Perfect!
One word tells the story. That's all I have to say.
OK, not really - there's so much more! An incredible group of Shooters graced Good Ole Bay 7 at the greatest Appleseed range in 13 states on a Glorious April "Patriot's Day" weekend to honor the lives and sacrifices of our fallen heroes of yore and partake in the most American of all skills - MARKSMANSHIP!
Clinton County Farmers and Sportsman Association once again graciously hosted a fabulous weekend event that saw three new Riflemen, three Rifleman re-qualifications and another 4 RQs by the instructor corps. Throw in a few wiped out Redcoat targets and we can check off a PERFECT weekend. "But, Shoot Boss," you say. "What about the cold rain and frosty morning? Doesn't that miss "perfect" by a little bit?"
"Absolutely not!" I inject. "What's a Patriot's Day shoot without a soggy shooting mat and some chattering teeth?" Like Fred says- You remember the bumps in the road. That stuff makes it even more perfect!
Just ask our 23 Patriots with the fire of LIBERTY in their hearts and souls if it was perfect. The answers will be a resounding "YES!" (At least I hope it will.) All I can say is our shooters performed like men and women determined to be free. Excellent, teachable attitudes. Safety conscious beyond expectation. And respectful and humble toward our colonial brothers and sisters who gave all that fateful day.
Once we got things cranking, George was our first new Rifleman and he did it North Bridge style with a 210 and a baptism. Will cruised in with a 211 on that same AQT. We thought the best was behind us after a stirring Patriot's Day Memorial Volley and a rockin' Team Drill when out of the pack Gavin let us bask in the glory of another North Bridge deluge with his own 210!
The re-quals were done in spectacular fashion as Doug and his boys, Nate and Nick, cranked out a pile of Rifleman scores and claimed their own Special edition patches.
There were so many close shooters and we are hoping to see 'em back on the line soon. Jennifer, Tyler, and Paloma were within inches with scores over 200. So many more with the determination to persist through the weekend until the bitter end. Jake, Zack and Kaitlyn, Dan, Emily, Justin, and Steven. Krista, Tim, Jeff, Rob, and Jamie. All you guys were shooting like patriots. And let's not forget about Braxton and Erin who showed us the fortitude of the young drummer William Diamond!
We sincerely thank all of our shooter for making our Appleseed perfect and lots of kudos to our instructors without which this could never happen.
We'll be back in June and hope to see you all again!
I had a great time as always. This was a very impressive group of shooters and they took instruction well. The weather gave us just about everything except snow so that was fun to try and stay ahead of. Congratulations to our new and old Riflemen! This was a perfect weekend to shoot the score as our great nation ticks off its 246th year since that fateful day at Meriams's Corner. A big shout-out to the shooters who made HUGE gains and fell just short. Keep after it! You will succeed at your next shoot with scores like those. Kudos to our new instructors making the steps up the IIT ladder: Dangerous Old Lady, Jingo, Owl1, Old Guy, and DocHolliday. Rattlehead was also there with his six year old daughter Erin and I see many Rifleman scores in her future. He also gave an inspiring First Strike.
Very happy with this patriot's weekend shoot. My first Appleseed where I did not score rifleman. However, the two first timers that I brought with me both made rifleman scores, Congrats to both Will and Gaven. Also the first time where I was the "oldest" at an event. Not looking forward to more of those but will likely be many more. As with all Appleseed events I learn something. I really wanted to requalify with iron sights again. Using a New to me Winchester Wildcat rifle was nice. My eyes are getting too old however. The small targets just blur out and dissolve as I concentrate on the perfecting the front sight in the ghost ring. Sadly I could not tell if my NPA position was consistent as I would have liked. What have I taken away from the shoot? I will likely need to use optics in the future to detect a consistent NPA. I could not be more proud of the fact that both of my friends made rifleman. I will be happy to cook for them should the need arise.