How long, or ever, since you took a firearms safety course?

How long since your last official firearms safety training?

  • Less than 5 years.

    Votes: 37 28.5%
  • 5-10 years ago.

    Votes: 20 15.4%
  • 10-15 years ago.

    Votes: 8 6.2%
  • 15 or more years ago.

    Votes: 39 30.0%
  • Never.

    Votes: 26 20.0%

  • Total voters
    130
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I took a basic firearms course (3 hours) when I got my concealed carry permit. Most of the items on that list were not covered and the instructor didn’t meet the criteria listed above. I have been mentored into firearms safety and training by a friend with a 1000 yard rifle range on a ridge of his property and a pistol range in his back yard.

I’ve learned long distance rifle shooting on bolt action and AR platforms. Tactical shooting and safe handling, storage, and maintenance in addition to pistol shooting. Pity that WA state doesn’t have a provision to qualifiy or test out of the classroom requirement. The only trouble I have is remembering the combinations to all my safes.
 
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Working in guns shops for over 40 years gave me lots of opportunities to take lots of classes. Use to be when you took a class from S&W, for example, it always began with a lecture on safety -- not only with the firearms but with the tools as well. Then there were classes with Remington and HK that included more extensive, hands-on saftey training. None of these classes, however, would have satisified the Lunatic Left Coast State Requirement because there was no "proof" of anything after the instruction; at best there was a little slip of paper that said you'd attended that specific course. Took 1 & 1/2 CCW "courses" about 10 years ago. Signed up with a retired LEO to take the course, but after about an hour and half of "classroom" time, he had an accidental discharge. Got up and walked out. Took the "course" from another guy. Got through it and received the paper work, but it really wasn't much of a course. The lessons my father taught me about the safety of the four rifles in the rack hanging over my bed beginning at about the age of 4 were much better than anything that I've taken since then. Still have very vivid recollections about the instruction he gave the first time I touched one of those rifles without permission.
 
Took one of Ayoob's old courses about eight or so years back that covered pretty much all of the stuff WA's I-1639 requires. Nothing I've had in the military, law enforcement or commercial training otherwise covers the requirements of our forthcoming law.
Sounds like you need to contact NRA instructors and ask how soon they will change their curriculum.

Cannot say that I have ever attended a class/training that touched on all those points. particularly the suicide part.
We've already got a lot of instructors in the state stepping up -- one guy says he'll offer his class for free. Lotsa collateral issues with the new law -- even for law enforcement personnel. Most of us get at least two to four firearms review/refresher and re-quals annually, we're covered on the firearms handling and safety rules ... but the suicide prevention/awareness training is always separate, not a part of firearms training, typically in annual in-service training ... and nowhere do we go over "secure gun storage to prevent unauthorized access" (apparently we're trusted to have a modicum of common sense) but never "firearms and children" to include talking to children about firearms safety.

Presently, most of us are all hoping that the courts will recognize this initiative as blatantly unConstitutional (both U.S. and the state's). Otherwise, not only the process for acquiring new guns will be far more arduous, it'll be far more expensive and time-consuming. Which, of course, is apparently the goal of the initiative's writers and sponsors. Yet, our fair state's criminals will still procure their firearms the old-fashioned way (through stealing and the black market), so the law will of course impact only the law-abiding citizens.
 
My answer was 10-15 years ago. It was 2005.That's when I went thru Hunter Safety with my youngest son and it was the third time. first time was in 1965. second time was in 1991 with my oldest son.
 
I did not grow up in a gun family, and there is no training requirement in my state for any class to get a CCW. Guns are such a part of the culture here that shooting and gun safety are considered parental responsibilities in practice. So when I bought a gun, I kept the basic rules in mind, and taught myself. Gun safety is fairly logical and basic for an adult of at least average intelligence.

I did take a 4 hour course that was needed to obtain a Utah non-resident permit. That touched on safety, but was much more geared towards legalities of self defense with a firearm.

I'd rather never live in one of the west coast states than take a safety course imposed on me by a stupid state government.

I am planning to take an 8 hour course this year required to obtain my state's enhanced permit. There is a shooting portion to the class, so obviously there will be a strong safety portion to this course.
 
Does an active NRA RSO ticket count as firearms safety course? I hope so as I voted <5 years. I took that course 2 years ago mainly to be qualified to assist at the various programs for new shooters and for matches held in my area. I scored 100 on the written test IIRC. :)
 
I had the typical Army training in the early 70s then served as range NCO on 4 or 5 occasions. In the early 90s I when Ct started to require a carry permit to transport firearms to the range, etc., I took a class for that but it was a real joke. 15 minutes with another friend during our lunch hour at work at a local gun shop. That included shooting .38 spl rubber bullets out of a 5 shot snubbie at a cardboard box at 12 feet.
Real training that was LOL. But it qualified. I got my permit.
 
