What a great shoot and a great place for a shoot. I believe we had 44 shooters on the line saturday and I believe we had all but 2 come back for more on sunday with a couple sunday only shooters. The families this weekend were awesome and they all shot very well. You guys and gals made it worth the trip. Plus the young lady that is an inspiration to us all, thank you.
Not sure how many Riflemen we had for sure but it was quite a few here are some pictures.
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/mudcat47537/013.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/mudcat47537/024.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/mudcat47537/016.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/mudcat47537/015.jpg)
(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc255/mudcat47537/005.jpg)
Mudcat, sounds like you also had a very successful appleseed. That's great. And 44 people thats wonderful. CONGRATULATIONS RIFLEMEN! Looks like you guys had a very nice range as well.
I see some familiar faces in those pictures!
Can't wait to get back to Athens to see everyone.
Congrats on a great event.
I have to tell you all that this was the most amazing shoot I have gotten to help out at.
I had the distinct pleasure of working with one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I have met a lot people and seen a lot of things.
Her name is Sara. She is 16 years old. If you look down in the pictures you will see one that has several shooters lined up to the right of Dinky(who is in red). You will she that she is on crutches. She has no right leg. What you don't 'see' in this picture is that these are the 5 students that shot Riflemen on the first AQT of Sunday morning and yes she is among them. Sara did not show up to be catered to or pampered. To me, she came there in high spirits just wanting to be able to prove to herself and anyone else that she can do anything anyone else on the line can do if not better. And better then most all the others she did. She completed the AQT's in full. That's right, full. Standing, transitions, and all. The only extra attention that was even given by me was only that, attention. When she went into the standing position, using a single crutch a certain way, I would stand a foot or two behind her, put my hands out a little, and then barely barely rest my fingertips on her back near her shoulder blades. This was only for me to fell if she was heading in a certain direction real fast while I was looking left or right down the line, and to let her know exactly where I was standing so she could fall into me. The truth about that too is I almost really didn't need to be there. She was perfectly capable and stable. I could have sit back in a chair on the safety line, but..... the fact that there where slippery piles of .22 brass all over and that there was the possibility of hot brass catching her on the neck or in the crease of her bicep/forearm making her do the "Hot Brass Boogie" meant I had to stay there by her side, which was a pleasure. The only other extra attention given was for transitions. This was done by staying 1 bigger step behind her after she had stood up, and then with one hand out maybe just let my fingertips barely touch so I could feel what was going on while watching the rest of the line and then jumping back out of the way a bit more on the fire command so she could come down to sitting or prone unobstructed while I kept a close eye making sure she didn't come too far back and start to go end over end. That was it, just a watchful eye. That's all extra she needed. All the rest she did on her own. She had amazing speed and accuracy when it came to putting rounds down range on those AQT's, and earned her Riflemen score.
This beautiful, sweet, lovely little lady, whom I now call Super Sara, absolutely made my weekend. I had so much fun with her, and of course Erin too, joking around and picking on all the other boys cause they just couldn't do as good as she was doing. If your reading this Sara, thanks for coming out. You and all your family and friends. It was a pleasure working with all of you. Boys.... you still have to serve at her Tea Party, but only once.
And all other instructors, remember........ MY GIRLS ARE BETTER THEN YOUR GIRLS!!!!!!! O0 O0 O0
Once again a wonderful event in Athens. The Athens F&G Club has gone out of their way to put on another great Appleseed and have taken strides to ensure we're going to have many more events in the future. The new berm is superb (even though someone "shot through it" by Sunday afternoon - not really, it was just dusty and the wind was blowing around.) and can accomodate up to 50 Americans for each event. The club has done all they can to make us feel welcome and have set the standard for other locations. They've also set up a few more events, so check the schedule in the next few weeks. Special thanks to GeorgeT for getting this location online and to club member Bill Petty for smoothly running everything associated with the weekend.
What a full line we had! Several family groups came out and shot together. When I see groups of families on the line spending time together, supporting each other, bonding as a family and enjoying a full weekend together, I have hope that posterity will have a country similar to what our forefathers fought and died to give us. It gives me great hope when I see families bringing other families with them as well. The families at Athens have done an awesome job of putting the 7th Step in motion.
