Get Trained

Yesterday I talked about being The Civilian CCW Operator. Today we need to talk about the training that a CCW operator needs.

On your road to becoming a CCW operator you need all of the basic pistol training along with your states concealed carry training. Does the state minimum training qualify you to be a CCW operator? Not in my opinion. The state minimum in most states will get you nowhere close.

Shooting at indoor range

Your basic training should come from a qualified NRA or state approved instructor. Some NRA Instructors do not teach NRA materials, some exceed the NRA’s program while others short cut and barely scrape by. Contact several instructors, their price should give you an indication of the class quality. An instructor that offers more than just concealed carry training may be a better choice. If the instructor teaches advanced classes, you will more than likely get good training. You will also be able to discuss furthering your firearms education with this instructor.

Next you should attend an intermediate instructional class this class should advance your skills from hitting a target to a point were you are moving while shooting, engaging multiple targets, drawing, changing magazines, and re-holstering. This should be an 8 hour class at a minimum, it should more than likely cover a few days of instruction. You should shoot somewhere in the range of 200-400 rounds in this type of class.

Muzzle flash from Glock

Now you need to take what you have learned, go to a good private range and practice at least twice a month. You should also do dry fire practice at least 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes.  You should be developing the skills you have learned and fine tuning them to the point where they become second nature. You are now on the road to becoming a civilian CCW operator.

Now its time to look into an advanced firearms class. In most parts of the US you will need to travel to find this type of training. On average you should be able to find an advanced class within a 3 hour drive of your home. This class should brush up on your basics, then go full force into dynamic shooting. You should push the limits of a standard range to places they have never been. You will hopefully cover drawing form concealment, point shooting, long range shooting, shooting while running, finding and using cover and concealment, and other dynamic situations you may encounter. This type of course my even include force on force airsoft training where you go up against live opponents using airsoft pistols. This type of course should last a week and you should use 500-1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Image from Warrior Talk News

Once again you need to practice these skills to further them and maintain them. As before you need a couple hours a week of training and a lot of time on the firing range.  You now should be a CCW operator, but no need to worry, your training journey has just began.

You now need to see that you maintain and advance your skills. You should attempt to go take a new or retake a previous class yearly. You will find that seminars and other classes are constantly happening and you can always find a way to take another class. This is when I would advise you to take some hand to hand, knife fighting, disarmament, and even some medical classes.

If you need any assistance on your road to becoming a civilian CCW operator feel free to contact me. I will attempt to assist you in any way possible. I can assist in finding you an instructor, training school, or help advise you on what types of classes to attend. Its just one mans opinion on the road to becoming a civilian CCW operator.