AAR: Rangemaster Defensive Shotgun Class- 14 June 2015, Culpeper VA
On 14 June 2015 I attended Rangemaster’s Defensive Shotgun class in Culpeper, VA. This course was taught by Tom & Lynn Givens, both of whom are experienced, gifted and highly competent instructors. Weather was forecast to be sunny, hot and humid, with a chance of light rain in the afternoon, so everyone staying hydrated was heavily emphasized throughout the day.
The day began with a safety briefing and classroom instruction on the operation, nomenclature and proper setup of a defensive shotgun. Not a sporting shotgun, a defensive shotgun. Everything in this course was predicated around the most efficient employment of the scattergun in a defensive manner, so there are bound to be a few points in this AAR that will give pause for those individuals used to using this arm for hunting or sporting use.
Once the classroom portion was complete, we proceeded up to the 5 yard line, laid our shotguns on the tables provided, and Tom proceeded to inspect our shotguns, noting that for most of us, the standard length of pull (LOP) was too long, and should be 12.5” - 13” for most males, and even shorter for most females. A shorter LOP permits rapid and instant shouldering of the shotgun, in lieu of having to press it out and then seat it in your shoulder upon command. There were about 14 students in the class, and all were using a pump action shotgun of some sort. I used my Remington 870 Express 12 gauge with 18.5” IC barrel with high profile sights. The shotgun was fitted with the superb Magpul SGA stock and forend, as well as a 4 shell Tac-Star side saddle bolted to the left side of the receiver. This proved to be invaluable in terms of getting my gun topped off in a rapid manner throughout the class.
From there, we spent considerable time doing dry work focused on manipulations, with a heavy premium placed on WORKING the action in a continuous, rigorous motion, so as not to induce stoppages by short stroking the gun during live fire. While some may find such rudimentary exercises to be tiring and tedious, they paid dividends during live fire.
Satisfied that we’d all gotten the “FIRE, CHUNK-CHUNK” concept down, we loaded out side saddles and stock-cuffs with bird shot, and went hot. Our first firing drill was load one from the side saddle into the chamber, fire, and work the action. Subsequent drills included, under a time hack, load and fire 1, 2, 3 and 4 rounds. keeping the pattern in the A-Zone of our qual target. This drill was repeated several times, getting the guns nice and hot, and a few of the guns on the line exhibited extraction problems. These were remedied or the errant gun were taken off the line, and the students given a loaner shotgun to complete the course of fire. The culmination of this portion of the class was “rolling thunder”. The class was divided into two relays, and when given the command, shooters would load and fire 1 round, and when the shooter to your left has fired, you fire, and reload with 2. This was repeated with 3 and 4 rounds, making the competition a little bit more challenging for those struggling with a hot gun and reinforced the key concept of keeping your gun fed at all times.
After working with birdshot, it was time to transition to buckshot. Tom’s demonstration included one round of cheap, generic buckshot, whose pattern was wholly unimpressive, even at 10 yards. A round of the superb Federal Flite Control (FFC) 8 pellet 00 Buck turned in a smart grouping at the same distance, and would exhibit remarkable consistency throughout the remainder of the class. For my own buckshot stash, I brought along a 50 round sleeve of the FFC low recoil 00 Buck, and a grab bag of Federal, Rio and Winchester loads, some over 20 years old. Suffice it to say that I am glad the old stash is consumed, and I am a FFC convert for life now.
Towards the end of the day, some slug work was done at 15/25 yards, permitting us to see how our guns shot and grouped various slugs at typical defensive engagement distances with a shotgun. I’ll stick with the FFC low recoil buckshot, thank you.
Key takeaways from the class:
-The shotgun is a versatile and very viable option for home / business defense for the lawfully armed civilian.
-Why yes, you DO have to aim a shotgun, lest you completely miss a human silhouette target at 10 feet.
-Prudent ammunition selection is PARAMOUNT if you choose to employ a shotgun in this context.
-Bird shot is suitable for sporting use, but NOT recommended for defensive use. It simply lacks the mass and penetration qualities required to reliably shut down a human attacker. Internet lore aside, leave the #8 shot for the trap range or dove hunt.
-Once you press the trigger on a pump shotgun and discharge a round, RACK the action.
-Stick with 0, 00 or 000 buck in 12 gauge. Almost 100% of the research and development going into new ammunition is for the 12, and upon patterning a few of the 20's we had on the line, they are going to be relegated to bird hunting.
-Federal Flite Control 00 Buck is where it’s at.
-Use Federal Flite Control 00 Buck.
-Eschew cheapo 00 Buck and use Federal Flite Control.
Overall, this was an excellent training experience and I would recommend to anyone who owns a shotgun and wants to learn to effectively employ it in a defensive context.
Thank you to Tom & Lynn Givens, to John Murphy of FPF Training for being a gracious host and to my fellow students, who endured the heat and humidity without complaint. This was a very highly motivated group of students, and I think we all learned something.
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