Beginning to teach, semi-formally.

[ASH556]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! A couple more details for clarification and to guide the conversation a little bit more:

1. Class size - Usually no more than 2 (usually a husband and wife couple).
2. Class cost - I'm planning on charging $50, but since these folks don't have their own guns, it's pretty much just to cover ammo and targets. Also, to add just enough "buy in" from the students. Sometimes if something's free, folks don't value it as much.

Do I really need insurance for that level? Could I use a signed waiver instead to help limit liability (Indoor range I worked at used a liability waiver in case some jackleg shot themself.)

Hardware: I'm going to buy another gun. It will have the following purposes:
1. Iron-sighted pistol to teach students (new or non-gun owners, mostly ladies)
2. Potential gateway to get my wife back into carrying
3. Very distant - potential NPE carry gun for myself vs my usual G19 + RMR + XC1

Sort of torn between a G48 or G43. Smaller guns are usually harder to shoot, especially for inexperienced shooters. My thought is that a 19 is probably reasonable comfortable for most, potentially bordering on too large. A 48 seems like the sweet spot, but maybe a little large for most females to conceal. 43 is more concealable, but takes a big hit in capacity and shootability. Yes? G48 is the answer?

[BN]

Hardware: I'm going to buy another gun. It will have the following purposes:
1. Iron-sighted pistol to teach students (new or non-gun owners, mostly ladies)
2. Potential gateway to get my wife back into carrying
3. Very distant - potential NPE carry gun for myself vs my usual G19 + RMR + XC1

Sort of torn between a G48 or G43. Smaller guns are usually harder to shoot, especially for inexperienced shooters. My thought is that a 19 is probably reasonable comfortable for most, potentially bordering on too large. A 48 seems like the sweet spot, but maybe a little large for most females to conceal. 43 is more concealable, but takes a big hit in capacity and shootability. Yes? G48 is the answer?

I'm an experienced shooter and I don't really enjoy shooting my Glock 43. Somebody is going to shoot that snappy little G43 and drop it right on the ground. Well, it's a Glock so it won't really hurt it, but, still.

I'm going to agree with @1Rangemaster that a 22 is good for beginners. How about a Ruger LCRx 22lr with a 3 inch barrel and adjustable sights. https://ruger.com/products/lcrx/specSheets/5435.html

You'll have SA and DA plus better control if the shooter makes a mistake.

[ASH556]

I'm an experienced shooter and I don't really enjoy shooting my Glock 43. Somebody is going to shoot that snappy little G43 and drop it right on the ground. Well, it's a Glock so it won't really hurt it, but, still.

I'm going to agree with @1Rangemaster that a 22 is good for beginners. How about a Ruger LCRx 22lr with a 3 inch barrel and adjustable sights. https://ruger.com/products/lcrx/specSheets/5435.html

You'll have SA and DA plus better control if the shooter makes a mistake.

If we were just teaching recreational shooting I might agree with that approach. This instruction is framed by self-defense/home-defense, and therefore I want to keep it 9mm minimum. Otherwise I feel like we're setting unrealistic expectations for the student.

[Jim Watson]

If I were charging, I would want some paper.
You may think NRA instructors are a bunch of old fuddy duddys but it is a recognized program. You can go as far beyond their book as you think your students can absorb.
I would also get USPSA RO and/or IDPA SO certification. Lots of emphasis on safe handling and movement.

I am an member of the start them with a .22 school.
I don't think I have ever completely recovered from a Luger at age 16.

But opinions differ, my FLG likes to start them out with a S&W M52!
One woman instructor of women preferred a steel framed .380 for novices.

And if started with a .22 they can be ready to move up fast, have a centerfire available. Not a lightweight hideout gun. As said, a G43 is not much fun. I load sub-minor ammo so I can shoot mine 25 rounds at GSSF in some comfort.


