Sunday's event was the last one of the year for Georgia. We ended on a high note with an extremely safe shoot and a lot of enthusiasm from both the volunteers and the shooters. Most were repeat rifle Appleseeders and several had attended shoots from other states. It's always great to hear about the program around the country. I wish we had more time for that. We were fortunate enough to have instructors from several states too. Wileycoyote and DEH each drove hours to help out and TN's DataDad was signed up to shoot and help. THANK YOU!!!
We were supposed to have a full roster of 12 shooters, but several were no-shows. We hope we'll see them at another shoot. We filled the empty spaces with several of our instructors since we all love shooting too.
Roswell started us off with a great rendition of the First Strike before we took things outside and shot our Hits Count Targets. 3 of the 9 shooters hit Pitcairn's Button, but we still had room for improvement. Roswell and I jumped right into instruction and the shooters soaked it all up. By lunch they were all shooting much better groups.
Lunchtime rolled around and we had a surprise visit from Cleveland - our regional coordinator, master instructor, and friend. Incorporating all 3 of those roles, he had the privilege of awarding Roswell with a promotion to senior instructor. More on that in the pictures. I was channeling Maximum Ordinate, aka holding the phone as he facetimed us. He was sorry to have missed the occasion, but was about 2000 miles away at another event. We wrapped up lunch with my version of the 2nd Strike. The shooters that attended Saturday's rifle clinic broke away and were able to hear some DOM and DOW stories from Ross and Wiley.
After lunch we finished up teaching malfunctions, one-handed shooting, and transitioning before jumping into a couple of PQTs. We took breaks for DEH's 3rd Strike and the Onion of Self Defense. We wrapped up the day with a Hits Count Target. Although the day didn't produce any Pistoleer™s, we saw a lot of improvement. Mike, Matt, Ben, Shane, and Austin - you guys are knocking on the door of the patch. A few more well placed shots, a few less malfunctions and you all would have passed by 210. The rest of you should be very proud of your improvement. Emily and Laura, holy smokes! You guys did great for being relatively new to shooting. Tom, Andrew, and David - you guys had great groups all day, the PQT stars just didn't align to show it. Pistoleer™s, like Riflemen, persist. Continue perfect practice, dry fire (safely!), and you'll all continue to see improvements.
Special shout out to Shane for staying and giving us your input after the shoot. We wrap up every shoot with an instructors' meeting to go over ways we can improve or keep doing what we're doing right. I can guarantee I'll be incorporating Shane's suggestions into all my future shoots.
As I said at the end of the day, it was our honor and pleasure to spend the day with you guys. I hope we'll see you all again in 2025. Bring your friends and family. Feel free to add your comments or pictures here.
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Roswell teaches how to acquire NPOA
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The left side of the line practices 2 handed shooting.
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The middle of the line
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The right side of the line
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Cleveland made a surprise visit during lunch to promote Roswell to Senior Instructor!!! Roswell is a mentor to just about all of us in GA, friend to all, and wears a bunch of hats in Appleseed - Instructor, Shoot Boss, Designated Shoot Boss, Dep. State Coordinator (after being State Coordinator), National Newsletter Editor, Marketing Team Member, helped write the pistol manual and I'm probably missing a few - plus he's on the forum a lot offering his advice and experience.
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A great part of Appleseed that I enjoy and can see others do as well is that all the volunteers are encouraging and lift each other up, ready to help and celebrate each other's success. It goes for the shooters and volunteers alike.
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DEH was a great line boss and certainly has the voice for it. The PA system didn't hurt either.
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Wileycoyote watches on as we practice left hand only shooting
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Laura was great at right hand only shooting.
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Emily shows us her right hand only shooting and this is the best shot of the beautiful range. It was a gorgeous day!
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Wileycoyote was a GA resident. We're trying to lure him back with trinkets - the state patch. Thanks for your help. (excuse my wild hair and stupid smile - it was a long and awesome weekend)
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This was another awesome event at Sheriff's range in Canton. The weather could not have been better and spirits were high. Upacreek did a great job leading us and we were blessed with help from 2 other states. All shooters improved with lots knocking on the door. Plus a little personal achievement. This one will definitely go down in the books as a special one. I look forward to seeing y'all all again soon.
In Liberty,
Roswell