A beautiful day greeted ten motivated Americans for the Project Appleseed event at the Tuscaloosa Shooting Sports range. A great big thanks goes out to the TSSI for once again hosting us. We are looking forward to many more events at this fantastic venue.
We began the day with a welcome speech on Saturday morning, then started our history presentation with a retelling of Strike One and the massacre on Lexington Green. We covered safety and then it was time to bring rifles to the line. Our first thirteen shots of the day were at the famous Red Coat targets, helping to establish a baseline that we could compare to after a full day of instruction. We then jumped into the instruction, covering sling use, the 6 steps of firing the shot, natural point of aim, and the prone position. We did a variety of drills to practice these skills and broke for lunch. The Second Strike was told, ending with the battle at the old North Bridge in Concord. We continued drills and learned how to self-diagnose with Talking Targets, and how to use Inches-Minutes-Clicks to efficiently zero our rifles. After learning how the Revolutionary War broke out in earnest at Merriam's Corner in the Strike Three story, we covered the sitting/kneeling and standing positions, bringing us to our first AQT! Dawson was the first to requalify with a very impressive 228!
Sunday morning came with a repeat of the previous day's great weather. We did a quick review of the instruction covered on Saturday, then got right into drills. We shot a few sighter squares to confirm our zero and we were ready for an AQT. During lunch we heard stories about several Dangerous Old Men (and Women), and had a taste of what an Appleseed Known Distance event is all about. After a few more drills we were ready for more AQTs. By the day's end, we had a new Rifleman! Shaun scored an awesome 231 and later requalified twice more with the top event score of 242! Dawson requalified two more times with a personal best of 236. His dad, David, requalified four times with a top score of 241!
Shooters: GlockMike, WileyCoyote, KyleC, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with you. Please think about the instruction we gave you and remember to practice dry firing and natural point of aim as often as you can! Also, think of our founding generation and the high price they paid to preserve Liberty for us. We honor them by remembering them. Don't let their struggles be in vain. It is up to us to preserve Liberty for our posterity as they did for us.
We hope to see you again soon at another Appleseed, and bring a friend! In the meantime, please spread the word with your friends and family about your Appleseed weekend.
I had a great time and learned a lot. Thanks to the instructors for all the help and advise that helped me improve with every target. Without their help, the 242 I shot on the last AQT would not have happened. Thank you. I look forward to attending another event and making more great friends.
Dawson and I both had a great time learning with everyone. We plan to be back to an Appleseed event in the future.
Dawson is a very talented young man. You should be a very proud dad. I am glad to have met and shot with the two of you. Congrats to the both of you!
HUZZAH! Great Job!