Project Appleseed

This was our second sold-out pistol clinic for 2024.  We enjoyed excellent weather - fortunately the recent heat wave had broken and it was pleasantly sunny and warm, albeit very dry. We were, however, plagued by bees and yellowjackets seeking moisture, with a couple of resultant stings.  Our students were very safety-conscious, and despite the distractions of having to swat the insects, we saw no serious resulting safety violations.  Several people brought various items on Sunday to try to mitigate this annoyance, including repellent, insecticide spray, and pain-killing sting medication.  The most effective measure was a large bucket of water placed a short distance from the firing line, with a chunk of chicken suspended over it.  The bucket was full of bees and yellowjackets by the end of the day.  Thanks for that idea!

Twelve shooters signed up, and with one cancellation we had eleven shooters on the line.  Of these, four were self-described beginners and four others "intermediate", with four first-time Appleseeders in the group.  We saw notable improvement through the weekend, with one new Pistoleer™™™ on Saturday and another on Sunday. Congratulations to Paul, who shot a Distinguished Pistol Score of 234 using iron sights.  We had several people "knocking at the door" with scores of 199, 203, and 206.  Stick with it and we'll look forward to awarding you your Pistoleer™™™ patch next time!

Thank you all for your participation and attentiveness.  We will appreciate your comments and suggestions about how we can continue to improve the instruction and organization of the event, and look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Here is a photo of the yellowjacket "trap".  Beardo took a video of them really swarming around it later in the day, but it cannot be uploaded.

Next time we'll put a few drops of dishwashing liquid in the water to make it even more effective (it coats their wings so they cannot fly).

I spoke to our pest control guy about this, and he said that in the Spring, the yellowjackets go for sweet things, and this time of year they go for proteins (like the chicken).  He also said that  little vegetable oil works as well as dishwashing liquid in the water to keep them from flying away.

Thanks for putting on a great weekend. Both my wife and I saw some great improvement through the weekend. Getting stung during a course of fire really lets you practice the rifleman's bubble... Pistoleer™'s bubble?