This was Appleseed's 3rd trip back to the Pioneer Gun Club in Bates City, MO.
The beautiful weather brought 36 shooters out on a marvelous Easter weekend. We had a large number of new shooters and kids who were all enthusiastic and anxious to learn. A large number were Saturday only for obvious reasons.
The only big problem was the mud from rains the day before, but we persisted and tramped through it.
Due to the number of brand new shooters, the course of fire was slower than usual, but we stuck to it. By the time we gave the 3rd strike in the afternoon it was already 5:30pm. I offered those who wished to stay late and shoot an AQT the option to do so, and several took me up on the offer, including one shooter who managed to shoot a 219 and make our one and only Rifleman of the weekend. We closed down about 6:30pm or so. A long but successful day!
Everyone saw good progress throughout the day, and the smile on the kids faces on the line was worth all our efforts.
Sunday was a little overcast and windy, but the 10 shooters that returned put up their best efforts. With fewer shooters we were able to give much more individual instruction and pounded out the AQTs.
My thanks to Pioneer Gun Club who have always been such gracious hosts to us. I also want to thank my instructor corps for their hard work this weekend, and all the shooters who showed up with a great attitude for learning. I hope I see you back on the line soon, with more of your friends!
Greg
Having worked with Greg in MO, I am confident that, in addition to excellent marksmanship instruction, a healthy dose of our Heritage was delivered. I am sure that many folks were woken up. Well Done, Greg.
+1 ^-^ O0
Dinky
Hi Greg,
Thank you again for a great weekend. We learned much last year, and even more this year.
Nick and I had to leave at 4:00 on Sunday for our family Easter, and we neglected to pick up our T-shirts, is their some way we could do so?
Thank you,
John
When we first saw that the date we had for this Appleseed was Easter weekend, we were worried we wouldn't get very good turn out. Silly us! Instead of not coming, we had many families out together, which was really wonderful to see. There were many people out on the line who had never shot before, and I was very impressed with the willingness they brought to learn.
I personally got to spend a fair amount of time working with one young lady (10 ish) who had never shot before, and wasn't sure she wanted to try. By the end of Saturday she was loading and clearing her rifle with the best of them, with a great big smile on her face. No amount of mud would be enough for me to stop doing this! ^:)^
Pioneer Gun Club was once again an excellent host, and I would like to thank them for allowing us to use their facilities. They also put on a pretty tasty lunch!
Thanks also to the instructor team - you all are great to work with! Hope to see you all again soon.
Robin
Greg,
Just wanted to say thanks for a great time Saturday. My brother Randy and I attended Sat. but had to leave due to prior family commitments just about the time Ben started his 3rd strike of the match lesson, we wanted to stay till the end but could not. (Sorry Ben) I have been shooting some type of gun since i was 10 yrs old and BB guns before that, but I learned alot at the Appleseed Shoot. The instructors were great, kudos to all involved. I felt it was a very safe shoot even with the amount of novice and young shooters that attended which is due to the diligence and professionalism (even though they are all volunteers) of the instructors. I do have some sore muscles I was not aware I even had, the sitting position was hard on a 48 yr old. The history lesson was very interesting, it made me think about what our forefathers sacrificed for Liberty. Alot of what was taught I never learned in school and I could tell it was very personal to yourself and Robin. I think if it was taught that way in our schools not only would the kids learn what really happened but they would understand more about what having Liberty and Freedom costs. We will be at the next Appleseed with more of our family and one of my coworkers and his son are planning on coming next time also. Can we order the same nice weather for the one in October. The Pioneer Gun Club shooting facility was very nice also will be checking out the membership requirements.
I highly recommend attending an Appleseed Shoot to anyone, those who have never shot before, novice shooters, experienced shooters, young and old.
Thanks Again,
Rick Belew
I will second what my brother said. Great instructors, great history and great shooting made it a great day even though we had to cut it short. Sure wanted to shoot for a rifleman score but I think we did pretty good anyway.
Looking forward to the next shoot.
Randy
It was a WONDERFUL shoot! No, not a Rifleman yet, and I do live in anticipation of the day I will hear one of the instructors say about me, "She is a woman who knows very much what she is about". But the thing that has always impressed me about the Missouri Appleseed crew (and I know, I don't have any other crew to compare them with) is their willingness to be patient and stick it out with this less than stellar shot. They encourage, correct and tell the stories that motivate anyone that loves liberty to keep trying, to keep going. They are mostly willing to hang in there as long as the shooters are. Well, I was MOSTLY kidding about pulling the vehicles up to use headlights.......mostly
In all seriousness, that these PATRIOTS gave up their Easter weekend, for us, I am deeply humbled. Appleseed is the most amazing program I know. Even though I didn't make Rifleman, I can and will continue to tell people, and use any platform I get to tell it's message. I can never thank you enough, and perhaps someday, I too will have the skill of a Rifleman, the heart of a Rifleman and will be standing shoulder to shoulder with you, as we bail. I am honored to know you all.
