Thread: Mountain Safety Council Firearms Course

Originally Posted by Koshogi

Redrover,
Thank you for your imput and for volunteering your time.

It is discouraging to see you descend into petty name calling.

Sorry about that, but even my patience isn't inexhaustible.

Originally Posted by Koshogi

I am disappointed that you are so opposed to even the idea of improving the course.

I am not totally opposed to making ANY improvements to the course - I said that right at the begining. Sometimes I feel a bit frustrated at having to skim over some aspects in order to get through the course in the allotted time. But it's no use for anybody to try making significant changes if the necessary extra resources and manpower are simply not available. At present, they are NOT.

For instance, including demonstrations of how to load and unload, and how to strip, clean, and re-assemble various types of firearms, requires basically functional examples to be available, along with suitable dummy cartridges. In the centres where I have been an instructor, they have generally NOT been available, and requests for them have fallen on deaf ears. I currently take one of my own rifles, plus dummy cartridges for it, to the courses I personally take, so that I can demonstrate some important points. (they do NOT include stripping and re-assembling - I draw the line at that) My fellow instructors won't do this, and if I get too heavy with ordering them around they might well quit. Then I would have a REAL problem! (however, when I look at the log book, it shows that they get about as good a percentage of applicants through the test sucessfully as I do, so perhaps I'm worrying too much)

Furthermore, as I have already alluded to several times, in a number of centres - maybe a large number of them - shortage of instructors willing and able to do just single session courses is a serious problem. Drawing up an expanded and ímproved course is not going to achieve anything if instructors to run it are simply not available.

I could be wrong, but my feeling is that if a deputation of disgruntled NZHS posters marched on police headquarters demanding improved instructors and courses, they would be told:

A) The police are reasonably satisfied with the present licensing system, even if it isn't perfect.

B) The politicians are sufficiently satisfied with it that they are not clamoring for new laws and regulations which would make ownership of sporting arms a whole lot more difficult and a whole lot more expensive.

C) It might be best not to rock the boat too hard, because the outcome might not be what they are hoping for.