Douglas, WY - AAR - June 11, 2022

[Captain]

Let's start off with a huge thank you to the Fort Fetterman Sportsman's Association for the generous use of their great range! We've been honored to have the club host these boot camp events for several years - Thank You!

This was Day 8 of 9 in the 2022 Colonial Shooter Memorial extravaganza in Douglas, Wyoming. Coming on the heels of the Boot Camp portion of the program, this One Day Pistol Clinic was a chance to put the rifles away get out the pistols. Three shooters stood on the firing line, one new to Appleseed Pistol, one Pistoleer™ and one still working on shooting score for his patch. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the day was HOT! Measured temperatures in the frying pan bay were topping out at 104 degrees with a density altitude of over 10,000 feet. There aren't many covered firing lines on the ranges out west due to the strong winds which also rule out the use of pop ups. In fact, this range had tried covers in the form of metal structures bolted to metal and concrete poles. They were blown away on a particularly windy day! All this is to say that we were exposed to the elements for the entire day.

After a morning of pistol handling, safety and marksmanship instruction we finally pulled out the Pistol Qualification Test or PQT. Everyone was determined to shoot a qualifying score, but the conditions and the normal slew of pistol maladies kept everyone just points away. Everyone persisted through it all but in the end, the shooting became more of a survival quest, and we packed up at the end of the day with plenty of solid shooting but without achieving our goal of scoring Pistoleer™. Despite the challenges, it was a fun day on the range with fellow Appleseeders learning more about pistol shooting and perseverance. This was also the first Wyoming event to earn the "unofficial" Caliente Seed Patch for enduring temperatures above 100!

Kestral in the shade!

Unofficial "Caliente Seed" Patch

After getting off the range and getting rehydrated, we decided a covered range is pretty nice!