It was cold! I love October! The Cherokee Rod & Gun Club outdid themselves this month. Not only did they allow us to hold another rifle clinic, but they waived the range fees and allowed the Trail Life group we held the event for to camp in their heated club house. This was the first frost of the year, so I'm sure at least the adults appreciated the warm club house.
Devereux and Artie - club members, Appleseed, and Trail Life volunteers, chaperoned for the weekend AND had attended many Troop meetings reviewing rifle safety and an introduction to using the USGI sling for weeks before our event (that's really stepping up!). Thanks to them and the other leaders we had 14 shooters, 10 youth and 4 adults, all well prepared for 2 days of Appleseed. Our team, Wileycoyote, special_K, Devereux, starvingpilgrim, Artie, and I, worked well together with the dads ensuring that we all stayed safe and moved quickly through our program. A special thanks to Chris for keeping them well fed and keeping the closer wildlife off the firing line (good arm!).
Saturday flew by. Wileycoyote once again saved the day by outfitting a large chunk of the line with rifles. Special_K outdid herself with probably the best version of IMC for kids I've seen - I've missed working with her, it was great to catch up with her and her mom. Sunday came and Artie started us off with a little history and show & tell about the Brown Bess, letting anyone hold his replica. It towered over all but a couple of the men. Our volunteer newcomer, starvingpilgrim, did a great job as line boss, catching quite a few things before they become problems.
The stars of the weekend, of course, were the boys. They did great. Many had to shoot from rests just because of their size. That didn't mean they slouched though. Many had their groups all touching more than once! The best part of the weekend is always seeing the camaraderie of the group. They all cheered each other on throughout the event. Everyone's groups improved. By Sunday afternoon Jonathan K scored 2 rifleman scores of 219 and 212. 3 more boys scored rifleman scores off of rests - Jonathan (9) scored 227; Taylor Hicks (8!) scored 218 and 231; and Levi Krebs (11) scored a 223 and 240! They all received Journey to Rifleman certificates.
We only had a few repeat Appleseeders, but two of them liked the program so much they both decided to join our crew - welcome aboard, SmokyMtnRifleman and TennesseeTurkeyMan! I can't wait to work with you guys soon.
Please take a look at the pictures - add some if you'd like. Keep up the perfect practice and I hope to see you all at another shoot with your families soon.
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starvingpilgrim and Wileycoyote demonstrate how to shoot in prone
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Ball & Dummy
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Congratulations to both for clearing your Hits Count Targets!
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Review - it was still a little chilly
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Hello, Friend!
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Pig Pile!
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Review
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We all got a chance to hold this awesome piece of history (well, an awesome replica)
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Thank you so much for sharing your Brown Bess with us, Artie!
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IMC in the fall - what a beautiful day!
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The wildlife here have no fear. Rocky the squirrel brought a date to our target line and just hung out until Chris and his awesome aim (just rocks or nuts) convinced them to move along. We had to call cease fire 3 times during our Ball & Dummy drill. Bambi's family here not only needed a cease fire, but Isaiah led the chase to get them off the range, getting within 20 yards of them before they even looked up! No fear. They know a gun range is probably the safest spot for them during hunting season.