The United States Concealed Carry Association is a multi-tiered organization. Known for their membership program that includes legal services to firearm owners, they’ve also become a formidable force when it comes to firearms training. At SHOT Show® 2025, they announced the rollout of a new non-lethal training program.
For a number of years, USCCA has been offering classes. Some of the programs the Association has available include: Concealed Carry, Self-Defense & Home Defense, First Aid, Youth Firearm Safety, and more.
Rob Chadwick, the director of education and training of USCCA and Delta Defense, spoke about the program the day it was announced. Annually, USCCA hosts a media breakfast at SHOT, and Chadwick gave participants a rundown on what to expect.
The new program is in conjunction with four companies the Association has aligned themselves with. Instructors will be teaching classes that utilize products from the following companies: Byrna, ASP, Taser, and Sabre.
Chadwick says that the program positions USCCA to be a place to “go and get some very solid fundamental training on how to protect yourself, literally in any environment.” During an interview, Chadwick spoke at length and is excited about the non-lethal program.
“Partnering with these manufacturers, directly with the companies themselves, we got from them their master instructor level schools,” Chadwick says. “They brought [them] to Delta headquarters. I put my training cadre through that, and now we have developed our own USCCA non-lethal weapons instructor certification, and that is just starting to roll out literally as we speak this week [March 12].”
When it comes to self-defense options, Chadwick says that people think they can just buy a gun, and then they’re protected. “That’s a great first step, but it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Chadwick notes. Training is an important part of being responsibly armed–whether that’s lethal or non-lethal options.
“One of the early hesitations that some of our–my fellow employees even had–was, ‘Why are we talking about non-lethal options? You’re the United States Concealed Carry Association and USCCA,’” Chadwick observed. With the new non-lethal classes, USCCA can “empower people wherever they are along their self-defense journey.”
“You may have people who have never touched a gun, maybe don’t ever want to touch a gun,” Chadwick continued. “And that’s okay. They still want some tools, some means to protect themselves.”
The program can be taught as one four-module class that’d run about eight hours. Conversely, Chadwick says, there’s the option for instructors to offer just one or two modules. This added flexibility allows instructors and students to set up their training opportunities to fit their needs. On average, one module might take over 90 minutes, maybe two to two and a half hours, depending on the skillsets of the students.
“Taser energy weapons, Sabre pepper sprays, Byrna non-lethal launchers, and ASP–three of those four–I personally carried as a law enforcement officer when I was on the street years ago,” Chadwick said of the options. “I personally carried ASP products, Sabre products and Taser products. Now Byrna, of course, has come onto the scene much later than I did my policing.”
Chadwick said that there is an interest in these non-lethal choices for self-defense. “Lots of people are interested,” he says. “We really wanted to give them an opportunity or a place to go to get that training. How to use these things effectively, understand the limitations, understand the use cases for each.”
USCCA entering into the non and less-than-lethal training arena is not to take away from the Association’s roots.
“The thing that I want to emphasize too, for those [who are] maybe those skeptics, or people still a little suspicious of my motivations, make no mistake, at the end of the day, the firearm is the ultimate home defense, self-defense weapon,” Chadwick says. “It is the great equalizer. It is the tool that really levels the playing field … It is that firearm [that] gives you the opportunity. Now it is the ultimate tool. And of course, the consequences are tremendous.”
The program is going to have other added benefits for instructors and students alike. “Each of those partners; Taser, Byrna, ASP and Sabre, will be providing the opportunity for our instructors–when they go through this course–they will actually get the opportunity to act as their own affiliate marketer for these products,” says Chadwick. “The student gets a discounted rate, the instructor gets a nice little percentage of that sale.”
Chadwick says that potential students should start to see classes offered around June 1. But not to blow up his email if you don’t see them by then. “This summer, I promise you will have opportunities,” Chadwick says. “And my hope is that we can build this instructor network quickly to meet that end user customer demand.”
There are also other changes to how USCCA handles training. Chadwick teased that “We’re in the middle of a massive overhaul of the instructor program for the USCCA. I’m really excited to roll that out.” When those additions and changes come to the Association, there’ll be reporting on those too.
For more information about the United States Concealed Carry Association and their offerings, visit USCCA.com. For additional content, Chadwick said, “We have a really robust YouTube platform. So if you go on to YouTube and just Google the USCCA, we have content being added literally daily, lots of free stuff there.”
These new non-lethal programs are going to be a game changer for students and instructors. If you’re interested in the full interview with Chadwick, you can check that out HERE or in the embed below. There was lots of ground covered when he talked about the program and all of it is in the full interview.
Read the full article here
