Last month I shot the New Mexico Private Investigator qual, and I was fairly surprised by the course. It had a very generous time requirement, but it was interesting, with lots of drawing, some reloading, and plenty of positions. With that in mind, I dug up the handgun qual for police officers in New Mexico. This course of fire was created by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. It’s a fairly robust course with a good deal of shooting, reloading, and training to it. Let’s dig in and pretend we could have caught Walt and Jesse.
Gear for the Qual
First and foremost, we’ll need a handgun! Any semi-auto handgun will do. This course specifically calls for semi-auto handguns, and to use a revolver, you’d have to do a number of modifications. You need at least two magazines and a means to carry your spare magazine. Ammo-wise, we are only looking at 50 rounds, so it’s not too tough to complete.
I’m going to use my Sig P320 with Sig Romeo2 red dot. A holster is required, and I went with the Blackhawk L2C since it closely mimics a common police holster.
New Mexico uses its own target called the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Qualification Target. It’s a life-like man with a gun, with an internal outline showing the lethal parts. It’s a solid target for training purposes. Although it’s not necessary to shoot the qual, it will make it as realistic as possible.
Don’t forget your eyes and ears, as well as a shot timer to round it all out. Finally, we need a range that goes out to 25 yards and allows you to shoot as close as one yard.
Scoring The New Mexico Police Qual
The scoring is easy. Each shot is worth two points, so a score of 100 is perfect. Shots outside the allotted time are misses. You need a score of at least 80 to pass. If you take a peek at the target, the internal outline covers the T-Zone of the target. For headshots, only shots that land inside the T-Zone or scuba mask count.
To the Range With the New Mexico Police Qual
You’ll do a number of tactical reloads throughout the course of fire. A tactical reload is an untimed reload with retention. These tactical reloads will always have one round in the magazine while having one round in the chamber.
Stage One: 25 Yards – Two Shots Fired
Start with your gun holstered. On the beep, draw and fire two rounds center mass. You have six seconds total.
Stage Two: 25 yards – Two Shots Fired
Start standing, draw, assume a kneeling position, and fire two rounds. You have eight seconds total.
Stage Three: 15 yards – Two Shots Fired
From a standing position, draw, and fire two rounds center mass in five seconds.
Before we move to the next stage, commit a tactical reload. Ensure you have one round in the magazine and one round in the chamber of your gun.
Stage Four: 15 yards – Four Shots Fired
Draw and fire two rounds. This should result in an empty gun. Assume a kneeling position and reload your weapon. Fire two rounds. You have a total of 12 seconds.
Stage Five: 15 Yards – Two Shots Fired
Start in the low-ready position. At the beep, fire two rounds center mass. You have four seconds to complete this.
Execute a tactical reload and ensure your weapon has one round in the chamber and one round in the magazine.
Stage Six: 10 Yards – Four Rounds Fired
From the standing position, draw and fire two rounds. Now you should have the slide locked open. Reload and fire two more rounds, all center mass. You have 10 seconds.
Execute a tactical reload and ensure your weapon has one round in the chamber and one round in the magazine.
Stage Seven: 10 Yards – Four Rounds Fired
From the standing position, draw and fire two rounds. Reload and fire two more rounds, all center mass. You have 10 seconds.
Stage Eight: Seven Yards – Three Rounds Fired
From the standing position, draw and fire a failure drill. (Two to the chest, one to the head.) You have six seconds.
Stage Nine: Seven Yards – Three Rounds Fired
From the standing position, draw and fire a failure drill. (Two to the chest, one to the head.) You have six seconds.
Stage 10: Seven Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the low ready, using your strong hand only fire two rounds center mass. You have three seconds.
Stage 11: Seven Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the low ready position using your strong hand only, fire two rounds center mass. You have three seconds.
Stage 12: Seven Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the low ready using your support hand only fire two rounds center mass. You have three seconds.
Stage 13: Seven Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the low ready using your support hand only, fire two rounds center mass. You have three seconds.
Stage 14: Five Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the standing, draw and fire two rounds center mass in three seconds.
Stage 15: Five Yards – Two Rounds Fired
From the low ready, fire two rounds center mass in two seconds.
Stage 16: Five Yards – Three Rounds Fired
From the standing, draw and fire two rounds center mass, then side step to the right, and fire one round to the head. You have six seconds.
Stage 17: Five Yards – Three Rounds Fired
From the standing, draw and fire two rounds center mass, then side step to the right, and fire one round to the head. You have six seconds.
Stage 18: One yard – Three Rounds Fired
From the one-yard line, draw and assume a weapons retention position and fire two rounds to center mass. Then take a step back and fire one round to the head. You have six seconds total.
Stage 19: One Yard – Three Rounds Fired
From the one-yard line, draw and assume a weapons retention position and fire two rounds to center mass. Then take a step back and fire one round to the head. You have six seconds total.
All right, cold range and we are done.
Is this a good qual?
This is one of the better police qualifications I’ve fired. It mixes up a few different skills and is fairly diverse. There are no multiple target engagements and no use of cover, but it’s still a pretty good qual. Some of the times are a little generous, but not overly so. You never get more than 12 seconds total for an advanced drill.
The accuracy requirements are pretty solid, and it’s fun to shoot. Bonus points for making headshots at the 25-yard line. Overall, color me impressed. I plan to seek out the New Mexico shotgun and rifle qual next, and hopefully, they are as good as the pistol qual. Let us know what you think below.
