Training – A shooting I shall go . . . A shooting I shall go . . .

I am on a quest to finish up the NRA Rifle and Shotgun instructor courses.  They are the two remaining that I am not certified for and it has been my intention to complete them before my Training Counselor  course in September.  It has been tough to find them – a search of a 200 mile radius of my home only found 3 rifle and I believe 4 shotgun trainings.  So, as I said in the previous post, I have 3-weeks until the shotgun course (probably to be spent on the trap range).  But, the Rifle Instructor Course is this weekend.  I’m ready to head out of town for a couple days and go “play”.
So, I have the Colt M4 .22calLR and a Ruger 10/22 target tucked away in the case.  Ammo, cleaning kits and – soon, clothing, netbook, reading material, clean undies – gonna be on the road within the next hour!

This will be my third Training Counselor.  I like that – you always learn something new from a different instructor – especially when you can dig into their teaching techniques.  How do they organize their information?  What aids do they use?  How do they teach “the basics”?  The NRA catch phrase is to give a new shooter the “Knowledge, Skills and Attitude” to learn to become a good shooter – or a good shooting instructor.  Of all of these, Attitude is the most critical – IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion).  If you hit an instructor that “knows it all” – they don’t.  But, they DO have their own experiences – which most will willing share and you can learn from that.  If class has “one of those” students who has “been there – done that” and simply waits to share with the class HIS thoughts – that person is missing out on a tremendous opportunity to learn from both the instructor and the other students as well.  Don’t be “that guy”.  When you have the opportunity to take a new shooting course, leave your ego in the parking lot and simply suck it all in, in the class room, at breaks and meals, in the evening if your are staying on-site.  There is just so much to learn from everyone, and an open-minded attitude is essential to get the most from virtually any course.

So, I shall go forth, listen, learn, keep my significant ego in its box and have a great weekend. 

If you have time this weekend – go learn something new.  A new drill, fine tune your stance, grip, work on sight picture, speed reloads, tactical reloads – something.

And, have a great time as well!!