Looking for List of MD/NRA Cert Courses

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  • trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,591
    Glen Burnie
    Is there any kind of comprehensive list of courses to take to get Maryland and NRA firearms certifications, particularly in the direction of becoming an instructor?

    The reason for the question is that my wife and I are planning a lifestyle shift in a few years. She's eligible to retire from her career as a public school teacher in 4 years, and while neither one of us intend to stop working, with the kids being out of the house and being in a different place financially, the goal is to move into jobs that we enjoy, rather than our current jobs, which pay well, but suck the soul from you.

    With that in mind, one of my areas of interest has always been guns, and I figured that actually becoming certified to teach and instruct would be a good way to make money while doing something that I enjoy - working with people, and incorporating firearms. My goal is to systematically take courses and get as many certifications over the next 4-5 years as I can, but I'm not completely sure where to start.

    We can also discuss in this thread whether or not this is a good or bad idea - I'm open to suggestions. :)
     

    CypherPunk

    Opinions Are My Own
    Apr 6, 2012
    3,907
    www.frederickiwla.org
    www.nraintructors.org

    Two things someone told me when I started out teaching that I never would've believed, but turned out to be absolutely true:

    1. There's not very much money in firearms instruction,
    2. There is a lot of backstabbing among instructors.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,591
    Glen Burnie
    www.frederickiwla.org
    www.nraintructors.org

    Two things someone told me when I started out teaching that I never would've believed, but turned out to be absolutely true:

    1. There's not very much money in firearms instruction,
    2. There is a lot of backstabbing among instructors.
    The first point is something that doesn't surprise me, although I'm not looking for it to be a chief source of income.

    The second point does surprise me though. Does the backstabbing happen as a means to redirect business from someone else to the person doing the backstabbing?
     

    knastera

    Just another shooter
    May 6, 2013
    1,484
    Baltimore County
    Not all of us are back stabbers. I am an NRA and Maryland certified instructor and I was more than happy to share information. Some of us are community minded and want to help each other. Good luck with your endeavors.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,877
    The link above will lead you to all the "normal" NRA Certifications . There are also Shooting Coach certifications, but those are geared to Olympic precursor type competitions, and not the general public . LE and Armed Security Instructorships require you to already be employed in the field.

    And you can't really make meaningful money from teaching same old, same old basic NRA courses.

    If you relocated to a state that : 1. Was Shall Issue 2. Required some sort of training 3. And accepted basic NRA classes for that 4. And have range facilities to host students , you can do a little somthing . But it is more in the nature of a cpl times a month, and not scalable into full time, or half time gig .
     

    knastera

    Just another shooter
    May 6, 2013
    1,484
    Baltimore County
    The link above will lead you to all the "normal" NRA Certifications . There are also Shooting Coach certifications, but those are geared to Olympic precursor type competitions, and not the general public . LE and Armed Security Instructorships require you to already be employed in the field.

    And you can't really make meaningful money from teaching same old, same old basic NRA courses.

    If you relocated to a state that : 1. Was Shall Issue 2. Required some sort of training 3. And accepted basic NRA classes for that 4. And have range facilities to host students , you can do a little somthing . But it is more in the nature of a cpl times a month, and not scalable into full time, or half time gig .


    I have to agree with that. The only NRA classes that I've made any money on are Refuse To Be A Victim. The NRA totally screwed up basic pistol and is now fixing it. A range like FreeState has a full scale training business. It's hard to compete with them because you cannot take a student to their range and train them yourself (liability and conflict of interest issues). They have several instructors and teach a broad spectrum of classes. The only other money I've made with my NRA certification is from teaching HQL because Maryland takes my NRA Basic Pistol instructor cert as sufficient to grant me a certification to do HQL and W&C.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,877
    To put it into context, an armload of Certifications might or might not make you a more desireable potential hire at a commercial shooting range, it is not a shortcut to becoming a sucuessful entrepreneur.

    Not to say that teaching isn't important , and personally rewarding . Just treat it as essentially a volunteer activity, and if you net lunch money on top of expenses, declare Victory .
     

    Inigoes

    Head'n for the hills
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 21, 2008
    49,359
    SoMD / West PA
    With Maryland via DNR: you can become a Maryland range RSO, Hunter Education Instructor, Muzzleloader Instructor, and/or Bowhunter Instructor.

    The PA game commission uses sworn officers to teach hunter education nowadays.
     

    kenpo333

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 18, 2012
    3,322
    Salisbury Maryland
    training

    Not all of us are back stabbers. I am an NRA and Maryland certified instructor and I was more than happy to share information. Some of us are community minded and want to help each other. Good luck with your endeavors.

    I have to agree with you. I have lots of friends that are also fellow instructors. In fact we have a group of five that teach together in team teaching.
     

    mcbruzdzinski

    NRA Training Counselor
    Industry Partner
    Aug 28, 2007
    7,101
    Catonsville MD
    www.frederickiwla.org
    www.nraintructors.org

    Two things someone told me when I started out teaching that I never would've believed, but turned out to be absolutely true:

    1. There's not very much money in firearms instruction,
    2. There is a lot of backstabbing among instructors.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro



    1.) True, you will not get rich by teaching but you will get the joy of seeing your students back on the range shooting.


    2.) Not all back-stab. Many of us refer each other or send students to fellow instructors who can better serve a student's needs.


    3.) Most Training Counselors are great resources for advice and guidance, even if they are not the one who taught you!
     

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