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The Prep School 'seed - Exeter, NH - May 13, 2012

Started by CaptMac, May 13, 2012, 08:14:28 PM

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CaptMac

Huzzah cannot touch this event with a ten foot pole!

One of the best schools for teenagers in the country just permitted their students to attend a school-sponsored Appleseed! 

It was such a wonderful event! 

I will write more later, but I have hours to drive and just locked the range's gate.

WOW!
Ramseur Five Ten!!!

"Live Free or Die:  Death is not the Worst of Evils."  Genl.  John Stark, 1809.

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

NhLibertas

Yahoo! Congrats, and I'm looking forward to hearing about it!
"Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. Liberty is a man-of-war, and we are all crew." ~ Kenneth W. Royce

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. – Thomas Jefferson


Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of readiness to die. - G.K. Chesterton

The Old Guide

We just rolled in here in Northern Maine from this shoot. It's a long way up the road. Two of our shooters had never even touched a firearm before. I told them that was good - no bad habits. Great shoot. More after I sleep. All the credit goes to CaptMac. He worked 17 months putting this together.
Our history is not a list of dates and places. It is a dynamic adventure of freedom and individual courage.

Crak's IBC, August 2010.
Fred's AIBC, April 2011
kDan's IBC, March 2012
Northeast SC Confab, Feb. 13

Mr.Freedom

Quote from: The Old Guide on May 14, 2012, 02:40:47 AM
We just rolled in here in Northern Maine from this shoot. It's a long way up the road. Two of our shooters had never even touched a firearm before. I told them that was good - no bad habits. Great shoot. More after I sleep. All the credit goes to CaptMac. He worked 17 months putting this together.

Great job folks. Great example of dedication to the program. Thank you for your efforts. Mike
Don't Ever Forget 9/11

I Pray Not For An Easy Life, But That I Become A Strong Person.

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph Thomas Paine

kDan

"Hot dogs don't go bad"

       -Scout

CaptMac

#6
Thanks for this event happening needs to be spread far and wide.  A lot of people put thought and effort into making it happen. 

This event could never have happened without a bunch of willing students, and I do not mean in the normal sense of willing students that appear at our Appleseeds.  In October of 2010, a group of students at Phillips Exeter Academy were trying to start a shooting club, one of them is a neighbor of mine.  The idea of an Appleseed for some students of Phillips Exeter Academy was conceived before Halloween of 2010, and it bore fruit yesterday, so it took a while.  The students had to organize the Club, got funding, scheduled and made arrangements for two libraryseeds, dealt with the adminstration of the school to no small degree, arranged for waivers to be signed by the parents all of the students that would attend, made arrangements so that they could actually get ammo, etc., etc.  The waivers for every club in the school had to be changed.  I do not know how many hurdles these students needed to get over, but there were a bunch, AND it took persistence to get over them.  Persistence is what makes Riflemen, so for these students it is a mere matter of time before they get Rifleman's patches.  Thank you!  It was a privilege to be there yesterday!

Thanks to the faculty and staff of Phiilips Exeter Academy.  I think many secondary schools in the country would never permit their students to have an orgainzed shooting event, nevertheless support it.  Thank you for trusting us with your students, that you for considering an Appleseed as an event that your students could attend.  A particular thanks to Dean Morrissey and Mr. Mike McLaughlin, the faculty advisor for the students' shooting club.  I know this club would not exist and the Appleseed would not have happened without a faculty advisor.  I also know that the Dean gave time and attention toward this happening, because I heard about it from some of the next people I will thank.

Thanks to that parents who made this event happen, all you trusted your children to us, that's an honor.  Special thanks to the mothers of Lake and Kat, who I know also gave time and effort toward this happening.  Mrs. V, if not for you, well, the idea might not have been conceived, and I know you supported it from moments before the event was conceived and helped it move forward at various times.  And Mrs. V is a trooper, I've seen her sit in a muddy puddle on an Appleseed firing line.   Mrs. R, I know you've been on board since the day we met.  Yesterday, the entire club had homemade mats that had been produced by Mrs. R and Kat, waterproof material for the bottoms, something soft, and camo, on top, pockets into which to insert pads or towels.  That took time, money and effort.  And, let's note, that these students were at the range on Mother's Day. 

