The Winds of Liberty blew fiercely through Palm Bay, FL for this Appleseed, with an outstanding group of 20 patriotic shooters, and 11 staff, total, who endured together the continuous dropping temperatures and very high, even increasing wind speeds, while improving marksmanship skills. (Peak wind gusts hit 40 to 60 knots, just shortly before we arrived, on Sunday, causing one of the support beams on the carport in front of our storage shelter to buckle, but the show still went on!) No Sunshine Patriots or Summer Soldiers at this Appleseed! Stadium Blankets and heavy coats simply became the norm during the history and outdoor classroom portions of our weekend, as temperatures dropped nearly 30 degrees!
This Appleseed had started being planned as a Ladyseed event, but was opened up to all, with so many men and young men wanting to attend, too. So, we just upped our line from the normal limit of 15 to 20, and increased Instructor staff! The thirst for all things Appleseed must be quenched! The Instructor to Shooter ratio was outstanding!
On Saturday morning, our Red Coat targets showed we had 5 shooters effective at 100 yards, 4 shooters effective at 200 yards, 4 shooters effective at 300 yards, and 1 shooter effective at 400 yards, out of 20, total. Six even managed to pass muster with Morgan's Shingle shot test, nailing the shingle, on Saturday morning.. By the end of Saturday, we saw considerable improvement by all, with one shooter now clearing the Red Coat target! Having a high Instructor to Shooter ratio definitely works!
After our Safety Briefing and Red Coats on Saturday, SWOFO regaled us with the story of the First Strike, and the fire-hose of marksmanship instruction immediately commenced. We checked first for eye dominance and jumped immediately into sling usage in the standing and prone positions, with the Hasty-Hasty in standing, and the Hasty, and Loop sling usages in prone, and the prone Steady Hold Factors. This was followed by introducing the 6 Six Steps of Firing a Shot. A block of NPOA instruction with a green laser rifle came next. Sighter squares came next, and our shooters had tiny groups in but 2 sets of sighters. This was amazingly fast! Bear Arms then presented an Inches, Minutes, and Clicks (IMC) presentation on the target line. After making the necessary simple mechanical adjustments to move their now tiny groups into the middle of the target square, the majority of our shooters now had tiny groups centered in, or very near, the 1-inch squares. Quick and Easy!
Our next course of fire was LUNCH, and Blind Dog brought to life the story of the Second Strike of the Match, just 243 years ago.
Returning to the only sport recommended by the Founding Fathers, we returned to our marksmanship! We did several; more rounds of sighters, while adding Rifleman's Cadence, to get everyone's rifle completely dialed in, with the groups squarely centered on the sighter squares. Then, the Green Coat targets went up, and the sitting and kneeling positions, along with transitions from building a nest, to standing, to dropping into position quickly were all introduced. Adding two magazines, with 2 and 8 rounds, the stage 2 silhouettes of the Green Coat targets soon had served their purpose!
Next came the Standing to Prone Transition instruction, on the Stage 3 section of the Green Coat target.
And, the final piece of the marksmanship puzzle, the traditional position of Americans at Lexington Green and at the North Bridge, STANDING, was added, finishing off the Stage 1 section of the Green Coat target. A gray AQT target went up. And, Maid Marian then brought us back from Concord to Boston with the telling of the Third Strike. Rested, and refreshed with hearing the Third Strike, and ready to tackle the famed AQT, our shooters then settled into shooting their first AQT of the weekend. We had so many that came very close to scoring Rifleman (Expert) scores, but no new Rifleman qualified shooters were discovered on Saturday.
On day two, Sunday, all the shooters returned, despite temperatures now starting to drop faster, and, with winds starting to rise quickly. And yet, the show continued!
The Red Coats on Sunday morning followed. A short Flag Tour by Cold Warrior was presented, where we learned that the flags along the outdoor classroom were not decorations, but were the banners used to rally the Founders' Generation to sacrifice more, necessary to achieve Liberty. The fire hose of instruction then commenced anew. We quickly reviewed our sling usages, the six steps to firing a shot, and NPOA. Shooters also worked on learning their trigger resets for THEIR rifle, by dry fire practice with their rifles across their laps, and with the muzzle pointed down range, before recommencing live fire. We reviewed IMC, with Cold Warrior instructing, and final sight adjustments were made.
Lunch followed, where we heard stories of the Gray-Haired Messenger of Mortality, Hezekiah Wyman; Elizabeth Zane, Agent 355, Prudence Cummings Wright, and the story of Kings Mountain with Shelby, Crockett, and Sevier proving to be Colonel Patrick Ferguson's nemesis. We also heard letters, written by women, of the sacrifices they made during the Revolutionary War, as read by Maid Marian. Altogether, 10 stories,were presented, finishing with the story of Samuel Whittemore by Cold Warrior.
We then commenced AQTs. During a water break, a Known Distance presentation was given by Guntuckian. Altogether, 3 AQTs were done on Sunday, for a total of 4 over Saturday and Sunday, despite winds making it feel more and more like Valley Forge as the day went on. But, like General Washington at Valley Forge, every Shooter stayed til the end. And, a new Riflemen was found! LuAnn made the score, with a score of 211.
