AAR - 1-day "Milseed" Rifle Clinic in Baltimore, MD August 13 2022

[Catch-10-22]

A wonderful day on the line with members of the Maryland Air National Guard for a day of marksmanship and history. Our hosts were the Gunpowder Military Reservation National Guard training range in Glen Arm, MD (outside of Baltimore), and it was beauty! Covered line, target stands, great quiet environment.

Saturday started sunny and cool with temps in the low 60s - absolutely delightful! After we finished all of our admin and safety rules, the Wing kicked off the first Hits Count (Redcoat) target of the day. We had three folks demonstrate proficiency to 300 yards off the bat, but we clearly had some work to do. Much of the morning was spent on squares targets, tightening groups with loop slings, prone steady hold factors, the 6 steps to firing a shot, and NPOA. It was great to see groups shrink and we were able to use IMC to make sighing adjustments to several rifles. The morning ended with practicing the seated position and the temperatures were starting to rise a bit as the sun peaked around the covered part of the line.

A well earned lunch and sun-break break ensued with Off_paper covering all three Strikes of the Match for a very attentive audience.

After lunch we did demos and practice of the standing position, leading to our first AQT of the day. First time Appleseeder Charles P (210) qualified on the first target with his bolt action rifle - Huzzah! Alex I requalified with a 222 as well. We had several shooters knocking on the door with scores in the 170s-190s but on the second AQT, a number of malfunctions crept in that kept nearly all of the shooters from breaking through (Alex requalified again with a 221).

While all were hot, sweaty, and tired, we decided we had time for one more AQT for the day, with some shooters getting replacement loaner rifles. This time Michael S, a second time Appleseeder, scored Rifleman with a 222 using a loaner bullpup 10/22 with a red dot after his rifle stopped functioning. Thank goodness the instructor had pre-zeroed it... Alex had the high score of the weekend with a 232!

Again, several shooters were close but thwarted by malfunctions or miscounts. I know that they will find those extra points at the next shoot because they certainly had the skills and groups to earn that patch!

The final Red Coat target showed significant improvement, with 2 shooters cleaning the target to earn their Maryland Immortal 400 Patch: Edgar E, a first time Appleseeder and Alex I. We also had 4 hits on the shingle and Charles P was millimeters away from cleaning it with one miss.

We wrapped up they day with clean-up, our benediction, patches, and a whole lot of 7th stepping before departing. The Wing provided the instructors with a unit patch, challenge coin, and 30mm shell casing from their A-10 attack aircraft as thanks for the event - Huzzah!

Many thanks to Applecore Bravo_Alex for organizing the event for his Wing and to Off_paper for working the event with me. These Mil-Seed events are so meaningful to the instructors and the program. We not only hope to do another rifle event next year, but perhaps a Milseed pistol event as well!

Pictures are available on our Maryland Appleseed Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Project-Appleseed-Maryland-264406060313831/.