Purchasing, owning and using an assault rifle is legal or illegal depending on the state in which you live or where the weapon will be used. Not all states permit the use of assault rifles. California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York have banned assault rifles. The purchase, use and manufacture of assault rifles was banned for ten years under the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. The law has not been renewed and expired in 2004.
Frontsite Firearms Training Institute, in Windsor, California, offers several rifle courses, including a four-day M16 training course. Assault rifle courses are offered on two-day and four-day schedules. Students may sign up for practical, skill-builder, advanced and precision rifle classes depending on experience level. Classes offer highly structured military-style training. Lecture topics include use of a deadly weapon and the law and color code of mental awareness. Range drills include loading and unloading, trigger control and target engagement under time pressure. Firebase Academy, in Paulden, Arizona, offers carbine, precision and urban lever rifle training. The carbine class is three days in length. Topics include safety, tactical and rapid movement, and magazine selection.
Shotokan 911, in Detroit, Michigan offers assault rifle training as part of their long gun classes. Long instruction teaches students how to fire the rifle at short and long ranges. The tactical long-gun instruction course offers students training in combat uses of their assault rifle. Spartan Tactical Training Group, in Lisle, Illinois, offers courses on M-4, M-16 and AR-5 use and operation. An instructor certification course is also offered in use of these riffles. Instruction is also offered on the DS Arms FAL SA58 rifle. Courses are two to five days in length.
Vickers Tactical, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, offers carbine and battle rifle courses. Courses are offered at the basic, introductory, intermediate and advanced levels. The basic course must be taken prior to the introductory course. All courses are two days in length. The cost is $450 per person per course in 2011. The courses are taught by Army Special Forces veteran Larry Vickers. Gryphon Securities offers M-4 assault rifle training to soldiers at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. The program prepares soldiers in zeroing their M-4 prior to deployment to war. Soldiers will subsequently have an opportunity to qualify on the Army sanctioned 25 Meter ALT-C Basic Rifle Marksmanship course. The cost of the program is $150 per soldier.