A few months ago I started seeing the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course pop up in my social media feeds. Everyone from Greg Ellifritz, to Wilson Combat, and our own Sean B were shooting this course of fire, and I'd never heard of it. Curious to see what all the commotion was about, I tracked down the details, and added it to my repertoire. A few months later I actually managed to give the course a couple attempts. Let's check out the details on the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course.
Setting Up the Drill
Traditionally, the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification course is shot using a silhouette target with 7 inch scoring circle in the chest. Without access to the original target, we will be using an IDPA torso, RM-1, Q-PT, or similar which will be a close enough equivalent. A single target is required, with distances ranging from 10 out to 60 feet. Shooters will be firing everything from the holster, so you'll need either a concealment or duty holster. One course of fire requires a reload, so be sure to bring at least two magazines. Finally you'll need a shot timer to measure your par times.
Scoring the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course
Scoring the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification course is pretty straightforward. Shooters need to score 80 points out of a possible 100 in order to pass. There are par times, but breaking them will not result in a failure of the course. Instead, the shooter will incur a one point penalty for every additional 0.25 seconds taken to complete the string past the part time.
Firing the Drill
There are four stages to the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course of fire. Everything is fired from either concealment or a duty holster.
Stage 1) Place the target at 10 feet, firing 2x rounds in 1.5 seconds
Stage 2) Place the target at 20 feet, firing 2x rounds in 2 seconds
Stage 3) Place the target at 30 feet. Fire 2x rounds, conduct a slide lock reload, then fire 2x rounds in 6 seconds
Stage 4) Place the target at 60 feet, firing 2 rounds in 3.5 seconds
My Results on the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course
Everything below was shot from AIWB concealment, using my Glock 19 with a Trijicon SRO mounted on top. I made two attempts, one right after the other. Here are my results:
Run 1
- 1.74 seconds, 1x miss (-2 points)
- 2.13 seconds, 1x miss (-2 points)
- 6.47 seconds, 2x miss (-4 points)
- 3.49 seconds, 1x miss (-1 points)
- Total, -9, for 91/100
On my first run I lost some points and gained time trying to be fast. This resulted in me hunting for the dot, pulling shots, and overall poor performance. Between misses and penalties, I dropped 9 points for 91%. Still passing, but a performance I was disappointed with.
Run 2
- 1.76 seconds, clean (-2 points)
- 2.16 seconds, clean (-1 points)
- 5.82 seconds, 1x miss (-1 points)
- 3.20 seconds, 2x miss (-2 points)
- Total, -6 for 94/100
For my second attempt I was a little cooler, dropping only 6 points for a 94%. This one was slightly slower for two strings, but made up for it with better hits, and a clean reload. Trying to be fast doesn't often make you fast, and typically degrades performance. I was far more confident in my shots this time around, and the results speak for themselves.
Final Thoughts on the Old Bakersfield PD Qualification Course
This is an awesome course of fire. I definitely felt some pressure on the range, but came away pretty happy with my final results. The Old Bakersfield Qualification will become part of my rotation, as I'm curious to see how my performance stacks up over time. If you haven't given this a try, I suggest you make an attempt to see how you stack up.
For a more intimate look at this course, and the accomplishments of those from Bakersfield PD, check out this article from Greg Ellifritz.
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