Annapolis, MD AAR - September 18-19, 2021

[Catch-10-22]

We had a fantastic shoot this weekend at Anne Arundel Fish and Game (AAFG) in Annapolis, MD. With skies sunny and temperatures topping out in the low 80s, it was an idea weekend for shooting and sharing history. It was a family event in a lot of ways with a number of father-son, father-daughter, and husband-wife teams attending 

We had 14 shooters turn out Saturday to start their journey. We found out in the first Red Coat that some of our shooters had some talent - 5 put all 3 rounds in the 400 and the shingle, and 2 (Jared and Alex) cleaned the target to earn their Maryland Immortal 400 patches - Huzzah!

Then the work began on steady hold factors in prone, the 6 steps to firing a shot, natural point of aim, talking targets, and inches-minutes-clicks as we progressed through the Squares targets. As groups grew smaller, we felt comfortable moving to the Green Practice Target and seated and standing positions after a First Strike history break at lunch.

We then conducted our first AQT of the weekend and 3 earned their Rifleman patch
- 1st time Appleseeder Jared with a 219
- Blue hat Alex qualified for the first time with iron sights (a personal goal of his after earning his Rifleman patch with a scope)
- 11-year old Eva requalified with a 214.

We wrapped Saturday with a second Red Coat and Seth, another 1st time Appleseeder, cleaned the target (no 30-cal rule required) to earn his Immortal 400 patch as well - congrats! The students showed massive improvement even on the impressive morning performance with SEVEN hits on the shingle.

Sunday kicked off with the customary Red Coat, but I think people were still waking up because scores were lower. But no matter - we did a sighter square to confirm zero and then did an "around the world" NPOA drill with the remaining squares. With everyone confident in their zero, we started the AQT grind, shooting 6 AQTs total on Sunday. Some Sunday highlights:

- Jared scored Expert on every AQT (7 total for the weekend, with a top score of 229)
- Alex requalified with his Tippmann (228), but even more impressively, his 15-year old son John scored Expert with a 217!
- Trevor, a returning Appleseeder, scored his first Rifleman with his Tech Sights 10/22 with a 222 and requalified with a 217
- Jason, a first time Appleseeder, earned his Rifleman patch on the final AQT of the day with a 227.
- Chris, a former Appleseed instructor shooting for the first time in a long while found his groove and turned in scores of 229 and 231 to have the highs for the weekend!

We had so many other folks showing real progress, learning their equipment, the positions, and how to find and maintain their NPOA. We slowed down the AQT grind for a laser-rifle carding the sights drill which seemed to increase scores quite a bit. And of course did the 2nd and 3rd Strike of history and some other instruction.

The clinic wrapped up with a final Red Coat target and the students brought their A-game: we had 5 shooters with a 400m effective range, 6 with 300, and 3 with 200 - and EIGHT hit shingles. We also had 3 more cleaned Red Coats with Trevor and Chris earning their Immortal 400 patches.

Many students asked about our KD and pistol events - they are already taking our 7th stepping and history messages to heart (and in the case of Jennifer and Michael, bringing a bunch of friends to this shoot, acting on that 7th step already.

Special thanks to our instructors and volunteers for supporting a large shoot - it was great to work with our Berwyn Rod and Gun Club crew (another Maryland range that has not hosted Appleseed events due to COVID, but will hopefully restart in 2022) and some other volunteers who have had some time away due to life and work - I really look forward to working with you guys again!

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