Patriots—circle up!
What a fantastic weekend at the Sidney Paul Gordon Shooting Range (https://co.otero.nm.us/209/Rifle-Range) in Alamogordo, NM (what an amazing venue). The weather was perfect, the smiles were big, and with 5 shooters and 5 instructors we enjoyed tons of focused 1-on-1 coaching — the ideal recipe for fast growth. Special appreciation to Captwa, whose powerful telling of the Second Strike moved many to tears (myself included). I'd also like to recognize our 2 Sunday walk-ons - a proud mom and a visiting spouse — who jumped in, learned quickly, and kept the momentum strong.
(https://i.imgur.com/3fv8vSI.jpeg)
Highlights
First-timers crushed it: Every shooter was new to Appleseed (a few brand-new to shooting, borrowing rifles), yet they took to the instruction fast and kept improving all weekend.
(https://i.imgur.com/Of4YAop.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/loDGUCs.jpeg)
Morgan's Shingle hits: One Saturday afternoon and One Sunday afternoon. It's also worth noting that one of our Sunday walk-ons was one round shy of clearing her afternoon Redcoat.
AQT progress: No Rifleman patches this time, but two shooters broke 200 and another scored over 190 — great trajectory for a first event.
100-yard balloon challenge: After Sunday's KD lesson we pushed to 100 yards — five rounds, two red balloons each. All five participants popped both of their balloons; our youngest participant finished first and aced it, two shots, two pops.
(https://i.imgur.com/WlwC0Pt.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/PLuasO7.jpeg)
Parker's Revenge:. On Sunday, two couples squared off on a Parker's Revenge target, with the winner scoring 63/75.
(https://i.imgur.com/y2BJK0d.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/PYLNQON.jpeg)
Future volunteers: Two visiting students asked about joining the Appleseed team and are now connected with their local state coordinator — love to see it!
To the Sidney Paul Gordon Shooting Range (https://co.otero.nm.us/209/Rifle-Range): thank you for hosting us — we absolutely couldn't do this without your support. And to every shooter and family who joined us: thank you for trusting us with your weekend and bringing such coachable, upbeat energy to the line. Keep practicing those fundamentals, bring a friend next time, and we'll see you back on the line soon.
In Liberty,
New Mexico Appleseed Team
(and one visiting Arizona Instructor)
WOW!! Way to go all!!!
Great instructors, great students, great history, great shooting, and great fun.
Sigh. I'm happy :)