13 motivated shooters turned out on the final weekend of Summer for a great shoot at Pelham Fish and Game. It was a little chilly at first, but warmed up quickly to short-sleeve weather. After our safety brief, shooters got down to business, shooting the Redcoat target to establish a baseline. Then we proceeded with instruction the rest of the morning. Some of you you started to wonder when we would actually get to some more shooting; your patience was rewarded when, after hearing the First Strike of our April 19th 1775 history presentation, we got to shooting some more. We shot the squares target to get our rifles sighted in, after learning how via "Inches-Minutes-Clicks", then the Greencoat to learn how to shoot in sitting/kneeling and standing positions. Using the sling as a keyshooting aid makes a difference! We learned just how important Natural Point of Aim is, with a laser pointer demo, and a carding the sights drill.
We heard the 2nd and 3rd Strikes, shot the Redcoat target again, wher the group score more than doubled, and broke for the day.
After practicing the prone position while getting a good night's rest, we started Sunday with another Redcoat, then AQTs. We heard some great history vignettes of Dangerous Old Men (and Women!). Lunch offered a lecture on Known Distance -taking our learnings from 25 meters out to the Rifleman's quarter mile: 500 yards. We then tried thst for real, moving to the 200m range and shooting D-size targets at 100m and 200m. Everyone got to see their bullet drops and how the holdovers worked - and got hits on paper if not in the 5 ring at 200m with a rimfire! "This stuff really works"!
Everyone stayed safe and had a great attitude even when fatigue eventually set in. Thank you all for choosing to spend the weekend with us, and in so doing honoring our forefathers and mothers, who made incredible choices and sacrifices to earn the freedoms we enjoy today. I hope to see you again at a Project Appleseed event, it was a pleasure shooting with you.
Luigi - Shoot Boss
I received this email from one of the shooters soon after, and I thought it would be great to share with the community at large. It really speaks to the impact we can have with attendees. As I responded to her, we are profoundly grateful for this feedback, including the time taken to compose it. With her full permission to share here, including her name:
â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"-
I just wanted to tell you how much Shawn and I enjoyed the Appleseed shoot this past weekend in Pelham. We (specifically ME) learned SOO much!! I had no idea much there was so much to shooting (I don't think Shawn knew it either!!), but I promise you that I will transfer all of it in any firearm I use.
I specifically wanted to thank you and all of your instructors for their patience with me (especially Matt on Sunday, helping me zero my red dot). I was so happy when I hit the redcoat, and even happier that I didn't do badly on the last AQT! I want you to know that I appreciated the history lesson. I thought I knew a lot about the evening before and the events preceding the morning of April 19, 1775, and more so about the battle at Lexington. But your shedding light on the unsung heroes of that day was very poignant. It is uplifting to learn there are people like you, and your fellow instructors, who give up their time and volunteer to pass on this vital information.
And thank you and all of the instructors for the weekend for volunteering the time with Project Appleseed. You can be sure I will continue to practice and use the skills and knowledge I learned over the weekend to make me a better shooter. Next time, I will be better, and there will be a next time!!
Thank you again!
Michelle Green