Project Appleseed

On Saturday, July 1, 2017, a group of 20 shooters and a cadre of Project Appleseed volunteers gathered at the Stones River Hunter Education Center in Antioch (Nashville), TN.

Stones River is a very good facility and Project Appleseed Shooters and Instructors are warmly welcomed there, from managing TWRA Officer Tim Turrentine, to the volunteer Range Safety Officers.

On Saturday, the weather was hot and clear - most of the day.  Pop-up canopies supplied by Instructors and Shooters, and a dining tent brought by the scout troop that attended, helped to make the temperature more tolerable.

Though the Time Monkey was a factor on Saturday, the Shooters were very attentive and exhibited a teachable attitude.  The weather was hot with some threatening rain throughout.  Near the end of the day the wind picked up to the point that the weighted canopies and tents literally were lifted and moved.  Shortly behind that was a healthy rain which drew our activities to a close for the day.

Sunday was more overcast and threatened rain as well, but we only experienced a few sprinkles. The temperature was lower and our Shooters were fully engaged.

We had 2 new Riflemen - David O. (one of the scout leaders) and J.P., who is a fine example of one of our themes, "A Rifleman persists."  J.P. was baptized with the water of the Concord River on his first qualifying AQT, but proved he is a Rifleman with a score of 231 on the following AQT.  Senior Instructor, Ramblin' Wreck, requalified using his M1A.  Although Wreck's score was not surprising, it was fun to call him up to announce his requalification.

The Instructor Cadre was very involved and on the mats with the Shooters.  Our new Instructor friends, Tumbleweed and his wife, Mercedes, were a joy to work with and we were honored to have 2 Senior Instructors, Ramblin' Wreck and Maximum Ordinate, join us and provide excellent feedback and assistance.

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Was definitely a good time! My daughter and I are already registered for the next Appleseed in Manchester. Thanks again to all the instructors who made this weekend meaningful and memorable!

It was great to see everyone out this weekend, students & instructors alike. Although Saturday's heat was brutal, we made it through, thanks to many pop-up tents, the A/C in the classroom, & lots of breaks. Nothing like a dramatic wind storm & rain dump to signal the end of the day, either. 

J.P., it was an honor to see you push through that last hurdle & receive your Rifleman patch. David, congratulations as well.

Huzzah! 

I look forward to seeing all of you on the line again soon.

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It was a great weekend (other than the Saturday afternoon deluge) . Congrats to JP for persistence to Rifleman and John as well. There were several more who were just a bit short of the mark, but will get there the next Appleseed. Dry fire is your friend . See you all at the KD range!!

A really good Appleseed despite the tornado drill Saturday. We may have set a new record for Appleseed equipment take down and loading!

A great group of shooters and thanks to Rusty and Ben for their expert instruction.

Congrats to the new Riflemen JP and David! Great shooting and persistence. Several others were very close and hopefully will return to earn their patch.

Really enjoyed the weekend. Thank you Appleseed volunteers for all your tips and support. We plan to attend another Appleseed in the near future.