I contacted NRA last week to send me my instructor permit along with my Illinois certification plus permit. I joined the NRA instructor 1973. I became an instructor. I. recently joined USSCCA to become an instructor as the NRA lost my lifetime membership and instructors certification. My membership was LIFETIME fore $500 never to expire. BS.
Before leaving NRA site I went into their community to see what they are talking about these days.
Way too many guys bashing USCCA. Telling people about the great resources the NRA shares. So Iām going to explain the difference. USCCA has so much more training courses, with Videos performed by professional, licensed, shooters that by presentation you can tell they practice what they preach. The NRA has nothing comparable. This is 50 years later. I get American Rifleman free in the mail when they feel like sending my monthly copy maybe every 6 months. Iāve competed in many Hogans Alley competitions & fast draws. Iāve been the only female competitor in Illinois competition against Sportsman shooters. Iām also the only revolver with handgun & red dot/backsites, cross drawer, in these competitions. I know how not to pull gun out to avoid shooting my competitors. Iāve been invited to the NRA Fort Campbell competitions. The bad thing about competing is most competitors are no trained well in how to do competition. No one at our range except my ex husband and myself are fully trained shooters & we were both range officers.
I taught the CPD Cadet rejects in firearm training to stay on police force. Iāve seen way too many shooters blow a toe or two & an ear off by pretending to know how to quick draw & swirl their cute guns around their fingers loaded, pointing at others.
NRA lacks training classes to wanna be shooters. Yes they do have a good program to teach instructors, but that training isnāt always used by an instructor.
The NRA guys brag about how NRAprovides classes like USCCA. This is false. NRA also doesnāt teach the CCW classes at all. The training you can get lasts an hour or so on. Stance and target practice. If you hit the target with a hole anywhere on paper, you pass. My students are taught how to handle a weapon and I use my own training weapons with the red dot and the back sites. I canāt lift my shoulders so I can only teach Safety with a handgun, which includes how to clean your weapon and how often. I had put together my own teaching handbooks for each user. One is for revolvers and one is for semi-automatic handguns.
Before a student leaves my classes they can group shots surrounding each other. Whether itās in the bullseye area or the crotch area. Yes crotch. I mostly taught raped victims to aim for the part that causes shooter grief. No one wants to be raped by gunpoint. It will never happen to me again.
NRA only teaches about protection. Nothing to do with reason for learning to shoot. Iāve taught mostly rape victims in Chicago & Clearwater, FL, victims. My shooters were referred to me by Area 6 Victim Squad & Pinellas County Sheriffās Dept.
NRA doesnāt care if instructor has a good reputation as long as instructor can shoot a gun. A Sheriffās deputy in Cook County IL who took training with us, blew off his ear. He brought the Cadet to my class. Deputy lost his ear before I walked into the Range. Good thing Iām a Trauma Educator at the same time. My tactical pack holds all of my medical equipment also.
NRA doesnāt give incentives to join. They donāt encourage anyone to take CPR, First Aid, AED use, or helicopter trading. I took, the helicopter training for my Trauma Nurse Specialist course, at University of Chicago. I suggest this course for all shootings outside of home. EMS/ Trauma Nurse are handing in traffic shoot outs or critical crashes. If youāre going to shoot someone, donāt be afraid to stop the bleeding too.
USCCA has read my attributes to my skills. Weāve all trained differently, but USCCA is the highest referral rating Iād give to newbie shooters and older military shooters who brag about their war experience with a weapon. I teach everyone as an equal.
NRA is just about camaraderie on the range or when hunting. You get excellent knowledge from USCCA at your own pace on the computer. Earn badges from the courses you finish. And sign in daily to try to win handgun of the day.