Project Appleseed

What better way to prepare for New Years than holding one more event before the year turns. Not to mention, it's a wonderful opportunity to bring out the new rifles Santa delivered, right?

Stellar winter weather as usual here in the valley of the sun and another sold out event. What made this particularly special is the amount of family groups. Of the 16 pre-registered, there were only 5 last names. An appropriate lead in to talking about the group of family and friends gathered on Lexington Green.

Lou and Alex both placed a round in Morgan's Shingle at 25M on the 1st Redcoat target of the day which set the tone. The focus on dry-firing with ample prep-period allowed the shooters to settle in and put out some discernable shot groups straight away.

Heath and Catherine initially had some issues with their sighting adjustments but showed the true Rifleman's virtue of Persistence and got it dialed in fairly quick. They were soon putting out some impressive shot groups of their own. Even their younger children of 10 and 13 were engaged, attentive, VERY respectful of safety and a pleasure to work with.

By the end of the day, Lou and Courtney, both prior Appleseeder's, earned a Rifleman patch with a score of 210 and 217 respectively.
Courtney even spared a few British Officers by saving 5 rounds on Stage 2!! Oh did I mention he did this with iron sights and a bolt action?

Day 2 began with a few less shooters but we were treated to several hot air balloons launching nearby, sailing over our targets; proving that UP is not always a safe direction.  Our shooters remained vigilant in following the safety rules.

After a quick review we set to AQT's.  Prior Orange Hat "Hoss" looked on as his son Alex shot a Rifleman score of 220. His younger so and first time Appleseeder, Gunnar came close with a 206 but the pride on Dad's face was evident. Hoping "Hoss" was convinced to bring that Orange Hat out of retirement. Lou also solidified his skills by obtaining another Rifleman score of 211. He also cleared the last Redcoat target!! Amazing.

A special thanks to Desert_Diver for traveling across state lines to help us. He put in a lot of time with our young shooters to make sure they had every opportunity to enjoy the day safely.

Overall, the event was another success, and we were definitely able to awaken some sleeping Americans. Everyone had a great time and are all looking forward to the next Event in January.

Pics to follow