Scout Rifle vs Practical Rifle Training

 

Scout Rifle or Practical Rifle Training

Tom Russell or Randy Cain

 

I have now taken both the Randy Cain Practical Rifle and the Tom Russell 5.5 Day Scout Rifle course twice each.  I have had many people ask me which is better or which I recommend for a person taking their first rifle class.  The bottom line is, there is not a real answer to that question.  They are both excellent, but each has a unique way of going about teaching the fundamentals of riflery. 

 

The following is a compare and contrast review of different things that are taught and how they are approached by each instructor.  I should note here that Tom has 3 coaches who assist with various things like setting up targets, spotting targets and generally helping make things run smoothly.

 

The Instructors:

 

Tom Russell was an instructor with Jeff Cooper back in the late 90’s and was with him on two trips to Africa.  He is one of six individuals who Cooper conferred the title “Master Instructor” and I believe only one other is still alive and presently teaching.  His demeanor is that of a preacher and that is his full time profession in addition to firearms instruction.  You will not hear a curse word in the class.  He listens well to his students.  He is interested in new ways to look at things and will listen to well reasoned and researched ideas.  He will often digress into tales of his adventures with Col. Cooper. 

 

Randy Cain was also an instructor with Col. Cooper but was really a protégé’ of Louis Awerbuck (one of the other 5 Master instructors but has since passed away).  He is a bit rough around the edges and one cannot be offended by the "F" word if one wishes to enjoy the training.  It makes for very colorful banter and it makes things feel very genuine.  His background is law enforcement and that comes through very clearly during the class.  He will also digress into stories from the past but they usually involved Louis or some connection to law enforcement.  At every point, there is no doubt that one is learning how to fight with a bolt action rifle.

 

The facilities:

 

Tom Russell conducts his rifle class at the Jeff Cooper range at the Whittington Center in Raton New Mexico.  It is an amazing facility.  From the shooting line, shooters can engage targets from 50 to 500 yards without moving.  It allows for running the Rifle 10 and Rifle Bounce drills.  There is a side valley that can be set up for an individual rifle walk while the assistant instructors monitor drills with the rest of the class.  There is a classroom with tables and chairs and a room heater.  There is running water and multiple outhouses.  There is a proshop where one can get some shooting supplies.  It is like Disneyland with guns.  It allows Tom to do things that Randy just can’t.

 

Randy conducts classes at various facilities but his main one is in Central Florida.  It is a grass range out in the middle of nowhere.  Students move from position to position and can shoot a maximum of 200 yards.  There is a covered area where instruction takes place and ammo and gear can be stored but that is not a shooting position.  All shooting is exposed to the elements.  It is a bit primitive but he makes the most of it.

 

Format

 

Tom’s class is 5 and a half days, starting on a Monday and finishing at noon on Saturday.  Students start off at the bench to zero their rifles.  While the original zero was about 2.5” high at 100, we confirmed zero at 200 from prone and from sitting.  Students move on to learn prone, sitting, squat, kneeling and offhand.  Heavy emphasis is put on the snap shot at 10, 25 and 50 yards (start from high ready position and engage the target on command within 1.5 seconds. Head shots at 10 and 25 yards and “A” zone body at 50).  We did the snap shot drill several times a day. 

 

On Thursday and Friday, the instructors set up two different “rifle walks” which involved setting both steel and cardboard targets in hidden positions along a valley.  Also on those days, we had the opportunity to shoot out to 500 yards.  This is a mindset drill more than anything and it is very effective.  We did the “Rifle Bounce” several times (pepper popper targets at 100, 200 and 300 yards, each being engaged from different positions and timed).  We did the “Rifle 10” once each which at 6500 foot elevation was enough.  That drill has one starting from prone at 300 yards, running to 275, then 250, then 225 and finally 200 and make two shots at each range.  The final shots must be from standing. 

 

The final day has evaluations which was to see who could make the most snap shots at 25 and 50 yards and then a bracket style double elimination shootoff.  Two steel targets were placed at 60 and 200 yards.  Two students paired off and engaged the first from standing and the second from any position. 

 

Between drills, we had classroom instruction and covered a variety of topics from shot placement to mindset and various other ideas about sling use and carry positions.

 

Randy Cain has a more compressed format as his class is only 3 days.  He starts by zeroing the rifle from the prone position.  He has a strong emphasis on “Natural Point of Aim.”  This takes a lot of time but it really emphasizes the importance of NPA.  Randy doesn’t introduce the sling until day 2 which is when most students really understand what NPA means.  He moves on with sitting, kneeling, squat and offhand. 

