NRA Pistol Instructor Training (PIT) Classes

Class Length: 11 hours
Class Description
Class Prerequisites
Class Schedule
How to Apply

Our NRA Pistol Instructor Training course is designed to develop NRA Certified Instructors who possess the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to conduct the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course. NRA Pistol Instructor Training begins with our NRA Basic Instructor Training class, which must be successfully completed first. Both classes together form the required course for NRA Pistol Instructor certification. (You are not considered an NRA Certified Instructor until the NRA Training Department processes your application and issues your instructor credentials.)

NRA Pistol Instructor certification is a requirement for becoming a Concealed Weapons Permit (CWP) Instructor in South Carolina, North Carolina, and many other states. Remember that the individual states decide all matters relating to their CWP programs including whether, when, and to whom they issue Instructor certificates. You must apply directly to your state and meet its requirements for certification as a CWP instructor.

From time to time we offer a weekend special course package that includes NRA Basic Instructor Training followed by the NRA Pistol Instructor Pre Course Qualification test and the start of the NRA Pistol Instructor Training class all on a Saturday, and continues the NRA Pistol Instructor Training class and related matters the next day, on Sunday. 

Prerequisites

To enroll in our  NRA Pistol Instructor Training class you must:

1. successfully complete our NRA Basic Instructor Training class;
2. send us an application to attend the NRA Pistol Instructor class, an NRA Pre-Course Questionnaire, and payment of the current class fee;
3. achieve satisfactory scores in an NRA Pistol Instructor Pre Course Qualification assessment that we conduct for qualified and promising potential students; and
4. demonstrate on an ongoing basis the knowledge, skills, and attitude that we consider appropriate for an NRA Pistol Instructor candidate.

In your Pistol Instructor Pre Course Qualification test you must: 1. achieve a score of 90 percent or higher in the  Basic Pistol Shooting Course Student Exam and 2. have a minimum passing score of 80 out of a possible 100 points in firearms handling, shooting competence, and firearms safety evaluation. Any failure to practice gun safety is grounds for disqualification and dismissal.

The  Basic Pistol Shooting Course Student Exam is an open book test based on The NRA Guide to the Basics of Pistol Shooting, which is the student text for the NRA Basic Pistol class. The exam is the very same exam required of students in that class. We provide that book to pistol instructor candidates  who take the Pre-Course Qualification test but you can also buy a copy directly from the NRA before you take our class if you want to prepare for it: http://materials.nrahq.org/go/product.aspx?productid=ES30600

The NRA states that "Only those candidates who achieve satisfactory scores in the pre-course qualification, and who meet other specified requirements for NRA instructors, are eligible for certification."

All NRA instructor training is a course consisting of two classes, an Instructor Pre Course Qualification test in that specific discipline, and tests at each point. The NRA Basic Instructor Training class is the first part of that two-part course and is Lessons I-V of every course. The discipline-specific class is the second part of that two-part course and begins with Lesson VI.

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Class Description

An NRA Pistol Instructor Training class begins right after NRA Basic Instructor Training stops: with Lesson VI.

Then NRA Pistol Instructor Training proceeds through eight lessons that teach you how to conduct the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting course step by step using the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course Outline and Lesson Plans, and how to teach pistol shooting on a basic level. NRA Pistol Instructor Training concludes with the Pistol Instructor Examination and other preliminaries to certification by the NRA.

We help you learn you what you need to know for success as an NRA Pistol Instructor and we help you apply your knowledge, skills, and attitude to teaching your own classes successfully.  Photographs on this page show just a few aspects of how we teach a typical NRA Pistol Instructor class. Two photographs give you a glimpse of our hands on instructional method. First we teach you how to coach a student firing the first shots. Then we supervise you as you do an actual coaching session with a student firing those first shots. We explain, demonstrate, and guide you through what you need as a first rate certified Pistol Instructor. Look for us in the photographs and you'll notice that we are always visible but never intrusive. 

Here are the lessons in the NRA Pistol Instructor Training class:

6. Introduction to "NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course Outline and Lesson Plans"

7. Teaching "Pistol Lesson I: Pistol Knowledge and Safe Handling"

8. Teaching "Pistol Lesson II: Ammunition Knowledge and the Fundamentals of Pistol Shooting"

9. Basic Pistol Shooting Instructional Method

10. Teaching "Pistol Lesson III: Firing the First Shots"

11. Teaching "Pistol Lesson IV: Scoring Targets and Selecting and Maintaining a Pistol"

12. Evaluating and Improving Performance of Beginning Pistol Shooters

13. Teaching "Pistol Lesson V: Continued Opportunities for Skill Development"

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Class Schedule

Here are currently scheduled NRA Pistol Instructor Training classes in the Greater Columbia, SC, area. We add classes throughout the year. If you do not find a satisfactory class date on this schedule you can reserve a place on the waiting list for a future class.

How to Apply

Email us now if you're interested in attending an NRA Pistol Instructor Training class and/or you want to be a CWP Instructor. We talk with prospective students first. Please be sure to include your telephone number(s) so we can call to prequalify you for the class, determine your needs, and answer your questions.

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