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Buckeye, AZ - 11/28/09

Started by AZRedhawk44, November 30, 2009, 12:36:05 PM

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AZRedhawk44

Great Appleseed, with great Appleseeders.

We had 30 shooters present on Saturday, and an extremely low number of repeat-seeders.  This was by and large a new class of Americans ready for the Appleseed message, ready to help change the political and cultural climate of this great country.

They soaked up the message of April 19th over lunch with rapt attention as AZGromit presented the story of Revere's Ride and Parker's standoff on Lexington Green... bringing the sacrifice of those families from 234 years ago to life as he had 'seeders act as stand-ins for the names of those who died that day.  Nearly half of the class was standing to indicate the loss to the Lexington community from that day.

I don't have the numbers (Gromit does) for improvement on Red Coat targets... but it shocked me from AM to PM on Saturday.  These people were thirsty for that firehose.

On Sunday we were joined by Chris Knox and his son... I hadn't seen Mr. Knox at an Appleseed since my first 'Seed with Fred, Kool-Aid, Bob210 and some of the old crew and I was on the firing line myself as a participant, at Ben Avery 2007.  Gromit worked that event as an instructor in training for his first time.

All three of our Sunday-only shooters were Appleseed veterans and they slipped back into the familiar (yet slightly rusty) habits of the six steps and NPOA with good grace and didn't hold back the class in any way.  Once an Appleseeder, always an Appleseeder.

We closed out the day as shooters scored their targets and we had one Rifleman step forward to claim his hard-earned patch: Jerry shot a 211 on his first target of the morning.  I suspect that some folks may not have stepped forward with scores, and if anyone feels they shot a 210 or better then please contact me or Gromit via private message on this forum and meet up with us as we work on our "3 man teams."  We'll meet up with you at one of the ranges here in town and you can shoot the AQT for score with an instructor present, and prove the 210 again!

Remember shooters:  Practice!  Persist!  And bring someone else new to the next Appleseed.  We're gonna fix this climate.

NEWGUY556

This was my second event with AZGromit, AZRedhawk44, and AZRon. They are all great instructors. Could not ask for a better group. I will be back to try again sometime in 2010.
RWVA, Rifleman
Dangerous Middle Aged Man
Gun up...Send it....... HIT!

MOGromit

New Guy,

Don't forget your assignment when you're at your next Appleseed....

"Who did YOU bring this time?"

Persist!

AZG

NEWGUY556

Quote from: AzGromit on November 30, 2009, 06:59:14 PM
New Guy,

Don't forget your assignment when you're at your next Appleseed....

"Who did YOU bring this time?"

Persist!

AZG
I remember. I had brought many with me to my first Appleseed. They stood me up on this one.
I am fashioning a big scary stick right now. One way or another I will get them back.
Thanks for your efforts.
RWVA, Rifleman
Dangerous Middle Aged Man
Gun up...Send it....... HIT!

chrisknox

Pardon my tardiness.  It was indeed a good day and a great bunch of shooters.  I'm especially impressed with the number of new shooters.  The red-caps were friendly, professional, and focused as ever.  I'm in the process of writing my next Knox Update about the day and will continue to spread the good word about Appleseed.  I'm convinced this is one of the most important movements in the nation today.

Best!

Chris
And -- the rifle?  Wouldn't go out naked of a rifle.  When shoes and clothes and food, when even hope is gone, we'll have the rifle.
-- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

chrisknox

Upcoming column in Shotgun News and elsewhere:

Giving Thanks - At An Appleseed Shoot

By Chris Knox

(Phoenix, Arizona November 29, 2009) Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on our blessings, including the blessings of liberty and on the sacrifices our forebears made for us.   With that in mind, son Brandon and I wrapped up our Thanksgiving observations slung into battle rifles on the firing line at the beautiful, newly remodeled and re-christened Joe Foss Shooting Complex near Buckeye, Arizona.  As I concentrated on sight picture, breathing and trigger control, I was truly thankful. 

Over the past four years, as regular readers of this space will be aware, a group that goes by the delightfully seditious name of "Revolutionary War Veterans Association" has spread across the country with a simple but ambitious goal:  To turn the United States once again into a nation of riflemen.  Barely on the radar of the mainstream shooting organizations, and totally off the major media's screen, the RWVA's Appleseed Project has quietly grown at exponential rates.

The Appleseed shoots are superficially similar to any other shooting clinic. There's a lot of shooting and a lot of discussion of sight picture, breathing and trigger control.  But Appleseed adds another dimension:  One of historical perspective.  Between each relay, along with the shooting fundamentals, there's a discourse on events in and around Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19 and 20, 1775.  Along with the history lesson, comes a discussion of what it means to be a rifleman, what riflemen have meant to America, and what our rifles should mean to us. 

It's strong stuff.  But there's not a whiff of extremism.  It's simple application of the Second Amendment:  The Right to Keep and Bear Arms only takes on meaning if we are skilled in the use of arms.  Come to think of it, some politicians might consider the Appleseed message dangerous.  Good.  That's exactly how they should perceive it.

The message is resonating - and gathering momentum.  In 2006, the first year of the program, there were 18 events with just over 1000 participants.  2007, the year I shot my first Appleseed, saw 47 events and nearly 1900 participants and everyone was amazed at the growth of the project.  In 2008 there were 138 events training some 3700 participants.  2009 should close out with nearly 400 events in 46 states training 10,000 participants.  The goal for 2010 is to double 2009's record. 

