The second Rangemaster firearms instructor qualification course of fire is the Rangemaster Advanced Firearms Instructor Qualification which, as the name directly implies, is encountered in the Rangemaster Advanced Firearms Instructor Development Course and passing it is required to earn the accompanying certification. It also happens that this qualification is the one we will dive into in this post as promised in the analysis of the initial Rangemaster Firearms Instructor Qualification course of fire post.
The Course of Fire
Target: RFTS-Q
| # | Distance | Start Position | String Procedure | Par Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds | 3 seconds |
| 1 | 3 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds | 3 seconds |
| 2 | 3 yards | Ready in dominant hand | Fire 3 rounds dominant hand only, switch hands, fire 3 rounds with non-dominant hand only | 7 seconds |
| 2 | 3 yards | Ready in dominant hand | Fire 3 rounds dominant hand only, switch hands, fire 3 rounds with non-dominant hand only | 7 seconds |
| 3 | 5 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds to the chest, fire 1 round to the head | 4 seconds |
| 3 | 5 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds to the chest, fire 1 round to the head | 4 seconds |
| 4 | 7 yards | Ready with only 4 rounds loaded | Fire 4 rounds, reload, fire 4 rounds | 8 seconds |
| 5 | 7 yards | Ready with an empty chamber | Attempt to fire, remedy malfunction, fire 4 rounds | 6 seconds |
| 6 | 15 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds, drop to kneeling position, fire 3 rounds | 12 seconds |
| 7 | 25 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds | 9 seconds |
| 7 | 25 yards | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds | 9 seconds |
Scoring: Add up all the impacts to determine the score, five (5) points for every hit in the 8″ inner chest circle or in the 4″ head box circle, four (4) points for every hit between the 8″ inner chest circle and the 10″ outer chest circle, and three (3) points for hits in the silhouette but not in any circle. Line breaks count as long as the line is broken entirely by the impact. Tears don’t count. A perfect score is 250 points. The minimum passing score is 225 or 90%.
My Thoughts on the Qualification
Not going to lie, I was concerned about the difference in difficulty between this “advanced” qualification course of fire and the initial instructor qualification. This was probably exacerbated by the fact that unlike the first Rangemaster Firearms Instructor Qualification, I was unable to find the advanced qualification documented anywhere prior to taking the advanced instructor development course. After passing the qualification, I subjectively thought this qualification was more difficult. However, I hadn’t performed an analysis like this.
On the surface there are some obvious differences such as duplicated strings of fire with tighter time limits, switching dominant to non-dominant hand in a string rather than between strings, similar strings with a bit more time but additional shots, and so on. Digging a little deeper we see that the amount of rounds fired from the 3 yard line doubles while the amount of shooting at the five yard line is reduced by more than half in the advanced qualification. Additionally, the amount of shooting done at the 7 and 25 yard lines in the advanced qualification is increased. These differences are summarized as follows:
| Distance | Instructor Qualification | Advanced Instructor Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 3 yards | 18% of rounds fired 6 rounds one-handed (hand switch between strings) | 36% of rounds fired 12 rounds one-handed (hand switch in string) |
| 5 yards | 40% of rounds fired 3 head shots | 16% of rounds fired 2 head shots |
| 7 yards | 20% of rounds fired | 24% of rounds fired |
| 15 yards | 12% of rounds fired | 12% of rounds fired Kneeling position |
| 25 yards | 10% of rounds fired Kneeling position | 12% of rounds fired |
Whether or not these differences make the test more difficult is yet to be determined, so let’s do that next.
Relative Difficulty
Using Karl Rehn‘s method of calculating par time drill difficulty level as outlined in his book, Strategies and Standards for Defensive Handgun Training, we can get an idea of this qualification’s relative difficulty.
Like the initial instructor qualification, the Grand Master (GM) par time calculation will be mostly straightforward since both qualifications use the same targets and have the same scoring areas. I will also be using similar timings for the malfunction clearing and transition to kneeling position with adjustments for changes in distance. Last, but not least I will treat the switching from dominant to non-dominant hands as target transition plus a shot from ready as follows:
- Dominant to non-dominant hand switch at 3 yards: 0.9 (0.2 + 0.7) seconds
- Malfunction clearance at 7 yards: 1.25 seconds
- Transition to kneeling position at 15 yards: 1.35 (0.35 + 1) seconds
Let’s do the math.
| String # | Distance | Reps | Par Time | GM Speed | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1.4 (1.1 + 0.15 x 2) | 47% |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2.8 (0.7 + 0.3 x 2 + 0.9 + 0.3 x 2) | 40% |
| 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1.86 (1.2 + 0.18 x 2 + 0.3) | 47% |
| 4 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 3.8 (0.85 + 0.2 x 3 + 1.75 + 0.2 × 3) | 48% |
| 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2.7 (0.85 + 1.25 + 0.2 x 3) | 45% |
| 6 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 3.85 (1.5 + 0.25 x 2 + 1.35 + 0.25 x 2) | 32% |
| 7 | 25 | 2 | 9 | 2.6 (1.8 + 0.4 x 2) | 29% |
Just like the initial instructor qualification course of fire, the relative difficulty of every string falls in either the easy or normal difficulty buckets I suggested in the first post of this series. The total par time of the advanced qualification course of fire is 72 seconds while the total GM par time (or speed) is 27.67 seconds. This yields an overall difficulty of 38% which is a tiny fraction lower than the difficulty of the initial qualification and puts this qualification near the top of the easy difficulty. The difference is so small that I would say they are virtually equivalent in terms of mechanical skill needed to achieve a passing score. As such, a USPSA C-class or IDPA Sharpshooter competitor should be able to clean this qualification.
While the numbers are what they are, it’s worth noting that this qualification offers more opportunities for a student to commit errors than the previous qualification. Especially if they struggle with test pressure. There are twice as many one-handed shots taken. As noted in the previous post, one-handed shooting is something that most folks don’t practice enough. Additionally, switching hands while on the clock offers an opportunity to fumble the non-dominant hand only grip. The uptick in shots fired beyond the 5 yard line also increased the likelihood of errors due to rushing the longer shots in order to beat the clock which is a mistake with a frequency inversely proportional to the students skill.
Based on that and using the 10% margin of error in these types of calculations suggested by Karl Rehn, I will suggest that the relative difficulty of this qualification is at least 5% higher than what the math says. If I am right, then the advanced qualification is sitting comfortably in the normal difficulty bucket and not the easy difficulty bucket.
Closing Thoughts
I know the math disagrees with me. However, given my subjective recollection of the Rangemaster Advanced Firearms Instructor Qualification course of fire plus the nuanced differences in the strings of fire and shot distribution, I don’t think this qualification has an equivalent difficulty when compared to the Rangemaster Firearms Instructor Qualification course of fire. It’s more difficult, but not by much.
Passing the advanced qualification requires the same mechanical skills as the previous qualification. However, patience and consistency are going to be the key elements one needs to exhibit to make it through this one. The best way to make this happen is to get comfortable with running one’s pistol under pressure. Match experience is probably the best and most accessible way to accomplish this. Combining match experience with regular intentional practice makes earning a USPSA B-class or an IDPA Expert classification a very achievable thing which is more difficult to achieve than passing this qualification.