We had thirteen shooters participate this weekend ranging from 9 to 70 years old. We had the gambit of beginners to familiar to gold medal winners at the CMP competition. We had an instructor going for their IIT progress check and veteran instructors with 25 and 40+ shoots under their belts. To sum it up, our demographics were fantastic.
It was cool October morning with an overcast sky with the potential of some afternoon rain. The rain never developed and we had a wonderful shoot. The instruction was framed well and the students put it to practice. We heard the three strikes on Saturday and had some engaged audience members and some good discussion after. We kept on schedule and got in two AQT's Saturday afternoon, the first by stages and the second rapid fire. Dan re-qualified distinguished with a 244 (stages) and 249 (rapid fire), Michael re-qualified 220 (rapid) and earned his first distinguished with a 230 (stages) with iron sights, and Ty re-qualified with a 221 (stages). Huzzah!
Sunday was still overcast but broke to some sun later. We alternated AQTs and drills, stayed focused and completed 5 more (4 by stages, 1 rapid fire) AQTs. We heard about some Dangerous Old Men and Women at lunch. We broke for the KD POI and proceeded to shoot 10 rounds at 25 meters. We then moved the firing line back to approximately 100 yards and shot the same point of aim. The impacts of the rimfire and lone CF rifle were as expected. The proof was in the targets. We then shot again from 100 yards with holdovers and all shooters had hits on target.
For completeness on scores on the Sunday AQTs: Dan 239, 246, 249 (stages) and 240 (rapid), Michael 223, 225, 231 (stages) and 229 (rapid), and Ty with a 210 (stages). Huzzah!
The two additional items of note are: Dan shot a perfect 250 (stages) and Ed became a Rifleman at his first Appleseed with a 222 (stages). Congratulation to both you on your accomplishments. Dan and Ed persisted, just a Rifleman should. Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah !!!
We also presented our youth shooters with the William Diamond patches and these patches were truly deserved. They both persisted, we safe and showed tremendous improvement over the weekend. They particularly enjoyed the ball and dummy drill where they could fool their dads throughout the drill. They are both welcome back to our firing lines in NH anytime.
This was our 4th shoot at Pioneer Sportsmen in Dunbarton in 2022. Thank you to the club for the continued support and the use of the Silhouette range which allows us to move back to 100 yards quickly and safely. Lastly, the State Coordinator presented the Shoot Boss with his 25 shoot pin, Thanks Lou.
I am pretty sure this is the first 250 score in the history of Project Appleseed's New Hampshire program. Congratulations and Huzzah to Dan for this achievement! Another first for the Granite State!
Congratulations also go to Michael, who earned a distinguished with irons! I have long ago crossed over into "opticsland" myself, so I envy your accomplishment!