 

Near the end of each day, he has a mad minute style drill that really emphasizes weapon manipulation.  If you take the class during the winter, he also has a night shoot which is an incredible opportunity to see how your optics work in low light.  There are several shootoff type competitions using various drills including the scrambler (shot at steel from prone at 100, advancing 10 yards, shot in sitting, 10 yards to kneeling, 10 yards to squat and 10 yards to standing).  Randy uses reloading time to give instructions about upcoming drills.  

 

Style, emphasis and esoterica:

 

Tom Russell  never lets one forget that this is Jeff Cooper’s baby.  Because of the facilities, he can do things that would be impossible elsewhere.  Learning to shoot comfortably at 300 yards is great, as is the chance to stretch to 500.  Most rifle owners never get the chance to see what their rifles can do off the bench and very little shooting is done from that bench. 

 

The value of the rifle walks can’t be underestimated.  It teaches one to look both near and far.  It can be frustrating the first time through because it is so easy to look right past some targets which is why he sets it up twice.  The lessons on mindset from this are amazing.

 

Tom also does some really neat team building.  On Wednesday, weather permitting, after the shooting day, the class hikes several miles up a canyon to a genuine ghost town.  Rifles are carried so the students get an idea what it is like to move with a rifle.  On Thursday, the class travels to Cimarron and the St. James Hotel which is the oldest operating hotel and saloon on the Santa Fe Trail.  Real gunfighters stayed there and there are bullet holes in the ceiling to prove it.  On the other nights, the class will often meet in Raton for dinner.  Because many students stay in competitor housing, the lobby often serves as a central place to enjoy lunch.  There is great chemistry and comradery between the students and instructors.

 

The way Tom teaches builds students up so that by the last day, most are shocked by what they can accomplish.  In both classes I took from him, there were students that had almost no rifle experience and by the end, each was able to perform extremely well.  Both times, a new rifle shooter placed 2^nd in the shootoff.  That’s pretty amazing.  The experienced shooters all advanced their skill sets as well.

 

Randy Cain runs a hot range which means that between each drill, the rifles may be topped off before they are slung.  His emphasis on NPA is tedious at first but extremely valuable.  The mad minute drills expose poor gun handling and rewards smooth reloads.  I really liked being pushed that hard in these drills.

 

Randy spends a good amount of time in teaching how to come out of a slung position and onto target.  African carry works best for most students.  He has a demonstration where he picks a student that has a pistol on their hip.  He has that student and one other stand 10 yards from the targets and asks if this is pistol or rifle range.  Most think 10 yards is pistol territory.  He has the two students stand next to one other.  The one with the rifle is in the African carry position.  On signal, both must bring their weapons up and engage the target with one head shot.  The rifle usually wins. 

 At every point in Randy's class, one is reminded that the object is to learn to fight with a hunting rifle.  Everything is centered around that.  From the class discussions to the drills, one is learning to run the gun for a fight.

The night shoot is invaluable in terms of learning to use one’s equipment to the best of their ability.  It starts at dusk and starts off with all students in prone and aiming in at their targets.  Randy occasionally calls for a shot.   Students must come off the line at the point where they can’t positively identify their targets or see their reticle on the vital zone.  This exposes scout scopes and lower quality glass very quickly.  Low power variable scopes with illuminated reticles usually do best although my Leupold VX-R 1.5-5X scout actually tied a Leupold VX6 1-6X scope in this drill.  The rest of the evening, Randy teaches how to use lights in conjunction with the rifle.

 

Is one better?

 

Tom’s class has much better facilities.  The ranges are longer and the drills are more varied.  The rifle walks teach things that Randy just can’t.  The shootoff format is really fun.  Tom’s connections to Col. Cooper keep students well engaged in the class time.

 

Randy drills the fundaments to the point that one cannot forget.  The night shoot teaches lessons that Tom can’t.  The hot range and mad minute drills force gun handling lessons extremely well. His emphasis on NPA and positional shooting emphasizes the fundamentals extremely well.

 

Both teach mindset but from different perspectives.  Both will take a shooter and make them better.  Both can take a beginner to places they didn’t anticipate.  Both made me feel like I was watching every lesson from “The Art of the Rifle” come alive in front of me. 

 

So the answer is, both.  Tom’s class is longer and harder to get to and costs $1300.  Randy’s is shorter, easier to get to and costs $650.  Both will take 500-700 rounds of ammo.  Tom’s is more of an experience in terms of history and heritage and Randy’s is more blue collar.  Take your pick, you can’t make a bad decision between them.

(note:  I didn't get many pics at Randy's class.  Don't take that as anything other than the fact that my wife was with me at Tom's most recent class so I got many more pics.)