Being a human being, we have to be real with ourselves and understand that we are bound by physical limitations. Of course we can always ask more from ourselves and train our bodies to a higher level of performance. However, we must at least understand that we are flawed from birth. After understanding this, we must establish a reasonable and practical standard for how we will perform with our firearms, as far as accuracy is concerned. Barring you being part of a team/department/unit, you must focus on yourself and your abilities and just keep practicing and asking more of yourself....within reason.
COMBAT ACCURACY
First thing I want to do is define combat accuracy and discuss it a little bit. Combat accuracy is the ability to place rounds in an effective area that will neutralize the threat. It is basically being accurate enough to place bullets on a path that will disrupt vital organs, assuming the bullets used can penetrate far enough. In my experience, everyone is going to have a different "standard" of combat accuracy based on their unit, department, or expected self defense encounter. In some cases, combat accuracy may be defined as being able to hit an 8" circle at any distance up to 30yd. In other cases, the ability to hit an index card consistently out to 15yd may be the standard. Both are valid and acceptable, though impractical to maintain without constant practice and testing.
THE INACCURATE EXCUSE
I know that there are alot of people that like to use the term 'combat accuracy' to cover up their poor marksmanship when shooting fast. Unfortunately that is not a good enough excuse for failing to verify that the sight picture is acceptable prior to taking another shot. If you are an experienced shooter, you need to realize that speed is a byproduct of control and can mostly come from a proper grip on the weapon. Many people advocate loosening up on the firing hand or maintaining a certain hold using percentages of strength on either hand. My technique is different, but the point is that you need to find a way to tame the beast if you are going to shoot it fast and accurately. If you are shooting it fast but spraying an area larger than a C zone torso, you are moving into 'stormtrooper' territory. This makes you a liability when you start training yourself to be happy with mediocre and dangerous levels of inaccuracy. Don't be 'that guy' who just shoots fast for show. Shoot your next shot only because you are ready and will hit it again. With time and practice, you will pick up speed organically.
THE STANDARD
I am not going to say what YOUR accuracy standard should be, but I will give my own standard and explain why. For myself, I feel that from 5-10 yards, I should be able to hammer a 3x5 card at a rate no slower than 1 rd/sec. My reason for this is because I feel like I should be able to be capable of neutralizing an active shooter that is wearing armor, if needed. For speed, I should be able to easily conduct a Bill Wilson Test(commonly referred to as a drill even though it is not supposed to be used as a drill) on a target the size of a standard 8x11 sheet of paper in under 3 seconds from the holster at 5-7 yards. Recently I got a best time of 2.76 with my Glock 23 Gen4. This standard is meant to test my ability to deliver quick and accurate fire to the CNS from the holster. Basically the stereotypical scenario for those who carry, right?
In my standards, I have tests for other things such as position agility, mag changes, etc. I only wanted to touch on a couple of my accuracy standards since I have several methods of testing myself depending on the weapons being used. Regardless of what my standards are for myself, I feel that it is wise for all to have a reasonable standard that they can hold themselves to in order to keep themselves in check and prepared to be a community asset if the need should arise. The biggest part of that is remaining accountable and always trying to better yourself.
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