by I will be taking the NRA’s Basic Pistol Training Instructor course this weekend. As part of the prerequisites for the instructor course, you have to take the NRA’s Basics of Pistol Shooting online class portion. I will say it is comprehensive but like anything online it has its flaws. The most obvious one I can see is that program regularly hangs up or freezes. The other flaw is that you can’t ask questions of the instructor as you go along.
It was with interest that I saw this announcement this morning from NRA Training:
FAIRFAX, Va. – The National Rifle Association is introducing an improved Basics of Pistol Shooting Program, engineered to meet the demands of NRA Certified Instructors and students alike.
The improved Basics of Pistol Shooting Program places NRA Certified Instructors in the driver’s seat. Based on valuable feedback from our corps of dedicated instructors and training counselors nationwide, the NRA has introduced an Instructor Led Training (ILT) edition of the program, and will continue to offer the existing Blended Learning version. Most importantly, both versions of the course will be conducted entirely under the direct supervision of an NRA Certified Instructor.
These updates to the program, which become effective on April 4, 2017, give NRA Instructors the ability to administer both versions of the course in their entirety, as well as the freedom to choose the method best suited for each student based on their needs. This instructor-focused approach puts Certified Instructors at the forefront of the training experience for students, while maintaining the ease of access, use and learning for those seeking the benefits of our proven training courses.
NRA Instructors will evaluate each student and determine their individual aptitude and ability. They are the best representation of the NRA to our members, and their years of expertise in firearms training is one of our most valuable assets.
For more information about the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting Program, as well as all of NRA’s legendary training courses and offerings and information on how to become an NRA Certified Instructor, visit http://www.nrainstructors.org.
As anyone who has had to take any training on-line for work will tell you, it can be boring. This is part of the problem I’m having with the Basics of Pistol Shooting online version. I know the parts of a cartridge and how they come together to work. Nonetheless, I can’t skip ahead. Interacting with a live instructor would alleviate some of the boring aspects in my opinion – or so I would hope.
I think giving student that option of the Blended Learning version or the Instructor Led version is a smart move on the part of NRA Training and a testament to their willingness to listen to their students and instructors.
H/T Outdoor Wires
Congrats on becoming a Pistol Instructor. Trust me when I tell you NRA Training group has heard it all. From almost every Instructor I know. After April 6th there will be two options, ILT, Instructor Lead Training or online. I hear the online will be shorter and cheaper.
I was doing 6-10 people a month before the OnLine launched. I went to zero. Hoping to get back to teaching Pistol again soon.
With the online basic pistol all that is left for the instructor is the practical aspect. I am NRA certified in Basic Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun and am a CSO. I have taken the BIT part twice in a live setting. It is interesting. If you know the edge method in scouts you will have a handle on the BIT. It is some good stuff to learn and will help should you teach people ad hoc.