Hi...
I took a Hunter safety course with my son when he turned 12 years old in 2006.
Closest thing to a firearm safety course I ever took.
My father was very clear about gun safety when I was a child and I continue to preach it to all three of my children even to this day.
I am 64 years old and my oldest child is 45 and the youngest will soon be 25.
I hope the constant emphasis on safe gun handling has made an impression.
 
Hunter's safety course when I was around 12 which was almost (!!) 30 years ago. Time flies.
 
My grandfather was a marksmanship instructor at the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, from the mid-1920s through about 1943 (when he successfully completed a "competitive tour" and became an officer). He taught he how to shoot. Every time I went out with him was a miniature gun safety course.

My father, likewise, started in the Army as an enlisted man rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before becoming an officer and rising to the rank of Colonel in the Regular Army (not the AUS, for those that know the distinction). With him, likewise, every time I picked up a gun, it became a re-run of the range safety lecture until I found myself instinctively giving it to my sons as I (with assistance from my father) taught them how to shoot.

First formal class was in college in 1978. Last formal class was in 2015. I will have to take a hunter safety class in 2019 after I relocate from Texas.

I also had a class some years ago offered by the Federal Mediation and Consiliation Service (FMCS - their people are almost magical) that focused on helping Federal Officers talk their way out of hazardous situations. It was truly amazing. Using the skills I gained in that class, I was not only able to mediate better in my job, but also talk my way out of a number of conflicts; including conflicts when the other party had a gun and I did not.

Gun safety is more than safely handling the firearm, making sure it is always pointed downrange and observing the NRA rules. Gun safety is also being mindful of the situation, avoiding conflict and being able to resolve (or neutralize) conflict short of resorting to a gunfight.
 
BigSteve57 asked:
Does an active NRA RSO ticket count as firearms safety course?

Let's say it doesn't.

The mentality of an RSO is to maintain safety among those who are on your range. You are presumed to know how to shoot safely on that same range since it is "yours". But the question becomes on of "Who is monitoring you to ensure you are observing the safety protocols you impose on others?"

If you do not have some ongoing oversight as to how you perform your RSO duties and how you conduct yourself on your own range, then, NO, your RSO ticket should NOT count unless there is an independent mechanism to ensure you are being held to the standards you enforce on others.
 
I'd rather never live in one of the west coast states than take a safety course imposed on me by a stupid state government.

I help with Hunter Safety courses in my area. The amount of difference it has made since it became mandatory in Wisconsin in order to purchase a license, is huge. This years(2018) firearms deer season was the safest in recorded history, even tho the "mandatory" course, is government run. It's not just about making yourself safer, it's about knowing that others in the field are safer too. While the course cannot cover everything under the sun because of obvious time restraints, it covers a lot more than just how to cross a fence. While mentoring first time hunters, I find myself feeling safer around them in the woods than I do with some of my old hunting buddies that are grandfathered and did not need such a course. As I said in my first post, I took my first course in 1965, not because it was mandatory, but because, with the course one could hunt alone with a firearm at 14 instead of having to wait ill 16. Some of those basic things instilled in me over half a century ago, still come to mind every-time I load a gun.

Stupid? Maybe some, but not all.
 
My grandfather was a marksmanship instructor at the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, from the mid-1920s through about 1943 (when he successfully completed a "competitive tour" and became an officer). He taught he how to shoot. Every time I went out with him was a miniature gun safety course.

My father, likewise, started in the Army as an enlisted man rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before becoming an officer and rising to the rank of Colonel in the Regular Army (not the AUS, for those that know the distinction). With him, likewise, every time I picked up a gun, it became a re-run of the range safety lecture until I found myself instinctively giving it to my sons as I (with assistance from my father) taught them how to shoot.

First formal class was in college in 1978. Last formal class was in 2015. I will have to take a hunter safety class in 2019 after I relocate from Texas.

I also had a class some years ago offered by the Federal Mediation and Consiliation Service (FMCS - their people are almost magical) that focused on helping Federal Officers talk their way out of hazardous situations. It was truly amazing. Using the skills I gained in that class, I was not only able to mediate better in my job, but also talk my way out of a number of conflicts; including conflicts when the other party had a gun and I did not.

Gun safety is more than safely handling the firearm, making sure it is always pointed downrange and observing the NRA rules. Gun safety is also being mindful of the situation, avoiding conflict and being able to resolve (or neutralize) conflict short of resorting to a gunfight.

