The KD that we completed this past weekend was so special in so many ways. First, the event was sold out and we had two instructor walk-ons to make it an overflow crowd. Next, this was my last event with the program and there were many friends on the line to share it with me. And finally, it was at my most favorite Appleseed range, Tusco Rifle Club, New Philadelphia, Ohio.
The weather was a challenge from the start. The forecast was rain all day Friday and most of Saturday. We had to adapt, improvise and figure out how to get through the event. Trash bags were purchased to cover the cardboard backers, clear plastic was purchased to cover the targets once they were pasted to the backers and we had to deal with a number of issues with the condition of the range itself.
The Friday rain came as predicted. During a lull in the rain Friday afternoon, we went up to set up the line. We shoot on a 600 yard range with clear markers every 100 yards. So we have moving firing lines with a single target line at 400. The problems were multiple.
The 400 yd line was flooded with standing water over mud that would suck the boots off your feet. So we had to move the target line about 10 yards forward to find almost dry ground. The stage 1 line (the 300 yard line on the range) was moved back the same 10 yards as was the stage 2 line. The stage 3 line had to be split as there was a pond in the middle and we were good at the stage 4 line as this was on a raised area just in front of the shoot house.
The shooters all arrived on time Saturday which was great and after the normal welcome and safety briefing, we moved on to a review of KD fundamentals, review of IMC, review of come-ups and the three approaches shooters can choose for the weekend. (adjusting elevation for each stage with a center hold, using the BDC features of your scope with a center hold, or establishing hold overs for each stage/distance).
We moved up to the range, targets were hung and rifles were brought to the line. The first thing that we did was to have all the shooters confirm the MOA values of their scopes or front sights against measurement sheets posted at 25 yards. This included a discussion of scope technology - first focal plane vs second -- and the issues related to shooting second focal plane scopes at less than full magnification.
The big man upstairs had mercy on us as the predicted rain on Saturday did not occur. It was overcast, cool with a light wind, but no rain. Huzzah! We then moved to the 100 yard line and started shooting sighters. Zeros were confirmed or established first at 100 then at 200, and we got one string shot at 300 before it was time for lunch.
Lunch was provided by the club (thanks Tusco) for a donation. At lunch we presented a more in depth presentation on Paul Revere's life and accomplishments for our heritage presentation.
We finished the day by shooting our sighters at 300 and 400 and shot our first KD-AQT.
Boy did we have a great group of Riflemen and Riflewomen. On that first AQT, we had five folks shoot the score and one who shot a 49, just one hit short. Congrats to Dano (new) 49, Mark (new) 40, Naga (requal) 46, Josiah (new) 48, Chewie (requal) 41, and Talon came oh so close with a 39. Dano's score might have been a 50 but his 49th round failed to extract and the 50th round jammed and set back the bullet into the case. For fear of a squib/over pressure, he did not clear the jam and reload the round. Compliments to Dano for putting safety first.
Both Dano and Josiah shot the score and earned a Distinguished patch on their first attempt. WOW. This became more impressive to me when in conversation with Dano, he shared that this was the first time he had ever shot beyond 100 yards. Holy cow Batman. My reply was I guess this proves that what we teach at our 25 meter events really does work.
After policing up brass and pulling the backers, the day came to an end. As my van was running on fumes, I let another instructor that was bunking on site with us (EZ3) know that I was going out to get gas and that I would see him and the others when I got back.
Upon my return, I thought it was odd that the parking lot was full of cars. As I approached the door to the main club house, I thought it was odd that the lights were out. Well upon opening the door, I found 50+ of my fellow Appleseeders there for a surprise retirement gathering for me.
I was speechless (well almost) and after some clumsy comments, I was humbled by the number of folks that have been part of my Appleseed journey that took time out of their lives to be there and be part of my last shoot. Texas T and his lovely wife, GMJoe, CrazyDuckHunter, Linda from Applecreek and her husband, Dragonfly Warrior, Chieflane, Chuck, Chewie 1776 and the entire Newark crew, Charley, little buddy, Yankee, Birdman, NavyShooter, Lil Dragon, devilkitty, AKA Melissa, Black_Bird, Cactus Jack, Pat, and so many others who were there for me. I can't say how humbled I was by all the folks that came.
Dinner was served and much Appleseed fellowship followed. Thanks to EZ3, Chieflane, Marie and National for the mementos presented. There was a slide show with pics from a decade of shoots and many great memories returned to me. One of the most special was a picture of my very first heritage presentation. It was a DOM at New Philly that was not pre-planned. The SB just pitched it to me at the last minute and I had to wing it. There were also pics of an event with DrRichP and a pic with my long suffering wife from a past Ohio xmas gathering.
Special thanks to Charley, Dom, Sarah (club contact) and all the rest of the conspirators that planned this surprise evening. It is without doubt a highlight of my life. THANK YOU ALL.
A very special evening came to a close with movie night on the big screen TV for those of us that were bunking on site. Master and Commander was the selection and it was a good choice.
