Tom Givens Range Master Combative Pistol Course Review

Last weekend, I went to KR Training out side of Austin, TX to take Combative Pistol with Tom Givens and Rangemaster Firearms Training. The short review is that I had a blast, but I always do at good firearms training courses (most the time, even at the bad ones, too).

The course was two days in the middle of nowhere.   The closest hotels to the range were 25 minutes away and the closest food was a gas station about 10 minutes away. We were required to bring our lunch. The range facility was nice because we were the only ones there. It’s a private range and there are only a couple of farmhouses around, so no distractions.

Getting there, I found the usual wavier to sign with an affidavit that said I could legally own a gun (pretty much). The course started with a safety brief from Karl Rehn, the range owner. Then Tom started and I liked his brief. He says no range rules, only life rules to handle a firearm safely (amen). Then, we have range etiquette, which is a nice way to say, don’t be an a$$ on the range (he used colorful language all day, I felt right at home). He uses the four firearms safety rules like everyone else, and the version of number 3 “keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target.” I still like “keep the finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire”, but he did have good discussion about all the rules and mentioned putting the sights on target only when you are ready to fire.

After the long discussion, he says it boils down to two things. Don’t point the gun at anything you don’t want to shoot and keep your finger off the trigger. If you follow both those things, there won’t be any “BANG…Oops” moments. No one wants to hear “Oops” after a gun shot.

Out on the range, he talked about learning and how we humans are mostly sight creatures. To learn trigger control and trigger reset, he had us unload our guns, turn them sideways and hold them by our waist and work the trigger, while watching. I’ve never really done it before but you should try it. It helped a lot of people in the course to shoot better.

After that, it was group shooting. I used most of the first day to polish my basic skills of running the gun and making hits. Tom explained the reason behind everything and his assistant instructor was really patient with a couple students that got short with him (I would have at least yelled at one).

I shot about 700 rounds throughout the course, about 300 rounds the first day and then tagged along with the instructors to dinner. I was the only student that asked to go with them. Most everyone was staying in a hotel near by and making plans to go to dinner, but no one asked the instructors. If you get the chance when you go to a course, go out with the instructors. You get to learn things and ask questions. I had a great time at dinner.

The next morning started in the classroom with discussions about actual shootings and how the body works. Then out to the range where the drills got faster and then testing started.

We had one test on day one. I don’t want to mention it because I shot a 148 out of 150. The tests on day two I scored perfect scores the entire time. We had a couple competitions. One man on man completion I won, and two other timed competitions I came in second and third. There was a student that was a better shooter than I. I like that because it makes me push harder to get better. The guy could shoot fast and straight. I didn’t feel bad losing to him.

Tom went through the day showing us different drills we could do with limited ammo to keep our skills up. I’m going to use a couple of them and work to be faster and more accurate.

The part of the class that was the most worth it was the classroom part. Tom talked about multiple studies of gunfights. Gun fights in the law enforcement world, military world, and concealed carry world. It was great to look at the differences and how the stats from law enforcement and the military don’t always transfer to concealed carry.

Tom pointed out a big flaw in my thinking that I assume everyone else is on board with, but not really. In the military, there is a term, “acceptable losses.” Every military leader is familiar with it and knows that it’s just the way it is. If we go to combat, we have a plan for losses and have a number in mind that is acceptable at the end of the day. Civilians don’t think that way. The only acceptable loss number is Zero.

Tom used a little anecdote to illustrate; you and your family are in a mall shooting and you don’t have a weapon. You have to cross open ground through gunfire to get out. You tell your wife “we are all going to run for it at the same time, little Timmy won’t make it, but the rest of us will be fine.” That’s just not acceptable in the real world.

In the military, you cross open areas in pairs so that the enemy can’t get all of you. They train you in the idea that someone will get confused and hopefully give you the time to get across, but we know that one shooter can probably only get one of us. Then, if the enemy has a good machine gun, it can only get the two of us that are crossing at a time. It gives the rest of the unit the option of finding a different way. Not really what any of us want to think about.

If you are in the mall shooting, you don’t want to think about waiting either. If it’s only you, and you have your weapon, you want to get in there and save everyone, but you can’t. You save as many people as possible…acceptable losses.

I’ll be working on that, trying to convey it when absolutely necessary and trying to remove it from my thoughts when it isn’t.

Tom went over a couple case studies of shootings. One was the FBI Dade County shooting in 1986. I’ve been through that shooting more times than I can remember, but somehow there is always something new to learn. One of the points Tom made again and again in the class room was “have your f#$#ing gun with you.” I had forgotten that there was one FBI agent that lost his gun before the shootout began and had to run behind a wall and hide while his friends where killed. He’s still alive today, but his life is still a train wreck almost 30 years later.

Tom emphasized his point, have a gun, with his own students’ stats. He has had a total of 65 students that have come through his class been in shootouts; 62 wins, 0 losses, 3 forfeits. The three forfeits are students that were killed during robberies when they didn’t have their guns. Every student that had his or her gun during the incident when the fight started won. He gets pissed when people talk about leaving their guns or taking off their guns at the end of the day.

I’ll leave you with that simple thought, keep your gun on you all the time.

Stay Safe,

Ben