Where: Rangemaster Memphis, TN
When: May31-Jun01-2014
Instructor(s): Tom Givens and multiple staff members.
Gear: Primary gun was Glock 19 with RMR in Henry Holsters AIWB rig. Secondary/Backup was G17 in R/H Henry Holsters single loop AIWB. Approx. 650 rds of 9mm Fiocchi 124 grain FMJ.
Overview: Tom referred to this as days 4 and 5 of his 3 day Instructor Development course. That course was attended by myself and a number of other INGO'ers last year. In attendance at this class were a number of students from last years class including Tim and Reid from TR. They seemed much more low key this time around. Other students had taken the 3 day class in various locations and at different times. There were also a number of Rangemaster staff in attendance including Tom's wife Lynn.
Things to work on included,
*Timing Issues
*Anatomy as it relates to stopping dangerous people.
*Precision marksmanship at speed.
*Target design for relevant training.
*Handgun ready positions.
*Criminal psychology.
*Immediate trauma care.
On both days the class was a mixture of range time and class time. Tom gives frequent breaks so that students can pay full attention when they need to as the class is very fast paced. Other than the breaks there is no downtime or extended war stories or BSing sessions going on. Tom does a good job of keeping that guy/gal from monopolizing class time with their so important stories they assume everyone else wants to hear.
Because of that and the fast pace I am sometimes left wishing for more Q and A time, but learning exactly what is being taught is probably optimized in this format.
I notice I did not split my notes up into TD1 and TD2 so you will not see that delineation here. After the overview we spent quite a lot of time on coaching. We talked about common errors in coaching and a lot about the adult learning model. We went over where to stand while coaching and what to look for. We talked about different example of shooter problems and what could be done to fix them. This was all done as a practical exercise all weekend as we paired up with other students and coached each other on the range. We switched partners every so often to keep things fresh.
On the first trip to the range we went over drills to help new shooters overcome problems (such as the dime drill), and drills to help our skill level. Tom is a big believer in an instructor needing to be a good shooter to teach shooting. We had a number of shooting tests to take for the weekend and some of these were laid out at this time. Tom set a goal for everyone to shoot a 100% on the BATF course of fire. In the three day we had used the FBI course and were required to shoot over 90%. We would also shoot the Rangemaster COF, which I found to be harder mostly because of the smaller target zones. The other COF we shot for score is the Rangemaster Core skills test. This test is nice because it is scored Comstock and is a sliding scale type of thing where scores are given categories such as expert and master but you can constantly push yourself for a better score. To do well you have to be both fast and accurate. Much of the shooting done the first morning was a bullseye course. This was done to work on accuracy issues as well as see where your particular gun hits a various distances. Tom said he prefers to have his set up so he hits high enough at 25 yards that he has to aim at the bottom of the bull for a center hit. This provides him the ability to hit well from 0-100 without changing POA.
Back in the classroom we went over target anatomy. We used many examples of shootings that had occurred in the Memphis area, as well as the FBI Miami shootout. That was a good example of how lung shot are really not that great of a stopper (at least with pistol bullets) as Platt continued to fight and kill for 3 and a half minutes after taking a hit to the lungs. We also had examples of how even heart shots may not be immediately effective with one person being treated at the Trauma center in Memphis taking 5 shots to the heart and still living. These are good reasons why accuracy is so important. One of my comments here is to remeber where mindset plays into this. A person who believes that they are finished when they are shot may very well be incapacitated by a peripheral hit with a .22, while someone with a won't quit attitude may very well survive multiple well placed rounds and keep fighting.
With anatomy in mind we talked about target design and which ones are good to use in class. We looked at some bad examples such as the B-27 (the notorius center mass target), and some good examples. We talked about what factors make a good target and how to pick or design one. We looked at what types of scoring zones you might want and how obvious they should be. We looke at when is a good time to go from a strictly marksmanship target to a graphic target. After all if you are truly training for self protection you have to come to the realization you may have to shoot another human in defense of life andyour target should reflect this.
There was a video presentation that Dr. Paul Whitesell gave to a LE conference back some years ago. Instead of going into detail on this I will just say that it is easy to see where Grossman got a lot of his material from. Right down to some of the stories.
There was a section on range safety and trauma care. This was presented by two long time EMS personal who are also Rangemaster staff. They like to use the HELP model.
H- Holster all weapons.
E- EMS
-Tell a specific person to call 911.
-Give emergency care to the injured.
L-leave area with students
P- provide support to the injured.
Not exactly my model, but a good start for someone without a plan. We then had a lecture and practical exercises on types of bleeding, TQ usage, respiratory system issues, CPR, and AED.
The final classroom lecture was given by John Hearn entitled "HARD WON LESSONS: Fifteen years of FBI research into good guys, bad guys, and what happens when they meet." Even though this research was on LE encounters the information contained was priceless. Much of it jives with what we at Paladin Combatives have been teaching in our Managing Confrontations class, but there were also some things that I am going to swipe and you will be seeing in our classes going forward. I will not be giving details of this lecture here as it wouldn't be fair to give away all of John's hard work, but I will copy and paste his bio along with some overview.
