Project Appleseed

Persistence is a quality in every success story. A rifleman persists. The aspiring riflemen at Chapel Hill persisted. The weather was extremely hot, shade being only underneath the canopies. Yet the shooters persisted. 

The shooters enjoyed the telling of the Three Strikes of the match on the first day, providing welcomed breaks from the heat. On day two, the connection was made between Memorial Day and those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our Liberty on April 19, 1775.

The marksmanship instruction was carefully followed, resulting in three Rifleman: Rob with a 210 and a baptism with ice cold water from the North Bridge; 16 year old Ian, scoring a 213 while using his dad's old shooting jacket and shooting mat (not sure who was more excited, dad or Ian); and Clark, with a commanding 220, making his mother, Google, and grandfather, DonD, very proud.

 

Strategic Edge Gun Range in Chapel Hill, TN, has graciously allowed Project Appleseed to hold an event at their top-notch facility around Memorial Day weekend for the past 4 years.  We are very grateful for their hospitality and were pleased that there were several range members on the line along with their family members.

Our firing line was at capacity with 25 shooters, most of whom were new to Appleseed and several were new to rifles.  They listened intently, put the instruction into practice, and were rewarded with steady improvement in their marksmanship.  By the end of Sunday we had three brand new Riflemen, all first-time Appleseeders! 

Despite the heat everyone maintained a great attitude and there were lots of smiles at the end of the day.  We hope to see everyone back at another event in the future.

Here are a few pics:

Group photo:


dond working with Ken:


Scott:


JT58 and Hannah:


bluegrasscolonel and Nina:


CorgiMom and Gemma:


dond and grandson BulletSquid teaching prone:


bluegrasscolonel and CorgiMom teaching seated:


Nashville Stage giving the third strike of the match:

Shooters, it was such an honor and a real pleasure working with you this Memorial Day weekend! Thank you for sacrificing your time, and for your teachable and positive attitudes, especially in the heat!

Casey, this was your second time persisting, with many successes this weekend. Come again, soon! Your Rifleman patch is definitely within reach!

Brian, I was impressed with your persistence, in spite of rifle challenges and a bloody support elbow. We look forward to seeing you on the line again soon!

Aaron and Carmen, it was awesome seeing you newlyweds sharing this experience! Keep practicing together, because you know what they say. . .the couple that shoots together. . .

Clark, I so appreciated your continued persistence throughout the day, experimenting and tweaking, all while continuing to smile and have a great time!

Jonathan, family commitments left you with only half of the first day's instruction. But so glad you returned the second, and hope to see you on the line again very soon!

Nina, it was great working with you! I enjoyed your enthusiasm and willingness to keep at it, especially as a new shooter. Keep practicing and those groups will only get smaller!

I missed seeing Chris and daughter Gemma on the line Sunday. . .y'all were quite the team, and we were looking forward to singing Happy Birthday to now eight-year-old Gemma! And what a great attitude this young lady maintained all day long!

And Hannah, you, too, maintained such a great attitude, for two whole, very hot days! I'm super proud of you and your personal persistence! Well done! Sure hope I have the chance to work with you again!

Congrats again to Rob, Ian, and Clark for finishing the weekend patches in hand! And congrats to all for each improvement made over the weekend!

Liberty!
CorgiMom

Congrats to the new Riflemen! Looks like a large time was had by all there at Chapel Hill.

Here are a couple of pics of Rifleman patches being awarded.  Somehow we missed Rob being doused with water from the North Bridge, so if anyone else captured that Kodak moment, feel free to share.

Ian and Rob earned their patches on the same AQT, both at their first Appleseed.  Great job guys!


Clark squeaked out his score on the last AQT of the day, also at his first Appleseed.  The range was almost completely broken down by the time his target was scored, but we took time to snap a pic since Mom and Granddad were there:

Thank you to all the instructors for your time, dedication and skill!  I have to say, first time out at an Appleseed event and I'm hooked. Nothing like hanging out with great people, learning more about our great country all while picking up some great skills! 

It's always a great day when you get that many like-minded Patriots together. It was especially good being on hand to see the promotion of Cleveland to Shoot Boss and Google to SI. Congrats to both. 

See you on the line.
Wreck