Well, That did not go well at all.

Well, That did not go well at all.

I had registerd on the NRA intructors website to take their Pistol Instructor Class with an instructor in Lawrenceville, GA on August 6th & 7th.

I got to the range around 8am. at 9am it opened up, there was me and a young lady there for the pistol instructor class. I started to worry about then b/c there was only one other student (steph). the range staff was very polite. the instructor I was there to see however, was not even there. the staff at the range said that they thought he had cancelled it b/c there was not enough people signed up.

I was not happy to hear that. This same instructor had cancelled the range safety officer class I was going to back in January, of course it was cancelled b/c of the snow & ice in Atlanta. and he had several people that had canceled & explained that there would just not be enough people there to justify holding the class. While I consider that a one person class is just as good as having 20 people in a class, I understand he has to cover range costs, class rental, materials and his time. but he had called me the day before the class to let me know that it was cancelled.

I informed the staff that I had driven down from Chattanooga for this class, a three hour drive for me to come down, and the time off from work that I had to take. (getting time off for me is like trying to pull the teeth out of an angry tigers mouth). I was continuing to become a very unhappy camper at this point. I was also very happy that I had not gotten a hotel room in Lawrenceville, but instead was staying with a friend in the Atlanta area.

As Steph and I talked with the staff I was given the distinct impression that the instructor had become unreliable. I did not ask for details, and none were provided. Steph had mentioned that She had talked with the instructor a couple of weeks ago, apparently he was pushing a class back to this weekend. I had called him this past Monday to ask about any equipment/firearms that I should bring in addition to the normal range gear. My call was never returned. and I double checked my email's spam folder just a few minutes ago. nothing.

a little latter another range employee came up, and was asked if he knew where the instructor was. He promptly replied, "oh, he's in Florida". "I thought he canceled the class" was heard again. Needless to say I was not happy at that point. I was told that there must be some other stuff going on with him. a job transfer was mentioned. again, no details were asked or given. I was asked if I had paid a deposit or if I had already paid in advanced. thankfully I had not. b/c apparently the instructor was also behind on his rent.

after this Steph and I had both left. Honestly I was pissed off about this. Steph was not happy b/c she had job lined up, but needed the instructor class.

The staff at the range was very professional & as understanding as they could be given the situation. They will be getting a thank you email/letter from me.

I have pretty much decided that I'll be making a few phone calls to the NRA Monday and Tuesday to complain about this. I'm not sure how much good it will do b/c the Trainers are (from my understanding) basically independent affiliates of the NRA. But I will be make some phone calls & sending off a few email's about this.

The thing that really gets me. is that this guy was the only one to post on the NRA instructors website all of his classes for the year. and he also taught several of the instructor level classes that I want to take, and he had the best price listed for other instructors within 200 miles of Chattanooga.

I will not be taking any classes with this instructor at any point in the future.

Time to start searching for somebody else who teaches these classes.

Sad to hear.

Please post something if you find an instructor. I'd like to take some of the same classes.

Just got this email from the NRA:

James,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
We have been notified by other potential instructor candidates of what has occurred.
We have made contact with Mr. Evans concerning this.
I can assure you the NRA Training Department takes these matters very seriously.
We consider NRA appointed Training Counselors an extension of the NRA Training Department and expect professionalism "always".
It does appear that Mr. Evans had a serious disconnect with his students when he had to leave town unexpectedly.

If you need any assistance in locating other Instructor Training Courses,
Please let me know.

NRA
Mark M Richardson
National Rifle Association
Instructor Program Coordinator
mrichardson@nrahq.org
(703) 267-1428
(703) 267-3999 (fax)

Mark is good people. I can GAR-UN-TEE that he'll get it straight for ya!

NRA doesn't play with their instructors giving them a bad name. They'll yank someone's certifications pretty quick if you make them look bad. Sorry things turned out the way they did.

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