Thurmont, MD Pistol Clinic AAR - August 29, 2026

[kniwolf]

Another great weekend at TCSC in the books!  9 students made the pilgrimage out to be on the line for this one day pistol event on this gorgeous, sunny, and hot Saturday in August

The morning's endeavors started with a riveting telling of the first and second strike, to which the students (and instructors) were very attentive and asked plenty of questions.

Our first hits count target showed that there was skill present, but we also had some work to do.  One student, Kyle, set the bar high and cleared the hits count target! 

We spent plenty of time reinforcing fundamentals in the morning, including the very effective ball-and-dummy drill.  The class stayed attentive throughout the morning and soaked up all instruction.  An awesome 3rd strike was provided by Off_paper during lunch

The afternoon's instruction was also well received.  There were quite a few breakthroughs throughout the day, from sight problems to thumb placement, among many other things.

We were able to fit in two Pistol Qualification Targets in the afternoon, where all students showed significant improvements from the morning's drills. Afterward, we snuck in our final redcoat of the day, and three students hit the button!

I am so proud of all the progress made during this event.  Zoe started with a Walther P22 with iron sights, and swapped over to a Taurus TX-22 Competition with a red dot later in the day.  She made great improvements throughout the day, and was very receptive to all suggestions and points of instruction!  Mark, a prior student of mine, came in with confidence and guile, also running a Taurus TX-22 Competition with a dot.  He ended the day scoring in the 180s/190s on his PQTs, so he definitely made significant advancement in his pistol skills!  Jim, another repeat student, had a score to settle for that coveted Pistoleer patch.  He came close with a low 200's score... I know he's going to get that patch at his next event!  Kyle, another repeat student (yes... there's a trend here ), running a Taurus TX-22 Competition with a red dot, cleared the red coat and re-qualified Pistoleer on the first PQT of the day.  Bill, a repeat student of mine, had a breakthrough with grip early on, and persisted through an optic mount failure on his Ruger Mk III!  He too is oh-so-close...I believe I'll be awarding a patch to him at his next event.  Sven, a repeat student, came ready to go and also came close.  His progression has been great to see throughout the last two events, and I'm looking forward to seeing him at another!  Ed showed his grit and persisted throughout the day, rocking a pair of Glock 9mm's that he did admirably with!  Terri came prepared with Glock 48 with a red dot and an irons-only Hellcat .380.  I've had the privilege of watching Terri's progression over the last year or so, and she has made a tremendous amount of progress in that time. Last but not least, Phil came prepared with a CZ 75 with irons, and made a ton of progress throughout the day, especially around sight picture and the challenges presented by irons.  He test drove a CZ with a dot at the end of the day, and ended up sending 5 rounds right into the center tombstone of a large drill target!

Alas, even with those 3 hits of the button, no one cleared the hits count target at the end of this long day of training and history.  Despite this, all students ended the class on a positive note.  As I said earlier, I couldn't be more proud of the progress made by all.

I highly encourage you all to practice what you learned with both live and dry fire. Practicing under the pressure of a clock or shot timer is also something I highly encourage.

Pictures are available in an online album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qx7FidQ2yYW4J9gaA and will soon be posted to our Maryland Appleseed Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064405762810

I hope to see everyone on the line at a future pistol or rifle event!

[m1agsr]

Thanks Charlie. Crystal's name will forever be branded into my memory; Progress Not Perfection. I'm not there but I'm aware of shortcomings and steps to fix them.

Call me Arnold because; I'll be back.


--- Sven

[JustKim]

Good job all!!!