I have. Time and money are the issue. I have significant chunks of time but my work schedule is so variable that I never know when that time will be.
But I’m sure there are already quite a few qualified instructors out there. The key in my mind is connecting new gun buyers with the instructors which I think is best done at the point of sale. So think I could be of more help assisting with getting that part to happen.
I just think it would be a good idea if every gun buyer, especially new gun buyers were connected with some minimal safety training and introduced to the concept of continuing self defense training and practice. Would be ideal if they got some of that before they head out the door but shop employees are often dealing with multiple customers and can’t be expected to do that all the time. But I think they could be counted on to spend a minute or two talking about the benefits for it and handing their customers some info on how to get it.
And this is why free or real cheap regular classes that are held say monthly regardless of signup probably won’t happen, is my guess.
Time and money.
There is a lot more that goes into acquiring and maintaining the credentials, having all your stuff ready, keeping the minimum student count for the year, possibly considering instructor insurance to cover that kind of stuff, working the relationship with the range, showing up for those scheduled classes and then having 0-2 students show up potentially…there is a reason it’s generally done on a business model and ya gots to pay…as you seem to be aware, you don’t just meander down to the range at a certain time and meeting someone who is like alright let’s learn! I mean maybe sometimes you do but the workaday reality of it, from those I know in this field…there is a reason it’s classes on the websites you can sign up and pay in advance for to get the training.
To be that instructor is a commitment of time and money
I am also a fan of Project Appleseed for whom I am a former instructor. Rifles, pistols, fundamentals of marksmanship, Liberty, and early American heritage
But you’re looking generally at a full day or a full weekend time commitment. Inexpensive though and damn good people
Yes. I would like to see more of that too. IDK if counter employees get burnt out on how many don’t follow through or what it is but it seems like there is a bit of an opportunity nationwide there IMO
That is why I believe there needs to be a cheap and easy option for the I’m just buying this to defend myself crowd. They need an easy low commitment option to get them through the door.
It would take instructors willing to volunteer their time in the name of promoting firearm safety to a much broader audience. But I think it could help the instructors out as well by upping their minimum student counts and introducing themselves to potential clients who otherwise wouldn’t have knocked on their door.
If intro safety class info was handed out to every new firearm purchaser it could mean for a very sizable response even if only a very small percentage of those buyers decided to take advantage. There could still be a signup procedure so if not enough students sign up then the class gets cancelled.
Ideally a group or affiliation of groups would join in the name of firearm safety to provide printed materials and other forms of support. Every gun purchaser could be walking out the door with a little brochure with the class schedule and information that also contained information about the sponsors. Imagine if the USCCA was a prime sponsor and this became a nationwide program. Every gun purchaser could be walking out the door with some information about why the USCCA thinks firearms training is so important as well as about the benefits of becoming a USCCA member.
I’m looking at this as an industry wide volunteer program to promote firearm safety training to as broad an audience as possible that can also work as bonus advertising for everyone involved.
I just have never seen any effort on this front by store employees. I went to a lot of stores and talked to a lot of employees before buying my first couple of firearms. I made it very clear I had zero experience and not one of them ever suggested training let alone pointed me towards where to get some. I see the same thing today every time I walk in a store and there is an obvious newby at the counter.
Maybe these employees can’t relate because most of them likely grow up in the firearm world they just can’t comprehend that there are people out there with zero experience?
I like the idea. I really do. I just, don’t see the time/money tradeoff for instructors who, I unfortunately expect, will be using a lot of time for little to no money.
I know what kind of turnout free classes or $5 classes that people actively seek out and sign up for…and it’s bad.
How about a Coalition of pro gun organizations, sponsoring a free Firearm Saftey Course to all gun owners, new and old. Offering brochures and/or other information of all the organizations. In which they could choice to join, to furture their training or just to help the cause.
Prediction: It would become a contested thing between each organization vying for new membership to recoup the costs of time and money offering something free of charge
The concept is great, but, time and money being laid out for free is tough to come by.
