It was a beautiful weekend in Guntersville, Alabama. We had a beautiful blue sky after what's been weeks of rain in North Alabama! Our gracious host was the Blue and Gray Rifle and Pistol Club, who shut down their entire range complex to allow us to run our Appleseed clinic! The event was sold out early and we had a number of walk-ons that we were able to accommodate. Twenty-one people turned out to hear the message of liberty and fellowship with us for some great marksmanship.
Your humble author was the Shoot Boss in Training, under the leadership of Ramblinwreck and two other Shoot Bosses (incognito in their Red Hats).
I am delighted to share that we had FOUR new Riflemen, including one with his centerfire rifle! Our new Rifleman were: Jacob, Josh, Dave, and Mike! Two young men (both named Jacob) stepped up to accept an Orange and a Blue hat! It was Josh's birthday... his father is a new IIT himself. We all home to see Josh back and perhaps accept an Orange hat of his own. O0
The dedication and grit shown by all the shooters showed up in their vast improvements from Saturday morning to Sunday evening. A number of shooters (including Burke and Amy) were knocking at the door. Being in North Alabama, our local shooters get to choose from clinics in the Tri-State area... so we hope to see you all here, or Georgia, or Tennessee!
The seasoned instructors shared some ideas for fun shooting as well... including plastic Army-men, stars targets for NPOA, upside-down AQTs and even a demonstration of the power of volley fire. The "right" side of the line had a better group, but the "left" side of the line scored better! Good job to y'all on the left side! ;-)
On a personal note, I am very grateful to work with such a professional crew of Appleseed instructors. I'd rather spend a weekend with you guys than hanging out at a family reunion... heck, y'all are family!
I'll post a few pictures from this weekend's event. If anyone would like a full-size original from this set, please PM me with your email address!
If you took pictures, we'd love to have you post them here!
-Rusty
A few pics...
The Youth
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The SBIT holding the hat just slightly out of reach...
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A happy Jacob1!
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Jacob2 showing off his target.
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Wait... why am *I* holding this target? ;D
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More...
Jacob2 receiving his patch from Brandon.
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Can you snatch the orange hat from my hand, Grasshopper?
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How many instructors does it take to put up a line? ;)
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Shooters patiently listening...
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Do you even lift, bro?
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Shooter question, "What do you do if the Zombies come?"
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Pew! Pew! Pew!!
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Really?
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A determined Amy.
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Burke volunteering during a discussion about "relaxing into the sling".
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Four little kids!
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Sunday's Ball-and-Dummy drill
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More Ball & Dummy
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The AQT grind!
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Taking a break for volley fire!
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The winners of volley fire!
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Back to the AQT grind!
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A proud Josh with his target on his birthday weekend.
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A happy Dave with his target... scoring 218 with an AR-15!
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Our new Riflemen get to choose the instructor that helped them the most to present their patch. Dave accepting his patch from Brandon1! As you can guess, Brandon is a fantastic trainer and coach! ^:)^
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A proud father presenting a well-deserved Rifleman patch to his son. It's a little dusty in here. :)
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As Rusty says, a great Appleseed weekend in Guntersville. Thanks to our hosts for letting us use their fantastic range and to my fellow instructors who helped make it a success. Congratulations to Rusty on his first successful SBit event and insults to the Shoot Boss aside (mostly old jokes) he did a great job! ;D
Ramblinwreck
Rusty and Ramblinwreck
I want to thank you and all the staff for the taking the time to conduct the Appleseed this past week end. It was an incredible joy to be there and participate. I learned so much about shooting and the history of the organization. I hope to be able to see you again at a future Appleseed in the near future.
Thank you again!
Steve
I had a awesome time with all shooters. Thanks to everyone who came with a teachable attitude. It was a pleasure to meet such fine people!
Oh and sorry you guys on the right side of the line could not hammer out a rifleman score. ~~:)
I just want to write a short note to say thank you. I can't believe I learned so much in a single weekend. I went from not being able to land more than four shots out of 13 on my target... to switching to lefty and shooting Marksman with my factory sights... to shooting a 196 using Rusty's rifle with scope. I know with more practice and instruction, I can achieve a Rifleman score!
Nick improved his accuracy and technique considerably as well. We are working on deciding on a reward for him for reaching Marksman, Sharpshooter, and ultimately Rifleman. He also told several of the history lessons to his dad and sister... they really made an impression on him.
Nick and I are registering for the October Appleseed in Manchester, Tennessee... any of the Guntersville instructors going to be there?
Thank you again!
PS: Brandon... that was cold, man...
As others have said I also would like to thank all of the instructors for taking the time to set up and run what turned out to be a great weekend. Although I have done a fair amount of shooting I can say I learned that there was far more for me to learn at this event. Not only about shooting but more importantly about our history and what made our country what it is. The stories told by the instructors were presented in a manner to keep the attention of the kids and make the adults ponder our current state of affairs.
Now for the shooting. I was surprised that the techniques could make as big a impact as they did. In short I was impressed with the instruction given by the instructors but very impressed how the instructors held each other to a high standard. They were consistent with those attending the Appleseed shoot and the did not let each other slip up and give bad instruction. Teachable attitudes were displayed on both sides of the line. After shooting several in the 190-206 I started to feel a little like I was :wb: The boys improved and in the end Brandon, Clayton and I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and are planning for our next appleseed.
Glad y'all had a great time.
See you in Manchester.
Ramblinwreck
Wanted to share a couple photos from the weekend...
All I see are rimfires, can I bring anything bigger? I live in Madison AL and might attend next year.
Quote from: apeman on September 23, 2013, 07:37:28 PM
All I see are rimfires, can I bring anything bigger? I live in Madison AL and might attend next year.
The Blue and Gray allow rifles up to (but not including .50 caliber) at this facility.
Would love to see you out next year! Keep an eye on the schedule!
-Rusty
Did anyone qualify with center fire, or try with it at that range at that shoot?
Quote from: apeman on September 24, 2013, 09:57:10 AM
Did anyone qualify with center fire, or try with it at that range at that shoot?
Yes and yes.
I'm looking at putting together another event in Madison County before the end of the year. The venue will support calibers up to 5.56. No promises, but watch the schedule. :)