All Training Isn’t Equal: Yes, There’s Bad Firearms Training Out There…Here’s How to Avoid It

Carrying a gun for lawful self-defense makes you harder to kill. Good training can not only help you survive a deadly force encounter, it can make you harder to convict. At the same time, picking a good course requires a little work, but a failure to do so can have very bad outcomes too.

In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need a gun and you certainly wouldn’t need a license to carry one. And if a man-card was as good as some think it is, you’d be able to run your gun like a pro without a day’s practice or training.

But the world isn’t perfect and neither are we.

With good training, you’ll make fewer mistakes that might put you in a pine box or a prison cell. You’ll become proficient on gun safety and can share those skills with friends, family, and co-workers to make them proficient at gun safety as well.

Good training will help you avoid criminals, too. You’ll learn how to practice better situational awareness and that command presence in your body language. Savvy bad guys notice these traits and look for easier, more submissive appearing targets.

Red flags

While there may be no such thing as bad pizza, there’s absolutely such a thing as bad training and it can quickly become life-endangering. There are some red flags you can look for in any level of training to help you avoid a disappointing or downright dangerous experience.

One of the biggest red flags: unsafe gun handling.

Do instructors demonstrate unsafe practices while handling firearms? Do staffers permit unsafe gun handling (bad muzzle discipline, zero trigger finger discipline) without correction by their students? Are there not enough instructors to police muzzle and trigger discipline of untrained/careless students? If you see that, address your concerns with the instructors and, if they aren’t taken seriously, pack up, go home, and hug your spouse and kids.

Are instructors careless about allowing students to handle guns while anyone is downrange? If you see that, the first step is to bring those concerns to the staff. Again, if these problem goes unaddressed, it’s a good time to leave. Training-related accidents are very rare, but common enough that a Houston law firm advertises their services to sue ranges and trainers who are negligent.

Again, if those who are running classes are lackadaisical about safety, that’s a bad indicator of overall quality and it’s time to make yourself scarce. Your life is worth more than the tuition check.

Here’s another indicator . . .

I would say the range “safety officer” should find something else to volunteer his time doing. The moment she started to bend over with a loaded handgun he should have stepped forward to stop her.pic.twitter.com/k55hFcp1Cp

— Military Arms (@MAC_Arms) April 4, 2025

The range officer here wasn’t paying attention and his student very nearly shot herself in the foot with a negligent discharge and narrowly missed the person next to her (and Mr. Range Officer too).  What caused this?  The female shooter wore a low-cut shirt that caught a piece of hot brass.

A better instructor would have advised the woman to throw on a t-shirt before live fire.  And if she declined, he should have been ready to control her muzzle for her in an instant when the inevitable happened. Instead he was out of position and his mind was elsewhere. But at least he had a nice IFAK on his belt and a gun on his hip.

Finding better, safer courses

Better courses with richer and safer content share some common attributes. Here are a few suggestions for what to look for…and what to avoid.

Research the instructor/school.  Start with their website. Pictures will often tell the tale of how many people they’re training at a time and how they do it. Is poor muzzle control or other questionable safety issues shown in the pictures? If the photos are “stock” photos or AI-generated, that’s a clue for ya. Do the same three “students” show up in all of the photos? That’s another tip off. If there are no photos, that should be a warning as well.

Look for reviews online. Unless they are very small or very new, there will often be reviews of their training courses online at various gun forums or other locations. If there aren’t any reviews, that should tell you something.

Call and talk with them. Speak with the instructor ahead of giving them your money. Ask them any questions you might have…anything from describing their previous experience to inquiring about accommodations for those less-mobile or otherwise disabled. Ask them about how many instructors will be present and the expected ratio of staff to students. Ask them why they became a firearms instructor. Good teachers should have good answers for your questions.

Look for experienced instructors. While everyone has to start somewhere, previous instructional experience measured in years — or better yet, decades — will usually lead to a better end result for you the student. If prospective instructors try to dazzle you with their time spent learning about guns in the Boy Scouts, ROTC, or “personal interest,” look out.

Look for instructors who have continued their education. Especially if they’ve been to some of the nationally-known schools. They will most likely bring lessons and techniques they’ve learned from other nationally-respected masters to your local class.

Instructors who carry. Do the instructors themselves carry every day, or are they just teaching theoretical concepts to their students? Ask them.

Instructor teams.  “Team teaching” is incredible as instructors can teach to their strengths and students get a richer, more diverse set of perspectives.  The end result is usually an infinitely better experience for the students.

