Rising Fawn, GA May 4-5

[Ramblin' Wreck]

As Appleseeders go, the group of shooters that showed up on Saturday morning must most certainly have been some of the hardiest and most determined ever. Sometime during the night before, it began to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain. By the time we assembled for opening comments, the water was beginning to puddle on the range. While most everyone came prepared for wet, I don't think anybody was prepared for the deluge we endured. Overall, we were blessed with over 3 inches of rain in 24 hours. Not only was the water coming down in sheets, but a stiff wind was blowing at times, making it very difficult to stay warm, especially once clothes and shoes were wet. We were able to relieve the shooters' fears when I assured them that we wouldn't charge extra for actual combat conditions.

In order to head off disaster, I hatched a plan, before the shoot started, to make sure that nobody had to lay on the soggy, wet ground. We moved everyone under the cover and organized the shooters into two flights. With limited space, only 12 firing positions, and almost twice that number of shooters, plus instructors, it was a recipe for chaos. Despite the tight quarters and noise from the wind and rain, the instruction and shooting proceeded apace and the shoot went very smoothly.

These shooters were not going to be put off by a little, well, a lot of water. They came to learn to shoot well and drink in the heady air of patriot resolution. Shooters awaiting their turn on the firing line loaded their magazines and were ready to move into position when their turn came, so very little time was lost between flights. Demonstrations and instruction required that everyone huddle up close and stay as quiet as possible so that every shooter could see and hear what was going on. Without having to be told, the group worked together to make this happen. However, even under the cover, the blowing rain soaked shooters, rifles, and mats. Tramping out to change or check targets involved slogging across the soaked, sometimes muddy, ground, through standing water, while the rain poured down relentlessly. Sometimes, water-logged targets tore to pieces when they were removed from the backers. Even for those with rain gear, dry was merely a dream. As I said before, these shooters were undeterred. Nobody complained, even when their shoes were filled with water and their toes frozen.

Instructors were equally indefatigable and resolute that this shoot would be a great one despite the wet and frigid conditions. With a student to instructor ratio of almost two to one, Tellico, Goose, Guardian, SureshotSpartan, Regulator, OverMountain Man, Rusty, Arwen, Bowditch, and WriteOnTarget made sure the shooters got plenty of personal attention. While the instruction portion was well in hand, the inclement weather created other problems. Since they made every trip to the target line with the shooters, instructors were just as cold as the shooters and were also soaked to the bone. At the target line, cardboard target backers collapsed under the weight of the water they absorbed and had to be replaced. Instructors worked diligently to keep the target line up, making repairs and replacements whenever necessary. This was one of those shoots that makes an instructor appreciate a sunny, warm, and mostly uneventful shoot.

All in all, the horrible weather seemed to bring out the best in everyone, student and instructor alike. The commitment to braving the elements and charging ahead paid off. Not only did the shooters have a successful shoot in spite of the weather, but three of them qualified Rifleman. The first two qualifying Rifleman scores came from the muzzles of two of our lady shooters. Kris R and Stefanie F really put the pressure on the guys with their scores of 211 and 222. Ed B met the challenge and answered back with a 210 of his own. After taking a shower of North Bridge water, Ed also took an Orange Hat. Seems like we might need to issue a new "NoahSeed" patch for those shooters who qualify in the type of conditions we experienced this weekend.

In addition to Ed, two new Orange Hats, Shane M and Barclay T, joined the cadre having fired a Rifleman score at previous events. Finally, when it seemed like it couldn't get any better hat-wise, Guardian completed his IPC and became Georgia's newest Red Hat. Congratulations, Guardian!

Not surprisingly, the shooters seemed to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the Revolutionary history we told them. Offering inspiring renditions of the three strikes were Orange Hats, Arwen, who related the first strike; Rusty, who shared the second; and SureShotSpartan, who wrapped it up with the third strike. On Sunday, as the sun mercifully made an appearance, Rusty, SureShotSpartan, and WriteOnTarget teamed up to present Dangerous Old Men stories. Shooters learned the Appleseed adage that, "Liberty is not a spectator sport!"

Many of the shooters have plans to return to upcoming Appleseeds. They want to continue their pursuit of a Rifleman score, as well as, take part in the new American Revolution in pursuit of the liberty bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers and the others who were not afraid to take a stand.




Tellico trying to drain the lake.





Shooting across lake OTFM (On Target Fox Mountain)





SureShotSpartan finds a shallow spot.


Ramblinwreck

[Overmountain Man]

It was a wet, cold day but everybody stuck it out and finished the day. We ran the heat on high all the way home!

[SureShotSpartan]

Despite the torrential downpour and the challenges associated with such weather, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend on the range in Rising Fawn with an AMAZING group of Patriots!! 



Hats of all colors were awarded...









...and several patches were EARNED.









