How'd we all git here in the first place?

[PHenry]

I was over at the WI state board and saw a post that caught my eye and frankly warmed my heart a bit. DragonFly has posted an "I was an American Doofus" section asking for others to relate how they found Appleseeds and why they joined. http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=17338.0;topicseen

It's a great chance for all of us to recall why we are here and help us focus on our common goal - to save our country by passing on our unique American heritage before it is lost to time. Below is what I posted. Please join me in relating your own experiences in finding Appleseeds.   

Confessions of a reformed iceberg counter.

I read all the books and I could see all the icebergs that were in America's path. It all began when a certain Congress was considering banning a certain class of rifles. Made me concerned. I had always wanted to get into shooting, but had not got round to it. I figured I'd best get going, as it looked like time was running out for that tradition. I asked around and found a "gun nut", who taught me what to buy and so I set about acquiring some "power tools" of my own.

In the process, I began buying SGNs from a local news stand for cash (not getting my name on any lists right?). I came across Fred's articles. They were right in line with my own thinking at the time (we have both since been healed by Appleseeds) and I was intrigued at the idear of attending a RBC. But, they were only in NC then and I couldn't take a week and a half off, so I just kept counting icebergs and buying tools.

Then one day, I open SGN and see that an event is scheduled for Davenport, FL (Jan of 2007 as I recall) - about 2 hours from me. The time for excuses had passed. I gathered up three buddies and packed up my travel trailer. I brung three rifles and near every accessory I owned (all of which were found to be useless, save an old Vietnam era "silent sling). I learned more about shooting in two days than I had in years of practicing on my own, because practice does NOT make perfect - only perfect practice makes perfect. I can still recall the frustration I experienced at how poorly I was shooting from position (I was pretty good from a bench rest!). 

At lunch first day, I dumped an M4 in favor of an AR10 with an Eotech and did a little better, but still not 210. JuniorBirdman was my instructor and he had us run a rapid fire AQT (not done any longer for safety reasons, as it involved trans with a loaded rifle). I was so annoyed that I shot 216, but could not repeat the deed on Sunday.

Fred told the history and he got a little choked up in the process. That was what really caught my attention. I mean JB was truly excellent at instructing and I leanrt a lot, but seeing a growed man get teary talking about a war that ended two centuries ago - that made an impression. I was hoooked.

A second event came to Myakka City (Feb 2008 according to my pictures) and this time, the SB was a woman. She was sharp-eyed and very focused. I brung one buddy with me (all I could drag there) and we arrived early and asked if we could be of any help (silly question). Well, DragonWood put us straight to work on parking lot patrol and on Sunday (after I had once agin scored Rifleman by skin of my teeth) asked me if I would consider instructing. I ate the red pill and never looked back.

Then the mentors lined up to bring me along - Atticus, Fred, DW, DonD, HawkHavn, TC, and the list is still growing. Before long Fred and FunFaler were hammering me to get venues and promote events. Atticus petitioned Fred for a red hat for me (was done by the "nod" system in them days), and Fred relented. Atticus handed me my red hat at the NRA Whittington Center in NM, at the first event there. TaosGlock and BlueFeather were attendees! I still wear that same hat - it's more of a "dusty rose" color now. Smiley

I was now the entire Florida chapter and FF was dogging me even harder. I suckered, er I mean, invited ItsanSKS to take over SC duties so I could focus on staffing. He took the red pill too. We eventually added a promo boss - caseyblane and recently an admin man - marrandy.

Florida will hold something like 35 events this year and we now have a great team. The mentoring continues and what was taught to me, is now taught by people I have yet to meet, to others. I knew we were on our way, when I saw the first promotion I had absolutely nothing to do with. 

[Appalacious]

SGN articles for me.  Oh, and the influence of a now-removed web article from "Gospel Plow" something-or-other about the pros/cons of 308 vs 223 vs 762x39.  It was very pro 308, and I think one of Fred's articles was as well.  those 2 together plus seeing "Toccoa" on the schedule got me up there.  Marlin 60 with a cheap sling WRAPPED around the barrel and the other end on my arm.  shot a 165 i think.  Instructors were SoM, Dinky, and Silent.  IITs were Flathead and Silent's little brother.  I think VaShooter was there too.  first-time shoot for me, Friedenmeister, DuaneH, Snaphook (I think), Boltgun, History^2 and probably a few more. Nice and rainy.  "Man that history was pretty cool."


