Project Appleseed

This was not the hottest Appleseed we've ever had in Florida but it was hot enough for us!  The temperature and humidity were both in the 90s and it was bright and sunny.  On both days the downpour held off until evening so we didn't have the advantage of natural air conditioning.  Rain would not have gotten any us any wetter than we already were--everyone was soaked with sweat.

This was the smallest Appleseed I've ever been to--only eight shooters--but they were a great group.  In spite of the heat and the grueling pace no one dropped out and everyone returned on Sunday!  Five of them were first-time Appleseeders while another had attended one day at a past event.

We had folks from all over South Florida--from Fort Myers to Martin county (quite a drive).

We saw great improvement among the shooters.  David and his 10-year old daughter Talia are recent transplants from New York City.  They were not experienced shooters but were both real troopers.  Talia listened to instructions and did her best to carry them out--even though her rifle was much too big for her.  She was always cheerful and shot every course of fire without complaint.  Her dad improved so quickly that he joined three other shooters on the known distance line on Sunday.

David and Joanna--husband and wife--were first time attendees.  David has a lot more experience and made steady progress.  Joanna gets my vote for "most improved."  She started out Saturday with only a few of her shots on the paper.  She didn't seem too confident with her tech-sighted Ruger, either.  By Sunday afternoon her reloads and cadence were a joy to behold and she turned in scores of 159 and 166 on her last two AQTs!

Ruth came back to join us again and persevered even though she looked like she was going to melt away from the heat.

Jason and Clay both did very well and only need consistent dry firing at home to earn a rifleman patch.

Lastly, Rick returned to try again--and shot a 215!  Huzzah!  He immediately donned an orange hat.  He and his very proud wife, Michelle, are now a matched set.

All-in-all it was worth every minute of labor and sweat we put into the weekend!

RickB

Rick is too modest to say some great things about the instructors, so let me. Rick, Brian, Paul, Wiley and Michelle were each incredibly kind, patient, thorough and knowledgeable. Which does not mean that they would hesitate for one second in firmly calling out a safety or shooting error, but they truly modeled the kind of range and shooting skills I am working towards. This also carried over to the heritage portion, which was inspiring. And I can't tell you how good it felt to know that my daughter was in such capable hands.
In describing the weekend to my wife, I was surprised at the amount of knowledge I was able to accumulate so quickly. I plan on keeping up with my dry-firing practice and range time, and hope to be back in Myakka City in the fall.
Huzzah!

Your young lady was a joy to work with.  Would that I could get adults on our line to listen half so well as she.   Should she stick with her shooting disciplines, she will be an impressive shot as she grows into her ability to handle a full sized rifle. 

It was a pleasure watching you both improve over the weekend and to spend time with you off the line.

I look forward to seeing you both at future 'seeds.

As always, it was a privilege and a humbling experience to work with so many talented instructors.  AS I turn my sights toward FT Lauderdale, I will carry this experience with me to help me improve.  THanks to all who attended.

A fine event! Thank you for allowing me to present Rick his patch - that meant a lot to both of us. 

We had a great group of shooter, all very diligent in the summer heat. I tried my best to do BrownBess' "AQT grind" justice .... didn't think we did too badly considering the heat.

A great KD presentation by ThaiFighter, to be sure.

Very proud to have grabbed a bucket; looking forward to many more events!

I realized this weekend and as in most endevors of life,the more I learn the more I realize I don't know,ThereforThe more I need to learn.
great weekend, exuasting.Instructors were great the conditions were brutal.I am movedand honored beyond words,so thankyou again to all who were present at area 51

Looks like reagansmom215 pretty much covered the photo's...but here are a few more....BrownBess