Gun For Hire’s Beginner Rifle Course

NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting

Whether you’re a new gun owner, looking to purchase or just want to learn how to respect and use a rifle, this is your first step. This is Gun For Hire’s exclusive course which is only available at Gun For Hire. The education goes way beyond the typical text book because of our highly trained instructors who have decades of experience in law enforcement and military.

This class teaches the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and operating a rifle safely. This course is about 4 hours long and includes classroom and range time. You can use your rifle or one that will supplied by us. Normally, we use an AR 15 platform. You’ll learn the NRA’s rules for safe gun handling, rifle parts and operation, ammunition, shooting fundamentals, range rules, shooting from the benchrest position, two-handed standing positions, cleaning the rifle, and continued opportunities for skill development. At the conclusion of the class you will receive the NRA Guide to the Basics of Rifle Shooting Handbook, the NRA Gun Safety Rules brochure, the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification booklet, and a course completion certificate.

If you qualify, you have the option at the end of the course to register for our Urban carbine 1.

Course Details:

• There are no prerequisites to take this course. The material is suitable for all, including appropriately supervised, mature children. Minimum age is 13 years old.
• The length of the course is approximately 4 hours
• This course is held at Gun For Hire 1267 McBride Ave. Woodland Park, NJ 07424

What to Bring:

• If you don’t have a firearm, it’s not a problem. A selection will be supplied, during the class, at no additional charge.
• Have your own firearm? Great. Please bring it along.
• Ammo: .22, .223 is supplied. If you choose to bring a rifle and it uses a different caliber, please bring a box of factory ammo to use.
• Course Completion: Students will receive feedback on all live-fire exercises.
• This course is all inclusive: Class – Certificate – Materials – Range Time – Targets – Eye and Ear Protection.
• Please wear comfortable clothing. No open-toed shoes.
• NO live firearms or ammunition allowed in the classroom, ie: concealed carry. If you bring your own firearm for the course, it must be locked in a case. 

What We Will Cover:

• To teach the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude for owning and using a rifle safely.
• Rifle knowledge, safe gun handling, ammunition knowledge, fundamentals of rifle shooting, two-handed shooting position, firing the first shots, cleaning, storage, rifle sports and activities.
• Course Completion: Students will receive feedback on all live-fire exercises.

march 2024

mon25mar4:00 pmmon8:00 pmSold Out!NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Monday March 25th 4pm-8pm4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

april 2024

thu11apr4:00 pmthu8:00 pmSold Out!NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Thursday April 11th 4pm-8pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

sun28apr9:00 amsun1:00 pmSold Out!NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Sunday April 28th 9am-1pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!9:00 am - 1:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

may 2024

sat11may9:00 amsat1:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Saturday May 11th 9am-1pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!9:00 am - 1:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

mon20may4:00 pmmon8:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Monday May 20th 4pm-8pm4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

june 2024

sun09jun9:00 amsun1:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Sunday June 9th 9am-1pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!9:00 am - 1:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

thu20jun4:00 pmthu8:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Thursday June 20th 4pm-8pm4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

july 2024

mon08jul4:00 pmmon8:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Monday July 8th 4pm-9pm4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

sat27jul9:00 amsat1:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Saturday July 27th 9am-1pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!9:00 am - 1:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

august 2024

sun11aug9:00 amsun1:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Sunday August 11th 9am-1pmAMAZING COURSE FOR BEGINNERS! LET'S GET STARTED!9:00 am - 1:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

thu29aug4:00 pmthu8:00 pmNRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Thursday August 29th 4pm-8pm4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Gun For Hire Headquarters, 1267 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ, 07424 Event Organized ByTony Urena

Walk-in Non-Members
$195 All Inclusive Basic Rifle Course
Become a Member today and save

Paid Membership Levels

Silver, Bronze and NY Members Save 5%
$185.25 All Inclusive NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Course

Red, White, & Blue, Gold Members and Titanium Save 10%
$175.50 All Inclusive NRA First Steps Rifle ShootingCourse

Platinum Members save 20%
$156 All Inclusive NRA First Steps Rifle Shooting Course

Member Discount Only Applies To The Member’s Ticket Price, Not Additional Students. Add the Member’s Ticket to the cart before you add the additional students.

