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 By Stanton L. Wormley
With a primary focus on concealed carry, NRA’s newest training course teaches you personal protection techniques for when you’re outside the home.The
NRA continues to be the No. 1 source of comprehensive and authoritative firearms
training for Americans. Its course offerings, presented through its Education
and Training (E&T) Division, range from basic instruction in rifle, pistol
and shotgun shooting to more specialized programs in metallic cartridge and
shotgun shell reloading, muzzleloading firearms and personal protection in
the home.
The most recent E&T Division offering is the “NRA Basics Of Personal Protection Outside The Home” course, introduced in the fall. Developed in response to the growing interest in concealed carry (which, as of this writing, is legal on a “shall-issue” basis in 40 states and a “may-issue” basis in eight additional states), the new course is a reflection of NRA’s
commitment to providing the public with the most complete and up-to-date
firearm training.
The new course is not a basic handgun course; it builds upon the content presented in the “Basic Pistol” and “Basics Of Personal Protection In The Home” courses, which are prerequisites. Like other NRA courses, the main focus of this new course is on developing handgun skills—specifically, those of particular value in using a concealed handgun for self-defense. The primary skill is safely presenting the handgun from concealment, and the course introduces that to students in an incremental fashion that builds speed, coordination and confidence while ensuring that proper form is maintained. Both holster and holster purse presentation are taught, depending upon student interests.
Of course, learning to present the handgun from concealment is just the beginning. The student is introduced to a carefully selected group of essential shooting skills, including shooting from behind a high barricade, engaging multiple targets, strong-hand-only firing and one- and two-handed point shooting. Also covered are tips on selecting and using concealment handguns and various types of concealed carry devices. Once the basic technique of drawing from concealment has been mastered, all subsequent shooting exercises are done from concealment, reinforcing this essential skill.
The above skills are taught over a nine-hour period. As an option, students can take an additional five-hour module, which covers more specialized shooting skills, such as moving to cover, shooting from behind a low barricade in a kneeling or squatting position, shooting from the prone position, turning to engage targets to the side and the rear, engaging targets at extended range, shooting under low-light conditions and instinctive or “hip” shooting. Students who complete the nine-hour course are presented with a certificate of completion. Those who complete both modules also receive an Advanced Personal Protection Outside The Home completion certificate.
What sets this new course apart from others is that it is not just about shooting. Developing handgun skills is only one factor in the personal protection equation. Equally important are the many skills that one can and should use to avoid having to use deadly force in self-defense. Chief among these is maintaining an awareness of your environment. Without being aware of potential threats in your vicinity, even the fastest draw won’t be of much help; but with awareness, danger can often be avoided altogether. The course identifies four different awareness levels—Unaware, Aware, Alert and Alarm—each of which corresponds to a specific threat level in your surroundings. In the Alert and Alarm stages in particular, the identification of a potential or real threat is closely tied to the formulation of strategies to evade, escape or counter the threat.
Identifying and using cover and concealment is another essential skill. In addition to presenting techniques for moving to and shooting from cover, the course helps students identify items or locations they can use to avoid being seen, or to protect them from an assailant’s weapon. Students are also encouraged to remain aware of escape routes that will allow them to successfully flee an encounter.
The victims of violence are not usually chosen at random. They are often people who appear weak or unaware, or who have put themselves in a vulnerable position, such as walking alone in a dark, isolated street at night. On other occasions, something seemingly innocent, such as a person’s attire, appearance, a slogan on a T-shirt or a bumper sticker, can incite an unstable individual to violence. The course encourages students to be aware of factors that can increase their likelihood of being victimized, and teaches the student to use her most powerful weapon—her mind—to avoid becoming a victim.
Unfortunately, even when you’ve made every effort to avoid a violent confrontation, circumstances may force you to act in self-defense. You must know your legal rights and responsibilities. To meet this need, the course contains a separate lesson, taught by an attorney or a specially certified person, detailing the legal aspects of the use of deadly force. Key concepts, such as imminent threat, duty to retreat, the “Reasonable Person” standard, transferred intent, brandishing and much more are presented. Also covered are types of concealed carry permits, limitations on carry permits, legal actions that may be taken against you if you use lethal force in self-defense and sources of additional legal information and assistance.
Also important is the course content on what to expect during and after an attack. One may experience a number of possible psychological reactions to an attack, such as submit, freeze, flight, posture and fight, and perceptual changes that include tunnel vision, auditory exclusion and time dilation. Furthermore, if you must shoot to defend yourself, the course shows that the experience will not be anything like what is presented on television. For example, people who are hit by gunfire do not fly backward, nor are they typically incapacitated by a single round.
If you do have to use your handgun to stop an attack, you may be overwhelmed by guilt and remorse. Additionally, you may be subject to civil lawsuits by your assailant or his survivors. The course teaches strategies for dealing with the profound emotional, social and legal aftermath of an attack.
The course sustains a focus on safety. The very first lesson reviews basic gun safety rules, and how they are applied to concealed carry and self-defense. Also covered are safety principles specific to defensive situations outside the home. Options for safe firearm storage both in and outside the home are presented, including methods for storing a handgun in a car or a workplace. Safety figures into every aspect of defensive handgun use, from carrying and presenting the gun to firing shots in a public area.
A major feature of the course is its student manual, The NRA Guide To The Basics Of Personal Protection Outside The Home, a comprehensive text with more than 500 photos illustrating every technique covered in the lessons. Additionally, the book contains new information such as shooting techniques with flashlights, drawing the handgun from a fanny pack, carry techniques for the disabled, gun care, reloading and clearing handgun stoppages.
In sum, the “NRA Basics Of Personal Protection Outside The Home” course may well be the most complete and comprehensive introduction to concealed carry available to the shooting public. It also offers the additional benefit of being taught by NRA Certified Instructors, who have been trained to a uniform standard, and who are available in all 50 states.
For more information on taking, or becoming an instructor of, this course, contact the NRA Education and Training Division at
(703) 267-1430. |
