Texas DPS 25 yard course of fire (Jan 2021)

Here is a course of fire, dated January 2021, used by the Texas DPS in their handgun training program.

I’ve been shooting it in my practice sessions over the last month and I thought I would share it here.

It’s intended to be shot on the giant B-27 target, scored like the Texas License to Carry test (8-9-10 rings score 5, 7 ring scores 4, on target but outside the 7 ring scores 3). To make it harder I’ve been shooting it using a Shoot Steel target center, where the B zone (center circle) scores 5, the C zone (roughly same size as the 8-9-10 ring on a B-27) scores 4, and everything outside the C zone scores zero (unacceptable hit). The images below are NOT to scale, since the B27 is 24″x45″ and the Shoot Steel target is 18″x24″.

On Monday I shot a personal best 245/250 using the harder/smaller target, shooting the test as my only 50 rounds fired that day. Scoring it using a B27, I’ve shot a perfect score every time, so if you can shoot a perfect score on the B-27 version, try the shootsteel target center with works with their great cardboard training target.

Monday’s target
Download and print this image on 8.5x-11 paper

Instructions

» All courses of fire will be scored on a standard B-27 target. The B-27 target must be 24 inches by 45 inches and may be one of four colors; black, blue, red, or green. The target shall be scored utilizing the 5, 4, 3 scoring diagram in the upper left hand corner.
» Optical enhancers are not allowed. Only live ammunition may be used during training and qualification. Target marking cartridges are not permitted.
» If any malfunctions are encountered, the shooter must work through the problem and finish the course of fire. If rounds are held (not fired within the allotted time), the shots will be scored as misses.
» Instructors are to be attentive when shooters are shooting with the support hand with a two-handed grip.
» All shooters with a decocker on their weapons will decock their weapon after each st.ring on fire.
» This course of fire is designed for a semi-automatic weapon with a 17 round or 12 round magazine. All other magazine variations will reload in-between stages to ensure enough rounds to complete the course of fire.
» Administratively removing magazines does not require the weapon to be un-holstered and should be done in a safe manner.

>> A total of 50 rounds will be fired during the course of this qualification. A score of 70%, or 175 points of a possible 250, is required to pass.
>> This course is NOT primarily designed for revolvers, shooters using revolvers will reload when empty.
>>Weapons with 17 round magazines will start the course with a handgun loaded with 16 rounds. Weapons with 12 round magazines will start the course with 12 rounds. No additional round in the chamber for this course of fire.
>>Shooters will perform emergency reloads where required.

Observations

I think this is a fairly well designed course of fire. It includes a good mix of skills, with behaviors appropriate for distance (movement and one handed shooting at close range, a few reloads, kneeling at longer ranges). Whoever designed it shares my dislike of frequent par time changes, as much of the test uses a 3 second par time, and the other par time changes are well organized. It includes one skill I rarely practice, which is swapping hands with the pistol and shooting 2 handed, using the left hand as the primary shooting hand. That skill is 3 of the 50 rounds, done at 7 yards.

This may or may not be a course of fire shot by the state troopers. All I know for sure about this particular course of fire is that it’s one in their library and it’s relatively recent.

Three Yards (12 rounds)

(1) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fife 3 shots while moving one step right, weapon hand only. (Time limit: 3 seconds) Transition the weapon to the support hand.


(2) From the ready position, on command, fire 3 shots while moving one step left, support hand only.
Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 3 seconds)


(3) From the holstered position, on command, draw, and fire 3 shots while moving one step right, two handed grip. Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 3 seconds)


(4) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fire 3 shots while moving one step left, two handed grip. Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 3 seconds)

Seven Yards (12 rounds)

(1) Un-holster, transition the weapon to the support hand. From the ready position, on command, fire 2 shots support hand with two-handedg rip. (Time limit: 3 seconds) Transition the weapon to the weapon hand. Re-holster on command.

(2) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fire 2 shots, two-handed grip. Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 3 seconds)

(3) From a holstered position, on command, draw, fire 4 shots, take one step right, and then fire 4 additional shots, two-handed grip. Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 15 seconds)

Account for 24 shots on target, conduct interim scoring and repair.

(I like this step, which makes scoring easier than trying to score all 50 shots at the end. It also makes it easier to identify problems associated with 15 and 25 yard strings. Most of time, I was keeping all my shots at 3 and 7 in the center circle, so the only scoring I would do at this point is to note any shots outside that zone.)

The official instructions are for shooters running a 12 round magazine to administratively remove the magazine and add one round. Really all that matters is that you set the gun up to have somewhere between 8-12 rounds in the magazine, so that a reload has be done during the 6 shot string (string 2) from the 15 yard line.

15 Yards (14 rounds)

(1) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fire 4 shots, take one step left, and fire 4 additional shots. Re-holster on command. (Time limit 15 seconds)


(2) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fire a total of 6 shots. When necessary, shooter will reload while moving one step to the right, and then fire remaining round(s). Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 20 seconds)

The gun should be loaded with 11+1 or more for the 25 yard string so that all 12 shots can be fired without a reload.

25 Yards (12 rounds)

(1) From the holstered position, on command, draw, fire 6 shots, move one step right and fire 6 additional shots, standing or kneeling. Re-holster on command. (Time limit: 30 seconds)

If you taped up the entire target after the 7 yard string, score 26 more hits and add the two scores together. Or, if you shoot it like I do, just count up “points down” based on whatever is outside the B zone center circle of the ShootSteel repair center.