We had a 2-day Project Appleseed at the wonderful facilities at Stones River Hunter Education Center, a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency range. Although we originally had 8 shooters registered, 1 had to cancel for family reasons and the father of a father-son team became ill and they could not attend.
Kudos to the 5 determined shooters who did attend. Of the 5, 4 were first-timers. We kicked off the day with a presentation of the First Strike and the shooters were fully engaged!
We moved to the range in weather that was oppressive at best. Since the firing line is not covered, we used pop-up canopies. While the canopies help alleviate the heat to an extent, the asphalt and concrete range heats quickly and stays hot. The only saving grace is an occasional breeze from the nearby lake.
The shooters worked hard to follow instruction and were persistent. The groups consistently improved as we worked through the blocks of instruction but the heat slowed everyone down significantly - even the instructors. The call for the shooters and instructors to hydrate was constant, as was encouragement to apply sunblock.
At lunchtime one of our first-timers had to leave to attend a funeral, so we were down to 4. The shooters were well-covered with instruction. The challenge was not making sure instructors were "on the mat" or paying attention, it was trying to not overwhelm the shooters with close support.
The weather was hard on everyone, including a patron of another of the 3 ranges at Stones River HEC. An adult was overcome by the heat and an ambulance was called. He was administered an IV. During that time the entire facility was called "cold" until the situation was resolved.
With the slow pace induced by the heat, we did not engage an AQT by the end of Saturday, but all the instructors agreed it would have been a mistake to push to attempt to accomplish more than we had. There was admirable improvement with the Saturday afternoon Redcoat.
Sunday dawned wet. In fact, it rained a lot. The instructors were a bit concerned our youngest shooter might have been a bit overwhelmed by the conditions on Saturday so we discussed some alternative activities for him if he did attend. We were happy (and maybe a bit proud) to hear from his father that he had bounced out of bed and was raring to get to the range.
The Sunday morning review session was a bit extended, to get everyone back up to speed including the shooter who had missed some of the blocks of instruction on Saturday, and to wait out the rain.
The shooters jumped in with both feet on the range and after some practice with transitions, got to the AQT's.
Lunch included some rousing Dangerous Old Men presentations, some KD information, and answered shooters' questions.
While the temperature was lower than Saturday and at times the sky was overcast, Nashville Stage was forced to take down the canopies while watching the line during lunch due to gusts of wind. The afternoon was productive, but at times the sun was once again a challenge.
With everyone getting into the grove of the AQT stages and showing improvement, it was with some frustration that we started hearing thunder and saw a growing dark cloud. Although the weather radar showed no storm, a nearby thunder crack made the decision for us. We began removing rifles and striking equipment. Before long there was a deluge of rain. The shooters pitched in to help get everything put up and we headed to the classroom.
We spent some time discussing with the shooters how impressed we were with their persistence during the challenges of the weather throughout the weekend. The feedback from them was very encouraging and they all stated that they enjoyed the experience.
I want to personally thank each of the shooters for showing the characteristic of a Rifleman: Persistence!
I also want to thank the Instructor cadre for this event: Faramir, Nashville Stage, Little Shine, Black Knight, woodstock16, Old Navy Doc, & Booney Stomper. It was great to have Dracomeister visit for a few moments as well!