This was a highly unusual KD. Seven enthusiastic shooters arrived but none had been to a regular AS before. Four had been to a KD a few years ago but apparently had received little, if any, fundamental instruction. Therefore, the restrictions at Evansville proved especially appropriate for this group. We were restricted to a 25 meter range Saturday. As a result, we attempted to cover the fundamentals, as is done at a regular AS. However, the shooters were not under cover, and the heat became so oppressive, that shooters resorted to using some kind of cloth protection to shield their hands and faces from their black ARs. All the shooters had decent groups and many were exceptional. As we were preparing to begin the AQT it was determined that the heat was at such a dangerous level that we considered it necessary to halt the shooting and meet in the air conditioned club house for instruction in trajectories and Range Estimation in preparation for the 500 yard range on Sunday. Afterward the heat had not recede so we called it a day.
Sunday was no cooler but we were shooting under cover, which made it almost tolerable. We began with the AQT and one of the first time shooters earned his Rifleman Patch. Congratulations Adam. This was followed by KD shooting and a Range Estimation exercise. Dan, an instructor, earned his KD Patch. Congratulations Dan. And in the Range Estimation exercise, wherein three targets were placed at random distances, Adam again shone by calculating the best distances to all three targets. Congratulations again Adam.
All the shooters seemed very pleased with what they had learned, and how their shooting had improved, and are all planning to attend future events.
All the instructors, Frank, John, Ben, and Dan performed in exceptional fashion. Thanks guys.
What an amazing weekend! Amazingly hot! Even with the sweltering heat index of near 105, we managed to make it through and learn more than we'd ever imagined. I personally didn't know what to expect going into my first Appleseed event and was I ever pleasantly surprised. Lets start with the safety, one of mine and my girlfriend's biggest concerns going into such an event. The instructors and RSOs were top notch and there wasn't a moment during the entire weekend that we felt unsafe. Kuddos to you guys for all you do. Let's move on to the instruction. After the first hour or two of technical instruction, I saw the size of my groups drop dramatically from what I'm used to seeing. I considered myself to be a decent shot prior to this event, but after seeing how much I learned and how much better I shot after learning it, I am convinced that I have nowhere to go but up. Prior to this event if someone would have told me all I had to do to earn a rifleman's patch was shoot 4 rounds of fire, from a rifle, at 25 meters, onto a piece of paper with targets varying in size from 1" to 4", I'd have told them I could easily meet that challenge. After this weekend, all I can say is, there's a reason they call it a challenge! I am proud to have earned my rifleman's patch at 25m and look forward to improving my scores in the future. The KD portion of this event ate my lunch a little bit, although I was happy with where I finished. This is the area that truly interests me and is the area that I'll probably do the most work on prior to the next event. Thanks again Don, Frank, John, Dan, and Ben for an excellent, SAFE, and very educational weekend!
Adam, we are glad that you enjoyed the experience. Hopefully we can get you on the line in October if AS can open up more tickets for the event. You will get a full history lesson and quite a bit more marksmanship training in. I'm sure the weather will be quite a bit cooler as well!
Dan. Tundra Badger
Here are some pictures from the event. Better late than never!
2
3
4