Toccoa GA Nov 7-8

[General Stuart]

When days of rain meet freshly graded Georgia red clay, what happens? Your get gloppy, soupy, slimy mud up to your ankles. When you have those kinds of conditions, can you really call the event an Appleseed, or would it more accurate to call it a Mudseed? The theme of the weekend was cold, rain, and mud. Did we cancel the event do to these conditions? Did the rain keep the shooters at home, making all the efforts of the Instructors worthless? HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!

We had shooters galore turn out to play in the mud. I am getting a little choked up as I sit here and recall the determination with which these brave souls slogged through the mud. I never once heard them complain. There was a silent resolve that ran through the entire line of shooters. I could feel the Patriotism coursing the veins of each shooter there. Our ancestors would have been proud of us.

I would like to point out one thing that made this shoot unique. This shoot had attendees from six different countries. The message of Liberty was preached and well receipted by all. Freedom is not an American idea. Obviously it was brought from Europe to America. Lets remember that the war was British against British. Other countries certainly play a key role as well.

We started off cold, wet and drizzly. After our Safety briefing, we broke out the Red Coat targets and immediately I knew that we had a great group of shooters. The marksmanship displayed was well above the average for an Appleseed event. As the day went on, we learned the tripod of marksmanship, the Steady Hold Factors, Six Steps, and Natural Point of Aim. At lunch we were treated to the first and second strike by Jambo and Franklinfarmer. After lunch, the skill level of this group improved dramatically. Every one showed great skill in the Seated and Standing positions. Later, FabricatorsGal regaled us with the Third Strike of the match. Letting us know where the War for Independence began in earnest. We were able to squeeze in one AQT before calling it a day.

Sunday came overcast and dreary, but no rain in the AM. Since we could not fire before noon, we decided to do all of our review in the morning and include our KD presentation before lunch. During lunch we heard the tales of Dangerous old men, Gallant Women and Brave Children. It was fascinating to hear of the likes of Samuel Whittemore, Betty Zane, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Once we began shooting, we quickly went to the AQTs. after only a couple, we had ourselves a few new Riflemen. Trevor scored a 230. Huzzah!!! And Wes scored a 213. Huzzzah!!! These men new very much what they were about.

Later that day, everyone headed down to shoot at actual distance. Once zeroed at 100 yards, all had a chance to ring steel at 100. All were successful in making the steel ring loud and clear. Some of our shooters even took shots on a steel gong out at 300 yards. Also many were successful.

At the end of Sunday, two very brave souls felt the need to partake in the fight against Ignorance, Apathy, and Laziness. Trevor and Lance requested to take an Orange Hat and join our ranks as Instructors. Appleseed is truly blessed to have them. Thank you guys for the service to your country. It was a grand way to close off Appleseed in North GA for 2015. I will forever remember this weekend spent among true Patriots.

[DrJohn]

I must echo the words written above by General Stuart, the conditions were far, far from ideal. And that is one reason the instructors felt this was such a special event, because our gallant students not only turned out en masse, but their mental toughness and good humor in overcoming the weather and the gumbo mud, was inspirational. And many expressed their appreciation not of the shooting instruction so much, but the emphasis on Liberty and the ideals that made this the freest and most productive country on earth.

It is always gratifying to see scores improve steadily, and that happened beyond our most fervent wishes. But to see the light in the eyes when we began to discuss Liberty and the philosophy of freedom of the Founding Generation, well, that was beyond price. Welcome into the Appleseed teaching family "Lancer" and "Canbrit". May your Appleseed career be long and fruitful. And it is my fervent wish to see each and every one of you soon. God bless you all and God bless our dear country.

[CanBrit]

Thank you General Stuart and DrJohn and all the amazing Appleseed volunteers for a wonderful event!  It was my privilege to request an orange hat and I just hope I can live up the the standard that every Red Hat I have ever met has set. I'm just starting my journey, but I am so looking forward to each and every step!!

[brianf31]

Thank you General Stuart and DrJohn and all the amazing Appleseed volunteers for a wonderful event!  It was my privilege to request an orange hat and I just hope I can live up the the standard that every Red Hat I have ever met has set. I'm just starting my journey, but I am so looking forward to each and every step!!

Trevor,
I am glad to hear you took a hat. You will be an asset to the cause. I look forward to working with you sometime!

[76Patriot]

As mentioned above by both General Stuart and Dr John, this was a truly inspiring group of students.  Watching the pre-registration numbers climb even as the weather forecast promised cold air and lots of rain was enough to excite me.  Seeing that many students actually show up was even better.  But to see EVERY student slog through all of that mud with no complaints and then plop down on muddy shooting mats was beyond words.  This was certainly a fine group of patriots.

Congrats to our new riflemen...Huzzah!

And to our new Orange Hats...welcome to the family.  I look forward to working with you both soon.

And to every one else...you all have the potential to become riflemen; you merely need to persist.

76

[General Stuart]

Here's some pictures.

[CanBrit]

Hi Brian,

Thank you very much! I hope to get to Macon in the new Appleseed season and assist as an IIT! Hopefully I can work with you then!

Take care!

Trevor

[PHenry]

Kudos to Shooters and Instructors alike. I am humbled by your grit. 

[Cable___Guy]

The 4th picture is priceless, So into the BUBBLE they do not notice their legs are tangled up. 

[txmorris]

Thank you so much to the instructors for making this event possible; not only for your forbearance with us students but also your making history come alive!  I am so proud of our nation's heritage and those who have come before us.  May we not fail the ideals that formed our country!  Although a wet and muddy event, it was so inspiring and so worthwhile.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

[Roswell]

Sounds like y'all had a bang up event.  You are what Thomas Paine called for. No summer soldiers and sunshine Patriots in your crew. Huzzah! I commend you all.

[FabricatorsGal]

I'm sorry I'm posting so late...it was a crazy week!  I must concur with my fellow Instructors...this was an amazing shoot!  We had 23 pre-registered shooters.  In spite of the weather, 21 of them showed up!  I think we then had 5 or so walk-ons.  It was apparent that these were shooters who weren't going to let a little bit of rain and a whole lot of mud deter them from the task at hand.  I wish I had taken a group photo after the first day...most of the shooters were literally covered from head to toe in mud!  On the second day, I got down on the Line with them.  What an experience!  But as the previous posters stated, the shooters didn't complain, persisted, and improved considerably!

Congratulations to our new Riflemen, Trevor and Wes!

Congratulations, and welcome to the family, Lance and Trevor!

In the following post, I'll add the photographs I took of the awards ceremony.

FabricatorsGal
(Megan)

[FabricatorsGal]

Trevor with his 230!

Wes with his 213!

Chase received his Luther Blanchard patch from General Stuart!

Lance accepted his OH from Fabricator.  We're so glad he finally decided to join the family!  Welcome Lance!

Trevor accepted his OH from Dr. John!

Welcome Trevor!

FabricatorsGal
(Megan)