take a class. I see a lot of fragmentation in the gun training industry... maybe something needs to change there to help standardize good instruction and certification from poor. I don't know just thinking out of the box but I do know there is a lot of gun owners out there that have never taken a class... that needs to change. Kinda sad to think about actually.
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Career in firearms training/safety? Some questions for those in the field.
- Thread starter Kimio
- Start date
I do think thats a good point, but I just know there is a lot of guns being sold out there last black Friday I stopped by Sportsmans Wayerhouse and the gun counter was packed you would have to take a number. I also know there are a lot of gun owners out there that have never taken formal training... I bet they are a majority even on this forum. I think the ticket would be to figure out how to convince all these untrained gun owners to take a class. I see a lot of fragmentation in the gun training industry... maybe something needs to change there to help standardize good instruction and certification from poor. I don't know just thinking out of the box but I do know there is a lot of gun owners out there that have never taken a class... that needs to change. Kinda sad to think about actually.
NoSecondBest
New member
Most states only require that a handgun applicant take a home safety course if they require anything at all. I think too many people think there are more people in need of training than there actually are. Most people don't have much interest in taking a course beyond what is required to get a CCW permit. I've been doing this for years, I'm an instructor, and I have shooting friends all over the country. This isn't new to me. I can tell you for a fact that the demand for certification classes will slow down after a while. There's only a certain percent of the population in a given area that will get handguns and they won't be taking any more training than they are mandated to. It's simply not as popular as you'd like to believe.
Most states only require that a handgun applicant take a home safety course if they require anything at all. I think too many people think there are more people in need of training than there actually are. Most people don't have much interest in taking a course beyond what is required to get a CCW permit. I've been doing this for years
this is true but Im not talking about the minimum requirement for a concealed handgun permit... Most people do not want to take advanced defensive gun classes, or even classes to improve their basic marksmanship.
The gun industry needs to figure out why this is and fix that... (it would help our Second Amendment cause as well to have people better trained)
NoSecondBest
New member
You can't "fix" what isn't broke. Shooting just isn't that popular in the grand scheme of entertainment. Golf, watching team sports, and a lot of other things are much more entertaining to the vast majority of Americans. I shot competition for many, many years and traveled around the country doing it. I could be five hundred miles from home and it was the same faces I saw at the last match a thousand miles away. Most people, even the ones who own guns, just don't have that much interest in it. That's just the way it is.this is true but Im not talking about the minimum requirement for a concealed handgun permit... Most people do not want to take advanced defensive gun classes, or even classes to improve their basic marksmanship.
The gun industry needs to figure out why this is and fix that... (it would help our Second Amendment cause as well to have people better trained)
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
While crudely said, I agree. Many training opportunities I've been to, bring out the same crowd. Same with matches.
We have a solid core. At the new shooter introduction, we see 15 or so folks. If they continued we would have hundreds shooting but it still is the same 60 or so.
To build the repeat business in training, you need a significant reputation.
We have a solid core. At the new shooter introduction, we see 15 or so folks. If they continued we would have hundreds shooting but it still is the same 60 or so.
To build the repeat business in training, you need a significant reputation.
Slowpoke Rodriguez
Inactive
I urge you to look at a career in law enforcement. It is a honorable profession, and generally offers the best opportunity for those with the warrior mindset.
If that is not an option, you could try producing your own content for a YouTube-type channel and see where that takes you...lots of guys out there doing that...
If that is not an option, you could try producing your own content for a YouTube-type channel and see where that takes you...lots of guys out there doing that...
NoSecondBest
New member
You're comparing apples to oranges here. Grocery shopping is more popular than advanced handgun training. I can't believe how many guys think handgun shooting ranks high on the American public's list of things to do. I like it myself, but I realize that shooting just isn't all that popular in this country. The NSSF will tell you that 98% of all ammo and gun sales in this country go to the casual shooter who hunts two or three days a year...not to target shooters. That's just the way it is.why is it that an over-saturated market of MMA, Brazilian Jiu Jistu and other martial arts gyms are doing well but not advanced firearm training?
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g.willikers
New member
The number of members for the major competition organizations really hasn't increased all that much in a long time.
Wonder if that holds true for the number of undocumented casual shooters who goes to a range once in awhile.
Doubt if there's much of a market for advanced shooter training.
Once the basics are acquired, not many people seem to want to know more, about anything including shooting.
Wonder if that holds true for the number of undocumented casual shooters who goes to a range once in awhile.
Doubt if there's much of a market for advanced shooter training.
Once the basics are acquired, not many people seem to want to know more, about anything including shooting.
One area of firearms "training" (more like instruction and coaching) is in the clay target sports, especially sporting clays. The top dogs in this sport are all sponsored by many different companies from gun makers to ammo and equipment ones. Prize money isn't where the income is - it is in the $150/hr+ per person for instruction and the DVDs, books, etc. and showing their face in an ad for something. Some of these guys make some very decent income in that regard. Whether that can cross over to metallic, I do not know.
Otherwise, if you get a good job with good pay and bennies (like working for CSX), then you can pursue this hobby into a part-time gig so your hobby at least pays for itself.
Good luck!
Otherwise, if you get a good job with good pay and bennies (like working for CSX), then you can pursue this hobby into a part-time gig so your hobby at least pays for itself.
Good luck!
The biggest problem with entry level firearm instruction is the market is saturated.
Just about everyone with a military or police back ground is getting into the instructor business.
Good, bad, or indifferent, that's the way it is. That means the market is saturated so making a living at it is gonna be tough.
Knowing how to shoot, and being good at is doesn't mean you can teach.
I got my start over 40 years ago with the Anchorage Police Dept. No matter how many "firearm instructor courses" I attended, I was required to attend the FBI Instructor Development Course before the State would certify me as an instructor in any LE course, firearms or otherwise.
Also you have to have a place to train. I have up to a 400 yard range on my property, but there is no way I'll do any firearm instructing here. I use our Clubs Range, and have Club sanctioned training. We have insurance that covers any such activity.
For the guy starting out, insurance cost is gonna put a big dent into profits.
Just about everyone with a military or police back ground is getting into the instructor business.
Good, bad, or indifferent, that's the way it is. That means the market is saturated so making a living at it is gonna be tough.
Knowing how to shoot, and being good at is doesn't mean you can teach.
I got my start over 40 years ago with the Anchorage Police Dept. No matter how many "firearm instructor courses" I attended, I was required to attend the FBI Instructor Development Course before the State would certify me as an instructor in any LE course, firearms or otherwise.
Also you have to have a place to train. I have up to a 400 yard range on my property, but there is no way I'll do any firearm instructing here. I use our Clubs Range, and have Club sanctioned training. We have insurance that covers any such activity.
For the guy starting out, insurance cost is gonna put a big dent into profits.