I have been truly blessed to get to train with some of the most amazing instructors in the industry. Low light class with Matt Little, shooting on the move with Mickey Schuch, Close Quarters with Chuck Haggard, ECQC with Craig Douglas…this list goes on. Each class was challenging and helped me stretch and grow as both a shooter and an instructor. I love taking advanced training, but there’s also something to be said for people who offer firearms training for beginners.
Getting new shooters started down the right path is important work. A good or bad first experience can impact their outlook on practice and training for the rest of their lives. We know a large percentage of new gun owners will take the required conceal carry class and that’s it. Many won’t even practice. They will leave that first class, put their gun in a drawer, and forget about it. Even worse, some will take a conceal carry class and then assume they are good to go to carry in public without any additional practice or training.
Unfortunately, a lot of training that’s available to new shooters leaves something to be desired. Generally speaking the curriculum offered by the NRA and USCCA isn’t terrible. It covers the basics and is a good place to start. However, there are way too many instructors who lack the necessary skills and abilities to teach. Especially to do firearms training for beginners.
A Cautionary Tale
Being a great shooter or experienced in something isn’t enough to teach new people. You have to be able to break down skills to the lowest level and explain them to others in a way they can understand. You also have to be able to separate yourself from your current skill level and remember what it was like to be brand new. Otherwise it is easy to forget or overlook important steps in the learning process.
Here’s a great recent example:
I really want to hunt alligators. I don’t know why, I just do. But I have never hunted before, so figured I should probably start with something smaller and work my way up to the apex predator. A group I have done several events with was sponsoring a squirrel hunting for beginners class and I thought “this is perfect!”. The class was two parts; a Friday night classroom session and then actual hunting on Saturday.
I was nervous but also excited when I signed up. Since this group is usually great about sharing information, I just assumed that I didn’t need anything since I never got an email saying I needed things. Sadly that was not the case. I ended up not being able to hunt because I didn’t know I needed a permit and I wasn’t able to get one online Friday night because someone has to visually verify your hunters education card if you are a non-resident.
Training Beginners
It was an honest mistake on the organizer’s part but still disappointing. It’s also a great cautionary tale for anyone who offers classes marketed as being for beginners. Think about your class from the risk management lens. What are the known knowns, the known unknowns, and most importantly the unknown unknowns for your students? You always need to stop and remember what it’s like to know nothing and assume that is where the beginner is coming from.
You’ll likely have people with mixed levels of skills in a beginner class, but it’s always better to err on the side of the least informed. A little reminder or refresher won’t hurt the more experienced student. But missing an overlooked vital bit of information can be detrimental to the true newbie’s learning experience.
Separating your current skills from what you need to teach the beginner can be hard for some instructors. I know a few who get frustrated teaching beginner classes because it’s not as fun and exciting as doing something like teaching advanced marksmanship or shooting out car windows or going through a shoot house. (I also know instructors who teach those classed who definitely shouldn’t be, but that’s for another article).
The thing is, everyone in those advance classes is there because someone got them started on the right path when they were brand new. Offering high quality firearms training for beginners is one of the best ways to insure future students for your advance classes, not to mention future income.
I don’t know about you, but I get a real sense of accomplishment when I see a new shooter get “it”. The training bug can be highly contagious if you sow the seeds of success early in a the training process.