Range Day - Rifle and Shotgun Qualifications
Last week was my department's scheduled qualification day for our patrol rifles and shotguns. I thought I would share a few pics and explain a bit about the process. I am the range master and one of the firearms instructors for my department and it is by far one of my favorite duties. I love getting the opportunity to work with new shooters and to help experienced shooters hone their skills.
Everyone in the department who can demonstrate a basic understanding of shotgun operations and handling procedures is issued a 12 gauge shotgun. We carry two types of shotgun, one is a longer framed pump-action shotgun and the other is a shorter barreled pump-action shotgun. Each year every officer who carries a shotgun must qualify on a varied course of fire with a minimum score of 80%. The course consists of 5 rounds of buckshot, five rounds of rifled slugs, and two pistol rounds(for a transitional stage from shotgun to pistol). The furthest distance with the shotgun is 25 yards and the closest is 7 yards. The course places emphasis on accuracy, tactical reloading, and moving while shooting.
To be issued a patrol rifle, an officer must complete a minimum 24 hour class on basic patrol function and operation. Additionally, each officer issued a patrol rifle must qualify each year with a minimum of 80% with no rounds landing outside of the target area. The rifles we issue are Smith & Wesson M & P 15 rifles that will shoot either 5.56 or .223 rounds. We issue them with pop up polymer sights and red dot optics. Each officer is issued 3 30 round magazines. The course of fire for the rifles consists of shots being made from 50 yards, 30 yards, and 15 yards from standing, kneeling, and prone positions. The rifle qualification also has a transitional stage where the officer will fire round from their rifle and then transition to their pistol for additional rounds. The rifle course of fire concentrates on marksmanship, magazine changes, moving while shooting, and precision round placement.
Most officers really enjoy the range days and although we maintain safety as a priority, it is quite a bit of fun as well. In addition to rifle and shotgun qualifications, officers are required to qualify each year with their duty pistol. We also have various "open range" days throughout the year to work on other shooting skills such as moving and shooting, moving in teams, etc. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our firearms training.
Originally published on my Weku account at this link.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://papacrusher.vornix.blog/2018/10/23/range-day-rifle-and-shotgun-qualifications/
All photos and videos are my own creation unless otherwise noted.
Join us @steemitbloggers
Animation By @zord189
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien
Pretty badass man! I been looking to take a class here locally where you build an ar-15. Haven't found the time yet.
Posted using Partiko Android
I built one last year. It is much easier than you would think.
I can take down various pistols and a rifles so shouldn't be much different. Just procrastinating 😁
Posted using Partiko Android
Legit bro. I'd like to shoot with you someday. Who knows, we may make it happen sometime. Thanks for sharing.
That was only half the department. We are finishing up this Thursday. One of the best parts of my job!
You suck. My job doesn't let me do that sort of thing. Well, I could brings guns to work but it wouldn't go down very well. :)
P.s. You don't really suck.
Yes to do! :)
Lol. It would make for a good story though!
The bards would make rousing stories to tell around the land...They'd be strumming their lutes and regaling the people with tales of the Aussie and the former Aussie, abducted at birth by American tourists, and their escapades on the range...
We are SO proud to have you as a member of our
FANTABULOUS @steemitbloggers family!
uvoted and resteemed!
❤ MWAH!!! ❤
interested in joining the Steemit Bloggers Community?
Hi @papacrusher!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 3.139 which ranks you at #9199 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has improved 56 places in the last three days (old rank 9255).
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 248 contributions, your post is ranked at #57.
Evaluation of your UA score:
Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server
Sounds like a fun day for work :)
It really is! Lol
ha! sir papacrusher! this is a great post, I love your firearms posts. Hey I've never heard of training to hit with a rifle while moving. That sounds dang near impossible!
It's not as bad as it sounds. For qualifications, it is just moving a step or two. For tactical training it is more robust moving while engaging a target.
well, it sounds very difficult if you have to hit within the target but then I don't know how big the target is! lol. Mrs. J is really liking her job and they told her that she could move up into other departments very quickly if she took their recommended additional courses.
She has the same 12 hour days schedule that you talked about, that's very different than anything she's done before. Well, the entire thing is!
That's awesome to hear about Mrs. J. It takes some getting used to, but 12 hour shifts are great. I reccomend taking every training class they offer, yiu never know what will come in handy.
sir papacrusher! ok, that's what I'll tell her, they even pay for all of them!