The State of California might hate your right to keep and bear arms, but they love their capability to do so. The LAPD, in particular, is well known for enforcing anti-gun animus, but they have a surprisingly competent firearm training program. I randomly ran across their shotgun qual when fellow shotgun nerd Nate Parker shot it out. That lead me to begin researching LAPD quals and stumbling across the LAPD Benelli shotgun qual.
It’s interesting to see that the LAPD has a specific qual set aside for the Benelli semi-auto shotgun. The standard shotgun for the LAPD has long been the Remington 870. Have they switched to Benelli shotguns? Well, no, not really.
Why does this qual exist?
Way back in 2009, the LAPD approved patrol officers to carry the Benelli M4, but they did not issue the weapon. They merely made it an available option for officers to purchase for use on patrol. The Benelli M4 is a very different shotgun than the Remington 870 and does require its own individual training.
The LAPD also isn’t going to let you carry a weapon without qualifying with it first. Thus we have the LAPD Benelli shotgun qual. Today we are going to see if it’s worth a damn or at least a dang.
The LAPD Benelli Qual in Living Color
So what do we need for this qualification? We need 15 rounds of buckshot and five slugs. No birdshot is acceptable here, boys and girls. It’s all full-powered buckshot. I grabbed a box of Federal buckshot and some Remington slugs and hit the range. I also brought my Benelli M4! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a qual for my beloved M4, so I’m taking advantage of it. That being said, you can do this qual with any repeating shotgun.
The LAPD uses the BT-5 target, which is a man-sized target mixed with a bit of a ten-ring target. In the center of the torso sits a ten ring and outside of it is a nine ring, and so on and so forth. It’s a nice target and worth getting, but you can use two pieces of 8.5 x 11-inch paper as your targets. The 10 and 9 rings are the only ones that count, and that’s roughly the size of a standard piece of printer paper. As usual, I use the Sage Dynamics targets for this qual.
Technically you only need one, but I’d bring several. Buckshot destroys targets, and it might be tougher to score if you are just using thin printer paper.
There is no reloading as part of the qual, but I’d bring something to hold extra rounds. Of course, don’t forget your eyes, ears, and shot timer.
The LAPD Benelli Qual — Banging With Boomsticks
Scoring is fairly easy. For buckshot fired at the torso, you score only the pellets in 10 and 9 rings. Anything outside the nine ring will be minus one point for each pellet. On the headshots, all pellets need to land in the head. For the slug portions, the same rules apply but with a single projectile.
If you want to succeed in this qual, you are going to need to pattern your load and, if possible, zero your sights for slugs. If you are using a bead, make sure you know your Kentucky windage.
The LAPD Benelli Qual is made up of eight separate stages. Reloading is not a timed event, but shooters are required to keep their weapons loaded throughout the qual. Active reloading on your part is required, so a side-saddle or some form of belt or carrier-mounted ammo source is required. Load your five slugs first. All drills start in the low ready.
Stage One: 25 Yard Line
You’ll start way back and work your way forward, which is a great mindset for closing with the enemy. At the go signal, fire one slug to the body of the target. You have four seconds to do so.
You’ll fire this drill twice.
Stage Two: 15-Yard Line
At 15 yards, you’re still pegging body shots with slugs. This time you fire two slugs into the body within three seconds.
Stage Three: 10-Yard Line
You are getting quite close, and here you will need to practice a little precision. This course requires one slug fired to the head of the target, and you have two seconds to make it happen. The ability to place a rapid, accurately-placed headshot can be a valuable skill.
Stage Four: 10-Yard Line
You are done with slugs. Now it’s time for buckshot. At ten yards, fire one body shot per run, and place that round in three seconds.
You’ll fire this drill twice.
Stage 5: 7-Yard Line
At seven yards, fire two body shots at the target within 3 seconds. Better practice that recoil control with this one.
Stage 6: 5-Yard Line
At five yards, you are putting a round of buckshot in the target’s head, and you need to do so within 2.5 seconds. At 5 yards, even the worst buckshot loads will be essentially one big hole.
Stage 7: 5-Yard Line
You are sticking to the five-yard line, and at this range, you are firing a failure drill. A failure drill is two rounds to the torso and one well-aimed headshot. You have three seconds to complete this drill. A failure drill with a shotgun isn’t going to be likely unless the threat has body armor, which shotguns notoriously suck at defeating.
Stage 8: 8 to 3-yard
Now you’re moving and grooving. Start at eight yards, and as you move forward, fire a pair to the body. Moving and shooting buckshot can be tricky, especially with good accuracy, so really work that recoil mitigation.
Repeat this drill three times. After you complete this, it’s all over. Sit back, relax, and score your target.
What I’d Change
First, this is a fairly good qual. The times are oddly all over the place. Sometimes they are tight. Sometimes they are generous. At the ten-yard line, your slug headshot has a tighter time than the buckshot body shot. Like usual, I’d probably tighten the times down here and there. Although a failure drill with a shotgun in three seconds with full-powered buckshot can be tricky.
There are also no position changes, no cover, and no multiple target engagements in the LAPD Benelli qual, but I think I know why. The standard LAPD shotgun qual has those skills tested.
To get a good chunk of shotgun training, I’d shoot both the standard shotgun qual and the LAPD Benelli qual back to back. That sounds like a fun day.
What do you think of the LAPD Benelli qual? Let us know below what you think, what’d you’d change, and if you passed or not.
