NRA Education & Training Update
CCW
Training
by Christian Vara, Training Program Coordinator
The CCW program has been almost 2 years in the making and is the first NRA program specifically designed to meet the States' requirements for concealed carry permits. In it, the course covers 10 different classroom lessons and can range from 1 to 16 hours. If necessary to meet the state or local requirements, a qualification course of fire may also be administered. In the NRA CCW course, instructors will teach the basic knowledge, skills and attitude necessary to carry a concealed pistol for personal defense.
For the instructor level course, the Trainers will cover how the course will be administered to the public. By design, the course lesson plan is “a la carte”, based on the state minimum requirements. Some of the available topics to be taught may include, Firearms Safety, Basic Defensive Pistol Skills, Loading and Stoppage Remediation, Carry Modes and Pistol Concealment. When the instructor creates the course on the instructor portal, they choose which lessons out of the 10 will be taught. If the states minimum requirements are a class on Firearms Safety, that’s all the instructor will choose if they are sticking to the state minimum. Some states require additional training, such as Firearm Safety, Drawing from a Holster, and possibly a Legal Considerations portion. These topics can all be selected individually to meet the requirements of the state in which the class is administered. Additionally, in order to become NRA certified, Above: Preparing for a live f ire qualif ication requires functional defensive pistol and quality ammunition. Left: Training Counselors taking part in classroom portion of NRA CCW instruction course.
34 • NRA CLUB CONNECTION • Winter 2018-19