Quals Course Designs

[jlw]

Here are the requirements in a more readable layout:


General:
30 rounds minimum
2 targets minimum
Target max scoring area not to exceed that of SQT-A1
80% minimum passing score
Must be at least one timed reload
Must be at least two timed cranial shots
At least one stage must require lawful verbal commands/challenges


25 Yard line:
Maximum of 4 seconds per shot
Minimum of 4 shots total
Must require movement to cover. Movement may be un-timed.


15 Yard line:
Maximum of 2.5 seconds per shot
Minimum of 4 shots total
Must include timed movement to cover
Must fire minimum of two shots from cover


7 Yard line:
Minimum of 14 rounds at this distance or greater
Maximum time of 1.5 seconds per shot w/o reload or 2.0 seconds per shot with reload
There must be a lateral disengaging movement relative to the threat at this distance or greater


3 Yard line:
There must be vertical or diagonal movement relative to the threat at this distance or greater

[jlw]

I just received word that the course referenced in post #8 of this thread was approved by GALEFI as an alternate qualification course.

[LSP552]

Chief,

One thing I think all law enforcement "shooters" face is that POST/State quals are generally VERY easy, for a number of reasons. Qualification on the POST course does not equal competence. Very few of the senior leaders I worked for were shooters. Your folks are lucky indeed.

This may not be of any use to you, but LSP instituted in-house courses in addition to the state mandated 60 round POST course. These additional courses didn't require any outside agency approval because they didn't replace the standard course. In LA, there is no option for a substitute, just additional.

Is keeping the standard course, the agency had the flexibility to emphases things like dim-light quails, magnums for those wheel gun qual days, etc.

Have you considered a one-hand stage? I like a shoot 3 strong hand only, switch and shoot 3 off-hand stage at 7 or 4 yards.

Ken

[Kyle Reese]

I just received word that the course referenced in post #8 of this thread was approved by GALEFI as an alternate qualification course.

Outstanding news (except for those who have not been practicing).

[Alaskapopo]

Here are some of mine that I came up with for the department.
Rifle
Materials needed.
30 rounds of ammunition, 2 magazines, and 1 modified USPSA target made for Anchorage Police Department or corrections. (You can substitute a standard USPSA target)

Course of fire.

Stage 1. Range 100 yards. Shots fired 3. Par time 8 seconds.
Start position 100 yards from the target. The shooter may start prone or leaning across a bench to simulate using cover in the field. Safety is on and the shooter is pointed in at the target with the finger off the trigger. At the buzzer the shooter fires 3 shots to center mass of the target .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWHi3-xW_ds
Stage 2. Range 50 yards, Shots fired 3 Par time 8 seconds.
Start position is standing 50 yards for the target with the rifle in low ready safety on finger off the trigger. At the buzzer the shooter has 8 seconds to fire 3 rounds center mass of the target.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW8TA2g0ydE
Stage 3. Range 25 yards. Shots fired 6. Par time 15 seconds. (made long for officers who chose AK or M1A weapons) Mandatory reload stage.
Start position is standing 25 yards from the target. The range master or another shooter loads the shooters magazine with between 0 and 4 rounds and inserts it into the shooters rifle so the shooter cannot see how many rounds he is getting. Start position is low ready with safety on and finger off the trigger. At the buzzer the shooter shoots 6 rounds to center mass of the target in 15 seconds. At some point the shooter will run out of ammunition and will have to perform an emergency reload and then continue to fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV4EqUjn52k
Stage 4. Range 15 yards. Shots fired 6 Par time 15 seconds.
Start position is standing 15 yards from the target with the rifle slung. (safety on of course) At the buzzer the shooter fires 3 rounds standing and 3 rounds kneeling to center mass in 15 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18d3LVdnE8s
Stage 5. Range 10 yards to 5 yards while moving. Shots fired 6 Par time 5 seconds.
Start position is standing 10 yards from the target in low ready with the safety on finger off the trigger. At the buzzer advance to the target shooting 6 rounds in 5 seconds while moving before you reach the 5 yard line. All shots must be made while moving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtVpNJS3Juk
Stage 6. Range 5 yards. Shots fired 6 (3 per string) par time 2 seconds.
Start position is standing at 5 yards with the rifle in low ready with the finger off the trigger. At the buzzer the shooter fires 2 rounds to center mass and one shot to the head in 2 seconds. You repeat this stage once. (Mark the head shots when done or make of mental note of where they hit as its important for scoring)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amehhEtq0bU
SCORING
This is a fixed time course of fire. Over times or shots fired after the buzzer count as -5 points per shot. Extra shots are -5.
A zone hits are worth 5 points.
B zone hits are worth 4 points except on stage 6 where they are worth 1 point. (Head shots)
C zone shots are worth 4 points (except for head shots on stage 6 where they are worth 0, the logic being if you hit below the neck you hit armor)
D zone hits are worth 1 point (except for head shots on stage 6 where they are worth 0, the logic being if you hit below the neck you hit armor)

