Piqua, OH, April 26-27, 2025

[Shep]

Wow, what a weekend at The Piqua Fish and Game! We had 18 shooters on the line for the opening Hits Count target. As I began gathering the results, truly amazing things had happened. All 18 shooters had all three rounds in 100 yard silhouette! And the hits continued with 14 scoring in the 200 yard, 12 in the 300 yard, 6 in the 400 yard, 9 hit the shingle, and 5 cleared the target; our shooters had arrived with skills!  And yes, the numbers increased in the evening targets with 8 shooters clearing the Hits Count. The question was changed from "How many got all three rounds into the target," to "How may shooters DID NOT get all three rounds into the target," there were far fewer hands to count with that question!
For full disclosure, almost all the shooters had previously been to Appleseed shoots and a few instructors came as shooters.

Saturday was overcast, damp and cold. The range was wet and muddy due to recent rain, but the riflemen persisted, wearing wet and mud covered clothing as a badge of honor. 
 
Instruction flowed smoothly, allowing plenty of time for history, which was organized by Sparky117. The presentations were somewhat interactive with instructors playing small parts it the telling, this added just a bit of spice to the three strikes keeping everyone engaged.

We were able to shoot two scoring Appleseed Qualification Tests in the afternoon, re-qualifying 11 riflemen.

Sunday morning arrived as a bright and sunny day with prefect temperatures for shooting.  We had a couple less shooters, but enthusiasm was high. After morning sight adjustments and drills, we were able to begin shooting more AQT's. Two additional shooters were added to the list of re-qualification which brought up the total of 13 shooters which re-qualified over the weekend. The number of targets turned in that earned a rifleman's score was incredible, several shooters turned in a score above 210 on every AQT they shot!
 
A moving memorial volley directed by WildBillCody was held after lunch and a fun team shoot using the new Appleseed Parker's Revenge target also broke up the afternoon.

Most years I award maybe one or two Distinguished patches throughout the entire year; on Sunday I handed out four new distinguished riflemen rockers. Congratulations to Rick C. scoring 241 with his AR15, Basil M. 241, Dave H. 242, and Hail Storm shooting a 240. Also, Nolan D. re-qualified Distinguished on several targets with his highest target scoring 246.

Enthusiasm and stamina remained high throughout the afternoon and we ran a little later than normal; it felt as though we were all reluctant for such a special day to be over.

Thanks to our amazing instructor crew of Chieflane, Doc Willi, Shadow870, WildBillCody, Coyote 217, Hail Storm, Mac, Messer454, Naga, Sparky117, Sheepdog180, Buzzard, Manik, and Caveman Rick.

[Sparky117]

This was a really fun weekend. I had a lot of fun and I hope everyone else did too. It was highly enjoyable to watch so many riflemen re-qualify and shooters achieve distinguished! Congratulations shooters! Looking forward to the next one.

[Virch]

I thoroughly enjoyed this Appleseed.  The instruction and history was fantastic.  I found the instructors very encouraging and incredibly helpful.  I look forward to attending my next event!