NRA Rifle Instructor Certification Course

This course teaches firearms trainers how to deliver the NRA’s Basic Rifle lesson plans. Small classes ensure low student-to-instructor ratios for lots of individualized attention. During several mock teaching lessons called “teach-backs,” instructor candidates will practice teaching assigned lessons in front of the group, and we’ll offer constructive feedback. Through the teach-backs, instructor candidates will demonstrate organizational skills, public speaking skills, and teaching skills via active participation, including leading live-fire exercises on the range. Course modules include the following:

• Teaching rifle knowledge and nomenclature
• Teaching safe gun handling
• Teaching about rifle ammunition
• Teaching the fundamentals of rifle shooting
• Basic rifle instructional method
• Managing a line of basic rifle shooters on the range
• Scoring targets
• Teaching how to select and maintain rifles
• Conducting course examinations with basic rifle students
• and much more!

Instructor candidates also must successfully complete the shooting qualification and the written exam. Each instructor candidate will receive the NRA Trainer’s Guide, NRA Rifle Shooting Instructor Candidate Packet, and NRA Basic Rifle Shooting course student packet.

Details on the classroom and range location will be sent directly to the registered students.

Instructor candidates will need:

• a quality rifle/carbine
• at least one magazine (if yours is a magazine-fed rifle)
• eye protection and ear protection (provided by CSA, or you can use your own)
• sufficient ammunition in your rifle’s caliber
  • at least 30 rounds for the pre-course qualification (x2 or x3 if you have to re-shoot the qual; you’re only allowed a total of three attempts)
  • roughly 50 rounds to use during the practice teaching sessions when instructor candidates will role-play as rifle instructors guiding a class of basic rifle students
• anything you need to keep yourself comfortable in the elements (we’ll spend a few hours on an outdoor range)

A rifle sling is not required for this class, but if your rifle has one, it could definitely come in handy.

Feel free to contact us for questions about equipment requirements, and please let us know in well advance if you will need to purchase ammo from us so we can make sure we’re sufficiently stocked.

This course includes roughly ten hours of instruction (excluding BIT). Please note that we are NOT offering the six-hour Basic Instructor Training (BIT) with this course. Therefore, we are stretching those ten hours over the course of two days – Saturday and Sunday. That way, we have a bit of leeway to spend more time on the range if necessary.

If you need to renew your BIT credentials, or if you’ve never had BIT, please contact us immediately, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

Both the classroom portion and the live fire training will take place at Mountain Top Gun and Archery, 11564 Harrison Ferry Rd, McMinnville, TN 37110.

Possession of basic firearm safety and shooting skills is a perquisite for certification as an NRA instructor. Every instructor candidate must completed the NRA Basic Rifle class before taking the instructor class. For those who have already taken Basic Rifle, please email us your course completion certificate ASAP. If you still need to take Basic Rifle, we are offering that course the same weekend.

The NRA Rifle Instructor Certification does require Basic Instructor Training (BIT). However, in this case, our ten-hour instructional time does NOT include BIT. This is a semi-closed class, and most of the participants already have BIT, so we’re not offering BIT with the instructor training. Instead, we are only offering part 2: the Rifle Instructor lessons. If you do not have any other NRA instructor certifications (pistol, shotgun, etc.), or if you do have other certifications but your BIT is due to be renewed, please contact us immediately so we can discuss options for satisfying your BIT requirement another way.

We look forward to seeing you in class! If you have any trouble with the embedded registration form below, you can also register directly on our Eventbrite page (click here). Thanks!