Good evening, and welcome, to the Appleseed-est Show On Earth!!!!
Well.... ONE of them, anyway O0
In the hot, dry air of the desert....
That's not really right, either, is it....
In the air-conditioned comfort of the El Paso Community College Law Enforcement Training Academy, a small but intrepid group of Americans gathered to learn more about our History, our Heritage, and our precious Liberties, and how fundamental rifle marksmanship made all of those things possible! Along the way, they picked up some fundamentals of their very own, practicing with patience and diligence under the watchful eyes of the El Paso Instructor Cadre.
Deborah and Mary hail from Alamogordo, NM. This was their third Appleseed, and they're getting closer and closer to that Rifleman patch each time. Always so much improvement from the both of them, along with great, willing attitudes. Deb struggled a bit with a loaner rifle that occasionally experienced some feed issues, but by golly she didn't give up! She's now planning to purchase her own rifle, so that she can customize it to fit her PERFECTLY! Daughter Mary has her own particular challenge, dealing with a physical limitation that makes it EXTRA tricky to load magazines and cycle the bolt. At her previous events she had an instructor to help her, but since we were so few, she was DETERMINED to manage it on her own. SO. PROUD. of this girl.
Art and his lovely wife Anne drove here all the way from Houston. This was Art's 6th Appleseed, and Anne finally let her curiosity get the better of her, so she made the trip with him. She didn't shoot with us, but she did enjoy the history, and proved to be helpful in running our powered targets for us and scoring AQT's. Her doing so allowed us to get in at least one more AQT than we otherwise would have, and we sure appreciated it! Art is a patient, persistent shooter, scoring the Rifleman's mark no less than three times out of four AQT's.
Shannon is a local boy, but he's attended Appleseeds before, back east. It's been a long time, but he picked right back up where he left off. He sure had that little Marlin singing! He scored Rifleman twice, improving his score significantly the second time around. He was an attentive student, very open to advice and suggestions, and a pleasure to instruct.
More travelers joined us, in the form of Johnny and Mimi. They hail from Deming, a couple hours down the road in New Mexico. This was their first Appleseed, and they couldn't have been more willing students. Johnny has no small bit of shooting experience, but he was game to try everything we offered him. It paid off, with him earning his Rifleman patch, and narrowly missing taking a bath in Concord River water. Mimi is less experienced with with shooting, but willing to take instruction and make slow but DEFINITE progress. She did run out of steam late the second day, but joined Anne in the control booth to wrangle targets. She was proud as punch when her husband scored that Rifleman's score!!! I think they'll be back :)
Last but not least, another local boy! Mike came to us with no formal instruction, just some plinking and a bit of hunting with his Dad, but he tackled those targets like a man with a mission. His groups tightened up, his scores improved greatly, with a 40 point difference between his lowest and highest AQT scores! I do believe this won't be the last time we have Mike on our line :cool2: He used one of our loaners this weekend, but he's already planning his perfect Appleseed rifle to be ready for the next time!
Did someone say Redcoats? Only ONCE out of four Redcoats did one of the group "take the bayonet." And that was the first one of the weekend. After that they were unstoppable. One requalified Rifleman and two new Riflemen? Even better!
All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better bunch. This was definitely a case of quality being better than quantity.
During the History and Heritage sessions, they were all attentive, and absorbing the stories told. Genuine appreciation and understanding of the prices paid and sacrifices made by our Revolutionary War ancestors were evident in their serious expressions and occasionally damp eyes (don't worry, I won't say who!). It's so gratifying, as an instructor, to have the lessons being taught be so obviously and honestly absorbed and processed. It's why we're truly here.
We didn't take many photos during the shooting segments. It was more important that the few instructors we had on hand focus on the students than a camera. I'll post what we have, though!
I hope to see our students chime in with their thoughts about the experience.
Thank you all so much for coming! We hope to see you all again soon on the Appleseed Trail!
Sounds like you all had another great event down there in El Paso - I missed out! So glad the range is back open to help spread the message of liberty and marksmanship! Your shooters are super motivated driving all the way from Houston. Huzzah!
Greetings All,
This was a fine event! great students, lot's of fun and fundamentals... ^:)^
The real underlying deal is that El Paso Community College District would only allow us to have 10 persons in the range area. Which I believe cut down imensley on our potentials...
It was still great!!! :--- ..:..
Glad I got to meet everyone and hope to see y'all again.
Jerry :F
I've attended several Appleseed events with different family members and they have all been fun and worthwhile. In addition, I've never worked under a better shoot boss. Mrs. Smith may or may not be able to kill with her mind (just saying, NOT challenging. :cool2:) but she can certainly drill to the core with her eyes. A direct question wanting a direct answer WILL BE answered, or....something. Maybe the mind thing. :shootself: I found myself making a commitment just because.
It was a good weekend in a top notch indoor range with a small group. Plenty of good coaching. It was a good time even for the newbies.
Looking forward to more.
Appleseed is very good medicine and good people for the ailments of our day! :F
Quote from: Badmoose on September 30, 2020, 10:35:48 PM
I've attended several Appleseed events with different family members and they have all been fun and worthwhile. In addition, I've never worked under a better shoot boss. Mrs. Smith may or may not be able to kill with her mind (just saying, NOT challenging. :cool2:) but she can certainly drill to the core with her eyes. A direct question wanting a direct answer WILL BE answered, or....something. Maybe the mind thing. :shootself: I found myself making a commitment just because.
It was a good weekend in a top notch indoor range with a small group. Plenty of good coaching. It was a good time even for the newbies.
Looking forward to more.
Appleseed is very good medicine and good people for the ailments of our day! :F
Ok, you're fun ^-^
I can't tell you how glad I am that you and Anne made the long trip out from Houston! The cadre in that part of the state is lucky to have you on their team, and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.
As for steely eyes and expected answers, well... I know talent when I see it, and cannot stand idly by while it goes unutilized ~~:)
Welcome to our dysfunctional family!
One of these days I will make it down to El Paso.
Quote from: sleepy on October 01, 2020, 02:29:39 PM
One of these days I will make it down to El Paso.
R
Yes. Yes you should :cool2:
Congrats Johnny, on your 211! Huzzah!
Shannon knocks it out of the park!!!
Art KILLS it for the purple patch!
Perhaps the highlight of the weekend, Art, Anne, and Shannon accepting their hats :1luvu. Welcome to the family!
Thank you Traci, keep up the good work... :F :F :F
Quote from: Jerry Hall on October 04, 2020, 05:48:28 PM
Thank you Traci, keep up the good work... :F :F :F
I'll second that.
Thanks, Traci, for making me feel like I was at the event.
Well, done, all.
Everett
I know that I'm really late responding to this but I just noticed it - still learning my way around. I had a great time at this event, and in fact I've already signed up for another one. I will be shooting instead of volunteering. Right after our Sep event, I convinced my sister to do one. She didn't get Rifleman but asked me to come out and shoot with her. We both immediately registered for the next available in her state and next week I make the 1,000 mile journey to shoot. I'm toying with the idea of centerfire. I have the ammo and I ordered a couple 2-rd enbloc clips ;)
Thank you for such a great event and wish me luck.