As an advocate for the 2nd Amendment and an active member of the shooting sports community, the duty lies upon all of us to introduce as many new shooters as we can to firearms. By recruiting new members into our prestigious community, we are accomplishing two very important goals. First, we are increasing the number of citizens who vote to support the 2nd Amendment. Second, ideally, we are also increasing the number of individuals who join the NRA.
One of the best ways to reach these goals is to become an NRA Certified Instructor. Becoming an NRA Instructor is the pinnacle of being an active member of the shooting community. This is because those who become NRA Instructors have a desire to learn the correct way of training new shooters. It is proven that NRA Instructors are more effective firearm instructors than those who are simply “self-taught” instructors or instructors that come from other programs. NRA Instructors are regarded as the “Gold Standard” in firearms training.
There are three steps to becoming an NRA Certified Instructor, regardless of experience:
(1) Complete the NRA Basic course in the discipline for which you wish to be certified (since as an NRA Instructor, this will be the class you will be certified to teach—and the NRA wants everyone to see the class as a “student” first, to the standardization of the training).
(2) Complete BIT (Basic Instructor Training) which teaches you how to teach, how to order materials, how to plan a class budget, NRA Program, Policies and Procedures, and how to be an effective instructor. You must take BIT with your first NRA Instructor rating, and you only are required to take BIT one time if you take any additional NRA Instructor courses within a two-year period of taking your BIT class. If additional NRA Instructor ratings are sought after two years of taking BIT, you must repeat BIT to stay current with program updates.
(3) Complete the NRA Instructor course in the discipline for which you wish to be certified, which consists of teaching exercises both in the classroom and on the range.
Candidates must attend each of the entire required courses; score 90 percent on each of the written exams; and pass a shooting qualification. Once the candidate successfully completes the training process and activates their new Instructor certification rating, they will then be certified and able to teach the NRA Basic course of that discipline.
Additional requirements are spelled out in the NRA Trainers Guide, (manual for BIT). NRA certified Instructors are required to be citizens of good repute. This means trainers must conduct themselves as upstanding citizens in their community as well holding themselves to the highest personal standards while conducting firearms instruction and while wearing NRA apparel.
The last requirement is that you must be able to possess and purchase a firearm. In other words, if you can fill out the ATF form 4473 and legally purchase a firearm, you meet this requirement. The current NRA policy states:
“Anyone who is prohibited by law from possessing firearms or who has been convicted of a felonious crime or violence is ineligible for NRA trainer certification. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Federal Form 4473 lists the prohibitions)”
If you meet the above criteria, you are eligible to become an NRA Certified Instructor. The next question is, “What type of instructor do you want to be?” It is up to you. You can become “Just an NRA Instructor,” or you can become a “Great NRA Instructor.” If you just want to be just an NRA Instructor, that is easy to do once you become certified. These types of instructors usually result in conducting “Death by PowerPoint” classes. They rarely spend money on training aids and never increase their own knowledge to improve their classes.
Great NRA Instructor continually strive to improve their classes. These types of instructors routinely replace worn training aids and look for additional ones to add to their collection for the benefit of their students. Great NRA Instructors are more than just firearm instructors, they possess three traits that separate them from other instructors. Great firearms instructors are also students, researchers and historians.
Students
NRA Firearms Instructors should consider themselves as “forever students.” An individual who thinks he or she knows it all rarely knows anything. NRA Firearms Instructors should have the attitude that they are always a student and strive to learn new things regarding the discipline they teach. They should have an open mindset to learn new things from all the students they are teaching.
There are several ways to continue your education. The best way is to take additional NRA courses. It is also recommended that NRA Instructors help other NRA Instructors by team teaching. By working with other NRA Instructors, you can usually pick up new information or even a different delivery technique on the same information, that is more relatable to the students or easier for them to understand a topic.
It is important to remember that when you stop being a student and stop learning new things, your teaching becomes stagnant. Keeping your students informed with up-to-date information and delivery methods keeps your classes fresh. I tell my students in every class, “Your class is better than the last class, but unfortunately, the next class will be better than this class.”
Researchers
There are two reasons that NRA Instructors need to be researchers: for information and safety. Many individuals look to NRA Instructors as sources of information. It is important to remember that individuals come to NRA Instructors for training for many reasons. It could be for competitive shooting, hunting or self-defense. This means that the instructor should know about the many facets of gun ownership. For example, the instructor may not be a migratory bird hunter, but he or she should at least have knowledge on the different types of shot and shot sizes regarding this activity.
Safety is the main reason that NRA Instructors need to be researchers. This can prevent accidents in your class and keep your students safe. It is important to know which cartridges are interchangeable such as shooting a .38 Special out of a .357 Magnum revolver but not shooting a .357 Magnum out of a .38 Special revolver. It is also important to know which guns are prone to malfunctions, and why.
It is also important to keep abreast of any safety recalls. An individual recently brought to class a particular brand of pistol and model that I knew was under a recall. The firearm could discharge a round accidently under some circumstances. I asked the owner if she had taken the gun in to be repaired. She said that she did not even know there was an issue with her gun. By doing my research, I prevented a potential deadly accident in class.
Historians
To effectively instruct students in a specific discipline, it is crucial that you as an instructor become a “junior” historian. It is hard for some people to understand that firearms existed before the year 2000 and they did not just appear from a polymer vat. Guns have a rich and interesting history that goes back for centuries. Today’s firearms were developed from the failures and successes of the past. Understanding the firearms from the past will help you understand the guns of today.
By being a historian, a firearms instructor can answer many of the “why” questions that we get every class such as in reference to “parent” cartridges or the reason for types of firearm development. Not only does learning the history of firearms help answer many questions from your students, but it also helps you properly teach your class. For example, in the NRA Basic Rifle course and the NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO) course, NRA Instructors must cover falling block, rolling block and trapdoor actions. These types of actions have very interesting and important historical facts about them your students will find fascinating.
By being a historian, it can also prevent serious accidents in class. For example, by having a knowledge of obsolete cartridges you can prevent someone loading the wrong ammunition into a particular firearm. One of my students brought .41 Magnum ammunition to the range to load into what he thought was a .41 Magnum revolver. Had I not known about obsolete cartridges, this student would have been holding a hand grenade! The firearm he had was made for black powder cartridges ONLY. If I had not checked his ammunition first, he could have seriously hurt or killed himself and/or others in the class.
Great NRA Instructors make great students. This is how we protect our 2nd Amendment Rights. It also adds a new level of appreciation within the shooting sports community that you already enjoy. The title “NRA Certified Instructor” is very respected and carries with it a sense of pride. If you think that you have what it takes to become an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor, “pull the trigger” and get certified!
