Project Appleseed

Myself, Navnuke, and goosegun had the joy of introducing 12 ladies to the joy of rifle shooting.  We were invited again this year by the IDNR to teach the rifle portion of their Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) program.  This is held 1x per year over a 3day period at Pere Marquette lodge just north of Graffton IL.  It is an extremely rugged and beautiful state park at the confluence of two great rivers...the views from the bluffs are nothing short of breathtaking.

The classes are short, we had the ladies from appx. 1:30 (they were a little late arriving) until 5:00 (we ran a little long) the time monkey was on our back and biting our necks before we even got going!  We broke down into two relays, Navnuke gave history and heritage lessons (I believe he got almost all the way through strike two) Underneath a massive hard maple that kept the ladies cool.  Meanwhile Goosegun and I ran the line and gave lessons on the line (it was a tough way but Goosegun did a fantastic job) more than one of the ladies pulled me aside to comment on what a fine young man and good instructor he was!  I could not be more proud of him!

The goals for the day were pretty simple given our time constraints.  We broke down rifle shooting into the 3 most basic skills needed to make hits on target. 1. don't shoot yourself (safety/gun handling) 2. sight alignment/sight picture. 3. trigger squeeze.  We tossed in a sampling of sling use, proper breathing, trigger control and follow through to round out the program.

It was a great day, we had some very improved shooters that had a great time (most had never touched a rifle until yesterday) and many professed a desire to attend an AS and bring along friends and family.  I call that a success!  We also had 0 safety issues!

I want to thank Mitch and Chris from IDNR for their trust in us by allowing us to run this portion of the program for them.  I especially want to thank Navnuke and Goosegun for all their hardwork and dedication to the cause!  I want to also thank the ladies, they were attentive and anxious to learn.  It was a joy to have them on the line.  I hope to see them on the AS line soon.  Most were from the Chicago area so we told them to look at the schedule for Waterman and get signed up.

Sorry that there are no pictures but none of us had the opportunity....it was a very busy afternoon.

update...now that the cat is out of the bag concerning the Organic Muffins of Doom lovingly baked by OMD girl (the appleseeder formerly know as KDCat) Goosegun was sworn to secrecy concerning the taste/smell of said muffins...of course he kept that secret for all of 000000.1 second.  way to go goosegun!

Au Contraire - it was NavNuke who shared the story - 7 dead squirrels huh?  Rockin' this event, 2 emails this morning from attendees asking about Waterman Shoots - excellent way to support IDNR and 7th Step.

Well at least the squirrels didn't suffer.....long. Great shoot, Imadentist did a great job being in charge and at large. 

My wife, AK, who was an attendee and participant at the event, reports seeing ladies running around with Appleseed shirts on smiles on their face.  It make me wonder about the instruction going on!   Well done.

What happens at Pere Marquette STAYS at Pere Marquette!

I was at BOW this weekend.  I spoke to some of the women who were at the rifle classes.  They absolutely loved it.  They were really taken by Goosegun. They listed his mention of the meaning of integrity as one of the favorite quotes from the weekend.  Way to go, guys. You make me proud! I am sure we will see some of them at an Appleseed or Ladyseed in the future.