Project Appleseed

Saturday morning was pretty cold at the Sheriff's range in Canton, Georgia, but the love of Liberty was burning bright. The Cherokee County Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Frank Reynolds were as accommodating as always. And we had a room full of Patriots undeterred by the cold weather.

After the Opening Speech and Introductions, we rolled right into the First Strike of the Match as told by me under the guise of Captain John Parker. Next, we went over our #1 job of the weekend. SAFETY. Then it was off to the range!

We set up relays to accommodate our large group then got to shooting. Our morning Redcoat target showed we had some shooters amongst us, but also some work to do. We began with Sling Use and the Prone Position. We shot a square to loosen up and get a feel for it. Then we learned the first 3 Steps of Firing the Shot and about NPOA (Natural Point Of Aim). We took some time with foam and vet wrap to fix rifles to shooters and verify NPOA. They were rewarded with another square for their patience. We then learned the last 3 Steps of Firing the Shot and did a Trigger Reset Exercise. After which, we shot another square.

Trigger Reset Exercise:


By then it was lunch time and we moved inside, but the work didn't stop.    During lunch we went over Talking Targets, IMC (Inches, Minutes, and Clicks), and the Second Strike of the Match by American Savage. Then we cleaned up and hit the range again.

We shot some sighter groups to utilize the IMC we had just learned. Then moved to the seated position(s) and tried out all positions.







After determining which seated position worked best for us we learned about Rifleman's Cadence. Then we brought those two together and shot in seated using Rifleman's cadence. And then did it again with a magazine change.

Next, we moved to the last position. Standing.



We tried it out a couple times before taking a break inside to hear the Third Strike of the Match by Gator0246. Then it was time for an AQT! (Transitions were taught as we got to stages 2&3)

We only had time for 1 AQT on Saturday, but it was quite rewarding. Valerie re-qualified, Matthew got a 210 and a baptism from the water from beneath the North Bridge, and Andy got the monkey off his back with a 221! 

2 Young Patriots also received their William Diamond patches. We closed out the day with the story of Timothy Murphy and how one man (or woman or child) can make a difference. After cleanup several of the cadre went out for BBQ and some of the shooters joined us.

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Sunday, was another beautiful, but chilly day. We began with some history from 1776. Then after a safety review it was back to the range and a Redcoat target. Bill cleared the Redcoat and was awarded a koozie! Good shooting Bill!

With quite a few new rifles on the line, we shot some sighter groups before moving to an AQT. Our morning AQT saw several re-qualifications from the day before and Bill joined the ranks of Riflemen too! (Apologies to Bill for not writing your score down. I want to say 221, but please correct me if wrong.)

We moved inside and ate lunch as we reviewed EVERYTHING from the day before with even more detail.  We also heard some great Dangerous Old Men Stories. We cleaned up after that and got back to it with back to back AQTs.















We took a long break to hear about Known Distance Shooting, Rifleman's Bubble and Rifleman's Dance. Also, I needed to give my Instructor's time to score targets.    When the scoring was done, we saw more re-qualifiers, including Bug_07, and some new Riflemen. Jordan got a 210 and a baptism! And Mike got a 210 and a baptism (following it up with a 214)! Geo got a 223!

We then headed back outside for the last AQT of the day.











Our last AQT found more shooters to requalify and one of our youth shooters, Jake, got out of a baptism with a 211! Well done young man!

We finished out the day with the story of Samuel Whitemore before cleaning up and heading home.

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What a fantastic weekend! Thank you to the CCSO! Thank you to my Instructors! And of course, Thank you to the shooters! 

I hope to see you all again soon. Come back! And bring a friend! All of you have what it takes to score Riflemen. Just keep practicing that perfect way to do things.

In Liberty,
Roswell

Edit: Thank you Overmountain and 6Bones for the help with the pictures!

WOW -- sounds like an amazing event!

It really was a great one! 7 new riflemen, 2 re-qualified riflemen and one of the safest, most attentive groups I've had the pleasure of working with.

What a great event.  I'm so proud of all of you who showed up and committed to improving your skill!  And to all you Riflemen, the journey has just begun!  You've crossed the threshold and proved to both others and yourselves that you can achieve that goal we set before you Saturday morning.  Keep up the progress of learning and improving by joining us at the next event!  Like Ross mentioned, there will be a Rimfire Known Distance event, and a Pistol Clinic coming up soon.  We'd love to have you join us for both! 

Thank you to all again for such a safe and enjoyable weekend.  It was truly an honor for us to enjoy the weekend on the line with you and see you all learn and improve.  Keep it up!  A Rifleman persists!

In Liberty.

I loved this weekend. Appleseed is always a great time, but I love seeing the families or groups of friends enjoying the weekend together. It is good to hear people say they finally got some concept of the sling or NPOA and then see their shooting show it. I can't wait for the next one.