Thanks to the Exeter Sportsman's Club.  It's nice to be permitted the use of a fine facility like ESC, but when they do it on short notice, WOW.  This range wanted this event to happen, and they did everything it took to make it happen.  Their cooperation was fantastic, and then they turned over everything to us, they even told us the combination for the locks then left. 

Thanks to Firewall99, without whom this would not have happened.  He is the first Appleseeder, other than myself, who knew about this as a possibility.  He made the contact with ESC and got them on board, and he helped in other ways.  Thank you John.  I also got guidance and help from crak, Ninsho, and others over the past months of trying to make this happen, including a flurry of our needs being met in short order as things really started to pull together during the past month.  I am sure I am leaving someone out, and I apologize for doing so. 

Thanks to voidoid and The Old Guide, who are both excellent instructors and made this event a breeze to run.  To give some indication of how excited we were to be doing this event, ever seen instructors "high five" during the first Red Coat?  voidoid and I did.  The Old Guide, when he knew I needed another instructor, he took about half a breath to agree to drive the five hours and do it.  And this was not so simple as show up with a sharpie and a Red Hat.  All of these students were shooting loaners owned by instructors, who also provided slings, magazines, mats, etc.  A final thanks to vernic82, as I still have his rifles, slings, magazines, etc., and I have to sort them out from my own, all of which are still stuffed into my car, which is still filled to the gills. 

So, I am off to begin to clean up . . . .
Ramseur Five Ten!!!

"Live Free or Die:  Death is not the Worst of Evils."  Genl.  John Stark, 1809.

NhLibertas

WOW. It's an honor to to read your synopsis, and to see that so many good hearts manifest a great experience for our progeny.

Marksmanship and heritage are critical foundations for our younger generations. What an honor for everyone involved to see such an event come to fruition.

I hope that this is but a spark that sets fire to a groundswell of more events like this in the future. At one time, not too long ago, there were marksmanship programs in schools all across our land. There couldn't be a better time than now to bring this back, and to incorporate a deep connection with our heritage along with it.
"Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. Liberty is a man-of-war, and we are all crew." ~ Kenneth W. Royce

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. – Thomas Jefferson


Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of readiness to die. - G.K. Chesterton

mac66

#8
Shall I be the first to say...

:pics:
Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in'.
Ronald Reagan

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers

The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects' obedience."  Patrick Henry, 1765

Motivation?...The best solution to morale problems is to kill all the unhappy people  Ghenghis Khan

Scout

Great Job Cpt. Mac. What is the follow up plan? Are they willing to make this a regular type event? Did any of the faculty or staff attend?

What about getting any of those folks who attended to think about becoming instructors? I know the folks in schools like this have a limited amount of time, but if you could get even one or two of them to become instructors, even if they can only instruct at these specific school events, you would sure be a long way ahead on promotions for this type event and in being able to have local boots on the ground, ready to help you instruct at any future events.

Once again, my thanks and appreciation for bringing this to fruition. I have a good deal of experience in these type events and I know that it takes a lot of time and effort to get them to actually manifest. And you end up with so much time and effort invested in them it is a great feeling when they finally come about.

Anything I can do to help I am always willing. Just sing out and let me know what you need to get another one, or some other different plan going and I will gladly help. My thanks to the rest of the crew who were part of this too. To Firewall99 and to all the rest who had a hand in this. Thank Guys.

Scout

BattleRoadUSA.com

"Who wants Ice Cream?" Fred

Sixty seconds is way too long for a minute, I am cutting it down to thirty seven seconds- SoM

"You can shout it, you can preach it, but no matter how many times you repeat it, NEVER believe your own bullSh*t." (as told to me by Grin Reaper)

Pitmaster

Sounds like an outstanding event, at a great location, and target audience. Trying to set this up as an annual event would go a long way with a young population who will become future leaders throughout the country.
Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

CaptMac

#11
Ask and you shall receive.  We have some more photos, but here are the first few.  One is voidoid explaining the Red Coat target and two are the students actually shooting the first Red Coat. 

We have already been talking with the students about another Appleseed shoot in November, so that is likely to be next. 

The students know we will come and do this again.  We are also trying to make it happen at some of the rival schools, and if it does, maybe get them to compete.  I've promised to donate a trophy, if it happens. 
Ramseur Five Ten!!!

