Berwyn, MD April 18-19 2015

[southseasnurse]

This special Patriot's Day shoot was for the the officers of Berwyn Rod and Gun Club, one of our best hosts in the great state of MD.  These attendees were all experienced shooters, and 12 came out on Saturday to see what Appleseed had to offer.  Genuinely interested in what AS had to offer and informed about our heritage, they were attentive throughout instruction.  For this group, the Strikes were a conversation, not a lecture.  No new Riflemen on Saturday, but Mike, a returning ASer, showed them how it's done by shooting the best group on the 'Devil TV' target with carded sights (winning a deck of AS playing cards) and requalifying with a 224 on the AQT.

Ten returned to spend April 19 with us; after an excellent KD talk by FFJim and the Second Strike we got down to business.  Highlights of the day included a story of the shenanigans of Cresap's Riflemen, who would take turns shooting boards from between one another's knees (a clear violation of rule one, but entertaining nonetheless), followed by a Rifleman's cadence course of fire at Jim's custom targets depicting a very nervous man with a board suspended between his knees.  Thomas won that round (and a Gadsden Flag), with Mike having been declared ineligible for further prizes due to being a 'ringer'.  FFJim shared a rousing third strike, then Maryland got its newest Rifleman (congrats to Bob, with a 210!).  Too bad we were out of North Bridge water.   The tightest group in the Liberty Volley (and our last deck of AS playing cards) went to Kevin before the closing Redcoat.  Although we only had one new Rifleman, we saw consistently high scores from the line, with most ranging from the 160's to 190's.   

We were honored to have these fine shooters come out to spend the day with us, and see what AS has to offer their club.  It's not really my place to motivate these club officers, as Berwyn R&G is already bailing the ship as fast as it can:  The club holds annual drives for the food pantry and Toys for tots, as well as operating a vibrant Junior Shooters program and conducting community outreach via range days, special community shoots, and nature conservation efforts in the Bowie area. Civic education and involvement is a regular topic at club meetings.  They are the epitome of good shooting citizens, and it says a lot that they've included AS in their test.  My hat goes off to them, and I hope our relationship lasts until the 300th Anniversary of Lexington and Concord!  Many thanks to to the club for their continued support, and to FFJim, ShiguChan, MostlyHarmless, Flint Locke, IceSage, and AlexW for helping make the weekend a success!

[FFJim]

Another great shoot at a great club with great shooters. Did I mention it was great? :-)

As southseasnurse stated, Berwyn Rod & Gun Club sets the bar for how well a host club can support the program. We are fortunate to have a few clubs in MD that know very much what they are about!

J

[MikeCee]

At my very first Appleseed at AAFG back in early 2013, two questions came to the forefront for me: "Why don't more members of the shooting community know about this program?" and "How can I get this program to my home range at Berwyn?"

The second question was the easy one, all I had to do was ask them.

Still working on that first one, as often as I can.