The weather aside, and that is tough to do because the sun beat down unrelentingly on Saturday putting cool water at a premium, it was another great Appleseed for my wife and I.
Although neither of us managed to achieve the mark of Rifleman, the camaraderie, the cooperation and the gentle instruction were what we've come to expect from the people associated with RWVA...and the reasons we'll be looking forward to yet another opportunity to take part again.
Special remembrances for the Political Philosophy class administered by Son of Martha. I think that this is a wonderful and necessary adjunct to the riflery education that is accompanied by a sprinkling of American History. I found that the Ballistics class as presented by Bolt Gun added more to my understanding and was done in a manner which made the new information easy to assimilate.
RWVA had a wonderful crew of folks working this event. They certainly deserve our recognition.
Wonderful weekend. Good turnout (we actually tied with our all-time high attendance), serious students to work with, and NO RAIN! (Even with Mark there...)
That heat and humidity was a challenge, in addition to the normal Appleseed "equipment check". Our guests performed admirably, displaying perseverence and good cheer.
We got 4 new riflemen and a bunch of repeat achievers. One gentlemen did it the hard way, on the 100 yard advanced AQT with a .22 rimfire. Much improvement was seen amongst others with many at the plateau around 200...
It was a pleasure and honor to spend the weekend with such folks, and am looking forward to doing it again in Augusta, GA (in JULY!).
SoM
It was another great weekend in North Georgia, no matter what the weather was. The great company of Riflemen and women was something that I had missed dearly. I was unable to stay the whole weekend, but Saturday was good. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones. I cannot wait for the next one.
Raymon
What an Awesome weekend! I am sore from all the shooting, and the history was at least as good as all the shooting. I don't think it would be possible to have better instructers on either front. My 10 year old son had the most fun he has ever had shooting guns. For a 10 year old to endure a 14 hour day in GA heat/humidity takes quite a fun, active program!
I can't wait to come back again, and I will bring friends with me next time. A great education, for an even greater cause!
I am new to forums so here goes my first attempt at posting pic's:
Here are the weekend's instructors: http://bearsview.com/Staff%2020090613.jpg
This zip file is huge - like 200MB, but contains a few dozen shots of the attendees shooting and the instructers evaluating the patterns. http://bearsview.com/Appleseed.zip
Here's some pics.
It was a great week end in the hills of north GA! The shooters endured more than any of expected with the temps as high as they were.
It is always great to be able to change a person life for the better at an apple seed shoot!! That is why I love being involved in this program. I didn't get to spend as much time as I normally do with all of the students on Saturday, but got to work with a woman that made great leaps forward in her life as she is determined to hit some goals that she has set for herself. And what a goal to set for oneself "to shoot a Rifleman score before she reaches a certain age!" She is already signed up for the other shoots in Toccoa this year. I was glad to help Rugh get the patch on the last AQT of the day with a score of 210, and yes he did get wet! Cole made big improvements as Sunday wound to a close. I guess I should have put him on the 10-22 earlier. Had some team shooting drills and the 2 teams hit the same amount of targets. Ron was spot on with the history!!! As many times as I have heard him tell it, there is always something else that I get out of it. For those who have not heard him, you need to make a trip to one of the shoots he is at. Just his interaction with the shooters is worth the trip and that is before you send the first round down range.
I forgot to add that the range has just spent a little over $6000 on improvements in the range, dug the pits deeper to 35 yards, lots and lots of gravel. No more mud bowl!!!! They are also talking about putting shelters over the pistol pits when they get some more cash on hand. I would love to see them there, but it would almost take something away from the Toccoa shoot, it would make it to easy to come and shoot!!!
more....
(nice umbrella)
Quote from: Southern Grey on June 15, 2009, 10:23:38 AM
Special remembrances for the Political Philosophy class administered by Son of Martha. I think that this is a wonderful and necessary adjunct to the riflery education that is accompanied by a sprinkling of American History. I found that the Ballistics class as presented by Bolt Gun added more to my understanding and was done in a manner which made the new information easy to assimilate.
RWVA had a wonderful crew of folks working this event. They certainly deserve our recognition.
Two of Appleseed's foremost experts in their respective subjects, what a privilege! I wish I could've been there. Regards to all the GA and SC crew.
Thor
A very fine weekend indeed... I had the great privilege of beginning my training as an IIT. First let me say thanks to the shooters who were very gracious when I flubbed a line command. It is a learning experience.
The enthusiasm and dogged will to endure shown by all participants is a testament to you citizens of America. You should be proud.
Son of Martha gave one of the best lectures I have heard in years. Given this knowledge, how our great founders developed their ideas of freedom and how very fragile it could be if we are not vigilant, many more will resolve to never let it die.
Alex
What an outstanding weekend! Appleseed just keeps getting better and better! I believe we had 51 shooters on the line Saturday and 25ish on Sunday. What a great bunch of Americans they were. Toccoa is known has the place to test your persistance against Mother Nature and this weekend was no different, just in this case it wasn't the reknowned red mud but the searing heat and sun. We had everything from 9yr old kids to a few "Dangerous Old Men" on the line. The father/daughter/son teams are always great to see at a Appleseed. Afterall the kids are our prosterity that we have to pass our heritage and knowledge onto. We created several Rifleman, congrats to everyone who earned the coveted patch, and we had several more knocking on the door. Every shooter that desired too had the opportunity to shoot full distance out to 300yds on sunday. It was great seeing how the skills learned at 25yds translated into easily hitting at distance. The classes offered on sunday by the instructors were a great idea and the shooters all seemed to enjoy them as well. Thanks again to all the shooters that came and made this weekend a success. To all my fellow instructors, it was a pleasure as usual working with you and I look forward to seeing everyone on the trail again.
hard to add to the level of satisfaction with the weekend
a few points for future Appleseeders though:
the weather can hurt your experience; when its hot like we had at Toccoa you really need to hydrate, sunscreen and sunglasses. No heat exhaustion but we had a few people wilt a bit - probably the cause of our lower numbers on Sunday.
we had hard rocky ground to shoot on so consider extra thick or double shooting mats at some ranges. Augusta will have cement but will be covered and the space has area fans and the class room which is large is air conditioned.
It was an honor to be allowed to teach another course
TAZ