how to prepare for rangemast instructor course

One must pass a 5-page written test and 2 shooting qualifiers at 90%. The range tests are the FBI Shooting Qualification and the Rangemaster Instructor Qualifier. To earn an Instructor Certificate in Tom’s class and pass, one must score at “Instructor” standards, which is 90%.

Full Answer

What is the Rangemaster Master Instructor program?

I recently completed the 64-hour Rangemaster Master Instructor program at the fabulous Royal Range in Nashville, Tennessee . The Master Instructor Certification is awarded when an instructor completes all three Rangemaster Firearms Instructor class certifications, passes a written test, and passes three difficult shooting qualification courses.

What is the washout rate for Rangemaster courses?

On average, Rangemaster sees a 15% washout rate across his instructor courses. Students must achieve a 90% on both the FBI and Rangemaster shooting tests, and the same on the written. Each shooting test is attempted twice, with the lower score of the two getting thrown out.

What makes the Master Instructor Course unique?

The Master Instructor Course is rather unique in that it covers a lot of topics most firearms instructor classes never touch. Tom spends a great amount of time discussing the historical trends of firearms instruction over the last 100 years. Other than Karl Rehn’s “Historical Handgun” class, absolutely no one is currently teaching this material.

How long does it take to become an advanced firearms instructor?

The Advanced Firearms Instructor course picks up where day three of the basic instructor course ends. If we had five full days the advanced instructor course would be days four and five of the process.

Day 1, Academic Lecture

Weather was grey skies, gloomy and quickly turned into a torrential downpour with 3 inches of standing rain (this becomes relevant later on) we entered the classroom at KR Training and got seated prior to 9 AM. Mr. Givens started handing out spiral bound books to everyone.

Day 2, Range Training

Weather was sunny, blue skies and cool. We spent nearly 8 hours on the range making up for lost time and fired approximately 500 rounds. We shot drills from the Parrot Drill, the Rangemaster Bullseye Course, the Casino Drill and many others, all which different areas of focus.

Day 3: Qualification Day

I just want to provide some quick context, I had been training and sharpening my skills for nearly a year before class day and for the last 3 months, the focus was all about getting good hits on a B8 target at 25 yards, which is something I was struggling with. We went into class and Mr.

Advice

Below are some highly recommended pre-requisites for the Rangemaster – Instructor Development Course:

Karl notes

About half of the students in the course were KR Training assistant instructors, affiliate instructors, or people soon to be joining our assistant instructor team. Many more were former KR Training students, including several instructors from other schools.

How many shooting tests does Rangemaster take?

Early on Tom lays out his expectations of us, and the passing standard. There are three tests; two shooting tests, and one written test. On average, Rangemaster sees a 15% washout rate across his instructor courses. Students must achieve a 90% on both the FBI and Rangemaster shooting tests, and the same on the written. Each shooting test is attempted twice, with the lower score of the two getting thrown out.

Who is Daniel from Rangemaster?

Daniel is a Rangemaster Advanced Instructor, and USPSA competitor. He has received training from Craig Douglas, Tom Givens, and Steve Fisher among others. In his free time Daniel enjoys petting puppies and reading the Constitution. Daniel also writes for the Kommando Blog

What is Day 2 on the Range?

Day 2 starts on the range with a safety brief and allocation of roles in case of emergency.

Is the Rangemaster after action report all inclusive?

Author’s note: This After Action Report/review is not all-inclusive. I want to give readers an idea of what to expect from not only the Rangemaster Instructor Course, but also Tom Givens' mindset without spoiling the entire course. Wanting to know what else Rangemaster has to offer? Go sign up for a class of your own!

Does Rangemaster obliterate the NRA?

The Rangemaster Instructor Development course completely obliterates the NRA's instructor course. I encourage all firearms instructors to check out Rangemaster.

How long is Rangemaster training?

The Rangemaster Instructor Development Course is a 3-day program, crammed with five days of information and learning. The course is information dense, and the underskilled or inexperienced is not likely to fair well. Boondocks Firearms Training Academy hosted the course I was able to attend in Clinton, MS. The facility is amazingly well put together and intended to be strictly a firearms training facility. The classroom area was very nice. The live fire range we used was equally wonderful. It is essentially an outdoor range with a roof over all but the 25-yard line. That came in handy on the last day of the class when it decided to rain on us.

