Project Appleseed

Eleven shooters and five instructors gathered on a cool Saturday morning to learn about the events of April 19. 1775 and the fundamentals of traditional marksmanship. After the necessary administrative tasks, we rolled into history with Gator0246 telling the first strike. Then we covered safety and brought out the rifles to shoot the hits count target. Realizing we had some room for improvement, we jumped right into the marksmanship instruction. Once we learned some fundamentals, the first square showed potential. We shot another square or two, then prepped lunch. While the shooters ate, they got to hear the second strike.

Upon returning from lunch, we shot some more squares and covered talking targets. Then it hit - a nasty thunderstorm. We packed up loose items and moved to the clubhouse for shelter. Not wanting to waste time, we covered IMC and heard Upacreek deliver the third strike. Once the storm passed, we moved back to the line.

Upon return, we rolled back into more instruction with lots of squares for reinforcement. Once we dove into the afternoon AQT, we discovered two new riflemen: Brian qualified with a 219 and Zane qualified with a 221. Since the storm delayed us and it was late, we retired for the day.

Sunday morning brought clear skies and cool breezes. We started out with some history, then reviewed everything we learned on Saturday. The Sunday morning hits count target told us that much of what we learned Saturday was retained. We shot an AQT, then covered rifleman's bubble and dance as well as ball and dummy. Once again, we prepped lunch. During lunch we learned about known distance shooting, then we moved the backers out to 100 yards and gave it a trial run. The shooters were pleased to see that 4 MOA at 25 meters translated well to 4 MOA at 100 yards. Then we dialed in come ups (or come downs for our CF shooters) and shot another group. Most everyone was close to center. Then we moved back to 25 meters and dialed our adjustments back out, practicing return to zero. What a fun exercise!

Upon returning to AQTs, we found another new rifleman. Wayne qualified with a 217! After all the AQTs were completed, Wayne reinforced that with a 213, Brian backed up his Saturday score with a 223, and Zane did it two more times with a 222 and a 221. Axeman also requalified distinguished with a 242.

Chris, you shot very well. John, you ran that bolt action like a dream. Rollin, Cassandra (we missed you on Sunday), Traci, and Jason you all soaked up instruction and shot well. Andrew, you were knocking on the door. Will, you were shooting well, and we missed you on Sunday. I am confident that each of you will qualify soon. Come back as soon as you can!

Many thanks to the instructors who helped run the event, and to the Floyd County Wildlife Association for hosting Project Appleseed.

This shoot was a lot of fun.  Beautiful range.  Beautiful weather (at least my garden liked it).  Great shooters.  Great instructors and friends.  It's always nice to see families and friends come out to shoot and hear some history.

Here are a few pictures:


Rigby and Axeman explain the safety rules.


Rollin shows us how to shoot in prone.


Chris shows us the prone position.


Gator calls the line Saturday afternoon. With plenty of help, our shoot boss was able to finish the AQT Will started.  Together they scored a rifleman score.  Nice shooting, both of you.


Andrew and Brian partnered up for the Ball and Dummy Drill


Chris and Zane partnered up for the Ball and Dummy Drill


Rollin and Wayne partnered up for the Ball and Dummy Drill


Switch spots for the Ball and Dummy Drill


Switch spots for the Ball and Dummy Drill


Wayne earned his Rifleman patch - congrats!


Kurt earned another distinguished Rifleman patch. Nice shooting!


Zane earned his Rifleman Patch - congrats!


Brian earned his first Rifleman Patch and it was with a centerfire rifle - nice!


Chris received a William Diamond Patch - thanks for spending the weekend with us.


What a beauty.


Father and son shooting together = awesome weekend.  They've been friends of mine for nearly a decade and I think we went to our first Appleseed together.  Chris was only 6 then and played with Legos most of the time.  Not the case this weekend.


More prone


Axeman receives his GA state patch


Rigby receives his GA state patch - we have plenty - come on over and join us at our next shoot.

This was a great event! I'm sorry I missed Saturday, but glad i could make it Sunday. Very safe and attentive group.