NRA/NYSRPA Pistol Safety Course

Each course consists of two 4-hour sessions, which are held on the first and second Saturdays of most months. You must attend both sessions and pre-registration is required [please see note (1) below].

The schedule of upcoming courses can be found below.^(a)  These courses are given subject to demand. As such, a scheduled course may be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.

On occasion, a course may be held at other times, subject to demand.

 This course is conducted by our instructors who are certified by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA).

 At the end of the second session and upon satisfactory completion of this part of the course, students receive a letter of certification which, in the case of Westchester County residents, must be presented to the Westchester County Department of Public Safety at the time of filing for the pistol license.

 Although this "basics of pistol shooting" course, including the written examination, fully conforms with the requirements of both the NRA and the NYSRPA, the additional requirement that students demonstrate proficiency on the firing line is necessarily postponed until students return with their own handgun after receiving their license. Therefore, upon receiving their license, students should call the range to schedule a one-hour hands-on training session with one of our certified instructors. There is no additional charge for this training session; it is part of the course fee.^(b)

 Students who have satisfactorily completed the hands-on training session and who have, as a result, demonstrated proficiency in the use of their handgun, will receive a National Rifle Association Certificate attesting to satisfactory completion of the entire course. This certificate is required by many states when applying for a handgun license in those states.

 These courses often fill up quickly so please register early.

(a) Tentative scheduled months and times (first and second Saturdays of the month) of upcoming courses are shown below. These courses are held subject to demand.

• July 2008, from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
• August 2008, from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.

(b) Normal range usage fees apply.

Please note:

(1) Pre-registration is required. You must pre-register at the range and in-person, directly with our Range Director, Christopher (Chris) Rotolo. DO NOT MAIL IN YOUR REGISTRATION FORM TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE. Registration forms received in the mail will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

Chris normally is at the range Mondays (5:45 - 9:45 p.m.), Fridays (10:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.), and Saturdays and Sundays (12:15 - 5:45 p.m.). If you cannot visit the range to pre-register during these times please call during these times and speak with Chris in order to make alternate arrangements. Or, you can e-mail Chris (don't forget to include your phone number) .

For your convenience you may go here to bring up an application form, which you can print, and fill out in advance. If your browser does not automatically open this PDF file, you will need Adobe Reader, which you can download free of charge by clicking on the button to your right. Or, you may call the range at (914) 377-6488 to request that a registration form be mailed to you. However, as noted above, do not mail in this form because you must pre-register in person for this course

These courses often fill up quickly so please pre-register early. The fee per person is $100.00, plus $15.00 to cover required NRA materials. The $100.00 course fee, which is due when you pre-register, must be paid by money order or check payable to the City of Yonkers. The $15.00 NRA fee must be paid by cash, and must be brought with you to the first session of the course. Please note that we cannot accept a money order or check for this fee.*

You will be required to present a valid photo ID both when pre-registering and when attending the course, so please be sure to have one with you.

Additional pertinent information is contained in the registration form.

You absolutely do not need any prior firearm knowledge or experience to take this course.

These courses are given subject to demand.

(2) There is a soft drink vending machine and a water cooler at the range. However, given the time frame of these sessions, please do not hesitate to bring something to eat or drink if you have a desire to do so.

*The reason we cannot accept a money order or personal check for this fee is that we order NRA materials at varying intervals sufficiently in advance of our courses, and we would have no way of knowing just how long we might have to hold your money order or check before submitting it to the NRA to cover the cost of materials for a subsequent course. Moreover, our experience in the past has been that the NRA places an inordinate delay on the clearance of personal checks before filling orders. There also are times when we have to lay money out in advance to ensure an adequate supply of NRA materials for upcoming courses and the cash subsequebtly received offsets the money already laid out. Strict records are kept of these transactions.