The third Rangemaster firearms instructor qualification course of fire is one of the requirements for earning a certification from the Rangemaster Master Firearms Instructor Development course.
The master qualification shares a lot of similarities with the initial and advanced qualifications. It’s 50 rounds. Strings take place at the 3, 5, 7, 15 and 25 yard lines. It can be shot on an RFTS-Q target using the same 5/4/2 scoring, and passing requires a score of 90% or better (225 or higher out of 250). However, it can also be shot on a different target, which is scored differently. We will cover these differences in the remainder of the post as we work through the details and the analysis of the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification.
Let’s get into it.
The Course of Fire
Target: RFTS-Q3
| # | Distance | Start position | String | Par | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 yd | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds, switch to the dominant hand and fire 3 rounds dominant hand only, then switch to the non-dominant hand and fire 3 rounds non-dominant hand only | 7.00s | 1 |
| 2 | 3 yd | Holstered | Fire 4 rounds | 3.00s | 1 |
| 3 | 3 yd | Holstered | Fire 4 rounds dominant hand only | 3.00s | 1 |
| 4 | 5 yd | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds | 3.00s | 2 |
| 5 | 5 yd | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds to the chest, then 1 round to the head | 4.00s | 2 |
| 6 | 5 yd | Ready | Fire 1 round to the head | 1.50s | 2 |
| 7 | 7 yd | Ready, only 2 rounds loaded | Fire 2 rounds, reload, then fire 2 rounds | 7.00s | 1 |
| 8 | 7 yd | Ready, empty chamber | Attempt to fire, remedy the malfunction, then fire 2 rounds | 4.00s | 1 |
| 9 | 15 yd | Holstered | Fire 2 rounds | 5.00s | 1 |
| 10 | 15 yd | Ready | Fire 3 rounds | 5.00s | 1 |
| 11 | 25 yd | Holstered | Fire 3 rounds, drop to kneeling, then fire 3 rounds | 16.00s | 1 |
Scoring: First, add up all the impacts to determine the score. A hit in the 8-inch inner chest square or the 4-inch head circle is worth two points, and a hit in the silhouette outside those areas is worth one point. Line breaks count as long as the impact breaks the line entirely. Tears don’t count. A perfect score on the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification is 100 points, so the minimum passing score is 90.
My Thoughts on the Master Qualification
A couple of days before I started work on this post, Karl Rehn published his after action report on the Rangemaster Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Development course. Specifically, he mentions in that post that his methodology for calculating par time drill difficulty, which I will use in the next section, may need refinement. That follows from his recent experiment converting the Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Qualification to a USPSA stage. I’m not certain that his similar experience with that qualification feeling more difficult than the numbers indicate is what prompted the experiment. Either way, reading his post got me thinking back to this qualification and what it felt like.
Not having run the numbers yet, I remember the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification feeling relatively difficult and thinking this was the hardest qualification I had ever taken. A lot of that is true. While the strings seemed more difficult, the test pressure was also some of the heaviest I had felt, given I was classmates with several folks I would want to train with and learn from. Being outdoors in moderately windy conditions contributed as well, with the Texas heat starting to warm up enough to easily work up a good sweat. Still, I don’t recall struggling with the qualification, and at the time I was ranked as an IDPA Sharpshooter and a USPSA C-class competitor. Don’t get me wrong, though. The qualification was by no means easy. I had to work at it, but shooting it clean was definitely in my wheelhouse.
Compared with the Advanced Qualification
Comparing the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification with the advanced one, we see a small decrease in one-handed shooting and in rounds fired at the 3 yard line. However, all of the strings where rounds are fired one-handed start from the holster in the master qualification rather than from the ready position in the advanced qualification. Meanwhile, the number of rounds fired from the 5 yard line doubled in the master qualification. Last, but not least, the time pressure on the strings from the 7 yard line and beyond went up.
| Distance | Advanced Instructor Qualification | Master Instructor Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 3 yd | 36% of rounds fired 12 rounds one-handed (hand switch in string) | 34% of rounds fired 10 rounds one-handed (hand switch in string) |
| 5 yd | 16% of rounds fired 2 head shots | 32% of rounds fired 4 head shots |
| 7 yd | 24% of rounds fired | 12% of rounds fired |
| 15 yd | 12% of rounds fired Kneeling position | 10% of rounds fired |
| 25 yd | 12% of rounds fired | 12% of rounds fired Kneeling position |
Let’s see what these differences mean when it comes to the numbers.
Relative Difficulty of the Master Instructor Qualification
We will use the same methodology as in the previous posts to calculate the relative difficulty of the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification compared with Grand Master (GM) speed, or GM par time. We will also use similar substitutions for tasks without corresponding GM performance data, as we have been. The new substitution in this course of fire is the switch from two-handed to dominant hand only shooting in the first string, which I will treat as a shot from the ready.
