Master Instructor Course

Rangemaster – Tom Givens

Royal Range, Nashville TN

March 15-17, 2024

Overview

I just completed the third class in the instructor series of firearms instructor classes called Master Firearms Instructor Development Course put on by RangeMaster Firearms Training Services out of Plant City, FL. The instructor for the class was Tom Givens, the owner of RangeMaster. This class is a 24-hour class including live-fire training and classroom lecture held on March 15-17, 2024. This class was held at the Royal Range indoor shooting complex in Nashville Tennessee. In the class we have a few assisting instructors who have previously taken this class.
During this class I used a Glock 17 Gen 5 MOS gun with an Aimpoint ACRO red dot sight. There was a section of the class about revolvers, I used my Smith and Wesson R8 in .357 magnum. During the class we shot about 700 rounds of 9mm and 200 rounds of .357 mag the class.

Day 1

Day one we started in the classroom and covered the history of firearms instruction. This was a great lecture about who, what and why many of the training trends have been over the years. I enjoyed this information greatly and it gave perspective to many of the things that are current in the industry, or I should say just recycled from years past. We learned about both positive and negative influences on the training of individuals in firearms. After the lecture we moved to the range and started shooting. We completed many drills that tested skills of a balance of speed and accuracy. Towards the end of training, we started the student drills. This was where each student in the class had to either come up with a drill or use an existing drill to run the class through. In this section the students had to explain the origin of the drill and who created the drill along with why this drill is important. The drills needed to be no more than 15 rounds and only use a single target. It was interesting to see what drills the student selected and why they were important and useful. There were a few that I really enjoyed and will probably use in the future. For mine I conducted the Five-Reload-Five drill.

Day 2

Day two we started back in the classroom and were talking about revolvers. Tom gave a fantastic lecture on revolvers and the use of revolvers while fighting. After the lecture we moved back out to the range and used the revolvers. This was interesting to say the least. My key takeaways, where you are always having to reload the revolver and there is not a really fast way to get them reloaded. With the R8 revolver I was not able to locate a speed loader prior to the class. This being an 8 shot revolver there are only a few companies who make this, and many were sold out or outside what I wanted to pay for a single item. I ended up using a bunch of speed strips, this is a very ironic name because they most definitely were not speedy. I was able to get reloads completed but it most definitely took some time and effort. There was also a big learning curve in how to most effectively use them. My revolver had two major malfunctions that caused it to lock up and no longer function. Both were eventually able to be cleared with some help and time, but the revolver immediately turned into a blunt object at best. Both times it appeared to be some ammo that was out of spec that was causing the cylinder to no longer rotate. We also had a few other students in class who had major malfunctions with their revolvers. To the people who say revolvers never fail I call bullshit. Plus, when the revolvers fails there is not an immediate action that can get it back up and running. This was a class of 22 students and in less than 200 rounds and a few hours having 5 major malfunctions is a problem, noting all the revolvers in the class were from major brands with a solid reputation. Use caution with revolvers if carrying for self-defense.

Moving back into the classroom we covered a bit on shooting support side. Then it was back to the range with our mirror gear on. I used a NSR tactical left-handed holster for this section of the class. I liked getting some practice shooting left-handed learning how to manipulate the gun in my non-dominant hand. It was also helpful if leaching left-handed students because most weapons are set up for right-handed shooters. We ended the day with our regular holsters and shooting a few more class drills then conducted some additional student lead drills.

Day 3

Day three was in the classroom to have a lecture on student involved shooting covering the lessons learned along with some statistics. We also had a lecture on Low-Light shooting and flashlights. I enjoyed this section and getting Tom’s perspective on the topic. Much of this lecture was on history along with the why. As technology changes so do techniques to meet up with the new tools. It was great to understand why things changed and a few points to understand for self-defense use of lights.
We then moved to the range and finished up the shooting drills for the class along with the qualifications. This was a very skilled class to say the least. The class concluded with certificates and handshakes as we had completed three full days of training and learning.

Summary

I enjoyed this class and got some very good information out of the training. I like the way Tom brings the why along with the how to many of the drills along with the presentation. The history of instructors along with revolvers were some of my favorites and well worth the price of the class. This being an instructor level class I was also able to take away many drills that can easily be used while giving classes. I still need to practice on my support side shooting. But have a better understanding of revolvers and how they can be used in self-defense.

I would take this class again and recommend it to others looking for a solid instructor level class. There is one more class in this instructor class series and will be trying to get into it when it is held, unfortunately it is not held very often and sells out quickly.