Qualifications
Firearms qualifications can be the mentally toughest for some people to successfully pass. Their job status could be on the line if they don’t successfully shoot to the required standards of their department or agency. It’s easy to tell who’s confident in their shooting skills by where the shooters line up. More confident shooters tend to choose shooting lanes in the middle of the firing line, while less confident shooters choke the outer fringes to shoot.
Qualification courses usually have time constraints and involve multiple reloads, shooting both strong and weak hand stages, and malfunction drills demonstrating gun proficiency. This is for the good of the department, fellow employees and the officer or agent involved.
My old department now has Law Enforcement Safety Act (LEOSA) participants who qualify yearly using the same course of fire as current department members. It consists of 50 rounds for each course of fire, with distances starting at 25 yards, kneeling and a strong-hand barricade. The target is then moved to 15 yards for two-handed shooting, mixed with strong-hand and weak-hand shooting.
To keep things honest, each phase is given a time limit using turning bladed targets. Several phases require drawing from the holster and others from low-ready. At 7 yards, hot tactical reloads are performed, as well as shooting your gun dry and strong and weak one-handed shooting. After the course of fire, another identical course is fired in low-light conditions. The course is meant to check the skillset and proficiency of participants should they encounter an armed confrontation.
The course of fire also tests participants’ fine and gross motor skills, as well as testing sight alignment, and general gun manipulation dexterity. During these qualifications, it’s obvious who shoots regularly, and who doesn’t. If participants display any unsafe gun handling or fail to shoot at least a 70 on the course of fire, they fail. In rare cases, they’re asked not to return.
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