Thurmont, MD Pistol Clinic AAR - Dec 7-8, 2024

[kniwolf]

Another great weekend at TCSC in the books!  5 students made the pilgrimage out to the range on this blustery, cold weekend to be on the line for this two day pistol event.

The morning's hits count target showed that there was skill present, but we also had some work to do. The class stayed attentive and soaked up all points of instruction throughout the morning, despite the cold weather.  After our morning of instruction and drills, ProgressNotPerfection and Off_paper presented a superb telling of the strikes to which the students were very attentive and asked plenty of questions.

The afternoon's instruction was well received, and we took some extra dry fire time to ensure that students were ready for day two.   While we didn't fit a PQT in the afternoon of day one, our students made tremendous progress and were ready for the PQT on day two.  We snuck in our final redcoat of the day just before sunset, and Pitcairn's button proved elusive.

Everyone was excited to get started on Sunday morning.  We started the day off right with both Jonathon and Off_paper clearing a Hits Count target!  Off paper provided an Onion of Self defense interactive Q&A and Yours Truly gave a holster, belt, and draw demo in between drills and PQTs.  Since Jonathon cleared the Hits Count target, we shared the story of Maryland's Immortal 400 when we presented that gorgeous Immortal 400 patch to him at the end of the day.

Great progress was made by all students present.  Judy started the event as a new shooter, but came out of the event with plenty of experience and confidence!  We all watched her grip and stance improve SIGNIFICANTLY throughout the weekend.  She persisted through the many challenges that a subcompact centerfire with irons begets, which is a true testament to her dedication and fortitude towards learning.

Ryan was incredibly persistent throughout the weekend with scores in the high 100s and low 200s, and came oh-so-close to that coveted patch with a 201. He too was running a 9mm with irons!  I'm certain that you'll get that patch on the next go-round.

Jonathon, a repeat Appleseeder, persevered through the challenging weekend and made good use of his steel-framed M&P, and qualified with a 210 right off the bat.  He requalified 2 more times, with duplicate scores of 215.  Jon not only took high score for the weekend, but also won the Big Dot Little Dot challenge for centerfire!  Way to go Jonathon! 

Larry (one of our illustrious Orange Hats out of PA) also qualified at this event with a 214! He too stayed very consistently in the high 100's and low 200's for all the other PQTs throughout the weekend.  Larry also was the winner for the Big Dot Little Dot challenge for rimfire!  Huzzah!

Soni also started the event by bringing to the line a brand new Ruger 22/45.  After overcoming some sighting adjustments, she continually ran into mag problems.  Swapping mags did the trick, and then we swapped over to a Taurus TX-22 Competition with a red dot for the remainder of the class.  She performed admirably with the loaner gear, and was smiling ear to ear afterward.  She gave Larry a run for his money on the Big Dot Little Dot challenge!  She did a great job, especially with the many gear-related challenges that were had.

The last chance at Pitcairn's button proved elusive to all except for Jonathon, who missed clearing the hits count target by one.   Despite the challenges presented throughout the weekend, all the students ended the class on a positive note.  As I said earlier, I couldn't be more proud of the progress made by each and every one of you.

I also want to take a moment and thank you all for traveling to this event.  EVERY student was from out of state - with most traveling approximately 5 hours from home to attend.  I can't tell you how honored my instructors and I were to share our time together over the weekend.  I hope that you had safe travels on your way home and if there's anything we can do to help promote Project Appleseed in your home state, please let me know.

I highly encourage you all to practice what you learned with both live and dry fire. Working under the pressure of the clock is something that some practice can also overcome.

Pictures are available in an online album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bxgLP85JkfksEfZNA and will soon be posted to our Maryland Appleseed Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064405762810

I hope to see everyone on the line at a future rifle or pistol event!