Oh, um Greg, can I swipe that analogy from you about icebergs for an upcoming event?
Quote from: SebalLudington on April 06, 2010, 12:51:13 AM
perhaps someday, I too will have the skill of a Rifleman, the heart of a Rifleman and will be standing shoulder to shoulder with you, as we bail. I am honored to know you all.
I think I can safely speak for the rest of the instructor corps and say that the latter is something you already possess. Rifleman "skill" is something you can always practice- you are born with the heart. It's kind of like NPOA, everyone HAS NPOA, it's just up to them to find it and put it on the target. O0
It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope to see you at another shoot real soon! :---
MB
(Kori)
I would LOVE to see Donna Turk's photos from the weekend! In addition to being quite a "crack shot", she also managed to take several pictures of this weekend ;D
I also want to thank the Jacob Turk for promoting Appleseed in his newsletter- I heard from a couple of the shooters that the newsletter was how they heard about Appleseed! O0
So, Donna, if you see this thread, we would love to see some pictures from the weekend!
MB
So Greg walked up behind me, held out an orange had and said, "Hold this for a second." Reflexively, I took it, before realizing he had doused it with Super Glue. :D So now I'm an IIT 0. Still can't put the thing down.
For some reason, my mind refused to engage during this shoot. Even though I have a pretty good idea how to make a shot, I just could not get it all together. Nevertheless, any day with a rifle on my shoulder, and in the company of good people is a good day for me....some are just better than others. Fortunately, the light has come on and at least one problem has been identified.
As usual, the instructors were great. After the shoot, Greg and Ben shot my 03A3. Watching them shoot is a humbling experience.
When Ben fired his 5 rounds, the sights were adjusted for the cast bullet ammo I had been shooting, but I was out of those and he had to use jacketed ammo, which shoots significantly higher. Greg and I warned him of that before he loaded the rifle. With no adjustment other than just aiming low, he shot at least 4 5's on the 200 yard AQT. The 5th may have also been a 5 but it was difficult to tell if it had broken the line. Proved to me that the problem with my groups was not due to the equipment.
I have some pics of the shoot which I will try to post within the next few days.
Howard
Congratulations on the orange hat Howard! I can't wait to work the line with you. You have already had such a positive effect on the program, and I'm sure that you will continue to be a tremendous asset. Just remember that putting on the orange hat doesn't mean that you don't get to shoot anymore. :)
Thank you MamaBear, coming from one of ya'll, that means so very much to me! I'll talk to Donna and see about the pictures! I'm still trying to find a place in Cass Co. for a shoot.
Quote from: HectorFuego on April 06, 2010, 12:30:45 PM
So Greg walked up behind me, held out an orange had and said, "Hold this for a second." Reflexively, I took it, before realizing he had doused it with Super Glue. :D So now I'm an IIT 0. Still can't put the thing down.
Congratulations! Greg's idea I think is even better than the method we use in WV (it involves a marker paint dousing, best not to ask).
Here are a few pics of the shoot.
This is my only new recruit (this time), shooting stage 2 of the AQT. His name is Tyler, he's 16, and had only fired actual rifles a couple of times in his life. Shot a high score that day of 178. I think that's pretty remarkable. May need to work on muzzle control a little though.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/HectorFuego/Appleseed/th_P1010737.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v739/HectorFuego/Appleseed/?action=view¤t=P1010737.flv)
Mama Bear, Greybeard, and Ben1775 working the line on the second day.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/HectorFuego/Appleseed/P1010738.jpg)
Ben doing Dangerous Old Men.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/HectorFuego/Appleseed/P1010739.jpg)
Break time.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/HectorFuego/Appleseed/P1010740.jpg)
Howard
Donna Turk (wife of 5th District Candidate Jacob Turk) has a WHOLE Appleseed photo album up on Facebook.....And EVERY picture is great! Greybeard, MamaBear, CookieLady, Greg in Mo. Ben1775, they all turned out good. :cool2:
Any chance we can get Donna to post her pics where everyone can see them???