Navy pistol and Rifle quals for Newbs that want a challenge.

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tahunua001

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A while ago I got bored so I decided to leaf through the Naval small arms qualification publication or OPNAVINST3591.1F. here is the course of fire for the M9 pistol and M16 rifle, though it will work with just about any semi auto pistol and any semi auto rifle with detachable magazines.
rifle uses navy 1000 inch or "A" rifle target while pistol uses homeland security LTRII target, both available from LEtargets.com(I've got tons of them in my closet). I don't know if they can be had anywhere else but LE has decent prices if you get them in bulk.

M9/pistol 1st course of fire.
starting at the 3 yard line(or range minimum if greater than 3) load 2 magazines with 6 rounds each:
1. with one magazine inserted and gun on safe, draw and fire 2 shots in 4 seconds, return to safe and reholster.
2. draw and fire 2 rounds in 4 seconds, return to safe and reholster.
3. draw weapon fire 2 rounds, reload with 2nd magazine and fire 2 more rounds in 10 seconds, make safe and holster.
4. draw, fire 2 rounds with your strong hand supported, switch to weak hand supported and fire 2 more rounds in 8 seconds, make safe and holster.

2nd course of fire standing at 7 yard line with 2 magazines loaded with 6 rounds each:
1. with one magazine inserted and gun on safe, draw and fire 2 shots in 4 seconds, return to safe and reholster.
2. draw and fire 2 rounds in 4 seconds, return to safe and reholster.
3. draw weapon fire 2 rounds, reload with 2nd magazine and fire 2 more rounds in 10 seconds, make safe and holster.
4. draw, fire 2 rounds with your strong hand supported, switch to weak hand supported and fire 2 more rounds in 8 seconds, make safe and holster.

3rd course of fire, with 2 magazines loaded with 12 rounds each(if you are using a compact handgun or magazines with less than 12 round capacity, reload after each battery as necessary with each magazine to give a total of 12 rounds per magazine).
standing at 15 yards with magazine inserted and safety on:
1. draw and fire 2 rounds in 4 seconds, make safe and holster.
2. draw and fire 2 rounds in 4 seconds, make safe and holster.
3. draw and fire 4 rounds in 8 seconds, make safe and holster.
4. draw and fire 4 rounds, change magazine and fire 4 rounds in 20 seconds, make safe and holster.
5. drop to kneeling position, draw and fire 8 rounds in 20 seconds, show clear and holster.

scoring:
For
scoring, use “K” values on the B-21 target or the regular
printed values on the transition targets II. If the grease mark
of the bullet (not the tear caused by the bullet) is located in
the scoring areas of the target, or touches the outside of a
higher scoring ring, the higher value shall be counted.
Marksmanship awards, qualification, and record entries shall be
based on the following

total possible is 240 points.
228-240-expert
204-227-sharpshooter
180-203-marksman
less than 180 does not qualify.
this is a great course of fire for people new to firearms and looking to find a standardized method of measuring progress as their marksmanship improves.

now for rifle.
all batteries fired at 25 yards.
first ten rounds on an unscored target are for sight adjustment. make any changes you need in 10 rounds or less.
1. with rifle in condition 3 from the prone position, magazine with 5 rounds. fire 5 shots in 5 minutes, take all the time you need to make a good bullseye, these are' gimme rounds'.
2. load 2 magazines with 5 rounds each. with weapon in condition 3 standing, drop to prone position, fire 5 rounds, change magazine and fire 5 more rounds in 70 seconds.
3. with rifle in condition 3 from the kneeling position, magazine with 5 rounds. fire 5 shots in 5 minutes, take all the time you need to make a good bullseye, these are' gimme rounds'.
4. load 2 magazines with 5 rounds each. with weapon in condition 3 standing, drop to kneeling position, fire 5 rounds, change magazine and fire 5 more rounds in 70 seconds.
5. with single magazine loaded with 10 rounds from the standing position in condition 3, fire 10 rounds in 10 minutes, take all the time you need, dont rush your shots, this is where your score dips the most.

For the “A”
target, hits on the paper (within the target border) and outside
the “4” ring are three points. Bullseyes are 5 points. If the grease mark of the bullet
(not the tear caused by the bullet) is located in two scoring
areas of the target, or touches the outside of a higher scoring
ring, the higher value shall be counted. Marksmanship awards,
qualification, and record entries shall be based on the
following:
200 perfect score.
170-200-expert
160-169-sharpshooter
140-159-marksman
less than 140, does not qualify.
this is a fun one and looking on paper it makes me a little ashamed that I only qualified marksman with rifle but I plan on taking my AR out this weekend and seeing if anythings improved since my navy days.

if you have any questions go ahead and ask away, I look forward to seeing people post up some scores.
 
