NRA Range Safety Officer, NRA Instructor or Project Appleseed

[scgstuff]

Well, I have a month or so off, and I was thinking about getting some training so I could officially train others. I know I would like to get the NRA RSO cert, even if I don't get the training certs. There is a week in San Antonio in late July that looks like it could get me the RSO, Pistol Instructor, Rifle Insructor and Shotgun Instructor. But that is a good bit of money. There is also the Project Appleseed stuff, which is another route. My thought is it would be nice to have credentials to teach kids in the area rifle skills. I have coached many sports and really like helping the youth in the area. I am thinking this would be great if I could combine the coaching enjoyment with the firearms enjoyment and teach children about guns. If I am doing the rifle stuff, pistol would be the next step. Don't know I would teach the shotgun, but wouldn't be bad to have, I guess.

Wondering what other people thought. I have taught my kids and they are good marksmen (marskboy and marksgirl?), I think, and have great gun handling skills. I have talked to several parents of their friends who really want their kids to know proper handling, but want it to be with a qualified person. One has even told me he and his wife would want me to train their kids, but his wife is still hesitant about her daughters shooting. Thought maybe getting a certification might help some.......

Any comments? Any suggested routes? I wish they had the training in this area so I wouldn't have a week in a hotel in San Antonio.

 

[Glockster69]

One has even told me he and his wife would want me to train their kids, but his wife is still hesitant about her daughters shooting.

Get the mom (& dad) shooting and comfortable, the kids will follow.
Good luck with the certs n whatnot.

 

[matefrio]

Appleseed is a great program. Get to work with all types, teach history and is very structured with a goal. BSA also needs NRA RO's for rifle merit badge requirement.

 

[Texas1911]

I'm an NRA RSO and Pistol Instructor, having gone through the training I can say this.

RSO is a joke, it's really common sense and is oriented towards running a competitive match firing line (fixed). It doesn't really teach you what you need to know to be a good RSO.

Instructor is a good cert to get. It opens the door for you to get insurance through Lockton (NRA approved) if you plan to be a certified firearms trainer in the state of Texas. The class is basic, but has some good takeaways. It teaches you how to teach the class, some basic material, and includes a short range trip. You get access to some decent material if you wanna give handouts.

This day and age, I would HIGHLY recommend you be insured before teaching any children. When little Johnny gives himself a 12-gauge smile one day it'll come in handy when the parents start swinging.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try to answer them.