Project Appleseed

Saturday December 7th and 8th 2013 saw a small gathering of great Americans in Buckeye Arizona, ranging in age from barely past their 1st decade of life, to into their 6th.

Some were veterans, one active duty, and all the minors showed a willingness to get involved and help where they could. I am not nervous for our future seeing this example.

All showed a very disciplined and enthusiastic attitude, all listened intently to instruction and to the stories of April 19th .

I for one was inspired. 

One of our shooters showed marked improvement with every point of instruction. Rating himself at 2 on a scale of 1 to 5 of firearm experience level. On Saturday Morning I would have given him a 2.5 or 3. He Left Sunday with a Rifleman Patch.
   
One veteran is still serving those who served by working for a homeless shelter and focusing on the veterans that they serve. He also earned his Rifleman Patch.

One came for his fourth Appleseed, helped those around him, giving advice and helping inspire. He also earned his Rifleman Patch, showing perseverance works.

One Stayed Late on Saturday, as he could only come out and play on Saturday, and he is going to a 3 day KD Appleseed this next weekend. Staying Late he earned his Rifleman Patch.

In all 7 earned the Patch, 2 where repeats, so 5 riflemyn where discovered, and the women on the line showed they have every reason to be there earning the same percentage in Badges that the boys did. 

I was unclear explaining one of the Fun shoots we did on Sunday, but all in all it was pointed out and taken in stride. 

I will populate with photos as I edit them to size, Shooters, this is your forum, please provide your experience and criticisms and or suggestions, I will take them all in and apply them as best I can.

Your Shootboss in Training
Pablo
PaxxAZ

Oh, ya...any shooters or instructors with Photos...Please post them, as I did not get too many photos. 

I just wanted to chime in and thank all the instructors that dedicate so many weekends to come and teach both young and seasoned shooters learn to improve their skills.

I am very proud to have earned my Rifleman Patch! I look forward to joining as a blue hat to help spread the word regarding this amazing organization.

Pros:
-safe range
-great instructors
-passinate history lessons

Cons:
-none

I will try to post photos from my computer later.

-Fernando

This was my third Appleseed, but my first Sat/Sun event.  My previous 2 were Sat only, as I have a difficult time getting out on Sundays.  With that said, the second day is invaluable for solidifying what is taught on Sat.  So, some feedback would be to float the idea of a Fri/Sat event to see if you would attract enough interest.  You may be surprised.  I suspect I could generate about 4 attendees, including myself.

The value of this training cannot be overestimated. It is foundational AND effective. I got close, but didn't reach goal of Rifleman,.  I did, however, experience substantial gains in accuracy, understanding, and confidence, with confidence perhaps being the greatest take-away.

The instructors are all great.  Safe, knowledgeable, respectful, yet generally relaxed.  They are there for the right reasons. I saw them interact with men and women, kids and retirees, experienced and novice shooters.  They were supportive and successful as far as I could tell.  I heard that 7 participants made Rifleman.  That seems to be about a third of our group that was able to shoot at a level that captured 84% of all possible points against targets small enough to be covered by your front sight.  Great fun.

The April 19 stories are informative.  If you care, you will enjoy them.  As a nation, we need more of them.  They also provide for some mental breaks from the frequent drinks off the fire hose.

The range is a 90 min drive for me, but once there, the facility is excellent for an Appleseed event.  Shooting positions are covered by an awning.   Clean and safe overall, with adequate facilities.  You are in the desert, but in my opinion, this allows participants to focus on why they are there.

The attendees in our group were a good group of folks.  No nut jobs, just decent honest people who actually cared about each other.  I saw ammo and magzines freely exchange hands to ensure that everyone was able to do their best.

See you all again soon,
Steve

Hazzah!!!! More Pics

I've got some!

some more...