Gurley, AL January 16-17, 2016

[EddieB]

A chilly Saturday morning saw the arrival of the Royal Rangers at a private Appleseed event at Haven Farm.  Everyone  was there early, so we kicked off the event with Cleveland's telling of the First Strike and the battle on Lexington Green.  Our first string of fire for the day was the Red Coat target, giving us a baseline to compare against later in the day.  Instruction began in earnest, covering sling use, the Six Steps of Firing the Shot, proper positions, and Natural Point of Aim.  We shot lots of squares as we went through drills to practice and refine these important skills.  Lots of improvement was seen.  It was clear these shooters were determined!  During the delicious barbecue lunch courtesy of the Royal Rangers, AH1Tom presented the Second Strike and the events at the North Bridge.  We then learned how to self-diagnose using Talking Targets, and how to zero our rifles using Inches - Minutes - Clicks.  T.J. 8 concluded the day's history with the Third Strike of the Match.  After quickly covering sitting and standing positions, we were able to get in one AQT and the afternoon Red Coat before running out of light.

Everyone was back on an even colder Sunday morning.  After a quick review, we shot a Red Coat target and started running drills.  A sitting/kneeling position drill helped us decide which of these position is our most effective.  Using a green coat target, we started with the 100 yard silhouette using the kneeling position and worked our way down to the 400 yard silhouette using the cross-legged position.  After five shots in each position, all the shooters had a favorite.
We stopped for lunch (again provided by the Royal Rangers) and listened to Dangerous Old Men (and Women) stories from Schutze and BulletSquid.  A preview of Known Distance was presented by T.J. 8, Rusty, Google, and yours truly, then we got into the AQT Grind!

Several shooters came very close to the magical 210 on the AQTs, but only one shooter made it!  Artez scored 211, and this was his first Appleseed!  Later Artez proved his enthusiasm by asking for a Blue Hat.  Thanks Artez for joining our Applecore!

Everyone had a fantastic time this weekend and want to know when the next event will be.  I think we can pull something together anytime we have a group of eager shooters wanting to learn about our heritage and improve marksmanship skills.  We will see you again soon, and bring a friend!


Drinking from the firehose.



Barbecue and history!



The fire was welcome on this cold Sunday morning.



Grinding AQTs.







Artez, Alabama's newest Rifleman!



To see more photos click here:
http://s288.photobucket.com/user/EddieB_AS/library/Gurley%20AL%20January%2016%202016

[AH1Tom]

It was a great weekend. I worked as a IIT but am also a Royal Ranger commander and did most of the coordination for the event. It was very satisfying to see everyone enjoying the event, in spite of the cold. I have been asked several times when we are going to do it again. Congratulations to Artez for achieving a Rifleman score. For all the other shooters, a Rifleman persists.

I have set up a photobucket account. As soon as I figure out how to use it I will post a link.



IMC


Ball and Dummy



Here's the link for more photos
http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/tsandner1/library/Royal%20Ranger%20Appleseed
Seated position

[Joyce]

Ronald had a great time. He is still talking about it. Thank you guys for having our boys. Also, thank you for the pictures. I love to see Ronald participating in his activities. Especially the ones that I know are in his element and he loves to do. I know the twins (Martiz and Artez) had a great time. We are extremely proud of the score Artez got too!