Course Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy

Cancellation 2 or more days before the Course:

100% refund on the same payment method used or you can choose the next available course date.

Cancellation is less than 24 hours before the Course
Receive a 50% credit of your purchase price in your Gun For Hire account towards the next available course. This is due to the scheduled staff and course preparation etc.

No Notice of your Cancellation:
If the cancelation is non existent, there is no credit or refund.

Rescheduling Policy Prior To 24 Hours Before Course:

Please choose your date carefully as there will be a $25 fee if you need to reschedule.

Please arrive 15 minutes early, if you are late you must sign up for another available course date and will be charged for a new course.

“Very informative and a good introduction to shooting safely.”

Hi Anthony, Thanks for your email. Yes – I enjoyed the class yesterday; it was very informative and a good introduction to shooting safely. I now feel confident enough to go to the range and practice independently. However, I know that this is only an introduction and want to come back for further classes. I just wish you were closer than the 2 hour drive! But it was well worth it and will be seeing you again in 4-6 weeks. Many thanks.

Martin B.

The Best Firearm Instructors

If you’re looking for the best Firearm Instructors delivering the best Firearms Education, Gun For Hire is incomparable.
Since 1992, we have been the Gold Standard for Firearms Training. Our Instructors have over 375 combined years of Military and Police training.
NRA Fact: So many students have trusted us to train them that we are only second to the Boy Scouts of America.
If you have any questions regarding Gun For Hire Courses or you would like to schedule a private lesson, please send Tony Urena our Director of Training an email. We look forward to welcoming you to the family!
Tony - NRA First Steps Rifle

Tony Urena Director of Training

Tony is a United States Navy Veteran as well as a Veteran Law Enforcement Officer with over 25 years of experience. During his illustrious career he was the training officer for his department, and was responsible for their bi-annual qualifications and training for approximately 100 law enforcement officers. Tony was also state certified in all aspects of firearms training which included handguns, shotguns, sub-guns, semi and automatic rifles, as well as scoped rifles. In addition, Tony was qualified to testify as a firearms expert, as well as in the “Use of Force”. Tony is also a high level martial artist, with well over 30 years of training, and was a state certified Defensive Tactics Instructor.

prause - NRA First Steps Rifle

Bob Prause Chief Instructor

Bob is a former United States Marine and Veteran Law Enforcement Officer with 25 years of experience. He brings a vast amount of “real world” tactical knowledge to the Gun For Hire team. Some of Bob’s prior assignments include Captain in charge of the Passaic County narcotics and violent street gang task forces. Bob also served 14 years as a operator and senior operator on the Passaic County Special Weapons Team (SWAT), serving in the capacity of point entry, sniper, sniper team leader, team leader and overall team commander. He planned and executed over 500 high risk operations. Bob is a certified law enforcement firearms instructor and holds instructor certifications in submachine gun, assault rifle and precision scoped rifle.

John - NRA First Steps Rifle

John Uzzalino Instructor

John has been a Police Officer with the Woodland Park Police Dept. for over 25 years and is currently Chief of Police. He is a PTC Certified Firearms Instructor and has attended several firearms tactical courses as well as Active Shooter preparation courses. He has been trained as a SWAT operator and holds several armorer certifications. John handles the Advanced Firearms training for his department and is a Gun for Hire Instructor in all of our exclusive courses.

Vlad - NRA First Steps Rifle

Vlad Vaval Instructor

Vladimir is an active duty Law Enforcement Officer for over 20 years. Vlad has been assigned as a full time Law Enforcement Trainer since 2009, he works as a lead instructor, in service as well as academy level. Additionally, Vlad is the Range Master, lead armorer and defensive tactics coordinator for his department. Vlad is a state certified physical training, defensive tactics, pistol, shotgun, sub-gun, and rifle instructor.

Vladimir has been a Martial Arts practitioner for over 30 years, reaching a high level, competing particularly in sparring and full contact competitions, becoming successful in winning numerous tournaments and holding many titles nationally and internationally.

Vladimir’s experience includes being assigned to various law enforcement units such as anti-crime, emergency services, as well as counter-terrorism throughout the state. Vlad is also a trained HazMat tech, Rescue Diver, and instructs topics such as Use of Force and active shooter, to name a few, to Law Enforcement and civilians.

