I want to qualify with a shotgun in academy, how should I be training now?
Hi! I’m not yet in Houston’s PD academy (it is a few months away), but I’ve been told I can qualify with a shotgun. I want to accomplish this. I’ve got little to no experience with shotguns, but I got a dvd that taught me a lot about what I should be looking at/how I should load/etc: (http://www.navyseals.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=172&Name=Tactical-Shotgun-for-Self-Defense-DVD)
Anyhow I have two questions about that. #1, how should I be training? I have access to a range near my house (indoor and outdoor varieties). I have no idea what they will want me to be capable of (grouping, distance, target acquisition, tactical clearing, or otherwise).
Secondly, I’m planning on getting a Remington 870 with a pistol grip, butt-stock, ghost-ring sights. Everything else I don’t feel I’ll really need to do well in qualifications. Anyone think I should be looking at a different model/setup?
Your input will be appreciated.
Posted in tactical shotgun
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
First off good luck in the academy. Do what they tell you to do, keep your head down, and when you get out on the street stay safe and just make sure you and your boys come home at the end of shift.. I’m sure you’ll be great.
To the question now. First off good with finding the range near your house. That was going to be my first tip. Secondly, if the Houston PD site has a contact page, go ahead and ask them what you can do to prepare and what the shotgun requirement is. Lastly, in regards to the 870, the only thing I would suggest is make sure the 870 is what they use. Besides that, just make sure the thing works. All the fancy nightsights and other shiny features they put on those things are fun to get more as a hobby. When it comes down to it, right now just worry about getting a basic gun. Once your in, it will only take a couple weeks to hear the run around on what weapons and such are good.
I dont feel like that was quite a great answer, but it’s the best I could do, and I figured anything could help.
Again, good luck, stay safe.
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
go get some trigger time shotguns are easy and most of the time you wont have time to get a shotgun out you should probably work more practicing with you pistol
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Shotgun is a pretty simple weapon to use. I’ve used the Model 870 to hunt Squirrels before….basic model with nothing fancy…..good weapon.
I’d recommend just becoming familiar with the weapon, shoot a few targets and get used to the recoil.
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
get some personal trigger time so you atleast have alittle practice before you get to the academy
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Shotgun is much easier to qualify with then the pistol (which is really easy also). So don’t worry about it.
The *kick* of a shotgun is something people make a big deal out of. But they don’t really kick hard at all. If you are firing all day, it might leave a bruise, but you won’t be hurting.
Just relax, do what the instructors say and you will be fine.
So for the actual qualification here. We are tested on grouping with 00 buck. It’s really easy, you fire several times from 10 yards and you have to have 80% of the pellets on target. Not hard at all.
With slugs, we fire from 60 yards and have you to hit the target with 1 (out of 2). Again extremely easy, just go through your fundamentals. They might have you do different stuff, but what I described seems to be the more or less the standard here in Missouri.
They may get into more advanced tactics and stuff. Such as room clearing and using the shotgun tactically. But just pay attention and you will do fine.
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
My best advice would be to wait until you get to the shotgun portion of the training before getting any experience. The instructors will be much more knowledgeble than any lesson you can possibly get from a DVD. It’s much easier to teach someone the correct way to shoot from the beginning than to have to back track to get them to unlearn bad habits. The instructors are there to help you and if you happen to need remedial training, you’ll get plenty of opportunity while you’re there. Shotgun training is probably the least demanding skill to master at the range. I would wait and see what was being used at the academy. Most departments use Remington 870′s, but with the full stock instead of the pistol grip. If your department uses a different shotgun than the academy uses, they can issue one to you for the training. Best of luck to you and may you have a long and successful career!
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Your academy range instructors would rather you come to them with zero training. You may be learning a completely different method than your PD teaches or maybe even allows. Its best to just work on plain old marksmanship and leave weapons manipulation training to them.
There is no pre academy qual you’ll have to pass.
December 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
with the police shotgun they are normally pumps. they most used is the remington 870.when shooting these sawed off barrels for the first time you have to aim low.getting used to this is not hard with a little practice