Had to, in this damn state. After Sandy Hook, they changed the laws so you can't even buy ammo without some kind of permit. So, I went all-in and got a concealed carry permit. I can buy ammo, long guns, hand guns, and carry concealed.
Law of unintended consequences is that I've bought 2 handguns since then, and I go shooting more.
But that's besides the point.
I took my instruction from the father of a co-worker. 8 hours of instruction, including some range time.
It was not about turning me into Rambo, it was about learning how guns work and how to handle them safety.
We were given the NRA Basic Pistol handbook, which was full of useful technical information and very little "join the NRA" stuff... mostly in the conclusion. It was full of pictures and diagrams of revolvers and semiauto pistols, with all the various parts identified and explained. It explained holds, stances, sight pictures, etc.
The instructor had a couple of dozen handguns of various types that he used to illustrate the points made in the book. He also stressed some of the legalities involved and that there is a heavy legal burden attached to any use of guns in self-defense. He pushed us to buy the most recent edition of a book called something like "Self-Defense Law in the 50 States".
The session culminated in demonstrating safe gun handling and a reasonable amount of accuracy at a shooting range.
Real tactical training is something that requires a serious commitment of time and money, something similar to what cops go through. Obviously, a one-time course can't do that. But once the basic safety and handling fundamentals are learned, you don't need to keep this skill set highly honed.
I'm sorry your class sucked. It sounds like it was about as fun as a session listening to Alex Jones.
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