We had a great KD event this weekend at Tusco Rifle Club near New Philly, Ohio. Eleven motivated shooters showed up ready to work on their Marksmanship skills at full distance. The weather forecast for Saturday was iffy. Rain was forecast but the day started just overcast.
The shooters all arrived on time which was great and we set up the range for the event. After the normal welcome and safety briefing, we moved on to a review of KD fundamentals and the two approaches shooters can choose for the weekend. (Adjusting elevation for each stage vs. establishing hold overs for each stage).
Rifles were brought to the line and we moved on to shooting sighter groups. Zeros were confirmed or established at first 100 then at 200. Multiple groups were shot to allow shooters to get good feedback on their rifles and ammo.
We broke for lunch which the range at New Philly provided for a donation and all the shooters enjoyed the great burgers, dogs, and the fantastic backed beans. Normally, we would have taken time at lunch for a heritage presentation but this was put off as it was still not raining.
We returned to the range and worked on our zero's at 300 yds .
Unfortunately, the weather finally turned for the worse as was forecast. About the time that we had completed our second sighter group at 300 yards, the skies opened up and the rain and thunder arrived. We took shelter in the shoot house and used the time to share a heritage talk by Corvette on Paul Revere's life beyond his ride.
This was followed by a presentation and demonstration by one of our shooters on the arms used by our founders on April 19, 1775. Joe showed us actual examples of a Brown Bess musket, a French Charleville musket, a period fowler, and a Pennsylvania rifle. He demonstrated the manual of arms for firing these muskets/rifles for both the British and the American armies as well as the militia.
Joe then demonstrated the accuracy of the Pennsylvania rifle. We hung an 8 inch wide steel silhouette at 75 yds and he put his first shoot dead center on the target. He then took a second shot at an 8" square steel target at 200 yards. He was dead center and just low of the actual target. Had the target been a deer or a Red Coat, it would have been a hit. This was an impressive demonstration. (But not unexpected as Joe is a past Muzzleloading Senior National Champion with the rifle he shot)
Joe then switched from the rifle to the Charleville musket. He had prepared a number of cartridges for the musket and he coached several shooters on how to load the musket and gave each of them a try to hit a target at 75 yards. They came close but no one hit the target. This confirmed that the musket is just not as accurate as the rifle.
The weather front was steady and radar showed that it would be around for a while. Given the fact that it included lightning, we ended the day earlier than planned.
Sunday dawned overcast but no rain yet. It was forecast for mid-day so we got started bright and early. We reset the target line and dove right in. We picked up where we left off Saturday with sighter groups at 400 yds and we finally got to our first AQT.
On Sunday, we completed four AQT's (two before lunch and two after) and we had two folks shoot the score (both AS Instructors). Congratulations to both DevilKitty and Cadence. Both are new KD Riflemen and DevilKitty backed his score up a second time.
By the fourth AQT, the heat and humidity, the mud and the flooded areas of the range had taken its toll on all of us. As scores were declining for everybody and we had four firing lines to police brass on as well as a target line to take apart, all agreed to call it a day. And, it was a good thing. Just as we were doing the last of the packing for the trip home, the rain returned as predicted. Lucky us as packing up in the rain and travelling home on Sunday evening with a van full of wet stuff is never pleasant.
To Karen, Dale, Joe, Matt, Mark, Alan, Sam, Don, Evan, Charlie, and Ryan - it was a real joy to work with each and every one of you. We have two more KD's on the 2020 schedule in the fall, I hope to see all of you at one of them so we can continue your KD journey together.
Our thanks also to the Tusco Rifle Club for hosting our event and my thanks to Lil Dragon, for helping work the line at this event. We look forward to our next KD event at Tusco this fall.
Corvette
:pics:
This was a fantastic event! Thank you to all the instructors and shooters for making this all go down so smoothly. It was truly a team effort. Alas, I was so wrapped up in shooting, I did not take a lot of pictures. I did, however, get this picture of the musket being fired. I too got to fire this musket :) So, a big huzzah to Joe and Matt :F
Another great experience at New Philadelphia. Unfortunately work for a graduate class pulled me away Sunday, but here are some photos of muzzleloader shooting.
A few more photos...
And one more.
Cold bore shot by Joe, bet he would have made it into Morgan's Riflemen Corp. Corvette
Wow, those are some fantastic photos Wetsight - thanks for posting. What a great opportunity for some folks to get behind a real muzzle loader!
Thanks to the Tusco Rifle Club for their hospitality in hosting another great event and feeding us for the weekend. A fine facility and one of the few ranges that can host a KD.
It was good to see old friends and new faces in these trying times. A very safe event with a few weather related challenges. As usual our SB Corvette made all the correct weather related calls which included having to wait until Sunday morning to get our initial 400 YD sighter groups.
A shout out to DevilKitty and Lil Dragon for making the trip from the state up North and to DevilKitty for getting the long distance patch not once but twice.
Attached is the only photo I took. Joe showing us the musket manual of arms during the Revolutionary War.
What can I say?
Great Appleseed, lovely facility, and a splendid welcome for (well-past-the-) border raiders.
Despite the vagaries of southern Ohio weather, spirits never flagged. I'm pleased to have made score (twice in a row!), but better yet was the time I got to spend with the Ohio Appleseed crew.
Thank you for having me. I'll be back.
Looks like you guys had fun. I loves me some KD. But I was doing an event outside of Battle Creek last weekend. Will try to make it for the next one. As a shooter.... :cool2:
ITB,
We are back at New Philly in October for another KD. Would love to have you join us. It is a great range with all the amenities including showers for folks bunking on site. It doesn't get any better than Tusco.
Corvette
Devilkitty,
It was great to have you join us this past weekend. Congrats on your Long Distance qualification and we look forward to having you join us in the future.
Corvette
Took some time but I finally received the only photo taken of the two of us that qualified at the KD in New Philly in June.
DevilKitty on the left and me (Cadence) on the right