Shooting the Dallas PD qualification course of fire

Force Science recently published a study looking at performance by Dallas PD in 149 officer-involved shooting incidents.  Several trainers, including Tom Givens (Rangemaster), have commented on the data in the studyThe full link to the study is here.

One issue peripheral to the study is the qualification course of fire used by Dallas PD.  The course of fire is this:

Dallas PD Pistol Qualification Course
Round Count: 50
Target: TQ-15
Passing Score: 80% (200/250)

Stage I – 3 yards: From holster, draw and fire five rounds strong hand only in 10 seconds; transfer weapon to support hand and remain at low ready. When targets turn fire five rounds in 10 seconds, support hand only. (10 total rounds this stage)

Stage II – 7 yards: From holster, fire five rounds in 10 seconds; targets turn away; remain at low ready. When targets turn, fire five rounds in 10 seconds and return to low ready. Targets turn again and again, fire five rounds in 10 seconds. (15 total rounds this stage)

Stage IIa – 7 yards: Set up pistol with five total rounds on board and two five round magazines in pouch. When targets face, draw and fire five rounds; slide lock reload; fire five more rounds, execute a second slide locked reload and then fire five more rounds in 30 seconds total. (15 total rounds in this stage)

Stage III – 15 yards: Draw and fire five rounds in 15 seconds. (5 total rounds this stage)

Stage IV – 25 yards: Shooter starts one step right and one step behind barricade. When targets face, move to cover, draw and fire five rounds in 30 seconds. (5 total rounds this stage)



How hard is the course of fire?

I had some TQ-15 targets and put one up to run the course of fire. When I started looking at the times, I compared them to par times for the Texas License To Carry test.  Similar to Texas LTC, it has 5 shots in 10 seconds at 3 and 7 yards, and 5 shots in 15 seconds from the 15 yard line, with the only difference being that many strings start from the holster rather than a ready position.

As I discussed recently in a post suggesting a modified version of the LTC course of fire, the time limits and standards for the Texas LTC test are so easy that the test is nearly impossible to fail, even for someone with absolutely no prior firearms experience.  The LTC test standards are NOT the answer to the question “what level of proficiency is desired to have acceptable performance in a gunfight?“.  They are the answer to the question “what are the lowest possible standards that can be used to assess whether someone is a danger to themselves or others if armed in public?

I didn’t bother to shoot the test using the original par times.  Instead, I borrowed a idea from Massad Ayoob, who scales the difficulty of his MAG-20 shooting test in higher level classes by dividing the par times by 2, 3 and 4 to increase the drill difficulty. 

Shooting the Double Speed Dallas PD Qual

The double speed Dallas PD qual is this:

Phase 1 – 3 yards
(5 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 shots strong hand only, transfer to support hand and stay at ready
(5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots support hand only, reload and holster

Phase 2 – 7 yards
(5 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 shots, go to low ready
(5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots, go to low ready
(5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots, go to low ready

Phase 2a – 7 yards
Load with 4+1 in gun, two additional 5 round mags on belt
(15 seconds) – Draw, 5, reload, 5, reload, 5

Phase 3 – 15 yards
(7.5 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 rounds

Phase 4 – 25 yards
(15 seconds) – Draw, move one step to cover, fire 5 rounds

Here’s my target. 250/250.



Shooting the Quadruple Speed Dallas PD test


Just to see how hard the test was at quadruple speed, I ran it again using the same target. I didn’t tape up the previous run, because I was lazy and it was cold.  My assumption was that I could easily see any hits outside the center zone, and that I was unlikely to miss the target completely.


Phase 1 – 3 yards
(2.5 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 shots strong hand only, transfer to support hand and stay at ready.  This requires a 1.5 second draw and 0.3 splits.
(2.5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots support hand only, reload and holster. This requires about 1 sec to first shot from ready and 0.4 splits.


Phase 2 – 7 yards
(2.5 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 shots, go to low ready. 
(2.5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots, go to low ready
(2.5 seconds) – Fire 5 shots, go to low ready
For all strings about a 1.5 sec draw and 0.3 splits.


Phase 2a – 7 yards
Load with 4+1 in gun, two additional 5 round mags on belt
(7.5 seconds) – Draw, 5, reload, 5, reload, 5
Assumes 1.5 sec draw, 1.5 sec reload and 0.3 splits.


Phase 3 – 15 yards
(3.75 seconds) – Draw and fire 5 rounds
1.75 second draw, 0.5 splits.


Phase 4 – 25 yards
(7.5 seconds) – Draw, move one step to cover, fire 5 rounds

2.5 sec draw and move, 1 sec splits.  I shot too fast on this string and finished it in under 5 seconds. 

Here’s my target.  248/250 with some points dropped at 25 yards.


Analysis

Even at quadruple speed, shooting 80% (200 points) on the course of fire should be do-able by anyone capable of passing the FBI agent qualification test, or any B class USPSA shooter or IDPA Expert level shooter. Anyone choosing to use this drill in practice should start with the “double speed” version of this test as a minimum proficiency goal, in my opinion.  Using an IDPA/USPSA target instead of a TQ-15 will increase the difficulty, as would trimming the par times to triple or quadruple speed.