And they're pretty good at the Six Steps as well! Several Riflemen were made this weekend, many of them from the family groups. It's obvious they've been practicing at home and doing their dry firing, etc. Groups of buddies, fathers and sons, mothers and sons, and even a few individuals took the time to come out and drink from the firehose of marksmanship and learn the story of their heritage. Hats off to all the shooters on the line.
There were several very nice touches to this weekend that made the event special. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning was something I haven't done since 5th grade and it made me feel good to do it again. (It was also nice to see that everyone remembered it!) Being Memorial Day we took time to talk about our troops and acknowledge the sacrifices they've made and continue to make for us. We took time to honor them throughout the weekend and a moment of silence to reflect upon all they've done for us. Dinky shared a very special story with us and club member Ralph came out in period attire to share with us the look and feel of a Colonial Militiaman.
This event was Appleseed. This weekend is what it's all about and if you get the chance to come to this location sometime in the future, I highly recommend doing so.
Sounds like Athens is working out real well for the Appleseed program. The turnouts are fantastic and it always seems like families with younger ones are the norm.
You guys are doing a fantastic job with this location, and like Slim stated, George T was influential in making all of it a reality. I bet before too long, a Red Hat on GT's head will be a reality as well. O0
Good job! Thanks for sharing the pics and comments.
Quote from: Hooters Billy on May 26, 2009, 01:47:00 AM
I have to tell you all that this was the most amazing shoot I have gotten to help out at.
I had the distinct pleasure of working with one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I have met a lot people and seen a lot of things.
Her name is Sara. She is 16 years old. If you look down in the pictures you will see one that has several shooters lined up to the right of Dinky(who is in red). You will she that she is on crutches. She has no right leg. What you don't 'see' in this picture is that these are the 5 students that shot Riflemen on the first AQT of Sunday morning and yes she is among them. Sara did not show up to be catered to or pampered. To me, she came there in high spirits just wanting to be able to prove to herself and anyone else that she can do anything anyone else on the line can do if not better. And better then most all the others she did. She completed the AQT's in full. That's right, full. Standing, transitions, and all. The only extra attention that was even given by me was only that, attention. When she went into the standing position, using a single crutch a certain way, I would stand a foot or two behind her, put my hands out a little, and then barely barely rest my fingertips on her back near her shoulder blades. This was only for me to fell if she was heading in a certain direction real fast while I was looking left or right down the line, and to let her know exactly where I was standing so she could fall into me. The truth about that too is I almost really didn't need to be there. She was perfectly capable and stable. I could have sit back in a chair on the safety line, but..... the fact that there where slippery piles of .22 brass all over and that there was the possibility of hot brass catching her on the neck or in the crease of her bicep/forearm making her do the "Hot Brass Boogie" meant I had to stay there by her side, which was a pleasure. The only other extra attention given was for transitions. This was done by staying 1 bigger step behind her after she had stood up, and then with one hand out maybe just let my fingertips barely touch so I could feel what was going on while watching the rest of the line and then jumping back out of the way a bit more on the fire command so she could come down to sitting or prone unobstructed while I kept a close eye making sure she didn't come too far back and start to go end over end. That was it, just a watchful eye. That's all extra she needed. All the rest she did on her own. She had amazing speed and accuracy when it came to putting rounds down range on those AQT's, and earned her Riflemen score.
This beautiful, sweet, lovely little lady, whom I now call Super Sara, absolutely made my weekend. I had so much fun with her, and of course Erin too, joking around and picking on all the other boys cause they just couldn't do as good as she was doing. If your reading this Sara, thanks for coming out. You and all your family and friends. It was a pleasure working with all of you. Boys.... you still have to serve at her Tea Party, but only once.
And all other instructors, remember........ MY GIRLS ARE BETTER THEN YOUR GIRLS!!!!!!! O0 O0 O0
okay after reading this post i am officially going full bore at appleseed i am gonna give a 110% from here on out
the redman
Quote from: slim on May 26, 2009, 01:19:37 PM
The new berm is superb (even though someone "shot through it" by Sunday afternoon - not really, it was just dusty and the wind was blowing around.) and can accomodate up to 50 Americans for each event.
You mean this? ;D ...Lee...the 'BermBuster'!!
ok..here's some of Ralph and the instructors- ALL great folks O0
You know I had a blast, even though I did not make Rifleman and my other buddies did. But that just make me want to practice more and get that patch!!! I will get that patch!!!!! But I do like to cook! ;D