A stirring wrap-up presentation was given, with a surprise appearance by Patrick Henry, stirring the blood, with the finale of "As for me, give me Liberty or Death!", as presented by Bear Arms in a tri-corner hat.
Everyone improved their marksmanship skills greatly this weekend, and honed their marksmanship skills. There were numerous AQT scores that were just a few shots short of a Rifleman score of 210. If you didn't quite make it this weekend, with the cold winds blowing so fiercely that your eyes watered, and your hands trembled, simply keep up your dry fire practice, and you will get there soon.
In grand Appleseed fashion, we cleared the line, and we all pitched in and left the host range cleaner than when we arrived.
Kudos to the Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club for so graciously providing us a range for the weekend without any range fees! The fully covered line, with a separate area for the history portions, is a great venue.
All in all, this was a glorious weekend in the company of fellow patriots, with 31 altogether of us gathering together this weekend to help save the Ship of State from sinking. Our spirits were definitely lifted, being in such good company. See you again, soon!
Check out the awesome video, courtesy of Blind Dog, of this weekend's event:
https://actionforliberty.smugmug.com/Project-Appleseed/Project-Appleseed-Port-Malabar-Jan-2019
Individual pictures to follow.
-- Gary
Our Youth Shooters, New Rifleman, Instructor Staff, and the entire group photo!
An awesome weekend! If you missed it, we will be back next month! Come on out!
-- Gary
Another great weekend spent doing Appleseed. Students were receptive to instruction and maintained positive attitudes throughout, even as their targets got blown off the backers or their rifles experienced technical difficulties outside of their control. A good handful of students even seemed to be brand-new shooters, and nevertheless performed admirably. Improvement occurred across the board... I hope everyone sticks to it and that I see them at future events. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire, and never ever ever let go of the six steps!
To those struggling--- keep it up!!! At the end of the day, it's not about the score and the patch, it's about developing as an American. That means persistence, discipline, hard work, education, and execution. I promise you, when those habits have sunk in and become a part of your lifestyle, the scores and the patch will come as a natural by-product.
Thanks to all the staff who organized, set up, ran, and assisted with the event. And thank you especially to our students! You are why Appleseed exists!
:F :F :F
Team,
I feel fortunate to have been part of such a great team, and our students were awesome! O0
:snipersmi
I don't have anything to add to Guntuckian's outstanding AAR, other than...
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
A great group of shooters and a great Instructor team... Mother nature presented challenges and strong winds of Liberty swept the line.
And Willociraptor is right on it's about SO MUCH more then "getting a patch". It's the trail to, the challenges on and off the range in becoming a Rifleman, a better person, a better citizen and knowing that you persisted and rose to the challenge.
You compete with no one other then yourself!
In Liberty
It was an incredible honor to spend the weekend with such an outstanding group of patriots! I look forward to seeing you down the Appleseed trail! Huzzah!
Way to go, Guntuckian, for an accurate description of the weekend events and for your kindnesses and thoughtful planning and executing. You are super great to SB with. Thanks to Steve for bringing his Hill crew with him. Each one is a wonderful person with lots of stamina, mad skills, and positive attitudes. ;) Love your great spirit. Thanks Taylor for sticking with it and mastering that rifle. He started off having trouble pulling the bolt back, but he got stronger and stronger over the weekend and ended up doing it like a pro. Good job. George takes good care of him and yet on the next mat, can make the 4moa squares with ease. Way to multi-task. Lets get your skill transferred to the bottom row of the AQT and you're there! Some present were new shooters who advanced so quickly, it made us forget they were new shooters. Luann Huzzah!!! Riflewoman with a purple patch! Do it again and get an orange hat! ^:)^ Mike and Jen made great improvements on position and tightening up their groups. Cathy is a jewel, and her tenacious spirit shone through. Shirley is so fun. Keep trying for you are definitely getting there. Her smile is infectious and we hope to see you again soon. Landon has tremendous ability. Keep at it and do not get discouraged. For each one of you folks who came out and shared the weekend, thank you very much. Come again and come often. Patriots like you are great people to be around. thanks very much for your efforts.
Instructors, how fun was that? Great team, great stories, great sharing. I love Appleseed weekends. Thank you each and every one of you for a highly successful event. Huzzah!!!
Looks like good times, well done indeed!
Who was the shoot boss? I see a whopping three green hats in the photos, wow.
HeidiHeidi and Guntuckian were co-Shoot Bosses. Cold Warrior, the other Green Hat, was serving as an Instructor.
Great students and great staff.
Sounds like a fantastic weekend! Looking forward to getting down there next month and introducing my uncle to Appleseed.
Quote from: RedLeg on January 25, 2019, 10:38:35 AM
Sounds like a fantastic weekend! Looking forward to getting down there next month and introducing my uncle to Appleseed.
Good 7th Stepping, Darren! Looking forward to seeing you again!
-- Gary