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Nashville-Antioch, TN; March 4 & 5, 2017; Stones River AAR

Started by BluegrassColonel, March 06, 2017, 01:03:08 AM

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BluegrassColonel

Saturday morning was very brisk and clear.  This was the first 25-meter event open to the public at this venue.  (An event was held for the Tennessee Firearms Association last April).  Stones River Hunter Education Center is a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency facility.  It boasts a fabulous classroom with multimedia.  The range is asphalt and gravel, which prevents dealing with mud on rainy days.  The TWRA managing officer, Tim Turrentine, has been very supportive and welcoming to us.

The Instructor Cadre included Tennessee State Coordinator, TN Colonel (who brought a number of loaner rifles), Living Hand, Old Navy Doc and Rusty Gun.  They helped smartly and enthusiastically with preparations.  Grandson of Liberty brought his son, Jackson, to his first Appleseed event.

10 shooters (8 adults and 2 children) arrived ready to shoot. We had 6 1st timers!  We had one no-show and one walk-up.

Our Blue hat, Little Shine, did a great job with registrations and check-in, welcoming each shooter with a smile and encouragement.

The Shooters were attentive and responsive to the Introduction, opening speech, and safety instructions.  Living Hand related the First Strike of the Match with detail and vigor and received a round of applause for his excellent presentation.

The shooters moved to the line and engaged the first Red Coat of the weekend.  The results were very promising.

As we moved into the presentations of the Steady Hold Factors, 6 Steps of Firing the Shot and NPOA, the shot groupings were as good as I have seen on the first morning at any event.  One of the 1st timers had 4 shots in the black on the first squares target!  Young Jackson had fantastic groups on squares targets throughout the morning.

As we moved into the lunch hour we were being stalked by the Time Monkey, which portended the remainder of the first day.

Old Navy Doc gave a stirring presentation of the Second Strike with accompanying photos!  At lunch, a spanking new Orange Hat was presented to Jared who did an excellent job calling the line in the afternoon.

Ball & Dummy, Carding the Sights and additional position presentations followed.  Some shooters experienced difficulties with adjusting equipment - some of which was brand new.

While the Third Strike was not presented in the afternoon, the improvement in shooting the last Red Coat target of the day was very encouraging.  We had 2 cleaned targets!

Our 2 youth were presented with William Diamond badges and their smiles were invigorating.

Sunday dawned warmer but overcast, and shooters arrived ready to go.  We hit the ground running with refreshers of everything except positions.  Yours truly presented the Third Strike and it was off to the range.

Living Hand and Rusty Gun gave refreshers on the Steady Hold Factors and we got down to business with a Red Coat, which showed further improvement.

With a few exercises on transitions and mag changes, we were ready for AQT's.  On the first AQT, Nashville Stage requalified, scoring a 226 with a CZ bolt gun, and on the second AQT he scored a 220!

As we progressed through the morning, shooters improved on AQT skills.

At lunch 4 Dangerous Old Men presentations were given. Rusty Gun then presented Target Identification and Old Navy Doc presented the remaining introductory blocks for the introduction to KD.

As the lunch hour drew to a close, Nashville Stage accepted an Orange Hat.  I think he should tour the country presenting clinics on qualifying as a Rifleman with a bolt gun! When the shooters were asked if they had any questions or comments, Grandson of Liberty gave a very heartfelt expression of his deep respect for Project Appleseed and the volunteers who give of their time.  It was quite an honoring statement.

As a weather front moved through the area, the wind picked up to such a degree that it threatened to blow our pop-up canopy away - even with weights.  Following the wind was a cold front and several of us dawned our sweaters and jackets.

By mid-afternoon, Nashville Stage had taken over Line Boss responsibilities and did an excellent job.

Following lunch, we got back into the AQT grind after changing out some rifles.  There were some raw elbows by mid-afternoon, and the hard work began to take its toll on energy levels.

