We had a typical Ohio spring weekend at Piqua Fish and Game in Piqua, Ohio. It was cold, cloudy, and windy, with occasional spits of rain or snow. The weather front that passed through Friday and Friday night gifted us with memories of winter all weekend. However, the precipitation was not enough to slow down the weekend. On the contrary, it only added to the challenge. The experienced participants demonstrated their marksmanship, and the new shooters steadily improved.
We opened the range at 8:00 am, and after getting the participants signed in, we started at about 8:50 am. After the standard safety rules, safe rifle, medical, and pre-history, we brought rifles to the line. There were 14 participants on Saturday morning.
The Saturday morning Redcoat went well, with the 100/200/300/400/shingle numbers being 6/5/5/3/4 with 3 cleared. We moved steadily through the instruction blocks under a cold, gray, windy sky.
After a break for lunch and the first strike at 12:20 pm, we finished the fundamental blocks of instruction and posted our first AQT.
We took a break to tell the second strike, then started the first of two AQTs on Saturday.
After the AQTs, we listened to the third strike and handed out several Rifleman patches.
Congratulations to:
Alex S., a new Rifleman with a score of 216
Chris K., a new Rifleman with a score of 222
Dan P., a requalifying Rifleman with a 213 and the proud new owner of a Distinguished rocker with a score of 240! Huzzah!
Jerry F., a requalifying Rifleman with scores of 216 and 217
Jerry F. also agreed to accept an Orange hat!
Our Saturday ended with a Redcoat and a benediction. The Saturday evening Redcoat numbers at 100/200/300/400/s came in as 11/7/4/2/3 with 1 cleared.
Nine of the participants came back on Sunday morning, and we got started at about 9:00 am. After the safety briefing and a recap of the steady hold factors for each position, we brought rifles to the line. With the reduced numbers and the resulting space on the line, several instructors took the opportunity to shoot throughout the day.
With the addition of instructors, there were 11 Redcoats shot on Sunday morning. The numbers (100/200/300/400/s) came back as 10/6/4/2/5 with 1 cleared.
After several sighter squares targets and a couple of drills, we posted the first of seven AQTs for the day. We got two AQTs in before lunch at 12:20 pm. Our lunch break was complete with a Known Distance lesson and a cold wind.
After lunch, we returned and shot five more AQTs over the afternoon. A fun shoot and history broke these up.
We did an afternoon 100-yard fun shoot with the participants splitting up into three groups of three. All three teams got to see the effect of trajectory at range firsthand. Congratulations to Kevin D., Alex K., and Sophia G. on their marksmanship.
We had one new Rifleman and four requalifications on Sunday.
Congratulations to:
Chris K., he verified his Saturday Rifleman qualification with scores of 228, 220, 227, 225, and 232
Nolan D., a requalifying Rifleman with scores of 217 and 218. Nolan capped his weekend by earning his Distinguished badge with a score of 240! Huzzah!
Sophia G., a new Rifleman with a score of 213
Our very own Shadow870 also requalified with scores of 227, 222, 224, 215, and 220.
We ended the day with a final Redcoat and a big thank you to all the participants who showed up to make such a great weekend.
We had a wonderful time with great participants and good instructors at an excellent range. I hope to see all of you down the trail
P.S. - Casey C. and Alex K., Rifleman badges are waiting for you. You showed persistence and improvement, two necessities for a Rifleman. So keep after it - you will get there!
Had a great time this weekend, thanks to all the excellent instructors and everyone that showed up.
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The winning team of our Sunday afternoon 100 yard fun shoot. Thanks to Sparky117 for donating beautiful copper coins to the winners.
Our youngest Distinguished Rifleman; Nolan shot a 240 at thirteen-years old.
Congratulations Nolan!
Thirteen-year-old Sophia earns her Rifleman Patch by shooting a 213.
Sunday afternoon's shooters and instructors.
Congratulations Alex and Chris on scoring Rifleman! Also to Dan and Jerry for requalifying as Rifleman!
Nolan was an amazing youth shooter. Scoring Rifleman and Distinguished. Huzzah!
Casey, a new shooter, improved so much from Saturday to Sunday! Good Job! I hope I see you in June again at the next Piqua Appleseed.
I look forward to seeing Jerry at the next Piqua event as an Orange hat!
Your an excellent photographer Shep. I was very proud to see Nolan put his name on the short list. Thanks again everyone for such great instruction.
You're very welcome starbuck82, it always a joy to have the three of you on the line!
Very nice post! Looks like a VERY successful event and is well documented with great pictures!!!
The number of new Riflemen and Requals is quite impressive!
Congrats to all the shooters and instructors.
Looks like a very productive event despite the weather challenges.
Congratulations to all the new Riflemen! Nolan it was a joy to watch your determination in shooting Distinguished.
Vinny and Sam I hope to see you at a shoot again soon, I am confident you will earn Rifleman with more than 1 day under your belts.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome, hope to see you all again soon.
Some more Pics
Rapid Fire AQT
Great work by the staff and range personnel for hosting a great weekend for liberty. I am interested in getting one of the Trigger clickers for the 10/22. I have a spare stock just waiting to be repurposed for youth training. Please reach out with links to availability.