Put me on the interested list, too.Excaliber wrote:It's a lot harder to come up with a quick and dirty test that requires a well developed set of street relevant skills than might be apparent at first, but I'm sure you're up to the challenge.
I think the concept is terrific, and look forward to seeing what you come up with.
One of my soapboxes has been that if you never start your shooting practice closer than three yards, you're missing a whole 'nother universe of possible urban encounters that will--as all the statistics suggest--probably happen at less than nine feet. That so few CHLers practice close-contact shooting and retention makes those skills, to me, all the more important to highlight.
Sittin' here trying to run through my mind what could be done as a fairly comprehensive defensive pistol skills test with a single string of fire consisting of only a handful of rounds, that incorporates the draw-from-holster contact-distance shooting I think is vital, without a significant amount of footwork, and within the realm of reasonable range restrictions (no shooting the side berms, for example) has me at a loss and scratchin' my head. But that's only a few minutes of muddied thinkin', and Andy's obviously been planning this for a while. Only thing I can come up with would involve at least three targets (so you can move on a diagonal and still have a straight-downrange target to engage) and at least 15-20 feet of movement...or two targets, less movement, but two separate strings of fire. Even then it would take a lotta liberties with street realism.
For a timed test, maybe take a page out of the IDPA book and allow for two or three different skill-level certifications for folks who can accomplish the shooting, but not yet as quickly. Another possibility is what some instructors, like Farnam, do: Farnam has a course-ending standardized skills test that's pass/fail, but if you want to move on and be able to be qualified as an instructor, there's a much tighter minimum completion time.
Don't know about the "gunfighter" or "gunslinger" designations. Seems like that could carry a negative connotation. Maybe something as simple as Defensive Operator Grade I and Defensive Operator Grade II?
Just don't sell badges...
