The Sandusky County Sportsmen's Club II facility in Gibsonburg was the location for the latest Project Appleseed rifle clinic in Northwest Ohio. The SCSC II venue is very nicely developed with a series of ranges that can accommodate a variety of types of shooting. A welcome feature of SCSC II is that most of the ranges have covered firing points and extremely high berms throughout.
The weather was typical for August in Ohio, hot and very humid. By the time the students arrived on Saturday morning, humidity was at a record high. The covered firing point helped blunt the heat from the cloudless sky. About midday the clouds rolled in to provide a heavy shower downpour for about a half-hour. Again, the nicely covered facility kept everything dry.
Our student group included a father and son team and a law enforcement professional. The father was a previous Appleseed participant. Our volunteer instructor crew included Headhunter (Austin) and Topper (Shane). Both Headhunter and Topper conducted the various points of instruction. Headhunter managed safety as the Saturday Line Boss with Topper as Range Safety Officer. Following a thorough examination of English history, which set the foundation for the Pre-History story by Headhunter, the class began preparation for the first shots of the clinic.
With the first Red Coat target posted, the fire began at 9:30 a.m. With 3 students, 2 placed 3 hits on the 100-yard silhouette (66%) and 1 (33%) put their rounds on the 200-yard silhouette. One put their 3 rounds on the 300-yard shape (33%). The balance of the Red Coat target had no effective hits. By the time class concluded for the day, the results would be very different.
The first of many "squares" targets replaced the morning Red Coats, signaling the start of an intense series of instruction on prone steady hold factors. Headhunter conducted this session. The next opportunity for students to engage in live fire was to test their use of the newly taught 6 steps of firing the shot, with natural aim. Shortly after the IMC and talking targets drills the first steady rain shower moved in.
The rain delay provided an opportunity for the First Strike and a demonstration by Headhunter of his Long Land Pattern 1742 Brown Bess musket. This firelock would have been common issue for both the patriots and the regular forces engaged at Lexington and Concord. Students were permitted to heft the piece and hold in the standing position (without sling). The demonstration brought home the physical challenges of aimed effective fire.
The Green Practice AQT was posted and instruction on the seated position resumed at 2:00 p.m. This provided the students their first opportunity to experiment with locating their favorite Seated Position strategy. Magazine changes and time limits were introduced and tested while seated. Transitions from standing to seated added the final component to this phase of instruction. The Standing Position steady hold instruction was completed, and students next had the opportunity to try out that newly acquired technique.
The first AQT of the clinic was posted at 3:45 p.m. This was followed by a long break for the class to think through the instruction just completed and presentation of the Second Strike. The class engaged in the first AQT, resulting in some respectful scores. One student requalified as Rifleman (Dale S.) with a score of 225. His son Andrew came close with 207, while Jenny A. shot a 157. The hour was getting late and all agreed to finish with the afternoon Red Coat.
The Saturday afternoon Red Coat replaced AQT #1, and all was completed by 4:59 p.m. With 3 students participating, 3 placed 3 hits on the 100-yard silhouette (100%), 3 (100%) put their rounds on the 200-yard silhouette, and 2 (66%) placed hits on the 300-yard silhouette. Two students hit the 400 with 3 rounds and 1 shooter (33%) was invited to join Colonel Morgan as a result of a shingle hit. Andres S. demonstrated his skills by clearing the Red Coat target, earning him the coveted Ohio Appleseed decoration. Well done!
Sunday, August 16 started out warm with record humidity, which continued throughout the day with bright sunshine. Students were invited to lead the group in reviewing the safety and safe rifle protocol. Topper reinforced the instruction on the 6 steps to firing a shot and a redemonstration of the steady hold factors. The morning Red Coat was posted and shot by 9:30 a.m. Topper managed safety as the Sunday Line Boss with Headhunter as Range Safety Officer. With all students returning, 3 placed 3 hits on the 100-yard silhouette (100%), 2 (66%) put their rounds on the 200-yard and 300-yard silhouettes, and 1 (33%) placed a hit on the 400-yard silhouette. Col. Morgan did not find any new recruits Sunday morning.
Squares targets were posted to perfect sight-in and serve as instructional support. Topper led the group through carding the sights, ball and dummy exercises, Rifleman's cadence and dance. With those completed, students posted the 2nd (overall) AQT of the clinic.
AQT #2 was posted at 10:40 a.m. When all 4 stages were completed and scored, the Gibsonburg clinic recognized its second requalification Rifleman score (Dale S. ). Andrew S. and Jenny A. both shot respectable scores (192 and 172), A Rifleman is persistent!
AQT #3 was shot during a pop-up rain shower. When the targets were retrieved, no one was looking for scores to be tabulated. The rain continued, which caused a long break in the action and provided time for the Known Distance presentation and Dangerous Old Men stories. It was at this point that a golden opportunity to "Seventh Step" walked into the shelter. A new Sandusky County Sportsmen's Club member showed up, curious about what was happening. After the appropriate waivers were collected, Guy R. observed the KD presentation and stuck around until after the next AQT was finished. We hope to see him as a student soon.
AQT #4 was posted at 12:45 p.m. and immediately shot to get it completed before the next shower. The high humidity contributed to a general scoring plateau for a couple of the students. Dale S. ended up with his best score for the clinic (232). AQT #5 was quickly posted (1:18 p.m.) and fired. This round of firing proved successful for Andrew S., who achieved a score of 221, making him a newly qualified Rifleman. Congratulations! Jenny A. improved her previous score and Dale S. requalified again.
The Parker's Revenge fun shoot was proposed next. Topper volunteered to round out the organization of 2 fire teams. Team #1 was Andrew S. and Topper, while Team #2 included Jenny A. and Dale S. When the smoke cleared Fire Team #1was the winner with a score of 28.
AQT #6 was posted at 2:37 p.m. All agreed that this would be the last for the clinic. This was an "all-in" shoot, including Headhunter and Topper. When the scoring was completed, both Dale S. and Topper requalified as Riflemen. Congratulations to both!
The Sunday afternoon Red Coat was completed and recorded by 3:12 p.m. With 5 shooters (including Instructors), 4 placed 3 hits on the 100-yard silhouette (80%) while 5 (100%) put their rounds on the 200-yard silhouette. The 300-yard shape received 3 rounds from 3 shooters (60%) and the 400-yard shape was hit by 3 (60%). Morgan's shingle was hit by 2 students, leading to cleared Red Coat targets for both Dale S. and Andrew S (his second during the event). Dale S. was the second student of the Gibsonburg clinic to receive the coveted Ohio Appleseed decoration.
I want to thank all of the students for coming out and exhibiting a willingness to learn new skills. I want to encourage all of you to practice reading your targets to diagnose ways you can correct your technique.
Congratulations to Andrew S. for earning the Rifleman's patch and to Dale S. for requalifying (multiple times). The Red Coat target is very hard to clear. Congratulations to Andrew S. and Dale S. for your fine work on that target.
I want to thank the Sandusky County Sportsmen's Club II for accommodating Project Appleseed during 2026, which is the 250th anniversary of the launch of the American Revolution. The Gibsonburg facility is one of the finest in Ohio. Many thanks to Topper and Headhunter for volunteering this past weekend.
In Liberty,
Third Degree