In the interest of being a well-rounded shooter, I have been doing some shotgun work. I decided to record a shotgun drill and ran across the MPOETC Shotgun Qualification. This is a very well-rounded course of fire that doesn’t require a whole bunch of ammo, but tests a lot of skills.
MPOETC Shotgun Qualification
The MPOETC (Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission) is Pennsylvania’s governing body for law enforcement training standards. This the qualification course for police officers carrying shotguns in Pennsylvania. Personally, I think it is a very well-designed course of fire. It covers shooting at distance, reloading, multiple-shot engagements, operating from cruiser ready, and shooting on the move. It only has five stages, and only uses 13 rounds (5 slug, 8 buck).
Let’s go over the course of fire. The intended target is the TQ-21, which I did not have. I used an IALEFI Q target instead. which is roughly similar in size. I tried to hold all slugs/pellets in the 10″ circle at high center chest. An IDPA target (using the -0 and -1 zones) would also work in a pinch.
- Stage 1: 50 yards, from barricade, cruiser ready, fire 2 slugs, 15 seconds
- Stage 2: 25 yards, cruiser ready, fire 1 slug standing, 2 slugs kneeling, 15 seconds
- Stage 3: 20 yards, cruiser ready, fire 2 rounds 00B, kneeling, 10 seconds
- Stage 4: 15 yards, combat loaded, fire 2 00B standing, emergency reload, fire 2 00B kneeling, 20 seconds
- Stage 5: 15 – 7, shooting on the move, give verbal commands, on buzzer, fire 2 rounds 00B, 2 seconds
The only thing this qual course is really missing is the short-stocking technique I mentioned in the video. Watch Chris Baker’s video on it HERE.