ETA: "Class size - Usually no more than 2 (usually a husband and wife couple)."
NOOOO. Coed classes are bad enough, but having him show off all he learned from movies and her looking to him instead of you is not good.

[HCM]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! A couple more details for clarification and to guide the conversation a little bit more:

1. Class size - Usually no more than 2 (usually a husband and wife couple).
2. Class cost - I'm planning on charging $50, but since these folks don't have their own guns, it's pretty much just to cover ammo and targets. Also, to add just enough "buy in" from the students. Sometimes if something's free, folks don't value it as much.

Do I really need insurance for that level? Could I use a signed waiver instead to help limit liability (Indoor range I worked at used a liability waiver in case some jackleg shot themself.)

Hardware: I'm going to buy another gun. It will have the following purposes:
1. Iron-sighted pistol to teach students (new or non-gun owners, mostly ladies)
2. Potential gateway to get my wife back into carrying
3. Very distant - potential NPE carry gun for myself vs my usual G19 + RMR + XC1

Sort of torn between a G48 or G43. Smaller guns are usually harder to shoot, especially for inexperienced shooters. My thought is that a 19 is probably reasonable comfortable for most, potentially bordering on too large. A 48 seems like the sweet spot, but maybe a little large for most females to conceal. 43 is more concealable, but takes a big hit in capacity and shootability. Yes? G48 is the answer?

I am sure the range you worked at had insurance regardless of waiver.

I’m also sure all the instructors whose classes you’ve taken where are you filled out liability waivers prior to class all had insurance (or should have had) as well.

Regardless of what you charge or the class size once you are getting paid you are a “professional” And that responsible for whatever might happen while you are teaching. Getting paid to teach is a sort of Rubicon.

Not to mention if you are not an employee of the range where you are conducting training many of them will require you to have insurance if you were teaching there in a professional capacity. Some will require your insurance to write a specific rider for that range in order to indemnify the range owners from anything that might happen in one of your classes.

Regarding smaller guns, while I am generally a Glock fan and carried ages 17 by choice for eight years when it comes to the “slimline guns” IME the SIG P365 series (P365, P365X, P365XL) are significantly more reliable than the slim Glocks (43, 43X, 48). The P365 series also provides higher capacity in factory form whereas giving 15 rounds in a sling Glock requires aftermarket magazines in an aftermarket magazine catch. The aftermarket shield mags for the slim line Glocks are a love them or hate them proposition. Some people have them and claim they work flawlessly others have had mixed reliability.

In fairness to the slim Glocks, IME The P 365 series are not only better than their slim Glock equivalents but the P365 is a much better design then it’s full-size counterpart the P320.

Some people with small hands will shoot the slimline guns as well as better than a full-sized gun. However, regardless of brand, in my experience the slimline guns have a “20%” penalty for most shooters. They can be shot just as accurately as a full-size gun but it will take about 20% longer or They can be shot just as fast as a full size gun but they will be about a 20% decrease in accuracy. Optics level that a bit.

If you’re serious about having loaner guns you will probably want to have some lower recoil options available such as a 22 and a 380.

[Jared]

I wouldn’t do it without insurance in any way shape or form, but that’s my comfort level.

As far as pistol size, if you don’t want to go below 9mm in caliber then I would not go below G19 in size. I’ve yet to find a micro 9 that I really enjoyed shooting. I can only imagine a first timer getting introduced to the whole thing with a G43 or P365.

[HCM]

If we were just teaching recreational shooting I might agree with that approach. This instruction is framed by self-defense/home-defense, and therefore I want to keep it 9mm minimum. Otherwise I feel like we're setting unrealistic expectations for the student.

9mm is the minimum for you and me, LEOs etc.

As an instructor it’s not just about you or what works for you.

I agree 9mm should be the minimum for those physically capable of handling it. But .380, 38 wadcutters and .22s are a real thing for lots of people with age or physical limitations.

