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Firearm training is in high demand both from people who just want to learn how to shoot and those who want to become instructors.

In the past year, searches for firearm instructors have tripled on Thumbtack.com, a site that connects more than 400,000 small businesses and freelancers with prospective customers.

Alecs Dean offers several NRA-certified courses at his range in Fort Myers, Fla. He and two part-time assistance teach a full-day basic training course with work in the classroom and on the gun range. They also offer a four-day course for instructors-to-be. Dean will teach classes anywhere in the country for a fee. His school is open seven days a week, and brings in about $75,000 a year.

Women are a big driver of the increased business, Dean said. Two-thirds of his clients were women last year, compared to just a third five years ago.

"They're the single biggest growth market by far," he said.