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Marriottsville, MD Mar 11-12 2017

Started by Vjornaxx, March 12, 2017, 09:15:59 PM

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Vjornaxx

Thank you very much to the Associated Gun Clubs of Marriottsville for allowing us to use your facility and showing us such warm hospitality. Also, thank you very much to the Mount Washington Gun club for sponsoring us and providing the target stands. We appreciate everything you do to help us keep Appleseed going!

What a weekend! Maryland hasn't seen any Winterseeds through this season... until this weekend: Temperatures stayed in the upper 20s and peaked at around 34 right as we were packing up and cleaning the range. Wind was blowing over shooting mats and tossing rifles around like twigs. Some shooters took to staking down their mats. A few target stands snapped in the gusty breezes.

Despite the conditions, 8 shooters reported to the line Saturday morning. Roughly half were first time Appleseeders and one even hailed all the way from Vermont! (Green Mountain Boys represent!) Every single shooter showed vast improvement over the course of the weekend - half had 3-rounds on at least one silhouette on the Saturday AM Redcoats and everyone had 3-rounds on at least one silhouette on the Sunday PM Redcoats.

Not only did the shooters show remarkable improvement in their marksmanship skills, but they also showed a keen interest in the 3 Strikes. By the end of the event, they could all recite the 4 Questions and the answers to them. The stories of Samuel Whittemore, Hezekiah Wyman, Daniel Lamson, Mother Batherick, Timothy Murphy, and Elizabeth Zane all held the rapt attention of the students.

By the end of the weekend, three students earned their Winterseed patch and two students cleared the Redcoats. One of these students earned a score of 243 on his final AQT of the day and cleared the Redcoats on the final course of fire for the event; thereby earning his Distinguished Rifleman status. Way to put it all together!

I would also like to extend a big thank you and welcome to the two Riflemen who I hope to see wearing an orange hat on the line!

What a weekend!
"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true."

PatriotDoc

Weather was indeed a challenge.  No precipitation, but below freezing point all weekend with 15-20 mph wind gusts.  I had to abort one AQT after the first stage of fire because the wind snapped my target in half and blew it to the ground!  This happened to one other shooter, as well.

I think the AR was better fitted to this type of weather.  All three of us who scored Rifleman shot ARs.  I got the impression that a 36 or 40 grain .22 round at 1200 fps wouldn't fare as well as a 55 grain .223 round at 2700 fps on Stage Four in a 20 mph wind.

But the shooters at this event rose to the challenge of the weather, as did the instructors.  The fellow who shot Distinguished Rifleman really nailed it.  That guy deserves extra credit for such an accomplishment in such difficult weather.

By the way, this Shoot Boss is awesome.  I have been to a couple events where he was either an Instructor or the Shoot Boss.  He is a Distinguished Rifleman himself, and has a real talent for teaching marksmanship and encouraging students.  He also tells the Three Strikes of the Match particularly well.

What a weekend, indeed!

:snipersmi