Hobbs Island Shooting Range (HISR) hosted a special Appleseed for the Rocket City Young Marines (RCYM) on the wet, cool weekend of April 24-25. Leaders of the RCYM unit had coordinated with the local cadre to set up a half day Appleseed on Saturday for the members aged 8-12 and a full day Appleseed for the 13-18 year olds. It turned out to be a great combination O0
On Saturday morning the younger members of the RCYM unit arrived with just a hint of nervousness about what they were about to experience. They were quickly put at ease with an introduction to operating a Ruger 10/22 and an opportunity to learn how to prepare magazines using dummy rounds. After going through the basics of prone position and the six steps of firing a shot, they were ready to try their new skills. We were very grateful for the covered concrete firing line since the ground was muddy from a couple of days of rain and it was still coming down that morning. Once the YM got down on the mat and had the satisfaction of putting holes in their targets, the muddy ground wasn't an obstacle to their enthusiasm. All you have to do is look at their faces in the pictures below to see that they had a great time.
Sunday morning was sunny and cool when the older RCYM arrived ready to get started. A few in this group had been to prior Appleseeds and had been the driving force in making sure an event was on their unit calendar this year. A few others were new to Appleseed, so we started off the day with an intro to the Ruger 10/22 and practice preparing magazines. The group caught on very quickly and, after hearing the first strike of the match, we headed to the firing line to start instruction. We shot the morning Red Coat target then moved on to squares to hone their positions and six steps of firing the shot. Over lunch we heard the second strike of the match and also learned about IMC using the squares target from the morning. In the afternoon we completed learning about all the positions, as well as the third strike, and moved on to the AQT. There was some friendly competition, particularly among the siblings in attendance. By the end of the day everyone was smiling and saying they had a great time.
Thanks to the instructor crew, HISR, RCYM leaders, and, most of all, the Young Marines for making this a great weekend! It's always a pleasure to work with the fine young people in this program.
Saturday morning group:
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Sunday group:
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More pics from the weekend:
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