AAR - 2-day Pistol Clinic in Abbottstown, PA June 4-5 2022

[Catch-10-22]

What a great weekend with our first pistol event at York & Adams Game & Fish Association in Abbottstown, PA. With its proximity to the Maryland border, this was a joint PA-MD instructor led event as well as one that attracted 16 students from both states in two relays of 8!

It wasn't Caliente Seed hot, but it was a very sunny and warm June weekend - luckily we had a large number of canopies to cover the firing line and equipment line to keep our shooters (and instructors) in some shade.

After our introductory and safety briefs, shooting on Saturday began with the Red Coat target. It was clear that some of our shooters came with some skill and confidence in their handguns while others were ready to learn but no one was able to clean the target. We then launched into the core instruction and drills with the circle targets, working on stance, grip, and the 6-steps to firing a shot over the course of the morning. We worked with different shooters individually with SIRT pistols and on the line to build confidence and skills between drills. We covered the First Strike of the Match during lunch time and then worked on smooth reloads, controlled pair, rapid fire, target transitions, and left/right hand only. After a rousing Second Strike by BBQ_Bandit, we were able to conduct our first PQT of the weekend. While the target was scored overnight, we had 3 shooters earn their Pistoleer™ patches on that first target: Bruce with a stellar 231, George with a nearly equally stellar 230, and Tom with a very impressive 218. Blue Hat Crystal, who had signed up as a shooter, came very close with a 209 and a couple others were knocking on the door with scores just over 200. The Saturday afternoon Red Coat showed significant progress - not only did George and Bruce clean the target (HUZZAH!) but we had 5 shooters demonstrate a 100 yard effective range and 4 hit Pitcairn's button.

Sunday started off with another safety exercise led by EZ3 and then the Red Coat target. While 6 hit the button, only 1 cleared the target. We then kicked off a series of warm-up drills to build back confidence ahead of the PQT grind. We were able to get in two PQTs before lunch, when the Third Strike of the Match was presented (and targets were furiously scored by instructors). Jim, Mark, and Shannon all earned their Pistoleer™ patches, while George, Bruce, and Tom continued to requalify. We were able to conduct 2 more PQTs, broken up by Sam and Sam (presented by EZ3) and The Onion of Self Defense/Holster-Belt (presented by kniwolf). And while we would typically see a decline in scores toward the end of the day, we had TWO more students break through and earn their Pistoleer™ patches! Donald, who had consistently been in the 190s, scored a 213 and Crystal scored a 210 and was baptized in the water of the North Bridge for her troubles 

The final Red Coat had FOUR folks clean it, including Mark and Crystal for the first time during the weekend (Bruce and George made it look easy again). Bruce was our high scorer of the weekend with a 234.

Even those that did not earn their Pistoleer™ patch showed SIGNIFICANT improvement over the weekend. We saw 50-60 point increases from a good many folks as we progressed and had a number of folks (Adam, Derek) consistently in the 190s but just a few hits away. We hope you come to a future event and earn that patch! If we had an award for most improved shooter, it would have to go to Renae - she started the weekend without a clear idea of sight alignment and not only was one hit away from cleaning 2 red coats (that darn button!) but scored a 195 on her final target - Huzzah! Many other folks struggled with equipment issues and will probably bring different pistols next time, but everyone "leveled-up" and persevered through frustration. While our saying is "A Rifleman Persists" I promise that the same thing is true of a Pistoleer™, maybe more so!

We wrapped with Benediction and really appreciated all of the students pitching in with clean-up and take-down activities.

I would like to thank York & Adams for being incredible hosts - we hope to do more pistol and rifle events soon. Their pistol bay was ideal for us and we hope the club members that attended or visited spread the word. I would also like to once again thank our dedicated volunteers - Lee, Charles, Bob, and Crystal, you did an amazing job with a large group of students by Pistol standards. You should feel proud. And thank you to our shooters for their commitment to safety, learning, and liberty. We hope to see you at a future event!

Pictures are available here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPvaTZZNlX_Nnj2uVcxDQDijJLXLyD8l_AgOVY1M2bB-phL3u9bNXAG4B-RQLEwsw?key=czc5SlFCcTkzN3hLM29XR1c4UDhQZ1NNWHZuNm9n

[EZ3]

It was a truly epic weekend.  Thanks to the students for arriving with "teachable" attitudes.  It was great to work with you and we hope to see you again.  Bring a friend!

Thanks to the instructor crew for your excellent performance.  Many hands made for light work.  It was a joy to work with you all again.  Special thanks to Jim for putting on the green hat for this one!

Finally, thanks to York-Adams Game & Fish Assn for hosting Project Appleseed again.  It is a first-class range, and we're grateful to get to use it!

[Corvette]

Looks like a great event.  Well done PA team.

[EZ3]

Looks like a great event.  Well done PA team.

Don't forget the MD border-raiders who were the "bigger half" of our team.  Literally could not have done it without them!

[Corvette]

EZ,

Yep, my bad, great job also to the MD team.  Corvette