Coeur d'Alene, ID AAR-April 27-28,2019

[Mr. Clean]

This was our first Appleseed event at the Fernan Rod & Gun Club this year. Having shaken off the cold winter rust on our rifle skills with dry practice before the event (at least the veteran Appleseeders know how beneficial this is), we met for instruction. 17 shooters showed up on Saturday, 11 on Sunday. We lost one shooter as soon as the first shots were fired as he had just removed his scope to use iron sights only to discover he could not get a sight picture. He went away determined to return with equipment issues worked out. The majority of shooters on the line were youth learning their heritage alongside marksmanship. This is how heritage is passed down to the next generation. Many were previous Appleseeders and made measurable progress in their skills. My own daughter went from her previous best AQT of 170 to 192! That's knocking at the door of rifleman!
Slightly short handed instructor wise (only myself as SB and an IIT), I was pleasantly surprised by one of the shooters volunteering to help out in any way needed. Turns out he is a recent IIT with orange hat in his car, signed up to better his craft. Way to persist on the rifleman JOURNEY! Even better, he came with a friend ready to learn. Way to 7th step! Huzzah!
The shoot was a safe one with only one "almost" muzzle sweep nipped in the bud. There were several instances of shooters hitting someone else's target which is a frustrating setback to both shooters. Any rifleman has surely experienced this, maybe even from both sides, shooting the wrong target and/or receiving extra shots. Whoever's neck you want to wring, your own or your neighbor's, all I can say is persist and you will be a better rifleman for experiencing this adversity.
At the end of our weekend, we did not make any new riflemen despite the noticeable improvements. Even our IIT volunteer got down to shooting AQT's and narrowly missed requalifying. The persistence and dedication was admirable.