Palm Bay FL, Dec. 12-13

[malabar]

What an amazing weekend!

We had 27 shooters turn out for a weekend in December with temperatures in the high 70s. Shooters ranged in age from 10 to 75.

We minted four riflemen and had two other shooters knocking on the door. Yankee David agreed to take an orange hat, and Sheppsan, a transplant for Indiana, worked his first shoot as an orange hat. Under the watchful gaze of heidiheidi,  he was calling the line on Sunday morning and doing an excellent job of it. I predict great things from Sheppsan.

One of the highlights of the weekend involved a mom whose son had been given a ticket to the shoot by his grandmother, Loretta. Nathan's mom, Kelly, was not a shooter and was very leery of allowing her son to attend.  By Sunday morning, mom was on a mat shooting beside her son with a borrowed rifle. Nathan did a great job and so did Kelly, a school teacher. Kelly told her class all about the shoot and how much perseverance it takes to become a Rifleman. Another convert!

Photos to follow....

[B.C.]

I attended on Sunday, what a great facility and staff. The instructors showed themselves to be admirable folks who take their job of spreading the word of liberty very seriously. More than a few students left with a new found gleam of inspiration in their eyes. Thanks to Yankee David for taking a hat and standing up for this great country. I suspect that HeidiHeidi will be receiving that green hat very soon - perhaps we will see her being the boss in Melrose next year? Sheppsan called the line for the first time with authority, well done sir! Guntuckian ran the KD portion like a champ and showed us the way, thank you. Thanks also to themenace, bill o rights and malabar. All the volunteers in Palm Bay are like family and work well together as one. EXCELLENT JOB TEAM! Well done. I hope to see you all again soon. 

[Guntuckian]

A great weekend in the company of fellow Patriots!  Tremendous improvement was made in marksmanship, and everyone definitely brought their "A" game!

Here are the new Riflemen, the young Patriots, and, the new Orange Hat, Yankee Davey!  Huzzah!

--Guntuckian

[Guntuckian]

A hearty welcome and congrats to Sheppsan, a recent Indiana transplant, who did outstanding work his first time out of the gate as an Orange Hat!  He called the line with confidence, and also served well as an RSO!  Thank you for stepping up!

(I can't wait to hear history told in a Midland's accent from the Mother Country! Huzzah!)

-- Guntuckian

[Guntuckian]

We originally had a sold-out shoot with 25 shooters about a week before the shoot.  Well, we really couldn't disappoint all the others that wanted to come to an Appleseed, now, could we?  So, we simply extended the headcount on EBrite, and pushed the allowed headcount up! 

Despite having a few paid no-shows, we still had 27 shooters that got up off the couch and came out to learn the only sport recommended by the Founding Fathers, Marksmanship!

So, are you wondering what a line with 27 shooters looks like?  Wonder no longer, for here it is!

-- Guntuckian

[Guntuckian]

A wonderful weekend with weather that was nearly perfect!  We had a couple of short showers, but that just kept temperatures in the very comfortable range!

We had two adaptive Appleseed shooters, who showed great perserverance, and also showed everyone just how to shoot well from a bench!  Appleseed sling techniques work well from a bench, as well as from a shooting mat!  The angle of the bench is important, and a power chair needs to be adjusted to its most stable (lowest) position, but these are all things that Adaptive Appleseed methods have been developed for over the years!  Appleseed is for everyone!

After the KD lecture, we then had three shooters who went to the adjacent 100 Yard range, for some Known Distance (KD) shooting, and who then proceeded to show that what works at 25 meters works the same at 100 yards, while simulating shooting at 400 yards! 

After a short lesson on come-ups, and after making just one adjustment to come-ups, Tuyet, Yankee Davey, and Mecreos proceeded to demonstrate precisely how to shoot the 100 Yard Appleseed AQT target in both slow-fire and rapid-fire prone, simulating shooting at 400 yards, using exactly the same times as the main firing line was using for Stages 4 and 3 of the regular AQT!  This was fired onto a reduced size target, giving everyone the same sight picture as a full size D target gives at 400 yards.  The result?  Consistently, 8 to 9 shots out of ten were always in the black, and this was no fluke, as it was something that was repeated again and again! 

We posted 10 targets on five backers, and then posted another 5 targets.  Everyone on the KD line experienced for themselves that what works at 25 meters works at 400 yards (simulated), using a .22 LR rifle at 100 yards!  This is excellent practice for preparing for a full distance Appleseed shoot!

-- Guntuckian

[TheMenace]

Three of the four new Riflemen in action...