a few days ago my younger brother brought out a good friend that was interested in shooting so I put both of them through both the navy pistol and rifle quals with my XDM 45 compact and 9mm AR15. the friend needed quite a bit of instruction with the AR as it was his first time handling it and he is a lefty but was able to score marksman in both rifle and pistol. younger brother scored marksman in pistol and sharpshooter in rifle. I scored expert in rifle and didn't feel like wasting another box of pistol ammo to see what pistol scores so I don't know how I fared but like to think that I could have scored expert as well, I normally do.
Tahunua001 scored 177 in rifle.
Tahunua002 scored 163 in rifle and 189 in pistol.
the friend scored 145 in rifle and 183 in pistol.
 
not a problem, be sure to post your scores.

also a little tip, the navy A rifle target, also called the 1000 inch target is printed on standard 8.5x11" paper so you buy just 1 from wherever available and then you can simply use a copier to make more for much cheaper than you can buy them.

the transtar LTRII is not however and must be bought unless you have access to a poster sized printer/scanner/copier. and please don't confuse it with the LTRI, that is a smaller target meant for closer ranges and doesn't accomadate the scores necessary to qualify at the specified ranges.
 
no matter how I attempted to print the A target from the opnavinst, it came out to the wrong proportions, everything is slightly scaled down.
 
You need to look at the NECC Instruction 3591. It is FAR more interesting and better training than the standard navy qual. There are some videos of people shooting it on youtube.
I am a SAMI and ESAMI (expeditionary) in the Navy right now, and I will tell you that if you fail the basic Navy pistol qual, you should very seriously consider carrying a stick. Your handgun is a danger to others.
As for rifle, it's much more acceptable. I have been a SAMI for 11 years, and I have only seen a dozen people (other than me) shoot over 190 on the rifle qual. It's a lot harder to do than most folks realize.
 
I agree the pistol is less than a challenge I have only once scored lower than expert and it was my first time taking the course with a compact handgun.

one very uneventful period on deployment I took the SAMI toolset CBT on NKO since there was literally nothing else to do unless something broke and had hoped to get qualified by the security dept onboard but since I was just an IT, they didn't like that so I pretty much had all the prereqs except for the correct symbol above my chevrons... oh well, it gave me a lot of tips on how to help others without giving them sensory overload and intimidating them too badly.

also I can't find the NECC shoot on youtube, do you have a link?
 
Anyone have a guess about the correlation between this rifle test and the Appleseed AQT?
 
Just a tip for new people that may seem obvious but is worth stating, the drill-times do not include reholstering... you don't want to rush that: do it slowly and carefully after you have completed the shooting portion on a (par) timer.

Rereading it a bit I would also say that drills like this one...

draw, fire 2 rounds with your strong hand supported, switch to weak hand supported and fire 2 more rounds in 8 seconds, make safe and holster.

should be approached with extreme caution for anyone, but especially people who have had minimal formal training, because you are doing a (non-essential) dangerous action on the timer... that can breed sloppiness.
 
to expand on what CONW is saying, all actions are a result of range commands given by the range officer. make ready, commence fire(includes drawing from holster), cease fire, make safe, and holster all are done after given the command by the instructor.

I have gotten so used to performing these tasks by myself that it is easy to forget that normally I am waiting for other peoples commands to take specific actions.

the timer starts at commence fire and ends at cease fire, make safe and holster is given after the time is elapsed.

Rereading it a bit I would also say that drills like this one...

draw, fire 2 rounds with your strong hand supported, switch to weak hand supported and fire 2 more rounds in 8 seconds, make safe and holster.

should be approached with extreme caution for anyone, but especially people who have had minimal formal training, because you are doing a (non-essential) dangerous action on the timer... that can breed sloppiness.
I do not agree with just about any of this. firing weak hand is a valid test and should be taught in any self defense course, I wouldn't call this non-essential in the least. I believe 'wounded warrior' batteries are included in many concealed carry classes and people rarely develop sloppy habits from them. it is important to train in proper technique when switching hands and I guess it would help to point out that normally this entire battery is performed in dry fire before live ammunition is added to the mix to help build proper technique beforehand. in addition a model specific familiarization course is mandatory so that you aren't fumbling around trying to find the mag release and safety switches.

perhaps I gave the wrong impression in the OP. I do not recommend that you hand a buddy that has never seen a gun in his life a glock and 48 rounds and tell him to run this course, this is something more of an exorcise for a person/s that already has a basic grasp of the 4 basic safety rules and has at least a basic familiarity with his/her gun
 
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I wouldn't call this non-essential in the least

I believe it was the "make safe and holster" part of the drill that he was referring to...
 
Yeah, it's not that it's "non essential", it's that:

A. The holstering part is off the clock, and should NOT be rushed.

And, B. The weak hand transition, while a worthwile skill, is not a basic level one, and should be a monitored evolution, especially for novice shooters.

As a SAMI and line coach, I have witnessed (and stopped) quite a few horrible transitions that resulted (or could have) in shooter injury, not to mention the shock and surprise of being hurt and potentially turning with the weapon or dropping it.
 
