Instructor Tips | Managing Students On and Off the Range

Often times instructors are very heavily focused on the shooting aspect of class. That’s the part people are here for, and what gets folks excited. However, it’s critical that we understand how to manage our students, both on and off the range. This can help them get more out of class, while keeping everyone healthy and safe. While these tips may not be exciting, they can make a huge difference for you and your students.

Taking Breaks

Breaks are extremely important in classes, both on the range and in the classroom. Students can only be focused for so long, a quick break gives them the chance to rest their body and mind before diving back into your material. Typically, a break lasts either five or ten minutes, outside of lunchtime and other extended periods. That said, five minutes to one person isn’t the same as five minutes to someone else. It is inevitable that you’ll have a student or two who habitually take longer to return than the rest of the group. From time to time, you may find your entire class lost in conversation, clock ticking, well past when they should have been back on the line. This can lead to longer days, cutting out material, and other issues in your classes.

Tick Tock

There are a handful of ways to keep folks on schedule, some easier than others. Here’s what I’ve found to work fairly well, without needing any special equipment. When it’s time to go on break, state the current time based on your watch or phone, then tell your students how long they have for the break. This may sound obvious, but do the math, telling the students when they are expected to be back, and what condition to be in. “It is currently 9:45, be back in five minutes; that is 9:50. Make sure you have three magazines loaded with exactly seven rounds each.” This should help ensure that people get back on time, and limit the number of students having to reconfigure their gear. Often they will prep themselves before using the bathroom, snacking, or satisfying other personal needs.

Always be prepared for when someone takes longer. Keep track of how class is progressing to see if students need a longer break, and to match time with what needs to be accomplished. Of course this isn’t a guarantee that everyone will be ready and on time every time, but it certainly helps.

Downrange Checks

If we’re following Colonel Cooper’s Four Firearms Safety Rules, we know that Rule Four is “Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.” It is critical that we ensure our downrange area is safe before conducting any live fire training. This should be fairly simple for those of us conducting training on the square range, with everyone on the same plane. However, this becomes more difficult when obstacles, distance, lighting, and other factors come into play. CQB, and low light are just two examples of higher risk activities which require more thorough scans. Some of you may be familiar with this video from a match where the competitor begins shooting while a squadmate is still down range. Through sheer luck, nobody was hurt, but it was a failure of the Range Officer nonetheless.

Down range checks are close to my heart. In 2025 I attended a class where the lead instructor gave the “make ready” command to students while others were still down range. Luckily a group of us behind the line was able to stop our shooters before guns came out of holsters, but it was concerning to see the lead instructor and a handful of assistants lose track of students and fail to clear the down range area. The consequences of failure can literally be life and death. It doesn’t take long to do a proper check. Do your job, keep your students safe.

Removing Students from Class

Over the past decade I have seen three students removed from class across three different events. It’s unpleasant to talk about, but sometimes it must be done. Each of these were for serious safety violations, some repeated, and others egregious enough to warrant immediate dismissal. Luckily I haven’t had to remove any of my students from class, but it’s always a possibility that we must prepare for. As instructors it is critical that we clearly establish safety expectations at the beginning of class. In addition to the safety rules, we need to inform students of what will get them removed from class ahead of time to keep everyone accountable. While removal is at our discretion, it’s important to be fair, and pre-established guidelines will not only help to avoid these situations, but also solidify the ground we stand on should the be invoked.

Removing a student is serious business. People have a lot of money tied up in training between tuition, ammunition, travel, and more. More importantly, people’s ego and reputation are on the line, and that can often trump any financial investment. Maybe the student can continue as an observer, or using a dummy gun. The serious practitioner could recognize their mistake and continue on in one of these capacities to keep learning. Some students may hang their head and leave quietly. Others may become irate and combative. Have a plan in place on how you will handle these situations safely and effectively.

Open Mindedness

As a counter to this, always be open to feedback from other students or fellow instructors in situations like these. I’ve seen one student reinstated in class after their classmates explained how unclear instruction led to a rules violation, yet no actual safety violations. This requires humility and an open mind, admitting that perhaps it was your instruction that created the situation at hand rather than blame resting solely with the student. Each interaction will be unique, don’t take them lightly.

Stepping Off the Range

Sometimes a student may need to leave the range outside of regular breaks. They may need to use the restroom, take an emergency call, or grab forgotten equipment prior to their time at the firing line. Whatever the reason, it’s important to keep track of our students. Ensure that your students understand they must alert someone before stepping away from the range. This can be a fellow students, an Assistant Instructor, or yourself as the lead. That will help keep them safe, especially for classes involving visual barriers or a moving firing line. Additionally, it lets us know if that student needs searched for if gone for an extended period of time.

That came to fruition during a class back in 2022; a student walked away to rest before beginning our low light shoot when the instructor noticed their absence was going on for longer than typical. We quickly cleared our guns and conducted a search, finding them feeling ill due to heat and sun exposure, but still safe. The student was given medical assistance, and while they weren’t feeling up to finishing class, they were ultimately okay due to the vigilance of our instructors and fellow students. Had this shooter not alerted his companions, we may have missed his absence, especially in the fading sun.

Closing Thoughts on Instructor Tips | Managing Students On and Off the Range

Prepare yourself for scenarios such as these and many more. A great resource to help you get started is Citizen Safety Academy’s Effective AI course, which covers some of these situations.

Remember, it’s our job to be accountable for our students. We need to do our best to make sure that they are safe, both in terms of gun safety, and environmental safety. While we cannot control their personal choices, such as hydration, we can help guide them towards good decisions. In the event they choose to do otherwise, it’s also our job to enforce the rules and consequences for violations.

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