Annapolis, MD - February 29 2019 - AAR

[Catch-10-22]

Well, we didn't get a Winterseed, but our students and instructors braved a cold and windy day in Annapolis for this sold-out one-day clinic.

The shooters came well prepared for the conditions, layered up appropriately and with great attitudes and enthusiasm. That just warms a shoot boss right up 

The first redcoat was a little rough as several folks had brought out rifles that were not zeroed yet or that they had not shot in years. Mike B, an IIT attending as a participant, knocked it out with his TC classic - that guy knows what he is about!

As we got into the squares targets in the prone position and IMC we were able to make significant progress in a short time. Some folks required as much as 24 MOA of adjustment to get on paper, others just a click or two. One had to use a rock and a punch to drift his front site on his stock Savage MkII - but even he ended up close enough to use a consistent 4MOA holdover and shoot extremely good groups.

We then switched to Greens - folks showed an affinity for the standing position (maybe they were just sick of laying on the cold ground) and a couple rounds of seated.

Feeling good about our groups and the safety of the line, we started our first AQT. Bart F, running his 22LR A2 Service Rifle clone qualified immediately with a 212 - Huzzah! Edgar, an experienced Appleseeder, also qualified with a 219. Several other folks were in the 170s and 180s - malfunctions ruined a couple of critical stages for people as well.

Luckily the sun was still up and we had time for a second AQT! Mike B had the high score of the day, shooting in the 230s with a scope, Bart requalified with a 213, Edgar came oh-so-close with a 209. Once again we had some other participants on the cusp but it was not to be.

We still had the final redcoat target and this is where we saw just how far our shooters had come in one day. The redcoat determines your effective range as a rifleman. In the afternoon we had 2 shooters with a 400 yard effective range, 4 with 300 yards, 1 with 200 yards, and 2 with 100 yards. And 5 shingles.  And Mike B cleaned it again -    Very impressive results, particularly at a one-day event in the cold.

I want to give a special shout out to 10-year old Evan W - he was shooting with his dad and wanted to learn on iron sights, which are extremely challenging for new shooters. Not only did he earn his William Diamond patch for persevering for the whole day, but on his final redcoat he shot a 100 yard group that rivaled many of the experienced shooters on the line. We hope to have father and son back on the line when it warms up.

We hope that the history and instruction motivate people to return for a future event 

Special thanks to our instructors for braving yet another cold weekend: our fearless leader BeSwift and his new 100 shoot pin, Etervigila, MedievalEngineer, and PowderMonkey.

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