NRA Personal Protection in the Home
Your home is not a shooting range. It has hallways, doorways, darkness, and people you love moving through it at 2am. The walls between rooms offer almost no protection from most common firearm calibers. The wrong firearm or the wrong ammunition in a home defense situation does not just miss the threat — it goes through three walls and into your child’s bedroom.
This course gives you tools to prepare for that reality.
The Decisions You Make Before the Threat Arrives
Most home defense failures happen long before anyone breaks down a door. They happen when a homeowner grabs whatever is closest, fires at a shadow in a hallway, and hits something they never intended to. The most important defensive decisions you will make are the ones you make right now — before anything happens.
Firearm selection for home defense is not the same decision as firearm selection for carry or sport. A .357 Magnum fired inside a bedroom produces a muzzle blast that can temporarily blind and deafen you in an enclosed space. A 12 gauge loaded with 00 buckshot will send projectiles through multiple interior walls. A pistol caliber carbine may be the most effective home defense option most people have never considered. We discuss all of it — honestly, without brand loyalty, and based on your specific home environment and family situation.
Ammunition selection matters as much as firearm selection. Over-penetration is not a hypothetical concern — it is a real risk in any residential environment. We cover defensive ammunition types, their penetration characteristics, and how to match your ammunition choice to your specific living situation.
What You’ll Cover:
- Firearm and ammunition selection specifically for home defense — what works, what doesn’t, and what could make a bad situation catastrophically worse
- The geometry of your home — thinking through fields of fire, fatal funnels, and safe rooms before you need them
- Defensive shooting from standing and kneeling positions
- Engaging from behind cover — and understanding what in your home actually provides cover vs. what merely conceals
- Clearing malfunctions under stress
- Speed reloading and tactical reloading
- Basic movement skills in confined spaces
- Lighting considerations — flashlight techniques and the role of weapon-mounted lights
- Communication — how to coordinate with family members during a home intrusion without creating additional targets
- An overview of Florida law regarding the use of deadly force in the home — castle doctrine, duty to retreat, and justifiable use of force. This is an overview only and does not constitute legal advice AN ATTORNEY MYST BE CONSULTED FOR SPECIFIC CONCERNS.
- Post-incident considerations — what to do after a defensive shooting before law enforcement arrives
The Standard
This is a performance course. You will shoot from multiple positions, engage targets from behind cover, and demonstrate safe and effective handling throughout. There is a passing standard and we will work with you until you meet it.
Training includes both classroom instruction and approximately 100 rounds of live-fire range exercises.
Prerequisites:
Open to adults 21 and over who have completed a Basic Pistol Marksmanship course or have documented military or LEO handgun training. Defensive Pistol is strongly recommended but may be waived with instructor permission.
Maximum 4 students per class. Cost: $200 for regularly scheduled classes · $300 for semi-private (2 students) · $400 for private instruction on your schedule.
Ammunition not included. Students must provide their own firearm and ammunition.