Project Appleseed

Ah, Autumn is finally here.  No more triple-digit temperatures, no more dust devils, just the pleasant breezes and crisp mountain mornings as the pumpkins -- er, apples ripen on the... well, you know what I mean.   

Back we were at Burro Canyon, starting fresh with a new and enthusiastic group ready to shoot and hungry for liberty.  Fifteen fine folks turned out, one a returning Ladyseeder, the others new but ready to find out what they were about.  Our group included a couple of couples  and two fine, squared-away youngsters, and they all took just about everything we could throw at them.  Nobody sitting out today!  So we got straight to work.

Our opening Redcoat numbers left a lot of room for improvement, but we started finding it quickly.  With my old buds Psych Doc and Penny's Dad running them through the drills, while Fouber chimed in with her own experiences and her own encouragement, we started seeing groups form up and shrink right off the bat.  After lunch, and our reminder of just where this whole "America" thing came from in the first place, our student took to new techniques with renewed energy, and came face to face at last with the fabled AQT.

And... wouldn't you know, we had a Rifleman hiding out in our midst!  Steven cleaned up his very first AQT with a smooth 215, no doubt about it either.  You can't beat that.  Just as he surprised us, we surprised him with his Rifleman patch and welcomed him into the ranks.  Great shooting! 

Sunday morning was raining buckets when I rose, but wouldn't you know, it was dry and calm at the firing line.  Eleven of our students were back for more, and wasted no time diving into the finer points of marksmanship.

We took a break after lunch for a little long-distance shooting, this time at a 7 MOA acorn squash way off at the berm -- proving beyond a doubt that the same skills work no matter the distance.  Our poor little squash was squashed!   

On Sunday students also tried their hand at more powerful rifles, some opting to switch to AR-15s and M1 Carbines (and Carbine look-alikes), and our line was filled with beautiful 5.56 music.  Scores never dropped.  By the end of the day we hadn't made any more Riflemen, but we had many who were within sneezing distance.  Ken and Josh both scored in the 190's, Joe finished up with a 206!  And Jen probably had a 220 except she miscounted on Stage 4...  been there, done that  ... so instead we had to settle for two cleared Redcoats and a gaggle of bonus boxes.  Next time.  Keep practicing. 

My thanks again to the students who made it a great class, and to Jerry as always for giving us a place to shoot and to reconnect with our heritage.  I'll see you again soon!

My pictures from the shoot.  Feel free to post up with your own, questions, comments, recipies, or pithy sayings.   


Psych Doc leads the group for safety briefing


A look at our class lined up in the prone position


Fouber gives Mary Ann some words of wisdom and encouragement


Our Saturday Rifleman!  Steven makes the grade with room to spare, on his very first try


Brian and Miguel, a glimpse of our posterity, receiving their Luther Blanchard awards for youth excellence


Here we are on Sunday, and here we are in the standing position.  You can plainly see the improvement, and the hunger...


Jen lines up on the pesky vegetable.  105 meters away, seven inches across.  Unfamiliar rifle.  Iron sights.  No bench and no bipod.  Yet every single student hit the target.  Some hit it eight or nine out of ten.   


See you all at the next one!

What a great shoot! Congratulations to Steven and it was great to meet all of you. Many of you persevered through equipment issues, others let go of old habits, and groups shrank accordingly. A little practice to polish those new skills  and we will be handing out a bunch of patches. Hope to see you all again soon!

That squash may live but it will be a vegetable the rest of its life. 

Had a tone of fun can't wait for Corona next month.