Where is Rangemaster located?

Several decades ago, Tom Givens started up a place called Rangemaster in Memphis, TN. It isn’t a secret to most people. But just in case, Memphis likely does not qualify for the “most peaceful city in the south” award. Not by a long shot. In that environment, Tom refined what Rangemaster was, and over several decades developed his brand into what it is now. Rangemaster, the place, was closed several years ago. Tom then took his show on the road having retired from a long career in law enforcement. He is now one of the premier instructors on the national circuit. And one of the very few that offers instructor development training with this Rangemaster Instructor Development Course.

What is Tom's purpose in instructor development?

Tom’s purpose with his instructor development course work is to produce the best instructors possible. People who are truly subject matter experts in the how-and-why of defensive handgun shooting. And also have the understanding and ability to transfer that knowledge to another person effectively.

Location

Southern Hills Tactical, Custer, South Dakota. This range is only open for training events, though the gun shop on site is open to the public. Interestingly, the backstop is topped by an active runway. This resulted in a handful of ceasefires as aircraft were taking off and landing.

Weather

The weather was beautiful for my weekend of training. Partly cloudy, in the high 70's to low 80's with a breeze. Occasional gusts kick up a fine, glittery dust from the range, leaving everyone and everything dirty, but looking absolutely fabulous.

Equipment

Throughout class I used my EDC gen 4 Glock 34 with an Aimpoint ACRO and Surefire X300u. This was carried in a Bawidamann Gotham v2, with spare magazines in Esstac Kywi and HSGI Taco pouches. Magazines were topped with extensions from Shield Arms, Dawson Precision, Henning Group, and Arredondo.

Personnel

This was a 15 person class, 3 of which attended my initial Rangemaster Instructor course the previous year. Two students, Neil and Stephanie, you may recognize from Active Self Protection. Lee Weems of First Person Safety acted as Assistant Instructor during class.

Day One

Historically, this course was the final two days of a five day certification for Rangemaster instructors. Over time, Tom found that it was easier to break the class into two separate events. With this in mind, we hit the ground running, picking up where the previous course left off.

Day Two of the Rangemaster Advanced Instructor Course

We spend more time in the classroom on day two, covering a wide variety of information. Based on observations from the previous day, Tom reattacks some fundamentals. Grip, stance, sight picture/alignment, trigger control, follow through, and coaching tips are given. Afterwards, we dive back into the meat of the matter.

Final Thoughts on Rangemaster Advanced Instructor Course

Once again, Tom Givens delivers. Not that that's a shock, but it needs to be said. The course is awesome, and certainly tested my skills as both a shooter and an instructor. Being surrounded by higher level shooters, and two great instructors is a nice change, and certainly forces me to up my game.

Why The Rangemaster 3-Day Instructor Development Course?

I took a 1-day intensive pistol and 1-day intensive shotgun course with Tom and immediately signed up afterwards to take the Rangemaster 3-Day Instructor Development Course.

Why was the Rangemaster course so hard?

The Rangemaster course was much harder because not only did it vary from the FBI course (the Rangemaster course required moving then shooting, such as sidesteps at the appropriate distances) — but the target zones were much smaller.

What is the best course for a firearms instructor?

If you are an active firearms instructor, or you’re thinking of becoming one, then I highly recommend the Rangemaster Instructor Development Course.

Is KR training range hot?

The KR Training range was nice and perfect for this class. It was the middle of summer in Texas, so it was hot and sweaty the entire time, but it was still beautiful as you can see in the following pic:

Is "how to shoot" a beginner class?

It’s important to note, this was not a beginners class or a course to learn “how to shoot” this was a class to polish those skills sure, but mostly geared towards how to teach your average citizen how to conceal carry and prevail in a gunfight.

Is Rangemaster Q target zone easy to see?

In contrast to the FBI QIT-99, which has solid black and easily seen lines for the anatomically correct target zones, the Rangemaster Q Target Zones are not easy to see.

Day 1, Academic Lecture

Day 2, Range Training

Day 3: Qualification Day

Advice

• Below are some highly recommended pre-requisites for the Rangemaster – Instructor Development Course: 1. Make sure you can shoot the 2019 FBI Qualification at 90% or better, before coming to class. 2. Make sure that your draw is smooth, fast and safe. 3. Study self defense law, including terminology, from both your local state and other resources l...

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Karl Notes