Project Appleseed

November 9th in Chugiak Alaska was not as chilly as it could have been, but was still cold for sure! With a high of 30 degrees this was a perfect day for the shooters who braved the cold weather to earn their Winterseed patch. The shoots in Alaska are not typically very large, due to the greatly lower population density as most other places. In my limited experience as an instructor (Since 2022) I would estimate the average attendance between 6-8 shooters. When I saw that there were 9 students registered for a 1 day shoot in November, I was very excited!! Now, if you will, Imagine my surprise when we get 13 shooters total to show up!!

The day started dark and cold, but everyone's spirits were the 'polar' opposite  This group of shooters was very eager to learn and didn't let the weather get to them at all. We had several (over half) 1st time Appleseeders at this shoot, and the entire group performed very well! Their ability to put the instruction given into practice when never performing this type of shooting before was impressive.

At the end of the day we had 3 shooters get their Winterseed patch, and one of the got Distinguished with iron sights! But, in my opinion the most exciting part of the shoot is we got a new IIT!! Jay has been to multiple shoots and has wanted an orange hat ever since his first shoot. He put in the work to improve his marksmanship and continued to come to events until he was able to get hit hat. All of us here in the Alaska branch are very excited to welcome him to the team!

Looking forward to the next one!

Pictures from the shoot

More pictures

More pictures

More pictures

Moar pics

It's nice having an airport with an NWS weather station across the road from the range to verify temperatures 😜