I'd like to start off by thanking the Tulpehocken Rifle & Pistol Club for the use of their facilities, they are gracious hosts, and we could not ask for a better partner in liberty. We had a full house with 10 instructors on site for this two day Patriot's Day event to provide excellent instruction to as many as 12 patriots.
We started off Saturday with glorious weather and one cleared Hits Count! target. Instructors worked with the students through the morning to get them comfortable on their respective rifles, build up their prone positions and dial in their sighting systems. History was presented by Goops50 and jkz and enjoyed by all. By the end of the Saturday, we had 4 additional cleared Redcoats and even a few Riflemen!
Unfortunately the weather did not hold for Sunday: we were met with a soggy field, unseasonably cold temperatures, wind and rain. This and other external factors brought our participating shooter count down to 4. However, the remaining Riflemen persisted! We spent the morning staying dry and telling tales of Prince Estabrook, David Lamson, Mother Ruth Batherick and other dangerous old men.The rain lifted in the mid-morning, shooters were able to get to the line and spent the rest of the day enjoying a number of qualification tests.
In addition to AQTs, our Riflemen took the opportunity to help out Captain Parker in exacting revenge on the Regulars and Colonel Smith. At the request of the shooters, we shot one of these targets in a youth versus adults setup. Even with two instructors hopping on the line to make for even numbers, the youth won the day handedly, exacting quite the toll on the King's troops. The day wrapped up with a somber Memorial Volley to remember the fallen as the sun came out from behind the clouds. By the end of the weekend, 6 shooters had cleared their Redcoats, and all four shooters on Sunday earned their Rifleman patch, Huzzah!
As always, remember the lessons you learned this weekend about the rights given to us by our forefathers, and do what you can to preserve these rights by participating in your government, practicing your marksmanship and dry firing at home, and of course coming back for another event and bringing a friend! Overall, an excellent Patriot's Day weekend of comradery and history, thank you to all!
A small album of photos can be found here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7xVpEsdMTri6k4pU6
I would like to thank Pat and all the instructors for all their help. The rain on Sunday got us wet but did not dampen the spirits of everyone in attendance. Thanks again.
Johnk