A True Appleseed Christmas Miracle
This is the best way I can describe this amazing event. Miracles started blessing our Kerrville, TX event when we increased our student head count from one person up to four with three weeks remaining until the event. Ok, four students certainly isn't a record breaking attendance, but enough for us to get out there and spread the word of Freedom. As the event date grew closer, the student number kept increasing! Within two days before the event, we went from 8 students up to 13!!! This was wonderful to see! The weather was set to be cooperative, for once, and the seasonal excitement helped increase our student numbers.
We began the event by simply explaining the Red Coat target as a simple diagnostic indicator of our student's current marksmanship level. No general background was given for Morgan's Shingle and the overall significance of the Red Coat target was deliberately withheld until later in the weekend. This group's ability became evident through the results of this first Red Coat target. There were five students who were field capable out to 300 yards and four students who were able to hit Morgan's Shingle!!!! Not a bad start!!!
At this point, we unleashed the Appleseed instructional fire hose of information. Marshall (Don'tFix 1776) and myself (GenX Minuteman) provided the initial blocks of instruction regarding the three pillars of Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship – proper body position, six-steps of firing the shot, and natural point of aim. We had the students practice the newly provided information with a few shooting exercises. During these exercises is when the Appleseed miracles started to multiply!!!!
Sandra had come to the event well prepared and eager to use her personal rifle outfitted with a red dot sight. It became apparent her sighting system was not giving her the best ability to show off her marksmanship skills. We provided her with a scoped loaner rifle and all of a sudden her new found expertise came into focus!!!! Small grape-sized groups began to show up!!!
Kevin was ready to perform and came well equipped with an impressively set-up Ruger 10/22 takedown model rifle. Kevin had previously been to an Appleseed event so he knew what would work well. One aspect he was not prepared for was the extra variation in shot placement resulting from a slightly loose fitting takedown barrel. Once the problem was identified and corrected, Kevin got back on track in quick order!
Koby helped add to the Christmas miracles by bringing his three young sons to the event. As always, we greatly appreciate parents bringing their family to Appleseed events because we desperately need to pass the word of our Forefather on to the next generation. Luckily, Koby and his family will be relocating from California to the Kerrville/Fredericksburg area so he may have the opportunity to continue teaching his sons about the importance of self-governance and true freedom. While at the event, Koby had the opportunity to exercise his right to attend the event with the rifle of his choosing since he is in Texas. His choice was a centerfire rifle outfitted with a simple red-dot. Commendable choice Koby!!! Sadly, his red-dot was not capable of supporting his challenge. A loaner rifle was offered but declined, at least on the first day.
Once we reached mid-day, Peter (Malibu) set everyone down and provided an amazing recounting of the ever growing separation between the colonist and The Crown. He then set the stage for rebellion by telling our students of the atrocities encountered on Lexington Green during the morning of April 19th, 1775. Quite honestly, Peter should think about getting a second job as a history documentarian!!! Way to go Peter! Myself and A-Lister later followed up with the Second Strike of the Match and the Third as well. Thank you all for you amazing story telling abilities and commitment to the program!
After lunch, we proceeded with the standard course of improving the accuracy of our shooters and teaching them advanced positional shooting. The shooting became more difficult, but our shooters became more determined! Everyone maintained a steady pace of improvement and eagerness to learn more. With all of our instructional blocks successfully conveyed, it was now time to expose the students to their first Appleseed Qualifying Test (AQT) of the weekend. After walking the students through each stage it became apparent they had indeed been paying close attention all day!!! There were some impressively high scores for sure. And wouldn't you know it, Kevin was able to knock out an impressive 214 score with a "You Can't Do That, they are Inaccurate" Ruger 10/22 takedown model. Not to be outdone by Kevin, his father-in-law Randy put down an even higher score of 217!!!! Way to go Randy and Kevin!!!! They certainly set the tone for an exciting continuation of our weekend.
The second day of our event came with a rather sharp drop in temperature, but luckily not in our shooter's spirits. Everyone came back for the second day of shooting and story telling with wide eyes and open ears. We kicked off the morning in typical fashion by getting our rifles re-verified and our shooters warmed up. Our students addressed their first AQT of the day with purpose and vigor. Opportunities were provided to do as many AQTs as they saw fit. We included several skill improvement exercises to address specific deficiencies.
In the end, the culmination of teaching and practice paid off!!! Koby had the fortune to borrow a centerfire rifle which was better suited to the task for the day (Thank you to Randy for the kindness in sharing your rifle with Koby!!!!). Koby returned the favor by putting up a great score of 219 to round out the weekend with a total of three Riflemen!!! Way to go Kevin, Randy and Koby!
To finish listing the amazing events we saw this weekend, Sandra was able to almost clear the final Red Coat of the weekend. And, this was even after we gave a heart-felt, gut checking speech indicating the significance and importance of what the Red Coat target and Morgan's Shingle signifies. In fact, we had four of our students fully clear the final Red Coat of the weekend. This is a huge improvement over the beginning of the weekend. A true Appleseed Christmas Miracle in my book! Oh yeah, and Kevin put down a further impressive score of 233 with his takedown! Highest score I have seen yet with that rifle platform!!! What was I saying about miracles popping up – Nice!!!
I hope all our students enjoyed the event as much as we enjoyed seeing everyone progress and grow as marksmen. We look forward to seeing everyone return for our upcoming events in 2024!
Chad Stovell – GenX Minuteman
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Thank you sir for running yet another great event. I sure enjoy your AARs. They're not just an AAR - they are a story.
Good job Chad O0 and Merry Christmas to all!! :cool2: