What a wonderful day! As always, thank you to Sheriff Frank Reynolds and the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office for loaning us the use of their top-notch facilities. 14 Trailmen and 9 Adult leaders joined us to hear about their extraordinary heritage and the true events of April 19th, 1775. And that's how we began, with The First Strike of the Match as told by Captain John Parker. After framing the day, we went over our most important duty. Safety. Then it was time to retrieve the rifles, hit the line, divide into relays, and shoot our first target of the day. The Redcoat Target, also called the Hits Count Target. We saw we had a bit of work to do. No worries, there was plenty of daylight left.
We put the ammo up for a bit and learned the perfect way to do things as the fire-hose of Instruction was opened up. Eye dominance --> Sling Use --> 6 Steps --> Natural Point of Aim (NPOA) --> Prone position --> Prone position exercise and spent some time on rifle fitting --> dry-fire trigger exercise --> Finally we went LIVE! :--- As we focused on some squares, the groups magically shrank from the morning! ^:)^
Everyone's favorite block was next. LUNCH! We had an extended lunch due to a solar eclipse of all things. We listened to the Second Strike of the Match before learning about Talking Targets and Inches, Minutes, Clicks (IMC). We then went back outside and shot some squares and implementing what we had just learned to get our tight groups moved on to target. Next up was the combined drill of rifleman's Cadence/ Carding the Sights. Next up was magazine changes. Then it was time for a well deserved break and the Third Strike of the Match.
We returned to the line and learned transition to prone before shooting Stage 3 of the Appleseed Qualification Test (AQT). We then learned 4 new seated positions, tried them out and then learned transition to seated. Then Stage 2 of the AQT. The last position was standing, which was implemented on Stage 1 of the AQT. Last was Stage 4, the money stage. When the white smoke of hundreds of .22 shots cleared, Trailman Ethan showed he knew what he was about and shot a 211! O0
We closed out the day with the story of Timothy Murphy and how one person can make a difference and the presentation of the William Diamond patches.
(https://i.imgur.com/CEiI51l.png)
I hope to see you all again on the line, with even more friends and family. Keep up the perfect practice and remember, a Rifleman persists! See you soon!
In Liberty,
Roswell