How do you know the quality of training offered by local (AK) fire arms instructors?

[Shadow 7D]

Is there any train the trainer or standardized classes that are offered or standardized by a national organizations or do you have to just check up on who offers instruction locally and compare credentials or lack there of.

I am looking for a pistol class that counts for the Alaska concealed carry, and while there are a number of schools that are approved by Dep. of public safety, I was wondering how to tell a ok instructor from a good one.

Yes I did search (quickly) and found a bunch of "how good is this school" threads, but not a how to go about finding out for yourself thread.

 

[Carne Frio]

Which city in Alaska ?

 

[Shadow 7D]

Anchorage

 

[devildog4329]

Shadow this is a very good point you brought up. I live and work in the communist state of Maryland and have a few NRA certified civilian instructors that work for me. One is great and i would take any class he gives. The other i am scared to even let hold a pistol. My point is that there is always that 10% that slides through a school and winds up getting credentials that they have no right having. There is a difference in instructor credentials. With the NRA they have civilian instructors and Law enforcement instructors. The LE instructors have to be sponsored by a company or department so that slims down on the sh*t bags getting hat instructor badge. Basically try to find people with LE instructor badges.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Thanks I understand, and that 10% what I'm trying to avoid

 

[scottaschultz]

I wouldn't know how to determine the quality of any given school or instructor, but you might start with the Alaska Better Business Bureau and see if a school you are considering has any complaints registered against it.

http://alaskaoregonwesternwashington.bbb.org/

Scott

 

[YammyMonkey]

Unfortunately, for a class like this it is almost impossible to know the quality of the course before taking it. Your best bet would be to talk to people you know & trust about which local instructor(s) they like and, most importantly, why they like them. Just heading into a gun shop & asking around is likely to get you referred to the shop instructor or one of the people the guy behind the counter knows. While this may work out okay you may also end up in a class of 25 people listening to a one man BS session.

The NRA tries to keep things consistent with their training materials, etc. but even then you could have an instructor who spends the whole time talking about room clearing & fast roping off a hovering C-130 into the Afghani Sea.

The company I teach for in CO is an OPS affiliate & the instructors are all very well trained & good at teaching others as well. If you can find someone who is associated with a larger, nationally known training organization that might help tips things in your favor.

Looking over the instructor's bio & training resume can be helpful, but at the same time there are a people who train hard but can't teach to save their lives, or who taught for a police academy 20 years ago & think that still qualifies them to teach anyone they see.

If you get a less than desireable instructor your best bet will probably be to just ride out the class, get your check in the box for the permit & get solid training at a later date from a nationally known training company.

I don't know what the AK statutes require, but you may be able to take a class from OPS or Tactical Response or any of the other known high-quality companies out there & have that count for the permit.

 

[Shadow 7D]

In the military we had some training from civilian groups, one was for tactical medicine, EMT-T, which was designed for SWAT and Tactical medics, they shifted to train us, but it was still very applicable. The company brought some outside instructors, but these were guy who worked for Blackwater, crusty retired seals, and a top sports philologist, he trains NFL trainers (team doctors) and published academic papers.

While I don't expect that level, I would like a class that is more that stories of night mass tac jumps into the swot valley, and point it that way and pull the trigger.

Definitely going to check out the BBB, and see if I can look up some people to get their opinion.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Alaska Tactical is supposed to be reputable, but I don't have any firsthand experience with them.

 

[DHJenkins]

The problem with using the BBB is that the people getting instructed might not know they're getting poor instruction, so they have no reason to complain.

 

[Arctic Scout]

Also an Anchorage resident (in Afghanistan now) and I haven't found many instructors at all in the area. Actually, I haven't found any outside the military. I'm trying to get a group together to hire an instructor to come up and give a few classes. That'll have to wait until I get home in NOV, though.

I usually go to Alaska Shooter's Supply or Wild West Guns for my shooting needs. The folks at AK Tactical were rude to me, so I haven't been back there.

Hope this helps. Drop me a line and we can shoot sometime.

A.S.

 

[scottaschultz]

The problem with using the BBB is that the people getting instructed might not know they're getting poor instruction, so they have no reason to complain.

As I said, seeing if they are members of the BBB or if they have any complaints won't tell you about the quality of training they offer, but you might want to see if there have been any complaints about their general business practices.

Scott

 

[Carne Frio]

Here is a link to Alaska Outdoors Forum:

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

Perhaps it will help your search.

 

[Shadow 7D]

thanks