Gibsonburg, OH Rimfire KD August 18 -19, 2024 AAR

[Shep]

The Sandusky County Sportsman's Club graciously allowed us use of their facilities for our first Appleseed Rimfire KD held on their property. They have a truly amazing range with large covered shooting bays. They have hosted many 25 meter Appleseeds and Center Fire Known Distance Appleseeds over the years, but this was something new at their location.

We had eight eager shooters on the line ready to attempt sending fifty rimfire .22 rounds into the black portion of the Appleseed target, which was just over twelve inches wide; the moving firing line shot at distances of 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards. Those who haven't tried would be surprised at how challenging and fun this is.

Three of the eight were awarded their Rimfire KD patch on Sunday afternoon. Griffin scored the magic number of 40 out of 50 hits, reconfirming with a 43 on the next target, Topper shot a 44, and reconfirmed with a 43, and Dave H. earned his patch with a 41, and reconfirmed with a 42.

Thanks to the awesome instructor crew of ITB, Doc Willie, Third Degree, Shadow870, Topper and  Sheepdog180.

[Doc Willi]

We have a great Rimfire KD with a great group of motivated shooters this weekend. We started out with instructing on the 4 Safety Rules, Safe Rifle, Ammo malfunctions.
We had lessons on target detection, range estimation, and making the shot.
We then had the shooters bring their rifles to the line and worked on zeroing their rifles at 50 yards.
We then did an exercise where we had a tall target backer and aimed at a target at the top of the backer from 100, 150, and 200 yards. The shooters then measured the bullet drop for the different ranges. We had the shooters document their findings.
We then worked on their come ups and holdovers at the different ranges. We encouraged the shooters to try both using holdovers and dialing the come ups on their scopes so they would learn both methods.
During Lunch we heard the history of Kings Mountain.
After lunch we continued to work on holdovers and come ups while reminding the shooters to use their documented bullet drop and come ups.
We finished the day with a KD AQT. A couple of the shooters came very close to qualifying.

We started Sunday with a review of the safety rules, safe rifle, and ammo malfunctions.
We then did some range estimation and target detection exercises.
After bringing rifles to the line, we shot Morgan's Shingle. We had some shooters on paper, but no one hit the shingle.
We then did some sighters at the different ranges before moving into KD AQTs. The shooters were reminded to use their notes and not try to go off of memory.
At lunch, we heard the histories of Timothy Murphy, Ephraim Brank and Nancy Morgan Heart. ITB gave a rousing talk about the sacrifices of our forefathers and the freedoms we have from those sacrifices.
We ended up shooting 4 KD AQTs on Sunday, with 3 shooters qualifying.
The other shooters were making good, steady improvement during the weekend, and we encouraged them to keep working on it.
We dodged the rain during the day on Sunday and managed not to get too wet, and if turned out to be a great class.
I want to thank the students, all of which showed great attitudes during the class, and also Sandusky County Sportsmen Club for hosting the class.  Much thanks to the instructors that spent the weekend teaching others.

[Doc Willi]

Pictures!

[Doc Willi]

More Pictures.

[Doc Willi]

Even More Pictures.

[Doc Willi]

Rimfire KD Qualifiers.

[Shadow870]

This was a spectacular event. Thanks to everyone, shooters & instructors alike, who came and made the event memorable. Congratulations to those who earned the patch! For those who did not, you are only a little bit of dry fire practice away from what you need to shoot the score. Keep practicing and you will get there in no time. Thanks to the Sandusky sportsman's club for the use of their awesome facility for the weekend. I look forward to doing this again ASAP and I look forward to working with all of you again.

[Third Degree]

I would like to begin by thanking the Sandusky County Sportmen's Club II, Inc. board of directors for allowing Appleseed to hold this event. This is the first rimfire known distance clinic held at Gibsonburg (Ohio) and it represents a return of the Appleseed program after a year-long absence.

We utilized the 300-meter range, which was neatly groomed to country club fairway standards. Plus, it was very flat. For our KD clinic, we needed a full 200 years. So, we used the shelter as the firing point for the 200-yard challenge, then moved forward for the 150-, 100- and 50-yard firing lines. This arrangement caused the students and instructors to engage in very healthy walking exercise. It was very humid, but we adopted an easy pace, and everyone was able to stay together. The instructors learned a lot about how to maintain safety while moving to different firing lines.

