Off the west bank of the Mississippi, in Ascension Parish, in the southern part of Louisiana sits the quiet town of Donaldsonville.
It lies quietly, surrounded by fields packed with tall stalks of sugar cane, blissfully concealing within their voluminous folds a secret that few know.
For there, carved out of the rich loam, lies an absolute gem of a shooting range - the Palo Alto Rifle and Pistol Club!
This hidden masterpiece of a range doesn't sprawl like some other ranges. It's neat and tidy.
But don't let that fool you: it has a fully covered 600 yard electronically scored "Shoot the Course" bay that can handle a dozen shooters, easy.
It has more than a half-dozen bays for pistol and rifle - some out to 200 yards! And it's a friend of Appleseed! What a range!!!
And it was here, on hallowed club grounds, that Project Appleseed firmly re-planted the flag in Louisiana after a 5 year hiatus!
This club last saw a shoot back in may of 2015 - we'll fix that in 2024!
A crew consisting of the mighty Geeck, MandyMonstar, Flighttime, Leethar, and yours truly braved thick fog to welcome 6 shooters to this historic event!
And we had our work cut out for us - 4 of the 6 shooters were 'seeders, and many were present five years ago at the last Louisiana shoot! - and they came prepared for some excellent marksmanship instruction, captivating history, and a great time! They would not be denied!
And that, ladies and gentlement, is what they received!
After a stirring Benediction and First Strike, we got down to work. Mandy came out of the box swinging - she was working on her IIT3 and presented the 6 steps of firing the shot (and all POIs to our crew!) After a trigger control drill and some dry fire, we shot some squares. The groups, right out of the box, were amazing. These Louisiana fellows know how to SHOOT!
Lunch came quickly. Everyone was excited to hear more history!! Second strike by Flighttime was packed with knowledge, and Geeck tied up the day's history with a splended Third strike.
After that, Standing and Transitions! We had time for an AQT, and had a few shooters in the upper 180s! Good shooting, gents!
Sunday started bright, but not as early as Saturday (Fog! Whew!) with a 30 minute review of ALL that we spoke about Saturday - and then we shot AQTs! Second AQT of Sunday saw TWO rifleman's scores, Doug with a 211 and Adam with a 214! A seriously honorable mention must be made for Jim, who had shot Rifleman previously with a scope (too easy!) but was determined to do it with irons on a borrowed rifle. At 70. And scored a 208. Wow! Oh, and did I mention that Doug took an Orange Hat!! What a shoot!
Our day ended with farewells and a promise to bring more events to this magical range! If you get a chance, please come!
I believe Jim might have made a Rifleman score had he not got a little help on that one AQT. Such is life on and off the range, you take what life throws your way and move on. Thanks Ghostring for driving all that way to help us out, it was a fun weekend, It good to shake off the cobwebs, it all seemed to slip back in place and went well.
Sounds like a fantastic time! Gosh, but I do love fog :1luvu
Well done Louisiana! Back on the map! And it looks like the team hit the ground running :beer:
Looks like a fantastic event... but I had no doubt!
I noticed something in the pictures. Did the SB wear a black t-shirt under his polo? Has the world stopped spinning on its axis??? **)
You have a sharp eye, sir. ;D
Truly a one-of-a-kind event!
Quote from: Maximum Ordinate on November 02, 2023, 11:54:06 AM
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I noticed something in the pictures. Did the SB wear a black t-shirt under his polo? Has the world stopped spinning on its axis??? **)
Looks like a great event! Wish we could've made it. So Glad to see LA back in action!!
Good to see Adam at another event!! CONGRATS to all participants!
I can't wait to make it over there for an event in the near future!
Huzzah!
Thank you to all the instructors for their effort!