Wow! What a great event and all things considered - a blessing as far as the weather went. See, down here we expect to sweat hard this time of year and we were offered a last blast of cool air. Did I mention no noseeums? Last year our April event was inundated with those nasty little pests. It did rain a spell on Sat, but not for long. Last year I gave the 3rd Strike in pouring rain, at the top of my big mouth to overcome the sound of rain on a tin roof.
Anyway, it's been some time since I personally enjoyed an event this much and I know from speaking to the other instructors - they felt the same. So many familiar faces, some from years back, it is very rewarding to see ya'll agin. Gene and his lovely bride Melinda. Their sweet "sherpa" daughter Alison. The Hale family - finally got meet a Mrs. from that clan. Chris, Maritza, and Alex. They bring t he only truck that cannot be got stuck on the 200 during KD and Chris has taken up the orange hat now to boot!
John and Frank - John brung his CF rifle to work on making score with that instead of his 22 - huzaaah! Frank made score for the first time - huzaaah! Charles and Bredyn - always a pleasure. We even got to see a long lost IIT - Tow4, who shot score, proving that working as an instructor is good for your marksmanship. Phillips made the grade also - huzzaaaah! Mechiel is knocking on the door, despite little to no prior experience.
Out of 27 shooters, we found eight Rifleman! Four repeat offenders and four brand-spanking new ones and that's excellent and speaks to the level of focus and grit offered by the shooters. So many brung empty cups (AKA teachable attitude), it made our job easy, peasy.
So, with my soul renewed, I set my course for my next event. Lord willin', I will be at HSC agin on June 8/9. I will also be running a Rifleman's Boot Camp at the RWVA home range outside of Silar City, NC in late August of this year. A full week of shooting, history and camaraderie. There is no surer way to make Rifleman than an old-fashioned boot camp, owing to the immersive nature of the instruction. We also teach full distance shooting for two solid days - out to 500 yards on the storied "Ramseur" range, where Fred started this program with the help of some very dedicated individuals, a few of which were my early mentors in the program.
Anyone says this country is done, needs to come to an Appleseed event and see the kind of Americans I got to see last weekend! Huzaaaah!
PHenry
My lovely wife scored a 187, nearly besting her slacker husband. Considering it was the first time she ever shot any rifle and only the second time she handled any firearm, I was even more impressed. She has been bitten by the AS bug and now has the fever.
-DF
Quote from: DaddyFatty on April 22, 2013, 06:06:08 PM
My lovely wife scored a 187, nearly besting her slacker husband. Considering it was the first time she ever shot any rifle and only the second time she handled any firearm, I was even more impressed. She has been bitten by the AS bug and now has the fever.
-DF
That is some good shootin'. It takes only 300-500 repetitions to form a good habit; 3000-5000 repetitions to break a bad habit. That is why those with no experience frequently do so well: they have no bad habits to overcome. Sounds like a very successful shoot on what could have been a very rainy weekend.
Women near always do better out of the gate than men. Men are supposed to know how to do certain things and shooting is one of them. Men are forbidden to ask directions, because it would be a sign of weakness and that means we get eaten and so do our families - dates back tens of thousands of years and hard habit to break.
Women are so silly. They listen, learn and then do as taught. That's just crazy! :wb:
So good to see you and family out sir. Need to make it happen again soon - same for your wayward brother. Next, we work on his spouse. ^-^
Thank you PHenry and the rest of the gang. I love the way you and AlkeFord tell stories with so much charisma and passion. Since my first Appleseed, I keep coming because it's no longer just about the shooting.
I came because Fred said I should learn to shoot from position in his articles in SGN. I guess they said something about history - whatever. At my first event in Jan 2007, Fred told the story at lunch - all of it. He got choked up in the middle of it. That got my attention. I didn't know Fred then, but he was obviously not a man easily moved to display emotion. Hmmm. Must be something about this April 19th thing.
It was the story that caused me to attend a second event, where the female shoot boss asked me "Trey, have u ever considered instructing?" Such a simple thing - almost off-hand. Of course in reality, she had a red pill in one hand and a blue in the other. I chose red. That was a lot of miles and weekends ago and I have never looked back, nor regretted my time in Appleseeds. It has honestly given me more than I have put into it and for thems that know me well, that is saying something.
Dwight - it is people like u that keep me sane and afford me a sense of hope for America. God bless all of you.
PH
Awesome weekend despite two very green SBIT's.
here are the pics I took