Annapolis, MD Pistol Clinic AAR - November 20-21 2021

[Catch-10-22]

Anne Arundel Fish & Game (AAFG) hosted the first pistol clinic EVER in Maryland! The chilly weather did not deter 7 shooters and 4 instructors who made the event a stunning success.

Shooting started Saturday started with the first Pistol Red Coat/Hit Counts target. Jake M set the tone by cleaning the target right out of the gate and earning his Immortal 400 patch - Huzzah! But it was clear that most of our other shooters had some work to do to build more consistent groups. The instructors worked the shooters through step-by-step evolutions: stance, grip, the 6 steps, trigger control, NPOA, rapid fire, controlled pairs, smooth reloads, right and left hand-only shooting. The students turned in progressively better groups and demonstrated a commitment to improvement.

Shooters were confident going into the first PQT of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. Jake M turned in an impressive 236 to earn his Pistoleer™ - a very impressive score! Mike M also qualified on the first target with a 224!

Several shooters struggled with malfunctions during the rapid stages as pistols got dirtier but otherwise might have qualified. We finished Saturday with the Red Coat target and saw considerable improvement - 4 shooters with all 4 rounds in the 100 yard target, 5 buttons(!), and 3 cleaned targets to earn Immortal 400 patches. What a way to wrap up the day!

Sunday morning we had all of our students back with scrubbed pistols, some new (better feeding) ammo, and great attitudes. The first Red Coat was a bit off, mainly because many of the shooters that cleaned the target tried the "one-handed, cold-bore button challenge" - which is super hard. We then did a couple rapid and slow-fire practice stages to warm up, including a 2-stage NPOA drill to reinforce the need to slow down and make each shot count. We were able to complete 3 PQTs before lunch and 4 after, wrapping up with the Red Coat. Here are the weekend's results:

- Jake M qualified 8 out of 8 times and had an unbelievable high score of 244 out of 250 (in addition to a 242, 241, 240, 239, 239, 238, and 236). Jake also cleaned the Red Coat twice to earn his Immortal 400 patch.

- Mike M qualified 6 times, topping out at 240 but having 3 other scores in the 230s. Mike not only cleaned the Red Coat, but he took and achieved the cold bore, one handed challenge on the last Red Coat!

- Pat K qualified 6 times, with a top score of 216 - in addition to qualifying 5 times with his own pistol, he tried out another pistol with iron sights to score a 210 on the last target.

- Mike B, one of our instructors, was able to shoot one of the PQTs and scored a 217 to earn his first Pistoleer™ patch.

- Bill P, another of our instructors, cleaned the red coat to earn his Immortal 400 patch

We had many other shooters in striking distance, with top scores in the 170-190 range. With additional dry and live fire practice, I know that these shooters can get over the hump!

This is not to say the entire weekend was devoted to pistol marksmanship - Red Hat kniwolf took students through the 3 Strikes of the Match on Saturday and Sunday, yours truly took them through the history of the revolver with Sam & Sam, and Red Hat Bill P took them through the Onion of Self Defense as well as belt and holster options. IIT Mike managed all of the club coordination and nearly all of the line set-up. It was a real team effort and everyone's contributions were greatly appreciated! As we did our instructor hot wash meeting, I could see how energized everyone was to work with such a great group and see the progress they made

Thanks to our gracious hosts at AAFG - we couldn't have asked for a better facility for our first Maryland pistol clinic. The support this club and its members (including several of our participants and instructors) show Project Appleseed is unbelievable.

We have one more pistol event in December that is sold out but hope to have FOUR pistol clinics in Maryland next year. We also highly encourage students to check on pistol events nearby in Virginia and Pennsylvania, in addition to our rifle events.

Pictures will soon be posted to an album on the Maryland Appleseed Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Project-Appleseed-Maryland-264406060313831/