Special thanks to the Monroe Sportsman's Club and the Trail Life Group for hosting us this past weekend. They were very helpful in all aspects of getting ready for two days of an Appleseed Rifle Clinic and even provided lunch both days! They have also invited us back again next year!
We all had a great weekend of marksmanship and heritage. The shooters all persevered through the heat and we saw significant improved as the weekend progressed. We worked through the day proceeding from demonstration to appropriate drills to confirm and refine our marksmanship instruction, combined with history and heritage. There were a couple minor equipment issues throughout the weekend; quickly corrected by the knowledgeable staff. Everyone was very receptive to the course of instruction, and especially the history and heritage, necessitating many stories.
All but one returned on Sunday, and we worked through more instruction and AQT's. All showed consistent improvement as the day progressed; extending their capabilities as we progressed through drills and then demonstrating marksmanship capabilities with the fundamentals they had just learned! Huzzah!
Antique firearms and other equipment from the age were shown and demonstrated with appropriate spectacle, highlighting the challenges of the day and supporting stories of Samuel Whittemore, and Hezekiah Wyman, a pair of very Dangerous Old Men along with the tale of Nancy Hart and her daring escapades.
The shooters showed those pesky Redcoats the strength of our cause on both the AQT and Hits Count Targets; with one newly minted rifleman and two re-qualifications. Nearly half of our 22 shooters managed to clear the shingle by the end of the weekend with nine out of 22 consistently marking both targets Sunday. Huzzah! Huzzah!
Thanks to all the shooters, instructors and the Monroe Sportsman's Club and local Trail Life group for a great weekend.
A few photos that I managed to capture on Saturday, starting with a little history
Followed by some instruction
Some students practicing what was taught
A few more students
More students
A few more
How things might have looked on April 19
Closing thoughts for the day