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Question on Shotgun Qualification

1653 Views 19 Replies 1 Participant Last post by  ShotgunPro, 
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I am going to be qualifying with my shotgun with a local PD in a couple weeks. I know that the instructor is NRA certified, so I assume it is a standardized qualification.

Can anyone tell me what to expect as far as the course of fire and how much of what kind of shells will be used?

Also, is it common for them to log the Model of shotgun and Ammo used, and then that's what you have to carry? That's how my handgun cert was. they logged the S/N of my guns and what ammo I was qualifying with, and now that's what I have to carry until next year.
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It differs by department. Most agencies issue shotguns, so you'll likely be qualifying with what they have.

Shotguns are not spray-and-pray weapons. Modern "tactical" buckshot holds tight patterns, and slugs are quite accurate. With rifled slugs, expect to be able to make center-of-mass hits at seventy-five yards.

Use your sights, and treat it like the long gun it is. It's a very efficient tool that doesn't get the respect it deserves. Many officers say they prefer using their handgun when it hits the fan, but keep in mind that with the training you'll receive (or already have) it's not too pressing to put eighteen .33-caliber holes in a target's torso in about three-quarters of a second from thirty feet.

Andy
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jedi573 said:
It differs by department. Most agencies issue shotguns, so you'll likely be qualifying with what they have.

Shotguns are not spray-and-pray weapons. Modern "tactical" buckshot holds tight patterns, and slugs are quite accurate. With rifled slugs, expect to be able to make center-of-mass hits at seventy-five yards.

Use your sights, and treat it like the long gun it is. It's a very efficient tool that doesn't get the respect it deserves. Many officers say they prefer using their handgun when it hits the fan, but keep in mind that with the training you'll receive (or already have) it's not too pressing to put eighteen .33-caliber holes in a target's torso in about three-quarters of a second from thirty feet.

Andy
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What he said.
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My agency has a pretty intensive shotgun qual course. We fire slug, 000, and birdshot.

Birdshot is only for the familiarization phase. 000 for most of the qual shoot, and several slugs. We have to make a COM hit with slug at 100 yards; but we select the firing position. From prone its a piece of cake for somebody that grew up taking deer with a 12 ga slug.

I stay qualified on both the Mossberg 500, and AR-15. I still prefer 'ol mossy...
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We fire 5 rounds from the shotgun, and that's it.
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We fire 5 rounds from the shotgun, and that's it.
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And then you are "qualified" to use a shotgun? What a liability...
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The Tengu said:
We fire 5 rounds from the shotgun, and that's it.
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That is just sad. We fire 5 slugs and 25 buckshot in our qual. course. I had to up it from last year (it was 2 slugs and 10 buckshot) because officers couldn't remember how to load the gun.
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danp said:
That is just sad. We fire 5 slugs and 25 buckshot in our qual. course. I had to up it from last year (it was 2 slugs and 10 buckshot) because officers couldn't remember how to load the gun.
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You see our department did the opposite. Instead of increasing the requirements to get people to pass, they just keep it low as possible!

People still manage to fail the shotgun qualification. :shock:

Nearly all of them are female officers.
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The Tengu said:
You see our department did the opposite. Instead of increasing the requirements to get people to pass, they just keep it low as possible!

People still manage to fail the shotgun qualification. :shock:

Nearly all of them are female officers.
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I gotta admit... As a civillian.... This scares the sh!t out of me!!:shock:
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jkw_XD said:
I gotta admit... As a civillian.... This scares the sh!t out of me!!:shock:
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Don't worry too much. I have a heck of a time getting officers to take the shotgun out of the car! Even on perimeters, you'll see the guys with assigned rifles with long guns and the guys without rifles will have handguns out.

My next range project will be slugs at 75 yards to try to convince officers that their range is greatly extended with our shotguns vs. their sidearm. I've put 100% slugs on target at 125 yards with our patrol shotguns, so I know they should be able to do it.
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I want to take the slug qualification class, but last time I applied for it my lieutenant decided that he didn't want me to take it so he never submitted my name. I've got different lt's now so maybe I'll get it on the next go-round.
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jkw_XD said:
I gotta admit... As a civillian.... This scares the sh!t out of me!!:shock:
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Meeeeeeeee tooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!
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The Tengu said:
I want to take the slug qualification class, but last time I applied for it my lieutenant decided that he didn't want me to take it so he never submitted my name. I've got different lt's now so maybe I'll get it on the next go-round.
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You have to take a separate class to carry slugs? What the F kind of sense does that make?

We only have a separate Grenadier classification that is considered a collateral assignment. We teach less-lethal shotgun and 40mm in that class.
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Yeah we have to have a class to carry rifled slugs, and it does make sense when you consider that the standard "course" is 5 rounds of buckshot from 25 yards and in.

We do have a class for the less lethal launcher (SL-6) but that's only for Crisis Intervention Team officers, and I decided that I didn't want to be a CIT officer dealing with crazy people all day long.
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The Tengu said:
Yeah we have to have a class to carry rifled slugs, and it does make sense when you consider that the standard "course" is 5 rounds of buckshot from 25 yards and in.

We do have a class for the less lethal launcher (SL-6) but that's only for Crisis Intervention Team officers, and I decided that I didn't want to be a CIT officer dealing with crazy people all day long.
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Nope, still don't make sense. It takes an extra 5 minutes of classroom and 10 minutes on the range to teach slugs during the regular shotgun course. With the low standards your dept. has on qual, you add one slug to the qual course and you're done.
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My qualification was a day long. Re-cert is four hours.

Weapon retention, shoot 25 rounds of birdshot (cost savings), some 000 buck Including head-shots on a hostage taker at 10 yards, and 10-12 slugs. "Select slug" drills. Fire from all positions and train to fire through barriers like windshields. On felony stops, the guy with the shotgun has the resposibility to disable the car if it tries to take off (flatten tires, perforate fuel tank).

You can't do that firing only FIVE rounds a year.

When we first got ARs you'd have to turn in the shotgun. I said NO!, so I still don't have a rifle, though I stay qualifed on them.
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KenW. said:
On felony stops, the guy with the shotgun has the resposibility to disable the car if it tries to take off (flatten tires, perforate fuel tank).
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SERIOUSLY!?>!?!??

We would get fired immediately for pulling a stunt like that.
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The Tengu said:
SERIOUSLY!?>!?!??

We would get fired immediately for pulling a stunt like that.
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We can do it too, depending on the reason for the stop. If the suspect is wanted for a violent crime and we have reason to believe they are still a danger to the public, we can stop the car by any means necessary, up to and including deadly force.
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The Tengu said:
We fire 5 rounds from the shotgun, and that's it.
Click to expand...
KenW. said:
And then you are "qualified" to use a shotgun? What a liability...
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danp said:
That is just sad. We fire 5 slugs and 25 buckshot in our qual. course. I had to up it from last year (it was 2 slugs and 10 buckshot) because officers couldn't remember how to load the gun.
Click to expand...
The Tengu said:
You see our department did the opposite. Instead of increasing the requirements to get people to pass, they just keep it low as possible!

People still manage to fail the shotgun qualification. :shock:

Nearly all of them are female officers.
Click to expand...
jkw_XD said:
I gotta admit... As a civillian.... This scares the sh!t out of me!!:shock:
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Scares the hell out of me too! :shock:

I sure hope most officers take it upon themselves to train on their own then!
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RayMich said:
Scares the hell out of me too! :shock:

I sure hope most officers take it upon themselves to train on their own then!
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No, they don't. There are a few (like the guys on these boards) but the vast majority are not gun guys and do no training outside the dept.
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