Good NRA pistol classes?

[Cheeseybacon]

My accuracy is less than desirable and I'm thinking about taking one of the pistol classes listed on the NRA website for Pennsylvania. Anyone familiar with any of these instructors/classes and can recommend one?

I'm thinking about going to the one in either Bedford or Lewisberry because they are both close and the cheapest of the basic pistol classes listed for Pennsylvania. I'd be willing to pay and drive farther though, if there were a particular instructor/class that was worth it. Recommendations, anyone?

[Skuggi]

It may be a bit far for ya, but FIRE class, for their One Day Handgun Clinic. I have talked with Tony a good bit and it really seems that he knows his stuff. He also seems to surround himself in a group of good people. Their website for the fire institute gives very, very good details which I extremely appreciate.

I personally just registered for the August 19th class at Pitcarin-Monroville Sportsmans Club.

http://www.fireinstitute.org/

[BUCKMARK]

I wont bash FIRE INST. because they have a good reputation with the folks around here. I have heard nothing but good things.

But If you want to train the in Bedford Area, the NRA courses are pretty good.

I would skip the BASIC PISTOL....its VERY basic.

Protection in the home is a very good course and has a decent amount of range time.

Contact Jeff, and ask him for details on the Home Protection Course...or if he will give you the one-on-one training. If he can get a few people interested, he does a class where he works one on one with you and your particular handgun. He limits this class to a very small number of 2-3.

firearms_training@comcast.net

[Cheeseybacon]

I contacted Jeff, and I think you're right, the basic pistol is probably way too basic and not worth it at this point. I am quite familiar with how a pistol works, gun safety, etc etc.


The personal protection inside the home course sound interesting, even though it isn't exactly what I am after (can't hurt, can it?). I fall into the category of people who are quite familiar with shooting, but can't hit the broad side of a barn. I can hit the paper at 25 yards (usually) but have been struggling to shoot anything that could even remotely be considered a "group". Accuracy and consistancy are my objectives above all else right now, so I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of pistol marksmanship course out there that wouldn't serve me better.

[TonyF]

Originally Posted by Cheeseybacon

My accuracy is less than desirable and I'm thinking about taking one of the pistol classes listed on the NRA website for Pennsylvania. Anyone familiar with any of these instructors/classes and can recommend one?

I'm thinking about going to the one in either Bedford or Lewisberry because they are both close and the cheapest of the basic pistol classes listed for Pennsylvania. I'd be willing to pay and drive farther though, if there were a particular instructor/class that was worth it. Recommendations, anyone?

I'm confident we could hep but it's about a 3 hour drive from waynesboro to monroeville. That's a bit far for a one day class but OTOH staying one night in a motel would add about $50 to your total cost.

[Jay5oh]

Originally Posted by Cheeseybacon

I contacted Jeff, and I think you're right, the basic pistol is probably way too basic and not worth it at this point. I am quite familiar with how a pistol works, gun safety, etc etc.


The personal protection inside the home course sound interesting, even though it isn't exactly what I am after (can't hurt, can it?). I fall into the category of people who are quite familiar with shooting, but can't hit the broad side of a barn. I can hit the paper at 25 yards (usually) but have been struggling to shoot anything that could even remotely be considered a "group". Accuracy and consistancy are my objectives above all else right now, so I can't help but wonder if there is some kind of pistol marksmanship course out there that wouldn't serve me better.

Then I would say the 'basic pistol' course IS what you should take. All ego's aside....

[BUCKMARK]

Originally Posted by Jay5oh

Then I would say the 'basic pistol' course IS what you should take. All ego's aside....

I took the NRA Basic Pistol Course years ago, and I agree that it is too basic for him.

The Basic course tells you what a FRAME is, what a BARREL is and so on. It deals with the different types of handguns and how they work. The class time is good, but very basic for anyone who knows handguns and has the ability to operate them in a safe manner.

The range time for the Basic Course is very simple. Shooting at 7 yards...and less than 50 rounds were fired.

The HOME PROTECTION COURSE has good class time as well, but has much more range time with many rounds fired.

It never hurts to take them all...which is what I did, even though I could have taught or slept through the Basic Course.

I never turn down class time when money allows. I myself would like to contact TonyF sometime and get into a handgun class or two at FIRE. I told my brother I would re-take any NRA course he wanted me to if it made him feel more comfortable with me being there. My younger brother is kinda new to handguns and just got his first ( Glock 19) last month.

[DPB]

Check out the Hollidaysburg pistol class in the training forum. It's only about 45 minutes north of Bedford. It will be substantially more in depth than any of the NRA basic courses.

[PisnNapalm]

I just took an NRA Basic Pistol course at the gun club I recently joined. It was 6.5 hours total time. About 4 hours of which was spent on the range one on one with a certified instructor.

Yup... They had 10 guys from the pistol club, who are all NRA instructors, there to help us individually. I personally fired over 200 rounds. We started at a range of about 4 yards, then to 7 and then to 10 yards.

I was a pretty competent shooter to begin with but I learned about some of the bad habits I had in my grip and stance. The course was definitely worth the money.