NOV 12-13 Ancient City Shooting Range, St Augustine, FL

[Shielded]

I had never been to a Project Appleseed event, although my wife and daughters did last year. They were impressed, learned a lot, and had fun. So, I decided to take my two 9 year-old boys with me this year, along with my wife, last weekend in St. Augustine.

I walked away, after only attending on Saturday, with a mostly a favorable impression of the coordinators and range trainers. They were very knowledgeable, and were very helpful to us when we needed individual attention. The stories were interesting, and added to the importance of learning to properly handle a firearm. My sons had a great time, as it was their first time using a firearm greater than a BB gun! 

There were two issues that took away from our having 100% enjoyment. One, we felt "jammed" together, with little to no spacing between the shooters (about 15 shooters). My wife mentioned to me afterward that last year they were set-up on a larger range area, and were not as cramped. This led to both of my sons being "stung" by hot shells that were ejected by the person standing too close to their left. One of my boys caught one that fell into and behind his safety glasses and burned his upper and lower eyelid on his left eye. The other caught one down the back of his shirt, where it left a burn mark. They were troopers though. After crying it out, they got back to the line and shot some more. I'm proud of them. 

The second issue we had was the flying debris, mostly spent bullets that had been embedded at the tops of the berms surrounding us on three sides, that were kicked up by shooters on the adjacent ranges to our left and to our right. The debris was intermittently "raining" down on us, and an old .45 bullet smacked my wife above her butt. Also, hearing the sounds of bullets ricocheting overhead was a bit disconcerting! In addition, several times the live fire around us made it difficult to hear what the instructors were saying. I think better forethought should be placed when scheduling for Appleseed events at this range.

All in all, we had a great time, and appreciate the efforts and dedication of the volunteers there. We will be there again next year, hopefully.   

[ItsanSKS]

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience at the St. Augustine range. 

I will look into this situation, and will get back to you ASAP.

-ItsanSKS