J

[sanderman79]

My turn I guess. Like most read SGN and sent off for some targets from Fred. I actually got them and tried to shoot for a score. At the time there we only like 3 or 4 shoots in GA so I had to wait till Nov of 07'. Guy and Flathead were on my line. Flathead was even an orange hat. Didn't even get close my first time. Went back 2 more times once to Hinesville and another at Toccoa. Shot rifleman on weekend of April 19 before the shoot with Silence. Deadeye shot his then too. I  went to a RBC with Jrbirdman as SB. Took an orange hat then. SoM gave me my RH at the next Hinesville shoot. A few shoots later I stepped up to the plate and became State Coordinator. Had a baby in there and took some time off and I am trying to get this state moving as much as we can. We have to biggest state east of Mississippi so we should be having more shoots and doing more.

Raymon

[BlackSheep]

Mostly been a pistol shooter for years....

Owned rifles that I didn't shoot all that well  until I bought a second hand 1894 Marlin the previous owner had smoothed up. With that gun I discovered I could actually hit reasonable size targets with a rifle. Some years later, I was talking with a fellow shooting enthusiast at the office, and he was talking about having been to an Appleseed shoot in Taccoa, based on that (and needing an excuse to buy more guns) I picked up not one, but three little Ruger 10/22s; one each for my daughter and myself, and a spare that just followed me home from the used rack at a gunshop.

We did our first Appleseed on Oct 2,3 up in Manchester, TN (I have family not far from there). Had a great time  and enjoyed the history as well as the shooting. History is something I have long been interested in and was my minor in college. We will be planning for another Appleseed soon, unfortunately with my daughter's school chorus, November 12th won't fly, so we will figure that out soon enough.

Still working on the shot,
BlackSheep

[franklinfarmer]

This is a little off topic, but it is a Georgia thing I was thinking to post.

What do you all think about project 1000?  Have you seen the map? 

There are only three states that meet or exceed their goals.  If we could get two more shoots this year, we would join them.

What do you think?  Basically only two months left.  One in November and one in December...or two in November. 

I'm kind of thinking South Georgia.  What about it, you Jolly Valdostians.  You got a range down there?  Hawkinsville?  Or somewhere over on the coast near St. Simons? 

[franklinfarmer]

All Southerners like guns.

I always liked nice looking rifles with wooden stocks.  I got a Marlin model 60 in my late teens, and it had been a lot of fun to shoot in the backyard.  I had also done some pistol shooting with a friend of my dad's (colt 1911s).  I had no real interest in military rifles.

Graduate school in California.  No shooting.  No driving for that matter.  One of my fellow grad students was a former marine, and quite a bit older than the rest of us students.  A Norwegian from Minnesota.  We got to be pretty good friends.  We were always talking about government and such, and he was going on about how the key was that the founders didn't want a standing army.  (You don't have to think very far to understand the relation between that and an armed populace.)  He was also reading the Federalist papers and such.  Well, he was there in his apartment...on campus...at Stanford...and in his spare time, he built a work bench, and put a reloading press on it.  He was always studying machine drawings for firearms.  He had worked in a machine shop.  One time I visited his apartment, and he had moved an enormous safe in there.  He took out a Springfield Arms FAL, and when he saw the look in my eye as I was holding it and checking it out---he exclaimed "All Southerners like guns."  Checking that out, and his HK91 (I think that was it; it was the small one in .223 with a slide-in stock---maybe also a SA), I had to admit that those rifles had a quality to them I liked.  Nevertheless, I went home and bought something that really appealed to me.  It was a Browning BAR in 30-06.  About 350 frn if I remember correctly.  Not much after that, but there was a spark concerning military style rifles and history.

Later, I moved back to the South and got back into pistol shooting.  A neighbor was a cop (one who liked to shoot), and he told me that if I picked up a Glock in .40 cal, he'd keep me in free ammo.  He didn't have a big enough yard to shoot in, so we burned up a lot of tax dollars in .40 cal in my yard.  I developed a whopper of a flinch, but I think he didn't really know the fundamentals enough to help me get rid of it.  Later that friend of my dads, sent me a military training manual, explained to me the virtues of dry firing, and sold me one of the 1911s we had shot when I was a kid.  Buying the model 22 Glock was a trigger point.  The cop's pistol took 13 or 14 rounds, and I could only buy one with a 10 round magazine.  What was the point of that?  I started to be interested in gun laws.  And I remembered some things my friend from grad school said about the Belgian FALs being banned from import.  I started to think about buying some military style rifles.

Then came my discovery of Ron Paul.  That, of course, is a story in itself.

I went to visit a colleague and friend in Kansas, and when I drove up to his house there were Ron Paul signs in his yard.  We hit it off, as you might guess.  I had no idea.  

