Project Appleseed

"Nothing underscores the importance of liberty as much as the price paid for it."
Rev. Richard G. Lee

Heavy words, but they do shine light on why we Appleseed. And if there is anything that lightens the heart of an Appleseed instructor, it's new people on the line.

We had 10 people on the line at Como this weekend; 2 had seen this line previously but rest had not.  I think 8 of the 10 were related; fathers, sons, brothers, daughters.  We even had a father/son pair in the instructor group.  And I, as SBIT, had the honor of bestowing Rifleman patches to a father & son pair.

Haley1 (the dad) and Haley2 (the son) were great to work with and showed a lot of determination to do their best.

Hunter was a cool young man and a pleasure to work with.  He started out the weekend shooting from a rest but wound up shooting like the rest.  Hunter, listen to your dad, he won't steer you wrong. 

We had a young man, George, heading off to boot camp and while he worked hard, he was plagued by equipment problems.  He'd get some good groups then they'd go wide open.  You could see that the frustrations were building, but he never let them get the best of him.  I still think that he'll shoot better than most of his group.  Keep at it George; focus on your NPOA, and you'll make it!

We also had a father & daughter pair, Rayburn & Carlie.  Rayburn was knocking at the door with a 199 score on the AQT.  We hope to see you get your patch next Appleseed!

Philip did a great job and scored Rifleman Saturday.  I believe he shoots IPDA so he understands about focus and sticking with it.

Albert was the return Appleseeder that finally conquered his equipment maladies and scored Rifleman.  Making Rifleman with the bottom half of his reticule floating at the bottom is an accomplishment!  Albert, I've got 2 words for you-

IRON SIGHTS!

Now on to the pictures!


Saturday's group listening to instruction.


Plenty of Room on this Range.


Mo (hornet41) Gives the 1st Strike History Lesson


Our Hardworking SB!


Is this the Way SBIT's must "Shadow" DSBs???


A Good View of the Whole Line


Hunter's Good Groupings


Our Saturday Riflemen; Haley2, Haley1 and Philip


Our Luther Blanchard Award Recipients


Albert Persists and Overcomes his Equipment Issues!


IITs Always Seem to Find Time for Art

I'm just going to post pics and let 'The Shadow' fill in the rest before I run my mouth.  There are a lot more pics from more capable, or should I say culpable, individuals.

BTW, that is not an umbrella in the posted pictures.  That is a parasol.  DSB's can only be shadowed by parasols.  Umbrellas? Oh, so pedestrain!

Quote from: TN_Dadx5 on February 24, 2012, 03:03:16 PM
"Nothing underscores the importance of liberty as much as the price paid for it."
Rev. Richard G. Lee

Heavy words, but they do shine light on why we Appleseed. And if there is anything that lightens the heart of an Appleseed instructor, it's new people on the line.

We had 10 people on the line at Como this weekend; 2 had seen this line previously but rest had not.  I think 8 of the 10 were related; fathers, sons, brothers, daughters.  We even had a father/son pair in the instructor group.  And I, as SBIT, had the honor of bestowing Rifleman patches to a father & son pair.

Haley1 (the dad) and Haley2 (the son) were great to work with and showed a lot of determination to do their best.

Hunter was a cool young man and a pleasure to work with.  He started out the weekend shooting from a rest but wound up shooting like the rest.  Hunter, listen to your dad, he won't steer you wrong. 

We had a young man, George, heading off to boot camp and while he worked hard, he was plagued by equipment problems.  He'd get some good groups then they'd go wide open.  You could see that the frustrations were building, but he never let them get the best of him.  I still think that he'll shoot better than most of his group.  Keep at it George; focus on your NPOA, and you'll make it!

We also had a father & daughter pair, Rayburn & Carlie.  Rayburn was knocking at the door with a 199 score on the AQT.  We hope to see you get your patch next Appleseed!

Philip Cox did a great job and scored Rifleman Saturday.  I believe he shoots IPDA so he understands about focus and sticking with it.

Louis was the return Appleseeder that finally conquered his equipment maladies and scored Rifleman.  Making Rifleman with the bottom half of his reticule floating at the bottom is an accomplishment!  Louis, I've got 2 words for you-

IRON SIGHTS! [/font]

Now on to the pictures!


Saturday's group listening to instruction.

