Coeur d'Alene, ID Pistol Clinic March 9-10, 2024 AAR

[Mr. Clean]

Eight shooters braved the North Idaho cold and wet early Spring to learn the fundamentals of pistol craft. All the instructors present commented on the impressive level of safety of this group. Many were frustrated by their mag changes and malfunction clearing under time constraints. The drills we did helped build muscle memory to make them smoother and faster. Remember that these are skills that can be polished up in dry practice at home, and verify progress next time on the range. Improvement was noticeable comparing the hits count targets from the morning to the end of day targets. The small dot/little dot drill was so much fun, shooters asked for another chance to shoot it. By the end of the day Sunday, two shooters earned the coveted Pistoleer™ patch. Both John and Tom shot consistent Pistoleer™ scores twice! Huzzah! Two more shooters shot heartbreakingly close scores, demonstrating what they learned and the perseverance it took to get that far. Keep up the good work. I hope to see you all at future events to further refine your pistol and/or rifle skills. Stay engaged American citizens, we have a country to save.

[P7]

This was a very fun and productive event, both for instructors and students.  We were all in "learning mode" to some extent, due to the very newly-published Appleseed Pistol Clinic Instructor Manual. The instructors all worked well together, spreading out and coaching students as needed. The students were very patient and cooperative as we worked our way through some of the inevitable glitches when executing drills for the first time.  I was very impressed with the students' safety awareness and muzzle discipline.  There was very noticeable improvement across the board, with two new Pistoleer™s and several others literally "knocking at the door". 

We received numerous expressions of thanks and appreciation from the students, including this one sent to me via text this morning: "Brad - it's Tom from Appleseed. I just wanted to say thank you again for the excellent shoot this weekend. The enthusiasm and helpfulness of all the instructors is very apparent and you all know how to make things informative and fun.  You and the team are doing a great job with your instruction and history lessons and represent the Appleseed Project in outstanding form!   I'm sure this is noticed by all your students, but I like to make the point in saying thank you.  I can't help but feel proud of our heritage, being an American, and of course - being a "Pistoleer™"!"

Thanks to Tom for the kind words - I couldn't agree more about the fun and the pride in our heritage as Americans. This is why we volunteer for Project Appleseed.  Huzzah!

[proteus]

Gents,
This was my first Appleseed event, but certainly not my last! I wanted to thank you all for the excellent instruction you provided, the history (with details I'd never heard before!), and your attitude and patience with some of us newbies, especially on a cold, wet spring weekend. I learned a lot, and even more importantly, had fun doing it.
Thanks, and looking forward to my first rifle event next month!
-Dan