Firearms Training and Instructor Selection
I will preface this short article with this—many of the readers will think I’m not talking about them, but I am.
Does owning a firearm or shooting it occasionally give someone the right to teach others? Sure we all have the responsibility to ensure the safe handling off all firearms is taught and adhered to while in the presence of said firearm. My question is directed at the individual who has no formal training as a shooter nor any background instructing yet they seem to be an overabundance of these self-taught instructors on the local ranges—Pew Professional Shirts and all. I personally see them attempting to teach grip and stance form whatever crap they picked up off YOU TUBE, struggle through explanations of trigger press andcontrol, and have no understanding of the basic mechanics of a firearm. I have no problem with them owning a firearm or choosing to be a shit shot in a stressful situation but WHY drag someone into your delusional self-indulged bullshit? The person being trained put their trust into a lie. Succinctly, owning a gun does not necessarily give you any special skills to shoot a gun—nor does it qualify a person to instruct.
This article will anger some and others will cheer some may cry, which will be a little weird. The intent is to educate—to step outside yourself and look at the facts. Anyone can pick up a firearm—apply the basic safety rules—and fire the weapon in a general direction toward a target. Guess what—the bullet does not always go where you want it to go no matter how hard you try. It takes years of practice and educated patient instructors to correct and fine tune your skills. You CANNOT measure success with a specific distance and a static position. Most will fire their rounds without a course of fire and slap the trigger--shooting faster than you should—pausing occasionally to look over the top of your firearm in a futile attempt to get a quick glimpse of your handiwork and looking for a grouping that will never be there. You will walk away and wonder what you did wrong but will have no clue—blowing it off and recounting the fun had to make the day better—shrugging off any real responsibility of training for potential defensive scenarios. Awesome, if that is what you want--receive instruction from a friend or relative who was a cook in the Army- then please stop reading. If you want to arm yourself with knowledge—see what I did there—then please continue reading.
Before you seek out instruction or a class remember a conceal weapons class does not always give you an extensive course in firearms training. Most States require a basic knowledge of the firearm, safety, and the laws outlining the use of deadly force. With that said—look for a class or institution that offers defensive shooting as part of its courses. In addition, don’t be afraid to start with a fundamentals course no matter how long you have been shooting. The basics will always strengthen your accuracy and eventually speed. Skills in defensive shooting should include from the holster-IWB or OWB-, magazine reloads, clearing jams, and some movement. This is not something that is exclusive to all programs and may be split up between different courses.
Choosing your instructors
Depending on where you live this may be a difficult search. Be meticulous with your research and ask questions. After all it is your money and you want the best bang for your buck—did it again.
Military background: Use caution when researching instructors with a military background. Not all the armed forces have equal shooting skills nor have the combative experiences to successfully train civilians. A relatively small percentage of military actually fight or are specialized enough to carefully discern targets with any accuracy-it can be confusing and without prior knowledge of certain elite forces- what qualifies them as competent instructors? A reliable resource is the FBI’s requirements for their Hostage Rescue Teams https://www.fbijobs.gov/special-agents/specialties/hostage-rescue-team. These particular career fields are highly trained and are selective shooters so as to not create excessive collateral damage. Usually these individuals can transfer learned skills to defensive shooting for civilian use. Exceptions would be any military police force or military with extra training on the civilian side. The goal is not to be trained as a soldier but to defend yourself and loved ones. SO beware of the tacti-cool schools that attempt to train you in offensive tactics. It does have its place but be very sure that is what you want for your defensive shooting.
Law Enforcement Background: Police are on the front lines of our society every day. This makes them uniquely qualified to explain criminal mindsets and laws for your particular state. Cops are also a good source of information on carry and how to pick out suspicious people looking for victims. There is somewhat of a difference between different types of policedepartments across the nation and this is where the research pays off—Law Enforcement in larger cities or towns will have a more robust experience and insight dealing with shoot/no shoot situations and can recant several experiences from real-life events. Additionally, police have to maintain qualifications verysimilar to their specialized military brethren when it comes to careful target selection in a defensive pistol encounter. Cops are not special operations but the appeal comes from their diversity amongst the ranks—police prove time and time again that it does not matter what your size and/or strength is during the fight but your heart to win and preserve your life.
Competition Shooter Background: These people are as diverse as one can get with IPSC, USPSA, Bullseye shooter, and a host of other competitions. The one thing shared between all the competitive shooters is their almost zealot commitment to methodical repetition training until they get it right. This may not sound responsive like their military or law enforcement cousins but rest assured that hours of training fundamentals will strengthen your ability to adapt in a chaotic situation.
Instructors that have a diverse combination of the backgrounds above shows an above average commitment to take themselves out of their comfort zone. This in my opinion makes a very sound and experienced instructor.
You may be reading this and think that you haven’t had the opportunity to do any of this but still consider yourself a good instructor—that may be true as long as you are consistently pushing your shooting and instructing abilities to the limit. In the end most people don’t know what they want from a course nor do they know how to discern one group of instructors from another. Therefore you must do your research and make the smart choice for your money and more importantly your life.
