This was my first visit to the beautiful high desert location of Ridgecrest and a very nice range it was.
This was the home range for Francis Marion and our previous Appleseed shooter Erik who was knocking on the door of Rifleman all weekend. I'm sure you'll make Rifleman if you can visit us in Piru in Nov.
We had three fine young men, Chris, Zak and Gabe who had a good time with Hollywoodmarine and showed some real skills with their 22s and that big old mosin.
I enjoyed working with Ryan who showed tremendous improvement through the weekend, especially after some personal attention from Kool Aid and Wade, with shooting jacket and glove. Keep it up Ryan, you'll go far.
J.D. and Betty showed true rifleman persistence working through some equipment issues finally showing their mettle with an LTR and an M1.
What can I say about "the brothers," Steve and Phil. They were killing me all weekend with their hilarious banter - made me wish I'd had brothers instead of sisters when I was growing up. Which one of you did phone Mom first?
Geoff and Pixie while only with us for the one day enjoyed themselves and showed true persistence.
And yes, Wade was from Washington and was there to help us. The instructors had a great time on the steel targets "after hours" with Wade ringing the liberty bells down range.
Once again, another great Appleseed with great people sharing the American Heritage with this new American from the old country. Sitting on the end of the line, with the flags fluttering in the breeze, the sun setting over the mountains, watching a line of American shooters, young and old, male and female, having fun on those AQTs. These days make everything worthwhile.
Hope to see all you guys again on the Appleseed Trail.
Cheers
Phil
Ditto everything V said. Thank you again to all the instructors for taking the time to be here with us.
It was great seeing the youngsters shooting well and enjoy themselves. Shooting steel is just too much fun! Thanks again FM for letting me shoot the AR. For some reason I shot it better than my M16 when I was in the Army ;).
Nice shooting Wade! Range the 600 18 out of 20 times. Thanks for coming from Washington and helping.
See you in Piru!
DD
As usual, a beautiful shooting day. Shooters listened, applied themselves, and persisted. Improvement was evident in the morning/afternoon redcoat comparison.
Thanks again to Tom Wiknich and RGRA for hosting the program.
Especially the young folks- Zak, Gabriel, Chris and Ryan and the young lady- you all really made my weekend. Keep learning and studying your school subjects, and include our shooting heritage in your lives.
Assembling publicly to speak freely and shoot targets: that is what a weekend looks and sounds like in a free country.
All shooters left with increased knowledge and skill. The magic of the weekend? Bringing the Founders nearer to us through retelling their story. Thanks, all, for participating.
Desert dog, you're sure welcome, and thank you for your service to our country.
That heavy barrel target model really lends itself to good shooting.
Sounds like another great AS weekend ;D Wish I was there .
Semper Fidelis
JA