Halfway to being a Personal Protection instructor

[MoJo]

I just got back from Lake Charles, LA. I took NRA personal protection in the home instructor and Personal protection outside the home student this weekend. I'll go back Dec 1&2 to take personal protection outside the home instructor. These are two certifications I've been wanting for a long time. Matthew Courtney at Louisiana Shooters Unlimited is the training counselor, Matthew teaches a great class and works hard at making it both fun and informative.

[MoJo]

The main focus on PPITH is to have an emergency plan a safe room during the emergency you are to get to the safe room call the police and wait. Only engage the intruders if there is no other option. Do not try to clear your home let the cops do it that's what they are trained for. That's the high points there is a lot more tactics etc. PPOTH deals with tactics, cover, concealment, how to draw, point shooting, carry methods etc. PPOTH is the more popular course for those who only take one.

[Skiprr]

What is the course content like for the "in the home"? Of all the follow on courses to "basic pistol" I think that course is probably the most useful to the greatest number of people.

I'm not Mojo, but I can answer that one. It's an eight-hour course broken into seven sets of lessons (six if you don't count the course review and written exam as a lesson.

Lesson 1 is an intro to defensive shooting and runs about an hour. It includes the ethical responsibilities of using a firearm for personal defense, mental preparation, mindset, awareness, elements of confronting an intruder or assailant, controlling the encounter, psychological and physiological reactions, and what it means to shoot to stop the threat.

Lesson 2 is the longest at three hours, and it includes the range portion of the course; at least 100 rounds are required. You talk about the range logistics, review gun safety rules, range safety rules and commands, describe defensive accuracy, then get into fundamentals of marksmanship, which includes positions/stance and grips. Then you head to the range, where the exercises include focuses on assessing for additional threats, breaking tunnel vision, sight picture and sight alignment deviation, accelerated shooting, cover and concealment, standing and kneeling positions, point shooting, including a verbal challenge before shooting, and the Tueller Drill. IMHO, there's a lot covered quickly, so some time is spent at the end (or back in the classroom) talking about practice and continued learning/training.

Lesson 3 is firearms and the law and needs about 75 minutes. The course materials state an hour, but it's very worth the students' time to delve into some specifics about Texas law. Note that this lesson must be taught by a law enforcement officer, a TCLOSE instructor, or a licensed attorney. The main topics are obtaining, possessing, and transporting a firearm, the use of deadly force and the potential legal aftermath of its use, and how to obtain additional legal information, including choosing an attorney.

Lesson 4 is about strategies for home safety and responding to a violent confrontation; it runs about an hour. It goes into making yourself and your home a harder target, including grounds and landscaping, exterior and interior of the home (doors, locks, windows, pets, lights, timers, etc.), and establishing a safe room; an emergency plan for responding to a break-in, how to deal with the police, emotional and legal aftermath of a violent encounter, and considerations for storage and access to your firearm(s).

Lesson 5 deals with selecting a handgun for self-defense; about 30 minutes. Fit, caliber, reliability, revolvers, semi-autos, ammunition, penetration, accessories, etc.

Lesson 6 is about other training opportunities and sport shooting; about 30 minutes. Dry-fire practice is mentioned, but I think it deserves a little more time and emphasis, so I'm sayin' 30 minutes rather than the manual's 20.

Lesson 7: course review and written exam. Ta da!

I very much believe this and the Personal Protection Outside the Home course are extremely valuable for the majority of CHL holders. At one point Charles and TraCoun had packaged an entire "new CHL" training progression that went something like (working from memory here, so don't quote me): NRA Basic Pistol; CHL class; and then while waiting on the license, NRA Personal Protection Inside the Home and NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home. I think maybe it was a bit too much of a commitment for the typical new CHLer, but I still think it's a stellar concept. I'd personally like to see a lot more CHL instructors also be NRA Pistol and Personal Protection certified. From a business standpoint, it gives them some cross-sell options, and from the student's standpoint it can give them a nicely rounded curriculum to complement their new license.

[Charles L. Cotton]

so, if you go through the prerequisites and take the instructor courses, when it's time to teach the "outside the home' you have to hire a police officer or a TCLOSE instructor to teach part of it for you?

The legal portion of the class can be taught by an attorney, a peace officer, or a CHL instructor.

Chas.

[Skiprr]

so, if you go through the prerequisites and take the instructor courses, when it's time to teach the "outside the home' you have to hire a police officer or a TCLOSE instructor to teach part of it for you?

The legal portion of the class can be taught by an attorney, a peace officer, or a CHL instructor.

Yep. My error by omission.

And the attorney, a peace officer, or a CHL instructor can be the same as the NRA instructor, but he/she conducts lesson three in the former capacity, not in the capacity of an NRA Certified Instructor. The NRA instructor cap goes back on after lesson three is completed.

Another note is that, while the Personal Protection Inside the Home course is not technically a prerequisite in order to take the Outside the Home course (which is divided into two segments, BTW, basic and advanced), I do know that if you can't present the PPIH training certificate, some training counselors will want to meet with you prior to registration for the PPOE course to make certain you have equivalent training or experience. Being a CHL instructor would cover that, but IMHO it's worthwhile to take both classes.

I don't want to mess up again, so I'll preface this next by saying, "If memory serves..."

The NRA instructor progression is:

• NRA Basic Instructor Training (often referred to as "BIT"); 7 hours, no range time; this is a train-the-trainer course that is a prerequisite for all NRA Instructor Discipline courses.
• NRA Basic Pistol Instructor: 10 hours, some range time (about 50 rounds); NRA Basic Instructor Training is a prerequisite. Holding an NRA Basic Pistol class completion is not a prerequisite, but candidates may be asked to complete a pre-assessment to verify gun handling and shooting skills.
• NRA Basic Personal Protection Inside the Home Instructor: 11 hours; range time, about 100 rounds; NRA Basic Instructor Training and NRA Basic Pistol Instructor are prerequisites.
• NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home: 15 hours includes both basic and advanced modules; advanced module of about 5 hours is all on the range; no mandatory prerequisites, but if suitable prior certification can't be shown, a separate pre-course evaluation may be required.
• NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor: 16 hours; about two hours in the classroom, the rest on the range; prerequisites (all are required): NRA Basic Instructor Training certificate, current status as an NRA Basic Pistol Instructor, current status as an NRA Personal Protection Inside the Home Instructor, successful completion of both the basic and advanced modules of the NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home course.

Not on that list but one I think is highly worthwhile is NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO). It's a 9-hour course with no live fire, but students are encouraged to bring unloaded and cleared firearms with them so that as many examples as possible are available for the stoppages and malfunctions portion of the class. No prerequisites for the RSO class. You can expand that with an NRA Chief Range Safety Officer (CRSO) certification with an additional 9-hour class; for this one, the NRA Basic Instructor Training course is required in advance, and you must already be a certified RSO.

[bkj]

As a CHL instructor and a NRA certified instructor, I have not had much success in selling the NRA classes.
The Basic Pistol at 8hr’s is generally too long. The Personal Protection classes are even harder to sell. I it’s hard to sell 14Hr course when the local gun rang has a 4Hr defensive pistol class.

I sell the NRA classes to new shooters over 50. The First steps class is the one I sell the most. 4Hr’s to learn to shoot the gun they just bought. I have contacts at 2 gun stores and pay them a finders fee to send people to me.