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I had the pleasure of hosting/attending Tom Givens again for the Rangemaster’ Advanced Instructor Development Course on 9/22-23/23. I’ve wanted to take this class since I took the Basic class back in 2015. But life happens and the stars and planets didn’t align until this year. It was well worth the wait.
After the introductions were complete, Tom figured out that we had students from 10 states with a variety of backgrounds – LE, .mil, Bureau of Prisons, commercial instructors and one “family” instructor (just instructs his family/extended family). It was a great group of folks with some very talented shooters.
We started TD1 in the classroom and just like he did in my Basic class, Tom started dropping knowledge bombs from the very beginning. An in depth discussion on target design, course design, scoring methods and when you should use the various options was very thought provoking. I’ve been shooting the El Presidente for 30 years and finally learned the history behind it. This discussion made me start thinking about our state qualification targets (and how they suck) and how I might be able to improve them. Tom pointed me towards the right company to make that happen.
After a break, Tom switched to a discussion on instructor liability and ways to manage, mitigate and minimize risk. The nice thing about this discussion was the fact that Tom delivered it in a way that makes sense to those who aren’t legal scholars. It made me rethink some things, especially documentation. I realized I need to start documenting my non-LE training better in a few areas and will be making those changes for the future.
After lunch we headed to the range. I knew going into this class that I’d have to shoot B-8 centers in some form or fashion. But I was not mentally prepared for the number of B-8s I would have to shoot at over 2 days. 
I shoot at B-8s in some of the different drills/tests I do, but I am not a fan of them. I like shooting faster/more “dynamic” exercises and can’t think of a time where I just pulled out a B-8 to shoot groups at 25 yards. I would shoot more B-8s in this class than I have in the last 5 years combined.
After a review of the draw stroke and presentation to the target we got to shooting. Of course we started with B-8s since we shot Justin Dyal’s 5 yard Round up. I shot a pair of 96s. A little later we shot the Rangemaster Bullseye course and I shot a 285 and a 278. I still struggle with time perception and tend to rush shots at distance. And when I do this I push the shots high. Something I definitely need to continue to work on. We shot about 300 rounds in total on TD1 and then called it a night.
TD 2 started in the classroom with an in depth review of the 1986 Miami FBI shootout and how we can apply the lessons learned from that incident even 40 years later. Tom has spent a lot of time talking with some of the people involved (Special Agent Mireles is a friend of Tom’s) and actually went to the scene to take pictures and measurements for this presentation. I’ve heard presentations on this incident before, but nothing compared to Tom’s. After talking about this incident Tom spent a lot of time talking about the mental aspects surviving a violent encounter, how the mind works, building motor skills and more. I took a lot of notes that I need to go back and digest when I can. An amazing amount of info was covered in 3 hours or so.
After lunch we hit the range again. We shot a lot more B-8s. And some different Rangemaster targets. And The Casino Drill. Each exercise we shot had a purpose(s) and Tom would explain the why behind the exercise. We shot the 5yd Round Up again, cold. As an Instructor, we were expected to shoot a 270 or better. Then some other drills, then a Baseline Skills Assessment Drill (I shot 199/200), then some more drills, then the Advanced Instructor Qualification (I shot a 100/100).
Ah, The Casino Drill. One of my favorites. I shoot The Casino Drill on a regular basis using the 7/7/7 in each mag option. I’m chasing a sub 10 second clean run. I’ve been close a time or two, but sub 10 still eludes me. Tom had us shoot it several times in different ways. The standard 7/7/7 was obviously very familiar to me. But then we switched the number of rounds in mags up and shuffled mags so you couldn’t “game” the Drill. Then we shot it 7/7/7, but started on target 6 instead of 1. Those weren’t familiar to me and made me concentrate.
And then it was time to see who would win the Casino Drill Challenge coin for the class. Having watched some of the other shooters, I knew one of them was gonna be tough to beat. I wasn’t wrong. I shot a 10.24, but had 1 just outside the 3 so I ended up with an 11.24. That was good for 2nd place. A new Casino Drill record was set by Sean Martin of Onsight Firearms Training – 9.04 seconds. It was very impressive to watch.
It was a fantastic 2 days of learning with a great group of people. If you’ve taken the Basic Instructor class, you owe it to yourself to take the Advanced. Don’t wait 8 years like I did. I’m looking forward to the Master Instructor class next year.
If you’re wondering, I shot a Frankenglock in this class. An SCT/AIM Surplus/Monsoon Tactical Lucky 7’d/Bushnell RXM-300 combination. OEM internals. Put about 700 rounds through it. Had 3 user induced malfunctions, but if I didn’t screw ip it ran like a scalded dog. The Bushnell RXM-300 has a HUGE window and made it very easy to track the dot. I’m doing a longer term review of that over the next few months. My only complaint about this combo is about the frame. It’s got some sharp edges that really become apparent with long range sessions. Took some sandpaper to them after TD1 (it’s only a $50 frame, so why not) and that resolved the issues.