Previous law enforcement or military instructional experience is a bonus. Again, it’s about bringing applicable aspects of the latest tactics to the class. I’ve been teaching for three decades and seen first-hand that “military” and “police” listed in someone’s credentials, while a net positive, doesn’t necessarily mean a lot when it comes to teaching new skills to new (“civilian”) shooters. 

Civilian self-defense is just that…using the minimum amount of force to extract yourself from the threat of harm. Military and police folks have very different flavors of training. It’s usually more aggressive in nature along with different duties and tactics in order to engage the enemy or suspects.

High instructor-to-student ratios. I can’t stress this one enough, especially for range exercises. If you have one or two instructors trying to run a range with ten or twelve entry-level students on the firing line at the same time, you’re getting badly short-changed as a student and it’s not nearly as safe as it could should be.

Ability to communicate with everyday people outside of the gun culture. Do schools try not to use jargon and are they willing to spend that extra time (and do they have the staff) to work with new shooters, including women and children? Are they there for those who are a little slower at absorbing the subject material?

That kind of communication aspect can be hard to assess outside of personal referrals or recommendations, but it’s especially important if you’re a novice, the lone woman in the class, or you’re bringing your kids.

Courses that offer more than the minimum Good instructors won’t cut corners or end the day early because they’ve already covered the basics. They will supplement the minimums with valuable and useful (not to mention life-saving) information they’ve learned from other schools or instructors.

Loaner gun availability Do they have loaner guns for folks who come with inappropriate or malfunctioning firearms, especially for basic firearm, home defense and CCW-type courses? Sometimes they might even have an armorer or two on staff, but usually just having loaner guns and gear (holster, ammo pouches, etc.) on hand will be very helpful. You might have to pay a nominal fee, but loaner availability is a big plus.

Referrals, testimonials, and word of mouth are all things to look for in reputable, experienced instructors. Ask your friends who have been to a class what they thought of it. Visit your local gun club or gun rights organization and ask people there for recommendations on instructors and/or classes.

Things you can do to make your training experience better:

1. Get a good night’s rest and show up EARLY, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Leave Tinder and the local watering hole alone the night before.
2. Bring an open mind. Leave your man-card at home if you’re a guy. Be willing to try new things. You can always ditch them if they don’t improve your group sizes, shot times, or draw technique.
3. Dress appropriately. Closed-toe shoes, long pants with belt loops and a sturdy belt are a good foundation. Bring a baseball cap, sunglasses, or shooting glasses (or both) and ear protection (both plugs and headphones). Electronic muffs are a must if you have hearing issues so you can hear line commands.
4. Ladies, leave the low-cut shirts at home, or if it’s hot, put them on after range time.
5. Bring rain gear or extra clothing for unseasonably cool weather.
6. Bring sunscreen and bug spray, just in case.
7. Drinks (water, Gatorade) will usually be provided by the class sponsors, because hydration is a safety issue, but bring your own as a backup. Leave the Mt. Dew at home as caffeine contributes to dehydration.
8. Bring lunch and snacks.
9. Need any medications or sanitary stuff? Pack ’em. Baby wipes are good, too.
10. Bring your gun, gear and the required amount of ammunition (the school should tell you how much in advance). Then bring a second gun, additional gear, and more ammo in case anything goes down. Two is one, one is none.  Three is one plus a spare. I’ve seen a lot of guns go down in classes both beginner and advanced over the years, including some very expensive blasters. Check your guns and gear before the class. If a family of dust bunnies has taken residence in the barrel, clean it.  If it’s filthy, clean it more. If your ammo dates from World War II or it (or the boxes it came in) looks old, buy new ammo. Shoot your great grandpa’s leftover stuff on your time.
11. For rifle classes (or if you have a fancy optic on your pistol): for the love of all that’s holy, come to class already sighted in. Don’t bring excuses for why it’s not. If something goes wrong, don’t waste everyone’s time trouble-shooting or re-sighting. That’s not going to endear you to your fellow students and the instructor pool. Bring out your backup gun and gear instead. Fix your stuff on your own time.
12. Bring a notepad and pens.
13. Read the class’s recommended gear list in advance and follow those instructions.
14. Turn your phone off or on silent mode before class starts. No selfies during live fire. Ask others’ permission before you snap their picture.
15. In class, everyone is a range safety officer. If you see someone doing something unsafe, ask them to stop. Report any safety concerns to an instructor right away.
16. Address any concerns or questions you might have privately before class or during breaks where possible. Don’t tie up class time with stuff that can be discussed privately ahead of class.