The time finally arrived for our annual Project Appleseed 25m Rifle Event in Guntersville, AL. Once again the Blue & Gray Rifle & Pistol club were our gracious hosts!
After the shooters were welcomed and the instructors introduced, we started the morning off with the telling of the First Strike of the Match and the massacre on Lexington Green. Marksmanship instruction began with safety briefings and line commands, then the first Red Coat target was posted. We went through an interesting variety of drills, each one exercising one or more fundamentals and preparing us for the Appleseed Qualification Test! We heard about the brief skirmish at the Concord's North Bridge during the Second Strike at lunchtime, then it was back to the firing line. Steady improvement was seen in all the shooters throughout the day. Following the Third Strike and the intense fighting on Battle Road, we were ready for an AQT! We finished the day with a Red Coat target which showed great improvement.
Sunday morning brought another beautiful day. After a quick review, we resumed our instruction and drills until lunch. We heard about several dangerous old (and young) men (and women).
All the drills and instruction came into play when we shot our AQTs. Thomas was the first new Rifleman of the day with a score of 221! And then, not to be outdone, both of our youth shooters made the grade with Owen shooting a 215 and Barrett shooting a 228! All of us were very proud of these amazing young men. Several other shooters were knocking on the door. Remember, riflemen persist! Dryfire practice at home will pay off at your next Appleseed.
Please to tell your family and friends about your Project Appleseed experience. Let them know about the sacrifices our founding generation made that gave us the freedom we enjoy today. Remember it is up to us to maintain that freedom for our posterity. We hope to see you (and your family and friends) at another Appleseed soon!
Terri
(https://i.imgur.com/SSNLUno.jpg)
Brett
(https://i.imgur.com/MktpShf.jpg)
Owen
(https://i.imgur.com/BUdmOiB.jpg)
Justin
(https://i.imgur.com/uW9TnTq.jpg)
Blair
(https://i.imgur.com/QwYlb6K.jpg)
Barrett
(https://i.imgur.com/OjxVoBj.jpg)
Mike
(https://i.imgur.com/0ikuPMT.jpg)
Thomas
(https://i.imgur.com/8Ok94R8.jpg)
AH1 blowing the cobwebs from his S&W rifle.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZFuu32a.jpg)
History …
(https://i.imgur.com/UXLGoZ3.jpg)
… And more History
(https://i.imgur.com/Ynf1a7j.jpg)
Sitting class
(https://i.imgur.com/bmDWml3.jpg)
HondaHondo
(https://i.imgur.com/Y3sb6PT.jpg)
Passing on history to the next generation! Barrett and Owen.
(https://i.imgur.com/2tByVUA.jpg)
Willociraptor dropped in on Sunday!
(https://i.imgur.com/QY0nl8P.jpg)
Willociraptor demonstrating an alternate standing position
(https://i.imgur.com/qhCnBwR.jpg)
Morticia presents Inches Minutes Clicks
(https://i.imgur.com/nlgPXi4.jpg)
Thomas! Our first Rifleman
(https://i.imgur.com/hgIsAHo.jpg)
Barrett! Our second Rifleman, with his proud Dad!
(https://i.imgur.com/w3XYq33.jpg)
Owen! Our third Rifleman, with his Dad dreading the ride home!
(https://i.imgur.com/iHXiRu9.jpg)
Guntersville 2021
(https://i.imgur.com/KlDBXA0.jpg)
Thanks to Eddie and all the red and orange hats for a great weekend! I brought my wife with me and she had a great time as well. After her knee surgery and rehab she says she wants to shoot Appleseeds to. So we will buy her a Tippman rifle and scope and set her up. She was impressed with the whole event and told me she was expecting the Cadre to be like drill Sergeants. She was pleasantly surprised that everyone was so friendly and how professionally it was done. Great job!
I myself had a great time at 64 years of age and I made Rifleman. I ordered a Rifleman hat online to wear with pride of a shooting accomplishment in old age. I am signed up to shoot a KD Appleseed in November and I can't wait.
Thx to the Blue and Gray Rifle and Pistol club for opening up the range to us. The range is Top notch for any event.
This was such a fun and productive weekend! I feel lucky to learn from such awesome instructors, and every single shooter did so amazing! I took a couple pictures from the Ball and Dummy drill that I included. I can't wait for the next one!
And Thomas, congratulations on your Rifleman and I will see you at the KD event in November!
Congratulations to all the Riflemen and to everyone else that came out and spent your weekend on the firing line! Thomas, Owen, and Barrett - your persistence paid off! O0 :partytime: I hope to see you again soon at another Appleseed.
Appleseed first timer here. As a retired Army guy, this was by far the best rifle training I have ever received. My shooting skills went from ridiculous to respectable in one day. All the instructors were amazing in that they were knowledgeable, understanding, patient, and most of all alert, not only to Safety on the range but attentive to your rifle posture, mechanical performance, and pleasurably attentive and approachable. The staff ensures you're comfortable yet safe. The history of our young Nation was taught with facts that no other Schools will ever mention. The history was absolutely chocked full of eye-opening events. It was exhilarating, emotional and educational. The rifle training briefs were second to none. It was shocking, to say the least. I was expecting to know everything only to find out, you don't. I will be back. I will encourage others to do the same. Thanks to all of these All-American Volunteers that make up the Amazing Project Appleseed organization. Next time I'll take more pics. Special thanks to Morticia, AH-1 Tom and Thomas, my lane Bud. Thanks Ed for orchestrating all this and Hondo with his amazing great attitude. Lastly, Gary's Gatorade saved the day. To my Brothers and Sisters for Liberty…Thank You.
Always heartwarming to see people finally make score after working hard for it across multiple events! I've encountered most of this weekend's shooters at previous events and know that Thomas, Barrett, and Owen have worked hard and endured some pretty "sporting" conditions to get to where they are. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Congratulations to ALL of the shooters who came. If you finally broke the threshold into Rifleman territory, great! Huzzah! If not, then just keep plugging at it; a Rifleman persists! And besides, I saw lots of scored AQT's lying face-up on the benches, and I think everybody had at least one score over 200. Y'all are right on the brink of pulling it off! Keep at it!
Appleseed is super fun, but it's not about shooting, at least not the way I see it. It's about connecting to your heritage - that primordial spirit of liberty from which our great nation rose - and then engaging it and learning how to carry it forward and pass it along. Marksmanship was certainly a crucial part of that birthing process, but it's hardly the focal point of that larger "liberty" picture. If you don't make the score... honestly, who cares. It's not about the score, it's about the pursuit of your heritage. As it turns out, many of the things that make American culture uniquely American, also make shooters Riflemen. Incubate those things, feed them and let them bloom inside you, and you'll find that the score is a natural byproduct.
Thanks again to the students. Receptive to instruction. Made my job easy! Looking forward to seeing you all again in the future!
Huzzah!!!
Looks like Lady Liberty was the winner at this event and this is how it should be.
Congrats to all involved.
Corvette
Outstanding! Thank you to all of the volunteers and shooters!
I love you all!
Liberty.
MM