Sunday dawned overcast but dry. We reset the target line and got ready for the day. After a safety re-brief, we shot a sighter group at 100 yds to reconfirm zeros and to let the shooters warm up. We then moved to our Sunday AQTs.
On Sunday morning, we completed two AQT's and we had more folks shoot the score. We broke for lunch and returned to the line. We started the afternoon with a range estimation exercise and then continued with two more AQTs. We had many folks qualify and we had one more distinguished shooter. Mark shot a 48 to join the distinguished ranks. And, I was so pleased that Dave T finally made it to KD-Rifleman on our last AQT. He has attended prior KD's and it is great to see a shooter cross over the bar.
Overall the shooting was the best I have ever had at a KD. This group can be my squad any day. We had a total of 19 qualifying scores for the weekend.
Overall, here is a summary of scores for the weekend:
Dano (N) 49, 46, 48
Mark (N) 40, 44, 48
Naga (R) 46, 42, 42 (Open sights)
Josiah (N) 48, 41, 42
Chewie 1776 (R) 41
ChiefLane (R) 42, 40
Talon (N) 47, 42
Shadow870 (R) 42
CamoCowboy (R) 40
Dave T (N) 40
We had 10 of 14 shooters deliver the score. We had 19 total qualifying scores. We had 5 new KD Riflemen. We had four shoot Distinguished. And we added FOUR new Orange hats. What a great group of American Riflemen and what a great way to go out. For me it was like hitting a walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning in the 7th game of the World Series.
We finished the afternoon with an open shoot with some shooters posting targets at 600 yards and others working on the steel targets that are posted at every 100 yards at Tusco.
The day ended with more surprises. At Dom's organization, the entire line fired a commemorative volley on my behalf and Dom had me send my final round as an Appleseed SB down range using his father's M1. Unfortunately, I missed the steel target I was aiming at but Riflemen persist.
Our thanks also to Tusco Rifle Range for hosting our event and my thanks to cwcdl79 for helping work the line at this event and for his friendship and support over the years.
Corvette
What a fantastic event! Thank you to everyone involved. I look forward to many more.
:pics:
Let's pics from the event posted.
Covette
Thank you for everything Mr. Corvette, sir. I've learned a lot from you!
The target picture is from the 600 yard line. It took a total of 10 shots to land 1... but remember - 10% of the time, I can hit it every time!
Final shot (video): https://photos.app.goo.gl/y3NE69nMdSLQguvz5
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hxq2ukJekd8R9Hvh7)
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/Np1cchntzpDTXJXk9)
(https://photos.app.goo.gl/6x72K1gW2mZpe6Te7)
You realize, of course, that you now have no excuse for going to a KD at Tusco and NOT SHOOTING. Let me know if you need an SB Pass.
:cool2:
Congratulations on a VERY productive career promoting Liberty!
Dinner Photos
Surprise!
A redcoat fruit tray
Awards and gifts
Group Photo
I am posting the link to the video slide show that was playing during dinner. If it doesn't work please let me know.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttOqZu5WnCMarqjrscEw7cECl_OaeSTT/view?usp=sharing
Charley
AWESOME. That is all I got. Just AWESOME.
Couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate Corvette's career with Project Appleseed.
What a great weekend of shooting!
I attended my first Appleseed in 2014, and it was at New Philadelphia. Other than that first Appleseed, and one more I attended at another range years later, every Appleseed I've attended was at the Tusco Rifle Club in New Philadelphia, and run by Corvette.
Over the years I would get closer and closer to scoring Rifleman, and would score really solid strings here and there, but couldn't tie together four strings that made the mark. But just as the stories of the three strikes and Dangerous Old Men become familiar, another story that became familiar was Corvette's story of how it took him five Appleseeds to shoot the score.
Not that I was trying to emulate him in quite that way, but that's how it's turned out. 2021 has become a banner year for me - scored Rifleman in April, attended the scorcher summer KD in June (and didn't get close to shooting the score), and finally, on the last AQT, I was able to (barely) earn my KD Rifleman patch.
Sometime Saturday I heard the rumor that this would be Corvette's last Appleseed, and I was stunned. For me, Appleseed is pretty much synonymous with the Tusco and Corvette. Hard to think of one without the other.
There were a lot of things that made this weekend unique. One thing that stood out was the number of other Appleseed leaders who began showing over the weekend....some were folks I'd met before, others were the people behind handles I'd seen here on the forum, and still others were new to me - but showing up to pay their respects to Corvette.
Another thing that stood out was the almost immediate string of shooters scoring Rifleman. It just seemed like a train started gaining momentum as the weekend proceeded - I've never seen patches get handed out on a pace like this weekend, as well as the string of shooters scoring Distinguished.
