“The measure of your value as a coach is how well your students shoot.” – Tom Givens

Over the last several years, I have had numerous occasions to observe that just because a person can do a thing, does not mean they can teach a thing. For myself that manifested itself in a few range outings with friends newer to, or less experienced with firearms than myself. Sometimes these friends and acquaintances would assume that because I’m a Z-lister in the gun Gun YouTube world, I might be of some use in helping them to shoot better. Spoiler alert- I was not. I simply did not possess the knowledge or skills to be an effective coach and to help observe, explain, or remedy errors they were making.

About 5 months ago, I began thinking about how fulfilling it might be to be able to help newer or struggling shooters gain competency and confidence in their shooting abilities. After a few deep conversations with my friend Alex Sansone of The Suited Shootist, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to instruct, and with his guidance I choose the Rangemaster Instructor Development and Certification Course. The trainers I look up to the most all had “Rangemaster Certified Instructor” in common on their resumes. I was fortunate enough to see that this class was being taught in Buford, GA- a relatively short two and a half hours away. I booked it, and began to try to prepare.

As you can imagine, doing landscaping, this is my busy season. Finding time to get to the range and get meaningful practice in was a challenge, but I did it. Some days, it meant pulling my truck and landscaping trailer to the sportsman’s club I’m a member at after I finished at a client’s house that was close. It had been made clear to me early on that this class would not be a show up and pass affair. The shooting would be demanding, and yet, Alex also told me that “the shooting is the easy part.” He made it clear to me that I would need to study each night after we finished in the classroom. Remember that.

The months went by, and before I knew it, it was time for class. Friday morning I was greeted at the door by none other than Tom Givens himself. We made our way to the classroom where I got situated amongst fifteen other students. Day 1 consisted of mostly classroom learning, with a couple hours at the end spent on the range. Unlike the military classes I had attended over a decade ago, when Tom Givens says “It will be three very full days,” he means it. This is not a bad thing, as there was an immense amount of material to cover, and only twenty four hours of training to do it in. Be prepared for this. We were each given a 235 page manual, and encouraged to take notes. Aside from the notations I made in my manual, I also took almost twenty additional pages in a separate notebook. If your memory is anything like mine, I would encourage you to do the same. Before class let out for the evening, Tom told us to make sure that we spent time studying, and to show up ready to go with our range equipment as we would start the day on the range the next day.

Speaking of range equipment- make sure you can live with your carry gun and a dual magazine pouch/ holder. Unless you are sworn law enforcement, you will be wearing your concealed carry setup for the entirety of the class, and working from concealment on the range. In all honesty, you should be carrying daily. Mr. Givens drove this point home on several occasions after covering various topics by saying “What do you think that means? It means wear your fucking gun.” One can tell plainly that this is not an abstract concept for him, and he is very passionate about this. We all should be, and chances are, you will be too after the class. The Rangemaster Website description of this course calls for 850 rounds of ammunition. You will need it. You will fire it. By my tally (admittedly, with the pace of the class my count is not exact) I went through 887 rounds. Plan accordingly.

Because one cannot write a gun related article on the interwebs without discussing the gun itself, I will tell you what I carried/ used for the class, although that is certainly not the point of this write up, nor should you focus on it. I used a Beretta M9A3 with the Langdon Tactical Elite RDO slide. Atop that, I have a Holosun 508t optic. It was carried in a Vedder LightTuck holster, in the appendix position. To my knowledge, I was the only person in the class who was using a traditional double action pistol. I consider that a badge of honor.

For the range work, we were split into two “relays,” with the first group on the firing line, and the second observing and coaching/ learning how to coach. After the first relay finished their drills, the second relay went up to the line and the first relay assumed the coaching role. This was a huge learning opportunity for me, as I’d never learned how to coach, and what to watch for. The majority of the drills were done from the holster/ from concealment, but a fair amount were also done from the low ready.

From the start, Mr. Givens made it very clear that this was not a course designed to teach us how to teach bullseye competition, or IDPA. This is a course designed to help those of us who take it become more effective at teaching adults new skills, specifically skills pertaining to self defense with a handgun. Not only do I feel much better prepared to teach others these skills and concepts, I feel that the class helped me better understand and prepare myself. I found that the class helped clear up the typical self-defense gunfight, which absolutely will in turn un-muddy the waters for what we should be practicing and teaching.

Speaking of teaching- I was very impressed with the material we covered on adult learning theory. It helped me understand how most folks learn best, and also how I can learn and retain information more effectively myself. It’s very clear that this wasn’t a hypothetical exercise for Mr. Givens, but almost 50 years of experience on what works best for transferring this sort of knowledge.

It was made clear from the outset that this was not a course to teach you to shoot. One should show up with some proficiency already, and safe gun handling is a must. I saw one student get sent home the third morning, while we were shooting our qualification course of fire after repeated safety violations and an inability to follow simple instructions. You have to listen to what Tom and the Assistant Instructors are telling you. While some folks will undoubtedly want to do things “their way,” I firmly believe that you should do what the folks you’re paying are telling you to do. They just might be onto something. If you aren’t willing to do that, why the hell are you paying good money to learn from them?

The minimum score needed to pass the shooting and written test is 90%. Yes, that’s high. No, it’s not impossible by any stretch. I would consider myself a “good, not great” pistol shooter, and I managed to score a 100/100 on the shooting test. One other student in the class got a 100. The average for the class was a 97.3 on the shooting test, and a 96.3 on the written test. The written test was by far, the hardest part. I came in just above average with a 96.5 and I did study each night. You will need to. I don’t care how familiar you are with firearms or shooting. Study the damn manual and your notes. To my knowledge, no one scored a 100 on the written test. Make sure you study.

This is an interesting opportunity for me. Not only was this an after action review of the Rangemaster Instructor Development and Certification Course, it was also my first foray into the civilian training world. Some of the most cringeworthy words we hear in the Gunsphere are “As a veteran…” But, as a veteran, I want to emphasize that whatever training you received in the military probably had or has no bearing on concealed carry and self defense as a civilian. It just doesn’t. Different rules, different equipment, and different liabilities. Check your ego at the door, and learn something relevant to your circumstances now. I think that if you have the opportunity to train with Tom Givens and Rangemaster, you should absolutely consider it. I mentioned it earlier in this article, but even if I never teach a student, the material he covered in class and that I learned will serve me well.