Piqua, OH, June 24-25, 2017

[Shep]

What a great weekend we had at the Piqua Appleseed. Near perfect weather conditions made it a joy to be outside, the sound of rifle fire and the smell of gunpowder made it even better. We had thirteen shooters on the line for Saturday morning's Red Coat; shooters came well prepared for the event, which helped move the instruction along. 

We had one new rifleman Saturday afternoon, congratulations to Darold N. with a score of 215. Reconfirming his rifleman status with an impressive score of 232 was Jim (Doc Willi). We're excited to have Doc Willi joining the Appleseed team; he accepted an orange hat to begin the exciting and fulfilling journey of an Appleseed instructor. 

Also of note was Chad receiving the red hat of a full instructor. Congratulations to Chad. This was actually a bitter/sweet occasion for us, while we are thrilled he earned his red hat, we are very sad that he is leaving us for a year's deployment to the sands of Saudi Arabia. I'm sure his wife and young sons will count the days until his return. Best wishes Chad, you will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Good improvement was seen when the Saturday evening Red Coat was shot and hits were recorded. All thirteen shooters put three rounds into the 100-yard target, six hit the shingle and one shooter cleared the Red Coat.

Sunday was another glorious day, sunshine with temperatures in the low 70's, low humidity, and a nice breeze. Nick H. joined our list of Riflemen with a score great of 232. Chad A. reconfirmed with an impressive 236, and Darold reconfirmed his Saturday's rifleman's status with a 217.

Known Distance shooting was discussed after lunch, then the target line was dropped to shoot some 100 yard targets.

Our fun match was full sized silhouette at 100 yards. Shooters were broken into teams of three with twenty rounds each, they had fifty seconds to go from standing to prone and engage the target. The winning team to be determined by the number of hits in each target. Coyote 217 ran the line and used the quote from Major Buttrick at The North Bridge, "FIRE MEN! FOR GOD"S SAKE FIRE AS FAST AS YOU CAN." When the hits were counted the winning team had sixty-eight hits into their target! "What," I said, "that's not possible. Three shooters, at twenty rounds each, is only a possible score of sixty." However, it was discovered that one of the members on the next team shot the wrong target! Fair enough, we never made any rules about that possibility; prizes were awarded. 

Several shooters were so close to the elusive rifleman's score through the afternoon. Nathan was shooting really well and had a target that scored a 207; we checked and re-checked the target hoping to find those three missing points, but we could not. However, please remember one of the most important traits of a rifleman is persistence, so practice at home, do your dry fire drills and come back to another Appleseed; your rifleman's patch is waiting for you! 

As Sunday afternoon was winding down we gave shooters the option of one last AQT; Siearra heartily said, "Yes!" She wanted one more chance to reconfirm her last year's rifleman's patch, which she then did with a score of 216. HUZZAH!!  Sunday ended with good scores again on the Red Coat; we had an impressive eight of the thirteen shooters hitting the shingle!

Thanks go to The Piqua Fish and Game for hosting the event, and to a truly awesome instructor crew, The Buckeye Trapper, Chad, Coyote 217, Haley Beth and Rattlehead.

[Shep]

Piqua Photos

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[Texas T]

Sounds like a great weekend. Chad, congrats on the Red Hat. Seems like only yesterday that we were over in Newark and you were barely getting started. Lots of hard work along the trail. Prayers be with you over the coming year, and we look forward to your safe return.

Darold, great job, welcome to the circle of Riflemen. Doc Willi, thanks for stepping forward and accepting a hat. Lots to do, and lots to learn, but the efforts will pay off, both in what you will learn, and in what you will share with others.

For those who came close to that 210, keep with it. It is within reach with a little more study. Remember  to focus on what you learned this weekend: Steady-hold factors, the six-steps, and NPOA. When you are able to put them all together, you will be able to reach the bar. It will be worth it.

[Doc Willi]

I want to thank all the instructors. This was a really great Appleseed!