9am Saturday morning. The sun was shining. No wind whatsoever. -6 degrees. That's right, -6.
12 shooters showed up to begin the journey. Included in the group was 13 year old Molly.
With the temp as cold as it was I was surprised to see anyone on the line. Those twelve shooters were inspiring. All were prepared for the cold and worked hard all day long absorbing and practicing the instruction. We completed 2 AQT's before the day was done. It wasn't easy... But nothing worthwhile is.
The history was told well. I believe all the shooters made the connection that we, as Americans, really have a unique heritage.... And it's worth preserving.
Sunday came with temps in the teens. Balmy!! We all reviewed the instruction and practiced our hearts out. Then came the grind. The AQT grind! ...and out of it came 4 rifleman and 2 knocking on the door.
The real kicker came after lunch when a bald eagle coasted over our heads. I gotta tell you, there are very few things that can rival that.
Another great weekend. What a blast.
I have pictures. I will get them up tomorrow.
Alaska, you ain't got nothin' on us!
Wow, was it cold! As I left my home to drive to the range it was -10° with snow on the ground, and I was seriously questioning my sanity. By the time we got Appleseed started it was -6° (don't even ask about the wind chill factor coming off Lake Michigan); but I was no longer questioning my sanity ... I knew the train had left the station. Nonetheless, I was here with a whole host of shooters and great Americans, and that warmed me inside, so why not?
We had a great weekend! Four new Rifleman. BigRig (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=28293), lowNslow (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=28291), LGLDLR (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=16513), and Bill. In addition, Lephi (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=28284) and several more were getting very close. We also had Reckless Rick (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=7754) and Wolfie226 (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=14728) re-qualify as Rifleman at a Winterseed.
Great improvement by all from the first redcoat to the last. I couldn't be more appreciative to the participants who came and made this event a success. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't thank the GREAT instructor team that turned out in the sub-zero temperatures and did a phenomenal job. Thank you all so much.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our next Appleseed!
This was my first Appleseed, and I really enjoyed it. The fundamental skills are something I will need to practice, and the aches and pains are gentle reminders that I need more exercise. I hope to come back again and improve on my score. Thanks again to all of the volunteers that made it happen.
Pics!
Pics
More Pics
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And after a long day on the frozen tundra...........
........eat your hearts out!
What a great crew! Thanks for the weekend, great stuff for the soul
I think you guys and gals are nuts. But in a good way. :)
It couldn't get more American than 12 people getting out of their warm beds on a morning chilled at -6 degrees, to make themselves better!
Better Americans today, better America tomorrow!!
The Bald Eagle soaring overhead just before lunch on Sunday really put an exclamation point on the whole weekend. I was too Awestruck to get a photo of the eagle, but the image will remain in my mind for years to come.
This was a wonderful way to start the Appleseed year, another thanks to RCLRC for having us, and a big thank you to all the folks who woke up early, braved the cold and started their journey to becoming rifleman. How far you travel on that journey is up to you. It doesn't have to end at the patch ... Those that earned their patch this weekend, congratulations!! Send me a PM when you realize that you can be an asset to this program, and help teach what you learned to other Americans! Those that havent earned it, KEEP AT IT!!! you don't become an expert at ANYTHING in 20 hours. Practice. Read over the material. Get down in your seated positions in your living room (with an unloaded rifle, of course!), get comfortable with each position and the sling usage. Go over those 6 steps to firing the shot, and it will all come together!
Hope to see you in April with a friend or 2 :cool2:
Folks,
I'm sorry that I was unable to finish your program last weekend. The little shooting I did was enjoyable. I am looking forward to the next one you run and I'll be sure to schedule for the whole program. Thanks
Dan Stone
This was my third Appleseed (well 2.5 since I could only make one day at a past weekend Appleseed) and I have to say how awesome the instructors were. After getting frustrated shooting open sights on Saturday, triggernick let me borrow one of his scoped rifles on Sunday. After a couple of scope adjustments to find my zero we started the AQT grind. The first two didn't go so well. I had a stove pipe in stage 2 that caused me to not get off 4 rounds and difficulty with a magazine change in stage 3 of the second AQT. I was beginning to lose hope that I would accomplish my goal of scoring rifleman yet again this weekend. We took a break from shooting to learn about some of the men and women who made great sacrifices on that day, April 19th 1775 and you could see the passion each of the instructors had for our heritage as they told us the stories. We came back after our break and started another AQT in stage 4 since we were slung up for prone. I got my first 3 shots of and then "click" the rifle didn't fire. I waited a few seconds, put the safety on, dropped the mag and cycled the bolt. Bad primer and the round didn't go off. I raised my hand and got trigger nick's attention. He grabbed me another round and I reloaded my magazine. I took a few deep breaths and got my sights back on target. At this point I couldn't remember if I had shot 3 or 4 times so I started at the right target and worked my way backwards. I finished thinking, at least the malfunction happened in the 4th stage this time while I had plenty of time to finish. The next two stages went smoothly. On to the final stage, this time standing since we were doing this AQT "Aussie" style. I knew if I could just have an average round I should be ok. I had a couple of rounds that I knew where "flyers" so afterwards I knew it was going to be close. The count came in and I scored a 211, just enough to patch and stay dry (210 gets a special ritual that would have been unpleasant in this cold). I finished the day with 2 more AQTs that scored 215 and was proud of my improvement in my journey this far. Although scoring rifleman was my overall goal this weekend it wasn't the highlight. Being part of a great weekend with some fellow Americans that all showed improvement in their marksmanship and learning about our heritage is what made this weekend fantastic. Thanks to everyone who was there and a part of it.
A Little Late to the party but I had a great time at this event and can't wait for the April shoot to see what is planed for the 240th anniversary of the shots that started this crazy little experiment we call home.