As Alaska's only Master Instructor would say:
"We showed up, we shot a lot, we had fun, we talked patriotism, it was cool, are we done here?" LOL
Actually, Alaska's April shoot was a tad more interesting; and was a study in quality vs. quantity. When everything was done we scored 3 new "hats" and 2 new Riflemen, not too shabby for a weekend that didn't look too good at the start.
The firing lines for March and April could have been longer, but almost everyone I talk with agrees that the folks who would populate an AS line right now are all just breathing a "sigh of relief"; and the numbers should improve shortly.
That said: We had nine shooters and an equal number of instructors, an awesome opportunity for individual coaching, and so it became. Our shooters this weekend were a mix of "old and new" and "old and young", with very little in between. What looked to be a challenging group became a really fun group. Out of 9 shooters we grew 2 new Riflemen. NOT BAD
Saturday progressed; under favorable weather and awesome attitudes. Considering that a rookie was at the helm, the time-monkey not being an issue was nice.
Sunday brought a "tailored" instruction plan given the shooters involved, and it paid dividends. The few youngsters who needed it got detailed instruction and pointers for future shoots. The few "alarm-listers", discovered what type of equipment was most advantageous for Appleseed. The "learning-curve" was near-vertical for everyone. Sunday also included a well executed Memorial Volley with all due respects being paid. We had enough time to include a black powder musket demo and "hands-on" by "Hogfamily" and "Maniac".
Good material, good instruction, good weather, good attitudes, good ….everything, equals an excellent weekend. Final tally:
2 Riflemen:
Bjorn - with a well earned iron-sight 216. Locked in a 5-way tie for Alaska's youngest Rifleman at the impressive age of ELEVEN.( it IS Alaska)
Thad - rocked out a 218 backed up by a 230. Iron sights on a A2 profile AR-15,,very nice. Thad defined the Appleseed values of persistence and positive-attitude for the last few shoots, an absolute pleasure to work with.
3 new "hats":
FourFans - to Shoot Boss. Yours truly seams to have completed SBit 3 with minimal disappointments.
Oldmikey - to Red Hat. A great person and great instructor. I doubt there is anyone in the RWVA that spends/expends more effort or treasure in instructing Appleseed weekends, a huge asset. Well worthy of the additional tasking.
Thad (forum name TBD) - to IIT0, see above, Thad will be an awesome addition to the Alaska cadre,,, huzzah
Not a bad weekend at all, 3 "hats", and a 25 percent (2 of 8 on Sunday) Rifleman production.
Road-trip to Soldotna next, can't wait.
-- FourFans
A few photos from Sunday.
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9856%20Medium_zpszh5bleng.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9856%20Medium_zpszh5bleng.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9855%20Medium_zpsjqyzmkzn.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9855%20Medium_zpsjqyzmkzn.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9864%20Medium_zpsa65jskjx.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9864%20Medium_zpsa65jskjx.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9873%20Medium_zpsx630lrhf.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9873%20Medium_zpsx630lrhf.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9875%20Medium_zpsmd1molml.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9875%20Medium_zpsmd1molml.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9878%20Medium_zpslsq0nu8q.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9878%20Medium_zpslsq0nu8q.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9882%20Medium_zpsbjkbxncw.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9882%20Medium_zpsbjkbxncw.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9885%20Medium_zpsd6yfhemv.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9885%20Medium_zpsd6yfhemv.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9888%20Medium_zps6mthavfk.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9888%20Medium_zps6mthavfk.jpg.html)
(http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/hogfamilyak/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9891%20Medium_zpsg1mfob7o.jpg) (http://s361.photobucket.com/user/hogfamilyak/media/Birchwood%20AS%204-17/IMG_9891%20Medium_zpsg1mfob7o.jpg.html)