Well, I ended up writing a tome. It was such a great weekend, I couldn't help myself. it just spills out.
So, here's an executive summary for those TLTR (too lazy to read
) Aforementioned tome and pics after the break...
- Perfect weather at a perfect range
- 19 shooters on Day 1, 10 shooters on Day 2
- 4 new Riflemen!
- 3 IITs!
- 1 RED HAT awarded
- Many families and youths on the line!
- Everyone making hits count!
- KD shooting and much much more!
This was as fine an Appleseed as I could have imagined.
Weather in the 70s. A range that provided hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage patties that are becoming reknowned to Appleseeders in northern CT. And some of the most receptive and talented group of shooters I have ever seen.
Experience ranged from complete newbies to repeat Appleseeders to instructors of multiple firearms disciplines. Everyone took away something new. Everyone had fun. Everyone became better Americans this weekend.
If you come with an open mind and a teachable attitude, this program works, folks. It works. Period. Here’s some empirical evidence to that statement:
4 new Riflemen chased down that patch over the weekend.
Eric shot his rifleman score at the end of Day 1 having never been to an Appleseed. Well done! The following day, his stepson
Sean followed suit with a qualifying score of 210, earning him a nice afternoon shower of water from under the Old North Bridge. I bet it felt gooooooooooooood!
Next up was
Marc who definitely knew what he was about. He persisted all weekend and came away with a 214 for his effort and skill And last, and certainly not least, was Jason, president of the NWCSA (our gracious hosts) who finally decided to get on the line and who also destroyed the AQT with a 235 on the very last string of the day! Jason, see what you’ve been missing? (Or shall I say, see what you’ve finally found?)
Improvements abounded. One shooter,
Helen, started Day 1 not even getting on paper. She ended up scoring 202. Her daughters, 2 of our youth shooters, both went from “firing their rifles once or twice before” to making hits at 400 yards. Well done,
Emily and Audrey!
Tom, Dan and Kevin, 3 more of our youth shooters came on Day 1 and ended the day making hits as well. I have a good feeling they’ll be back to finish the job.
And I can’t forget our intrepid Appleseeder,
Coke. Each time you come to an Appleseed you get better and better, groups tighter and tighter. Can’t wait to see what you accomplish at Hartford or Chaplin.
The range provided the ability to shoot out to 100 and 200 yards which we did with .22s and bigger bore rifles, respectively. Everyone on Day 2 shot at known distance and got a kick out of how groups at 25m look the same at distance. It also hammered home IMC and ballistics.
Special thanks go to our Red Hats,
crak and kDan. All you shooters now have an idea what a special privilege it is to have both of these guys, let alone just one of them, on the line.
Vernic82, thanks for your emotional and rousing Second Strike and great job calling the line. And
TOMINCT, I never have to worry about the target line (or pretty much anything else) when you’re around.
Lastly, thanks once again to the Northwest CT Sportsmen’s Association and to Jason and Phil and to everyone else at the club who helped make this event what it was.
And now for some very important announcements:
Dan M., Dave W., and Jason M.: Welcome to The Appleseed Trail and thank you for taking that 7th Step. We’re building a strong crew here in CT and I’m so thrilled you’ve decided to help us out. I’ll be in touch soon around next steps.
And a big congratulations to
TOMINCT who donned a shiny new Red Hat this weekend. Since the time he joined Project Appleseed, TOMINCT has been the ultimate Boots on the Ground, schlepping supplies and lining up shoots to help grow Appleseed here to where it is today. This is a big day for CT. Well done, Tom. Well done.
That’s it for me. If I write any more, folks probably won’t have anything else to write about!
CJ
