We had a mighty fine Appleseed at the Memphis Sport Shooting Assoc range! We really appreciate them making their first class facility available to us. Twenty one shooters turned out for two days of marksmanship and history. It was a mixed group of new shooters, some Appleseed vets, and 7 youth shooters. Our opening Redcoat was encouraging, but also showed room for improvement. We spent Saturday morning working on the prone position, NPOA, and the Six Steps. The group was very attentive and put the information into practice. We had one 400 yard shooter on the morning Redcoat, but 8 on the afternoon target along with 9 shooters hitting the shingle. We worked through IMC, mag change drills, and the rest of the positions by the end of Saturday.
After a TPI review session Sunday morning, we moved on to the AQT. One of our youth shooters earned his patch on the first AQT of his life with a 215! Crossfires and round miscounts kept him from shooting another Rifleman score but his targets were very good. It didn't take long before Kevin posted a 211 at his first Appleseed event shooting irons! Dakota shot 211 and backed it up with a 223. We thought she would be our high scorer until Jeff put up a 224. Hatch broke through with a 220 at this third event. It all came together this time. A Rifleman persists. Steve showed he still had what it takes with a 215 along with another returning Rifleman, Mike, who turned in a Rifleman score on every AQT.
This group was very attentive to the instruction and history. They figured out IMC and long range quickly. Kristy, one of our orange hats, did a knock out job on the Second Stike. Tall Timber did a great job on the Third Strike. Everything about this shoot went very well. We were blessed with a large cadre of experienced Instructors that made the Shoot Boss look good lol.
Not everyone wanted to be in pics, but here are a few pics of the folks who did.
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The shooters put the instruction into practice
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Tall Timber briefs the Redcoat
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Kristy with the Second Strike
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A big thank you to the Mid South Riflemen who helped with the set up and take down. It is a huge blessing to have many hands to get everything set up and especially taken down.
Hoping to see these shooters at another event soon
Again RustyGun put together another fine event with a cadre of extraordinary instructors. Everyone had a great time and left MSSA a better marksman. The number of youth shooters was impressive. It was encouraging to see these youngsters wanting to enhance their skills and appreciation of our precious 2d Amendment. The history lessons illuminated the skill and sacrifice of the Founding generation. Shoot Boss RustyGun ran a great safe event and many are looking forward to the next one!
I really appreciate the opportunity to both RSO and shoot at the Memphis AS this year. It was an honor to work with such a great group for RSOs. This has ended up being my only 25m event where I will be able to shoot and it felt good to eek out a 215 score and patch again this year.
A big thanks to RustyGun as always for taking the time to run this shoot. Also Rusty really saved the day by having a generous amount of donor rifles for youth and new shooters to use along with ammo for them to shoot. Talk about a great first impression of the Appleseed program for these first timers!