What an amazing group of Appleseeders! 15 adults, 5 youth, and 7 instructors who all said "bring it on" to any challenge!
We started Saturday with temperatures in the low 50's and winds above 30 mph...and that was the best weather we had all day. Winds gusting up to 45 and it never did warm up (the flying port-a-potty was particularly interesting). But these students had phenomenal "can-do" attitudes and persisted! Despite the wind we saw good groups from the very first target, and the marksmanship continually improved all weekend. We managed to squeeze an AQT in on Saturday, and even with the dismal conditions saw 2 rifleman scores. An incredible job by Javier and Ramm! Javier is an orange hat who requalified. Ramm has been to several Appleseed events and arrived at this one with a quiet resolve that this is where he would earn his patch...and promptly shot a 218 in the first AQT of the weekend!
Gen-X Minuteman started the day right with a great 1st Strike, followed by A-lister with an excellent 2nd Strike at lunch. Ghostring finished the day with the 3rd Strike and benediction, and that left the students fired up and ready for Sunday.
Sunday opened with temperatures right at freezing but warmed up pretty quickly, and we had NO WIND all day! After redcoats and squares to confirm zero we jumped on the AQT's. A few stories, a KD lesson during lunch, a total of 7 AQT's for the day. And 5 MORE RIFLEMAN SCORES!
Congrats to:
Rodger, an inspiration to all, qualifying every time he picks up a rifle.
Peter, requalifying with a 213.
Joseph, earning his patch with a 211 (after fighting scope issues most of the weekend, a rifleman persists).
Bram, 14 year old Blue Hat with a 221.
Dalton, blowing the doors off with a 226.
All of the students maintained that "can-do" attitude all weekend, and the shooting consistently improved all weekend. I'm sure I speak for all the instructors when I say it was an honor to work with a group like this.
A special shoutout to two young Blue Hats. They helped anywhere needed and both did an excellent job with stories at lunch. Greta told us about Sybil Ludington, Bram about Joseph Plumb Martin. And it didn't slow down their shooting! Greta is shooting some amazing scores off the sandbag. As noted above Bram shot his first Rifleman score with a very nice 221! And the icing on the cake was Ghostring awarding the patch - a 14 year old receiving a Rifleman patch from an Appleseed Master Instructor isn't something you get to see very often.
When you combine great students with top-notch instructors it makes for a great event. Thank you to Ghostring, A-lister, GenX Minuteman, Twinkle Toes, Alex Rushin', and Lady Di.
We're especially grateful to the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center for hosting this event, and to Stand 1 Armory for donating all the ammunition for our 5 youth shooters.
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That right there is a bunch of patches! I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend. Who needs the super bowl when you can do this??? And let's face it, it's not every day you get to see a porta-potty fly **)
Oh, and Clay? Green looks good on ya, brother.
Quote from: Mrs. Smith on February 15, 2022, 01:57:04 PM
Oh, and Clay? Green looks good on ya, brother.
Yup - that's what I was gonna say.
What a fantastic weekend! The kids had a blast. We are still cleaning off all the dust in our gear from Saturday's cold front! A special shout out to all the excellent instructors - thanks to all of you for volunteering your time to a very worthwhile endeavor. We'll see you all again in April!
Congratulations Clay on running a really good shoot. O0 The folks in the Midland/ Odessa area are going to be in for a real treat with you and the Mrs. ^:)^
Saturday was brutal for me. :-\ But we all persisted. &) Sunday was much more pleasant. I always enjoy seeing my Appleseed family. It just keeps getting better. Best regards all, Two Wolves. :cool2:
So many patches / so many new hats / so many big smiles!
Congrats, everyone!
Sounds like a fantastic week-end! Congrats on an awesome shoot! I don't care who you are -- that's a LOT of patches!!! I want to hear more about the flying porta-potty -- that's the Texas wind for ya!!!
Hello to all my Texas friends - hope to see you again sometime soon!
JustKim
Clay you did a great job and deserve the promotion. It was a well run shoot even with the wind issues. Your dedication to the program is sincere and it really shows that your heart is in it. You and Lady Di are welcome in Kerrville anytime.