NRA Course of Fire / What is achievable?

[UFO]

As a relative newbie, I am putting myself through the NRA course of fire. The "Handgun Distinguished Expert" appears overstated, IMHO. I would never refer to myself as an expert. Achieving their minimum score however, is not much of a challenge.

I am shooting the Sig Mosquito (.22). I am eager to see how I would perform with something substantial like a 9mm or .40.

My questions are:
+ what is the opinion of the NRA HDE course of fire? (This is the one where you fire 6 shots in 10 seconds; 2 each at 3 targets @ 25'. Left hand, Right hand, and two different series with two-hands).

+ What is achievable in terms of shot groups? To achieve a 240/240 your 24shots have to be within an 8" ring. Done that, am trying to do better. Could a true expert get 24 shots within a 4" ring with the Mosquito? or tighter? (..in the time constraint @ 25'?)

 

[Jose]

Making NRA Handgun Distinguished Expert is nothing but a demonstration of having a grasp of basic handgun marksmanship.

Getting 24 shots into a 4" group at 25 feet (8.3 yards) is easily doable within the time constraints if you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals.

 

[UFO]

bump.

 

[Bob P]

As a relative newbie, I am putting myself through the NRA course of fire. The "Handgun Distinguished Expert" appears overstated, IMHO. I would never refer to myself as an expert. Achieving their minimum score however, is not much of a challenge.

I am shooting the Sig Mosquito (.22). I am eager to see how I would perform with something substantial like a 9mm or .40.

My questions are:
+ what is the opinion of the NRA HDE course of fire? (This is the one where you fire 6 shots in 10 seconds; 2 each at 3 targets @ 25'. Left hand, Right hand, and two different series with two-hands).

+ What is achievable in terms of shot groups? To achieve a 240/240 your 24shots have to be within an 8" ring. Done that, am trying to do better. Could a true expert get 24 shots within a 4" ring with the Mosquito? or tighter? (..in the time constraint @ 25'?)

Yes it is, very. Keep practicing & you'll be doing it sooner then you think.

 

[KMaurer]

The NRA (now Winchester/NRA) Marksmanship Program is designed for newbies to encourage them to practice more. When you get up to the top levels, you should feel pretty comfortable competing in formal competitions. It doesn't mean you'll be at or near the top level of competitors, but you shouldn't be embarrassed by your performance. To get an idea of the comparison, the course of fire in the NRA program is a simplified version of the "El Presidente" drill that's commonly done by IDPA or IPSC shooters. In the original version, it starts from the holster, fires the six rounds at three targets as in the NRA version, followed by a reload and six more rounds at the same three targets. With a little practice most shooters should be able to get the drill down to about 10 seconds. Top regional shooters will do it in around 6 seconds; the very best run a bit over 4 seconds. (Currently active competitors can give more accurate times.)

Ken

 

[JimConway]

El Presidente drill

Ken's comments on this drill are right on. The only thing that Ken did not mention is that the drill starts with the shooter faced away from the target at 10 yards. 10 seconds is the par time established by Jeff Cooper when he developed the drill.