2010 Tactical Conference, Tulsa, April

[Tom Givens]

Rangemaster/Polite Society Tactical Conference, 2010
Saturday-Sunday, 24-25 April 2010, at the United States Shooting Academy (USSA) Tulsa, Oklahoma

Registration fee is $189.00. This includes all of the training segments, the tactical match, the side match, and the prize drawing.

All of the trainers present for 2009 will be returning, plus we will have some new trainers presenting topics. We will be expanding to take advantage of USSA’s sprawling range complex, and there will be 21 instructors presenting various live-fire, hands on, and classroom training segments. This event will fill completely two to three months in advance, so sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Trainers this year include Massad Ayoob, John Farnam, Mike Brown, Southnarc, Skip Gochenour, Paul Gomez, Steve Moses, Hany Mahmoud, Rob Pincus, Karl Rehn, Tom Givens, Marty Hayes,Will Andrews, and many others. The match will include a problem in the shoot-house and several on the outdoor ranges.

You MAY NOT register for this event by phone. The only way to register is to print and complete a registration form and print and complete the USSA liability waiver, and send these to Rangemaster, along with payment. Forms can be requested by e-mailing rangemaster.tom@gmail.com .

Registered attendees will receive a detailed equipment list, list of trainers and their topics, schedule, and other information prior to the event date.

[andy t]

I had the pleasure of taking Rangemaster's Dynamic Marksmanship course as my very first training class. It did a great job of covering all the basics for someone who never gave much thought to concealed carry and all the issues revolving around it - legal, mindset, and actual shooting.

[Iraq Ninja]

Tom,

I am very interested in this since I will be home on leave in April. Can you explain a bit more about this conference? With so many instructors and so little time, how is it organized? Is it lectures only, or is there range time with the instructors? How many people normally attend?

[glocktogo]

USSA is my home range and I will not be able to attend. The Badlands regional IDPA match is the same weekend in Tulsa and I've been doing it for almost 10 years now. :(

If this is ever held on a different weekend, I'll definitely be signing up!

[Iraq Ninja]

Well, if Todd is going to be there, then I guess I gotta go. Need to touch base with Pincus too.

[1911sforever]

"Tom's facility, Rangemaster, has been operating for 14 years. In that time, fifty-three of their civilian (non-LE, non-mil) students have been involved in shootings. I'd be willing to bet that number rivals or exceeds even the Mecca of Pistol Training, Gunsite.

Results?

51 victories
2 losses"

Those numbers powerfully illustrate two points:

1. These people received excellent training.
2. Memphis is a tough town.

[dojpros]

I had the pleasure of attending the conf. last year and hope to be back, trial schedule willing. Tom, his staff, the guest trainers and the facility were all top notch. I particularly enjoyed South Narcs " Managing Unknown Contacts", William April's segment on "Violent Criminal Actors" and Hany Mamoud's presentation on the history of radical islamic groups. Finally, the building clearing exercise in the "shoothouse" was almost worth the price of admission in and of itself.

As someone who tried to shoot the match, attend class and sell my product (www.vcdgrips.com), I was slightly overtaxed. I would urge people to go with an eye to attending the lectures first, shooting second and everything else third. We can always find a place to shoot, we can usually find the time to do other things, but only rarely do we even have the opportunity to interact with the caliber of trainer that will be at the conference.

David Barnes

[Tom Givens]

Here is an AAR on last year's conference, by Paul Gomez:


RangeMaster's Polite Society/ Tactical Conference 2009

Over the last ten years, Tom Givens has put together the 'must attend' event in the training community. The Polite Society Tactical Conference began as the RangeMaster IDPA Winter Invitational in 1996 and evolved into the Tactical Conference in 1999. Starting in 1999, Tom began coordinating a large number of trainers who gave of their time to journey to Memphis and offer short blocks of training around the shooting competition. Two years ago, the event shifted to the Memphis Police Department Firearms Training Unit and, for 2009, the event shifted to the best venue yet...the US Shooting Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This year the competition was divided into two phases, one conducted on the outdoor range and another conducted in a shoot house. Additionally, there was a Back Up Gun side match conducted on each day.

Seventeen trainers offered lecture and/or hands-on blocks running the gamut from Immediate Trauma Management to Combat Focus Shooting. Some of the grand, old men this year included Massad Ayoob, Skip Gochenour and John Farnam. Of course, Steve Moses, Marty Hayes and Rob Pincus were present and, perhaps less well-known, but very competent trainers; Hany Mahmoud, William Aprill, John Hearne, Will Andrews and Glenn Meyer also offered blocks to the approximately 150 attendees. As has become the norm for this gathering, Karl Rehn, offered Force-on-Force scenario training utilizing airsoft guns each day.