Hard Won Lessons:
Fifteen Years of FBI
Research Into Good Guys,
Bad Guys, and What
Happens When They Meet
By John E. Hearne
Rangemaster Staff Instructor; Owner, DVC Targets
About Me
M.S. Criminal Justice, Concentration in Research
Methods; Virginia Commonwealth University, 1996.
Federal LEO since 1992. Primarily in uniform
patrol. Also serve as an agency firearms instructor,
armorer, and field training officer.
Have attended numerous private shooting schools
and classes (Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Front Sight,
Louis Awerbuck, Scottie Reitz, Pat Rogers, Randy
Cain, Jeff Gonzales, Chuck Taylor, etc.)
Staff Instructor at Rangemaster since 2002.
Lecturer – National Tactical Invitational,
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, Warriortalk
Symposium
Our Goals
Look at problems with the research.
Focus on the “universals.”
Learn from the mistakes of others.
Better understand who we face.
Better understand our weaknesses.
Learn tactical and practical tips.
Use “The Deadly Mix” Model.
Wrap up;
Unlike some of the more "reality based" schools out there, Tom is still very much a marksmanship matters kind of guy. As opposed to using airsoft/simmunitions to put together his program he takes elements of the modern technique and then adds in the facts involved in numerous shootings including those involving non sworn personnel. Opinions vary on whether this is the right approach or not, but it has definitely worked for those who have taken training from him and prevailed in gunfights. His student record of 61-0-2 is unlike any other that I am aware of in the "civilian" sector.
Overall I was very pleased with the class and was happy I attended. I think it will help me in teaching our students in the "shooting" portion of our classes, as well as the bonus material that will work its way into the fighting/mindset aspect of our classes. Every time I go to a class put on by Tom I come away both humbled, yet a better shooter and more determined to work on my skills. I am happy to report that I was 1 out of 8 (from 20 students) who did get a perfect score on the BATF COF. I still have not scored a 100% on the Rangemaster qualifier but I am getting closer. Going into this class I assumed Chuck Haggard was going to be the man to beat on the shooting portion. Chuck did shoot very well but eventually had to take second place to someone I am not familiar with. Dude, I so apologize to you as I can't remember your name but, GREAT JOB!
This was the first of a June trifecta for me. Next weekend I will be in Ann Arbor, MI for Advanced Handgun with Mike Pannone, and at the end of the month I will be in Nappanee, In for Advanced Handgun and Defensive Shotgun with Tom Givens. Hopefully my AAR skills will improve after all of that.
When: May31-Jun01-2014
Instructor(s): Tom Givens and multiple staff members.
Gear: Primary gun was Glock 19 with RMR in Henry Holsters AIWB rig. Secondary/Backup was G17 in R/H Henry Holsters single loop AIWB. Approx. 650 rds of 9mm Fiocchi 124 grain FMJ.
Overview: Tom referred to this as days 4 and 5 of his 3 day Instructor Development course. That course was attended by myself and a number of other INGO'ers last year. In attendance at this class were a number of students from last years class including Tim and Reid from TR. They seemed much more low key this time around. Other students had taken the 3 day class in various locations and at different times. There were also a number of Rangemaster staff in attendance including Tom's wife Lynn.
Things to work on included,
*Timing Issues
*Anatomy as it relates to stopping dangerous people.
*Precision marksmanship at speed.
*Target design for relevant training.
*Handgun ready positions.
*Criminal psychology.
*Immediate trauma care.
On both days the class was a mixture of range time and class time. Tom gives frequent breaks so that students can pay full attention when they need to as the class is very fast paced. Other than the breaks there is no downtime or extended war stories or BSing sessions going on. Tom does a good job of keeping that guy/gal from monopolizing class time with their so important stories they assume everyone else wants to hear.
Because of that and the fast pace I am sometimes left wishing for more Q and A time, but learning exactly what is being taught is probably optimized in this format.I notice I did not split my notes up into TD1 and TD2 so you will not see that delineation here. After the overview we spent quite a lot of time on coaching. We talked about common errors in coaching and a lot about the adult learning model. We went over where to stand while coaching and what to look for. We talked about different example of shooter problems and what could be done to fix them. This was all done as a practical exercise all weekend as we paired up with other students and coached each other on the range. We switched partners every so often to keep things fresh.
On the first trip to the range we went over drills to help new shooters overcome problems (such as the dime drill), and drills to help our skill level. Tom is a big believer in an instructor needing to be a good shooter to teach shooting. We had a number of shooting tests to take for the weekend and some of these were laid out at this time. Tom set a goal for everyone to shoot a 100% on the BATF course of fire. In the three day we had used the FBI course and were required to shoot over 90%. We would also shoot the Rangemaster COF, which I found to be harder mostly because of the smaller target zones. The other COF we shot for score is the Rangemaster Core skills test. This test is nice because it is scored Comstock and is a sliding scale type of thing where scores are given categories such as expert and master but you can constantly push yourself for a better score. To do well you have to be both fast and accurate. Much of the shooting done the first morning was a bullseye course. This was done to work on accuracy issues as well as see where your particular gun hits a various distances. Tom said he prefers to have his set up so he hits high enough at 25 yards that he has to aim at the bottom of the bull for a center hit. This provides him the ability to hit well from 0-100 without changing POA.
