Fine NC winter weather on Sat, Sun cold and mist/drizzle all day - solid!
Fortunately, the covered firing lines helped the shooters ignore the weather, but Sunday was about as close to a Winterseed as you'll get in NC.
Of the nine shooters, 8 were prior AS attendees, and it showed from the start on the first Redcoat target of the day:
Hits count Sat AM 400 (3) 300 (1) 200 (0) 100 (2) Shingle (4) Clear (2)
You don't usually see numbers like that on the SAT AM Redcoat!
And the sighter squares were the same: target after target, all the way down the line - sub 4MOA groups, centered on the 1" black squares.
Our one total newby was a disaster all day Sat, even if he put most of his bullets somewhere on the backer. The instructor diagnosis? A faulty red dot sight.
On Sunday he showed up with the suggested new scope, and by the end of the day went up to the long range and put a group up at 100, followed by a group at - 200 YARDS! Wow! From NO group on Sat to centering the target at 200 yards on Sunday.
Can that be called "Progress"? I'm thinking "understatement"!
The high score (I believe) was a 247. The poor shooter had to hear the mantra: "If you can shoot a 247, you can shoot a 248, if you can shoot a 248, you can shoot a 249..." :)
Our 15-year old Appleseed princess qualified as Rifleman, and expressed interest in becoming an instructor. That's what the program is about! She will be a welcome addition to the instructional corps.
The only other female on the line also qualified as Rifleman - using a centerfire! Gotta respect that! O0 Maybe we can get her as an instructor as well!
It was a truly outstanding performance on the part of our lady students, and warmed the instructors' hearts. :bow:
A couple of RWVA visiting instructors from OH and KY on a busman's holiday were a welcome addition to our event. Thanks for coming, guys! It was a pleasure meeting and appleseeding with you! And hope you enjoyed your first visit to the Home Range.
Aside from the proficiency of the shooters, this was a typical Appleseed, meaning a weekend well spent on a worthy activity.
Thanks to all, students and instructors, for a fine weekend!
Our final instruction of the day: "Go forth, and spread the word about Appleseed! Come back again - and bring at least one person with you!"
I think they will do it...
I agree with everything Fred described: This weekend we were blessed with a group of very solid shooters right out of the gate. And as an added bonus they were excellent folks with fun stories to share, helpful suggestions, humor, and all-around great company on a cold, damp weekend. The progress from the new shooters and the outstanding AQT performances from the experienced shooters were most impressive.
Once slight correction: The new young riflewoman is a month shy of her 15th birthday. As her dad, I couldn't be more proud of her persistence and couldn't be more grateful for the support and instruction from everyone at her first three Appleseed weekends.
(https://i.imgur.com/VmcpzJZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/77fIchR.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WRQOyxC.jpg)