Tom worked diligently throughout the day and was on the hunt for the Rifleman badge.  His persistence was rewarded!  He dedicated his badge to his wife, who had participated with him in several Appleseed events.

We took a break from shooting AQT's and had a competition between the 2 ends of the line by shooting 20" silhouettes.  That seemed to energize the shooters and we proceeded to post AQT's at a respectable rate.  When it came time to post the final Red Coat of the weekend I scored some of the AQT's and realized that young Levi had scored a 216 off a shooting bag!  Huzzah!

After the Red Coats were scored, Living Hand drew the group's attention to Kelly's target which was one shot away from a cleaned Red Coat.

The young Patriots Levi and Jackson both agreed to help with the Appleseed cause by accepting Blue hats!  I look forward to great things from these two young men.

The shooters and Instructor Cadre pitched in to clean up and we seemed to be done in record time!

This was a fantastic event with a fantastic group of shooters and instructors.  It bodes very well for this new venue in the Middle Tennessee area.  I am honored to have participated in this event.

Photos to follow.

In Liberty,
Greg Seneff, Sr.
"Bluegrass Colonel"
Instructor / Shoot Boss
My father didn't serve in WWII.  It wasn't for lack of trying.  He attempted to enlist 3 separate times.  The last time the doctor said he was too short.  He responded that he signed up again because he said he saw a poster that was recruiting short men to be pilots.  The doctor said, "Short, yes.  But this is ridiculous."  In my book, he's still a hero.

Living Hand

#1
Thank you to all the shooters and instructors for making this a great event!

(Posted to a different service - Photos should work now)

Nashville Stage requalified:


Left & Right sides of the line performed about equally:
"Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

"Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as freedom, should not be highly rated."

BluegrassColonel

#2
Group shots - were deleted due to permission restrictions.
My father didn't serve in WWII.  It wasn't for lack of trying.  He attempted to enlist 3 separate times.  The last time the doctor said he was too short.  He responded that he signed up again because he said he saw a poster that was recruiting short men to be pilots.  The doctor said, "Short, yes.  But this is ridiculous."  In my book, he's still a hero.

Rustygun

A great Appleseed with perfect weather, a lot of motivated shooters, and a good time. Hopefully the Story and experience will stick with Jackson and Levi. Several of the shooters were knocking on the door and will probably be back to shoot Rifleman.

BluegrassColonel

Our new Orange hats!!!
My father didn't serve in WWII.  It wasn't for lack of trying.  He attempted to enlist 3 separate times.  The last time the doctor said he was too short.  He responded that he signed up again because he said he saw a poster that was recruiting short men to be pilots.  The doctor said, "Short, yes.  But this is ridiculous."  In my book, he's still a hero.

Nashville Stage

Thank you Bluegrasscolonel for a wonderfully run Appleseed and for your warm & encouraging spirit; I hope some of that rubs off on me.

After debating for a while, I decided to take the plunge & accept an orange hat. God only knows what madness I've gotten myself into. :) Thanks again to Bluegrasscolonel for being gracious with me as I fumbled my way through calling the line for the first time.

It was great to qualify as Rifleman again! However, my personal goal of a 250 AQT still eludes me...  ~~:)

It was good to meet Living Hand, Rustygun, Jared, & Grandson of Liberty for the first time. As always, it was great to see TNcolonel, Bluegrasscolonel, Littleshine, and Old Navy Doc. I hope you stick around for a while; middle TN Appleseed would be sorely lacking without you all.

Livinghand, thanks for posting your pictures. The links seem to have issues, though. For some reason they won't display, even though I've tried several different browsers.
"There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't."

Grandson of Liberty

#6
Thanks again to all the instructors, and to the shooters as well, for making this such a memorable weekend for both Jackson and me. (Yes, my profile pic is a younger version of the young man you met this weekend. I guess he's grown a bit!) He was somewhat less enthused about the prospect of cleaning rifles when we got home.  ;D (I will say, he comes by that honestly. :) )

Bluegrass Colonel put together a great shoot, and his passion for Liberty shone throughout the weekend. As I would be horrified to inadvertently leave someone out, let me just say to all of the instructors- well done!