He had been reading a book called Boston's Gun Bible.  Sounded interesting, and I got a copy.  Read it cover to cover.  Twice.  A lot of what he said made sense.  Every man in America should have a military battle rifle and know how to use it.  OK.  Which one?  The M1A of course.  Well, pretty pricey...and a wood stock and all.  (Actually, the friend in Kansas later dropped about 5000 wfrn into one with a cryo treated ss barrel and a fancy synthetic stock---it didn't even look like an M1A anymore.)  Anyway, I was thinking at the time that the M1A won't be a target for the bans.  So I went and bought a nice 16 inch barrel AR15 with the irons ground off and a buck rogers set up on top---laser, flashlight, throwaway red dot scope.  (That's the scary gun they'll ban when O'bama/Clinton gets in.)  

OK, so learn how to use it.  Boston had advice on that too:  Send 16 wfrn to Fred of Fred's M14 stocks, and he'll send you his guide to becoming a rifleman with some targets.  With Fred's training material came a flyer for Appleseed.  And the rest is history.  So, that's my story.  Now, Fred is going to send me a PM and tell me to quit wasting time telling stories and get to working on figuring out "statistics" to make the program grow.  I guess I can blame PHenry for bumping us off mission.

I guess I should add that my first Appleseed was in Toccoa with Appalacious---he was still trying to shoot rifleman at the time.  I think he did it the next shoot.  I had a 10-22 with stock sights and no sling.  I would *not* listen to Flathead and The Guy telling me to try using a sling.  (Though I did shoot some pretty decent groups for not being able to actually get decent sight alignment nor see that gold ball very well---as I figured out later when I breathed a sigh of relief after putting on the tech sights.)  But I did listen to Son of Martha tell the history.  That might have been the most influential thing.  If so, a close second was the course of fire for the AQT itself.   Fred really hit it I think with something that is difficult enough to demonstrate significant skill, but not so difficult that it seems impossible.  When I left that first Appleseed, I had top score about 150.  I went off and practiced at home for about 9 months on my own.  Came back, shot rifleman, and I've been slowly picking up the rest of the skills.  I even use a sling now occasionally.

As a last note, I also heard about Appleseed from the friend with the 5K M14.  I wonder if he has ever learned to shoot that thing.

[Deadeye]

For me it started with Greg Perry's 2008 article on LRC about Appleseed and the April 19 project. (He was unable to attend as he had previously committed to one of Gabe Saurez' Urban rifle courses for the same weekend.) I told a friend (Daniel Boome) who I thought might be interested, and he signed up right away! That left me in the position of having to sign up for it! My wife bought me a nice heavy barrel for my 77/22 as a birthday gift and away we went.

Instructors were SoM, Flathead, and Silence. It was where I met Sanderman, who has since become a close friend and neighbor. Sanderman shot his first rifleman score that Friday before the event even started. Daniel Boome and I shot Rifleman scores on our very first AQT on Saturday. Later that evening, we nearly starved to death because only Sanderman, D. Boome, and myself were left in camp. No cooks, only Riflemen! Sanderman was able (with great effort) to cook some hotdogs for all of us.

I was very impressed with the quality of instruction. Consider that Daniel Boome had never been instructed in rifle marksmanship before and was using a rifle that he'd bought just a week earlier, and that I have had instruction but had not fired a COF anything like the AQT in over twenty years but still managed to do it with a bolt-action rifle the first time. That can only be due to quality instruction.

I attended another AS in November of '09. Sanderman harangued me until I agreed to take an Orange hat at the December shoot at Toccoa. (An Orange hat in name only. None were available until AFTER I became a RH. Sanderman spray painted a straw hat blaze orange for me. And it actually was a pretty cool, gigantic hat.)

I have since met some of the finest people I've ever known at AS shoots. I also met Friedenmeister. I kid! I kid!

[jollymeister]

the chair is against the wall

[jollynator]

.........

[cswhitfield]