The demands of a rimfire KD clinic forces the students to become intimate with their equipment. One bit of advice I would offer is to install a 20 MOA (or greater) receiver rail. No matter how sophisticated your scope may be, you will run out of vertical adjustment when you try to zero a .22 rimfire for 200 yards.

Congratulations to Greg, Dave and Shane for earning the KD Rimfire rocker and then repeating the achievement on the next AQT. Glen, Scotty, Mike, NoLambo and Bill, you made tremendous progress by implementing the lessons taught. I encourage you to return to the line at the very next Rimfire KD clinic you find. Maybe next year at Gibsonburg (if not before!).

I especially want to thank Shep for volunteering to SB this event. You have a very busy schedule and the service you provided demonstrates again why your clinics are popular. Many thanks to the Western Ohio (Piqua) instructor cadre. Thank you, Doc Willi, for your wisdom. Thank you, Sheepdog 180 for your inspiration. Thank you, Shadow870 for your grounded humor (we all need to laugh).       

[topper]

Great weekend, great company, instructors and shooters alike!

We were able to avoid most of the rain which was another positive.

I'll confirm Third Degree's opinion about scope rails. If you want to dial through the stages you will need 20 MOA or better. I could not dial for 200 yards with a 20 MOA rail on a factory 10/22, 30 MOA would have done it.

Topper

[No Lambo]

Thank you to everyone for a great weekend of shooting.  This was way more challenging than I expected, and I loved every minute of it.  I found it to be even more difficult than a centerfire known distance event.  The instruction was fantastic.  The range was fantastic.  The other shooters were fantastic. 

Once again, the organization (I know that means lots and lots of concerned citizens who have chosen to get involved) does an amazing job helping people hone their marksmanship skills, and this event felt like a scope/MOA graduate class.  I would recommend it to anyone.  And if you are really lucky, you will get to do it in Gibsonburg - the range is one of the nicer I have been to.

On the equipment front, I had everything I needed - tricked out 10/22, very accurate ammo, and a ffp scope.  But I too, did not have enough elevation to be able to dial in all of the distances. I found holding over to be very challenging.  I am glad I have the hold-over experience now, but to shoot an AQT I think the cross hairs is a more natural place to find your NPOA.

If you want a fun challenge, in that comfortable Appleseed environment, sign up for a Rimfire KD.

[Sheepdog180]

I thoroughly enjoyed my second Rimfire KD...despite some frustration when the rubber but plate fell off my rifle!  I continue to chase the KD patch but am learning more each event I attend. 

Shep modified his original lesson plan on range estimation (from the Rush Creek KD in July) by using transparencies of a scope reticle with MOA markings.  He distributed one to each student along with a handout of various objects (stop sign, silhouette targets, coyote, and deer each with a given number of inches.  When student placed the transparency over the "known size" objects, they were able to perform range estimate calculations.  I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW POWERFUL THIS LESSON WAS!  This also helped to drive home the use of MOA hold-overs.  I am hopeful other KD's will make use of this lesson plan (I believe Shep has made it available).

ITB gave us a powerful reminder of the cause of liberty and imperative to keep the spirit of the American Revolution at the forefront!

I continue to be impressed with this organization and the men and women who share the message of marksmanship and liberty!

HUZZAH!

[scottyoh]

I learned  a lot at this event, about myself, my equipment and what it takes to shoot a 22 to 200 yards. Sheps overlay with the crosshairs was nothing short of brilliant for a teaching tool. I sincerely appreciate everyone's contributions to furtherance of marksmanship and glad I could be in the company of such good shooters. This is my second or third 22KD, still with no cigar. No Lambo is right about placing the  center crosshair on target being a natural match for NPOA. Holdover of 25 to 30 hashmarks at 200 yards is a mean feat of good eyesight, the ability to count and focus. I'll be on the lookout for a scope that can do it. A 20 MOA scope rail overlay is in the offing. While a poor marksman blames his equipment, I want to give myself a chance to succeed with the right tools. I'll be betting more magazines and thinking about ways to reduce my attention to equipment/maintenance issues and focus on the problem at hand: putting the right dope the scope, then placing crosshairs on target. I might dye my hair brown and lose 50 lbs.....nah.