As is always the case at an Appleseed, I met some great folks this weekend, and I hope to see you all on the trail again soon.

And oh yes- big Congrats to the new Riflemen and Orange Hats (Stephen and Jared) this weekend!  O0
"Who hasn't done 'Number 2' on Bob yet?"- Jr. Birdman, Piru IBC, Three-Oh-Nine

Black Knight

Many thanks to Bluegrass Colonel and his fantastic cadre of instructors for the outstanding presentations of Revolutionary history and rifle marksmanship.  The presentations were lively (no half mast eyelids) and jam packed with more than a few new inspiring stories of Revolutionary Patriots that even this old history buff had never heard.  The marksmanship instruction was right on the mark as evidenced by one shooter after another achieving an AQT score of 210 or higher to earn the prestigious Rifleman's badge.

This was my second Appleseed and it was even better than the first.  I brought my future son-in-law and watched his AQT scores increase throughout the weekend.  He finished with a 199 and can not wait until his next Appleseed event so that he can achieve the Rifleman's patch!

The TWRA Stones River Shooting Range facility is a wonderful Platform for Appleseed events.  My confidence in the success of the Appleseed project here in middle Tennessee was raised almost hourly by all of the shooters' enthusiasm, the increasingly higher AQT scores, and the number of orange Instructor in Training hats accepted.

This will be a great year for Appleseed in middle Tennessee.
Black Knight
1st AS: Tuscaloosa, AL OCT  8-9, 2016
Applecore: Jun 6, 2017
AC/RSO: Jul 12, 2017
IBC: Pelham, TN Feb 23-24, 2019
Pistol IBC: Mar 5,2021

camperxl

This was a fantastic event! Learned a lot and am still trying to unlearn some bad shooting habits learned as a much younger man, but Appleseed has given me the tools I just need to put them to use. Some constructive feedback:

* Great job to the staff on encouraging the young shooters! They are the next generation that our freedoms will fall to. It is so critical that they not only enjoy their time at Appleseed, but want to do more of it - it can be grueling even for adults, much more for youths. The patches, hats and recognition were a big hit in my book. I'd encourage Appleseed to find additional ways to recognize youth shooters - additional badges, name rockers for a jacket, etc. This is a video game generation and seems harder to get and keep their interest, but they are used to getting video game 'achievements' and this seems like an easy tie in (I would happily chip in extra $ for the youth goodies. Allowing my son to deviate from the official curriculum on the shooting line made a huge difference in keeping him checked in mentally and thank you for having a 'youth rifle' on hand.

* Speaking only for myself, I came in with 2 untested, uncentered rifles. I don't think the initial redcoat target provided any accurate/useful information to base future improvement on. As it turned out with the scope adjustments I ended up making later in the day I was lucky I wasn't shooting my neighbor's target. I think there should be some period of rifle/scope adjustment at the very beginning on which a valid future assessment could be based on.

* The 2nd and 3rd stage timing was, for me, the most difficult aspect to master (which I never did). It was helpful to me to hear the remaining time called out. Barring an instructor calling out the time I don't know of any personal aid that would work. There's no time to look at a watch or other timer and with no times being called out I regularly lost complete track of time; it's amazing how quickly 55 seconds passes.

