What to look for in a MA Firearms Safety Course

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modernhamlet

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I understand that the content is relatively standardized for this course (by law).

For someone looking to take the course, should I just find the most convenient time and location? Or are some places better than others? Anything I should look for? I'm in Metro North Boston. Looking at training options in Woburn, Medford, and Arlington.

Thanks.
 
Are you looking for a rubber stamp course or actual quality instruction? I have heard some courses are better than others in the quality arena.
 
Ask how many rounds of live fire you'll be shooting as part of the class, that's a pretty good indicator in my experience.
 
modernhamlet said:
For someone looking to take the course, should I just find the most convenient time and location? Or are some places better than others? Anything I should look for?
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It depends on what you are looking for:

Are you:

- A person new to firearms who needs the class and the certificate

or

- A person well versed in MGL chapters 269 and 140, and have enough knowledge/experience about handguns that you could teach a pretty decent course.

If (a), you need to be concerned about content and quality. If (b), and all you want to get out of a course is the MA certificate, then price, location, and minimal classroom/range time are the driving factors.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, all! Will check these out and schedule ASAP.

Rob, for all intents and purposes, I'm new to firearms. It's been ~20 years since I last fired a .22 rifle.

I should expect anywhere up to 6 months between taking the course and getting my LTC approved, right?

Are there other courses I should consider taking while waiting for my LTC? My first gun will almost certainly be a Ruger 10/22.
 
I can offer 3 of the courses that meet the Commonwealth's requirement and issue the MA State police certificate that you need to apply for your LTC. I teach both non-firing and live fire courses. I conduct classes at the Littleton Sportsman Club, where I am the Chief RSO and shoot on one of the clubs pistol teams. I am also an NRA Chief RSO. I do these on demand and limit my class size from 1 to 6 students. I also work part time as an armed security officer. PM me if your are interested.
 
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MA Firearms School in Holliston is a little more expensive than WSA however (1) you can retake the course for free if you ever need re-certification and (2) for at least the last 2 years they have offered half price coupons on Black Friday that are good for 12 months. The other thing to consider is whether you are joining a club or not. In some cases the club will require that you take their course in order to join. If that is the case you might as well just take the one course for club membership and LTC.
 
spt_1955 said:
MA Firearms School in Holliston is a little more expensive than WSA however (1) you can retake the course for free if you ever need re-certification and (2) for at least the last 2 years they have offered half price coupons on Black Friday that are good for 12 months. The other thing to consider is whether you are joining a club or not. In some cases the club will require that you take their course in order to join. If that is the case you might as well just take the one course for club membership and LTC.
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Some clubs give a discount if you take the club's course or if you take a course with one of the club's approved instructors. Mansfield F&G gives a discount of $25 to those that join within 3 months of taking a course with one of the club's approved instructors.

That said, most club "classes" required of all to join are really orientations to the rules of that club, not real firearms training courses. Braintree R&P requires such an orientation that takes a few hours, strictly on club rules. Mansfield F&G has a more relaxed meeting with someone approved to give the orientation to the club's rules, done with a flexible schedule and takes about 15 minutes IIRC.

--------------

In truth, most seem to look for the cheapest training instead of good training.
 
If the course doesn't include the full NRA Basic Pistol course, a thorough look at the MA laws and hands-on live firing, it's waste of your money. Our club does all of the above for a $100 fee, but it's in western MA.
 
Woodstock said:
If the course doesn't include the full NRA Basic Pistol course, a thorough look at the MA laws and hands-on live firing, it's waste of your money. Our club does all of the above for a $100 fee, but it's in western MA.
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NRA BP is worshipped but as a NRA BP (and other courses) instructor I do not hold it in high regard personally for new shooters. Regardless, as of 1/1/16 NRA is ONLY authorizing this course as an online course with instructors handling basically the shooting portion only.

My objections to BP:

- NO coverage of long guns at all.
- Only really requires minimal shooting of .22LR pistol and revolver, nothing else.

Personally I like Home Firearm Safety (with live fire - which is beyond NRA requirements) much better.

- Covers long guns and handguns.
- With live fire it offers opportunity to handle/shoot various types of guns.
- Entire course and shooting component is shorter than the 8 hr BP course and more practical for MA newbies.

No class covers a "thorough look at the MA laws", not possible to do with either BP or HFS unless you run 2 days! My seminar covers a lot of material but takes 5+ hours just on the gun laws and very little is redundant (basically only storage and transportation due to most not understanding the legal differences) with the BFS course material. I don't even pretend that my seminar covers all the MA gun laws . . . 250 pgs of raw MA gun law would make for a semester course to cover it all.
 
Len's point is valid: I help teach them Mass Hunter Ed course, which is good for FID/LTC, and I make a point of stressing that people who have not shot before, and don't have a mentor, need to take a more comprehensive course.

I had no problem with my kids' FIDs on the Hunter Ed cert., but they'd already been schooled by osmosis.
 

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