The skies were gray and threatening with clouds, but that didn't deter these 18 Americans who came together at the Blue & Gray Rifle and Pistol Club for our annual Project Appleseed weekend here. We're grateful to the BGRPC for hosting us at their beautiful range.
This was a unique event for North Alabama. For the first time in a couple of years, our Appleseed was 100% staffed by Yellowhammers!
After a welcome and safety brief, we heard Mean Machine (Brittani) share the First Strike of the match. Then, we moved onto the Redcoat targets to see who would join Captain Morgan's company as a rifleman or as a cook! Then, we jumped deep into the course of fire to learn about fundamental rifle marksmanship. The heavy rain held off until after lunch when we heard EddieB tell about the events surrounding Concord and the North Bridge.
The afternoon came and so did the rain. Several points in the afternoon, the rain was so heavy and loud we couldn't call line commands. To their credit... not one person left the line. They were stalwart until the very end, which would come sooner than we all liked. GT Engineer (Andy) persisted until the last, shouting the Third Strike over the roar of the storm!
Between wind and rain, we decided to call the event early. I know that Ivy (a returning Appleseeder who was showing off his practiced skills) and others were frustrated. Our young shooters, Matthew, Alex, Braden, and Eric all kept high spirits during the day.
Sunday morning came with brighter skies and the Shoot Boss (your humble author) adapted the course of instrution to cover things we missed on Saturday. Shooters were excited and motivated and asked lots of good questions during the morning review. It wasn't long before we got to our first of several AQTs. Between qualification tests, we did extra practice on different tasks to polish our skills.
During the benediction on Sunday, an instructor told me I needed to look at a target... and we learned we had one young man who knew exactly what he was about: 16 year old Eric rocked out a 215! It was a great way to end our time together. It was a real pleasure watching so many Americans gain new skills and confidence (especially Clair who was AWESOME at overcoming some of her concerns and Terri who had never fired a rifle before!)
We really appreciate everyone who came out and it was an honor to serve each of you. I hope to see each of you on the line again soon! Keep practicing - both your marksmanship and your citizenship skills!
Feel free to reply with comments, pictures, or questions!
in Liberty,
Rusty
P.S. Please keep an eye on the Alabama schedule (and the greater tristate area too!) We have a number of shoots within a short driving distance left this year!
Sounds like y'all had a great time. Wish I could have been there. I think it rained on everyone in the Tennessee Valley last weekend.
Congratulations to everyone who came out to Guntersville. I hope to see you on the line soon.
Liberty
Wreck
A few pictures... the rest can be found on my Photobucket!
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/rusty-appleseed/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_151542_zpsfb7c34e9.jpg) (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/rusty-appleseed/media/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_151542_zpsfb7c34e9.jpg.html)
Alabama's newest Rifleman, Eric!
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/rusty-appleseed/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_152543_zpsf49ec331.jpg) (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/rusty-appleseed/media/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_152543_zpsf49ec331.jpg.html)
Alabama's newest new Blue Hat, Braden!
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/rusty-appleseed/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_083237_zps03db5801.jpg) (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/rusty-appleseed/media/2014-08_GntAL/20140831_083237_zps03db5801.jpg.html)
Here is the link to the rest of my pics from the weekend:
http://s24.photobucket.com/user/rusty-appleseed/library/2014-08_GntAL (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/rusty-appleseed/library/2014-08_GntAL)
-Rusty
Just chiming in to say thanks to Rusty and all the volunteers! I went in a decent, but inconsistent shot (actually, the only real consistent thing is that, even at my previous best, there'd be a solid 3-5 flyers in any ten round course of fire) and came out a much better, much more consistent shot.
It was hot as hell and miserably humid for most of the shoot, but I'd do it again at the drop of a hat and have been advising anyone and everyone I know that is interested in shooting that they should attend an Appleseed shoot. I'll be doing another in the future as I missed making rifleman by five points and need to further improve my technique.
You've successfully recruited an evangelist for the appleseed project. One of the things that most clearly illustrated the potential for accuracy for me was the pose demonstration with the laser. Watching the dot move perfectly vertically, the same distance each time, and pause on the bullseye really rammed home how accurate you can be following the techniques that appleseed teaches.
Thanks again to the instructors and volunteers!
Shared a bunch of these. "Just people enjoying fellowship and enjoying the second amendment. None of these people look like those crazy guys on the news, us humble people with firearms are overlooked. This is the legacy of American Gun culture, Interesting men women and children with moral centers enjoying their liberty to increase a skill and have fun."