Coeur d'Alene, ID 27-28 April 25m Rifle Clinic AAR

[P7]

We had a very successful and inspiring Patriots Day event.  The weather was almost perfect for a shoot - cool but not too cold, and dry except for a brief sprinkle one afternoon.  We had 21 shooters, 13 of whom had never attended an Appleseed event before, and six of whom were youth shooters.

The shooters were attentive, responsive, responsible, and safe which made our job as instructors much more pleasant and rewarding.  We observed a very marked improvement in shooting skills through the weekend, as evidenced by the improved Hits Count targets and the number of Rifleman qualifications (58% of the shooters who returned on Sunday qualified - four for their first time!).

Congratulations to first-time Riflemen Joey, Nathan, Richard, and Robert, as well as to Tom, Thomas, Abby, Kate, Walter, Eli, and Dane who requalified (some of you multiple times!) 

I was also very pleased to be able to promote led to Full Instructor and present him with his Red Hat, and to recognize Wagon for his promotion to Red Hat the week before.  Huzzah!

Thank you to eert, Mr. Clean, Snow Snake, Wagon, led, ARGunner, and Schooner for all your help making this a safe, productive, and fun event.

Patriots Day is always an especially moving Appleseed event for me, and I could feel the pride and patriotism as I went down the line shaking the shooters' hands and presenting patches after the memorial volley.  We appreciate you coming out for Liberty, and we hope to see you again at future Appleseed events!

[P7]

Here are photos of the shooters who qualified as Riflemen.  Huzzah!

[P7]

led earned his promotion to Red Hat (Full Instructor).  We also recognized Wagon, who was promoted to Red Hat the week prior to our event.

[Mr. Clean]

Thank you P7 for putting on such a successful Patriot's Day event. I'm proud to be a part of such an exceptional group of patriots and Appleseed instructors. The students were a good, serious group of budding riflemen, with a freshly ignited spirit of Patriotism. I hope we all meet again of the Appleseed trail.

[eert]

Thanks to all the Shooters and Instructors who attended the Coeur d'Alene Patriot's Day event.  This event is always the highlight of the year as Appleseed's go (with WINTERSEEDs a close second!). Next year will be the 250th Anniversary of April 19, 1775, so stayed tuned and keep your weekend free for April 19 & 20, 2025 and join us for a fantastic celebration!

Congrats to all the new Rifleman and requalifying Rifleman.  It's very satisfying to help new shooters get on target and to make new friends, and equally great visiting with return participants.  Thanks for keeping me engaged.

If you didn't get your fill of AQTs, the next Coeur d'Alene opportunity is Saturday May 11 (one day only).  This is a non-typical Appleseed shoot, with attendance limited to folks like yourselves who have completed a 2 day clinic. In honor of Mother's Day, all our heritage presentations will be focused on the Dangerous Dames.  Hope to see a few of you there.  More info here:  https://appleseedinfo.org/location/?locationid=55&eventid=9651

[k8]

Patriot's day shoot was great!! Here's some pros and cons from the weekend:

Pros:
-lovely seeing new shooters on the line! Spreading the word to new people to come and learn and have fun is always great!
- it was super cool to see an orange hat become a red hat! Congrats, and also wonderful to see new orange hats!
-shooting the volley for the first time was so inspiring, and the patriot's day patch is awesome!

Cons:
-I was very concerned that the green hat did not say anything when a shot was fired before the "fire" command was given. There was no other calls on the line, other than "who was that?"... very very concerning.

- some of the youth weren't transitioning, which is fine... however, the rule of "if you don't transition, you wait until someone else fires first" was NOT enforced. I saw some youth not transitioning, and firing first on the line. There was no interference from an orange hat, red hat, or green hat.

-lastly, if an instructor has a "tip" for an experienced rifleman, maybe wait until the conversation can be shared one on one rather than during instruction and singling them out. Just to avoid looking unprofessional.

Overall, the history and the experience of Appleseed is always one I enjoy, and getting to shoot the volley and requalify on patriots day was extra special. Congrats to all the new rifleman as well!! HUZZAH!

[P7]

Good comment about the shot fired before the "Fire" command.   

The shooter concerned clearly knew he was wrong - we made eye contact and he acknowledged the mistake.  We resumed commands and ran the string of fire, but it would have been best to say something to the group at that point, to emphasize the seriousness of waiting for commands.

Mea culpa - thanks for speaking up.

With respect to transitioning, I did not notice the failure to wait until the first shot was fired, and apparently nobody else did, either.  We generally rely on the honor system for that, but we'd certainly call someone on it if we saw them doing it.