The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Tactics and Training

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old September 18, 2013, 06:15 PM   #1
monaco
Member
 
Join Date: January 17, 2013
Posts: 28
Know of any free online firearms training courses/certifications?

Though I don't live in Maryland, I took the Department of Public Safety "Firearms training course" online today. I thought it was pretty cool that it was free and they give you a certificate to print out...

Anyone know of any others? Maybe a CCW course that's free or really cheap? I was considering the concealed-carry.net course, but thought $40 was a little steep for an online course that costs them next to nothing.
monaco is offline  
Old September 18, 2013, 08:26 PM   #2
Cowboy_mo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 23, 2010
Location: Missouri
Posts: 1,039
Missouri requires "range qualification" as part of any CCW course so I don't think there will be any online courses for CCW in Missouri.

Our "Hunter Safety" course can be taken online (the paper testing) but you still have to attend a short classroom course to earn the certificate.
Cowboy_mo is offline  
Old September 18, 2013, 10:56 PM   #3
Frank Ettin
Staff
 
Join Date: November 23, 2005
Location: California - San Francisco
Posts: 9,471
One thing to think about is what one really gains from an online course. If one is interested in actually learning something, an on-line course might not be the best idea.

If an on-line course can satisfy the minimum requirements for some permit or similar, it can serve that limited purpose. But it can't really substitute for a good "on site" class with classroom and range work with a good instructor.
__________________
"It is long been a principle of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully." -- Jeff Cooper
Frank Ettin is offline  
Old September 18, 2013, 11:30 PM   #4
monaco
Member
 
Join Date: January 17, 2013
Posts: 28
I'm already certified and have classroom training. I'm simply looking for free extra credit.

"To add to the wall full of plaques... Hanging up in the office in back of my house like trophies"
monaco is offline  
Old September 18, 2013, 11:36 PM   #5
Jim243
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 5, 2009
Location: Just off Route 66
Posts: 5,067
Quote:
If one is interested in actually learning something, an on-line course might not be the best idea.
Not sure I would agree with that, On-line classrooms have been with us for quite a number of years now. Many students are taking on-line classes and getting their degrees (college) from reparable Colleges that are offering them.

Shortly the Illinois State Police will be receiving 300,000 requests or more for Concealed Carry Lic.. It requires 16 hours of training on the use and laws related to firearms. Yes, there is a live fire portion to this training, but think how much more effective it would be for the ISP to have on-line computerized results of those that take the classroom portion. It would reduce the overall cost of the training while giving the necessary instruction. To insure that no one is cheating by having someone else take their test, the test could be administered at a local College with the requirement that one's FOID (it has your picture on it) had to be presented to take a written test. (FOID card is required to even apply for a CCL).

Just a thought to make it easier to exercise our 2A rights.
Jim
__________________
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Jim243 is offline  
Old September 18, 2013, 11:45 PM   #6
Koda94
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 25, 2012
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 1,288
I think a free on line training program would offer much more than limited purpose for those that cant afford personal training at the time. Set up correctly with text and video instruction a person could learn a lot more than not at all. There is no replacement for in person training but my guess is that for every gun owner that can afford higher training there are a 100 that cant.
__________________
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2
Koda94 is offline  
Old September 19, 2013, 10:26 AM   #7
pax
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 16, 2000
Location: In a state of flux
Posts: 7,520
Just for the record, creating an online course does not cost "next to nothing." It actually costs quite a bit of time and effort – and time literally is money for people who build websites. There is also a not-insignificant investment in software, and, of course, the ongoing maintenance attention required from a programmer. Programmer time does not come cheap.

pax
__________________
Kathy Jackson
My personal website: Cornered Cat
pax is offline  
Old September 19, 2013, 10:48 AM   #8
Koda94
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 25, 2012
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 1,288
I wouldnt expect any free website to be ad free. A lot of money is generated from clickthru web ads
__________________
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2
Koda94 is offline  
Old September 19, 2013, 11:01 AM   #9
jag2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 30, 2009
Location: dallas
Posts: 773
Sorry, I just couldn't pass this up, perhaps jim243 took english online. I think the word he was looking for was reputable, meaning well thought of, having a good reputation. Reparable means capable of being repaired, don't think that is what he meant.
Again, sorry, sorry, sorry. It just jumped right off of the page at me.
jag2 is offline  
Old September 19, 2013, 11:42 AM   #10
Jim243
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 5, 2009
Location: Just off Route 66
Posts: 5,067
No problem jag2, I is a accountant not a English major, how's that for grammar. (LOL) Dang, my spell checker did it to me again.

Jim
__________________
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Jim243 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:42 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11065 seconds with 10 queries