Week 293: Original Air Marshall Pistol Qual

[Mr_White]

Week 293: Original Air Marshall Pistol Qual

Results may be posted until December 2nd, 2018.

Range: 7 yards
Target: Three (3) FBI QIT, IPSC metric, or IDPA targets
Start Position: Varies
Rounds Fired: 30

This exercise will require you to engage multiple full size targets. The original Federal Air Marshal Tactical Pistol Course was designed to test FAMs immediately before a mission. The test has to be shot cold (no prior shooting that day). An Air Marshal who could not pass the TPC was not allowed to fly!

You can download a score sheet with complete instructions here: http://pistol-training.com/wp-conten...TC-FAM-TPC.pdf

1. Draw from concealment and fire one shot. Repeat. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 3.30 seconds.
2. From the ready, fire two shots. Repeat. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 2.70 seconds.
3. From the ready, six rounds on target. Time limit is 3.00 seconds and no shot-to-shot split can be greater than 0.60 seconds. (you do not repeat this string)
4. From the ready, one shot, speed/in-battery reload, and one more shot. Repeat. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 6.50 seconds.
5. From the ready, one round each at two targets at least 3yd apart. Repeat. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 3.30 seconds.
6. Begin facing uprange concealed. On the buzzer, turn to your right and fire one round on each of three targets. Repeat a second time turning to your left. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 7.00 seconds.
7. Begin with one round in the gun at the ready. On the buzzer fire, drop to one knee, reload from slidelock, and fire a second shot. Repeat. Total time for the two runs combined must be no more than 8.00 seconds.

Scoring is as follows:

Must finish within the indicated time limit for each string or you fail.

If all of the times are achieved, you must also score 135 points out of 150 to pass.

Shots completely inside the bottle (Q target), IPSC A/B/C zones, or IDPA 0/-1 zones score 5 points each. Hits that touch the line do not count.

Shots that hit the target but don't score in the 5-point zones are 2 points each.

Shots that miss the target earn no points.

Please report the following when you post your results in this thread:

Pistol, holster, concealment (optional) used
Pass or Fail
Total number of points scored
Anything you noticed

Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.

[Randy Harris]

Awesome ! I just saw this. I actually had the troops shoot this at the local training day get-together last Saturday. I'm pretty stoked. I had 4 of my 5 attendees pass it. I shot it right after they did before we went to lunch. Here's a less than awesome pic of my score sheet ........yes it was a first run no warm up, my everyday walking around skills with my carry gun setup in street clothes jeans and polo shirt......




Pistol : Gen 4 Glock 17 (Dot Connector) with grip cut down to Glock 19 length. Warren Sevigney Night Sights.
Holster : Modified Dale Fricke Archangel
Cover Garment : Polo Shirt
Pass or Fail : Pass
Points scored : 145

I was using the QIT 99 Targets. I started out trying to shoot everything in the little rectangle box in the body so my 1st two runs probably could have come in at under a second if I had not taken the time to press the trigger slow enough to guarantee hits in the little box.

The 2.57 second run on the rhythm was shot from the holster not from ready. That was a choice not a mistake.

The 3.36 second run on the "Speed Reload" stage was a total disaster because I do not do "speed reloads" so I dropped the mag, slammed in a new one and then proceeded to furiously thumb the slidestop 3 times waiting for the already forward slide to go forward.......the second run went better. The miss I had came on one of the turn and shoot 3 targets runs. On one of those runs I hung my toe in the grass when I spun around and nearly fell down.... it was a comedy of errors but I still passed it pretty easily.

One of the guys did a mathematical extrapolation and apparently I used 78.16% of the time available over all....for whatever that is worth...

The "You suck" is commentary from the scorer...the "well you know" is my reply.....

[BK14]

Pistol, holster, concealment (optional) used
Pass or Fail
Total number of points scored
Anything you noticed


First time was with my carry gun, wearing what I’d been wearing all day to run errands and do normal life stuff:

Glock 19, Tlr-7, Agent sights. JMCK Wing Claw/Veil solutions mag pouch. Concealment = the t shirt I happened to be wearing.

Time: Pass
Points: 143/150

Noticed: After dry firing a couple times this week from concealment, it went much better than attempting to do anything fast from concealment last week. This JMCK holster is phenomenal, and the importance of a dedicated appendix mag pouch really stood out since my training partner didn’t have a mag pouch and failed the time for the reloads. Additionally, he was shooting a P365, and may just switch back to a Glock 19 of 17 for his off duty gun. It’s hard to beat the performance of these gun.


Second string was shot with overt gear:
Glock 34.3, X300U, Agent sights. ALS holster on UBL. No concealment, but wore armor.

Time: pass

Points: 150/150

Obviously easier to work speed from an ALS without concealment, but again, I can notice a decrease in speed while shooting with armor versus slick. Running reloads off the belt and vest with the Glock 24 rounders still felt slick. I’ll be converting over to these shortly!

