The SSD-A Pistol Standards: A Low Light Test

Research indicates that criminals often choose the darkness or low light conditions to pursue their nefarious profession. A significant number of shootings involving police officers happen at night as well. Criminals view darkness as an asset and use it as an advantage against those whom they would victimize. These realities mean that if you are forced to defend yourself, odds are it will happen under low light conditions; however, few people pursue low light training even when the opportunity exists. 

Although shooting accurately with a flashlight is much more challenging than simply using a normal two-handed stance, my experience with students who have been practicing over the past several years is that low light mastery (like all shooting skills) comes with practice and the proper equipment. 

As of February 2026, I have participated in four Sensible Self Defense Academy (SSD-A) Low Light Matches(1) so far in this low light season. I have done well with my every day carry pistol (EDC), starting from concealment—just like I carry the pistol. In the matches I use a hand-held light since I do not have a light on my EDC pistol.

SSD-A Pistol Standards 

However, I wanted to test my skills using the SSD-A Pistol Standards under low light conditions. The pistol standards is a course of fire that gained inspiration from the Short Combat Accuracy Test that Tom Givens of Range Master conducts in his Advanced Instructor Course. (2) The SSD-A Pistol Standards are as follows:

Start all strings of fire with flashlight in hand, pistol concealed, hand at sides, drawing from the holster. 

-- Strings 1 & 2: At 3 yards, draw and shoot three hits on the target, do this two times.

-- String 3: At 5 yards, draw and shoot three hits on the target, do this one time.

-- String 4: At 5 yards, draw and shoot two hits on the body and one hit in the ocular cavity. Do this one time.

-- String 5: At seven yards, draw and shoot four hits on the body, reload, and shoot four hits on the body. Do this one time.

Target: The target we use for the Standards is the Shoot Steel cardboard target with a custom scoring area. The chest five-point area measures 6 x 10 inches. The ocular cavity five-point area is a triangle that measures 5 x 3 inches. We cover targets with a t-shirt or something similar so the shooter must aim at the anatomically correct (upper center chest) scoring area to achieve proper hits (see target image below).

Scoring: Hits inside the chest scoring area or the ocular cavity are five points. Hits outside the chest scoring area or the ocular cavity are three points. Hits cutting a line count for the higher score; however, hits outside the chest scoring area or the ocular cavity must have the bullet’s full diameter to count. We score edge hits as a miss.

The final score is calculated as follows: Record each string time and add together for a total time. Divide total points by total time, for an Index. Multiply index by 20 for a final score. The par score is 100; the goal is a score above 100. I use Tom’s scale to categorize the low light results as follows: 80-100 Competent; 101-125 Advanced; 126+ Highly Skilled.

My Performance 

 

For this particular test, I used the Building Shooters NURO® Shooting System to time my runs. The NURO® Shooting System uses visual start and stop threat cues. The target on the right has the red pistol start signal illuminated. My score on run #1 (shot cold) was a 124 with my P320 EDC pistol using reloaded ammunition that match the Hornady Critical Duty 135gr standard pressure load’s performance. My score on run #2 was a 101 with my P365 alternate EDC pistol using the same reloaded ammunition.

Flashlights 

Through experimentation over the past several years we have confirmed much of the conventional wisdom concerning low light gear. While the 60 lumens Surefire 6P was certainly state of the art decades ago, modern high intensity lights have come into their own. We have discovered that a powerful light (300 lumens and up) overpowers a weaker light and permits the shooter to identify and engage targets that might otherwise be hidden from view—someone standing behind a car’s headlights for example. 

The spot size of the flashlight beam and the beam’s spill are also important. Ideally when you illuminate a threat you want the spot shining directly in their eyes. Some lights have a very small spot designed to throw the light over longer distances. While this works well as a spotlight, it loses effectiveness when used as a self-defense light because the narrow spot requires too much precision to effectively blind the threat. A flashlight with a large spot requires less precision and therefore works better in this regard.

The flashlight’s spill is the amount of light surrounding the spot. A light with a generous spill allows you to see things or people you might not otherwise see. There are many good flashlights on the market that meet these requirements.

How about a flashlight on the pistol? We have had several police officers who attend our low light classes and matches, and some are issued pistols with mounted lights. I have no objection to pistol mounted lights, and they can make accurately engaging a threat much easier with the proper switch configuration. However, I believe everyone should master the hand-held light techniques for several reasons. Searching with a mounted light virtually guarantees that you will point the pistol in unsafe direction or at an innocent at some point. Police might get away with pointing their pistols about in this manner, a private citizen might get charged with aggravated assault. 

Challenges 

When I first started teaching low light classes (2014) we discovered that the two biggest challenges for shooters was recognizing the threat targets in decision-based scenarios and then hitting the threats. When initially exposed to low light problems, even very accomplished shooters who have very little difficultly hitting a target under normal lighting conditions often go through an adjustment period as they learn low light techniques. 

So what is posing a challenge for them under low lighting conditions? Almost every student with iron sights initially shoots high on the target or often over it. We discovered that shooters were subconsciously tilting the pistol up slightly to see the front sight better in the low light. 

Regardless of the lighting conditions, you must properly align iron sights and then concentrate on the front sight while simultaneously pressing the trigger. Hard to do under normal circumstances with good light--more difficult to do under low lighting conditions. 

The shooter in the image below is properly executing the Harries Technique with iron sights.  She is using a flashlight she borrowed from me for the match. This particular light has a very large spot and spill.  As you can see, it literally lit up the entire area. The targets are 15-yards from the shooter and you can see smoke from the shot she just fired.

Shooters with an optic on their pistol often have trouble finding the dot when they use low light techniques such as the Harries, the FBI Search, or the syringe if they do not grip the pistol properly and execute the technique correctly. 

Practice 

You must practice low light techniques to have any hope of using them under stress. Using a light in conjunction with a handgun is something that you cannot practice once and get it down pat. Thankfully you can practice the techniques with live fire during daylight if your range won’t allow night shooting. So how do you practice engaging multiple threats and shooting on the move with these techniques? 

If your local range has IDPA matches, shoot the course of fire using your flashlight if the match director will permit it. You likely won’t win the match; however, you will learn how to shoot and manipulate your pistol under some stress. Practicing how to search a structure (like your house when nobody is home) in the dark is important as well. DO this with AN UNLOADED PISTOL (check it 3 times!) or a dummy gun. This helps you identify how the various angles and corners in your house make one technique a better option than the other. 

Conclusion 

To my knowledge, no data exists concerning private citizen-involved shootings with criminals under low light conditions; however, since a lot of criminal activity occurs after dark we can assume that there is a likely correlation. There are several reasons to use a flashlight: to observe and detect, to illuminate and navigate, to eliminate anonymity, and to identify and engage threats. Used properly, a flashlight lets you see danger before it can affect you and it can encourage danger waiting in the dark to go elsewhere. 

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(1) We conduct these matches every year at Cedar Ridge Range, just north of San Antonio, TX.  We run matches once or twice a month (holiday and weather dependent) from November through March.

(2) I graduated from Tom’s Advanced Instructor Course in 2022. For Rangemaster’s SCAT go to: https://snubnoir.com/blog/2023/01/25/scat-drill/