Clinton County Farmers' and Sportsman's Association is the permanent home of, arguably, the Greatest Appleseed Range of All Time (GARAT): Good Ole' Bay 7.
Okay, that might just be one Shoot Boss' opinion but the Dangerous Men (and Ladies) that can testify to the simple truth of that "fact" will tell you that there's something special about that lone gravel shooting pit that seems to produce a seemingly endless line of not only Riflemen but Patriots that magnify the meaning of being an American!
The results are in and they are ASTOUNDING!
Twenty-One patriotic individuals joined a crew of ten expert instructors from the RWVA Project Appleseed Instructor Corps to lay down the absolute best Appleseed experience that has thus far ever graced the hallowed gravel of Good Ole' Bay 7.
What was predicted to be a nasty, rainy Saturday morning dawned sunny and beautiful and we took full advantage of the gift before us. Those Redcoats made a stand and got the upper hand in the morning but all they really did was light a fire of Liberty. Darrell was the only one who kept them at bay for the time being as he cleared the first.
The instruction was strong and precise. The shooters were attentive and responsive. The fire hose was opened full blast and like clockwork the hits began to count!
We threw a dose or two of pure American history on the blaze of liberty that was raging and, like an explosion, five Rifleman patches were awarded on the first AQT of the weekend!
Bryan nailed a re-qualifying 210 as did Tim with a 217 and Grant with a 228. Darrell then wowed us all with an opening 230 and the youngster Joe topped them all with his 232, earning his first patch. The fun had to come to an end some time but not before Grant cleared a Redcoat and with that we retired for the evening.
Sunday turned chilly and grey but nothing was going to stop this bunch. Darrell and Grant backed up their Redcoat wins in the AM and it was off to the races. Instruction was reviewed, squares withered from the holes and drills were endured until the AQT Grind began in earnest.
Tim, Grant, Bryan, and Joe all backed up their qualifying scores but it was Darrell who crushed a Distinguished score of an amazing 245 using a bolt-action rifle! All too soon Jim joined the ranks with his 214. Mark nailed it with his 216 and Terry knocked out a cool 220 to add three new Riflemen to the count.
Tim couldn't stay out of the spotlight for long as he added his own Distinguished score of 232 using old-fashioned iron sights and then followed it up with a crazy 240!
When the magic gravel dust settled the numbers were truly astounding. Eight riflemen, five new, including one Distinguished and three re-quals also with one Distinguished. A fantastic display of marksmanship to be sure!
So many others were coming on strong by day's end. Henry, Joe, Tina, and Jenn were looking good. Angie and Sawdust Jake were so, so close. Steve, Greg, Sadie, and Griffin made us proud as did JK, Brandon, and Cayman. Everybody posted excellent groups and only need a little more time behind the sights (Dry-Firing, of course!) to make their marks on Appleseed history.
And we can't forget the instructors who guided the irregular mob toward marksmanship greatness- HikerMatt, GW, RedNine, Owl1, CarrollMS, GoodOldFriend, Octopus, NeckBones and Griffin. Thank you all for turning out and one last shout out to CCFSA for their unwavering support of the program and for the use of Good Ole' Bay 7.
Thank you all and we'll see you next time!
Thanks for a great American weekend. Like Longrifleman told all the first morning, this is our birthright. Where else in the world does one have this opportunity? He reminded us that it began long ago with Sunday archery in England and Marksmanship events in America - and today the Tradition is carried on through Project Appleseed to train a nation of Riflemen. Congratulations to all!
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Hey y'all! Zeke here. Decided to not go with SQUEEEEEZE as a handle. Just wanted to say thanks! Trying to get others signed up for Wilmington but it's proving challenging. May end up in Marengo in October. Is that crew as awesome and plugged in as the CCFSA crew?
My favorite moment from this past weekend was Darrell's intro "My name is Darrell and I like to shoot". Well, we can see that, Darrell. He shot, lights out!
WOW! Looks like a simply awesome event.
Congrats to all the new patch holders and Kudos to Longrifleman and all of his instructors. I see a few instructor names that I haven't seen in a while, Good to see them back on the line.