Project Appleseed would like to thank the Walker County Sheriff's Department for our final event of the year, but we have five more planned there for 2026! Check the website for the detailed schedule at Appleseedinfo.org!
Despite dire predictions of poor weather, four shooters new to Appleseed and four veterans found almost perfect weather on Saturday morning. Even better than the great weather, all the students arrived early and we beat the time-monkey from the very beginning. The poor monkey was very discouraged and didn't attempt a return for the entire weekend! The great shooters and a well-prepared instructor crew made sure he never had a chance.
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Happy Shooters!
upacreek travelled from Georgia to start the group with a rousing First Strike that had everyone ready to engage the Hits Count target once Tennessee Hangfire covered safety and AH1Tom briefed the line commands. Instructors knew it would be a great day after shooters reported hits on three shingles, one Red Coat at four hundred, and three each at two-hundred and one hundred-yards!
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upacreek and Six Steps of Firing a Shot
Shooters continued to shoot very well and were ready for AH1Tom's lesson in Inches-Minutes-Clicks over lunch. After a little more instruction the shooters were ready for their first AQT!
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First AQT!
We moved to magazine changes and transition to prone before starting our first AQT early in the afternoon. We learned and practiced sitting positions before continuing the AQT, then finished up with standing. The shooters continued to impress, and we had two new Rifleman with our first AQT!
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Mr. Marshall
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Mark
Shooters took a break and hydrated while Tennessee Hangfire presented the Third Strike, then returned for another AQT before calling it a day with a final Hits Count target. Scores improved over the day, with one shooter clearing the target, two hitting the 400-yard RC, one each at 300 and 200-yards, and two at 100-yards with three total shingles. Sunday was looking like it would be a great day!
The shooters all agreed to arrive 30 minutes early on Sunday; the Time-Monkey hardest hit once again. We completed the morning instruction and identified a couple of future orange hats during Ball and Dummy, with several shooters commenting on how much they learned while acting as the coach.
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Ball and Dummy Drill
We completed one AQT and then had a great time shooting Parker's Revenge. This was the first time most of us had seen the target shot, all agreed it was challenging! After a break for lunch and upacreek's KD presentation we moved the firing line back to 100 yards and had all shooters confirming expected trajectories. The wind had begun to make itself known by this time of the day, so shooters had the chance to experience that as well.
The temperature began to drop after lunch, but three determined shooters came back for more opportunities at the AQT. Ethan had been chasing Rifleman all weekend, but something always seemed to go wrong on one stage. His persistence paid off with the final Rifleman badge of the day and a score of 227! The Shoot Boss managed to lose that picture, so please post Ethan receiving his patch if you have that one. Ethan, I apologize for losing the picture; we'll get a good one when you come back for the orange hat!
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Last Holdouts!
It was another great shoot at the Walker County Sheriff's Department Range, and I'd like to thank the Department again for its incredible support for Project Appleseed. Come join us there for one of our events next year!
Thank you Instructors! I had a great time.
Way to persist in getting the Rifleman patch Ethan.