In December of 2023 I attended the inaugural Rangemaster Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Development course. There are two shooting qualifications students must pass to earn a certificate in class. This is the “field” course, along similar lines to previous Rangemaster instructor qualifications. Check out the details below!
This is a relatively straightforward course of fire. You’ll need one target, the RFTS-Q4 specifically is required here, and is the only designated target for use. Shooters will need a pistol, a concealment holster, and 50 rounds of ammunition. Additionally you’ll need a shot timer to ensure you’re making par times. Distances range from 5 to 25 yards. At least one spare magazine is necessary to perform a mandatory reload.
Scoring is a 2/1/0 setup. Shots inside the “A-Zones” award two points each. Anything on the silhouette outside of those zones are worth one point. Missing the target is worth zero points. In total there are 100 points possible, with a 95 being required to pass.
Your start position will vary throughout the course.
I first shot this course during the Rangemaster Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Course. If the name was a hint, this is one of the qualifications for said course. During class I managed a 98% for my first outing. This was at the conclusion of a 3-day course, so my skills were pretty sharp at this time.
It wasn’t until June of the following year that I tried the Rangemaster Professional Pistolcraft Instructor Course again. Unfortunately I did not have access to the RFTS-Q4 target for my own practice, so a Q-PT acts as a stand-in. However, this attempt was cold to start my range session. This was done to see how much my skills had degraded over time, and reestablish a baseline for myself.
For this run I managed to get a 94%, just slightly failing. However, I did make one procedural error when shooting the course of fire. For the repeat for the “333” stage, I moved to 7-yards. This cost me a single point, just outside the “A-Zone” which I believe I would have cleaned at 5-yards. That said, I’m not upset with this score, and I think it’s a solid baseline for cold performance. One day I’ll try to pick up some RFTS-Q4 targets to make another attempt, but for now my stock of Q-PT will have to do.
This is a challenging course of fire. While there are many similarities to other Rangemaster qualification courses, the accuracy and time standards here are tighter than what you’ll see in earlier courses. If you can pass this, you’ve definitely got a solid amount of skill under your belt. I won’t be shooting this often, but it’s a great status check to run every few months.
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Writing isn’t my full-time profession, and nearly everything I do comes out of my own pocket. Between ammunition, tuition, range fees and more, expenses add up fast. If you like what I have to offer, consider making a donation to my Patreon.
Every bit helps bring more work like this to you, and contributes to shortened timelines or more in-depth work on my part. You’ll also have more direct access to me, offering suggestions for future projects, looking behind the scenes, and getting early access to some content. You can find my Patreon >>HERE<<
Congratulations on your new baby, and welcome to motherhood to the first time mamas! I…
As part of testing things for the site, I run through a lot of gear.…
The concept of a home defense or property defense bag isn’t new. The basic idea…
Recently I had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Rangemaster Advanced Shotgun Instructor Development Course.…
I was offered a Heritage Manufacturing Roscoe 2" from a local FFL at the tail…
I am not the mindset lecture guy and there are other, better folks to address…