This past October saw the biggest single event in Appleseed history when RWVA volunteer instructors trained some 600 members of the South Carolina National Guard at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. These citizen-soldiers had been working regular jobs but had been mobilized for deployment to Iraq.  A member of the battalion staff did not feel that the troops had been adequately trained in riflery and asked the RWVA for assistance.  National Guard troops view themselves as inheritors of the minuteman tradition, so the historical perspective of the program had special significance for these soldiers as they prepared for deployment. 

The mechanics of the shoot are straightforward.  The objective of the course is to get participants to a "Rifleman" level - that's scoring a 210 or better out of a possible 250 on a modified Army Marksmanship Qualification Test (AQT) target.  Most of the shooting is at an AQT target with multiple silhouettes scaled to simulate distances out to 400 yards.  The reduced AQT target allows the entire course to be fired at 25 yards with any rifle from full-sized battle rifles to .22 caliber rimfires.  The reduced range also allows for more shooting, and practice on the 25-yard course, with whatever rifle, has been proven to improve shooting at real distances with centerfire. 

Brandon and I banged away at our targets with a couple of historic rifles, he with an M1 Garand, I with an M1903 Springfield.  We had demonstrated early in the day that both rifles would shoot, turning in some promising groups, but neither of us managed to put together a string that would earn a Rifleman patch.  But "a rifleman is persistent," as the Appleseed instructors constantly reminded us.  The day will come.  Meantime, I'm going to invest in some battle sights and a sling for my 10/22. 

The future of the Appleseed Project looks bright.  With over 170 events already scheduled for 2010, there will be an Appleseed shoot within a few hours of just about anywhere in the lower 48 states.  Check their calendar at http://www.appleseedinfo.org/ and start planning your Appleseed weekend.  Get a few buddies together or take the family.  The cost is modest and the shooting instruction is outstanding, and geared to any level.  But the bonus is the historical view that puts shooting in a context that "sportsmen" or competitive shooters may not have thought about.  Shooting is not golf.  Appleseed reminds participants of the purpose of the rifle:  To secure liberty.

Permission to reprint or post this article in its entirety is hereby granted provided this credit is included.    Text is available at www.FirearmsCoalition.org.    To receive The Firearms Coalition's bi-monthly newsletter, The Knox Hard Corps Report, write to PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA  20108.   
©Copyright 2009 Neal Knox Associates - The most trusted name in the rights movement.
And -- the rifle?  Wouldn't go out naked of a rifle.  When shoes and clothes and food, when even hope is gone, we'll have the rifle.
-- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Fred


    Chris, your comments and support of the program are MUCH appreciated.

    I have been writing about Appleseed for nearly five years now in SGN. You are one of the few who have made the effort to come out and see what it's about - and I'm very glad the program has your approval.

     BTW, next year the goal is 800+ Appleseeds - looks like we had, not "nearly 400" this year, but "over 400" - "nearly 500", even - the exact number being 466, give or take a few.

     But with average attendance at "less than 20 per AS" we sure need some help getting the word out.

     So, thanks again for your support.

     PS: When are you going to shoot that "Rifleman" score? (Don't let Brandon beat you to it! :) )
"Ready to eat dirt and sweat bore solvent?" - Ask me how to become an RWVA volunteer!

      "...but he that stands it now, deserves the thanks of man and woman alike..."   Paine

     "If you can read this without a silly British accent, thank a Revolutionary War veteran" - Anon.

     "We have it in our power to begin the world over again" - Thomas Paine

     What about it, do-nothings? You heard the man, jump on in...

chrisknox

Quote from: Fred on December 10, 2009, 09:59:35 PM

     PS: When are you going to shoot that "Rifleman" score? (Don't let Brandon beat you to it! :) )

That was my plan at Buckeye.  I took the M1 back from Brandon for the last relay and shot a fine score on the offhand stage -- clean or close to it.  Fired the first two rounds on Stage 2 sitting and went to reload.  No joy.  The clip refused to load.  Something hanging up in the back of the action.  Brandon had experienced something similar.  I'm going to have an M1 smith give it a once-over. 
And -- the rifle?  Wouldn't go out naked of a rifle.  When shoes and clothes and food, when even hope is gone, we'll have the rifle.
-- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Colorado Pete

Chris, you might want to examine your M1 clips, some of the non-GI ones are a little out of spec.
Glad to see another M1 fancier, there's nothing like the "PING!" Also make sure when you insert the clip it is all the way to the rear of the magazine well opening. There is a pair of grooves on the inside receiver sides all the way to the rear to take the clip. There is also another smaller groove pair just ahead of these. If you get the clip started into the more forward groove set (just a fraction of an inch forward of the correct grooves), it won't insert. Easy to do when you're in a hurry.
"Good shooting is good execution of the fundamentals. Great shooting is great execution of the fundamentals. X's are what you want. Tens are okay, but nines indicate you've got a problem" - Jim Starr
"The purpose of shooting is hitting" - Jeff Cooper

Big O

Never been a forum guy, so hopefully this reply ends up on the Buckeye, AZ - 11/28/09 post. Just wanted to say thanks to the instructors for volunteering their time and talent. This was my first Appleseed and I will be looking forward to the next one. As a tanker in the military, I never had much opportunity to train with rifles and the Appleseed clinic was exactly what I needed to get on the right track with technique. So thanks and I hope to see you all again real soon along with some of my friends. I want that Rifleman Badge and I'm gonna get it.
Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth. George Washington

MOGromit

Hey M1A1,

Welcome aboard the forum, it ended up in the right spot.

We've got 6 events at the Buckeye range already scheduled for 2010, so be sure to bring out all your friends and family to share in the next one.

Plus 8 more around the state already!

Persist!

AZG