Here's a link to a pdf of OPNAVINST 3591.1F:

http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/Documents/3591_1F.pdf

For those who might scoff at the small arms training criteria in this instruction, please keep in mind what this is for and who is being trained. This isn't a combat training instruction. This isn't something used for in depth training of various SPECOPS groups, like SEALS. This is a simple small arms qualification instruction that governs basic firearms safety and course of fire to familiarize people (read: "Sailors") with safe handling and firing of these weapons, specifically what the instruction calls "Category I" and "Category II" personnel. "Category III" and "Category IV" personnel are an order of magnitude beyond the basic requirements of this instruction. Please read Paragraph 4 on pages 2 & 3.

Enclosure (7) lists the targets required and contains copies of the rifle targets which can be printed out from the pdf. Looking at a couple I printed out, they aren't bad...maybe slightly skewed in dimensions, but servicable. One could easily stick the image in any photo program and tweek the dimensions if they want...even MS Paint will do this. Heck, for that matter, you could simply use the photo program to create your own targets from scratch to match the official ones.

B-21 targets can be bought commercially...even at your LGS. You can buy them bulk from various sources online at a reasonable price. I suppose if you have access to a plotter printer, you can also print your own. But bulk buying of 100 sheets or more easily gets the cost to less than 50 cents per sheet...down to about 30 cents a sheet for bulk orders of 1,000 or more.

Transtar I and Transtar II targets can likewise be commercially purchased. Transtar II targets can be as cheap as 25 cents or so in bulk. Transtar I targets, essentially smaller versions of the Transtar II targets, can be had for as low as 11 cents each in bulk. Again, if you have access to a plotter printer, you could print your own. But at bulk prices, it would be cheaper to buy the targets.
 
Sorry for the confusion gents.

I do plenty of weak hand only (WHO) shooting, reloads, malfunction clearances, etc.

The part I was referring to as nonessential was a transition from supported two handed shooting to "mirror" (weak hand supported) on a timer.

But hand switching is perilous and in my opinion not a skill likely to be used in a way that is time critical in the same manner as other shooting skills.

Doesn't "supported" imply that you are switching from strong two handed grip to mirror (weak hand shooting supported with strong hand)? That's about as nonessential as I can imagine.

Anyway, straight to my original point: people who don't know how to safely switch hands for shooting under the added pressure of a timer may make a nasty mistake.
 
Sorry for the confusion gents.

I do plenty of weak hand only (WHO) shooting, reloads, malfunction clearances, etc.

The part I was referring to as nonessential was a transition from supported two handed shooting to "mirror" (weak hand supported) on a timer.

But hand switching is perilous and in my opinion not a skill likely to be used in a way that is time critical in the same manner as other shooting skills.

Doesn't "supported" imply that you are switching from strong two handed grip to mirror (weak hand shooting supported with strong hand)? That's about as nonessential as I can imagine.

Anyway, straight to my original point: people who don't know how to safely switch hands for shooting under the added pressure of a timer may make a nasty mistake.


Good points.

However, ANY handling of a firearm is inherently dangerous by the very nature of the beast. We each assume responsibility for this danger every time we pick up a firearm.

I would say that clearing a malfunctioning firearm ranks higher on the "danger scale" than shifting to weak hand shooting. Likewise, I would also say that the very act of dropping a magazine, inserting another, and chambering a round would be more dangerous.

We develop and ingrain safe, proficient handling of firearms under a variety of means by practice.

While much about safety can legitimately be said about performing such actions on the clock, the fact remains that this is one valid measure of the proficiency of performing such actions.

However, like any other action from martial arts to carpentry, to the gun range, speed follows form. Trying to do this the opposite way is a recipe for disaster. We don't start off attempting speed draws in proper training methodology. We start off slowly and correctly learning how to unholster a firearm, bring it to bear, release the safety, aquire the target, and fire. Then we slowly and correctly learn how to reverse the process.

Once the correct form has been learned and become proficient at, speed naturally starts to increase.

The same applies to shifting to weak hand shooting.

And my personal experience with this during the Navy course of fire is that the time they give us is more than adequate to safely perform this action. And yes, this is under the guidance of the Range Master. And yes, they emphasize that, though it's a timed event there is no need to rush.

Weak hand shooting is simply another tool in the toolbox, ready to serve us should we need it. It's a good skill to develop. And it CAN be done safely, just as all the other things we practice with our firearms can be done safely.
 
Doesn't "supported" imply that you are switching from strong two handed grip to mirror (weak hand shooting supported with strong hand)? That's about as nonessential as I can imagine.

Anyway, straight to my original point: people who don't know how to safely switch hands for shooting under the added pressure of a timer may make a nasty mistake.

I agree, transitioning from one side to the other can be dangerous if not done properly. However, you say transitioning is non essential and I respect your opinion. However there are some schools out there who will beg to differ with your statement. I've atteneded a couple different classes (and private instruction) which utilized a shoot house and ran FOF scenarios (with sims). In those classes we learned how and why to transition as we flow through a building. Based on my training with them they certainly believe transitioning is essential when working through a structure. In the end I guess it's a matter of forming your own opinion on what is essential and determine what works best for you. To each his own!
 
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