Wayne - NRA First Steps Rifle

Wayne Monico Instructor

Retired at the rank of sergeant in 2010 after serving 25 years with the Fort Lee police department in New Jersey. During his time with the police department he worked Patrol, Police K-9 Handler, Narcotics detective, Patrol supervisor and Narcotics supervisor. He is a graduate of the Drug Enforcement Agencies “Drug Unit Commander Academy”, the FBI’s SWAT School, FBI Sniper School and FBI Defensive Tactics Instructor School.

Wayne served on the agencies Emergency Services Unit from 1988 through 2010 and was Team Leader starting in 1991 and was responsible for team training and tactical operations. Wayne also served as the departments liaison to the Terrorism Task Force and taught law enforcement and civilian Terrorism Awareness courses in Bergen County. Wayne served in the U.S. Army Reserves with the 812th Military Police Company from 1983 to 1987.

Wayne is certified as a police instructor in the following disciplines: handgun, shotgun, sub-machine gun, rifle, FBI certified defensive tactics instructor, physical conditioning instructor, SWAT tactics, ballistic shield, distraction devices, OC spray, expandable baton, PR-24 and rappelling. Wayne is also a student of traditional martial arts and is currently an instructor in the Israeli system known as Krav Panim El Panim (KAPAP) which he has taught to both civilians and law enforcement.

Ed - NRA First Steps Rifle

Ed Leung Instructor

Ed is an NRA certified Instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer. He is a strong proponent of our right to self protection, and is a constant student of multiple weapons platforms, disciplines and ideologies. Ed is a Glock Armorer and has had the privilege of training with subject matter experts including Special Operations Forces, Law Enforcement and Civilian. He enjoys bringing the skills and fighting mindset to shooters of all abilities.

“You will not rise to the occasion, you will default to the level of your training.” Barrett Tillman

GFH Drop - NRA First Steps Rifle

Henry Hahn Instructor

Henry is a professional educator with more than 20 years of experience.  Henry is a family-man  who advocates the second amendment and that you are your own first responder.  He has conducted instruction for hundreds of clients in firearm handling, basic fundamentals, proficiency and skills and firearm safety. Henry has been providing firearms instruction to Boy Scouts, youth, police, and private persons since 2014.

GFH Drop - NRA First Steps Rifle

John Gurriell Instructor

John Gurriell is a New Jersey certified Paramedic. He has been working as a medic since 2002, mostly in an urban setting. John is also a tactical medic who has been involved with the Passaic County S.W.A.T. team since 2010. Along with his medical experience, John has volunteered for his local fire department for over 15 years, serving in multiple positions which included Assistant Chief. He served on the New Jersey Urban Search and Rescue team as a Rescue Specialist and deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Prior to becoming a medic, John spent time volunteering as an EMT with his local emergency medical services squad. John worked in aquatics for 17 years before becoming a Paramedic. He has been conducting American Heart Association and American Red Cross courses for the past 25 years to include Advanced Cardiac Life Support, CPR, First Aid, and Lifeguarding.
John earned his Paramedic Certificate from Rockland Community College in 2002. He is in the process of pursuing his bachelor’s degree.
John Gurriell lives in norther New Jersey.

Manalo - NRA First Steps Rifle

Leo Manalo Instructor

Leo Manalo holds the rank of Guro and is the highest Full Instructor in Atienza Kali.
As the highest ranking instructor, Guro Leo travels throughout the US & internationally to teach and promote the numerous Atienza Training groups.

Guro Leo has been involved in martial arts for over three decades – from Tae Kwon Do, Tai-chi, kickboxing, & FMA.
However, his true passion lies with Atienza Kali where he has been training with the Tuhons (Chief Instructors) of the system for over 20 years.
He has competed at several Sayoc Sama Sama Head Hunter competitions & is the winner of the Cold Steel Sword Competition 2005.

Atienza Kali practitioners are a varied group – parents, business owners, Law-Enforcement, military, lawyers, and so on. Guro Leo is proud to teach Atienza Kali’s brand of weapon-oriented martial arts to the Gun-For-Hire community.

You will not find a more loyal and passionate group of instructors that are so committed to ensuring you feel safe, comfortable and excited. Not only do they have the decades of on the job training they also have decades of teaching and interacting with every level of student.
Let’s get started! Make the call, stop in or shoot us email! We are looking forward to welcoming you to the family.