Twelve gallant shooters arrived Saturday morning at MGGOA to hear the story of April 19, 1775 and learn rifle marksmanship. Nine of these were first time attendees.
We explored the finer points of the American martial art, including:
- the six steps of firing the shot;
- steady hold factors for prone, sitting/kneeling, and standing positions;
- natural point of aim (NPOA);
- Rifleman's cadence;
- target interpretation;
- removal of discrepancies between our line of sight and point of impact (IMC); and
- other related topics.
We were able to test our skills with two AQTs on Saturday.
We heard the story of men, women, and children willing to give their all to secure Liberty; broken into three strikes of the match. We also heard a segment from The Crisis pamphlet circulated in April 1777 regarding the importance of knowing our Heritage. Our benediction included thought provoking questions about the sacrifice of our founding generation and pondered the different circumstances we might face today if even one of those members had not made the decisions they did. One person can make a difference.
Sunday, eight shooters returned. We reviewed the items presented Saturday and then discussed how to make a shot at longer distances. We were able to complete several AQTs with drills scattered between to work on specific needs.
Dixie Girl told us about some dangerous old men, brave women, and gallant children.
Everyone made great strides towards becoming a Rifleman (or Riflewoman) this weekend.
Holly, you showed to most improvement of anyone this weekend. You are a force to be reckoned with. A little rifle fitment and perfect practice will get you to the next step.
Danny, you fought the good fight this weekend! While you experienced some equipment issues, you were still able to shoot excellent groups and learned a valuable lesson regarding things shooting loose.
Joe and Ryan, it was a pleasure to have you on the line.
Mike, your desire to learn is commendable! Thanks for stopping us when you didn't understand something. It helps others too. Continue to hone your skills. I see improvement in them every event.
Donald, you did very well for your first Appleseed. Your eyes have been opened to the vast possibilities, now its up to you to dig as deep as you want. Thanks for coming and seeing what your son has gotten himself into. :))
Don, you've been christened "Boltin' Barefoot." You did very well with that bolt gun. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Clif, you were also shooting very well. Continue to work on your steady hold factors and the six steps.
Wayne, It was good to see you and the line again! Everyone has days that things just don't work like we think they should. You continue to shoot very well.
Travis, Pete, and Russ, thanks for making the trip down. You've begun the trip down the rabbit hole. It's up to each of you to determine how far you want to go.
Thanks to each of you for coming out and spending your weekend with us. I appreciate your attentiveness and engagement. I hope to see each of you on the line again!
Finally, if you have a suggestion on how we might improve the event, please send me a PM with your suggestion.
If you have pics, please post them in this thread.
I'm missing a green GI web sling. Please PM me if you have it or know of its location.
It was great to spend the weekend with such eager shooters. You were a receptive and attentive group and it was my privilege to have been in your company.
Great progress was made by all, as reflected on Sunday's squares target. On one cadence drill, almost all shooters had the majority of hits in the black. Way to go!
I hope to see you all again - and I hope you bring friends with you!
Sorry for the fuzzy pictures. I guess I shouldn't eat bananas before touching the camera lens :wb:
Rustyboy from the ODT was there from Atlanta, PMed me today and said he had a great time and is now hooked. He is planning a full write up/ review of the experience tonight. Great job instructors, they are already seventh-stepping.
Here are some photos:
(http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww225/spicket80/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo5.jpg) (http://s722.photobucket.com/user/spicket80/media/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo5.jpg.html)
(http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww225/spicket80/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo4.jpg) (http://s722.photobucket.com/user/spicket80/media/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo4.jpg.html)
(http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww225/spicket80/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo3.jpg) (http://s722.photobucket.com/user/spicket80/media/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo3.jpg.html)
(http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww225/spicket80/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo1.jpg) (http://s722.photobucket.com/user/spicket80/media/Project%20Appleseed/MGGOA%20-%2020SEP14/photo1.jpg.html)
This was posted on the ODT.
What a great time. A couple of buddies from work and I made the hike from ATL down to Dublin. The instructors were very professional, very approachable, and just generally good people. I read up wherever I could find in preparation, but still wasn't quite sure what to expect. I went in very ready to learn, and soaked as much up as I could. 12 students, two full instructors and one in training. The thought of marksmanship as America's martial art really struck me. First day is lots of great instruction and goes pretty darn fast. The second day is more time on the line, drills, and a really strong but rather quick discussion on taking the info learned at 25m/yds out to 400 and beyond. The stories/quotes from the founding of our country gave me goosebumps a few times, even though it was hotter than heck.
I will definitely be hitting the next event up this way.
That was my post. I figured I would go into more detail here.
This was my first Appleseed. I grew up around firearms, but the bug never bit me. My uncle would pawn off his old copies of Shotgun News to my dad, but I never had much interest. I was however quite the student of liberty, reading the Federalist Papers as enjoyment materials. After college, I moved to Vermont, a state started as an independent country before joining the union. This, and the history all around me re-lit my fire after the dousing experience that is college. I went to Boston while living in VT and must have over 1000 photos from my trip. Now in GA, I shoot whenever I can get away, and thought I had a lot of it figured out. I was quite wrong.
The instruction with a loop sling and natural point of aim make everything click. I have dabbled into learning MOA, but having someone with real life experience explain it in a way that makes sense is drastically different than reading some website.
I have so much respect and admiration for the instructors who put up with all of us all weekend. It was not a particularly comfortable weekend, but the time flew by. I will be back and will be pursuing the patch... once I am no longer too sore to get back in prone and dry fire. The mission of Appleseed make me feel so much pride and joy that there are others, from all walks of life, who think the same way I do.
Thanks to Guardian for sharing his rifle. And Brian's instruction on Sunday talking about longer range really made me think about things in the right way, which means I have probably not had my thoughts quite right before then. And nothing was quite as impressive as Dixie Girl keeping the laser in NPOA for minutes as the explanation was given. You couldn't ask for a better group of people.
I cannot think of a better way to encourage marksmanship.
Quote from: freedomzxcv on September 22, 2014, 02:04:48 PM
Rustyboy from the ODT was there from Atlanta, PMed me today and said he had a great time and is now hooked. He is planning a full write up/ review of the experience tonight. Great job instructors, they are already seventh-stepping.
Excellent!
What fun to spend two days with patriots honing our marksmanship. I can't thank our instructors enough for their instruction and inspiration. I've shot a lot from the bench the last few years but this was my first real marksmanship training. I learned so much! Appleseed has my utmost respect and appreciation for what you are doing to keep marksmanship and liberty alive.
And oh yeah, who needs shoes, the brass ain't that hot.
See you all soon!