Summer has apparently arrived in Gainesville. Temperatures well into the 90's made for a sweaty shoot but both old faces and new were brave enough to come out to exercise their Liberty and learn Appleseed's brand of marksmanship and heritage. By the end of Saturday our shooters were pretty well whipped but there was one man who knew well what he was about as Denny scored a 212 on the AQT and showed that he still has what it takes. Great job on re-qualifying! Now, an orange hat would look pretty good on you… Sunday was a bit cooler with a nice breeze but the heat on Saturday took a toll and the numbers were considerably diminished. But those hardy patriots who did come back showed great strides in improving their marksmanship and by the end of the day we had yet another who managed to re-qualify with a very decent score on the AQT. Congratulations to Clayton for some very nice work! Now, about that orange hat...
To everyone who got off the sofa, thanks! You are our kind of people. Remember to practice perfectly, dry fire by the numbers, and persist and every single one of you will become expert shots. I have plenty of Rifleman patches awaiting you. And many kudos to our great instructors who made it all possible: Evan, Chris, Jean, and Janet. You guys rock!
It was great seeing so many familiar faces on the line this weekend, and new faces as well. The heat did not deter these fine patriots from coming out this weekend to learn a little about their heritage and work on their marksmanship skills. Congratulations to Denny and Clayton for re-qualifying! Well done! Wes took the plunge and came with his centerfire rifle this time - it won't be long before he is able to re-qualify as well, after making significant progress throughout the weekend. I also would like to commend our young patriots Lucy and David - instead of spending Saturday playing computer games as most of their peers surely were, they came out to learn a thing or two about liberty.
Frank and Andy kept us laughing with their good-natured friendly competition! Frank, it was such a delightful surprise to see someone that I know from work who I greatly respect and admire on the line. Andy, let me know if you figure out how to get that target to stop moving! I hope to see you guys again! Randy made significant improvements throughout the weekend, and it was so great watching little lightbulbs go off all weekend. Sofya and Dmitri were sending some significant groups downrange - between them and determined and delightful Lucy, this is a family to be reckoned with!
John was one of our repeat offenders, and it was great to see him again! Keep up that dry fire practice and a patch awaits! David did a great job and showed tremendous focus and determination. Dad Bob put a smile on my face with his wonderful stories, and it was great that father and son got to spend a Saturday together on the line. Lucy, keep practicing those seated positions - I know the perfect one is just waiting to be discovered by you. When you do - look out AQT!
Matthew and Max came out on Sunday, but quickly made up for lost time. They now have the skills they need to practice at home and will hopefully come out again to show us how much they will improve with practice.
Thank you to my fellow instructors Bruce, Janet, Evan, and Jean for making this weekend incredibly fun, as always.
And last but certainly not least, thank you to my incredibly wonderful and supportive husband for taking on childcare duties at home this weekend so that I could be a part of it. You are the best!
Some more pictures
Instructor pics
Thank you Bruce, Janet, Chris, Jean and Evan for a great Appleseed weekend. I really appreciate so much what you folks do. You put your heart into it and it really shows. You folks are truly the best!!!
It was great to see Denny, Clayton and Dimitri and family again. Congrats to Denny and Clayton on the requalification. Hope to see all of you again at the next Appleseed.
Thanks again.
Wow, looks like good times. Sorry I missed it, this was the first time I missed a Gainesville event in a couple of years. It's always hot, hot, hot this time of year. Good job and congratulations to the re-qualifications.
Things were indeed hot. Not enough to reach the misery index for infernoseed patch. That was a good thing though.
Thanks to all the instructors there Bruce, Janet, Chris, Evan and especially Jean :1luvu (It's the doughnuts and coffee) Had a great time in spite of the heat. Returning to re-qualify was what I wanted. Had I practiced more prior to Sat I may have had more than 1 score for Q. :wb: Special thanks to 9mm 45 45 for the scope help. Just what was needed for lock down.
Orange hat may be in the future for me because of this cadre of dedicated folks........