Available Courses

NRA Instructor/Members of SCGAA may conduct classes in any of the below listed courses. The courses will be listed under the next heading of Course Schedule when they become available. DO NOT CALL THE SCGAA INFO LINE TO INQUIRE ABOUT ANY COURSE. The contact person and phone number will be listed in the Course Schedule along with the scheduled course.

 NRA FIRST Steps Orientation
(Firearm Instruction Responsibility Safety Training)

This National Rifle association program exposes shooters to specific make and model firearm in one of the three shooting discipines: rifle, pistol, or shotgun. They are not meant to be inclusive or comprehensive in nature. But are designed as an introduction to shooting and a specific firearm type. A minimum of 3 hours is required to complete.

 NRA Basic Courses

These are the "next" step in the NRA program of rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting with the major emphasis on safe gun handling, using, and storage. Each of the courses covers a much broader range of firearms and more in depth exploration of the basics of shooting sports in general. Also included in this category are the "Home Firearm Safety", "Personal Protection in the Home", "Shotshell Reloading", "Metallic Cartridge Reloading", "Muzzle Loading Rifle", "Muzzle Loading Pistol", and "Muzzle Loading Shotgun" courses. Minimum time required varies from 6 to 18 hours to complete.

 NRA Instructor Certification

Again, one step more up the ladder. There is an Instructor Certification in each of the Basic Courses listed above, ie. Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Home Firearm Safety, Personal; Protection in the Home, Shotshell Reloading, Metallic Cartridge Reloading, Muzzle Loading Rifle, Muzzle Loading Pistol, and Muzzel Loading Shotgun. All the Instructor Certifications consist of two parts. Part One is to all and needs to be taken only once, if within one year of any additional certification. If it has been more than one year since an individual received an Instructor Certification, then Part One must be retaken. Part One is approximately 6 hours. The rest vary from 6 to 18 hours. Once completed, each of the certifications authorize a person to teach the "FIRST Steps" and "Basic Courses" for which they have been certified.

 NRA Range Safety Officer (RSO)

This course was designed to prepare an individual to act as a Range Safety Officer. It is not an instructor certification. It is a separate entity and deals with maintaining safety during live fire exercises and range operations. Approximately 9 to 14 hours to complete. It can vary greatly in the time required to complete (as with all courses). Time required depends on the experience and interest level of each individual class.

 SCGAA RSO

To become an SCGAA RSO one must first be an NRA Certified RSO and hold an NRA Instructor Certification in at least one category

 SCGAA Assistant RSO

Anyone with an interest in doing so may work as an Assistant RSO under the supervision of an SCGAA RSO.

 One Last Item

The NRA considers three things as being attributes required to complete any of their programs: knowledge, skill, and attitude. Knowledge can be learned; Skill comes with the correct practice; and the proper ATTITUDE toward SAFETY must come from within.

Of these three, they state only one will be sufficient cause not to issue a certificate of completion - Attitude towards gun safety..