I am sure that 9mm4545 will do his usual fine job in describing the totality of the Appleseed Project marksmanship clinic conducted over the weekend. It was truly rewarding to see so many young people turn out with their parents on Saturday and to watch them persevere and stay focused and attentive throughout the long day of instruction. Of course, it was great to see so many "repeat" participants from prior events were back to demonstrate the results of their dry practice efforts. And boy did it show! The attached photo shows 5 of the newly minted "Riflemen" (and Riflewoman) from the weekend. Huzzah! The instructors were truly well paid.
in Liberty,
FLawyer
What a glorious weekend for America! I believe that the spirits of John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Isaac Davis were looking down on the happenings at the Volusia County Gun and Hunt Club this weekend with approval. We had 20 students come out on a beautiful Saturday morning, ready to learn rifle marksmanship and American history. There was a wide range of ages and experience levels represented but all had teachable attitudes and partook of the steady stream of information our able instructors imparted. Mother Nature could not have been kinder to us with clear skies and mild temperatures, at least after a little early morning chilliness. After an initial evaluation with the Redcoat target, we were down to business with the essentials of marksmanship: solid position, six steps, and NPOA. The morning was over in a blur and we heard the telling of the Battle of Lexington while enjoying a quick lunch. In the afternoon we learned and practiced rifleman cadence and fine tuned our sight settings. Rifleman calisthenics, otherwise known as transitions, put muscles to work and the new positions were perfected. A short break was taken while Bill O Rites told of the Battle of Concord and then finally came the fabled AQT--the final exam where everything learned was put to the test. There were several high scores but only Yenny and Jeff made the grade. Congratulations to both of you! The day ended with vast marksmanship improvement but mostly with a renewed sense of what it means to be an American, able to participate in activities forbidden to most of the world.
Sunday saw fewer participants as almost half the weekend participants were Saturday only attendees. But that just left more time for individual instruction for the refinement of marksmanship skills. It must have worked as we saw a remarkable improvement and by the days end we had added another four Riflemen to the ranks of those "who know very well what they are about". Wayne, Mike, Bryan, and Guy all are no longer cooks but now can boast of being Riflemen. Congratulations and well done! Yenny, on the other hand, not only fired a Rifleman score numerous times but in fact turned in the high score for the day, leaving all the boys in the dust. Shoot like a girl--if you can! Points for persistence go to Shane who just would not quit and continued until dark. Alas, the 210 remained just out of reach by only a couple of points. This young man will be a Rifleman and I predict it will be very soon. Other "knocking at the door" efforts were by Sindy and Teresa. Keep up the dry fire at home and earning The Coveted Patch is a foregone conclusion.
To all the instructors (Bill O Rites, Rambo Granny, TomM1Thumb, Douglas34474, 50calTank, FLawyer, 9mm4545) who came out and helped, thank you. There was a whole lot of talent assembled in one place at one time.
My photos are of the Saturday morning Redcoat target (before I got too busy to take pictures). Too bad I didn't take any Saturday afternoon pics as the shooter's forms were much better--as were the targets! I know there were other photos taken so feel free to post them and share.
For reasons unclear the movie doesn't work so if you were expecting actual moving pictures with sound--sorry.
9mm4545 and Crew,
Thanks so much for your dedication and instruction this past weekend. My family and I had a wonderful time. Kristin and I had a great time shooting; more than that, we truly appreciated your patience and instruction with our kids (Chase and Mckenna). Not many Range Bosses would favor having an 11- and 7-year-old under their responsibility. The reception we received was unprecedented with a few staff comments of "...wish we saw more families here..." Last night I picked up a Marlin 795 for Mckenna (she showed up with a bolt Chipmunk), and purchased four RWVA memberships this morning to help ensure our continued 2nd Amendment rights (and our ability to shoot at Appleseed!). The four of us also appreciated your history lessons, and your "pay it forward" mentality.
I sent out a plug to (almost) my entire Outlook address book for The Project. Many of my co-workers were waiting on my personal "after action" report, which I'm hoping convinced them to check it out.
Thanks again for what you are doing,
Greg
I want to personally thank the instructors.
My goal was to shoot rifleman at my first appleseed event. I was able to only achieve a score of 161 on Saturday so I was pretty discouraged when I went home that evening. I was considering not even going Sunday I was so low. Like many, I didn't think it would be so hard.
On Sunday morning I did much better on my redcoat. After tireless coaching from Roy and Frank, who worked my end of the line a lot Sunday, I was finally able to shoot a 205. I was close. I watched the instructors score a later target while I was supposed to be listening to a fine course of instruction from Bruce our shoot boss. After much nodding and double-checking I found out later that it was a 210 target; hence all the discussion. The end of the day was a little easier for me and I was able to turn in a 215 a little later.
My biggest problem was trigger follow-through. I got better at quickly confirming my NPOA but trigger follow-through was my last hurdle. Frank really kept hammering it home after each round with the perfect amount of encouragement.
You can really tell these instructors have taught hundreds of rifleman. At the end of the day, I only lacked the shingle from sweeping my redcoat. Appleseed knows what it is about.
It is stories like yours that make it worth all the bother. Learn to shoot--then teach others. The ship is sinking and everyone is requested to help bail. Thanks for coming out.
9mm4545 and his crew are a rifleman making machine!
Was thinking about you guys on my long drive back to the great (not so white) but cold north last weekend. Wish I could of been there.
Congrats to all the Appleseeders who got off their butts and attended that great event.
To My Fellow Instructors, HUZZAH!! HUZZAH!! HUZZAH!!
We had a great bunch of shooters a good mix of new and return shooters, and one Rifleman(Bryan) Who was at His first Appleseed! This event produced 5 Riflemen and 1 Rifle woman.
But We had at least 4 others Who were knocking at the Door very hard!
It was really Great to see so many family's on the line, This alone will go a long way to continue the Legacy and Heritage of Our Glorious nation. Thank you one and All!
I will try to post a few Pictures later this evening.
GREAT JOB ALL!!!
Just a little prouder to be an American...
NH
^:)^
Thanks to everyone for all of the training and encouragement that I received from all of the instructors. It took me 3 events but I finally made the score! I have decided to accept an orange hat and all of the work that goes with it. I feel that this is a worthwhile cause and it is well worth my time to invest in. I look forward to working with many of you in the future,
thx Vilke we need all the help we can get. help me put a face to the name .i don t remember a vilke on the line bill o rites aka roy newberry :DH:
Merged both topics on this event.
FYI: Vilke=Wayne R.
A NEW RIFLEMAN AND ORANGE HAT! HUZZAH!!
Tired of posting pictures above so i think I will post a few more down here! Who said You can't have fun at an Appleseed. Not Me !
Because there was a whole lot of Well aimed shootimg going on, Huzzah!
Quote from: Vilke on January 10, 2012, 05:30:26 PM
Thanks to everyone for all of the training and encouragement that I received from all of the instructors. It took me 3 events but I finally made the score! I have decided to accept an orange hat and all of the work that goes with it. I feel that this is a worthwhile cause and it is well worth my time to invest in. I look forward to working with many of you in the future,
Congrats Wayne. I knew you could do it.