Passing is 80% which means the shooter needs 120 points out of the possible 150.

Pistol
Just thought I would share the pistol qualification I designed for my department. It’s not that difficult but I feel it’s a fair test for what patrol officers need to be able to do.

Stage 1. Range contact to 5 yards. (Retreating fire) Time 4 seconds. Rounds fired 6

This stage has you start right in front of the target. At the sound of the buzzer, push the target with your support hard while you step back and draw, continue moving back as you shoot 6 rounds into the center mass of the target. Time limit is 4 seconds.

VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejxoB0p4uX4


Stage 2. Range 2 yards. Failure to stop. Time 3 seconds. Repeat drill once. Rounds fired 3

This stage has you start standing 2 yards from the target. At the sound of the buzzer you need to step right or left as you draw your pistol and fire 2 rounds to center mass and one shot to the head. Time limit is 3 seconds. Repeat once. Mark head shots when done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ljWOXEVWaI

Stage 3. Range 5 yards. Weapon hand Support hand only firing. Time limit 6 seconds. Rounds fired 5.

This stage has you standing in front of the target at 5 yards. At the sound of the buzzer step off to your right or left while drawing and firing with your weapon hand only. You need to fire 5 rounds to center mass in 6 seconds.

String 2. Place the gun in your left hand with the safety off. At the sound of the buzzer step to the side and fire 5 rounds in 6 seconds with your support hand only. (weak hand)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavGPtQIu4I

Stage 4. Range 5 yards. Run Dry Reload. Time limit 10 seconds. Rounds fired 5. Repeat once.

This stage has you standing in front of the target at 5 yards. You need to have a partner load your mags with between 0 and 3 rounds. The mag can be empty or loaded with up to 3 rounds. The shooter should not know how many rounds are in his magazine. (difficult to do by yourself)

At the sound of the buzzer the shooter steps to the side while drawing and fires 5 rounds to center mass in 10 seconds or less. He will run out of ammunition and will have to perform a run dry reload. Repeat Once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW9mdibORHg

Stage 5. Range 7 yards. Failure to Stop. Time limit 5 seconds. Rounds fired 3.

This stage has you standing at 7 yards from the target. At the buzzer step to the side while drawing and fire 2 rounds to center mass and one round to the head in 5 seconds. Repeat once. Mark head shots when done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMhjCmx6PC8

Stage 6. Range 10 yards to 5 yards. Shooting on the move. Time limit 6 seconds. Rounds fired 6.

This stage has you standing at the 10 yard line with your pistol in low ready. At the sound of the buzzer walk towards the target while firing 6 rounds. Stop before you get to the 5 yard line. Time limit is 6 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trxq7SzS3R4

Stage 7. Range 25 yards. Shooting behind cover. Time limit 25 seconds, Rounds fired 6

This stage has you standing at the 25 yard line behind simulated cover. The cover can be something that forces the shooter to kneel or it can be a barricade that allows the shooter to stand. The shooter must have all of his lower body behind cover and half of his upper body behind cover while shooting.