As this event has grown, it is impossible for one person to attend every presentation. My first block on Saturday morning was occupied with presenting on the Need for Medical Training for People that Carry Guns/Immediate Trauma Management. I discussed an abbreviated version of the TC3 medical model with the express purpose of 'extending the Platinum 10 minutes to allow the injured party entry into the EMS system'.

From 1000 to 1200 I attended Massad Ayoob's 'Shooting Incidents, Aftermath Management'. Mas is always entertaining and informative. This was no different. Using a series of court cases to emphasize each point, Ayoob offered a simple protocol for post event interactions with authorities.

Mike Seeklander's module was initially billed as 'Grounded/Wounded Shooter Drills' but, more explicitly, it focused on one hand gun manipulations, both right and left handed. Mike is an USPSA/IPSC Grand Master class shooter, as well as having spent more than ten years as working cop and having extensive experience with the Federal Air Marshall program. He is currently the Operations Manager for the US Shooting Academy. This class was very well thought out and executed. I had already developed rather high expectations for USSA prior to being exposed to Mike's block and I was not disappointed. I am looking at making my way back to USSA this year for more in-depth study.

For those not familiar with William Aprill, you are missing out. William offered a presentation entitled 'Violent Actors, Violent Acts, a Conceptual Overview' that was truly outstanding. He provided the attendees with an understanding of a number of psychological theories pertaining to violent criminals & their behavior and explained the best, current theory and the implications as it applies to our behaviors in complex, confusing environments. This was my favorite presentation of the weekend.

My last block for Saturday was John Farnam's wide ranging discussion ostensibly entitled 'Urban Rifle, the AR & its Alternatives'. In all of human history, there has never been a recorded instance of John staying on a single topic and this was no exception! Listening to John is an always worthwhile endeavor and this was no exception. He is one of the last of the first generation trainers and time spent with him is never wasted.

No comments pertaining to Saturday night will be included to protect the guilty.

I spent the first block on Sunday morning visiting with friends and getting a look around the facility. I attended Glenn Meyer's presentation on Modern Psychology and Firearms Usage at 1000. Glenn and I first met during an injured shooter course in 1999. Glenn showed up with a broken arm, broken leg and a couple of broken ribs...he always was an over achiever. His lecture covered a wide range of topics dealing with everything from some classic experiments and findings through some of the research that he was directly involved in regarding jury perceptions in 'lethal force' cases.

SouthNarc offered his block on Managing Unknown Contacts. This was taught from 0800 to 1000 each day with Mike Brown's Fighting & Weapon Access in the Clinch immediately following from 1000 to 1200. Anyone who has not taken advantage of these blocks being offered in this format is truly missing out on some absolutely vital knowledge and skills.

John Hearne's presentation on the Newhall Incident and its Training Implications has continued to evolve and is truly eye-opening. Viewing of this presentation and Tom Givens Miami Massacre Analysis ought to be considered mandatory for anyone involved in training or who carries a gun.

A quick rundown of stuff that I did not get to witness:

Marty Hayes offered a classroom presentation on 'Reducing Firearms Instructor Liability'. It was very well received by those who did get to attend, unfortunately, I didn't get in on this one.

Skip Gochenour spoke on Criminal Behavior. Skip is a wealth of information and I always enjoy listening to him. Between running the National Tactical Invitational and his 'day job', there is no one quite like Skip.

Will Andrews covered Shooting On the Move but the timing coincided with my attending Ayoob's lecture.

Steve Moses offered a live fire block on the AK47 as a Battlefield Pickup Weapon.

TJ Pillings did a live fire shotgun block.

Rob Pincus offered a block on Combat Focus Shooting.

The RangeMaster Polite Society Tactical Conference has grown each year. What began as a fun time has grown into the best value for time and money invested in the training community. My hat is off to Tom Givens for sticking with this thing, his staff for busting their [collective] ass to make this thing what it has become, to USSA for offering their wonderful facility, to all the trainers who devote their time and energy and to all those who show up and make the Polite Society Tactical Conference event the event.

[Iraq Ninja]

Tom,

Thanks for the help. I am looking forward to attending this event.

[Rob Pincus]

Thanks for the invite, Tom!

I am looking forward to it as well... it is right in the middle of a busy couple of weeks, but I'll be in for a CFS Range Session on the morning of the 24th.

See you guys there!

-RJP

(Iraq Ninja, if I owe you money, send me a PM :D )