Becoming and Instructor

[synack2]

I have done a lot of training, and will be doing much more training. I am always learning and practicing till I can't get it wrong.

I am thinking about becoming an instructor for pistol. I was hoping to get some advice and thoughts from other instructors

I want to do classes focused on carrying and shooting mouse guns. 380 and lower. Pocket pistols. Everyone typically shows up to class with there full size Glock 17 in a OWB holster, but they normally carry a LCP or something in there pocket. They don't train and learn with their pocket pistols. There are things you need to consider to learn how to fight with a mouse gun well. I think a class on that would really help some people. This would be a intermediate class after some one has already taken a basic class.

Questions

NRA or USCCA Instructor?
Do I need to have some type of insurance?
What kind of money am I typically looking at to rent a range for 4-6 hours for a bunch of students?

[JustaShooter]

Until recently, I'd have said USCCA over NRA, but lately I've been hearing things from USCCA instructors that would make me less likely to recommend them. Hopefully, someone with more recent experience with their org will chime in.

As far as that goes, unless you are planning on teaching classes that meet the requirements for an Ohio CHL you don't need certification from either of those organizations.

I'd recommend insurance, it's always a good idea to cover your backside that way. I used to use Lockton Affinity (at the time they were endorsed by the NRA) but I don't know what options are out there these days. They were pretty affordable, I think just a couple hundred per year.

Costs for range time vary considerably, but when I was actively teaching Ohio CHL classes 4+ years ago it cost us $20 per student for 2 hours at a local indoor range. As long as we had 5 or more students, that gave us exclusive use of the range for the two hours after they closed Saturday evening. If we didn't have enough students, we would have to share the range during regular hours. One challenge you're likely to encounter is that most ranges have their own instructors and don't allow other instructors to use the range for training. The range I used to use was the only one in the area that allowed outside instructors - which meant I was competing for range time with other independent instructors.

Good luck, the journey of becoming an instructor and helping the shooting community can be very rewarding.

[Bruenor]

If you are a member of a Sportsmans or Conservation club you can typically use the clubhouse for classroom portion and the range for live fire for a reasonable fee. Most of these clubs will be an outdoor range though (Which to me is preferable).

No way would I instruct the use of a deadly weapon without liability insurance, students can do some surprising things on a range. Any facility you use/rent will probably require you to have liability insurance as well.

If you want your instruction to qualify for Ohio CHL training, you must be OPATA or NRA Certified, I believe that is how the legislation was written in Ohio, so USCCA Certification would not qualify for that.

[JustaShooter]

If you want your instruction to qualify for Ohio CHL training, you must be OPATA or NRA Certified, I believe that is how the legislation was written in Ohio, so USCCA Certification would not qualify for that.

That changed a few years back, now you can teach classes that qualify for an Ohio CHL as long as the instructors are "certified by a national gun advocacy organization, the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.75 or 109.78 of the Revised Code, or a governmental official or entity of another state."
See ORC 2923.125 (B)(3)(b)(ii) https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-cod ... n-2923.125

That would mean USCCA instructors, and others, now qualify to teach CHL classes in Ohio.

OP, if you choose to go with someone other than NRA or OPATA, it wouldn't hurt to talk to the CHL clerk in your county and surrounding counties to ensure they are aware of the law.

[Bruenor]

Thanks for that.