Palm Bay, FL KD, March 30-31, 2024 AAR

[TheMenace]

A 400-yard Known Distance Event  was held at Palm Bay, FL March 30-31. It was a beautiful Spring weekend for Florida. Temps ran from 55 in the morning to 84 in  the afternoon. It was clear and sunny. Winds were light. Wind calls were infrequent. By mid-afternoon everyone was seeking shade. A couple were so desperate they sidled up to the golf cart. You couldn't ask for better shooting conditions.

Eleven of twenty shooters earned the Known Distance bar for their Rifleman's patch: Bob (Bolter), Cody (codyClemonade), David (KOF), Jerry (JerBear), John (JC/DC). Kevin (Trident), Lou (Louie Louie), Morgan (MAJmorgan), Tim, David (Davidjr), Mario (Sea Sniper).

Distinguished scores of 50 were reported for JC/DC, MAJmorgan, and Davidjr.

Commendation to Jeffery for scoring 39 at his second Appleseed event using a borrowed rifle.  Matthew (DeadEye Fire Guy) also scored 39 and Rachel scored 36, both with a .308. HUZZA! Anyone who has scored with an AR-10 will tell you shooting one all weekend is not for the faint of heart.
 
We wrapped up the day Saturday with burgers donated by Sarea_51 and KOF. Sea Sniper manned the grill while ScubaSteve wielded a knife slicing produce. We enjoyed each other's company until darkness and mosquitoes called the night.

Sunday morning was a repeat of the weather from Saturday so we chose to shoot Morgan's Shingle before our scheduled class and range estimation exercise. Bolter, codyClemonade, JC/DC, Trident, Rachel and Tim accepted the challenge to join Captain Morgan's Rifle Company, marking the shingle with a cold-bore shot at 250 yards from prone.

It was an extremely safe shoot. The students and staff are commended for their efforts and teamwork. Good humor was the order of the weekend.

Thank you to the Port Malabar Rifle & Pistol Club for hosting the event. It is always a special event for Appleseeders in Central Florida. Special thanks to Rifle Director, Paul, for supporting us by ensuring the High-power Range was available for our use the entire weekend.

Pictures are available here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBjDuT

The folks looking at their phones in some of the pictures were not updating their Facebook. They were checking their groups on the Electronic Target system. It's the luxury mode for shooting KD.

[Louie Louie]

It was a truly fantastic event! 
Always appreciate shooting at PMRPC with their electronic scoring system on the 600 yard range.

Congratulations to:
    - JC/DC, MAJmorgan, and Davidjr for shooting a score of 50. Job well done.
    - Bolter, codyClemonade, JC/DC, Trident, Rachel and Tim for shooting Morgan's shingle

Finally thanks to TheMenace, Sieggie, Pirategirl, Sea Sniper and Scuba Steve for running a great event.

I hope to do it again in the not too distant future.

[codyClemonade]

What an amazing event! Couldn't have asked for better at my first KD. Thanks to all the instructors who came out and made things run so smoothly!

Port Malabar's target system really was the cherry on top. It made things so easy.

[JC/DC]

It was a true joy to be part of this event. Congratulations to all the participants on their efforts.
Many thanks to the Shoot Boss and an exceptional instructor team. As always, thank you to Port Malabar Rifle & Pistol Club. Their electronic scoring makes KD events far easier.

And Tim, it was nice not to be the only guy with a funny accent! 

[Deadeye Fire Guy]

I had an absolute blast at this event!!! A big shout out and thank you to not only Dennis but to all the instructors that took the time to host the event as well as help all the students. This being my first KD shoot I did not know what to expect and was a little nervous going into it, however, I almost immediately felt very comfortable in knowing that I was in good hands with these very knowledgeable instructors! I can't wait for the next event at this range. The electronic scoring made it very easy to get real time D.O.P.E. and improve my skills. The weather was as good as could be expected for Florida this time of year and could not have asked for better. I wholeheartedly look forward to doing many more shoots at this range with these incredible people.

[KOF]

I wanted to thank ALL of the instructors for such a wonderful weekend!  You couldn't ask for better weather with such great company!  I look forward to the next shoot with everyone!

[Pirategirl]

What a fun weekend!!  I truly enjoyed myself this weekend.  Thanks to Dennis and Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol for allowing us to have this event.  I really liked working with all the instructors and students.  Events like this allow us to make lifelong friends and reveal new Riflemen at the same time.  I'm ready for the next one!

[JustKim]

Looks like a GREAT TIME!  Wish we could've been there!

[Kinetic Energy]

Thank you to all who came. We had a great group of people, it was a safe shoot, and everyone performed well.

Remember to document and save the data you've collected this weekend into a data book for your rifle. I recommend keeping the book with your rifle. If you took screen shots of your target from the electronic targeting system, this will include velocity data (at the specific distance), standard deviation, and group size for the cartridge used.

Finally, a big Thank You to the Port Malabar Rifle & Pistol Club and the members for hosting this event. The facility is amazing, and it's important to have a place where skills can be developed to the next level.

[Sarea_51]

I enjoyed the spending the weekend with this fun crowd and finally shooting (not volunteering).  Instructors you are all awesome and I appreciate helping me fine tune my technique.  I can't wait to do this again.

Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club - thank you for letting us use the high-power range.  As a member, I need to finish my orientation so I can regularly use this facility.