Air Rifle Shooting NSRA YPS Tutors Course for Scout Leaders

Aim of the course

Successful participants will gain the National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA) Youth Proficiency Scheme (YPS) Tutor – Air Rifle qualification. No previous shooting experience is required.

What is Air Rifle shooting

Air rifles have a long barrel and fire pellets using compressed air. Target shooting ranges can be indoors or outdoors – they’re usually 10 metres long. The targets are usually paper with geometric designs. Scouts don’t shoot targets that represent animals or humans.

Air rifle shooting is one of the most accessible forms of shooting as it’s not too expensive. You can set up a safe airgun range in a lot of Scout meeting places.

Becoming a Range Conducting Officer (RCO)

The NSRA YPS Tutor is the basic air rifle instructors qualification. It is the minimum Range Conducting Officer (RCO) qualification required by the Scout Association to instruct air rifle shooting as an activity and is recognised by other youth organisations and the outdoor education sector. It equips the adult instructor with all of the knowledge to prepare for and run activity sessions in air rifle shooting. No previous shooting experience is required to gain this qualification.

This two-day course will take you through the following:

• Air rifle safety
• Developing shooting technique to get the most accurate results.
• Parts of the air rifle and how to look after them.
• How to construct a safe air rifle range both indoors and outdoors.
• How to safely instruct others in the use of the range and the air rifles.
• The law relating to the use of air rifles.
• How to deal with common problems when instructing young people in an air rifle session.
• Ways to run your air rifle sessions to make them age and size suitable.
• Information about different types of air rifle and targets so you can build up your own equipment.

The air rifle instructors course is a mixture of theory and practical sessions. You don’t need any experience shooting an air rifle as full instruction is part of the course. You do need to come with an open mind and plenty of enthusiasm. There is no exam as such, but there will be an assessment so that you can demonstrate the safe operation of an air rifle and the safe management of an air rifle session. Don’t worry, everything you need to do both of these things is in this air rifle instructors course.

What to Bring / Wear

Suitable clothing for the activity i.e. comfortable clothing, all training will take place indoors. Food and drink for the day plus extra snacks (no food provided however a kettle will be available). All equipment to carry out the training i.e. rifles, targets etc will be provided.

Maximum course numbers will be 12 and the days will run ~0930-1700 (TBC closer to the event)

Ample parking available on site

Please Note: This event has a dual price. Please select the correct option when booking.   Leaders in North Yorkshire Scouts benefit from a subsidy from the County training budget and the price is £50.  Holders of Scout Association adult roles elsewhere must pay the full price of £100. If your group or district offers some financial support for training please approach them directly.  Our finance team will issue supplementary invoices where appropriate.