By coincidence of the lunar calendar, the October 2026 Project Appleseed shoot in Northwest Ohio again took place during a full moon. It just so happened that everything with 4 legs (both wild and domestic) seemed to be on the move. Both students and instructors had to be wary to avoid collision with fur. Thus began the inaugural for the recently revised Pistolseed course of instruction. On October 24, 2026, The Henry County Sportsmen's Association (Liberty Center, Ohio) hosted Project Appleseed. The was the first pistol clinic conducted at Liberty in nearly 2 ½ years.
The Pistolseed event that was held on October 24 and 25 was blessed with perfect mid-fall weather, early heavy dew that transitioned to perfect sunshine. The dedicated pistol range at the club has nearly complete perimeter barrier of berm and woods, resulting in a fairly windless site. So pleasant was the weather that 3 students who traveled over 3 hours to attend were able to comfortably camp on site.
Our student group of 8 included a father with 2 sons, a couple and a LEO. All except 1 had previous Appleseed experience. All had past pistol experience. Our volunteer instructor crew included Headhunter (Austin) and Topper (Shane). Topper managed safety as the Saturday Line Boss with Headhunter performing the same duties on Sunday.
Following Saturday morning registration, liability waivers and the welcome speech, we rolled right into the first history storytelling by framing the events of April 18 and 19, 1775. The preamble covered the first 140 years of colonial society building. The safety briefing and instruction on how to make a safe pistol was delivered and pistols were ordered to the line. The "Hits Count" target was posted at 9:30 a.m. with a note about the significance of Pitcairn's button.
With 8 students, 4 placed 4 hits on the 44-yard tombstone (50%) and 3 (37.5%) put their rounds on the 60-yard "stone". Three put their 4 rounds on the 100-yard shape (37.5%), while 2 had success (25%) with Pitcairn's button. No one cleared the target, but 3 more opportunities were waiting ahead.
Pistol instruction was framed as a series of dry and live fire exercises aimed at preparing the students to successfully engage the Pistol Qualification Test (PQT), in other words teaching for the test.
The first of many sets of large drill targets were quickly posted in advance of instruction on the "tripod" of pistol marksmanship. The freshly re-blued Shoot Boss conducted the sessions assisted by the able assistance of the Instructors in Training. The High Five Drill was first executed with "blue guns", then immediately afterward with the student's own pistols on the firing line. Again, at the firing line, the Shoot Boss evaluated stance and grip of each participant. With those dry practice drills complete, it was on to the dry fire exercise.
Live fire exercises provided the opportunity to apply the principals provided through instruction. The students learned the elements of trigger control by experiencing the steps of prep, press and recapture through actual controlled live fire. Of all the instruction delivered, students found that the pistol malfunction drills were most beneficial. As the clinic progressed some pistols became dirty or had loose optics. With the pressure of timed strings of fire, "rip, rack and reload" became routine.
The first PQT of the clinic was posted at 4:30 p.m. With 7 students on the firing line, 4 achieved scores of 200 or higher. Both Lorri A., with a score of 229 and John A., scoring 213 earned the Pistoleer patch. Congratulations! Jason M. and Zak E. were close behind with scores of 201 and 200 (respectively). More PQTs would be on tap for Sunday.
The Saturday p.m. "Hits Count" target was posted and shot at 5:00 p.m. With 7 students participating, 7 placed 4 hits on the 44-yard tombstone (100%) and 4 (37.5%) put their rounds on the 60-yard "stone". Three put their 4 rounds on the 100-yard shape (37.5%), while 1 had success (14.3%) with Pitcairn's button. Zak E. cleared the target, resulting in the immediate presentation of the coveted Ohio Appleseed patch. Great job! By the look of the percentage results, the instruction appeared to be successful.
Seven students returned for the Sunday session. Topper conducted the review of the safety protocol and modeled for a refresher of the pistol "tripod". Following the command for pistols to be brought to the line, the first Sunday "Hits Count" target was posted at 9:35 a.m.
With 7 students shooting, 5 hit the 44-yard tombstone (71.4%) and 5 (71.4%) put their rounds on the 60-yard object. Three put their 4 rounds on the 100-yard shape (37.5%), but this time 4 hit Pitcairn's button (57.1%). Two students (Lorri A. and Jason M.) cleared the target. With proper ceremony, both received the coveted Ohio Appleseed patch at the target line. This was a special honor for Jason M., given that he resides in that state to the north. An excellent start to a great day!
Over the course of the time remaining for the clinic, the class posted and shot 6 more PQT target sets, engaged in the optional Mid-Range Shooting, and completed the Whitlock Drill. American Revolution-specific pistol history was delivered by Headhunter, demonstrating a Kentucky-style flintlock sidearm. The Shoot Boss highlighted the Sam and Sam story with a show and tell involving a Colt/ Walker .44, a Colt Dragoon .44 and a Colt 1851 navy revolvers. Somewhere, we also squeezed in lunch.
Personal high scores achieved by students during the clinic included: John M. with 194; Kyle M. with 188; Joshua M. with 169, and; Zak E. with 200. A Pistoleer is persistent and you all have demonstrated that mindset. Keep up the good work!
On PQT #5, Jason M. achieved the score of 217, earning the Pistoleer patch. This performance followed the previous 4 scores of 200 or higher. Jason was patient and became the third student of the clinic to patch. Jason M. requalified on 2 subsequent target sets, demonstrating that the first score was no accident. Lorri A. requalified as Pistoleer on PQT #5 (217). John A. requalified after his initial 213 score 4 more times, achieving his personal best at 230 (with optic). Is there a distinguished pistol patch in his future?
The final "Hits Count" of the clinic was posted and shot by 4:00 p.m. For this target there were 6 students. Three placed 4 hits on the 44-yard tombstone (50%) and 2 (33%) placed their rounds at 60-yards. Three put 4 rounds on the 100-yard shape (50%), and 2 had success (33%) with Pitcairn's button. This target was not cleared by anyone, but all members declared satisfaction with the entire event.
Many thanks to Mary, President of the Henry County Sportsmen's Association for hosting this Pistolseed event. She expertly juggled a club Halloween party early Saturday evening while accommodating our needs. With your permission, Appleseed will continue to have Liberty Center as a part of its regular schedule.
Congratulations to our new Pistoleers! Congratulations to our Ohio Appleseed award winners. Best wishes for continued work toward excellence to all pistol students.
Finally, many thanks again to Topper and Headhunter for volunteering this weekend! Thank you to Jason M. for volunteering for RSO duties to give the Instructors a break.
Third Degree
Thanks Third Degree it was genuinely one of the coolest things I've ever done and the instruction was top notch
-Zach
Enjoyed meeting new folks and getting to know returning shooters a little better.
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