If you really want it to happen, I suggest becoming a certified instructor with someone, and offering free classes
I think you have both the right and the duty to talk to the gun store employees and provide both valuable lessons of experience and potentially life saving knowledge for the new gun owners.
I would be quick to say it will all depend on how you approach it in attitude.
Me, I’d probably get put up for a target! Lol! I hope not but, again it is all in your approach.
Let the sales rep feel guided into being perceived as the knowledgable councilor concerned with the safety of the new owners who are seeking help.
Life saving skills come in many different forms.
They are all competing anyway! At least this way gun owners will be able and willing to take a free course! They don’t have to join, everybody still gets the basic safety! And it shows that we are doing something to help stop gun violence!
For starters, IMHO an hour of rules of gun safety and basic field stripping are sufficient for a group of 10.
I did it with my kids and a cousin in less than an hour.
All I needed was a google image of the USCCA safety poster and my pistol’s user manual.
If one’s volunteering, that’s all there is to it.
Anything further than that is up to the participants,
like signing up for a paid basic pistol shooting course.
It might seem like there is all there is to it, but, doing something this organized and orchestrated and official and using a range’s facilities, there is more to it
I don’t want to be the debbie downer and just be like nahhhh that will never work, so, PLEASE, prove me wrong! Go do it and kick ass in the process!
(for starters, I’ll wager that the range/store will want you to be certified, and then you may want to consider a liability/instructor insurance for that, and already it’s going to take more doing than just showing up with a poster…in my experience)
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) offers a free first shots class at my local store/range. It’s 3 hours covers safety and includes rental and ammo with a 22 for about an hour.
If I can find enough beans to count I could definitely use someone to help me count them:)
@Nathan57 I have worked for several different non profits ranging from tiny and regional to huge and global so understand the many challenges involved. That’s why I know I couldn’t do it alone and would need to be part of a good team.
I also wouldn’t be heartbroken if someone else took the idea and ran with it. Especially if they were part of an already established organization and could hit the ground running.
There is also room for competition. From my point of view as long as the word is getting out to as many gun buyers as possible and as many of them as possible get a chance to at least get some basic firearm safety training then everyone wins.
What I meant by competition was it sounded like the idea was that different organizations/companies all band together and do it as a singular entity kind of thing, which I wouldn’t see working well if it was free and they were trying to recoup the costs by getting signups/memberships/roster/whatever.
I was picturing a single structure/class and multiple sponsoring orgs all vying for paid services/products to recoup the cost
Well the reason various organizations and firearm related corporations should be willing to help make this happen is that it has a much better chance of reducing firearm related accidents then all the anti self defense laws being proposed by all the anti self defense crowds put together. So helping this get done would show they care about the problem and are committed to finding effective solutions.
So there should be some altruistic motivation involved for them as well as store owners and instructors. But I do think the more people who get introduced to the idea that education and training are just as important if not more so than having the tool, the less likely they are to be one and done customers sticking their purchase in the drawer and calling themselves good until something bad happens to force them to reach for it again.
I only own my firearm a few months but I took the NRA Pistol Safety class on the recommendation of someone I know that does self defense classes. Taking the class first was the best thing I did. I highly recommend anyone that has never fired a weapon to take the safety class first!
I know this maybe controversial but maybe some basic safety class for first timers should be a requirement. At least an online class?
Maybe that’s the recovering Liberal in me. I’m sure I’ll get over it.
Placing mandatory requirements and hurdles in front of someone before allowing them to exercise a constitutionally protected right is a pretty controversial topic around here.
My preferred solution is to make firearm safety training mandatory for all public school students. I believe this would prevent a lot of child related firearm safety accidents and make the majority of people safer when they grow up and choose to be firearm owners. And even for those who choose not to, they will at least know what to do if they ever encounter a firearm that isn’t under the control of a responsible owner.