Knob Creek, KY, April 16-17, 2016

[dond]

What a beautiful day for shooting and learning for 18 shooters. Much progress was seen and several small groups. Can't wait until Sunday to reward some new Riflemen. To be continued ....

[WmLyons]

DonD, I apologize if I steal any of your thunder jumping in like this before you get t post the official AAR. 

Well, Don has been tied up helping Project Appleseed with another project so I thought I would offer my recap of the weekend until the official After Action Report is posted. 

What a beautiful weekend for an Appleseed shoot.  One could go a year and not find better weekend weather to be on the range.  Knob Creek had blue skies and warm temps to allow comfortable shooting both days.  We were fortunate to have DonD as our Shoot Boss, Living Hand as the Line Boss and Sheepdog and myself as Range Safety Officers.  We began with 18 shooters after this event SOLD OUT.  We were pleased to see multiple families shooting this weekend.  We had Fathers and son(s), young couples and whole families. 

The two RSOs were Instructors in Training and it was fun to work our way through the course of fire for the weekend.   Living Hand very graciously turned over the Line Boss job at various points throughout the weekend to both Sheepdog and I so we could get experience calling the line.  The Shooters all seemed attentive to the blocks of Instruction.  I believe they were, in fact, soaking it all in as we did not have a single unintentional discharge or safety violation the entire weekend.   Indeed, by the end of the first day, all of the shooters were making their rifles safe and were following the Range Commands without any question, confusion or issue. 

It was great experience telling the Strikes and the Dangerous Old Men and Dames stories.  I certainly hope that all of the shooters enjoyed the history as much as we do.  Everyone seemed to want more of the DOM stories despite hearing 6 of them but we pushed along to allow as much time as possible for the multiple AQTs.

Several of the shooters' faces lit up when they received their Patriots patch.  By then they had heard the history and you could tell they were appreciating the fact that they were being linked to the likes of John Parker and Isaac Davis.  We had a good number of young shooters this weekend which allowed us to present several of the Youth patches.  I do not doubt that we shall see many if not all of these young men at a future Appleseed as they seemed excited about the prospect of returning and earning the Rifleman patch as well. 

By the end of Sunday, we had 2 men to earn the Rifleman patch.  One was returning Shoot Boss, Papa Smith, and the other a new Rifleman, Eric Scott.  I suspect the two sons he brought with him will again be pursuing their own Rifleman patches soon.  I should also say that there were several shooters close to the mark, including a 209 to whom my heart went out for being so close.  He stated that he would definitely be returning to a future Appleseed to hit the 210 mark.

Perhaps the funniest moment of the weekend was at the 4th stage of the last AQT when Living Hand pulled a 100 dollar bill from his wallet and announced that he would hand it over to any shooter that cleared the 4th stage...It was to serve as extra motivation and reward for effort.  The shooters were set.  The line commands were called.  After the final Cease Fire, Papa Smith called out words to the effect... I think you owe me.  After the second The Line is Clear...Living Hand's image became a blur.  I dare say that Living Hand may have passed Elizabeth Zane in her run to the fort the way he covered that 82 feet of ground to the target in question.   Papa Smith had indeed cleared it.....100 points.  Living Hand was true to his word and I believe that Papa Smith took the Instructors out to dinner with his newly won booty.  I left for my 4 hour drive home having had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.  I shall hope to see each of you again at another Appleseed.  Until then, I remain most respectfully, WmLyons.

[dond]

Well I finally got a chance to return to this after being so busy with other AS business.    And thank you WmLyons for your fine recap. I had begun the first entry hoping that someone would continue and you filled the bill admirably. I couldn't have done it nearly as well.

We were so glad to have Papa Smith and his son shoot with us. I don't think it will be very long before the son will earn the Rifleman Score and trade his BH for an OH. And we thank him for helping my wife, Sarah, with the admin work. And we're hoping that Papa Smith can pitch in and help us work some future events.

I also want to thank Wm Lyons, Sheep Dog, and Living Hand for their fine work at the event. They were an immense help in working with the shooters and making the event run so smoothly and efficiently.

[Guntuckian]

Sounds like a great shoot!   

I would have loved to see the fast streak by old friend Living Hand to the target line to see if Stage 4 was truly cleared!  Wonderful story!

Looking forward to Papa_Smith helping us grow Appleseed in Kentucky even faster!  Welcome to the state synonymous with the rifle!

Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah!

-- Gary

[DrRichP]

My thanks to the instructor crew at Knob Creek and to the range for hosting us. This was the first Sold Out event for Kentucky this year. What a great way to kick off the season. Thanks also to the great attendees that came out and made this Appleseed a huge success. We hope to see you all back again soon!

DrRichP

[Living Hand]

Thank you EVERYONE for making this one of the most enjoyable - FUN! - Appleseed events that I've been privileged to participate in.

Indeed, I believe I began my 25 yard dash just after announcing "The line is clear! x 2" but while still relaying "Shooters!  You may proceeeeeeed dooooooownrange..."    I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture (attached), but in addition to clearing the 4th Stage (and scoring a 230-something), Papa Smith obliterated the "V" from that first target with his two .22 cal shots.

Steve - I look forward to you donning that red hat again (once life allows).  I can tell you're a great instructor, in addition to being a great human being.  Thanks again for dinner!

As wonderfully relayed by Bill, the weather couldn't have been any better.  Though, there might be a milder microclimate in effect at the Knob Creek range, because every event that I've attended has been this way!

Thanks again to the husband & wife duo who "Brought the noise" with a pair of Springfield M1A's.  They kept those big boys fed and singing from the very first shot on Saturday to the final hour on Sunday.  It's always grand to hear those beasts a-bellowing!

It really was a great family event, with six or seven kin-groups attending.  Between all of the shooters and instructors, our love of history was both apparent and compelling    Great job everyone!

Thanks always to Don and Sarah for putting the event on.  And thanks to our up-and-coming orange hats for their enthusiasm and great performances!  I hope to see everyone again - real soon - somewhere down the Appleseed trail!

[WmLyons]

LOL...great picture.....It captures the Victory by Papa Smith and the Pain felt by Living Hand..Hahaha