How’d we all git here?
Well I suppose my journey actually started in the Spring of 1970 at Paris Island.  We trained and qualified with the M14 rifle.  I was completely impressed with both the rifle and the PMI I was fortunate to work with.  Ten shots at 500 yards, all in the bull!  I never forgot the rifle or the bubble my PMI got me in to.  After the Corps I settled into life and raising a family, hunted as often as possible and started buying guns.  With each rifle purchased I thought of that M14 and how much I really wanted one.  Fast forward to 2007, kids grown up and on their own, the rifle I wanted but could not afford at $450.00 now $1,400.00, the country & government no longer resembling what the Founders envisioned, I decided it was now or never for my M14 (M1A).  I started shopping and fumbling around on the internet (you younger guys surf, I fumble).  I finally told Skip at F.P. Army/Navy I would pay up front if he would order one direct from Springfield at the best price possible.   While fumbling on the internet I came across Fred’s … , checked it out but wasn’t overly impressed.  Somewhere along in here a friend gave me a copy of Boston’s Gun Bible.  I started reading it and there was this guy Fred again.  I checked him out again and actually got interested enough to consider ordering his Rifleman’s Package.  I got to looking for information on USMC Marksmanship info on the web, buying ammo and re-reading Boston’s.   I realized that I did not remember how to properly apply the loop sling or get into positions.  Somewhere along in here I signed up on the forum and starting thinking about attending an Appleseed.   I figured I would attend an Appleseed Shoot just to relearn the basics, sling use, positions, trigger control, etc.  Also thought I might hear some history I forgot and even some I was never taught, but the real reason was to re-learn how to hit a man size target at 500 yards and beyond.  I started trying to get a friend or two interested in attending Appleseed with me.  Several expressed interest but would not commit.  I finally took the plunge and signed up for the August 14-15, 2010 shoot at Waco.  This turned out to be the first shoot at Waco and the one FOX News taped for their report on Appleseed.  Man you talk about a first impression!  We were packed in like sardines.  There were more instructors there than I had seen since Paris Island!  The pace they set was demanding to say the least.  The IAAR says there were two AQTs shot on Saturday.  I am sure on the line I was on we shot 3 or maybe even 4.  I did not realize just how difficult getting in even two AQTs on Sat. is until recently.  My first AQT was in the low 190s.  Everyone except me was impressed.  I thought I could shoot.  We were shooting at just 25m.  I just did not realize how much of a challenge the 25m AQT really is.  I spent the rest of the weekend in the 203 – 206 range with one AQT at 178 even though I only got off 5 rounds on stage 4 due to a malfunction.  I left Sunday evening, bone tired and disappointed, not in Appleseed but disappointed in my shooting.  I was thoroughly impressed with the program and instruction but not sure if I wanted to spend $80.00 a weekend for something I could now continue on my own.  The following week the experience began to soak in.  That along with a couple of emails back and forth with Col Barrett had me signing up for the next shoot in Toccoa.  Barrett even offered that I might want to consider becoming an IIT.  I told him that teaching anything, especially marksmanship was a huge responsibility.  I would not consider it until I could consistently score 220+ on the AQT.  I did not think I had the required skills in either marksmanship or teaching.  That was 50% of the reason.  The other 50% was I did not believe that Appleseed had a snowball’s chance in Hell of saving our country.  There are just too many people that are willing to trade their, and unfortunately our, liberty for some sense of security.  Besides I had my plan, go to Toccoa, soak up as much of the instruction I could, shoot expert then start thinking about getting my daughter and grandkids going to Appleseed to learn to shoot and get a little history and heritage they no longer teach in school.  I showed up at Toccoa and immediately saw some familiar faces from the Waco shoot and met some new and equally friendly ones.  I helped set up the lines for Sat., set up camp and headed off to get some chow.  My plan was in motion and looked like it was going to work.  Later that Friday evening Sanderman79 said they were a little short handed and wanted to know if minded helping out.  I said sure, I’ll do whatever I can (bad choice of words).  Early Sat. morning Sanderman hands me a tee shirt and an Orange Hat.  I mildly protested saying I was not qualified to instruct.  He said you’ll do fine.  You can help Ron (Son of Martha) he’s one of our best, you’ll have fun.  Well it did not take long for SoM to show more than a little frustration with an Orange Hat that obviously wasn’t prepared.  He eventually put me down with two youngsters with tube fed Marlins helping them out.  I enjoyed that and was very pleased see them improve as the day progressed.  However I still felt rather uneasy and as if I was more of a burden than help.  It seems no one thought to tell Ron my orange hat was “borrowed” and I really was not an IIT.  Late in the day when I finally got to explain it to him his reply was “if I had known that you would have been on line shooting, I could run this line by myself”.  I am sure it was not meant to but that just let the final puff of air out of my balloon.  The instructors meeting at dinner did not help to re-inflate my balloon any either.  But what the heck, I was going to get to shoot on Sunday and every shoot boss sitting around the “campfire” said I had a free shoot coming for volunteering.  I still had my “plan”.  Then Sunday morning comes and with it Son of Martha’s Philosophy of Liberty.  A bell rang, a light came on and I began thinking that just maybe if enough people get the message, if instead of just one snowball we keep packing in more and more snowballs, hell might just freeze over.   I did shoot on shoot on Sunday and scored 219 & 229 then headed over to the 300 yd. gong.  Through all of that the “Philosophy” stayed on my mind.  That along with the encouragement of franklinfarmer as well as the prodding of Sanderman and Col Barrett made me a believer and planted my feet on the Appleseed trail.
Craig
edit: I should note that scoring 219 & 229 should have been the highlight of my weekend.  After all that is what I came for.  It became secondary, almost anticlimatic after hearing the Philosophy.  The lesson on the Philosophy of Liberty was the third strike of the match for me.

