Project Appleseed

What a great weekend to be at Coshocton. Beautiful sunny days (almost too sunny), great canopies, put up by the ground crew from the club, no rain. Who could ask for much more? We began the weekend with a safety meeting, discussing all things safety. Ty showed how much he remembered from our last event by answering almost every question that was asked. He did so well that he earned the rarely seen and highly coveted instructor Tactical Trigger Training Device.

Before long, it was time to bring rifles to the line. Our first Redcoat showed that we could all learn something, as nobody cleared it.

We got down to business with the Steady-hold Factors, then the Six Steps to Firing the Shot, and rounded things out with a discussion on NPOA. It wasn't long before we were shooting sighters and tightening up groups so that we could adjust sighting systems.

Lunch brought out the first strike, along with some discussion on IMC. Then it was back to work.

By the end of the day, we had learned all of the positions and shot the first AQT, then finished up with another Redcoat. This one was much better, with Mike showing that clearing it could be done.

Sunday dawned bright and clear, and we spent a little time reviewing what we had learned on Saturday. After checking sights, both Mike and David showed that they knew what they were about, with both clearing the Redcoat and earning the coveted Ohio patch.

After a couple of drills to reinforce the fundamentals, it was back to the AQT grind. Before the day was over, Mike, David and Rebecca showed that they had mastered the basics and each posted score. We have to add that this was Rebecca's first Appleseed and, after bringing home a 215 and a 223, she broke out the big bore and tried the .30 caliber rule with a real .30 caliber bolt-action. It appeared that she took some of her fellow shooters by surprise with the "boomer". They must have missed the announcement that things were going to get just a little bit noisier on the right side of the line.

We took a short break and broke into two teams, for a little friendly competition. Each team member only had three shots, so every one counted. At the end of the event, Team 2 showed that they had learned a lot, by scoring a total of 44 of 45 points. That was good, but not quite good enough. Team 1 showed that they had also learned just as much, and maybe just a bit more, and they scored a perfect 45 points.

By the end of the afternoon, it was obvious that folks were getting a little tired, as no one cleared the final Redcoat. In fact, no one even got three in at 400, so we decided to call it an afternoon.

David had come with his paperwork completed and ready to go for an AppleCore RSO/LSO advancement. By the end of Saturday, he had posted the score and exchanged his Blue Hat for a real nice Orange! Thanks, David, for stepping up.

Thank you to the great team at the Coshocton Gun Club for donating your range and making our event possible. You guys are the greatest.

Catch you down the trail, next year

Everyone was very focused on position, which showed as groups tightened up over the morning...

David scores! Get rid of that Blue Hat, an Orange one looks so much better...

Rebecca showed that she wasn't just sitting around. Posting the score at your first event isn't something that "just happens"...

Working through the other positions...

Adding a little extra challenge to the Redcoat, Rebecca decided to try it from the standing position...

By the end of our event, Mike, David and Rebecca had earned their certificates...

Once again, thanks to everyone who attended, and to the club. This was a great event.

Thanks for putting on the great event Texas T and other instructors! Glad to finally join the rifleman ranks after 5 events!

Teaching KD

Navyshooter with a Dangerous old man

What? A Coshocton event without rain?

Somebody there must be living right!

TexasT - good thing you were wearing a green hat or I wouldn't have recognized you with the extra facial fuzz!