Chilly but clear skies were a welcome change to our final event for the 2025 calendar as rain and wetness is often what can be expected this time of year, seventeen shooters, including a number of day of walk ons, joined us at the WCW Shooting Sports range and were rewarded for their determination! Fighting limited daylight hours, the time monkey was absolutely nowhere to be found. These shooters were eager, engaged, and often asked well thought out questioned that queued up the next round of instruction very well and we were successful in completing absolutely everything on the Course of Instruction despite having to be wrapped up a full hour earlier than we're used to due to sunlight availability. It's often a struggle to fit it all in even with that extra hour but the shooters and my fellow volunteers made it happen and we couldn't be happier.
On Saturday, first time Appleseeder on his first AQT, Billy set the score record early with a 234! Chris B and Mark both re-qualified with 214 and 223 respectively. Come Sunday morning it was well into Winterseed territory - even Doc had his mittens on - but by the afternoon when we got back to AQTs the sun had warmed us all up quite a bit, brought some pretty big bucks out to rattle antlers at the 200 yard line, and the Winterseed patch remains ever elusive on this side of the mountains. Chris B and Mark again consistently shot expert scores, and Harvey at his first event on the last AQT of the weekend made it happen with a 211! Working from a bipod to best focus the fundamentals of marksmanship to her style of shooting with the Scouts, Abby shot a highscore of 230 - which even off a rest is an accomplishment worth celebrating with a Road to Rifleman certificate, a trip to the swag box, and a bright future of skilled marksmanship ahead.
Congratulations as well to "Parker in the rear" and "The Rhythm Method" for each scoring 45 points on the Parker's Revenge target and tying for 1st place!
If you were close or still working on things at the end of the event, a Rifleman persists. These fundamentals are not learned overnight and even the most advanced shooters still have to hone them regularly. Dryfire in the comfort and safety of your home (No live ammunition anywhere in the room!) and we'll see you again next time! Thank you to all who joined us, both retuning and new, and especially to the families who chose to spend their weekend with us. We are thankful for all of you and look forward to seeing you again in 2026.
The Sunday sun brought out these bucks to have a go at it further downrange. It is the late muzzleloader season, I have a tag, and the shot would have been closer than that of Daniel Morgan's shingle, but fortunately for them WCW manages the property as a protected habitat - a welcome refuge of healthy forest for these and other critters in the ever encroaching urban environment.
(https://i.imgur.com/ziVvTqf.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/pU9vDZb.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Cx4U8Vf.jpeg)
Shooters, what indicators of a potential target can you see here?
My overall impressions as a first-time attendee:
The instructors were engaged and working hard. As a volunteer instructor for other, similar, events, I appreciated how these instructors were on the ball for everything. Having a large team helped, including several instructors-in-training (Go Amy and Eric!). I had nothing but issues all weekend, but that was not a reflection of the instructors. To the contrary, they worked hard to get my issues resolved. Even though it took moving to a loaner firearm, that didn't stop me from completing the course, and looking forward to doing it again.
The pace was fast, and the instructors never let us get complacent or take our time. There were a couple issues that I personally had as a result, including trying to work out how to manage the sling when moving between prone and standing. However, I was working with new equipment, and cannot be blamed on the instructors. Again, they did great.
The weather was chilly, chilly, chilly the second day, but once we got moving, I barely noticed the weather.
The range is a new one to me as well. I just became a member a few months ago. I am used to a pulley system, so the downtime when changing targets felt like it robbed me of a little bit of continued progression. That is not a criticism, just a fact. Now that I have the fundamentals, I am sure it will not feel like an interruption next time.
The historical aspect was awesome. I loved hearing all the side stories as well. I was able to share a large part of it already with my kids and I feel like that was a big win as well.
Overall, A+ event. The instructors went hard and fast, but they were personable and engaged at a level that made it worthwhile on both a personal and technical level.
Thanks again!
A glorious event, as always. This was my third 25yd event (with an additional rimfire KD in the mix, for flavor) and each time, I come away with something new that builds on the prior ones - as well as something to focus on next time around. Thanks to all the instructors for somehow making the hot pace feel natural and relaxed, and thanks as well to my fellow students - you were a great gang to learn with.
Looking forward to plenty more in '26!