After Action Report (AAR)
Last year a group of us met up with ToddG at ESS to do some shooting. To my surprise Lynn Givens was there. Todd introduced us and I told her I always wanted to take a Rangemaster Course but they always seem to teach in Virginia when I’m out of town due to work. Todd recommended their training and said I’d enjoy it. Lynn told me the dates had not been posted, but they were planning on coming back up Memorial Day. Back at work, I put in for leave to ensure I would be available for the Rangemaster training.
The Rangemaster 3-day Firearms Instructor Course was hosted by John Murphy at FPF Training in Culpeper, Virginia. Class ran daily from about 9:00am to about 6:30pm from Friday 27 May to Sunday 29 May 2016.
Equipment: The pistol I used was a brand new Glock 19 Gen 4. I replaced the sights with Dawson Precision Carry, Black Rear & Fiber Optic Front. I also put in a 3.5 disconnect. Everything else was stock. I test fired about 200 rounds before the course. I used a JM Customs IWB Holster – Version Three and shot Blazer Brass ammo, 9mm, 115gr FMJ. I had zero malfunctions or issues.
My instructor background: I have been through multiple firearms instructor courses, teaching firearms for over 20 years and currently run Green-Ops. I think I’m a decent shooter, but my hair will never be as perfect as TCinVA. His hair looked the exact same way on day 3 as it did on day 1…perfect!
Day 1
We began in the classroom with Tom doing a quick introduction and a little about his background. Besides teaching for decades, Tom has one of the most diversified backgrounds out there (Military, Law Enforcement and Competition). Tom completed 25-years in Law Enforcement and actively competed at the top levels in PPC, IPSC and IDPA (his IDPA number is A00008). A summary of his credentials are available here: http://rangemaster.com/about/tom-givens/
I have been reading Tom’s articles for years and have always been extremely impressed. So, here I am with the opportunity to train with an icon in the industry and Tom introduces his assistants to include, Skip Gochenour, the Founder of American Tactical Shooting Association and the National Tactical Invitational (NTI). Talk about blown away! Next the students did quick introductions. There were a few intermediate shooters at this class, but the majority was filled with experienced shooters and instructors. I could tell this was going to be a GREAT class and we just started!
Classroom began with the basics and Tom went over a long lecture in the classroom. We took a quick lunch break and continued with the classroom portion until about 2pm. If there were such a thing as a degree in firearms history and training, Tom would have a doctorate in it. He’s a walking encyclopedia and can tell you history of techniques, to include the “how” and “why”, along with real world data and statistics.
We moved to the range and were quickly paired up as coaches with other students. Throughout the course, Tom would have us rotate one student right, so we would get used to coaching different students. If Tom (or one of his assistants) didn’t see a coach fixing a mistake, they would immediately help the coach out. Not sure how he does it, but I’m sure Tom sees everything!
Tom spoke about the importance of showing different techniques to the students and having them choose which one worked best for them. Tom also talked about things most instructors won’t cover. He doesn’t carry appendix, but he did talk about the proper way to draw and re-holster using it.
We did some rhythm drills, speed transitions drills and finished up with the Rangemaster Bullseye Course. I haven’t shot bullseye type targets in years, but still ended up getting a 291 out of 300. One of the great things about courses like this; you learn what your weaknesses are. I’ll be working bulleyes shooting in the future. I’d say at the end of the day we ended up shooting over 150 rounds.
Day 2
We started off at the range and stayed there until almost 3pm before moving back to the classroom. This was the most intensive day for shooting and we went through at least 500rds. We focused on a variety of drills, aiming at smaller areas on the target (head or dot), shooting at distance, one handed shooting (strong/support hand), drawing from concealment, casino drill, malfunctions, knelling, and the FBI qual. On several occasions, Tom demonstrated left handed shooting techniques.
Back in the classroom Tom went over typical instructor backgrounds (Military, Law Enforcement, Competition), discussed the pro & cons (in regards to teaching conceal carry to armed civilians) and how rare it is to find someone with all three. Tom also talked about violent crime and the statistics in this country. If you didn’t carry a gun 24/7 before listening to Tom’s lecture, then I’m sure you will ALWAYS carry after hearing him speak. He basically scares the shit out of you with the truth! He also discussed many of the sources for statistics. One of the more interesting topics was how the firearms community seems to train for statistics based off of Uniformed Law Enforcement encounters but should probably be using more relevant data. Tom explained how FBI and DEA statistics would be better suited as they carry concealed and include off duty encounters. Additionally, they are not engaging in traffic stops, domestic violence, bar policing, etc… A better study is that of Tom’s students. Of the many students he has trained, he is aware of 66 that were involved in armed encounters. Of those 66 involved, 63 won and 3 forfeited (zero loses). Tom considers the 3 that died as forfeits because those students did not have their firearms on them at the time of the incidents.
Day 3
We started at the range and was qualification day! We did the FBI Qualification and the Rangemaster Instructor Qualifications twice each. A 90% or above was required to graduate. Next we went into revolvers; we loaded, shot, reloaded and shot again, with our right hand first and then did the same thing with our left hands. Tom dispelled some myths about how revolvers never malfunction. Then during the live fire, the student to my left had his S&W completely lock up. It was like Tom had a crystal ball.
We were back at the classroom by 1pm and Tom had several subjects to cover in just a few hours. He went over Deadly Force, Adult learning methods and a few other things before finally handing out the test around 4pm. There was no review and the test had plenty of fill in the blanks. In other words, you needed to know the material and have a 90% or more to graduate. Even after all the studying, the test was surprising challenging.
After the test Tom did an extensive review of the North Hollywood bank robbery and the FBI Miami shootout. This was a great review of tactics, but more importantly it was an excellent insight into the types of evil predators out there and what they are capable of. Later, Tom handed out certificates and we were on our way by roughly 6:30pm.
Overall, the course exceeded my expectations. I can’t stress the value of the information available in the 200-page manual along with the references. Tom has a way of saying things with few words and can still get a point across very quickly. I can honestly say that this could have easily been a 6 or 7-day course. All 5 of the current Green-Ops instructors attended and graduated from the course. We all agree that we want to attend future courses with Rangemaster.
Not a complaint, but more of an observation; I thought there would be plenty of time to chat with Tom and Lynn, while getting the opportunity to pick Skip Gochenour’s brain about the NTI…I was wrong. There was no down time in the course and if you weren’t shooting, you were coaching or loading mags. After class, it was an hour and 15 drive, followed by loading mags and studying. If you come to class, be prepared to work and study. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have stayed at a local hotel and tried to interact more with Tom, Lynn, Skip and the rest of the crew.
At the end of the course, John Murphy asked if given the opportunity, who would take it again? Everyone raised their hand, including mine. Hope to see some familiar faces next year