It was a great Appleseed weekend and a very appropriate way to get in the proper spirit of Thanksgiving. Nearly twenty of us gathered to embrace our heritage and share our appreciation of that precious gift of liberty.
Our venue was once again up on the campus of Lockeed Martin and the Skyline Hunting and Fishing Club (SHFC). This was Appleseed's third event of 2019 at SHFC and we are grateful for their support of the Appleseed mission to reconnect every American with their history and heritage of marksmanship. We had both club members and other Coloradans come out to refine their marksmanship skills and test themselves against scaled targets representing shots to 400 yards.
The three days prior to the event featured freezing rain and snow that left us wondering whether or not we would be able to reach the range. But Saturday morning broke clear, and we all met at the gate to begin the last couple of miles to the range with our escort. (Thanks again Zach and Ken!) Most everyone was able to arrive in a 4WD/AWD vehicle which made the wintery road passable. Our one front wheel drive car nearly ended up in the canyon, but a little digging, pushing and some tire chains saved the day. The whole situation reminded me of a quote from Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech,
Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
As we are now under warning for another major storm, our event was apparently shoehorned into the only good weather window possible! Perhaps a little Appleseed Providence?
Predawn over the Chatfield Reservoir as we wait at the gate.
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More to come as I get caught up . . .
Retrieving the car from the edge of the canyon gave others a chance to shovel the snow from our firing line. Then we are officially started when everyone gets in sync to have a safe event.
The snow will soon be melted
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Safety rules
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Safe rifle . . .
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Rifles to the line
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Misfires
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Kenshi with the Line commands
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And an expert demonstrator . . .
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The best part of Appleseed is the great people you meet.
After a morning spent learning the fundamentals of marksmanship, Christy and Bri told us the first two "strikes" which would begin the American War for Independence.
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What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated. - Thomas Paine
The shooters are all introduced to the sitting/kneeling position and then they try it themselves.
Working the "Greencoats"
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Those of us who were born free and have known freedom all our lives sometimes forget what a precious blessing it is. One look around the globe is enough to remind us how rare and fragile a thing freedom is and how each generation is called upon to make the necessary sacrifices to safeguard it. - Ronald Reagan
Everyone gets a chance to practice everything they learned by trying the Appleseed Qualification Test or AQT.
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[click on pictures to see full size]
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We finished off the day with a group photo . . .
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Kenshi also snapped a Father/Son shot of Scott and Thomas and everyone drove by the horses on the way down from the range.
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Gang, this looks AWESOME! Congrats to all for your persistence and fortitude! :bow:
Huzzah! :F :F :F :snipersmi
Thanks Mrs. Smith, not quite the indoor comforts of El Paso, but we managed. ;D
It really was a great group out for the event. I hope we will see everyone out again when things warm up again for Patriot's Day next April!
. . . and now back to the pictures.
Day 2 was a refresher, some more history and . . . a bunch of AQTs. Here are some pictures shooting prone.
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And here are the shooters working on their sitting/kneeling positions.
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And finally some pictures in the standing position. . .
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After his encounter with the colonists on April 19, 1775, Percy had a new found grudging respect for the New England militia. He wrote:
"Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself very much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about . . . "Likewise, we found many of our shooters "who know very well what they are about".
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Ian and Ken clear the final Redcoat
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Our "junior" shooter, Thomas, made huge improvements all weekend
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Ian just missed out on Distinguished with a 236!
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Bill also made multiple Rifleman scores at his first ‘Seed
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Steve shot 211 - twice in a row! Nice!
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Our instructor HapHapablap was also recognized with his "10" pin. This was a little late since this was the 12th event he's worked . . . in the last 6 months! He was also the top Colorado Appleseed instructor in 2019(unofficial title), not only logging the most Colorado events, but working the line at
every event in Colorado since he took a hat. Great job!
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I don't know if anyone noticed those sweet orange and blue hats I was holding, but they may still be available. :)
I hope others who were able to attend will take the chance to share their experiences from last weekend. Let us know what you liked and tell us how to make it even better
OUTSTANDING!!!
...and you know it's extra outstanding ‘cause of the three exclamation marks ;)
Captain, thanks for rocking the shoot, well done!
HapHapablap, thanks for stepping up! Red looks good on you, for sure. Just let me know when you think about a different color... >:D
Liberty! :F
Quote from: Ghostring on November 26, 2019, 11:33:35 AM
OUTSTANDING!!!
...and you know it's extra outstanding ‘cause of the three exclamation marks ;)
Captain, thanks for rocking the shoot, well done!
HapHapablap, thanks for stepping up! Red looks good on you, for sure. Just let me know when you think about a different color... >:D
Liberty! :F
Haha, thanks. I'm 2/3 of the way there.
Another amazing CO Appleseed at great new venue! Keep up the good work guys!
Congrats, Hap on the pin! A big shout out to the shooters and especially to the newly minted Riflemen! HUZZAH! :~ :~
Great job instructors! :beer:
Hello to the IBC folks there: Allen, Brian and Christy! ..:..
Outstanding AAR Captain! You are setting new standards for these!: O0 :1luvu
Wow,
Looks like an adventurous event to me, snow turning to muck, Beautiful fall weather for Colorado. Congratulations Blap on your 10 events pin. :beer:
Thanks to those whom accepted the 7th Step challenge, here's to seeing Y'all on the Appleseed Trails. :F
Keep up the good work all,
Jerry ~~:)
Looks like I missed one heck of a fun event. God willing, perhaps this spring?