Army Pistol Qualification (M17): Course of Fire & Scores

The course: The current Army pistol qual (M17, M18 or M9) is Table VI in TC 3-20.40: 30 rounds at 30 pop-up targets , from 7 to 31 meters , in three phases of 10 targets: standing, kneeling, and walking . One round per target, one 10-round magazine per phase.
The clock: Single targets stay up 5 seconds , double targets 8 seconds , with 2 seconds between exposures and a 10-second break between phases for a reload and a position change. The whole run is about 3 minutes 16 seconds .
Scores: 21 hits qualifies (Marksman) , 24 is Sharpshooter , 27 is Expert . That means you can drop 9, 6 or 3 targets.
What decides the badge: 16 of the 30 targets are at 16.5 meters or farther. Expert means hitting at least 13 of those 16 , and there are no spare rounds to make up a miss.
Train it anywhere: Every exposure is a par time. A free shot timer app with repeating par beeps can play the whole pop-up rhythm while you dry fire or shoot an airsoft M17.

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 10:00:00 +0800

The Army pistol qualification in 60 seconds (BLUF)

The course: The current Army pistol qual (M17, M18 or M9) is Table VI in TC 3-20.40: 30 rounds at 30 pop-up targets, from 7 to 31 meters, in three phases of 10 targets: standing, kneeling, and walking. One round per target, one 10-round magazine per phase.

The clock: Single targets stay up 5 seconds, double targets 8 seconds, with 2 seconds between exposures and a 10-second break between phases for a reload and a position change. The whole run is about 3 minutes 16 seconds.

Scores: 21 hits qualifies (Marksman), 24 is Sharpshooter, 27 is Expert. That means you can drop 9, 6 or 3 targets.

What decides the badge: 16 of the 30 targets are at 16.5 meters or farther. Expert means hitting at least 13 of those 16, and there are no spare rounds to make up a miss.

Train it anywhere: Every exposure is a par time. A free shot timer app with repeating par beeps can play the whole pop-up rhythm while you dry fire or shoot an airsoft M17.

If you searched “army pistol qualification,” you probably want three things: what the course of fire actually is, what score you need, and how to not embarrass yourself on range day. The short version: the M17 qual is 30 shots at 30 automated pop-up targets, scored as hits, with 21 to pass and 27 for Expert. It is far more of an accuracy test than a speed test. You get about four and a half seconds per round, more than three times what the FBI qualification gives you, but the targets go out to 31 meters and every round has exactly one target to hit.

Navy Pistol Qualification on Airsoft Shot Timer

Army Pistol Qualification (M17): Course of Fire & Scores