Patriots—center up!
What a fantastic weekend at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility (https://www.azgfd.com/shooting-sports/ben-avery-shooting-facility/).
Huge thanks to our hosts at Ben Avery—we simply could not do this without your support. The range team also provided portable target stands so we could place 25m targets and shoot from the covered concrete line, an outstanding improvement that made everyone's weekend smoother.
Highlights- 17 shooters on the line—Appleseed AZ's largest event since 2023! A strong mix of new and returning students kept the energy high and the learning constant.
- Great weather overall; Sunday added "character-building" wind that tried to challenge our NPOA. (Nice try, wind. We've got this.)
- Rifleman patches: one re-qualified Rifleman and one new Rifleman—father and son. Well earned!
- Redcoat: one cleared on Saturday afternoon—excellent fundamentals and focus.
- Instructor pipeline: Two IIT0 joined for their first event—shadowed coaches, helped with line management, and kicked off their Appleseed instructor journey. Welcome to the cadre!
- Traveling support: huge thank-you to Mrs. Smith and Maximum Ordinate for making the trip to help coach the line.
- Special guests: Ash Hess (https://www.threads.com/@ash.hess) and Natasha Kenney (https://www.threads.com/@hard.to.kidnap) joined us — thanks for spending time on the line!
- Youth excellence: 5 fantastic young shooters maintained flawless safety and near boundless energy.
- Parker's Revenge: spirited team competition with squads of four—great teamwork and communication under time.
- KD taste test: we stretched to 100 yards to confirm come-ups—valuable data and solid hits across the board.
To every shooter and family who joined us: thank you for your discipline, coachability, and good humor (especially when the breeze tried to "help"). Keep working those fundamentals—NPOA, six steps, and steady hold factors—and bring a friend next time. We'll see you back at Ben Avery soon.
In Liberty,Arizona Project Appleseed Instructor Team(https://i.imgur.com/WMB1jr1.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/VIM2YMz.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/UQOTprD.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7MS4ARq.jpeg) (https://i.imgur.com/umBcu2l.jpeg)