This past Saturday saw some real patriots come out to start the journey towards Rifleman, embracing a love of liberty, a new found knowledge of the Americans of April 19th, 1775 and to start building a proficiency at marksmanship that those men used to forge a new country. This event was held at the Murray State College Firing Range on the nicest possible late fall day in Tishomingo, OK. First, I was surprised to find a modern institution of higher learning with their own firing range, but then I found out they have a world-class gunsmithing program to boot! Our own Appleseed instructor, DFBCoach, is also one of the instructors for the gunsmithing program and really motivated his students to come out and Appleseed with us. He did double and triple duty to make sure this event was special, even going so far as to organize a cookout for everyone during our lunch break when he wasn't hustling back to help on the firing line. He was definitely an inspiration to his students and to the rest of the instructors on the line.
More to come with pictures when I get caught up . . .
Liberty isn't won from the couch or sitting in front of the computer screen and Saturday definitely got a few of us off the couch. The closest instructor drove more than two hours and several shooters would also be up in the hours of darkness to answer the call of their heritage.
The road to Tishomingo was long for some
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The road to Tishomingo
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Lights! We can set up the night prior!
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It's easy to be distracted by the media circus we are exposed to everyday. Appleseed is a good time to reflect on the
principles of our founders and remember the debt we own to their sacrifice.
The morning broke cold and clear, much like you'd imagine Lexington Green on April 19, 1775. Luckily the only redcoats we faced that morning would be on our paper targets. After finishing registration and filling out waivers, Boomerang reviewed the safety rules with us.
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Frosty November Morning
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Registration chaos
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Welcomes, introductions and safety
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If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us. We ask not your counsel or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen. Samuel Adams
The fire hose is open full blast as we cover the fundamentals of position and sling use, firing the shot and natural point of aim. After each block of instruction, the shooters test themselves against 1 inch squares at 25 meters.
Working the squares targets
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Getting feedback . . . aka "talking targets"
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The founders knew the important part played by the Rifleman in winning our liberty. And they knew a nation of Riflemen was essential to the preservation of that liberty.
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States." Noah Webster
Or in modern parlance . . .
"Homeland security is a nation of Rifleman" - TaosGlock (Appleseeder)
"Coach" (DFBCoach) provided a big meal for hungry shooters. Hotdogs, hamburgers and snacks made the best treat after a busy morning. Coach scrambled everywhere all morning to make this event a success when he wasn't hustling back to help shooters on the line. Many thanks to Coach for making this day even better!
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Big spread!
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Burgers and hotdogs
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The Regulars are out!
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While everyone was enjoying their lunch, Boomerang told the "first strike". Several folks who were not on the line joined us to hear some history from 1775. We found out how the King George and his Parliament ordered the troops to start the systematic disarmament of their own citizens in the American colonies and thereby remove any means they might have to resist tyranny.
"To disarm the people…is the most effectual way to enslave them." George Mason
Luckily, those were men and women made of tougher stuff, and they would not sit idly by when liberty was at stake.
Even though the prone position is the most stable, sometimes conditions like tall vegetation or an obstacle make shooting prone problematic. The afternoon included learning the finer points of the sitting and kneeling position.
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Howdy All,
Looks like a fun event to me. Hot Lunch, what's that? Nice to see an Institute of higher learning with a "Rifle Range" outdoors and allow Project Appleseed to hold an event there.
Keep up the good work, thanks,
Jerry :bow: :F
Outstanding job Captain, DFBCoach and Boomerang!
Kudos to all the shooters!
We had the Trinidad School of Gunsmithing send some folks our way a few years back.
They quickly realized most combs on stocks they were making were too low.
Looks like a great event and I bet the word will spread for more shoots here!
Good luck with your shoot in CO this weekend!
TG
Thanks for the great comments guys. It was a really good group of people there in Tishomingo (I love that name). We already had one ask for a Blue Hat (welcome Oakley) and another thinking about pursuing an Orange Hat . . .
The two instructors there (DFBCoach and Boomerang) had worked together on several events before and definitely made the "outta-stater" feel welcome. I really hope I'll get the chance to see everyone there at a future event.
And now back to the pictures . . . .
Okay let me see if I can get the rest of the pictures posted . . . The next position we worked on was standing. Sometimes neither prone nor sitting is an option or you just don't have time to use those other positions. Time to accept that wobble zone and shoot standing or offhand. You'll notice one of the shooters was using a "Brandon Green" (high power champion) stance . . . Jason would go on to shoot Rifleman.
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Finally, we're back in prone to test ourselves against the Appleseed Qualification Test aka "The AQT". Prone constitutes 50% of the shooting on an AQT and 60% of the score. It's a good test of all the skills learned throughout the day. Most people will need to attend several Appleseed events before they have the skill to make the score of 210 or Rifleman. But, a Rifleman persists . . .
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While we score our AQT's, Boomerang tells the final strike, the one that would begin an eight year struggle of farmers, lawyers, shopkeepers and laborers against the most powerful military in the world. With the benefit of hindsight, we know those desperate years resulted in the freest nation ever to come into being. How long can we keep it?
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Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the final volley when the entire line emptied their magazines into reactive targets provided by Coach. Those jugs of colored water deserved what they got as they exploded downrange. As the sun went down we had many students knocking on the door of 210. But even with so many within striking distance, only Jason was able to get over the line with a 227! Huzzah!
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We also had one shooter on his second Appleseed attempt; Oakley is determined to persist until he gets his patch but decided he would rather not wait to help out with the program and he stepped up to take a Blue Hat. Let me be the first to welcome you to Appleseed. I hope your journey will be as rewarding as mine has been and I know we are lucky to have you join us.
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We also had a special recognition for Boomerang as he passed the initial milestone of having worked 10 events. We are guessing DFBCoach has also qualified for his 10 pin since these two instructors started their Appleseed journey at the same time at the Rifleman's Boot Camp up in Douglas two years ago. We will have to wait for the event paperwork to catch up to him as he continues to put on excellent Appleseeds.
We were able to get a group photo just as the sun went down and clean up began.
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It's always a special day when you get together with others to embrace our shared heritage from 244 years ago. I hope others who were able to attend will take the chance to share their experiences from last Saturday and let us know how to make it even better.
Looks like everyone had a great day. I'll look forward to joining in sometime.
Captain,
Thank you for all the great photos! That's a nice extra after an Applesseed. Thank you again for driving all that distance to spend the day in Tishomingo, and also big thanks to Coach and Boomerang. I'm looking forward to my next shot at the AQT. In the meantime, I'll be working on the skills necessary to become a Rifleman!
-- Oakley