NRA Pistol Qualification Program

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Uber

    Member
    Mar 20, 2021
    31
    Gaithersburg
    Is anyone familiar with the NRA's Marksmanship Qualification Program (MQP) for pistols? I'm trying to guide my son through the courses of fire, but it's confusing.

    A citation from the NRA's website is at the top of the attached pic. I understand it to require the following for the Marksman rating...

    First (red outlines in the pic),
    • At 15 feet: 10 strong-side shots, followed by 10 weak-side shots on a 9 inch plate (staying 1" away from the edge)
    • Repeat this four times for a total of 100 shots

    Then (yellow outlines in the pic),
    • Repeat once more on a D-1 or a D-2 target (depicted on the bottom of the pic below).
    • But there are no guidelines on where you must hit the D-1 or D-2 target?

    Or does it spec' all the repeats should be on D-1 or D-2 targets? That would be 20 shots on plates, 80 shots on D-1/D-2?

    Further, it seems like the dimensions of the D-1 and D-2 targets convey a strong advantage to using the D-1 targets at 30 feet. My rationale is this:
    1. The "B" ring at 30 feet has a 12-inch diameter
    2. Shooting from 15 feet divides the distance in half. So you would expect the "B" ring to be 6 inches. But it's 3.35 inches.

    Am I missing something on that? Anyone familiar with this program who can help?
     

    Attachments

    • nra_mqp_pistol.jpg
      nra_mqp_pistol.jpg
      69.6 KB · Views: 213

    bigmanindc

    Active Member
    Nov 3, 2018
    463
    DMV
    Is anyone familiar with the NRA's Marksmanship Qualification Program (MQP) for pistols? I'm trying to guide my son through the courses of fire, but it's confusing.

    A citation from the NRA's website is at the top of the attached pic. I understand it to require the following for the Marksman rating...

    First (red outlines in the pic),
    • At 15 feet: 10 strong-side shots, followed by 10 weak-side shots on a 9 inch plate (staying 1" away from the edge)
    • Repeat this four times for a total of 100 shots

    Then (yellow outlines in the pic),
    • Repeat once more on a D-1 or a D-2 target (depicted on the bottom of the pic below).
    • But there are no guidelines on where you must hit the D-1 or D-2 target?

    Or does it spec' all the repeats should be on D-1 or D-2 targets? That would be 20 shots on plates, 80 shots on D-1/D-2?

    Further, it seems like the dimensions of the D-1 and D-2 targets convey a strong advantage to using the D-1 targets at 30 feet. My rationale is this:
    1. The "B" ring at 30 feet has a 12-inch diameter
    2. Shooting from 15 feet divides the distance in half. So you would expect the "B" ring to be 6 inches. But it's 3.35 inches.

    Am I missing something on that? Anyone familiar with this program who can help?

    It's for the target that you use, they give you the option of using paper plates to save money in the beginning.
     

    Uber

    Member
    Mar 20, 2021
    31
    Gaithersburg
    I found an email address for the Marksmanship Qualification Program and submitted this question. I thought I'd post the resolution from the NRA. Here's a summary of the outcome:
    • The program is being overhauled.
    • Ignore the paper plates. They're getting rid of those anyway.
    • The D-1/D-2 targets are being replaced with AP-1/AP-2 targets.
    • At the Marksman stage, you merely need to hit the tombstone no closer to the edge than 1 inch. That's pretty easy.
    • The other stages require a score. And the scoring makes it clear you have to be within the B-ring, or A-ring, etc.

    There was no discussion on how shooting AP-1 at 30 feet is far easier than AP-2 at 15 feet. So buy AP-1 targets.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,927
    Messages
    7,259,357
    Members
    33,349
    Latest member
    christian04

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom