The Rangemaster Defensive Revolver Qualification is a course of fire intended for revolver shooters. It is one of (relatively) very few revolver-specific courses of fire out there. If you carry a revolver, you should know about this qual.
Rangemaster Defense Revolver Qualification
The Rangemaster Defensive Revolver Qualification is a rare drill: a course of fire designed specifically for revolvers. In fact, it is one of only three (I think) revolver-specific drills in Drills, Qualifications, Standards, and Tests, the book I get a lot of shooting drills from including this one. I shot this drill with three revolvers, going medium, big, little: the 2019 Colt King Cobra, S&W 686-3, and the S&W 640 Pro Series. I was very cold, having not shot a gun in about a week, and not having shot a revolver in months.
All stages are “revolver friendly,” which is one nit I have to pick with this drill. Just because you carry a revolver, doesn’t mean you will get a revolver problem. Shooting a CoF that is “normed” for revolvers may hide your weaknesses with a wheelgun (situations requiring more than 5 or 6 shots, for instance). In addition to this course of fire you should also fire other drills and standards.
The Course of Fire
This drill requires 50 rounds of ammunition. You need a single “Q” target, though a IDPA silhouette can be used in a pinch. The yard lines are 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15. There are 16 discrete stages, but many of them are repeats. Let’s get into it.
- Stage 1: 3 yards, draw and fire 3 rounds in 3 seconds
- Stage 2: 3 yards, draw and fire 3 rounds in 3 seconds (again)
- Stage 3: 3 yards, draw and fire 3 rounds in 3 seconds (again)
- Stage 4: 3 yards, draw SHO and fire 3 rounds SHO in 3 seconds
- Stage 5: 3 yards, draw SHO and fire 3 rounds SHO in 3 seconds (again)
- Stage 6: 3 yards, ready position, fire 3 rounds WHO in 3 seconds
- Stage 7: 3 yards, ready position, fire 3 rounds WHO in 3 seconds (again)
- Stage 8: 5 yards, draw and fire 3 rounds in 3 seconds
- Stage 9: 5 yards, draw and fire 3 rounds in 3 seconds (again)
- Stage 10: 5 yards, draw and fire 3 body, 1 head in 4 seconds
- Stage 11: 5 yards, draw and fire 3 body, 1 head in 4 seconds (again)
- Stage 12: 7 yards, draw and fire 5 rounds, 6 seconds, kneel or move to cover and reload (reload not timed, but required)
- Stage 13: 10 yards, draw and fire 2 rounds, 5 seconds
- Stage 14: 10 yards, draw and fire 2 rounds, 5 seconds (again)
- Stage 15: 15 yards, draw and fire 4 rounds, 10 seconds
- Stage 16: 15 yards, draw and fire 4 rounds, 15 seconds
Scoring
Although there are three scoring zones, scoring is simple and easy. There are 250 total possible points. A 225 (90%) is required to pass. Scoring is 5 points for hits in the 8″ circle, 4 points for hits in the 10″ circle, and 3 points for hits in the bottle. If using an IDPA silhouette, score hits in the 8″ circle as 5 and hits in the -1 zone as 3. All others are total loss of 5 points.
