Charlottesville, VA 6/25/22-6/26/22 - Pistol Clinic AAR

[BillP_556]

We had a very safe group of shooters attended a 2-day Appleseed Pistol Clinic at the Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club in Charlottesville, VA.   

Saturday
Weather was great, though it did get quite hot in the afternoon.  The large canopies made great shade for learning the pistol lessons and the first 2 strikes of the match.  The firing line also had  canopies to provide relief to the shooters so they could focus on the drills.

The day started with two students shooting the Hits Count target clean and earning state patches!


From there the students progressed very well through the lessons until lunch where Jay (BrotherPilot) told a very inspiring story of the First Strike of the Match in the American Revolution from April 19th, 1775!


Shortly after lunch and learning Strong Hand Only & Weak Hand Only, the Appleseeders were ready for the Pistol Qualification Test!  One couple, Bryan & Tracy were very competitive and constantly trying to outscore each other.  Bryan started with a 211, followed by Tracy with a 211.  On the second PQT, Tracy hit a 216 and Bryan took Saturday's High Shooter spot with a 227! 


After two PQT's, we took a break from the sun while Kim (OddsREven) told an in-character version of the 2nd Strike of the Match!  On the Third and Final PQT of the day, Chaz scored a 212 and I was proud to hand out (3) Pistoleer™s patches on Saturday!


Sunday
As we cannot live-fire until 1:30pm, the morning started with Pat (Off_Paper) and Alan (The Wolfhound) telling the Third Strike and Dangerous Old Men (Respectively)! 



Afterwards Instructors Alan & Bob began teaching about the revolver as we then started the dry fire lessons.


The day started off with 100% of the shooters making their "Hits Count" at 44-Yards & 60-Yards, 50% of the shooters at 100-yards, 30% hit Pitcairn's Button and only Instructor Pat (Off_Paper) cleaned the target and earned a state patch!


Sunday was also the inaugural Rivanna Big-Dot/Little-Dot Competition.  Chaz took first place with an adjusted score of 9.06 Seconds with his Iron Sighted Ruger Mk2 pistol!  His outstanding display of marksmanship earned him an Appleseed Challenge Coin for demonstrating his Pistoleer™ skills in a very competitive race.  Congratulations Chaz on becoming the first Rivanna Big-Dot/Little-Dot CHAMPION!

By the end of Sunday the thunder and rain was coming fast, so I'm kicking myself for not getting final photos!

A big special THANK YOU to the Appleseeder's who made it to the event, the Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club and all the instructors (especially Pat who traveled from Baltimore area)!