Project Appleseed

This event was, I would say, typical of all Throop events.  Not a lot of students, making it much easier to give those who were in attendance individualized attention.

We arrived on site Friday evening with the expectation of one preregistered shooter, one probable walk-on and one possible walk-on.

Saturday morning our two walk-ons were ready to go, but unfortunately our prereg did not show.

For starters, the weather, particularly on Saturday, was uncharacteristically mild for July in central NY.  The temp was in the low 80s but there was a consistent 15 to 20mph breeze that made it quite comfortable.  In addition, since there were few shooters we were able to set up the firing line underneath the overhang, keeping the line in shade until about 3:00 PM.

Sunday was several degrees hotter with considerably less breeze, but we were still able to work from underneath cover.  We picked up an additional walk-on shooter Sunday morning, a repeat Appleseeder (as were our other two attendees).

Thanks go to our Shoot Boss, Scout, for treating us to lunch both days, and to his wife and daughter for delivering said lunch on both days.  Scout also provided fresh pastries on Sunday morning, a welcome treat.

Thanks also to Ernie T. and the Throop range for providing us with the facilities to hold this event.

Thanks to The Boyz for behaving remarkably well throughout the weekend.  We brought them along to see how they would react to spending a weekend camping in the Chinook, and they surprised us by being uncharacteristically well behaved.

And a huge thank you to our attendees for giving up at least part of their weekends to improve their rifle marksmanship skills and to hear more of the events that led to the birth this great nation and the heritage of the Rifleman throughout our history.

Krisker got some photos - I'll try to get them posted soon.

Good job Mark. I just talked with Scout and he was very impressed with your instruction and admin work and that's saying something. Congrats. (First!)

Thank you B9.  This was, indeed, a glorious weekend for America!

Way to go!!

Nice Job...

See where the Boyz sleep, must of left you guys under the stars...

New York with a shoot catered all the way from Texas, NICE.

Thanx to all for all you do,,,,....

..I Love it when a Texan and a New Yorker come together to save a Nation..

..Scout New Yorks Favorite Texan..

..Great Job ADOM, Krisker and every one who gathered in and around Throop, a tuff range to kick start but it's heart is still beating..

..Strength & Honor.................Josey Wales.................................................

Mark, Kris, Ed, Nick, Pete, Phil, All,

My thanks to you guys for making this another successful show. I absolutely love working with the New York Crews. They are some of the most professional crews in the United States. Some of the quietest on the forum, along with the Texans, but some of the best crews I have had the honor of working with over the last four years.

Mark is a great guy, a dedicated NY instructor and he did a fantastic job of instructing the shooters. His show is right out of the textbook and his history is top notch. And he devotes his time to Appleseed with the assistance, understanding and loving help of his wonderful wife Kris.

The Throop location is just beautiful. A tiny private hole in the wall venue surrounded by lush green foliage and flowers. There is adequate overhead coverage for the shooters (about 20 places) and this comes in handy with over half of the events I have done at this range since 2007 being shot in the rain. Also has actual distance out to 400yds (about 4/5 lanes, first place I shot out to actual distance with my Garand, before Appleseed started) for centerfire shooters.

We had perfect weather during this shoot, and great temps, which is one of the reasons I love doing NY shoots this time of year. Low 70s to mid 80s for both days. Back at home my Pastor emailed me it was 107 over the weekend, so glad I missed that and that is what shooters will have to look forward to, week after, in Davilla .

Look forward to the rest of the NY shoots this month and once again my thanks to the NY Crew for doing such a great job Year in Year out.

Scout

My, how the time flies! I was able to carve time out from planning my group's annual women's martial arts camp to head to Throop July 9&10. The smell of gunpowder is energizing and I needed the pick-me-up!

I appreciate that Mark and Scout ran the event even though the participants were sparse. We practiced the safety rules enough that I think I got them memorized:

• Always keep the muzzle in a safe direction
• Do not load until given the load command
• Keep your finger off the trigger until the sight is on the target
• Ensure that those around you are following the safety rules

Didn't get the 6 steps in firing exactly memorized, but I chose to focus on follow-through and trigger control for a good chunk of time, then when that started sinking in I added in keeping the sight on the target. For me, when I could do both of these at the same time, my groupings became respectable.

Scout got down and watched close and observed that I didn't move my trigger side elbow when I was shifting NPOA in prone, which explains why I was having such a tough time getting it to actually shift. Imagine that.

Ruined my nails prying the magazine out of the borrowed ruger 10/22.  That's a funny - if we meet up some time you'll realize that I'm more interested in roofing nails than fingernails. The garden, digging for the retaining wall, and moving the retaining wall blocks have taken a toll on all of my nails.

Hoping to make it back in August, maybe with some teen nieces or nephews in tow (though they will probably shoot my pants off).  Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

Sounds like you picked up on teh 7th step to firing the shot very well.