Would very much like to learn where Old Navy Doc got his shooting coat from. Haven't found one online that is similar and Fred's mentioned supplier is out of business. I think it was mentioned that a lady in the Forum did them? Any info appreciated.

camperxl

This was a fantastic event! Learned a lot and am still trying to unlearn some bad shooting habits learned as a much younger man, but Appleseed has given me the tools I just need to put them to use. Some constructive feedback:

* Great job to the staff on encouraging the young shooters! They are the next generation that our freedoms will fall to. It is so critical that they not only enjoy their time at Appleseed, but want to do more of it - it can be grueling even for adults, much more for youths. The patches, hats and recognition were a big hit in my book. I'd encourage Appleseed to find additional ways to recognize youth shooters - additional badges, name rockers for a jacket, etc. This is a video game generation and seems harder to get and keep their interest, but they are used to getting video game 'achievements' and this seems like an easy tie in (I would happily chip in extra $ for the youth goodies. Allowing my son to deviate from the official curriculum on the shooting line made a huge difference in keeping him checked in mentally and thank you for having a 'youth rifle' on hand.

* Speaking only for myself, I came in with 2 untested, uncentered rifles. I don't think the initial redcoat target provided any accurate/useful information to base future improvement on. As it turned out with the scope adjustments I ended up making later in the day I was lucky I wasn't shooting my neighbor's target. I think there should be some period of rifle/scope adjustment at the very beginning on which a valid future assessment could be based on.

* The 2nd and 3rd stage timing was, for me, the most difficult aspect to master (which I never did). It was helpful to me to hear the remaining time called out. Barring an instructor calling out the time I don't know of any personal aid that would work. There's no time to look at a watch or other timer and with no times being called out I regularly lost complete track of time; it's amazing how quickly 55 seconds passes.

Would very much like to learn where Old Navy Doc got his shooting coat from. Haven't found one online that is similar and Fred's mentioned supplier is out of business. I think it was mentioned that a lady in the Forum did them? Any info appreciated.

camperxl

Sorry for the double post. Browser hung up while posting, had to refresh and ended up with a double post. Couldn't find any place or tool that permitted me to remove one of them.

Maximum Ordinate

Greg, congrats on a great shoot.   ^:)^


Quote from: camperxl on March 07, 2017, 08:33:14 PM
* The 2nd and 3rd stage timing was, for me, the most difficult aspect to master (which I never did). It was helpful to me to hear the remaining time called out. Barring an instructor calling out the time I don't know of any personal aid that would work. There's no time to look at a watch or other timer and with no times being called out I regularly lost complete track of time; it's amazing how quickly 55 seconds passes.

No timer or stopwatch required.  Get down into position swiftly, settle into your NPOA, and fire in Rifleman's cadence - one shot per breath.  It takes practice and a Rifleman persists!  (I see many Rifleman who finish the string of fire and still have ~10 seconds remaining.  It can be done!)

QuoteWould very much like to learn where Old Navy Doc got his shooting coat from. Haven't found one online that is similar and Fred's mentioned supplier is out of business. I think it was mentioned that a lady in the Forum did them? Any info appreciated.

Among other sources, a lady named Mary makes those jackets and she'll tailor them for you.

https://www.facebook.com/Not-So-Standard-Issue-1655407668039491/

https://www.sites.google.com/site/notsostandardissue/

Liberty, yo!
Maximum Ordinate
"... the most valuable of all talents, that of never using two words where one will do."
-Thomas Jefferson


We're in the Liberty business.  Stay on Mission - Stay on Message.

Want to be a more effective Instructor?  Visit Appleseed Academy.

BluegrassColonel

Thank you for all of the kind words!

For the shooters: here is a link to the website I mentioned that sells used copies of the book "Paul Revere's Ride" by David Hackett Fischer, the book our "Three Strikes of the Match" history presentations are based upon: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/paul-reveres-ride_david-hackett-fischer/256373/#isbn=0195098315

In Liberty,
Greg Seneff, Sr.
"Bluegrass Colonel"
Instructor / Shoot Boss
My father didn't serve in WWII.  It wasn't for lack of trying.  He attempted to enlist 3 separate times.  The last time the doctor said he was too short.  He responded that he signed up again because he said he saw a poster that was recruiting short men to be pilots.  The doctor said, "Short, yes.  But this is ridiculous."  In my book, he's still a hero.