You’ve never held a gun. Soon you’ll have qualified with one.
RANK 1 OF 7
4 hours · one day · 1 range session
Who this is for
For the person who has never held a firearm, has been meaning to fix that for a year, and is quietly afraid of being made to feel stupid for asking a basic question. If that’s you, this class was built for exactly one kind of person — the one who’s been meaning to do this and hasn’t yet.
What changes
You stop being the person with a gun in the house and no idea how to use it.
YOUR HANDS
You know how to hold it, load it, shoot it and put it down safely. Not from a video. From a line, with an instructor watching.
YOUR STORAGE
You leave with a way to keep it that a child cannot get to and you can still reach in the dark.
YOUR PAPER
You leave with a qualification on paper, a signed safety exam, and a patch in your hand.
Before & after
Same person. One day apart.
BEFORE
X Never held one
X Afraid of looking stupid for asking
X No idea what to do if something went wrong
AFTER
✓ You’ve held one, loaded one, and fired one
✓ Nobody made you feel small
✓ You know how to hold it, load it, shoot it, and store it
What’s included
✓ Course hours: 4 hours — one Day (Foundations)
✓ Round count: 25 rounds on paper at 5–7 yards
✓ Range fee: covered
✓ The Step-Up Kit 1: patch, rocker, certificate on linen stock, coin, presentation box
✓ No firearm required. Don’t buy anything before you take it — a lot of people buy the wrong gun first and then discover it doesn’t fit their hands. Learn first, then buy once.
NOT INCLUDED
– ammunition
– a holster if you are not supplying your own
– Other fees where applicable
The standard – published in full
Every rank is earned against a published standard, scored by an instructor and signed. This is Rank 1’s, in full.
| ASSESSMENT | WHAT YOU MUST DO | PASS THRESHOLD |
|---|---|---|
| Written safety exam | Closed-book, marked on the day | ≥90%. A fail is a fail, and you re-sit at the next class |
| Safe handling demonstration | Load, unload, clear and make safe, explained aloud as you go | Instructor-signed. No prompting, no procedure skipped |
| 25 rounds on paper | 25 rounds fired at 5–7 yards under supervision | All shots must be on target/in circle. |
| NRA MQP benchmark | Your first qualification, and it is legible outside this company | Pro-Marksman — “Benchmarked to the NRA Pro-Marksman standard.” |
Any safety violation fails the rank outright, regardless of score.
The award
Awards are presented formally, at a graduation – not handed over in a parking lot. That is what makes them worth earning.
- Embroidered patch – the Rank 1 insignia
- Certificate
- Yellow Rose Tactical Coin
Yellow Rose Tactical awards are Yellow Rose Tactical issued. Nothing in this kit is an NRA award, and no part of it implies an official NRA program. NRA Marksmanship Qualification awards are purchased separately by the student from the NRA Program Materials Center.
Prerequisites & bypass
PREREQUISITE
None. This is where the Path starts.
No prior training, no license, no equipment. If you have never held a firearm, you are in exactly the right place.
BYPASS – FOR EXPERIENCED SHOOTERS
Private Skills Check – $149 – 90 minutes
You do not have to start at Rank 1 to enter the Path. The Skills Check places you at the rank you have already earned, so an operator is never sent back to First Steps.
One day is all this takes.
Not ready for this? Take the free 2-minute Path Finder assessment and we’ll tell you where you actually start – no email required to see the answer.