We had a one day Ladyseed at Memphis Sport Shooting Assoc and what an event it was! Big thanks to MSSA for supporting Appleseed. This event wasn't planned very far in advance, but they still squeezed us onto their busy calendar of events. This event happened because Girl with a Gun reached out to us about having an event and there was no way we were going to say "No". We had hoped for 10 shooters but ended up with 20 causing a little panic for the shoot boss since our bench isn't deep here. No need to worry though because Instructors from Middle TN, GA, and Arkansas answered the call and made the event into a great one for the shooters! Many thanks to Corgi Mom, Cleveland, Upacreek, Trekkie, Army Vet, Black Knight, SwiftonGal, and Comfort for making the trek to Memphis to further the cause.
Most of the shooters were brand new, but we did have a few familiar faces. Many of them had never fired a rifle before or had very little rifle experience. We were also blessed with 3 youth shooters. The group turned out to have super teachable attitudes, great safety consciousness, and a can do attitude. One of the best groups I've ever worked with. After a phenomenal First Strike by Corgi Mom we got right into the instruction. The female Instructors took the lead at this event since it was a Ladyseed, and as senior female Instructor Corgi Mom did the heavy lifting for us.
The day started off cloudy and cool. But the shooting got hot in a hurry! Most of the shooters were all over the place on the first square, but after the morning instruction and some time on the laser rifles to let them experience getting their NPOA with visual feedback, they were shooting close to 4 MOA after only 3-4 squares! They soaked up the instruction like sponges and rapid progress was made. We ate a quick lunch featuring a great Second Strike by Cleveland followed by IMC. Spirits were high among the group and Instructors.
Once we had everyone dialed in, we moved to the Green Meanie target for sitting/kneeling, standing, prone practice, and mag changes. The shooters were wearing out the green of the targets including our youth shooters. Very impressive progress in such a short time. We took a break for an awesome Third Strike with Upacreek, then moved to the AQT. That revealed two Ladies who know very well what they are about and some very good shooting by others.
Since it was a one day event we were battling the time monkey. He didn't win, but fought us to a draw with no time for a second AQT with the shorter fall day.
We wrapped it up with patches, awards to our youth shooters, the benediction and the bestowing of an Orange Hat on one of our Riflewomen! Huzzah!
I didn't get as many pics as usual as I tangled with the time monkey, but here are a few highlights
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The shooters gather round for a rousing First Strike from Corgi Mom
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Corgi Mom and Comfort teach the prone position
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The shooters get to work putting their instruction on target
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Cleveland provides some words of wisdom to one of the shooters
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The shooters try out sitting/kneeling
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Corgi Mom makes her self heard as Line Boss in the morning
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Shooters work out with the laser rifles with Army Vet, Upacreek, and Rustygun
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Trekkie tightening a group
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Swifton Gal and Comfort cover sling use
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Sarah with 235 for the high score of the day
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Kristy with a 213
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Our youth shooters get their patch. These kids did awesome! In the morning I ask Olivia what she saw through her scope and she replied "A tree" but by after lunch she was handling the Green Meanie no problem off her rest. They were all super safe, funny, and full of energy. Really great to have them
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Kristy takes an Orange Hat!
This was a great a event and we hope to have it every year going forward. Big thanks to Ranae from GWAG for getting the ball rolling on this Ladyseed and getting her ladies on the line. A one day is like drinking from a fire hose on steroids. This event lit a fire in some of the ladies, who really wanted another crack at the AQT. The sun was down when we left so we squeezed all we could out of the day. Next year will be a two day.
Ya'll, this is fantastic. It's an extra special thing when we mint brand new Riflemen at a one-day event. Especially when they only get one crack at it!
Well done, Ladies!
Fantastic, this looks like it was fun event with a great turnout!
Huzzah! Looks like a great event! Thanks for Christy for stepping up to be an IIT. I know you will find that it is a very rewarding experience!
Robert
This was an amazing event! Rustygun and the others did an AWESOME job working with our A Girl and A Gun chapter. We had 12 attendees, many who had never shot a rifle before. They were patient with the ladies and helped us make improvements rather quickly. Our group had such a great time and are looking forward to more events with Appleseed. We are very proud of one of our own, Kristy, who not only earned her 2nd Rifleman's patch but also took an orange hat! THANK YOU to Rustygun and all the others that put in time and effort on a cold wet day to give us a wonderful event full of history and rifle fundamentals.
Trying again with the photo.
HOOZAH!! Looks like a great event!!
CONGRATS Kristy and thank you for stepping up!!!
This was such a fun event. Our instructors were fantastic! I appreciated the individual instruction and tried to incorporate as many of the tips as i could. It was an especially great day for me as I was not only shooting with my A Girl and A Gun Club/sisters but I was also shooting next to my daughter at her first Appleseed, as well as shooting next to an amazing riflewoman; Sarah. Sarah and I both earned our second Riflewoman patch. It was a well run event and our A Girl and A Gun Club had the best time. We will be back in 2022. I am looking forward to being an IIT in 2022 and volunteering with some great people who are so positive and encouraging and do what they do well.
I had a great time driving over from Arkansas to help. I wish I could have visited with more gals, but some of the one-on-one instruction limited that. But what a great group to work with!!!
Thank you to all of the instructors who helped with the shoot! We had a lot of new shooters who needed a bit more instruction, but our instructors did such a great job exhibiting patience and sharing their knowledge. It seemed like everyone had a good time and learned something new, myself included! It was a little disappointing that we didn't get more AQTs in, but we all had a safe time and left in good spirits. (If anything, it made me more excited about the next Appleseed event!) Of course, the best part of having so many new shooters is that there are that many more who were introduced to rifle marksmanship and the history of April 19, 1775. Sometimes it's more important to plant the seed, and that was the case during this shoot!
Thanks again to all of the instructors who traveled from near and far to help, Rustygun for serving as the Shoot Boss, and Ranae with A Girl and A Gun for promoting it to our AGAG group! I'm looking forward to the next one!