AAR: Pensacola FL - October 1-2, 2011

[LadyZipper]

The weather was beautiful on Saturday and 13 shooters graced the line at the delightful ERML range in Pensacola FL. Several families were in attendance and there were some extraordinary youth on the line. One rifleman was forged on the AQT anvil that day, Patrick H. It was a honor and a pleasure to present this gentleman with his Rifleman patch. Patrick is man who definitely knows what he is about. Several other attendees were ready to put down their aprons and step up to the patch. On Sunday there were 8 shooters who returned to the line. Two of those received Rifleman patches, Landry H. and Tim F.

It was a pleasure to work with everyone in attendance and we had some really responsive attendees. This venue is a warm and welcoming place to attend an AS. The history was quite moving and was presented excellently by GCVaughn. There were 4 instructors/IITs and we all had the same sentiment at the the end of this AS -- we are fortunate to have such a wonderful group to work with and would gladly do it all over again.

Please feel free to add to this topic. Let us know how we did and what we can do to improve. (This instructor will happily be back, the first weekend in December.)

- LZ

[4merUSMC1803]

Many thanks to the Escambia River Muzzle Loaders (ERML) for hosting this edition of Project Appleseed.  The range, just a few miles north of Pensacola, is a wonderful Appleseed venue serving the Florida panhandle and the gulf coast. With a true patriot, Alchemist,  as the "boots on the ground", this event was a real treat for both instructors and attendees. 

Speaking of attendees, it was really heartwarming to have several families attend to hear the Story of 04/19/1775 and learn about becoming riflemen: Cathy, her daughter Kelly and son Joseph; Wayne, and his Rifleman grandson Landry; Greg, and his two sons Danny and Kevin; Angie, and her spouse Steve.  A couple of our youngsters, Thomas and Dylan also represented the next generation of up & coming riflemen.  Then there were the Dangerous Not-So-Old Men: Rifleman Patrick and Rifleman Tim, (aka alchemist)! 

It was a real pleasure to teach this group and observe them as they polished their skills and absorbed the history and marksmanship lessons over the two day course. I was proud of each and every student. As well, I'm eagerly looking forward to reading about your experiences/perspectives in the subsequent posts.
4merUSMC1803         

[Johnnyappleseed]

Good job LZ !

[Alchemist]

I want to say thanks to our wonderful instructors, fantastic shooters and whoever prepares the weather.  It was two beautiful days!  The shooters were all eager, cooperative, and above all safe.

I have now attended 9 Appleseed events.  Nothing will separate this event from the other Appleseeds  I have attended more than this one thing - this is the first time no one shot the target line wires!  I don't think we even had a binder clip get grazed!

It wasn't for lack of rounds.  Ladyzipper kept a brisk pace and we did a lot of shooting.  It was enough to tucker out this "Dangerous Not-So-Old Man".  I like my shoot with a lot of shooting.  And when the firing line was clear, the instructors were right there with you at the target line, helping us learn the language the targets speak.

The instructors also seemed to have an unlimited supply of spare Liberty Rifles.  I think one shooter had 4 or 5 different rifles over the course of two days.

It was great to see Patrick and Landry both earn their patches.  They have both worked hard at several events to accomplish this.

I miss Hans.  He gave us all a higher standard to "shoot" for.

I am really looking forward to December.  The flyers are already going out and I'm working on a few other promotional ideas.  December can get a bit chilly for us lower-Alabamans so a few extra bodies to block the cold breeze while we hear our great history might just come in handy.

See y'all at the next one!

[gcvaughn]

Another GREAT Pensacola Appleseed!  Here are some pics, wish there were more.

[oldusafmsgt]

This was my and my two sons first Appleseed, but it won't be our last ! A special thanks to all the instructors, very professional, courteous, and extremely helpful and encouraging. Our fellow attendees were also a great group, overall, we could not have asked for a better experience, a great weekend. We are already planning our next Appleseed, the Embury family will be attending events at least until all three of us are wearing a rifleman patch !