Back in the classroom we went over target anatomy. We used many examples of shootings that had occurred in the Memphis area, as well as the FBI Miami shootout. That was a good example of how lung shot are really not that great of a stopper (at least with pistol bullets) as Platt continued to fight and kill for 3 and a half minutes after taking a hit to the lungs. We also had examples of how even heart shots may not be immediately effective with one person being treated at the Trauma center in Memphis taking 5 shots to the heart and still living. These are good reasons why accuracy is so important. One of my comments here is to remeber where mindset plays into this. A person who believes that they are finished when they are shot may very well be incapacitated by a peripheral hit with a .22, while someone with a won't quit attitude may very well survive multiple well placed rounds and keep fighting.
With anatomy in mind we talked about target design and which ones are good to use in class. We looked at some bad examples such as the B-27 (the notorius center mass target), and some good examples. We talked about what factors make a good target and how to pick or design one. We looked at what types of scoring zones you might want and how obvious they should be. We looke at when is a good time to go from a strictly marksmanship target to a graphic target. After all if you are truly training for self protection you have to come to the realization you may have to shoot another human in defense of life andyour target should reflect this.
There was a video presentation that Dr. Paul Whitesell gave to a LE conference back some years ago. Instead of going into detail on this I will just say that it is easy to see where Grossman got a lot of his material from. Right down to some of the stories.
There was a section on range safety and trauma care. This was presented by two long time EMS personal who are also Rangemaster staff. They like to use the HELP model.
H- Holster all weapons.
E- EMS
-Tell a specific person to call 911.
-Give emergency care to the injured.
L-leave area with students
P- provide support to the injured.
Not exactly my model, but a good start for someone without a plan. We then had a lecture and practical exercises on types of bleeding, TQ usage, respiratory system issues, CPR, and AED.
The final classroom lecture was given by John Hearn entitled "HARD WON LESSONS: Fifteen years of FBI research into good guys, bad guys, and what happens when they meet." Even though this research was on LE encounters the information contained was priceless. Much of it jives with what we at Paladin Combatives have been teaching in our Managing Confrontations class, but there were also some things that I am going to swipe and you will be seeing in our classes going forward. I will not be giving details of this lecture here as it wouldn't be fair to give away all of John's hard work, but I will copy and paste his bio along with some overview.
Hard Won Lessons:
Fifteen Years of FBI
Research Into Good Guys,
Bad Guys, and What
Happens When They Meet
By John E. Hearne
Rangemaster Staff Instructor; Owner, DVC Targets
About Me
M.S. Criminal Justice, Concentration in Research
Methods; Virginia Commonwealth University, 1996.
Federal LEO since 1992. Primarily in uniform
patrol. Also serve as an agency firearms instructor,
armorer, and field training officer.
Have attended numerous private shooting schools
and classes (Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Front Sight,
Louis Awerbuck, Scottie Reitz, Pat Rogers, Randy
Cain, Jeff Gonzales, Chuck Taylor, etc.)
Staff Instructor at Rangemaster since 2002.
Lecturer – National Tactical Invitational,
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, Warriortalk
Symposium
Our Goals
Look at problems with the research.
Focus on the “universals.”
Learn from the mistakes of others.
Better understand who we face.
Better understand our weaknesses.
Learn tactical and practical tips.
Use “The Deadly Mix” Model.
Wrap up;
Unlike some of the more "reality based" schools out there, Tom is still very much a marksmanship matters kind of guy. As opposed to using airsoft/simmunitions to put together his program he takes elements of the modern technique and then adds in the facts involved in numerous shootings including those involving non sworn personnel. Opinions vary on whether this is the right approach or not, but it has definitely worked for those who have taken training from him and prevailed in gunfights. His student record of 61-0-2 is unlike any other that I am aware of in the "civilian" sector.
Overall I was very pleased with the class and was happy I attended. I think it will help me in teaching our students in the "shooting" portion of our classes, as well as the bonus material that will work its way into the fighting/mindset aspect of our classes. Every time I go to a class put on by Tom I come away both humbled, yet a better shooter and more determined to work on my skills. I am happy to report that I was 1 out of 8 (from 20 students) who did get a perfect score on the BATF COF. I still have not scored a 100% on the Rangemaster qualifier but I am getting closer. Going into this class I assumed Chuck Haggard was going to be the man to beat on the shooting portion. Chuck did shoot very well but eventually had to take second place to someone I am not familiar with. Dude, I so apologize to you as I can't remember your name but, GREAT JOB!
This was the first of a June trifecta for me. Next weekend I will be in Ann Arbor, MI for Advanced Handgun with Mike Pannone, and at the end of the month I will be in Nappanee, In for Advanced Handgun and Defensive Shotgun with Tom Givens. Hopefully my AAR skills will improve after all of that.