Hunters mind is made up he wants that rifleman patch. He hated to leave early on sunday. i had talked to a couple of instructors on the phone about appleseed before we went and did not think there would be much to this. BOY I WAS WRONG!!!!! I am looking froward to April so i can see where i stand. Instructors were great and know the shooting sport. I think everyone should do an appleseed event at least once. Thanks to all the instructors for their time and knowledge.

Well, another fine shoot at Como! Believe it or not, it was DRY!! Woo-Hoo, no rain and the mud Como is famous for!.We had a fine group of Americans come to "drink from the fire hose". Albert got his patch Sunday afternoon after his cross hairs broke in his scope and he borrowed a rifle from mudtrunks. This was his third 'seed and at each one he was plagued with scope problems. Here in the south we call that "snake bit"!!
Young Hunter was very impressive. Starting on a rolled up mat he progressed to shooting like everyone else. We will see him again I am sure. George had a shaky start but progressed well. He hopes he can make the shoot at Starkville next weekend. The Haley's did well earning patches Saturday! Phillip also earned a patch Saturday and this was his first 'seed!!
Carlie did well with her customized Ruger but could not return Sunday. Hope to see her on the line again. Her Dad, Rayburn, was knocking on the door. He will be back! Louis struggled with transitions and was allowed to sit for those phases. He could not return Sunday but I'm sure we will see him again. Mike went through two borrowed rifles before winding up with my loner Ruger which hates Federal bulk pack ammo. Started feeding it blaser and it was happy with that.
Our visiting SBIT Charlie scored points by "shadowing" our shoot Boss with a parasol! HA!! He did a fine job and I hope to work with him again some time. Thats about all I can think of for now. It was a great shoot and all had a very good time!!
hornet41

Well it turned out to be a beautiful day in Como, Mississippi. The early morning was very cool, flannel lined shirt & pants with a jacket was comfortable. Early afternoon was "shirt sleeve" weather.

If you want to spend a relaxing day with people who like to shoot - don't go to an Appleseed Shoot.

Oh, there are nice people who like to shoot, but it is not a relaxing day. There was a reason that the instructors kept the pace fast and the shooters moving.  For me there was a LOT to learn. Oh, I've shot a rifle before, but I needed a rest, sandbags or bi-pod.

My best 3-shot group on the first target was probably 6 MOA. As the day progressed I watched the (prone) groups getting smaller and more consistent. On the AQT - I had a 3-shot group 3/4 of a MOA - all shots touching in a nice triangle. If I recall correctly, this was a smaller 3-shot group than when I sighted the rifle in off a bench and an adjustable rest.

I say this to show that the instructors at the Appleseed shoot really know what they are doing for BOTH shooting and teaching time proven methods of marksmanship.

There is a satisfaction in using the same techniques as or forefathers used to achieve such results. Not that it was easy, as I said before, there is a lot to learn. The instructors started with the basic skills and added skills at a fast paced rate as the day progressed. As fast paced as the day was - it needed to be to get everything accomplished.

Of course there was the history lessons. I'm ashamed to say that I have forgotten most of the history about the War Of American Independence / Revolutionary War. The detail was taught was probably what you'd find at a college level history class. Unfortunately, I missed the 2nd day - and most of the history. I'll be back - if not to shoot but to hear the rest of the history class. I also think I'll be getting the book, "Paul Revere's Ride" (Kindle version) in the next day or so.

Great weather, great history, great group of people (instructors and students), great instruction and getting to shoot all day outside. Everybody should do this at least once.

Congratulations to Albert, Haley 1 and Haley 2 for making Rifleman/Expert this weekend.

Mostly thanks to the volunteer instructors for taking their time to spend the weekend with us.

I suppose I should be adding some magic words of wisdom, but I think everything has been well covered.  Just a couple of observations, though...

Nice weather DOES make for a nice shoot. (Were we really in Como?)

I think that we may see some orange hats out of this crowd.

I tore down my Marlin 795 and the firing pin was broken.  I called Marlin and they will replace it for free.  They said they never heard of such a thing.  I don't know how many thousands of rounds have gone through that rifle, but I guess the pin became work hardened.

We had a great bunch of shooters that I'm sure we'll see again.  You guys and gals can shoot!  For those of you right around 200 and knocking on the Rifleman door,  remember to get in position and dryfire! 

Alas. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the instructor team.  Your hard work makes my job easy.

'Till next time on the trail,

Eb