[yonah]

I first came across Appleseed as a recommended training program from kissata.com. I had been looking for a way to become more involved after 9-11 and found most of the militia sites not my cup of tea. I looked up Appleseed online, liked what I read. Discussed it with a like minded friend (Snaphook) and voila, here I am.

[Pvt.Joker]

the chair is against the wall

Uncle John has a long mustache.

[Cyclops WY]

Appleseed??  Appleseed project??  Last winter I was getting my first tattoo (at age 40)....  After sitting in the chair for about 45 minutes my pain therapist I mean artist needed a break.  So I started to look around the shop at all the art on the walls.  Another pain therapist saw the tattoo I was getting (a snake with don't tread on me, liberty or death) and said I should look into an appleseed shoot.  I signed up for the next available one in Wyoming (that spring) and I will be heading off to my first boot camp this May.  My wife will be coming to the weekend shoot after boot camp.
Looking forward to learning more.....and more.......and more........  The wild thing about the appleseed project is I didn't need to go to feel the way I feel.  It's something that lives in me.  Hard to explain but freedom is a natural thing to want.  Not learned.  Maybe I am not the norm but I just don't see why people keep their heads in the sand.  I will try my best to start pulling their heads out of .......................O ya sand................

That' my story and I am sticking too it.

Cyclops WY Out.

[dart67eb]

I read about it in SHN and thought it would be a good place to brush up my skills and teach my kids to shoot.  Not to mention, I didn't have a place to shoot my Mosins.  We went to Puryear and drank the Dond and Big Papa and Big Mama kool-aid and the rest is history.  Like I always say, if I had something better to do, I'd be doing it.

[PHenry]

Cyclops,
Nothing abnormal about the yearning for Liberty - it's in our DNA as Americans. Most living things prefer Liberty, but not all have the grit to secure and maintain it as thems who came before us did. It's just that most Americans have gone "dormant" and that's where we come in. The war for independence was supposed to end, but the Revolution was intended to go on in perpetuity to burn on our veins today, just as it did in theirs on the morning of April 19th.

My only flag at home is the Culpepper Minutemen flag - one of the units Patrick Henry commanded during the war. I can't think of a better tat.

PH

[cswhitfield]

Bumped back to the top because we have a lot of new people since Jan. '11.

So how did you "git here"?

[Melissa5]

OK, here goes.  I didn't grow up in a gun shooting family.  My father had a shotgun that he used to hunt a little, but mainly it stayed in the closet.  Fast forward to 1993.  I joined the Army Reserve because I wanted to do something different, something that would possibly make a difference.  Went through basic training at Ft. Jackson in SC and loved shooting the M16A1.  I missed qualifying in the top tier by 1 shot.  Anyway, I came home from basic and found out that my recruiter was not exactly truthful and was given the option of going into the IRR for the rest of my time.  Fast forward to 2008 and the election.  I had never voted before, but was fired up by the need to vote against Obama and the path that America was following.  About 6 months after the election, I finally decided that I needed to buy a handgun for home defense.  Next, came a handgun for carry.  Finally, I progressed to buying an AR15.  After I got it, I sighted it in, bought a red dot and stuck it in a corner.   Fast forward another 6 months.  While reading the georgia packing forum, I came across a post by Shaftoe and was intrigued by the whole Applessed thing and wanted to really learn how to shoot my AR.  My first Appleseed was at Elberton in March/April 2012 with Shaftoe, Ms. Shell, and Sherpa.  The best I could do was 142 with an S&W M&P 15-22 and a borrowed sling.   My second shoot was at Toccoa in May 2012 with Dr. John & Morpheus.  I was able to shoot a 203 with a scoped 10/22 ITAC.  Darn it!  I will be going back to Toccoa again in Sept. 2012 and hope to get the job done with a scoped 10/22 compact.  Huzzah!

Edited to add that I shot a 217 & 219 at Toccoa in Sept.    Thank you Dr. John, Morpheus, Gretchen, Hannah, Asa, Carl II, Brooks, and Jambo.  Sorry if I forgot anyone.