AAR - Pistol Clinic in Marriottsville, MD September 3-4, 2022

[Catch-10-22]

AGC in Marriottsville has been a great supporter of the Appleseed rifle program and this weekend we had our first Pistol clinic at the club! 7 shooters, including a group of 6 friends, joined us for a weekend of pistol marksmanship instruction and history!

Temperatures were in the mid-80s and maybe the low-90s so it was pretty hot without being stupid hot. The sun was pretty intense but we had enough canopies to cover the firing line and equipment lines to keep shooters (and instructors) reasonably fresh.

Saturday kicked off with the Red Coat target and it showed we had some shooters with skill, with 5 shooters qualifying at 60 yards. We started with instruction and drills to build core skills - stance, grip, 6 steps to firing a shot, and trigger control. As groups improved significantly, we started adding smooth reloads, controlled pairs, target transitions, one-handed shooting, and rapid fire. Off_paper then delivered an excellent First Strike at lunch.

With significant progress shown by all students and after one final practice on the donut precision targets, we put up our first PQTs of the weekend. Jack M requalified on the first target with a 217 - Huzzah! Mark was only a few points off with a 204. We were able to do two more PQTs on Saturday, broken up by Kniwolf's Onion of Self Defense discussion. While no one else qualified, we had several people hovering in the 180s-200s and were looking forward to a fresh start on Sunday. The Red Coat showed signs of people being tired and dehydrated, with score moving down slightly.

Sunday started with quick instructional recaps and a fresh Red Coat target. Scores moved back up and Chris (Pugs) nearly cleaned the target - we had about 3 instructors check the hole but couldn't see a tear in the red. After some warmup drills that showed folks were ON, we launched into the PQT grind. Susan struck first with a 211 for her first Pistoleer™ patch! She would requalify with a 213 and a 216 later in the day as well as win the Big Dot-Little Dot Challenge to show she knows what she is about. Susan has also decided to take a Blue Hat with the program 

Red Hat Scott scored a 220 on his first PQT ever to earn his Pistoleer™ patch as well - as Susan's husband, he might have felt some pressure, but it didn't show. Chris (Pugs) would then earn the high score of the weekend with a 222 for his first Pistoleer™ patch - Huzzah! Chris had been consistently in the 200s so this was a significant breakthrough - he would requalify later with a 211.

For our other shooters it was not meant to be, though they showed significant improvement. Mark had the most frustrating weekend, with scores that were always in the 200s (earning him the friendly moniker "Mr. 205") but one stage or another would trip him up with a malfunction or an errant shot. This was his second pistol clinic and I KNOW that he will break through at the next one based on his improvement since that first event. Karen showed significant improvement from her first pistol clinic as well, scoring very consistently in the 180s and 190s. She even had a 49 in one of the rapid fire stages. Jeff was also consistently in the 180s and 190s but again would be tripped up in certain stages. Danny certainly had the skills but this was just not his weekend and I can't wait to have him back!

We wrapped up with the Red Coat target and Mark had a completely clean target till that damn button. Others were close and scores were good, but no Immortal 400 patches for the weekend.

We broke up the PQT grind on Sunday with Lycos delivering the 2nd and 3rd Strikes, Kniwolf talking about holsters and carry considerations, and Catch-10-22 delivering Sam & Sam and the final benediction. I really appreciate all of the instructors taking prominent roles this weekend and making the event a success!

Pictures are available in an online album here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP4cIFXVxyO9xKIGo6ieY9xpGmBZs_7KvZZd2iXjSRL6KG68_GJPlfMMGiHDbH3Sw?key=RVRKZTFFbUpSMTVSZ1NHaXM5b2lXekdIN01PaURR

Hope to see you on the line at a future event - in fact, for many of you, I KNOW I will see you in Annapolis in October