As the first day closed on the range, I was preparing to go home, but then got clued in that people were meeting in the clubhouse to honor Corvette, so I hung out. I could only stay long enough to see him (almost) speechless and have a cup of coffee and some pie, but in that time I saw a lot of familiar faces from over the years - and, such a wonderful surprise, I ran into Linda from Applecreek - who was at my very first Appleseed all those years ago.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with the weekend - and with this year in shooting. I have to say - over all these years, Corvette has been the major constant in my Appleseed journey. I'm so pleased that I was able to make these milestones and receive my patches from Corvette. While is departure will leave a hole that will be difficult to fill, I'm sure many will step up to meet the needs of the organization. Just looking at this weekend - four new orange hats were awarded.
I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing great happiness to Corvette as he leaves his leadership role, and let him know we're looking forward to him putting his shooting mat down to join us on the line at upcoming Appleseeds.
Corvette awarding me my Rifleman's patch in April (finally, on my 5th Appleseed).
Quote from: DaveT on November 03, 2021, 12:05:10 AM
What a great weekend of shooting!
I attended my first Appleseed in 2014, and it was at New Philadelphia. Other than that first Appleseed, and one more I attended at another range years later, every Appleseed I've attended was at the Tusco Rifle Club in New Philadelphia, and run by Corvette.
Over the years I would get closer and closer to scoring Rifleman, and would score really solid strings here and there, but couldn't tie together four strings that made the mark. But just as the stories of the three strikes and Dangerous Old Men become familiar, another story that became familiar was Corvette's story of how it took him five Appleseeds to shoot the score.
Not that I was trying to emulate him in quite that way, but that's how it's turned out. 2021 has become a banner year for me - scored Rifleman in April, attended the scorcher summer KD in June (and didn't get close to shooting the score), and finally, on the last AQT, I was able to (barely) earn my KD Rifleman patch.
Sometime Saturday I heard the rumor that this would be Corvette's last Appleseed, and I was stunned. For me, Appleseed is pretty much synonymous with the Tusco and Corvette. Hard to think of one without the other.
There were a lot of things that made this weekend unique. One thing that stood out was the number of other Appleseed leaders who began showing over the weekend....some were folks I'd met before, others were the people behind handles I'd seen here on the forum, and still others were new to me - but showing up to pay their respects to Corvette.
Another thing that stood out was the almost immediate string of shooters scoring Rifleman. It just seemed like a train started gaining momentum as the weekend proceeded - I've never seen patches get handed out on a pace like this weekend, as well as the string of shooters scoring Distinguished.
As the first day closed on the range, I was preparing to go home, but then got clued in that people were meeting in the clubhouse to honor Corvette, so I hung out. I could only stay long enough to see him (almost) speechless and have a cup of coffee and some pie, but in that time I saw a lot of familiar faces from over the years - and, such a wonderful surprise, I ran into Linda from Applecreek - who was at my very first Appleseed all those years ago.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with the weekend - and with this year in shooting. I have to say - over all these years, Corvette has been the major constant in my Appleseed journey. I'm so pleased that I was able to make these milestones and receive my patches from Corvette - and thankful for all of the leadership and instruction over the years. While is departure will leave a hole that will be difficult to fill, I'm sure many will step up to meet the needs of the organization. Just looking at this weekend - four new orange hats were awarded.
I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing great happiness to Corvette as he leaves his leadership role, and let him know we're looking forward to him putting his shooting mat down to join us on the line at upcoming Appleseeds.
Corvette walking in on his surprise event at the clubhouse.
Corvette awarding me my "Long Distance" rocker (he had given out all of the "Known Distance" patches much earlier in the weekend). ;D
Corvette's memorial volley
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YarHK1xwAaZEP6nj9
And closing shot
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k2iRhCm5wC2EGnUH9
To all,
Even days later, I am still blown away by all that happened this past weekend. Great shooters, the surprise gathering and all the posts and comments here just humble me and fill me with emotion. It has been a great ride and like the old Rifleman in the Ode to a Rifleman that I tell Sunday afternoon:
"A Rifleman comes to know deep within his heart that when his replacements are trained, his ammo is low, his barrel is hot, the sun is on the western horizon, and the enemy is scattered for the day, he, an old Rifleman, can go home in peace".
Thank you all for making last weekend truly memorable. When I meet John Adams (if I am lucky enough to make the grade), I will be able to steal a quote from Major Richard Winters from Band of Brothers. When his grandson asked him if he was a hero in WWII Major Winters replied, "No, but I served in a Company of heroes". That is what I feel toward all of the Ohio crew. You all are the best this nation has to offer and my heartfelt thanks to all of you for joining Appleseed and our cause to save America.
Again, thank you all for your support, your commitment and your good humor as we worked together over the years. Go Ohio Appleseed.
Corvette
Corvette,
I hate to see you go -- thank you so much for your service to the cause! Hopefully you will not be a stranger and I hope to meet you in person some day. Thanks for all you do!
JustKim
Just Kim,
You never know, I may just show up in one of your shoots next year. In any case, keep bailing, the nation needs great leaders like you to advance the mission.
Corvette