Here are all the substitutions we will use:
- Two hands to dominant hand only switch at 3 yards: 0.7 seconds
- 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 25 yards: 1.8 (0.5 + 1.3) seconds
The Math
The rest of the data points use the available GM performance data on 8-inch A-zone hits at known distances from 3 to 25 yards.
| # | Distance | Reps | Par | GM speed | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 yd | 1 | 7.00s | 4.20s (1.1 + 0.15 × 2 + 0.7 + 0.3 × 2 + 0.9 + 0.3 × 2) | 60% |
| 2 | 3 yd | 1 | 3.00s | 1.55s (1.1 + 0.15 × 3) | 52% |
| 3 | 3 yd | 1 | 3.00s | 2.00s (1.1 + 0.3 × 3) | 67% |
| 4 | 5 yd | 2 | 3.00s | 1.56s (1.2 + 0.18 × 2) | 52% |
| 5 | 5 yd | 2 | 4.00s | 1.86s (1.2 + 0.18 × 2 + 0.3) | 47% |
| 6 | 5 yd | 2 | 1.50s | 0.90s | 60% |
| 7 | 7 yd | 1 | 7.00s | 3.00s (0.85 + 0.2 + 1.75 + 0.2) | 43% |
| 8 | 7 yd | 1 | 4.00s | 2.30s (0.85 + 1.25 + 0.2) | 58% |
| 9 | 15 yd | 1 | 5.00s | 1.75s (1.5 + 0.25) | 35% |
| 10 | 15 yd | 1 | 5.00s | 1.50s (1 + 0.25 × 2) | 30% |
| 11 | 25 yd | 1 | 16.00s | 5.20s (1.8 + 0.4 × 2 + 1.8 + 0.4 × 2) | 33% |
What 45% Means
Given a total par time of 67 seconds and a total GM par time of 30.14 seconds, the relative difficulty score of the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification is 45%. As a result, it sits squarely in the “normal difficulty” bucket based on the buckets suggested in the first post of this series. Indeed, the numbers support my subjective feeling of this being the most difficult qualification I had taken at the time I passed it.
It is also interesting to see that this qualification’s relative difficulty is essentially the same as that of the Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Qualification, which also came in at 45%. A comparison of the two is a topic for another post.
Similarly, 45% lines up pretty well with the USPSA C-class classification I held at the time I took the qualification. For those who are not familiar with the USPSA classification system, a C-class ranking goes to USPSA members who are earning scores between 40% and 60% on classifier stages. In other words, earning a C-class classification means the competitor has demonstrated a skill level that is within 40% to 60% of the skill held by Grand Masters.
Where the Points Go in the Master Qualification
It’s worth noting that the most difficult strings are the strings that require one-handed shooting. String #6, which is a head shot from the ready at 5 yards in 1.5 seconds, is pretty spicy as well. The relative difficulties of those strings are 67% and 60%, which suggests a level of skill equivalent to USPSA B-class or IDPA Expert is about what it takes to collect all those points. If memory serves me right, then these are the strings that kept me from shooting a perfect score on the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification.
Like the initial instructor qualification and the advanced instructor qualification, the strings from the 15 and 25 yard lines are the easiest in terms of relative difficulty. These are also the strings where students are likely to make the error of rushing shots to beat the time limit. Dropping a few points on the closer strings can increase test pressure, too, since it is easy to assume that strings at longer distances are more difficult. After all, we (or at least I) tend to correlate distance and difficulty proportionally.
Target Difficulty: RFTS-Q and RFTS-Q3
I was on the fence about writing a bit about target difficulty and how it might affect qualification difficulty. The RFTS-Q3 target is a more difficult target, because the A-zone target areas are aggressively subdued and eventually become impossible to see as the distance increases. The exact distance at which the A-zone disappears depends on an individual’s ability to see. Eventually, though, even the very best of human eyes won’t be able to detect them. So rather than looking for a “shoot here” border like the ones on the RFTS-Q target, one has to rely on landmarks along the silhouette to approximate the point of aim needed for an A-zone impact.
However, the difference in scoring between the two targets makes the impact on overall qualification difficulty a moot point, in my opinion. This is because the penalty for a silhouette impact outside of the scoring areas is 50% per shot on the RFTS-Q3 target, which has a larger silhouette, instead of 60% on the RFTS-Q target. Additionally, folks who are likely to attend the course that requires the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification will likely be familiar with using silhouette landmarks to determine a point of aim. This is especially true for students who have competition experience.
Closing Thoughts
The Rangemaster Master Firearms Instructor Qualification is among the toughest qualifications I’ve attempted. Numerically speaking, it landed in the “normal difficulty” bucket. Skills wise, folks with skill equivalent to IDPA Sharpshooter and USPSA C-class competitors can pass it, which is the recurring theme among all of the Rangemaster instructor qualification courses of fire I’ve written about. I think those whose skill level flirts with or surpasses IDPA Expert or USPSA B-class should have no problem shooting the Rangemaster Master Instructor Qualification clean, with a perfect score.
One thing that I haven’t done in any of the posts that detail these qualifications is to encourage readers to go out and try them. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about it. Instead, I hesitated and decided against it, since I assume most readers are in a situation like mine, where access to a range where these qualifications can be set up and worked from the holster is nonexistent or limited. However, some of us in that exact situation do have access to a range where we can set up the qualifications, but can’t work from the holster.
How to Try These Qualifications
There are a couple of approaches we can take to practicing and attempting these qualifications in that case. One option is to work from a table start, if the range has a firing line with tables or counters. Another option is to work from the ready and reduce the par time on strings that begin from the holster by one second. Finally, for situations where dropping to a kneeling position isn’t possible, one can drop to a squat or partial squat, depending on what the space allows.
So, there. Go out and try these qualifications. I suspect many readers will find them challenging.
