Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification [2023]

There are a variety of skills and drills available to us to measure skill and maintain standards. Some of these are reality based, and others are simple parlor tricks that may test skill without any real application. The Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification is the former, being rooted strongly in reality. Let's check out the details below.

Setting Up the Drill

For this drill you'll need a pistol in either a concealment or duty holster, and at least one spare magazine. One target is required, specifically an RFTS-Q, though others such as the Q-PT can be substituted. A shot timer or stop watch will allow you to record your par times to measure progress and passing scores. Finally you'll want at least 60 rounds of ammunition to complete this course of fire.

Scoring the Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification

Scoring is straightfoward on the Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification. The center circle on our RFTS-Q is worth five points, with the outer circle being four points. Rounds landing inside the head's circle are also worth five points. Any hit on the silhouette outside of these scoring zones is worth three points. Misses subtract five points per miss. A passing score is 270, with a perfect being 300 points. Any rounds fired after the par time are subtracted from your score.

Firing the Drill

1. 3 Yards
   1. Sidestep, draw and fire 3x rounds, freestyle. Par time 3 seconds. Repeat moving in other direction.
   2. Gun in hand at low ready, sidestep and fire 3x rounds, strong hand only. Par time 3 seconds. Repeat moving in other direction.
   3. Gun in hand at low ready, sidestep and fire 3x rounds, weak hand only. Par time 3 seconds.
2. 5 Yards
   1. Sidestep, draw and fire 4x rounds, freestyle. Par time 4 seconds. Repeat twice.
   2. Sidestep, draw and fire 3x rounds to the chest and 1x round to the head, freestyle. Par time 5 seconds. Repeat twice.
   3. Low ready, 1x round to the head, freestyle. Par time 1.5 seconds. Repeat once.
3. 7 Yards
   1. Low ready, 3 rounds total in gun. Fire 3x rounds, perform a slide lock reload, then fire 3x more rounds, freestyle. Par time 8 seconds.
   2. Low ready, empty chamber with full magazine. Attempt to fire, then tap/rack, and fire 3x rounds, freestyle. Par time 6 seconds.
4. 15 Yards
   1. Draw and fire 3x rounds, freestyle. Par time 6 seconds. Repeat once.
5. 25 Yards
   1. Draw and fire 2x rounds standing, drop to kneeling, fire 2x rounds, freestyle. Par time 14 seconds.

Results on the Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification

My first time firing the Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistols Qualification was during my initial Rangemaster instructor course back in 2019. This was done from concealment, using a Glock 17 and Trijicon RMR, carried in a Tenicor Velo3 AIWB holster. On the final day of training Tom has us fire the course twice in a row, then averages our passing scores together for a grade. I bring in a 95% and 97% despite pouring rain obscuring my optic during some strings.

More recently, Ally Corless made her first attempts at this course of fire. On her first run she managed a 266/300, while breaking a few par times. Just two weeks later she came back and put up a 261/300 while staying well below each time limit. While a lower score, her overall gun handling was significantly more impressive, and she dropped one less round overall on this second attempt.

This comes after several passing iterations of the FBI Qual, moving onto a new goal and standard of shooting. I think these results are an excellent representation of the increase in difficulty between the two courses of fire.

Final Thoughts on the Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification

The Rangemaster Instructor Course Pistol Qualification is a great standard to measure yourself by. While it isn't the most challenging test of shooting skill, it's certainly more difficult than most. Testing skills from near contact distance to 25 yards, passing this shows well rounded abilities in reality based training. If you haven't given this a try, I suggest adding it to your training regimen.

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