What a day! We were joined early in the morning by 10 dedicated attendees, some of whom came with the entire family, to learn about rifle marksmanship and to see just what "Appleseed" is about. Some of our attendees have never even shot a rifle before, until this event! We got right into the instruction with a hands on briefing of the components of the 10/22 rifle and safety rules. Once the rifles were brought to the line, each attendee had 1:1 attention from an instructor to ensure they were familiar with their particular rifle, and to help them be familiar with how to operate the various functions of the rifle to ensure everyone is safe. The firehose of instruction was turned on to full blast and everyone was introduced to the prone position, sling use, steady hold factors, and NPOA. A lot of hands on dry fire practice ensued, with the guidance of our volunteer instructors. Everyone's groups started to shrink more and more after each sighter square, soon we were introduced to the hits count target and a brief lesson on the legend of Captain Daniel Morgan, Morgan's Riflemen, and a famous Morgan's Rifleman by the name of Timothy Murphy who played a pivotal role in the Battle of Saratoga, helping turn the tide of the battle for the colonists.
We had numerous attendees get close to the score needed to gain a prize, however one attendee was able to cross the threshold to achieve 40 points on the hits count target and earned himself a Project Appleseed pin. Congratulations Camillus! The 2nd highest score of the day, was achieved by someone who has never fired a rifle before until today, Vanessa finished the day literally knocking on the door of 40 points with a score of 36. Very impressive Vanessa!
Although the day was damp and drizzly throughout, everyone came and stuck through the drizzle. Groups shrunk square after square, and everyone were delighted to see hits in the black when they went to check the targets after each string of fire. A little friendly competition amongst family members and friends certainly helped as well.
We had several young ladies attend who really demonstrated what it means to have a teachable attitude, they paid close attention to each instruction block, took the advice of instructors who stopped by each attendee to work with them one on one, and their groups showed that they were closing in fast on getting those groups down tight. It is always a pleasure to see youth on the line, you are the future of this country, and the next generation that will enjoy the unalienable rights that those before us fought for and recognized for each of us. Even though you did not score the necessary score to earn a prize, you should each be proud of yourselves to have achieved what you have done, in just half a day. Remember, a Rifleman persists, keep practicing and you will get better and better.
For the parents who brought along their kids to the event. Thank you. Of all of the various activities and gadgets which are available to distract our future generation, you chose to take them to the range to not only exercise their rights, but to learn something that is difficult to learn. You should be proud of what your youths have achieved in such a short period of time. As I mentioned at the event, if ammunition availability is becoming a barrier for you to bring them back out to another event, please let us know, we can help with that.
I hope to see each of you again at a later event, please check our calendar at https://appleseedinfo.org/schedule/?qstate=WA&state=Washington for additional dates.