Project Appleseed

What a glorious weekend for our SOLD-OUT two-day Project Appleseed Rifle Marksmanship Clinic at the Leetown Gun Club, Isaac Walton League of America (IWLA), in Kearneysville, WV! 

It was a little chilly in the morning... but a crystal-clear blue sky and sunny day found the full line and ALL of the WV Cadre of instructors getting right into the introductions and safety briefs.  After our first Redcoat, we had a special treat -  Victor, one of the local club members, brought his black-powdered flintlock rifle to demonstrate it to our group. What fun! Everyone got to see just how much smoke a Black-powder weapon really belches. Thanks to Victor for doing that, as it really added to the "First Strike of the Match" the students heard a few minutes later from the old Shoot Boss! We then got into the instruction, and had a great first day!
At lunch, the students heard the 2nd strike from Double A-Ron, and later the 3rd strike from Reclaimer.  We added an extra mat to the line so that instructors could shoot too, and the entire group seem to be having a blast and enjoying the wonderful day. 

Sunday morning (even colder!) and another beautiful clear blue sky made the morning mood excited, as people sipped coffee (Thanks Double A-Ron for coffee & donuts!) and happily chatted, we were itching to get back at those Redcoat targets!  After the Safety brief and reviews, we got right to the shooting.  After hearing about Morgan's Riflemen and Morgan's Shingle for sorting the riflemen from the cooks, all shooters accepted the "Cold-bore Challenge" - five succeeded! Todd, Dom, Justagirl, Double A-Ron, and Reclaimer all put one right in the shingle on their first shot!  Throughout the day, the students heard about some Dangerous Old Men (DOM) and other history.  We completed seven Appleseed Qualification Tests (AQT), some coaching and other drills, and had a great event.

Here's the highlights:
Eight Riflemen! 8. Fabulous!
Five (5) Redcoat targets cleared, and five (5) Cold-Bore Challenge winners.
One (1) Distinguished score, and one (1) new Red Hat (Instructor) in the Cadre!
Dom, at 12 years old, made Rifleman!
Simon, at 13 years old, cleared his Redcoat!
Connor, at 8 years old, was scoring in the hundreds in all three positions!
Todd fired a Rifleman score ON ALL 7 of his AQTs!

The scores were SO GOOD, here's the list:
Aaron - (Double A-Ron) 215, 226 (requal)
Ana - (Justagirl) 216, 210 (requal)
Alex - (Tyrus Rechs) 221, 217 (requal)
Connor - in the 100s at only 8 years old!
David - 202 high score; So Close, a Rifleman persists!
Dom (12 years old) 215, 217, 223, 208B, 212 and a New Rifleman! 
Dylan - Shoot Boss's "Most-improved" award! You went from learning the function of the rifle (Battery-of-Arms) to becoming very efficient, scores improves greatly. Come shoot with us again my friend!
Easton - (7 years old) By Saturday after lunch he was running that S&W M&P-15/22 efficiently!
Grace - 195 high score - so close! Keep at it Grace, outstanding for your first rifle event!
Jeff - 222, 229 and New Rifleman! Great Job.
Jonathan W - (Reclaimer) 219, 249, 223 (requal); Almost perfect! Distinguished Rifleman score. Huzzah!
Jonathan K - Great improvements, and great discussions! Hope we see you again soon.
John W - 217, 211, 215, 221, 212UD and New Rifleman!
Simon - (13 years old) High scores in the 160s, AND CLEANED A REDCOAT! WOW! 
Todd - 219, 222, 231, 234, 220B, 232UD, 235 (requal). Yes; he fired 7 AQTs and had a Rifleman score on ALL 7 Targets! Huzzah, Great shooting! 
(B=Backwards target, UD = Upside-down target)

A Rifleman Persists! 


And remember the six steps of firing a shot?
1. Sight Alignment, 2. Sight Picture, 3. Respiratory Pause,
4. Focus, 5. Squeeze the Trigger, and 6. Follow-through.
Well; there's a seventh step - Tell everyone about Project Appleseed!

Thank you to our students that helped with take down, clean-up, etc. Great job.
Thank you very much to our host range, the Leetown Gun Club (IWLA), in Kearneysville, WV.
Their continued support is very much appreciated. 
Check out their website http://iwlawv.org/

And last but not least, many thanks to my fellow instructors Ana (Justagirl), Aaron (Double A-Ron), Alex (Tyrus Rechs), Jonathan (Reclaimer). Because of your dedication, focus, and professional demeanor, this was a VERY fun, yet safe and successful event.
This is why I love volunteering at Project Appleseed; I get to hang out with great Americans like this. This event was so much fun.

Huzzah!   Huzzah!   Huzzah!

CW sends.

 

Sunday morning Flag Walk, and New Red Hat!

More Pics

RIFLEMEN!

Luther Blanchard patches, Cold Bore challenge winners, cleaned redcoat, and the WV Cadre. 

Thanks for the awesome class, we had a great time!

Those sure are some pretty targets... NOW KNOCK OF THAT SKYLARKING AND GET BACK TO WORK!