[Lon]

Pistol, holster, concealment (optional) used
Pass or Fail
Total number of points scored
Anything you noticed

Shot with my PPS M2 9mm (used 8rd mags) w/ TruGlo tritium pro sights. JMCK AIWB holster, P-F.com Specialist belt. LAG Tactical mag pouch from concealment. Concealment was OSU hoodie.

PASS

147/150. Had 1 shot on the line of the bottle. Went over by .31 on the last reload drill - thumb held down the slide release so I had to sling shot. Total time for that set of drills was still under 8 seconds.

Things I noticed - I continue to be impressed with the “shootability” of the PPS. After running the FAM test I ran a series of Casino Drills from concealment. 14/15 second runs were the norm.

[Sharkbite]

Greetings! I am one of Randy Harris' TN/GA/AL training group, and the nefarious Mr. Harris told me about the serendipitous timing of our shooting of the Old School FAMS PPC. So here are my Results.

Gen 3 G17, Minus Connector, OWB holster@ 3:00, Mag pouch @ 9:00, 5.11 Operator belt 1.75", lightweight open front vest
PASS
145/150 (I guess technically 147, but I don't think you should get partial credit when a round misses the target but is still on the paper..)
QIT 99

Observations:

One of my Favorite Federal Qualifications. I was given insight about the scoring and techniques used by the Air Marshalls by a good friend's neighbor who is one. He's been at it long enough to have shot both versions.

Stage 1: I slowed on rep #2 to center the hit in the inner milk bottle as rep #1 was slightly outside
Stage 2: nothing to see here
Stage 3: See stage 2
Stage 4: I set this up as emergency reloads as I don't ever see a time where I will willingly dump a partially full mag unless remedial action is needed. To keep it real I set it up to go to slide lock both times. This could have cost me a little time but I came in under the wire.
Stage 5: My miss. Target indexing, I swung wide on T1 on the RH turn. I slowed my roll a bit on pass #2 and all was well.
Stage 6: One thing that was told to me by the FAM was definitely get the empty mag out and get the reload under way (you can complete while kneeling down). Those with "Successful Life Bodies" will find the extraction of said mag from the mag pouch vexing once the center of gravity is lowered.

I ran Randy through this prior to lunch, and, yes, I broke the news to him that he sucks! I also like to be a math nerd and look at the actual time used to see how hard and fast I can push before the wheels fall off the wagon.

Looking back in my training log, (did I mention, I'm a nerd about quantifiable results...) my best rendition of the Old School PPC was shot at my good friend's house 1/25/16. I shot 150/150, ulitized 79.67% (26.93/33.8 Seconds) of the time alotted, and had all but 3 rounds in the inner milk bottle on cardboard QIT97 targets we got from the Air marshall. I had been working that Qualification pretty hard under the impression that anything outside the inner milk bottle was a miss. NOPE, the AM stopped by when he heard us shooting and set the record straight. He said the inner milk bottle was for X count for bragging rights among themselves. He congratulated me and jokingly asked If I wanted a job!

[WobblyPossum]

Pistol, holster, concealment (optional) used: G19-5 open carried in a Safariland ALS.
1. 1.40 and 1.51
2. 1.02 and 1.01
3. 2.34
4. 3.07 and 3.43 (met the time standard by the skin of my teeth lol)
5. 1.05 and 0.95 (dropped a shot here)
6. 2.69 and 2.93
7. 3.01 and 3.04
Pass or Fail: Pass
Total number of points scored: 147/150
Anything you noticed: I shot this with two coworkers and thought it was funny that each of us dropped a shot into the -3 zone of the center target. This is my third time trying the TPC this year. I’ve never shot this without concealment before and I’ve also never passed before. Shooting from concealment adds just enough time to draws and reloads that I cant guarantee I’ll pass strings 1 and 4. Overall it’s a lot easier without concealment.

[John Hearne]

Pistol, holster, concealment (optional) used
Sig P320 X-Five, Comp Tac International, Fleece Vest

Pass or Fail
Pass

Total number of points scored
150/150

I didn't have any of the specified targets so I ran it on a 8.5x11" with 8" circle in the center and a 4x6" box inside of that. I figured if I couldn't keep on the paper, I didn't need to score it.

Stage 1: 1.41 / 1.42
Stage 2: 0.99/ 1.18
Stage 3: 2.39
Stage 4: 2.84 / 2.90
Stage 5: 1.56 / 1.36
Stage 6: 2.58 / 2.75
Stage 7: 2.68 / 3.28

In general, I found the times really easy to make even though I did stupid stuff like take a knee in Stage 4. The only shot that I sort of screwed up was just out of the 8" circle but still on the paper when I shot way too fast. It would be fun to run it again and try to keep everything in the 4x6" box (as 5 points) and score the stuff in the remainder of the 8" circle as 2 points.

The only other observation I have is how terrifying it is that this standard was abandoned as almost nobody could pass it. This is the only LE qualification I know of that requires somewhat reflexive gun handling and it isn't that hard.

Gabe's comment about technical proficiency and the margins they offer seemed to ring true as I shot this.