Taking some NRA Certification Courses--Need Advice

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Eric M.

New member
Hello Gentlemen,
My first post on this thread.
My Gun Club is starting a pistol league in the spring, and asked me to be the Range Safety Officer.
I agreed, but asked to be certified for this.
In March, I will take a 20 hour NRA Pistol Instructor Course, that will give me Certification as an NRA Pistol Instructor.

I will also, in March, take an 8 hour course which will Certify me as an NRA Range Safety Officer.

I have been a Minnesota DNR Certified Firearms Safety Instructor for the past 32yrs., and an NRA Life Member for 33yrs.

I shot ATA trap for 25yrs, and Small Bore rife matches for many years also.

I have shot pistols my entire life, but never in competition.

Our Forest Lake Sporstmens Club has been here forever,
www.forestlakesportsmensclub.com but this is the first pistol competition that it has had.

This will be new territory for us and I hope to be asking you gentlemen many questions, and much advice in the coming months.

My first question is: After my Certification Courses, should I be equipped to run the Range?
I coach and have many students in my Safety Classes so I have NO PROBLEMS with smart mouths, but, is what I learn at the School be enough to get me started SAFELY?

Is there anything else that I should look into that I am not aware of in the coming months?

Any information from you guys would be greatly appreciated.
I do not want to come across as stupid, but I have learned over the years, that there is no sense reinventing the wheel, when someone else with more knowledge can help.

Thanks for anything that can be of help.

Eric
 
I think that the information they provide in the classes will be sufficient for you to do what you need to do. The courses and course material are well thought out and fairly comprehensive.

And if you're an experienced shooter, you probably know most of what you need to know already. Don't worry about it, you'll do fine--the hardest part of taking the course, for me, was trying not to refer to firearms as "weapons". ;)
 
Why?

A noob here and I would like to know why I wouldn't refer to my shotgun, pistol, rifle or revolver as a weapon. My rifle and shotgun I have hunted with so its clear to me that they are not a weapon all the time. I probably won't ever hunt with a handgun, but never say never, so for me I have never thought of handguns as other than a weapon, maybe unless I don't have hammer around to drive a nail. ;) But seriously why wouldn't I call firearms weapons?
 
Some people see it as having a negative connotation. Also, many shooters purchase firearms for uses other than hunting or self-defense so the word weapon isn't universally applicable.
 
Range Officers in Southern IL

My wife & I are range officers at our little local gun club. We are both NRA basic pistol instructors and took the range officer certification test by mail through the NRA.
We run a neat little indoor .22 pistol league in the winter and outdoor center fire in the summer. We shot in this league for a couple of years before becoming range officers. The transition was seamless.
You should be good...Set high safety standards and don't let the "experienced" shooters bend your rules...
Any technical questions...feel free to contact us.

We thoroughly enjoy doing this especially introducing the new shooters! :D
 
Thanks a lot gentlemen for all the comments.

Thanks for the invite Swan Hunter, and if you don't mind, I will be contacting you from time to time on advice.
As I write this, I am 1/2 hour away from out first meeting about the pistol league with potential shooters.
This should be a lot of fun.

Thanks again All,
Eric Marleau
Forest Lake, Minnesota
 
When in doubt, STOP. Figure out what is going on, and ask your shooters if you get confused or disrupted. Go by a check list, dont try to remember everything off the top of your head. BE the BOSS!
 
BE the BOSS!
Click to expand...
That is good advice. I was an bow hunting instructor for a long time in CT. I found that even though they don't always mean to, there are a lot of people that will try to take over your class. Just explain firmly that it IS a class, and not a BS session.
 
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