Project Appleseed

Saturday dawned with heavy rainfall.  The Instructors arrived to find Chattooga County Wildlife Club (Club) members had already setup a target line and commercial canopies! Eleven shooters were pre-registered and all but two braved the conditions. With a walkon, we had a total of ten attendees. 

Our welcome briefing had us pondering how our lives could be bettered by seeking to understand the American martial art ( ), the message of Thomas Paine regarding judging the present by the past, and the safety protocols for the event.

Our first redcoat of the weekend indicated there was much room for improvement. A lone shooter had a maximum effective range of 100 yards.

We then began the tasks of familiarizing ourselves with the equipment, working out the kinks, and trying to absorb as much of the instruction possible. The pace of the event was slowed to allow sufficient time for familiarization to occur, determine eye dominance, fit our rifles, and troubleshoot equipment malfunctions. We focused on quality rather than quantity.

We learned the steady hold factors for the prone position and how to put our slings to good use. Then we learned the six steps of firing the shot. Natural point of aim (NPOA) and Rifleman's cadence were added to the mix and then we spent the remainder of the morning trying to hone these fundamentals. The courage of the shooters braving the elements was rewarded with clearing skies mid morning.

During lunch, LT K told us the story of the events leading up to April 19, 1775 and the events the morning of that day, ending with the battle of Lexington.  General Stuart regaled us with the Regulars' march to Concord and the strife the Patriots endured there. Thanks to the Club for providing burgers and dogs, saving us from either a trip to town for lunch or packing our own!

The early afternoon was spent learning to interpret our targets and correct discrepancies between our point of aim and point of impact. Once we were comfortable with our sight adjustments, we moved on to learning the steady hold factors for the various sitting/kneeling positions.

DrJohn finished the story of April 19 by telling us of the start of the Revolutionary War at Merriam's Corner and the long, painful march the Regulars had back from whence they came.

We finished the afternoon by learning the steady hold factors for the standing and then performing drills to help us tie the fundamentals together. We wrapped up the shooting portion of the day with another redcoat and saw improvement in our skills! 

Our benediction focused on the sacrifice, courage, and commitment of the Founding Generation and how we might emulate and propagate their ideals.

Sunday, we were blessed with rain passing through BEFORE we got started. Two new, walk-on shooters joined us to increase our number to twelve. We reviewed the safety protocols after commiserating about our sore bodies, then got back to work.  We started out with a redcoat and then reviewed the information we'd learned Saturday. Mid morning we began our first AQT of the weekend and then took a lunch break.

During lunch, LT K told us stories of individuals making a difference through their own initiative. Old don't mean useless. The young aren't always careless. The women were also in the fight! 

We finished our first AQT after lunch and then alternated between drills addressing our weaknesses and AQTs to show we were effective. DrJohn presented us with the Philosophy of Liberty direct from the Founders of our Nation. We were presented with quotes from the Founders and then received an explanation in modern terminology. We learned our rights to life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are no more separable from us than the color grey is from lead.

At the close of the weekend, we learned about increasing the target distance. Our final redcoat indicated that everyone had made dramatic improvement, as everyone was effective to at least 100 yards! We then discovered two Riflemen had emerged!  Congratulations to Two Mikes and Glenn for their accomplishment! Our benediction summarized the sacrifices made on our behalf and noted that Liberty exists, no matter what. It is up to each of us to make use of our Liberty.

Shooters, you did an excellent job this weekend of absorbing and applying the fundamentals. I appreciate your attentiveness and engagement throughout the weekend! That engagement helped us tailor the event to your needs and kept the Instructors motivated. I thank each of you for spending your weekend with us and allowing us to spread our message of Liberty! Thanks to all who helped with cleanup. The Instructors would have been much later returning to our loved ones without your assistance.

Michael, Wayne, and Chris - congratulations on the improvement! You each have identified areas you need to focus on improving further. Dry firing by the numbers will get you to your marksmanship goals.

Victoria, Ian, Christopher, Colin, and Stephen - you did outstanding as our designated marksmen this weekend. Thanks for pushing outside your comfort level, but acknowledging your limits. You each show maturity beyond your age. Persist and you will reap the benefits of your efforts.

Wayne, thanks for all your work getting things arranged for this event.

Wayne, Chris, Richard, and Glenn for bringing your children and allowing us to work with them without interference! We wish we had more attendees like you.

Richard, thanks for your patience. It is an accomplishment to keep up with the pace while using a tube magazine rifle. Continue to ponder the IMC presentation, there are many details.

Again, congratulations to all of you for your efforts this weekend. I hope to see each of you at another event.

If you have photos of the event, please post them to this thread.



















Waiting on the "Load" command.



A different kind of grill.

Deepest thanks to Wayne and other members of the club who made such efforts to make Appleseed feel welcome. It was especially gratifying to have so many young and novice attendees, who are of course the future of our country. I was so pleased to observe the steady improvement of our marksmanship skills as the weekend progressed, but more especially at the warm reception whenever we discussed the concept of Liberty and why our ancestors fought for freedom with such fierce determination. I arrived Saturday morning among a group I had never seen before. I left Sunday having spent time among people I now regard as friends. Thanks to all, and may Liberty increase forever!

PICS!  I'll see if I can "channel" some Roswell...

more from Saturday...

Blue Skies greeted our afternoon, too!

Thanks to all the shooters. You were are great group to work with. Your eagerness to learn and your willingness to adapt was truly commendable. Congrats to Glenn and Mike on becoming Riflemen. A lot of you had scores not far off and I look forward to seeing you on the line again someday soon.

Quote from: goose on October 13, 2014, 06:52:14 PM
PICS!  I'll see if I can "channel" some Roswell...

LOL Good pics Goose.  Looks like y'all had a good time.

My boys and I had a great time. We are definitely looking forward to our next Appleseed event. Thanks to all of the Appleseed volunteers for both your time and expertise, and thanks to the Chatooga County Wildlife Club for hosting.

-Spafbi (Chris)

Just a few pics...

I would like to personally thank Guardian, Dr.John, LT K, Goose, and Jeb for an outstanding event!  Colin cannot stop talking about the experience and I have already lined up two relatives who are interested in joining Colin and I in a future Appleseed.  On a related note, Colin told me on the long car ride home Sunday that he really enjoyed the time he spent with LT K!  Thank you LT K for being such a great role model to my son.  You obviously connected with him and helped him through some difficult moments when the "gun gods" were not smiling upon him!
Thanks again,
Glenn & Colin Henderson