Recently I was giving the opportunity to take the NRA Basic Pistol course in preparation to become a Basic Pistol instructor. I’ve shot pistols for a long time. I looked at it as more of a formality to get my Instructor certification than a class where I’d learn anything new.
Looks like I had forgotten my teachable attitude. I was wrong, as it was not a boring class. I learned a lot in this NRA Basic Pistol Course. Granted lots of it was a refresher on things I already knew yet forgotten. Though there were plenty of new things I learned in the class.
What NRA Basic Pistol Teaches
The NRA Basic Pistol Course is laid out the same as other NRA Basic courses. Where the course goals are to give you the knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and operating a pistol safely. These goals seem very simple, yet with a pistol just operating it safely can be a challenge for some people. Not to mention anyone that shoots one knows pistols are harder to be accurate with than any other type of firearm. It takes a lot of pistol training to be good with a pistol.
Safety
Of course, the class starts out with talking about safety and the NRA three ALWAYS rules. Although the class doesn’t stop with just the rules. We went over safe gun handling, and storage. Not to mention range safety and safe ammunition storage. In fact, everything we learned from the start of the class to the end of the class had safety in mind.
Learning about Various Pistols and Operation
We spent a lot of time going over the various types of pistols and their actions. Which was very informative to me. I’ve only shot a revolver a few times, and while I know the difference in Dual-action triggers and Single Action triggers. I never really understood the differences when it came to revolvers and how they functioned.
To be honest, being told something and understanding it. It is nothing compared to seeing it and having it explained to you in person. If you haven’t had a chance to shoot both semi-auto and revolver pistols this section of the class will teach you a lot.
The course doesn’t just teach you the various parts of each type of pistol. It also teaches you how to safely load, unload, and handle each type of firearm. Along with how to determine the correct ammo to use and how to store the ammo safely. Like I said, in the beginning, the whole class is how to be safe around firearms.
Shooting Position and Skills
Now, this is an NRA Basic Pistol course so we didn’t go over all the different shooting stances or all the various grip styles. They start with eye dominance and move onto a proper grip and stance for beginner shooters.
It is highly suggested that a beginner should start shooting from a bench rest. Which helps build confidence, and teaches trigger control. It really helps you concentrate on the 5 fundamentals instead of worrying about holding the gun steady.
Learning that Aiming, Breath Control, Hold Control, Trigger Control, and Follow Through are the 5 most important fundamentals is a big part of shooting a pistol. We spend a lot of time on what each fundamental is and how they work. With an emphasis on learning aiming and trigger control as the most important of the 5.
Honestly, learning that breath control is still important in pistol shooting was new to me. I knew how important it was in rifle marksmanship, but didn’t realize is mattered much with a pistol.
Pistol Maintenance
The course finishes with talking about pistol maintenance, and how to properly clean a pistol. Which having an instructor who is a gunsmith, who gave us lots of horror stories on improperly maintained guns he’s seen. Truly taught use the importance of cleaning your guns after every use.
It’s surprising how many people don’t know how to take care of a gun. The story of the old farmer that never cleaned his gun, but sprayed it down with WD-40 all the time was almost laughable until I realized just how dangerous this could be. Not to mention the damage it did to the gun by attracting dirt into the moving parts of the gun and having the dirt act like sandpaper.
Range Trip
Of course, you can’t teach a pistol course without some time on the range, and we spend a few hours on the range. Of course, there was a shooting requirement to pass the class. To pass you had to shoot four groups of five shots into a 4″ circle at 10 feet. With bragging rights, if you can do it at 15 feet and again at 20 feet. This sounds easy for anyone that’s been shooting for a while.
Personally, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I brought out two guns to the range. However, after hearing that it’s easier to shoot with a full-size pistol I choose to shoot my full-size gun. Now I’ve put thousands of round downrange with this gun and never had too much trouble with groups at 7 yards. This day something was different. I’m not sure if it was the pressure of shooting to qualify or my gun, or just me being over-confident and making mistakes. I had trouble making those shots.
What it showed me is that you have to concentrate on all 5 fundamentals to shot 4″ groups at any distance. If you miss even a couple of fundamentals while under pressure it can really mess up your shooting.
Next Step to Become an Instructor
The next step in becoming an NRA Basic Pistol instructor for me is to pass the shooting test and prove I can safely handle multiple types of pistols safely. Of course, I’m sure that I can load, unload and handle various pistols safely. However, if this class taught me nothing else it showed me that I need to avoid being overly self-confident.
As far as the shooting test. I’ll be spending lots of hours at the gun range and dry-fire practice. The test requires that I be able to shoot 16 out 20 rounds into a 6″ target at 15 yards. So I bought 90 6″ paper plates and will be shooting all of them and more. I’ve already gone to the range and found that I can shoot 15 out 20 with my compact pistol. My full-size pistol was another story. I hate to blame a gun, but I will be trying other guns, and doing more practice with both pistols until I can shoot 20 out 20 on a regular basis. If nothing else this is going to force me to improve my shooting.
Conclusion
While not everyone is going to take this class in hopes to become an NRA Basic Pistol Instructor, anyone who shoots pistols needs to take this class. Even those people who have been around handguns for years can use a refresher course on safety. Many people, like me, can stand to learn a bit more about revolvers or maybe semi-auto handguns. Not to mention ways to improve their shooting technique and safe gun handling practices.