What a solid Appleseed.
Ten shooters on Saturday and nine on Sunday. I would say we had exceptional group of students, almost all first time Appleseeders yet were ready to crack at AQTs by the end of Saturday.
Two Riflemen by the end of the weekend: Tim and Dave. Emily, Cam and Chris(?) were a few points shy of the coveted patch. And some IITs in the works.
Below freezing for most of the shoot, yet spirits stayed high.
Maybe more later from me. Personal highlights anyone?
Had a great time, thanks to the shooters who braved the cold (yes,yes I know below freezing doesnt frighten many of you...remember though that this is a part of the country where the primary form of snow removal is simply letting it melt and it is only used once or twice a year).
Great to meet new folk (Whisker and Tomcat) and see old friends (Hangfire, John Deere Boy). Thanks also to Richard Fulton, a Bone Creek Gun Club member who provided chow and hot coffee for the weekend.
I first learned about Appleseed 2 years ago, and immediately began setting up an "LTR" (10/22, tech sights, GI sling, etc.), and prepping a second rifle for my teenage son as well. Time slipped by (3 kiddos under 3 years old will do that to you) and schedules/locations didn't match up until this time.
I knew I would come away learning a lot. I wasn't sure if I would come away with the Rifleman patch (but I did!). By the end of the first day, my groups weren't as good as I liked, so I just told myself to check for anything I was doing that didn't match up 100% to the Appleseed instruction-- rechecking anything I might be thinking I was doing "good enough already", and my groups tightened down by Day 2. I still have things that can be improved a bit and there's always practice!
What I didn't anticipate was doing this in freezing temperatures, and-- more important-- realizing how grateful I was for all of the instructors to come out. Every one of you traveled far to get there, and took time out of your lives to be there. And I learned something from each of you along the way. Thanks!
My teenage son didn't get the patch this time, but he came pretty close (200 - sharpshooter) and his shooting is a couple orders of magnitude better than it was before. He definitely has much more confidence now than before, too, which is great.
I also have a renewed interest in the 1770s era and plan on picking up and reading a few books. ;)
Oh, and I grabbed an orange hat along the way. I think I'll be back. :)
I was pleasantly surprised to see so many shooters come out! They came from all over, Whisker came from two states away in Iowa, and Joleen came from Okla. City, 4 hrs away. Every single person who came deserves at least an honorable mention, for drinking from the AS "firehose" in less than ideal conditions! The wind chill was right around 1 degree Saturday morning. There was some huddling around the portable heaters, but did not hear one single complaint about the cold. I am proud of: Zack, Joleen, David, Hunter, Emily, Charles, Clayton, Caden and Caleb, Chris, Tim and Cameron! (If I missed anyone, give me a boot!) I sincerely hope to see each of you again, maybe at the Afton, Ok. shoot this March 24-25. Very proud of our new Riflemen, as well as all the Sharpshooters!
My 13 & 11 year old boys had a great time. The 11 year old was frustrated by all the clothing impairing his positions but still had a blast and the 13 year old was bragging on his targets. I've promised him an M1 if when he shoots rifleman.
One day was enough for them and they both decided to stay home Sunday. It was refreshing for me to shoot without the kids Sunday as that's the first AS I've ever done without my kids (making sure they are set up can be distracting).
I'll keep doing everything I can locally (with JohnDeereBoy's help) to seed the area with trained riflemen & ladies.
Looks like y'all had an A1 Appleseed shoot!!! Thanks to Whiskers for making the trip down to SB and to all the IITs for being there to instruct! Thanks to Lomshek and johndeereboy24 for getting the range all set for the shoot.....but what happened to that 65 degree weather??!!??! :o
Congrats to the new Riflemen! Huzzah!!!! And I believe a new IIT/orange hat!!! Welcome, and I love your forum name!!! "Kalashniseed", Perfect!! O0
And Lomshek!!! An M1!!! What a nice dad you are!!! O0
And to all you students who braved the cold to come out to practice your heritage of marksmanship and to hear the history of our country's founding, I am proud to be an American among you!!!! O0 O0
Looking forward to seeing some of you on the Appleseed Trail!
Patriot Gal
Hey everyone! I'm still working on photos from the event, but thought I would drop in to echo what a great weekend it was! I'm still crazy proud of my wife, Emily, for getting so close to rifleman on her first weekend out!
Howdy I am so glad that we had so mainy shooter and IIT. . I though we did great shoot for being soooooooo cold. Iam glad we made some rifleman
Still grinning from ear to ear (got my rifleman patch on Sunday). I'd do it again even with the cold. Like a lot of things we do for the first time, I'm kicking myself for waiting so long.
Thankyou RWVA for this program you have put together. It was top notch from the first safety briefing to the last huzzah.
Thanks to Bone Creek gun club for hosting and doing so much work in the cold. Thanks to Whiskers and all the instructors for your patience and professionalism. Every instructor there knew their stuff and genuinely wanted to pass it on to see us succeed. Your persistence with me is why I took that patch home.
Hangfire was right. Appleseed is addictive and you can't do just one. I'll be back with friends in tow.
It was a great pleasure to work with each of you that very cold Saturday and Sunday. Congratulations to Sorethumb and Kalashniseed on shooting your rifleman score, Lumberjack on stepping up and taking the Orange hat.
hangfire
Sounds like another great one -- no surprise there! Sorry I couldn't make it out this time. I will try to make the next one. I know you were in able hands though.
Nice job Kalashniseed and Sorethumb for patching out on your first shoot!
Congratualtions to the new Riflemen!
welcome aboard Kalisniseed and sorethumb ;D
The founders ,looking down no doubt enjoyed watching every instructor and attendee , honoring the spirit they started in 1775 .
Appleseed , men and women who truly know what they are about ;)
Photos are finally gone through! Video will take me a bit longer, but here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumberjack_photography/sets/72157629065133664/
Better late than never... the video from the weekend!
http://youtu.be/VmHfGXe45XM
Quote from: Lumberjack on May 24, 2012, 12:14:00 PM
Better late than never... the video from the weekend!
http://youtu.be/VmHfGXe45XM
Ha Nice Lumberjack!
Love the last 30 seconds!! ;D