|
Eight hours of training is the bare
minimum requirement for a Nevada CCW
class, as specified by the
Nevada Sheriff's And Chiefs' Association (NSCA).
After the classroom lecture, the written test, the long drive
out to the shooting area, the setting up of the line and targets, there
is, unfortunately, precious little time left for the most important part
of the course - the live fire shooting exercise.
In the winter months, when the sun sets behind the
hills shortly after 4:00, it is often impossible to finish before dark. No
one, especially your safety-conscious instructors, wants their students to
be shooting in the dark.
The Washoe County Shooting Range, by the
way, now closes at 3:30 pm. For obvious
reasons, we cannot shoot first, and then teach firearm safety
afterwards.
Almost all CCW instructors cram their entire class
into one day. We know for a fact that that some routinely do it in less
than 8 hours, in direct violation of NSCA standards. We won't point
fingers here, but if you can personally attest to having taken an initial
CCW class in less than eight hours, please report that instructor
and company to the NSCA immediately. They take CCW training standards very
seriously, as do we. Because the subject matter is so important, this
business has no place for short cutters with sloppy standards. Not
only are they violating the NSCA standards, they are cheating you by not
giving you what you are paying for - a full eight hour class.
At one time, we used to run our one-day CCW
course in about 9 hours. That was still barely enough time to cover all
the material adequately AND to have a solid live fire training experience.
We have now amended and lengthened our CCW training to a 1.5 day class for
several reasons:
1. We learned through post-class comments that a
significant number of students desired more range time and shooting
practice. As engaging and instructive as we think our
classroom segment is, no one ever wrote to us wishing for more classroom
time. They wanted more range time. We can't blame them. While we love
every aspect of this line of work, we especially enjoy time on the range
with students. So if it's more range time you want, then more range
time ye shall have!
2. Performing the live-fire on the bright morning of
a fresh new day is FAR more enjoyable and conducive to learning than at
the tail end of a busy, full day. Everyone performs better when he or she
is fresh and alert, mentally and physically. It also makes things much
safer on the shooting line when you and your fellow shooters are wide
awake, and not fatigued.
3. The live fire segment is a very basic proficiency
test. In other words, all you are expected to do, per the NSCA
standards, is to demonstrate that you can load your gun, operate (fire)
it, hit a stationary paper target within the lines, reload,
and repeat, all while adhering to the safety rules we just taught you.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this, per se, but do you want
personal instruction by an experienced instructor on the line, or are you
satisfied with a clipboard-toting scorekeeper standing idly behind you?
That is exactly what you will receive in a bargain basement, high
production CCW class. That is not what we do. For some people, however,
this is all they want. They just want a certificate, and to be outta
there. Pity.
Others need and want more training, and we are happy to
accommodate! We believe that a good self-defense firearms course
must include drills to wring out your best
performance. We would rather send you home with some life-saving
skills - like how how to clear a jammed firearm under pressure, for
example - than to have simply watched you punch repetitive holes in
a paper target. Other useful techniques will be taught as well.
Because our competition keeps tabs on us, we won't help them with their
course development by revealing any more details here. .
4. You will not only learn how to shoot your gun,
you will develop the confidence to use your firearm effectively against an
attacker, if and when (God forbid) that time ever comes.
|
