CMP INSTRUCTOR TRAINING COURSE

The goal of the CMP Camp Riflery Instructor Training Course (ITC) is to train individuals who will work as camp riflery instructors so that they can return to their camps and, with very little assistance, teach rifle marksmanship and operate a camp range safely.  The ITC is a demanding course of instruction that involves 20 hours of training over three days.  During the course, the potential camp instructor must demonstrate that he or she can run a safe range and teach the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship.  The course concludes with a 100 question final exam that must be passed with a score of 80 or better to graduate.  Although most ITC instruction and training is done with BB guns, the fundamentals of rifle target shooting are the same for BB gun, air rifle and smallbore rifle.  Safety concerns vary for each discipline, but safety and marksmanship skills developed with one type or rifle readily apply to any other type of rifle shooting. 

Scheduling an ITC

Typically a camp conducting ACA Section Training serves as the host for a CMP Camp Riflery ITC and provides housing and meals for the students.  The CMP charges $75 per student.  ITCs should have a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 students.  The host camp collects the fees and should add a charge of its own for housing and meals.

Required On-Site Support

The host camp must provide a classroom or open space that can serve as a classroom and double as a temporary air rifle range.  The room should to be at least 45 feet long by 24 feet wide, with good lighting.  There should be a blackboard or dry-erase board along with tables and chairs for 12 students.  Six cardboard boxes (about the size that holds 10 reams of copy paper) and a five-inch stack of old newspapers are needed to make BB traps.  Eighteen milk crates are needed to elevate the traps to the proper height for shooting in the prone, standing and kneeling positions.  If there is a smallbore range at the camp and weather permits, about two hours of training will be conducted on the outdoor range.  All other training will conducted in the classroom/range.

CMP Provides

The CMP assigns a Master Instructor who will travel to the site and teach the ITC.  The CMP provides a three-ring binder packed with information (lesson plans, resource material, skill awards information, sources for supplies and equipment, etc.), a set of training charts and a set of range safety posters for each student in the course.  The binder includes two different course outlines - one for BB gun/air rifle and another for smallbore rifle.  The CMP Master Instructor will supply the BB guns and air rifles needed to teach the course along with targets and other necessary supplies.  All students who pass the course receive a course completion certificate that is valid for a period of three years.

Selection of ITC Students

Any individual who plans to work as a camp riflery instructor should attend an ITC before they begin work as an instructor.  Course certificates are valid for three years, so current instructors should plan to attend an ITC once every three years to stay current with the latest teaching methods and materials.  Prior rifle experience can be helpful to camp instructors, but it is not a requirement.  ITC training begins with the assumption that the ITC student knows little or nothing about rifle marksmanship.  To pass the course, students must be able to read and speak English well enough to give clear instructions in the English language.  Camp rifle instructors must be able to communicate clearly in English to run safe ranges and teach rifle marksmanship skills to young campers.  Students should arrive knowing that their evenings will be spent in the classroom and that there will be no opportunity to leave camp for outside social activities.  The ITC is a demanding course, but individuals who are willing to apply themselves will be able to graduate.  Before attending the course, students should be informed that to graduate they will have to demonstrate that they can run a safe range, teach the material, and pass a final exam.

If your camp is interested in hosting the CMP Instructor Training Course, please contact Brad Donoho of the CMP staff at (419) 635-2141, ext. 1130, or email bdonoho@odcmp.com to get on the CMP ITC training calendar for the coming year.  Or you may download the CMP Host Camp Application for Camp Riflery Instructor Training Course.

Host camps set the training schedule.  Courses usually start immediately after lunch on the first day and end at noon on the third day.  Students must be fluent in English, demonstrate that they can teach the fundamentals of position rifle shooting, run a safe range, and pass a 100 question final exam to graduate.

2008 Instructor Training Courses - Anyone who will work as a camp riflery instructor may enroll in an ITC by using the ITC location and contact information in the chart.