Our event began with shooters who had arrived early at the range offering to help set up the line. That attitude of community was constant and continued throughout the weekend. Shooters who had never previously met acted like old friends with banter and good-natured kidding during the event.
The weekend forecast was for high temperatures and rain. The weather pundits got that right. The high both days was 91º and we experienced a downpour at lunchtime on Saturday (fortunately everyone except Old Navy Doc, who was watching the line, were inside for lunch and the Second Strike). Sunday was hot and at around 2:30 or 3:00 an storm started to blow in and with all hands on deck we had to take down the canopies, even the weighted ones, to prevent them from being blown away or damaged.
The heat took a toll on everyone, but a few - to their credit - took a break at various points once it began to wear on them. Everyone seemed to take the advice to hydrate themselves.
The attitude of all of the shooters, even the ones with obvious prior experience, was teachable and enthusiastic. The group was a joy to work with and the Instructor cadre commented to one another all weekend what a great bunch of shooters we had been blessed with.
Shooting started out very well and improved consistently both days. We completed Saturday with a PQT with lots of promising scores.
The Three Strikes were well received by the shooters, and they seemed engaged and interested.
Again Sunday morning, shooters who arrived early pitched in to make short work of setting up the line. It was a huge help and allowed us to keep a comfortable pace.
Sunday morning was review and the shooters participated asking questions and asking about challenging parts of the techniques presented.
When it was time to head to the range, there was a sense of anticipation as we ran through the Hits Count targets. Scores had improved over Saturday morning. We moved on to some warm up drills and, despite the rising heat, the shooters were under shade of the canopies and kept up the pace.
During lunch the Two Sams was presented along with some Dangrous Old Men stories. Booney Stomper told a rousing and heartfelt story about Thomas Paine and the "American Crisis." Huzzah, Booney!
After lunch we got right down to business and a new Pistoleer™ was minted! Huzzah, Andy!
Though there were some pistol operation challenges throughout the weekend (red dot batteries going out, broken magazines, difficulty operating slides, an adjustable front post sight coming completely off, and more), the shooters carried on and stayed focused on improving.
At around 2:30 or 3:00, very threatening black clouds were spotted. 15 minutes or so after that, the wind came rushing in and it required everyone to hold onto the canopies and take them down to keep them from blowing away or being damaged. As that was happening, lighting started and the call was made to end our time on the range. With all of the shooters helping out, we had the line taken down and packed up in record time.
We retired to the classroom and as some history was presented, some PQT's were scored. It turns out we had two more Pistoleer™s! Terry (who with his son, Seth, was a walk-up registration) earned his patch! Huzzah, Terry!
Next, we presented Jonathan with his patch while he was being baptized with the water that had flowed under Concord's North Bridge! Huzzah, Jonathan!
We began the closing comments for the day with some encouragement to consider volunteering with Project Appleseed. With very strong encouragement from his wife, Scarlett, Tony volunteered to take an orange hat! Tony earned his Rifleman patch in September 2019 at an event in Manchester, TN. Welcome to the cadre, AnthonyB! Huzzah!
Finally, this Shoot Boss received a very kind message after the event that one of our shooters, Dracomeister, has decided to reactivate as an Instructor In Training with Project Appleseed! That was a very encouraging and welcome news! Thank you Dracomeister for stepping up! Huzzah!
My thanks to everyone who participated this weekend, especially Mixed Metaphor for driving up from Alabama to join us, Old Navy Doc for contributing his loyal and steady insight to the event, Black Knight for his can-do attention to detail, and Booney Stomper for helping with the line and being diligent about keeping everyone safe. This Pistol Clinic was a success from every perspective because of each of you!
In Liberty,
Greg Seneff, Sr.
"Bluegrass Colonel"
Instructor / Shoot Boss
Charter Pistol Instructor
615-496-7405
appleseedtn@gmail.com
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I had a fantastic experience working with the eager and motivated shooters. They were all impressive in their attitude and persistence. The Stones River facility is wonderful to teach at and I can't say enough about the cadre of Appleseeders I had the pleasure of working with.
As already stated, it was a great weekend and thanks again to all the volunteers working the event. I look forward to joining them soon!
AnthonyB