It was a great weekend on the range in Kingston MI. Nineteen students, ten were first time Appleseeders, arrived on time early and were eager to get started.
After the pledge, a little history, and the safety briefing, we started with a Red Coat Target. Chris showed he came prepared, and he cleared the first Red Coat Target!
After the Red Coat Target, the marksmanship instruction began. By the end of the first day, we had eight Morgan's Men! Congratulations to Mike and Randy H. for clearing the Saturday afternoon Red Coat Target.
Sunday started out with a Red Coat Target and Jerry demonstrated he was ready to face the day by clearing this target. After a review of the steady hold factors, the six steps, and NPOA. We moved on to the Appleseed Qualification Test (AQT). Two shooters, Chris with a 211 and Jeff with a 234 showed they are Expert Riflemen, and they earned the first patches of the day. Congratulations and nice way to start out the AQT grind!
After an extended drill to have shooters work one-on-one with an instructor on their weakest stage, another AQT was posted. Randy H., rocking a bolt action, earned his Rifleman patch with a 212, Jerry scored a 219, Mike learned how to relax, and he earned a 226! Jeff added a distinguished patch with a 241!
A Know Your Limits (KYL) target was posted for a fun shoot. Many were disqualified as they did not know their limits. But not Chris and Jerry! They tied by each sending ten rounds into "fear" for 200 points. The scoring instructors huddled and determined that based on group size, Chris would be awarded the tie breaker. Nice job Chris and Jerry!
The AQT grind continued with Chris posting a new high score of 217 and Jeff reaching 243. Repeat Applseeder's know that by late Sunday, the weekend activities have physically and mentally exhausted the shooters and scores drop. But not Casey, he persisted and on the final AQT of the weekend, he earned his first Rifleman patch with a 212!
On the final Red Coat Target, one student cleared it, but I neglected to record the name. My apologies. Feel free to comment below and get the credit you deserve! I should mention Jeff was one shot off from clearing the Red Coat Target while shooting in the seated position.
Appleseed's has two missions, share the stories of April 19th and the impact one person can have, and help people learn Marksmanship skills. Thank you to Pookie, Hardcase, and Aliquippa for presenting the history throughout the weekend. With regards to Marksmanship, all 19 shooters demonstrated good form and fundamentals. For those that did not earn a Rifleman Patch, keep practicing, attend another event, persist, and you will reach your goal!
Several are knocking on the door of the coveted patch! John scored a heartbreaking 209. (Equipment Issues!) Randy E. achieved a 199, Angela scored a 202, Mila (My-la or Me-la?) had a high score of 193. Mila also wins the prize for being the most consistent shooter with several scores in the 180's. Little brother Eli wins most improved as he progressed from a 107 to a 182!
Father and son first timers, Melvin and Keegan made steady improvement with Melvin going home with bragging rights. Tom kept up with daughter Angela, but I am pretty sure Angela was top shooter of the household, at least until the next Appleseed event.
Fred was our only centerfire shooter and on the last three AQT's, Fred scored a 169, 170, and 172. I believe Charlene edged out her sister Sophia for household bragging rights. Do not get too comfortable ladies as little brother Ezechiel is right on your heels. Constantine, work with your dad and Uncle, and I look forward to seeing your improvement at the next event you attend. Jacob, although you were only able to make it on Saturday, I look forward to seeing you (Along with your sister and Father!) at a future event.
We had several young first timers at this event. All did a fantastic job being safe and had great attitudes. The Shoot Boss missed more safeties than these young shooters. It was great to meet Jacob, Eli, Sophia, Charlene, and Constantine. Seeing the high caliber of character demonstrated by youth that attend Appleseed events gives me hope for the future. I look forward to seeing you continue your improvement.
Thank you to all the students as your desire to learn, attentiveness, and persistence made this an enjoyable event for all the instructors. I look forward to seeing you at a future Appleseed event.
Thank you to the Marlette Sportsman's Association for hosting this Appleseed event. This is a great venue, and we look forward to returning next year.
Finally, thank you to Pookie, Hardcase, Aliquippa (all the way from Ohio), Homerange, and Pocketwatch for donating your time and talents to this event. The Appleseed instructor cadre are some of the best people you can ever meet, and it is a pleasure to know and work with all of you. Your dedication to the program is clear by your willingness to travel many hours to share your wisdom. Thank you!
A link with pictures is attached below. Feel free to post your own pictures and share any comments you have about this weekend's Appleseed event. Tell your friends or better yet, bring them to a future event!
Best regards,
Rangerat67
(Rick)
LINK TO PICTURES
https://imgur.com/a/6aYUmf7
Hi Rangerat,
I was the person who cleared the red coat on Sunday afternoon.
https://imgur.com/a/red-coat-M7Dvps1
I had a great time over the weekend. Its been a few years since I attended a Appleseed event and I learned that without some practice you can loose the marksmanship skills. I could not even get a rifleman score on the first day and my plan was to start from where I left off and go for a 240! Well......I had to practice and it took me the two days to get back to where I was before. Special thanks to Pookie, Hardcase, and Rangerat for the individual help and they taught me new things I did not know. That's my favorite thing about Appleseed is I learn something new every time I go. What a great program!
Hey Old Man ! Good shooting. Certainly marksmanship is a perishable skill, but you got back into fighting trim in no time. Thanks for coming out ! Fyi. There is a rimfire known distance ( out to 200 yard/meters) coming on up in Jonesboro Indiana on oct 12/13. I hear it's a pretty challenging. With the amount of bullet drop an the wind effect on the tiny .22 . Anyways hope to see you again. Cheers !