Salem, OH June 27-28 2015

[Invictus Maneo]

Great weekend in Salem, Ohio! I honestly thought that it was going to be a bust given the extreme weather (like two inches of rain predicted with storm and flood warnings) but it was not. Everyone showed, ready to go! Even though we shot alongside a swollen flooded creek and the first Redcoats were ripped off the backers before we could shoot them by a monsoon and it RAINED ALL DAY, perseverance, improvisation and Patriotism prevailed!

A great big Thanks to Jay and Dan and The Salem Hunting Club for hosting yet another great Appleseed. If you need anymore reasons to attend an Appleseed in Salem Ohio, perhaps the idea of a hot lunch including Venison Cheddar Hot Dogs will do the trick. Also having club members present and willing to accommodate the last minute needs as they arise is always welcome.

In my five year involvement with Appleseed, I can honestly say that I have never worked with a more skilled and dedicated group of Americans. All involved were extremely attentive and had Very teachable attitudes. It was also reassuring to see families in attendance.

EVERY shooter scored on their first redcoat.
Chip and Chris completely blew out their first square (like as in one large hole) and EVERYONE else had very nice groups. I was righteously impressed.
Bob and Chip added comic relief as the Odd Couple as they could not seem to choose whose target they were supposed to shoot but they were very good-natured about it. After finally sorting it all out, they both managed to SCORE RIFLEMAN with a whopping score of 241.  Most interesting that it was on the same AQT. Hmmmm...
The rest of us still think it was conspiracy.

Jay who had previously shot Rifleman, re-qualified (actually twice this weekend alone) again and has since run out of patch colors from which to choose. Though I forgot to write down his first score, his lower score was only a paltry 233. He said he was trying for a personal best.

Jay cleared no less than two Redcoats and Chip also cleared one.

Damon, Criss, Paul, Matt and Mark all showed great improvement with numerous scores in the 190's. I am sure they are on the brink of scoring Rifleman and hope that they all will come back for more.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that Justus did an outstanding job as a Bluehat both working the line with his Dad and being on top of the Course of Fire with targets at the ready. Thankfully he was also able to keep me in line when I forgot the round count for Stage Four. Justus also did an excellent job on his PC1 for promotion. Congratulations!

Much comradery, humor and high quality shooting with some wonderful Patriotic Americans! It was a pleasure and an honor to spend time with all of them.

[rambo]

Lee, Roger and Dan,

Boy, oh, boy am I hurting today. But...the weekend was worth every cut, bruise, swollen joint, tear and drop of sweat. (For those that don't know, I am a disabled vet and further disabled civilian. 46 years old and 2 major spine surgeries and 2 left leg surgeries, amongst many others. 4 meds 3-4x daily just for pain/nerve/spasm endurance) I made it through both days and I am so glad I pushed it further than I thought I could. (Thanks to Roger "Birdman" and Dan "??" for the extra help as well as the rest and recovery time when absolutely needed.)

I've learned how to shoot the "Navy way", the "Air Force way", the tactical/CQB way and the benchrest way, but this is clearly the fastest, most challenging but productive way to learn "inside the box" the WWII M1 Garand Marksman way in a short period of time. With some personal practice at local ranges I WILL get my patch at the next Appleseed event I attend (hopefully on the 1st day/1st AQT!). (And acquire & customize a Ruger 10/22 in the meantime, instead of my loud and expensive FNH SCAR 16s)

The history lessons on what really happened in 1775 was icing on the cake. Great information, quotes and true stories. Thanks Lee "Invictus Maneo", especially for the humor and the "verbal give & take". There is much for me to read up on (and re-visit!) and further research for my own self-knowledge and sharing with others.

Thanks to all, including SHC staff and all the other participants. 2 thumbs and one, at least, leg up.

Regards,

Damon aka "Rambo"
ex-CTR3, US Navy, 1987-1990 ('Operation Earnest Will')
Chardon Twp, OH

[Birdman]

Hi everyone! I didn't sleep well last night.....too happy. All you guys did great. Your safety on the line was excellent! That makes our job easy. Often us instructors are completely drained just from safety issues that pop up way too often. You all brought empty cups for us to fill with lots of new and perhaps different information than what you have learned in the past. Thank you for bringing your teachable attitudes! I very much enjoyed working with Lee, Dan, and Dan's son JJ. Man, that young man is 9? I think I was Just trying to tie my shoes by myself at his age. Keep up the good work JJ!
For others that did not attend this event at Salem, all these shooters showed up thinking they were going to be shooting in the wet grass (mud) all day, but they came anyway. We improvised and were able to use the covered range.
Jay and Dan, thank you very much, everything was perfect! I have instructed at every Project Appleseed event ever held at the Salem Hunting Club (no hunting allowed...that's funny right there). Why would anyone EVER miss one??
Thank you shooters. Thank you club members. Thank you Jay!

[BobShaw]

I will just copy & paste what I posted on FB.:

I just spent a rainy weekend at my first Appleseed at Salem, OH. I have been looking at this program since it was mentioned to me by a Volunteer at the NRA National Match Pistol phase in 2013 (Camp Perry). I am a Bullseye shooter and more recently a High Power shooter of consistently modest ability. I am completely impressed with the quality of instruction, the safety discipline and historical context of the U.S.Constitution. The program will improve the performance of most shooters, (me), and all will benefit for the extensive dialog of April 18 and 19 of 1775. My Appleseed was led by professional educators and experienced marksmen. I will be back again after I finish my 9th volunteer stint at the NRA National Championship pistol phase (ACRO Range 3, maybe), and my very first CMP Sporter match as a competitor on Aug 1. I encourage all Appleseed Riflemen to enter the CMP Sporter. You will raise the bar.