Project Appleseed returned to the Hobbs Island Shooting Range ready to spread the message of Liberty! The weather was perfect and stayed that way all weekend. Our Shooters arrived and we got busy with the telling of the First Strike of the Match and the terrible events at Lexington Green. After a safety briefing, the Shooters fired thirteen shots at the Hits Count target to determine their max effective range and to see whether they were cooks or riflemen!
We covered sling use, the Six Steps of Firing the Shot, Natural Point of Aim, then tied it all together with the prone position. Every new skill was practiced, and the improvements began to appear! At lunch we heard about the Battle of Concord during the Second Strike of the Match. We continued instruction and practice throughout the afternoon. The Third Strike brought us to the conclusion of the events of April 19, 1775, and then after the benediction it was time to call it quits for the day.
Sunday morning brought more perfect weather and our Shooters back to the event. After a quick review and a couple of drills, it was time to post our first AQT. During lunch we heard stories about Dangerous Old Men (and Women) and had an intro to Known Distance shooting.
We shot several AQTs, and I was very pleased when Austin shot rifleman scores of 216 and 217! Huzzah! Dallas and Bentley qualified with scores of 210 and were doused with water from the North Bridge. Several Shooters were knocking at the door on their AQTs. Persist, and that rifleman patch will be yours!
We celebrated Patriots' Day by shooting the Memorial Volley. The names of the Americans that were lost on April 19, 1775 were read aloud. We must never forget them or their sacrifice.
A big thank you to Don and Matt of the Hobbs Island Shooting Range. They are always very gracious hosts and their facility is top-notch.
Shooters, please think about the Liberty we enjoy and how costly it was for the founding generation to preserve it for us. Let's honor their memory by preserving it for our posterity. I hope to see you at another Appleseed soon, and don't forget to bring a friend!
AH1Tom gives the 1st Strike
(https://i.imgur.com/wh7DDR1.jpg)
Morticia and HardHolder teach Prone Class
(https://i.imgur.com/yhsBcT0.jpg)
Old Navy Doc gives the 2nd Strike
(https://i.imgur.com/9dmlk1O.jpg)
Morticia and Swift Bolt teach Sitting Class
(https://i.imgur.com/9tBqCfg.jpg)
Willociraptor gives the 3rd Strike
(https://i.imgur.com/7lGocx3.jpg)
Morticia and HardHolder teach Standing Class
(https://i.imgur.com/OrzSgRZ.jpg)
James
(https://i.imgur.com/Ziq1g60.jpg)
Brett
(https://i.imgur.com/EI5SwFc.jpg)
Sarah
(https://i.imgur.com/MZ7wpC4.jpg)
Zach
(https://i.imgur.com/AyXRiAo.jpg)
Sonja and Old Navy Doc
(https://i.imgur.com/XDXr8La.jpg)
William
(https://i.imgur.com/wbGY6b1.jpg)
Lane
(https://i.imgur.com/gWCpXSF.jpg)
Stephen
(https://i.imgur.com/lvmxyll.jpg)
Dallas
(https://i.imgur.com/YqjiYVP.jpg)
Austin
(https://i.imgur.com/VslRX92.jpg)
Our first AQT
(https://i.imgur.com/jSs48HV.jpg)
Rifleman Austin
(https://i.imgur.com/TXk6X05.jpg)
Newly promoted Morticia has no further need of an Orange Hat!
(https://i.imgur.com/DLfXlaS.jpg)
HondaHondo!
(https://i.imgur.com/zHZ4u4N.jpg)
Rifleman Dallas
(https://i.imgur.com/HCrRIJ3.jpg)
Rifleman Bentley being doused by his grandfather Pop Revere
(https://i.imgur.com/2h3w1uK.jpg)
Our Youth!
(https://i.imgur.com/WZvepaL.jpg)
The Group
(https://i.imgur.com/5IZYtWU.jpg)
Congrats on a great event and CONGRATS to Morticia O0 :beer:
Thanks to EddieB for a well run course. Although I was only able to teach on Saturday, I was very impressed with the teachable attitude of the students and the cohesiveness of the instructors. The instructor/student ratio was the best I've ever experienced. I look forward to returning.
Congrats to the Rifleman, and congrats to Morticia on the red hat!
Eddie, thanks for an amazing weekend! I agree with Old Navy Doc…couldn't really ask for a much better student:instructor ratio. This was one of the most fun and rewarding weekends of my life, and I already wish we could go back and relive it again! Brett also had so much fun, and he kept commenting on what a great group of people this was. He felt so comfortable with everyone and it just felt like home. I concur! Everyone and everything meshed and flowed so well. Miss everyone already!
Morticia
And THANK YOU for the congrats!!!! ♥ï¸
CONGRATS Morticia!!!!
Patriot's weekend on April 23rd & 24th in South Huntsville was amazing.
GREAT weather + GREAT shooters + GREAT instructors = GREAT weekend.
Congrats to EddieB for a well organized and planned event. We got a little behind on Saturday but we came out on Sunday and made great time without sacrificing any instruction. Congrats to the Instructor crew. It was good seeing some old friends and making new friends.
A special shout-out to Morticia. You did a really, really, good job this weekend.
Bentley and I had a really fun time. He didn't make it Saturday due to Baseball but he was super pumped for Sunday. I was so proud of him when he shot a Rifleman score of 210 and I got to give him a good ole' fashioned Appleseed baptism. As much as he enjoyed getting that patch he was very excited to help shoot Morticia's Orange Hat. His favorite part was participating in the Memorial Volley. He and I actually shot the same target so he could keep it as a souvenir. He's got it hanging on his bedroom wall along with his AQT. But something else happened that really was an eye opening experience for him. I didn't know it at the time but he asked me about it towards the end of the day. It was what EddieB said to him at the end of the Memorial Volley. Eddie told us all individually "to pass on Our Heritage to the next Generation" but with the kids he added the words "because you are the next generation". That stuck with Bentley and so he asked me about it and I explained it to him rather quickly but told him we would talk more about it on our way home. What I said must have been good enough because before we left he said he wanted to be part of the program and so I sent him to talk to Eddie about being a part of the Applecore. He now has a cool BLUE Applecore hat to add to his Appleseed collection. I explained to him that he has to attend events as often as possible to help. He's only 11 so he still has some maturing to do but I'm sure he will do the best he can. He's off to a good start by picking a cool Forum Name (Liberty Kid)
I'm proud of everyone that Qualified as Rifleman. The rest of you were getting close so don't give up. A Rifleman Persists!!!
Congrats to Austin for being the winner of the book "Paul Revere's Ride". Please read it, learn it, then share the heritage.
Better yet come take an Orange Hat and help with the Mission "to awaken sleeping Americans."
Once again we had a great time. Looking forward to the next one. I have some pictures to upload but I will have to get to it later.
In Liberty,
Mike C (Pop Revere)
Bentley C (Liberty Kid)
Liberty Kid, you are so awesome!!! Can't wait to see you in that Blue Hat at an event one day. :F
Morticia
Congratulations Morticia!!!!
Welcome Liberty Kid!! Thanks for stepping up! I look forward to seeing great things from you!
What a great looking event! Well done to all!
Congratulations to Morticia, well deserved!
What a great event!!
Congratulations to Morticia on that Red hat. I have seen you in action before. This is well deserved.
Liberty Kid, way to go! You are the next generation and we are looking to you to lead the way!!!
Congratulations Morticia!!
Liberty Kid, I can only imagine how proud Pop Revere is of you. I look forward to working with you both again very soon!