More Gun Pr0n!
By Wyatt Earp | October 9, 2008
Redhead carrying a Glock. Mmm . . .
Well, today was pistol qualification day of the Police Range, and it started out swimmingly. As I was putting on my patrol rig - yes, I know I was promoted, but I like my patrol duty holster than my detective pancake holster - I noticed that is was way too big. (For those of you new here, I have lost 37 pounds since January 1st.) I adjusted the belt to fit my less-fat body, and while it was still a little large, it would do fine for today.
I dressed for the morning - it was damned chilly at 0630 - and was off. That would alter come back to haunt me, because by lunchtime, it was almost 80 degrees. Shooting in a long-sleeved shirt with the sun beating down on you isn’t much fun. But I digress.
The instructor set us up with 60 fresh rounds and explained the course requirements. After the obligatory once-over of the range safety requirements, we set up for the shoot.
The short version? I sucked today.
The long version isn’t all that interesting, but here we go. We started off at the six shots from the 7-yard line, six shots from the 15-yard line, and six shots from the 25-yard line. While rushing to make the time limit, I threw one from the 25. Missed center mass and hit the white border of the TQ-21 target. That’s points off for the jackass. My fault: I rushed it and my sight alignment was terrible. Bye-bye perfect score.
The instructors scored the course - the 25-yard rounds is the halfway point. A perfect score for the first half is a 150. I scored a 135. Apparently, I just missed another shot from the 15. Hit the target, but not center mass. I jinxed myself with last night’s post, I think.
Any hoo, while I was wallowing in self-pity after seeing my score, I decided I would shoot for the 150 in the second half. The furthest distance for that portion is the 7-yard line. You could throw bullets into center mass from there, so I should be gold.
I was. Perfect score for the second half. Add that to my earlier 135, divide by three, and my total score for qualifying was a dismal 95 - my worst score in five years. I suck.
All was not lost, though, because after the qualification we entered the F.A.T.S. Simulator. F.A.T.S. gives you - through a giant video screen - a real-life situation to challenge your judgment. The video is interactive, and the pistols are realistic - even down to the recoil. I worried about my bad day, but I figured it couldn’t get much worse.
My partner and I had a school shooting scenario. The video showed kids running toward us after gunshots were heard. The simulator then moved us to the classroom, where a male with a shotgun was standing over another unarmed male who was lying on the ground. We need to be interactive, so I yelled, “Put it down! Put the gun down!” to the shotgun-wielding teen, but he didn’t obey the commands.
Then, I saw that there was a pistol within arm’s reach of the male on the floor. As I saw it, the male reached for the gun and pointed it at us. I fired, my partner fired, and the simulation ended.
The cool thing about F.A.T.S. is that the computer shows you where your shots had gone, what damage they would have inflicted, and how many were fired. I figured I fired about six shots. It turns out that I fired twelve. I guess I lost count in the excitement of the moment. Here’s how I scored:
12 Shots Fired.
9 Hits, 3 Misses.
6 Fatal Hits (including 3 head shots)
3 Non-Fatal Hits.
My partner? He shot, too, but he shot the shotgun-wielding teen. Apparently, he wrestled the gun away from the other teen and was holding him at bay for us. D’oh! Oh well, at least I was (almost) perfect. I forgot to let my partner know about the gun on the floor, so that was a mistake. Otherwise, I ended the day pretty damned well.
The instructor even said, “Nice” after seeing my three head shots. Heh. I love this job.
Gun Pr0N Update: I mentioned in the comments of the previous gun post that we heard a few good rumors today. The most significant of which was a proposed service weapon change. Police Commissioner Ramsey has finally decided that we are completely outgunned, and is suggesting that we go with a .40 caliber Glock, or - even better, in my opinion - a Glock that uses a .45 caliber ACP round. Two of the officers test-fired the .40 and the .45 after qualifying, and the consensus seems to be that the .45 is more preferable to those who fired it.
I love this decision - as long as Ramsey follows through with it. The 9mm round is a joke on the Philly streets, and I have already responded to a police shooting where the man was shot multiple times and kept coming at the officer. The .45 would take care of that, right quick. And once the thugs know we’re using .45’s, maybe they’ll be a little less likely to try and take us on.
Please, Commissioner Ramsey. Please consider moving us to .45’s.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
What your partner experienced is so on spot with what we were told in our training and drilling last year. The kids thought our instructions (won’t mention it here) were dumb, but they just don’t realize that 1. you all are human and are reacting to a chaotic scene under extreme pressure, and 2. If someone is told that there is a male with a gun…all of the males are suspected (to a point).
October 9th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
RT - Kids are stupid, but if we make a mistake, we lose our careers . . . or worse, our freedom.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Nice shootin’, Cardinal!
We Knights practice more!
Why get a big honkin’ .45 Glock when a G22 (.40 S&W) is the same dimensions as your G17?
October 9th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Go with the .45… Remember the rule- NEVER go to a gunfight with a gun that doesn’t start with a .4
Wyatt, ALL of us have off days at the range, don’t feel bad, you probably still qualified higher than 90% of your peers.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:51 am
And remember, when that Glock21 runs empty, you can throw it down and use it for cover!
October 10th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Cowboy - Not up to me. Up to the department. I’ll go with whatever larger caliber they decide upon.
Old NFO - Hell, EIGHT people (out of 36 of us) FAILED!!! Not to be sexist, but six of them were women.
Cowboy - Or throw it at someone and kill then that way!
October 10th, 2008 at 11:22 am
There is hollow point ammo for the 9mm that is supposed to make it expand to .52 caliber upon impact. Of course it works slightly better in .40 or .45, since those have more mass to expand with. I think it is called hydro-shock. They have done wound cavity tests on it, and it is supposed to be really good.
As for the shooting, just tell everyone you threw a couple rounds intentionally, for liability reasons.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I gotsa suggestion for ya.
Start advertising the F.A.T.S simulater as open to the (law-abiding) public. Charge a reasonable fee to let people have that experience and use the proceeds to buy the best damn guns you can.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Marvin - Whatever stops the thugs in their tracks.
Kaveman - The city was doing that to “community leaders.” When they failed miserably, or shot innocents, the instructors were heard to remark, “Now imagine the outrage by folks like you and then having your life turned upside down because you made a mistake.”
We should let everyone in the public to see how difficult it is to make a split-second, life and death decision.
October 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Good picture. I’ve always like redheads with nice guns…
October 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
mmmm…. yeeeeahh… chicks and guns in the same picture…
and yeah, .45 rocks.. slower than a 9, but bigger punch and stopping. Couple years ago moved from a Sig 229 in .40 to a Sig 220 in .45, and loved it instantly. Beyond just being a more sexy round heh, it’s a damned good defensive round.
I usually carry a 1911 now though, as I like the cocked and locked method better.
the Glock 17 is a great pistol though, with a helluva high-cap load for a fire-fight, but yeah there’s some people that take that round and keep goin. Hope you get the caliber bump!!
October 10th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
marvin - the hyrdo-shok’s are great for giving literally a rippling shock-wave to the body, but compared to other round technologies on the market today, they’re outdated. Still a great technology, though.