So new, in fact that I haven't ever attended an event. That will change. I'm in north Louisiana and all of the appleseed events are in south Louisiana. One day that will change. Maybe. I don't, however, expect to attend an appleseed anywhere in Louisiana in July or August. I'm not real smart, but I'm not stupid. :D
I was thinking about the lack of appleseed events in this part of the state. Has there been any activity in the past?
In that regard there are some ranges up here that could definitely host an event, if they would. There are landowners up here that seems could devote some area to an appleseed program, but that will take coordination. I'm sure I'm not thinking straight or there would already be events up here.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello to you all. I think appleseed is a wonderful program and I am currently in the process of tweaking my Ruger 10-22 to LTR configuration.
Thank you all of you that have devoted time, effort and talents to this program.
Ed J
We have room on the line in North TX for you. Next weekend its a 1 day event. Drive to Fort Worth on Friday night and drive home on Saturday night. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dallasft-worth-appleseed-june-7-2014-fundamentals-of-rifle-marksmanship-tickets-9839115058
Welcome Ed. I am the Kentucky state coordinator for Appleseed, and I'm going to give you the inside scoop. The truth is, most shoots exist because one person saw a need, stepped up, and took responsibility to make it happen. We call these folks "boots on the ground".
What difference can one person make? We are doing an inaugural shoot in northwest Ohio in three weeks. It all started last fall when one person, who had attended an event, went home and asked the same question as you. As of tonight we have 23 out of 24 spots pre-registered. I expect it will sell out and then some. It's been months in the making. There were forms to fill out, many phone calls and emails, range visits, meetings with club members, and lots of promotion. Most people will never know how much it takes to get a new location on the schedule and filled with shooters, but that's OK. The important things is that folks get off their couches, get to the range, and hear the story of their heritage, and begin the journey to being a Rifleman.
It all starts with one person like yourself. Here at Appleseed we have a tradition, and this is it; you come up with an idea and voice it here on the forum, and you own it. What difference can one person make in northern Louisiana? Shall we find out?
Step #1: Attend an Appleseed ASAP. Take the rifle you have now. Drive eight hours if you have to. But go.
Step #2: Here is a link to the Host Range Application: http://www.appleseedinfo.org/host_appleseed.html Print it out and keep it handy.
Step #3: Get together with your state coordinator.
Step #4: Make it happen
Best wishes, and keep us updated.
UL
Tim, I'd love to come to that, but prior commitments prevent it. Thanks for posting it though. As far as my rifle is concerned, it has been forever since I even shot it. I generally shoot bolt guns, but for an appleseed event, I feel I would have to use the Ruger. I do have some stuff that just came in for it and I picked up a couple of BX-1 mags for it and have some Nodak sights to put on it. I'll take a look at the calendar and see what other events might be doable for me.
Who knows, maybe I can work it out. It looks like there are 5 spaces available at the moment. Unless I looked at that wrong. I already know some folks that would love to attend an appleseed (I think), but they just don't know it exists.
UL, my whole thoughts on involvement came about as I was dumping some extra sand in the patch behind my house. I was thinking that the area I was in was large enough, only need 30 meters or so to have an Appleseed range. As I was thinking about this I was thinking about making a range just for the immediate family and not having any idea how to go about it. That 3/4 cu. yd. of sand sparked the imagination. You never know from whence inspiration will come.
Anyway, there are a number of ranges up here that could host an event, but would they? I don't know. I'm a member of the Caddo Rifle and Pistol club with pretty decent facilities. I may put out some feelers there for starters.
If I run into a small pile of a few thousand dollars I may try to put together the berms so a shoot could be held. I don't see that happening short term though.
Anyway guys, be gentle with me and let me get into the groove a bit before I get to pitching a program I know not enough about yet.
Thanks for the welcome, UL.
Ed J
Ed:
Thank you for your interest and for posting here. North LA has been up and down for us. We have had events as recently as 2013 at Bodcau WMA near Shreveport. We would love to be there again this year. But, as others have said, it takes manpower and commitment to hold events. It takes even more to bring a new range online. But we prove time and time again that regular Americans can do mighty things!
If you PM me your contact info, we can talk about the next steps and about the ranges in your area. Let's make this happen!
Thanks.
LawDog
Ed,
I dunno what your schedule is like, but we have an event in Calera, AL on 20-21 June. It's about 5 hours from Monroe, LA (north central LA).
I love seeing the passion in your message. Nothing in life can substitute for it and we need another Appleseeder in north Louisiana. If you'd like to attend and you're willing to do the drive, please attend as my guest. Send me a PM to work out details.
-Rusty
Lawdog if I can do anything just let me know.
Rusty, It appears the forum software will not allow me to PM you. I'm not sure why that would be, but it seems to be the case. You can catch me on rimfirecentral, graybeard outdoors, bladeforums, et.al, under this same user name - TLARbb
Ed J
My son and I were at the Bodcau shoot last October. We would love to shoot another one. We live in Arkansas, but Shreveport is alot closer to us than the AR shoots are. I could probably get some of our 4-H kids and parents to fill some spots on the line and the history lessons too. I need a refresher on the 3 Strikes myself.
I'll try to see if anything is moving on this yet. I did visit the Bodcau range and it looks like it would be a fine place for a shoot. I know I can get at least one of my sons to come and shoot, if I can get another rifle ready in time. My "back up" rifle so far has turned out to be problematic, so I may have to try to shoot with a bolt gun.
Anyway, I hope we can get something worked out.
Ed