"Live Free or Die:  Death is not the Worst of Evils."  Genl.  John Stark, 1809.

The Old Guide

When we reach the students of an exclusive prep school we are planting the seeds of liberty in very fertile ground. All rifles were loaners owned by Red Hats. All were clean going in. I did not see a rifle malfunction.
Our history is not a list of dates and places. It is a dynamic adventure of freedom and individual courage.

Crak's IBC, August 2010.
Fred's AIBC, April 2011
kDan's IBC, March 2012
Northeast SC Confab, Feb. 13

Josey Wales

..to hell with them fellows, buzzards gotta eat same as worms..

CaptMac

Josey Wales, thanks, but I also forgot, I owe a round of thanks to VietVet, Josey Wales, CharlieHotel, heather and whoever else set me up with the stuff to complete my supplies for this Exeter event.  Without their help, we would have been short a few things, especially the flags.

AFinally, a little about what we did.  As mentioned, this event had been in the planning stages for months.  A lot of work and planning was done by the students.  As far as the Appleseeders, we just keep saying "yes" to whatever was asked of us toward getting this event to happen.   We needed to submit a descrition of our qualifications.  Done.  Then we needed to agree to background checks.  Done. 

Well, the students let us know that everything the school needed to completed was completed in the beginning of April.  Then we got in touch with the range, and the instructors who had submitted to the background checks and tried to find a date when it could happen.  The Exeter Sportsman's Club gave us the range for Mother's Day and that was fine with the students.  voidoid and myself were both available that day.  Unfortunately, vernic82 was supposed to be on of the instructors, but he was committed that day.  The Old Guide readily agreed to step in and submitted the paperwork for the background check.  The school told us we all "passed" the check and the shoot was on.  Luckily, vernic82 loaned me four rifles for that day or we would have come up short. 

The range, like many, only permits shooting after noon on Sundays, and many of the students only had until mid-afternoon available.  So, we needed to make use of whatever time we had available and work quickly.  Also, some of the students had never fired anything before, and all of them were going to be shooting loaner rifles, with which they were not familiar.  So, we got the students to show up around ten in the morning, and we adapted along the lines of the POI developed by dond using dry-firing.

Our first task, as always was a safety briefing.  These students quickly were repeating the four safety rules back at us.  We then moved into teaching the manual of arms for the Ruger 10/22 and Marlin 795 rifles we were using.  We had a few different rifles in reserve, in case they were needed.  The Old Guide and voidoid each had a group of students and taught them the manual of arms for the 10/22 aqnd 795, respectivley.  Then, we proceeded to teach the six steps and prone position, each interrupted by some time dry-firing.  This time was well-used, especially as it allowed the inexperienced shooters to become a little familiar with the rifles before live fire exercises.  At about that time, noon was approaching, and we were going to be allowed to actually shoot.

Our first course of fire was the Red Coat.  I think we had only one shooter that did not put at least 3 rounds into one of the silhouettes.  We were shooting from less than 25 meters, so we had room for all of the shooters to take a position.  Still, I was pretty impressed, the dry-firing exercises worked.  One of the girls who had never fired a rifle before had such a look of joy and releif and her face, almost as if she was shocked, after we completed the course of fire.  When asked if she was ok, she said yes, that she had "thought someone was going to die today."  She was releived when she understood that was not going to happen. 

We then proceeded through the other POIs; NPOA, seated, offhand, etc., shooting at squares, then one green coat, then an AQT.  We moved the firing line to be at the correct distance for the AQT, while voidoid provided history instruction and began to run relays with the shooters, completing the Green Coat and then proceeding to AQTs.  Most of the students got to shoot at 2 AQTs, one stage by stage and the other an RFAQT. 

A lot fo fun was had by everyone.  The smiles we saw on all of the faces there were great. 

We did not get to award any Rifleman patches that day, but there is no doubt in my mind that these students will earn some.  After 19 months or working and planning, they have demonstrated that they know how to persist. 

I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to instruct at this event.  It really was a privilege. 

Now, if one school will let their teenage students go to a real shooting Appleseed event, more than one will.  How do we make it happen? 
Ramseur Five Ten!!!

"Live Free or Die:  Death is not the Worst of Evils."  Genl.  John Stark, 1809.