We closed out the 2026 season in NY with a return to Square Deal Sportsmen Club (https://squaredealsportsmen.com/) in Glen Aubrey, where we were joined by a small but enthusiastic group of New Yorkers who were eager to "make good use of their freedoms" on a beautiful fall weekend.
We don't often get an opportunity to shoot centerfire rifles at our ranges in NY, but Glen Aubrey was an exception and John and Matt took advantage of it by running 223/556 for the weekend, while Luke, Ben and Graham stuck with their rimfire rifles.
During our lunch break on Saturday, local club member Ed Bundga displayed his incredible collection of Revolutionary War era firearms and equipment, and talked about the different impacts they had for the American marksmen who deployed them in battle. Ed, thank you so much for providing an up-close look at our history.
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On Sunday afternoon, the club brought their CMP match-grade Garand to the firing line and gave everyone an opportunity to engage steel targets out at 100 yards. This was a lot of fun until LadyRimfire obliterated the target stand with a well placed shot ;D
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We closed out the weekend by minting two new Riflemen. Congratulations to Matt and Luke - great shooting, gentlemen!!
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Ben, Graham and John - you guys are all within striking distance of a Rifleman score! I hope to see you back out on the lines with us next season so we can get it done O0
With Luke's Rifleman patch finally secured, he promptly upgraded his Blue Hat to an Orange Hat, and will be starting his journey as an Instructor in Training (IIT) next season. Thank you for stepping up, Luke!
Luke's Blue Hat was then quickly donned by his son Graham - a meaningful exchange as we look to the next generation of New Yorkers to carry our mission forward.
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I want to express my gratitude to Dave and Scott at Square Deal Sportsmen who are so supportive of Project Appleseed; they handled the range setup and kept everyone fed with an amazing barbeque spread all weekend long - you guys are amazing!
Last but not least, thank you to our incredible crew of volunteers - LadyRimfire, Cannibal and ThatIndianGuy. We appreciate everything you do to keep Liberty, Marksmanship and History alive in New York.
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See you all in 2027!
Congrats Luke and Graham!!! Thanks for stepping up!!!