Rule one of defense shooting is have a gun, rule two is look like you know what you’re doing with it. The confidence which comes from training /competence can sometimes help avoid a shooting. If things to progress to a shooting a hit with a 22 or 380 beats a miss with a 9 mm. That hit of course bring the product of the aforementioned training /competence.

Last I recall, your day job was some type of industrial sales. My understanding is part of that job normally includes helping the customer select the product which best meets their needs.

If you think about it, when you are in the training business as an instructor your “product” is the “software” of how to run a gun.

Kyle Defoor said something that has stuck with me as an instructor. He talked about how in some of his closed LE and military classes students were bemoaning the fact that they were restricted to issued or authorized equipment such as ACOG vs LPVOs. Kyle gave a two part response, the first part being that when he and some of the other tier 1 instructors were coming up early in the GWOT they didn’t have a lot of the cool guy gear in use now and had to overcome via software rather than hardware solutions. That led into the second part of his response which was that while an ACOG might not be his first choice he could train the student to be “pretty deadly with an ACOG.”

As an instructor you will likely be dealing with people whose limitations are physical rather than administrative but the principal still applies.

[Duelist]

Do get a .22 if you are serious about this. An enjoyable first experience is far more likely to get larger numbers of nervous first-timers back to the range, and low noise and recoil from something like a G44 is fun. It also translates directly to a G19, because it is the same size and functions identically.

You may have students who shoot all day with the .22 and are fully satisfied, while others will shoot a magazine or two and ask for something more serious. So you accommodate both with a G19 and G44. Same holsters and mag holders, same/similar sights, same functioning.

Insurance - yes. Do that.

[1Rangemaster]

If we were just teaching recreational shooting I might agree with that approach. This instruction is framed by self-defense/home-defense, and therefore I want to keep it 9mm minimum. Otherwise I feel like we're setting unrealistic expectations for the student.

What @HCM said in Post#17; I also understand you may want another pistol, and are trying to cover several bases. But back at your original post, you indicated that a number of prospective clients would be female. I may get flamed here, but it’s my understanding females are more sensitive to noise and “blast”. I have read one hypothesis that the acoustic sensitivity is “hardwired in” as a factor in responding to a crying child and also being alert for predators-all ancient attributes. Be that as it may, I’ve seen what seems to be that sensitivity with female personnel. I will recommend, especially on an indoor range, doubling up on the hearing protection. I’m going to double down on encouraging you to consider some .22 for initial introduction.
I definitely would not, unless forced by circumstances, start someone on a 43. I have had good experiences with a 43X, but not extensive shooting-several hundred rounds so far. There will be a hand size issue for some at some point. I wish Glock would consider a “42 sized” rimfire-I think that would be neat!
And I understand the self defense aspect. But, to paraphrase my late friend Walt Rauch, nobody is going to volunteer to get shot with a .22lr. It’s almost always going to be better than a bat, butcher knife or bad language…

And +1 on @Duelist post also.

[BN]

A little more on support for a 22lr.

My every day carry all the time is a S&W 43c 8 shot J-Frame revolver in a pocket holster. It's always with me, even if I have a belt gun. Frequently, I'll step out on the back porch, pull the gun out of my pocket, fire the 8 rounds I have been carrying in it, reload with the speed loader in my other pocket, fire them, then load 8 more rounds from the speed strip I carry and fire them. All at steel targets from 15 yards out to 50 yards. I carry CCI Velocitors which cost 18 cents each. I just practiced and vetted 24 rounds of my carry equipment and only spent $4.32 in ammo. To vet the same amount of ammo with self defense 9mm HST would cost $28.80.

I realize that 9mm would be better than a 22. I'm an old man and the weight of better guns doesn't agree with me. I'm not the only one on P-F that carries a 22.

Get a Glock 44. I have a S&W M&P Compact 22 that is pretty comfortable to shoot. It even fits in some Glock holsters.

I've had novice shooters that can shoot 22 OK but one or two rounds of 9mm through a Glock 17 and they say they don't want to shoot any more.