Rangemaster 3-day Instructor Development Course, 26-28 May

[GreenOps]

This weekend, May 26-28, I attended the Rangemaster 3-day Instructor Course, in Culpeper, Virginia. I live in Northern Virginia and we’re fortunate to have trainers like John Murphy, FPF Training, (www.fpftraining.com) who also regularly host other big name trainers at his facility.

Tom Givens is the owner of Rangemaster and one of the first high-level, tactical trainers to offer courses to the public. Tom has been working in firearms instruction for nearly forty years and completed a 25-year career in law enforcement. He is a Law Enforcement trainer, author, former I.P.S.C. Section Champion, I.D.P.A. Master Class, State Champion and a former Member IDPA Board of Directors. Tom Givens

A little about my training background:
I spent some time in the military and was a Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat (SFAUC) Course Instructor tasked with teaching Advanced Military Marksmanship and CQB/CQC. I currently run my own training company, Green-Ops (www.Green-Ops.com) and have been to over 40 different firearms related courses. A few Instructor Courses that I have previously attended:

-FLETC, Firearms Instructor Training Program (FITP)
-Blackwater Training Center,Bushmaster Carbine Instructor Course
-NRA,Personal Protection, Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun Instructor
-NRA LE Division, Law Enforcement Tactical Shooting Instructor
-US Army, Instructor Training Course
-Anti-Terrorism Instructor Qualification Course (AIQC)
-SureFire Institute,Low Light Instructor course
-Universal Shooting Academy,5-Day Instructor Practical Pistol Course I

I took this course last year and when I found out Tom was coming back, I jumped at the opportunity to train with him again. I did a detailed review last year: (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread...ctor-Development-Course-Culpeper-VA-27-29-May). Why take the same course again? I grew up reading Tom’s articles in SWAT magazine, Combat Handguns Magazine, Concealed Carry Magazine, and others. I consider him an icon in this industry. It’s a 3-day course, but every bit of the information presented would take up at least 5 days or more. With that much information, it’s always a good idea to get a second look and this time around none of the information felt redundant. Additionally, Tom continually updates his material and I consider it professional development on my part. Bottom line is, if you’re serious about teaching firearms for self-defense then you need to take this course. I would take this course again!

Each day we spent about half in the classroom and half on the range. Looking at my notes, typically I’ll write down questions that I ask during a class but noticed I didn’t have any. Matter of fact, I don’t recall other students asking many questions at all. Why? Because during class, Tom pretty much answered any possible question with his lectures. You can tell he’s done this a few times.

Tom is a practically a living encyclopedia and full of useful historical information. He admitted that he has over 300 firearms related books in his personal library. Tom can probably tell you where a technique came from, why it was used back then and why it’s used today. He has a reason for everything he does and he tells you (and shows you). Every drill we shot had a rationale behind it, a real life example and a statistic to go along with it.

Tom runs a tight range and is great at herding cats Make sure you hydrate when you can, that your gear is squared away, and bring plenty of magazines. The course description, states “For this course, students will need: ...-At least three magazines”. The “minimum” should be at least six magazines. When you’re not shooting you’re coaching or loading mags. There is no downtime or wasted time throughout the course.

There are shooting schools and there are defense shootings schools. Tom trains you for both. His shooting standards are high and so is the written test. If you don’t pass, you don’t get a certificate. If you are a budding instructor or a seasoned professional, you will learn something. Even if you’re not an instructor, but are serious about self-defense, then I’d recommend the course.

On Day 1, you receive a 200-page manual with plenty of reference materials for an instructor. A few topics worth mentioning were his Use of Force class, Criminal Mindset, your Attitude and his references to facts and government statistics.

I used a Glock 17 Gen 3, from concealment, with a Surefire X300 in a Raven IWB. I shot CCI Blazer Aluminum 9mm 115 gr FMJ and had zero malfunctions.

 

[Smithjd]

This class sets the bar for such training. Mr. Givens has been a few places and seen a few things; and it shows. He teaches not only the what, but the how and the why, of the core fundamental skills CCW instructors should know. He has distilled a lifetime of learning into a very tight curriculum of what people who carry pistols to defend themselves need to know. He runs an equally tight range, with round counts and schedule as accurate as any, another indication of his experience level.

I took the class to expand my abilities as an instructor and to glean anything I can to improve the program for which I am responsible. I got my money's worth by the end of day one.

The class was populated by capable and quality people, who were all supportive and challenging of each other. It was a safe and excellent learning environment.

I shot a SIG P320, and had numerous fail to extract issues with locally purchased Blazer Brass ammo. This ammo also failed to extract in a borrowed P320 (Thank you Brian). Magtech ammo (Thank you Gary) functioned flawlessly and allowed me to pass the qualification courses.

This is not an easy class. If you can't easily pass the FBI qualification course (e.g. close to 100%), you may not be able to pass the Rangemaster Instructor Qualification course at 90%, which is arguably harder due to the smaller scoring rings. As mentioned above, be able to hit at 25 yards, as well. The written test also required study and was not easy, as Mr. Givens requires as much precision with words as with a pistol.

I would say Thank You to Mr. Givens for continuing to give of himself to this craft. He has clearly done his share, and much more.