Unless you went to college at the age of 7 you're not going to have to take a Hunter Ed class here in Texas.

Every hunter (including out-of-state hunters) born on or after September 2, 1971, must successfully complete a Hunter Education Training Course.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/licenses/hunting-licenses-and-permits
 
I took hunter safety class, which hits all the elements except suicide, around 1961, then became certified as a huntsafe instructor in about 1983 and have helped with two or three classes a year since then. The idea is to train people for life, not just the next 5 years. And what, specifically, will these instructors teach about suicide? Just say no? Spare me.
 
If you count the course required when I got my carry permit it's been within the last 10 years for me. If not, I've never had training.
 
When I got my CHP three years ago I took a hunter safety course. That meets the criteria in VA and it had been probably 15+yrs since I'd had taken one. I was going to renew my hunting license anyways so I figured why not, see what if anything had changed regarding hunting.


I don't think folks should be forced to take training but I do think folks should take training.
 
I help with Hunter Safety courses in my area. The amount of difference it has made since it became mandatory in Wisconsin in order to purchase a license, is huge. This years(2018) firearms deer season was the safest in recorded history, even tho the "mandatory" course, is government run. It's not just about making yourself safer, it's about knowing that others in the field are safer too. While the course cannot cover everything under the sun because of obvious time restraints, it covers a lot more than just how to cross a fence. While mentoring first time hunters, I find myself feeling safer around them in the woods than I do with some of my old hunting buddies that are grandfathered and did not need such a course. As I said in my first post, I took my first course in 1965, not because it was mandatory, but because, with the course one could hunt alone with a firearm at 14 instead of having to wait ill 16. Some of those basic things instilled in me over half a century ago, still come to mind every-time I load a gun.

Stupid? Maybe some, but not all.

Having grown up in Idaho with my dad being a professional big-game hunter and sporting goods store owner, and my step-dad being a cop and a hunter as well, I grew up hunting and figured you'd have to be a moron to violate the basic rules of not shooting at targets you aren't sure of, or drinking while hunting, or not keeping your firearm pointed in a safe direction.

Then I moved to Iowa.

I was shocked at the number of hunting accidents I saw in the paper. I was told that opening day of pheasant season was the biggest day in beer sales for the local stores.

Now I truly know why IOWA stands for Idiots Out Wandering Around...

So yes, I think the midwestern states should have mandatory firearms training because from what I observed, they weren't getting it.
 
How long ago was that, about 50 years ago. In fact , I probably still have my Firearms Safety Certificate Patch. IIRC, that had to be earned in order hunt under certain circumstances.I would have been about 12 years old then. upload_2018-12-1_20-13-49.png And what is even funnier is that is still on the back of my drivers license!

Of course, safety is explained when one takes a class to renew one's CCP. But does that count?
 
I had a hunter safety class when I was in high school, about 1990. Nothing since. My state doesn’t require any training to get a concealed carry permit.
 
Safety was part of concealed carry class, before that it was orange card class. Orange card was 20 years ago, carry was about 10 years ago.
 
4-H Shooting Sports Leader Certification, 2006. Prior to that BRM, Ft. Jackson, Mar. 1986. Prior to that MN DNR Hunter Safety Course, 1972. I have a patch just like 1976B.L. Johns.

Let's say it doesn't.

The mentality of an RSO is to maintain safety among those who are on your range. You are presumed to know how to shoot safely on that same range since it is "yours". But the question becomes on of "Who is monitoring you to ensure you are observing the safety protocols you impose on others?"

If you do not have some ongoing oversight as to how you perform your RSO duties and how you conduct yourself on your own range, then, NO, your RSO ticket should NOT count unless there is an independent mechanism to ensure you are being held to the standards you enforce on others.

It does count, because he had to take the NRA RSO Course to get the rating. So it would be when he completed that course.

Safety is a priority in the US mil, and since I spent over 23 years there with umpteen ranges that I was on either training others or training myself, with a safety brief prior to each and every session, I would say I have had more safety training than most people in general. Then, as a contractor for 4 more years, pretty much the same thing.

Yes, I would have to include all the range safety sessions, both attending and teaching, while I was in, then. As I was the Armorer for an Headquarters Unit, I attended almost all the range sessions the Batallion's units conducted. After the AMU guys, who I hung around with anyhow, (I had their MOS as my SMOS) saw me at a few classroom sessions, they told me to just go ahead and teach them, and made me a Range NCO. Their boss, the Warrant in charge of the Small Arms Repair shop/AMU unit, who was a riding buddy of mine, signed off on it.
 
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