No 1911s or Revolvers in NRA Carry Guard Training Classes
As part of their new Carry Guard insurance program, the NRA is offering a series of training courses for concealed carriers. They’ve recently announced that 1911 pistols and revolvers aren’t welcome as a “primary firearm” for their Level One training class, a three-day program that costs a not insubstantial $850 per person.
It’s an odd decision. Revolvers are some of America’s most popular concealed carry guns. So much so that Kimber now makes an impressive line of snubbies and Colt’s jumped back into the market with their Cobra. By the same token, the 1911 is one of most comfortable carry platforms ever created. Tens of thousands of gun owners carry them every day.
The NRA’s decision to ban revolvers and 1911’s from their Carry Guard courses no doubt reflects their desire to maintain uniformity, to ensure quality of instruction. And, it must be said, maximize throughput. Even so, it seems like unfair discrimination against an entire class of shooters.
Sources tell us the gun rights group developed their training program outside of the NRA’s training division, under the supervision of their longtime PR firm. Carry Guard’s website claims the instruction was developed by [unnamed] “elite military veterans in conjunction with law enforcement experts.”
The website gives the basic course outline — including the new acronym A.D.R.E. (Avoid. De-escalate. Retreat. Engage.) and a promise of “low-light shooting, force-on-force Airsoft scenarios and more.”
Carry Guard spokesperson and face of the program Dana Loesch must know the nature of the course. “I’ve taken a lot of firearms classes,” her web testimony professes. “I consider myself very well trained. But this course was life-changing.”
We’ve yet to see course materials, attend a course or received feedback from an attendee. The link to upcoming courses tells readers “there are no training classes scheduled.”