The cold winter conditions of this weekend were easy to bear when interacting with my fellow Appleseeders!!! Instruction by the cadre was excellent, the students were very receptive to the instruction and they soon displayed that reception by shooting well on the firing line!
We had hot chow cooked over an open fire both days and a lot of good fellowship with one another. Meeting new friends, reacquainting with old friends and having a great time!
We had many shooters earn their Rifleman patch and Winterseed patches this weekend and many good scores were shot. Quite a few of the new Riflemen backed up their first Rifleman scores with repeat Rifleman scores, proving their mettle as well as the value of the instruction!
I believe all of instructors shot our first re-qualifying AQT's for the year and all shot excellent scores! One shot a qualifying score for the new "Distinguished Rifleman" patch.
Again, as all of the other Appleseeds, this weekend has refreshed me and I look forward to the Appleseeds to come!
Sounds like a large time was had by all! Congrats to the new Riflemen and the instructors
John, you're the one that shot a 240 in the cold and snow. You have probably forgotten more about rifle marksmanship than I will ever know. Now we are going to have to bring you up to snuff on the grilling skills.
Congrats to Erik on taking an orange hat. I am glad to see the program grow and welcome you to the instructor corps.
As John said, it was great to see old friends and meet new ones. The sun came out and warmed the frozen ground just enough so that it wasn't too hard, although it did stick to our boots and re-freeze later in the afternoon. I am not sure what could ever taste better than hot dogs on the grill with this crew.
I was really impressed with the new Riflemen Kevin and Matt (225 with a bolt-action) and their persistence over this weekend. Seeing each of them take and apply the instruction was rewarding. This was the first Appleseed that I have ever been to where everyone there on a Sunday had made a Rifleman's score.
As the other stated it was a bone chilling weekend but the instructors and the shooters made it worth enduring
Congrats to the two new Riflemen Kevin and Matt. Matt sent me an email stating that he has been a hunter and shooter all of his life and he can now say he knows how to shoot. He never gave up and ended up shooting a 215 followed by a 225 using a bolt gun. Kevin squeezed in a 210 at the end of the day on Sunday. We will delay his baptism until the weather is warmer, as I'm sure he will be back. All of the shooters were awesome to hang out with and reminded me of one of the many reasons that I do this.
The scores improved from start to finish and individual improvement was shown by each
Congrats to Quinncannon for his score of a 240 and to Jayhawker for his qualifying with a bolt gun. Congrats to Erik for showing that he is a rifle an and stepping up to take an orange hat
Quote from: sticksnstones on January 17, 2018, 01:58:39 AM
Congrats to Quinncannon for his score of a 240 and to Jayhawker for his qualifying with a bolt gun. Congrats to Erik for showing that he is a rifle an and stepping up to take an orange hat
Thanks, Sticks, I hope this doesn't sound self serving, but that 240 score just might be the first "Distinguished" patch awarded in the USA. From Arkansas, no less!
Quote from: KPUC on January 16, 2018, 10:40:02 PM
John, you're the one that shot a 240 in the cold and snow. You have probably forgotten more about rifle marksmanship than I will ever know. Now we are going to have to bring you up to snuff on the grilling skills.
Congrats to Erik on taking an orange hat. I am glad to see the program grow and welcome you to the instructor corps.
As John said, it was great to see old friends and meet new ones. The sun came out and warmed the frozen ground just enough so that it wasn't too hard, although it did stick to our boots and re-freeze later in the afternoon. I am not sure what could ever taste better than hot dogs on the grill with this crew.
I was really impressed with the new Riflemen Kevin and Matt (225 with a bolt-action) and their persistence over this weekend. Seeing each of them take and apply the instruction was rewarding. This was the first Appleseed that I have ever been to where everyone there on a Sunday had made a Rifleman's score.
Thanks Chris! I was very impressed by our new Riflemen too!
I can proudly say that everyone that fought the bitter cold both days left Sunday as a Rifleman. Our newest Riflemen Matt and Kevin came to us with a lot of skill, particularly their phenomenal shooting from the standing position, and an eagerness to learn more. They proved they know what it truly means to be a Rifleman through their character, perseverance and excellent marksmanship. Welcome to the instructor corps Erik! Always a pleasure having you at the range and learning from you as well and sharing stories of our travels to other countries. I had a great time at this event being able to enjoy some time at the range with new and old friends while we polished our skills and embraced our freedoms that so many have fought to preserve. Thank you to Quinncannon for manning the grill both days and cooking up some much needed warm food. The owners at VETS Shooting Center were great hosts and I appreciate their support of our program. While my time is coming to a close here in Arkansas, I appreciate this opportunity to meet so many amazing people through this program and look forward to expanding the program at my next destination.
Here is a link for pictures from Sunday. I will leave them up until the end of February so everyone has a chance to download any they would like to keep. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s4tlagb4jf7l7te/AACUmA-CAtgYQ8Pywkl0XnO8a?dl=0
I want to give a big thanks to everyone that was there. Even though there were moments when I couldn't feel my fingers and toes, I had a great time!
I want to give a special thanks to Chris, Kyle, John, Sticks, and Terry. I was worried I wouldn't be able to qualify with the bolt gun, but my scores kept coming up because of their valuable advice and coaching.
The shooting was fun, but I enjoyed the history lessons just as much. It was a real joy to meet a bunch of like-minded individuals who love liberty.
I definitely plan to attend another Appleseed in the future, and hope to bring a few more folks with me.
mattmax, it was a pleasure to work with you on the line as well as visiting around the fire! Great job on running that bolt action rifle!
Quote from: Quinncannon on January 17, 2018, 09:06:31 AM
Quote from: sticksnstones on January 17, 2018, 01:58:39 AM
Congrats to Quinncannon for his score of a 240 and to Jayhawker for his qualifying with a bolt gun. Congrats to Erik for showing that he is a rifle an and stepping up to take an orange hat
Thanks, Sticks, I hope this doesn't sound self serving, but that 240 score just might be the first "Distinguished" patch awarded in the USA. From Arkansas, no less!
No, there was a 242 shot in TENNESSEE a few months ago, and a 247 as well. :yeahthat:
Quote from: woodstock16 on January 31, 2018, 01:27:13 PM
No, there was a 242 shot in TENNESSEE a few months ago, and a 247 as well.
Woodstock, I believe he's talking about the "Distinguished" patches, which are brand-new.
Quote from: woodstock16 on January 31, 2018, 01:27:13 PM
Quote from: Quinncannon on January 17, 2018, 09:06:31 AM
Quote from: sticksnstones on January 17, 2018, 01:58:39 AM
Congrats to Quinncannon for his score of a 240 and to Jayhawker for his qualifying with a bolt gun. Congrats to Erik for showing that he is a rifle an and stepping up to take an orange hat
Thanks, Sticks, I hope this doesn't sound self serving, but that 240 score just might be the first "Distinguished" patch awarded in the USA. From Arkansas, no less!
No, there was a 242 shot in TENNESSEE a few months ago, and a 247 as well. :yeahthat:
I was indeed speaking of the new "Distinguished Patch", yeah that. Actually, not my best score.
Speaking of new patches...
Really very pleased to hear things are going well with our APpleseed family in AR especially w scores & New IITs. ^:)^congrats! May AR continue to boom & grow. Love you AR folk & treasure our AR state patches having worked shoots in AR.
Hats off to you hearty folk w Winterseed. Brrr. We are driving home now from Tallahassee boot camp where most nights were into thirties all week. Campfires & Mr Heater Buddy are a beautiful things.
Lady Liberty smiles & even chuckles with some new "games" played at the boot camp. You might find the AAR interesting when it gets posted.