2024 Year in ReviewSimilar to an IAAR, let's deal with the difficult but important news up-front:- In terms of shooters, 2024 (209) recovered a bit from 2023, which was our second lowest year in terms of shooters (189) since 2014. This was despite adding 4 more completed events (2 more RKDs, 1 more Pistol, and one more 25m clinic) to the schedule and capacity for 101 additional shooters.
- 2024 was tied for the lowest number of sell-outs (3) and tied for the second lowest number of combined sell-outs and near sell-outs (9, shared with 2019; lowest was 2017 with 7)
- As you can probably tell from the stats above, our utilization was very low (54% - second lowest in 10 years only to 47% in 2017 – 10 year average is 65%).
- AAFG (-17%), Berwyn (-42%), and Thurmont (-12%) all saw significant declines in utilization from 2023, which was not a blow out year. The AAFG number is the most significant because it has monthly events and represents 55% of our total capacity.
- Our pistol clinic utilization has been suffering since a hot start in 2021 and 2022. 2023 and 2024 were both at ~57% and we had to cancel some classes due to lack of students.
- In terms of host ranges, Sanners Lake in Lexington Park is likely to close altogether this year. Although we have not had an event there since 2022, the number of Maryland host ranges is pretty constrained and we need to maintain great relationships going forward.
There was good news for the Maryland program in 2024:- The instructor cadre continues to grow in experience and capability. We have 1 senior instructor and 6 active shoot bosses (including 2 DSBs for the first time in several years with the promotion of Agent711 in early 2025). That is helping reduce burn-out by spreading the SB burden – those SBs regularly attend as instructors as well. Some of our SBs (including Catch-10-22) had to step back a bit in 2023 and 2024 due to work commitments, but the rest of the cadre has stepped up.
- We have a group of VERY experienced instructors supporting them and some promising IITs as well (though not enough of those).
- We had 17 active instructors (at least 1 event) and 12 engaged (3+ events) and kept our student to instructor ratio for the year to 2.2 (below our 10-year average of 2.4 – Huzzah!)
- Our "Rifleman Rate" of 34% (number of new and requalifying Rifleman to total shooters) was higher than our 10 year average (26%); I believe that reflects not only the quality of instruction but the number of returning shooters who commit to achieving and requalifying to that lofty goal.
- We added back DSA in Sudlersville as a host range for 200-yard RKD events with a new club sponsor (the President, who attends every single event as a paying customer). Thanks to Lycos' work to get AGC's 200-yard range, we now have TWO 200-yard RKD ranges and can hold more events (4 planned for 2025 versus 1 or 2 in most prior years). Every single RKD clinic in 2024 was sold out or nearly so (89% utilization) so they help bolster our numbers.
- Lycos and kniwolf continue to take leadership roles in sustaining the pistol program in Maryland. Despite the utilization challenges, we still get some very engaged students and access a different target audience from the rifle clinics. We tried to do a combined pistol-rifle weekend (one on Saturday, one on Sunday) at Thurmont but not one student signed up for both events. It is a small sample size but perhaps an indicator.
- Maryland instructors continue to help out neighboring shoots in PA and VA whenever possible.
2025 Outlook and Plan of Attack2025 already seems to be recovering somewhat from 2024, with 67% utilization YTD (compared to 40% for the same timeframe last year). The 250th anniversary has driven excellent attendance in April (97%) and students have loved all of the special targets and gear. Our first event in May is also sold out. We have already exceeded our number of sell-outs from 2024. Our average student to instructor ratio for the year remains at 2.27 and much of that is just because events are months away.
But we have to build on that early momentum and ensure we continue to fill those lines!
We should set a minimum goal for 240 shooters in 2025 (65% utilization) and a stretch goal of 275 (75% utilization). We have exceeded 75% 3 times in the last 10 years so this is achievable. Here is a plan for how we can achieve that goal.
Boost our marketing. Phoebe has done an incredible job supporting marketing at National (which helps with Facebook) but we need to find way to engage and encourage students to attend. We need to rebuild our presence on Maryland Shooters (which has had little engagement from users since 2023) and stay engaged on Reddit. Off_paper has expressed interest in taking on more Social Media tasks. As (I believe) our most innovative instructor (utilizing his IT and 3D printing skills to create all kinds of amazing things to help out the Maryland program) I think he could really help us attract a different kind of student.
