Project Appleseed

The sun rose brightly on a somewhat blustery day in southern New Mexico.  Our host range, the Sidney Paul Gordon Shooting Range in La Luz, New Mexico, got us permission to use the range with some room and some shade for the heat of the afternoon (Thanks Mark!!) and we got started.  On the line this weekend were three instructors and 5 determined students, a few of whom were first offenders.

Our range looks over one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World - White Sands National Park



Our students were greeted by Captwa and our display of Revolutionary War flags. It seems Captwa is even more adept at avoiding the camera than I am, that sneaky guy 


After our introductions and an exciting telling of the First Strike of the Match by Captwa, we took care of the safety briefing and got down to business.  Redcoat targets were sighted and engaged to establish each student's baseline and effective range. Four out of five caught the bayonet, so we all had some work to do.

Slinging up safely!  Notice that we had THREE southpaws on the line


Finding a solid prone position and the first three Steps to Firing the Shot. Kevin has some neck issues that prevented him from finding a manageable prone position, so he spent the weekend shooting his prone stages from kneeling 


After rounding out steps 4-6 of firing the shot with some dry fire, it was time to shoot our first square of the day.  What did we find???


Not one group bigger than 6MOA, that's what we found!

With that victory in hand, it was time for lunch and the Second Strike of the Match.

After lunch it was Talking Targets (that we had to DRAW, because there were no clear examples on the students targets!) and Inches, Minutes, and Clicks, a few more squares to make and confirm adjustments, then it was on to Seated position.

We paused our instruction at about 2pm for the firing of the Memorial Volley. Solemnly the students took aim and fired the 13 rounds in honor of those who gave their lives for the cause of Liberty on April 19, 1775. They were presented with Patriots' Day commemorative patches and an Appleseed pin as a thank you for participating in that volley. We took a quick break afterwards to gather our thoughts, before returning to the task at hand.

The students all tried out the various seated positions on the green targets to find the one that suited them best, then we took a break and listened to HotAirBill wrap up our stories for the day with the Third Strike of the Match.





Standing!


End of day Redcoats told a very different tale than did the morning target.  This time EVERYONE engaged at least 200yd, one at 400,  and one Morgan's Shingle. Huzzah!  Progress!

Then we wrapped for the day and promised to meet again in the morning.

Sunday morning brought less wind, new shirts, bright smiles, and eager students.  HotAirBill started our morning with the story of Elizabeth Zane before we conducted our safety briefing and tackled our morning Redcoat.  Again, nobody took the bayonet, and there were groups of three at 100, 200, and 400 yards, with one Morgan's Shingle.

We reviewed Saturday's course of instruction, and then... dun dun DUN!!!  Hung our first AQT of the day.  We presented and practiced each stage in turn, no hurry, allowing the students to get comfortable with the course of fire.

Clay


Carrie


Stephanie


Kevin


Caron


My Lefties!


Coaching

We broke for lunch, and a much needed breather as the temperature rose in the high desert.  The students learned about the Three Challenges of the Rifleman: Target Detection, Range Estimation, and Making the Shot. More stories about the ordinary folk who found themselves capable of extraordinary things were sprinkled throughout the afternoon.  All told they tackled the venerable AQT four times, and all of them made great progress!

Kevin and Clay were our most consistent shooters, with overall score increases of 12 and 14 points, respectively.  Stephanie worked hard and raised her AQT scores by 25 points.  Caron found her bubble and raised her score an impressive 54 points!  And Carrie surprised herself, raising her AQT score a whopping 59 points, claiming "Most Improved" for the weekend.  Huzzah to all!

Of course, an Project Appleseed event is always made even better by the forging of new Riflemen!

Caron made us all proud when she scored a 219, earning herself one of the last of the full-color Riflemen patches


Kevin opted out of AQTs after the second one. Sitting on that foot all day was just a lot.  But not to worry!  AQT#1 was a solid 217, earning him his full-color Rifleman patch.  He followed that up with a 229 on the next one. Mission accomplished!


After 4 AQTs we were all pretty beat, I have to admit.  We hung our final Redcoat of the weekend and went to work one last time.

Results:  NO bayonets, THREE Morgan's Shingles, and both Caron and Stephanie missed clearing the target by only one very close shot!

You know what that means, girls. Next time!

We packed up, cleaned up, talked about the sacrifices made by the founding generation, and the responsibilities we all have to our own posterity to help maintain our liberties.

Then we said our farewells.  Until we meet again, all, may Liberty Increase.

Huzzah!