At the sound of the buzzer the shooter must draw and shoot 3 rounds on either the right or left side of the barricade and then transition to the other side and shoot 3 more rounds to center mass. Time limit is 25 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72g9FsBK21c


Scoring.

Targets. We use a custom target that is basically a USPSA target with a 10 inch circle for an A zone in the body and a home plate shaped A zone in the head. You can use a USPSA target for this qualification if you want. It will increase the difficulty on the head shots.

Overtime shots are -5
Extra shots fired are -5

A zone is worth 5 points.
B zone is worth 4 points on stages 1,3,4,6,7
B zone is worth only one point on stages 2 and 5. (head shot stages)
C zone is worth 4 points.
D zone is worth 1 point.

Head shots landing outside of the head in the body are counted as misses.

Score required to pass is 200. (80%)
Max score is 250

[jlw]

Chief,

One thing I think all law enforcement "shooters" face is that POST/State quals are generally VERY easy, for a number of reasons. Qualification on the POST course does not equal competence. Very few of the senior leaders I worked for were shooters. Your folks are lucky indeed.

This may not be of any use to you, but LSP instituted in-house courses in addition to the state mandated 60 round POST course. These additional courses didn't require any outside agency approval because they didn't replace the standard course. In LA, there is no option for a substitute, just additional.

Is keeping the standard course, the agency had the flexibility to emphases things like dim-light quails, magnums for those wheel gun qual days, etc.

Have you considered a one-hand stage? I like a shoot 3 strong hand only, switch and shoot 3 off-hand stage at 7 or 4 yards.

Ken

There are some agencies that do similarly here in that they shoot the state course once and then do what they want to do the rest of the time. I developed this course for two reasons. The first is that I thought the state course was a complete waste of ammo that I thought could be better spent. The second is that GALEFI is rolling out a set of firearms instructor ratings and submitting an alternate course that gets approved is one of the stepping stones for the "Intermediate Instructor" rating. I am mandating that all of our instructors also submit an alternate course or two drills (satisfies the same requirement).

Outstanding news (except for those who have not been practicing).

I don't think it fair to test a standard to which personnel haven't been trained. There will be directed training prior to any qualifications.

[LSP552]

There are some agencies that do similarly here in that they shoot the state course once and then do what they want to do the rest of the time. I developed this course for two reasons. The first is that I thought the state course was a complete waste of ammo that I thought could be better spent. The second is that GALEFI is rolling out a set of firearms instructor ratings and submitting an alternate course that gets approved is one of the stepping stones for the "Intermediate Instructor" rating. I am mandating that all of our instructors also submit an alternate course or two drills (satisfies the same requirement).

Sounds good Sir.

Ken

[KeeFus]

(Frank Repass, former RM at Orlando PD, has an awesome time-based "one shot qualification" program that is worth looking into if you're not familiar... wouldn't pass the state requirements but it's an awesome addition to traditional quals)

Shot this last week while in training. You would be surprised (maybe not) how much one 8 inch target at 7 yards will mess with your mind. Out of the entire class of 16 only one or two of us hit it on the first try with no follow up shots. I really liked the drill.

IIRC, the par time from the holster is 2.50 seconds. What is the par time from low ready?

[ToddG]

KeeFus I don't know that I have his drill list and times anymore. It was an amazing setup and still one of the best qual systems I've seen. While it appears ridiculously oversimplified the reality is that it proves competence while simultaneously giving you a lot of extra time & ammo to train rather than blowing it all on a slow, unrealistic set of drills in the typical qual.

[Mr_White]

Shot this last week while in training. You would be surprised (maybe not) how much one 8 inch target at 7 yards will mess with your mind. Out of the entire class of 16 only one or two of us hit it on the first try with no follow up shots. I really liked the drill.

IIRC, the par time from the holster is 2.50 seconds. What is the par time from low ready?

I certainly don't know what was originally intended, but if the holster standard for that task is 2.50 seconds and I wanted an analog from a low ready position, I would definitely use 1.50 as the par time.