Engage with host ranges to fill the lines. We have worked with DSA leadership to ensure that there is an unofficial "waiting list" of RKD participants that they maintain for whenever we need extra bodies or have folks drop out. Berwyn in Bowie is buying out shoots and paying for range members to attend through club fees to encourage participation and make it beneficial to members. Attendees become members as well.
Drive pistol clinic utilization. We need to rebuild excitement about the pistol program and find new ways to attract students. Lycos' idea to add a short non-Appleseed module to meet requirements for Maryland's Handgun Qualification License is a great one – we need more ideas like that. Maryland is now a "shall issue" state and there should be more demand. AAFG is open to a (rimfire-only) pistol clinic again. Some of our host range (Bowie) have significant damage to their pistol range from errant shooters. We started strong and just need to figure out how to grow from here.
"Re-seed" gun stores and ranges that do not host Appleseed clinics but can support the program by advertising for it. That might include information and recommendations for LTRs and appropriate pistols for clinics.
Engage early and often with groups. We have a great relationship with Trail Life, Scouts, and The Leadership Institute and those groups sell out lines every time they come out. They have a ton of pent-up demand for at least one more clinic a year. The Gorman family alone should sell-out one shoot every single year. We should look for events with limited or no sign-ups and offer them to groups proactively. One or two more of those will help us drive utilization higher without constraining capacity for individual and family participants.
Expand LibertySeeds in Maryland. We have typically done 1-2 a year and this is not enough for getting our message of liberty out there. Agent711 is already doing this with some events and has a passion for history. The Scouts and Trail Life would be obvious expansion opportunities, but we could target other venues with folks interested in the message [Maryland Shall Issue (MSI)] while not getting tied to current politics.
Continue to ride the "250th Anniversary" Train. This year is a perfect year to "reset" and encourage folks that might have attended (or wanted to attend) in prior years to come back out and give it a try again. But this time with centerfire (for example).
More students AND more instructors. In addition to filling lines, we need to create a better IIT pipeline. The Maryland cadre has been extremely consistent since 2021 with about 12 engaged instructors every year (which is a huge improvement on 2019-2020 when we only had 7 each year). But we only have a couple of active IITs and they are not getting promotions. We need to keep those folks on the path to Red Hat (if that is what they want) and find a couple other folks that have the drive to support us.
We should set a goal to promote 2 Red Hats and recruit 4 IITs in 2025.Many thanks for all of the hard work that our volunteers are already putting in. When I read an AAR or work an event I am thankful for how blessed we are to have enthusiastic patriots on the team that care about setting a good example and delivering the best experience possible to our students. Setting these ambitious goals is about rewarding that hard work, not adding to it.
Open to other ideas, thoughts, and suggestions in this thread or via PM.
After the Berwyn event on April 19, I have a couple of updates for this thread:
- Sanners may be back in the mix: We had the club president and CRSO at the Berwyn event. They think there will be a new lease and were interested in holding a couple Appleseed events there. Doug and I pushed Pistol clinics or maybe a combined Rifle-Pistol event. Stay tuned.
- Berwyn would like 2 more 1-day rifle events this year: The rifle chair will reach out to Brian with some potential dates.
- We also talked to some of the senior Berwyn leaders about trying out a Pistol clinic and potentially a 100-yard RKD. Those would both need to be approved by the executive committee. I offered to do a presentation and dry walkthrough of the Pistol course. They only have 4 lanes on the pistol range so we would need to do relays to make it work (max 8 students) and would need variances for the target size. They do not allow a moving firing line for RKD but have target stands at each distance - a lot of walking but not as much as a 200 yard event. I will follow-up.
That's all for now.
Quick update for May in Maryland:
- We had a great Instructor shoot (1st annual Schutzenfest) at BeSwift's place out in Western Maryland. We set up KD steel (100-400 yards) and a target at 700 yards. Not a formal event with AQTs, but a great way to see what our rifles and instructors could do at full distance. And, yes, many of the instructors hit the 700 yard target multiple times (though 556 ARs ran out of gas). If you couldn't make it this time, we hope you come out next year!
- We have THREE sold-out events coming up - AGC RKD on May 25, AGC Pistol on May 31-June 1, and Thurmont Pistol on June 7. We could use one or two more instructors/safety officers for Thurmont if you can spare a day.
- We have already DOUBLED our number of sold out shoots from last year but we still need to keep filling those lines!
- We still have lots of spots available at AAFG next weekend (7 pre-reg for 22 spots). Great opportunity for some instructor shooting...and maybe bring a friend ;)