During the Instructor introductions on Saturday morning, I spoke to the epic nature of our mission at Appleseed and conveyed my sincere hope that this weekend would one day be viewed as a benchmark in their lives.  In many ways, it nows seems almost prophetic.  Here are a few examples:

One of DrJohn's men, Guardian, joined us for his Instructor PC. We, along with his wife, were able to witness the promotion of this fine man to Red Hat.  Early Sunday, his wife asked for a Blue Hat and we welcomed her with open arms.  She later earned her Rifleman patch, "HOOZAH!!", which he PROUDLY presented to her.  Here is a pic of the glowing couple:



Ramblinwreck calls me his "little brother".  In fact, I am not really.  Ed is.  Ed overcame adversity and a lot of setbacks in his quest to earn his Rifleman patch.  As they say, "He saved the best for last."  While I was scoring his final AQT attempt, the attendees were shooting the final Red Coat of the event.  Not knowing that he had shot a qualifying score, he relaxed, settled in and CLEARED the Red Coat!  Great joy was felt by all seeing the smiling faces of the Brandon brothers as Ed GLADLY accepted some North River "refreshment"!!



On behalf of the entire Instructor Cadre, THANK YOU TO ALL THAT ATTENDED!!! 

May Liberty continue to INCREASE!

[SureShotSpartan]

Sorry for all the links!! I'm trying to upload the pics with a MAC.   Any hints would be appreciated.

[Carlson]

I use Photobucket.

Once you upload your images to an album in Photobucket, you can then use the IMG codes to display them on the thread.

www.photobucket.com

You can also use other sites such as Picaza or Imageshack.

[Ramblin' Wreck]

"Any hints would be appreciated."  Get a PC. 

Thanks for all the pics little bro' and all the hard work you and your fellow instructors did in this really bad weather. You guys made the difference.

Wreck

[brianf31]

That's the way to persevere, shooters!

Congrats on your new red hat, Guardian!

[Maximum Ordinate]

We had a great group of participants this weekend.  The cheerful smiles and can-do attitudes on Saturday during the incessant drizzle were really inspiring.

My thanks go to the shooters for making this a fantastic weekend... and congrats to our three new Riflemen!   

I snapped a few pictures.  I'll get them up tonight (when I'm at home on my PC).

[goose]

Splash, Splash!

This was another of those weekends where it was proven that it matters not the conditions but rather the Citizens with which we surround ourselves that effects perseverance.

Ben demonstrated that necessity is the mother of invention in working 2 flights of shooters. The proof was in the execution of the idea where everyone was reasonably comfortable to learn and improve the skills of marksmanship as well as instruction--we are all students in the "feedback loop" to adapt and overcome.

Looking forward to the next one!

--goose

[crankybones]

Thanks to Everyone for making this a great weekend! And by everyone, I do mean everyone. No grumping at all, but I'm sure the 'no charge for conditions' clause helped
Seems I can't help but learn something at these shoots, either about shooting, history or myself.
Goose, thanks for your fervor on the subject of our citizenry and our responsibility to uphold those rights we have been given by our forefathers.

See you all at a future AS,
crankybones

[Guardian]

WOOHOO!!!! What a weekend! Spartan absolutely nailed it with his expectation of it being epic. I was ecstatic to receive my Red Hat and i am honored to have achieved that hallmark, but i confess that seeing my wife take a Blue Hat was even better. I'm proud she wants to be involved beyond the shooting. Then to top it off with her shooting a 222 on the AQT......lets just say the weekend will not be forgotten.

Thanks to all for the congratulatory remarks. I appreciate the efforts of all who helped me get here. DrJohn was the inspiration to begin this journey, everyone I've met in the program since has bolstered that. You are a great bunch of people to be associated with!

Thanks to all the Shooters for coming out in spite of the weather. Thanks to the parents who brought their children to shoot and stayed to watch. Hopefully, you'll join in the experience next time. Everyone made substantial improvements throughout the weekend. Thanks to all for your attention to the instruction.

Gus, Grace, Antonio, Melissa, Erik, and Samuel; practice what you learned and continue your improvement! Each of you have the ability to achieve Rifleman. Remember perfect practice.....

Kris and Ed, congrats to both of you for achieving your patches. I concur with the "NoahSeed" patch idea.

The history is my favorite part of these events and Rusty, Spartan, WriteOnTarget, and Arwen did an excellent job with their respective parts. Thanks for the effort each of you put into it.

'Wreck, fine job of keeping us all straight.

Welcome to Ed and Barclay. Thanks for taking up the challenge of an Orange Hat and helping us bail!

Hope to see each of you again on the trail!

Guardian

[connibear]

Congrats gaurdian on your redhat, you sure deserve it. Congrats and welcome to all the other new hats. Congrats to the new riflemen and women. Sounds like it was pretty wet and nasty. Glad to hear everyone stayed persisted and overcame. That is the spirit of riflemen.

[Keep_smilin_Txn]

Thank you for an awesome weekend. If it rained anymore than it did, I would of needed water wings.  See y'all next trip.

[Maximum Ordinate]

I think I ended up with some mud splattered on my phone... so here are a few pics that did turn out.  Click on these to see the larger image!

[Roswell]

Sounds like an awesome shoot! Congratulations to all the new Riflemen and hats. Special congrats to Guardian for taking the red hat and his wife Stefanie for taking a blue and scoring Rifleman!

Sorry I couldn't make this one, but I hope to see you all on the trail soon.