AAR: Burlington Flats, NY June 18 - 19

[Odin]

This weekend saw a rare event at Burlington Flats, good weather during an Appleseed.  Saturday the sun was shinning and it was hot, Sunday again was a bright sunny day, with a nice breeze to keep things cool.

What wasn't rare was the quality of the instructors and shooters that came out this weekend. 

Our instructors, included Little Mo who came despite having to deal with some health problems, The Mrs who ran the line superbly Sunday afternoon.  Travel Patriot who came up all the way from Georgia.  The Georgia crew is lucky to have him on their team, he is a great asset to the program.  Xena and Countryboy243 worked tirelessly getting right down in the dirt with the students.  And of course Sgtrock who is on I believe his third Appleseed in a row was everywhere keeping the energy level high.  Then we have our newest instructor but more on that in a bit.

What made this weekend great though were the shooters.  This event saw a number of families partaking, A grandfather and grandson, pair of brothers, uncle and nephew, a family of four, and a father who came up all the way from NJ so his son could shoot, we also had a couple of friends and some solo shooters to round out the event.  All of them were attentive, dedicated and a pleasure to have on the line.  I hope to see them again soon.

Of the shooters we had 6 riflemen this weekend.
Tom - a repeat rifleman shot a 224 on his first AQT Saturday
Zach - first time appleseeder shot a 216 on first AQT
Eric - another repeat rifleman shot numerous rifleman scores getting up into the 240s
Alan - a dedicated appleseeder who came from VT scored his personal best at 223
John - his sixth Appleseed shot a 215 to achieve his status as a rifleman

Then we have Austin, who preserved and shot a 211.  This young dedicated man, did an amazing job this weekend.  It is with great pleasure that I announce that not only did he earned his rifleman patch but he also accepted an orange hat.  Making him not only the newest addition to the instructor core but also I believe the youngest instructor in the state. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention, Debbie and Dave K.  Dave K. wasn't a shooter but without his continuing aide and help we couldn't pull off such successful events.  Debbie, a spectator, volunteered to pick up a BBQ chicken lunch for any who wanted it.  The meal was from a local volunteer fire department's father's day BBQ and was delicious.  Thank you both for all that you did this weekend.

More will follow; I know Sgtrock took a number of pictures this weekend.  I want to thank everyone who came, as the SBIT for this event you made my job easy.

[sgtrock]

Folks I gotta tell ya,,,
This shoot was phenomenal,, it was utterly a Great Time on the range, but it was so much more than that really,,, it was time well spent with people that do the right things, like getting off the couch to spend time with friends that they have not met till this event transpired,,, I am most overjoyed with the results of this shoot with 6 riflemen, 3 new and 3 re-qualified, and like Odin said our Newest Instructor to Project Appleseed, and possibly the youngest in New York State, a young man of 12 yrs old, that I have known for,,, well,,, all of his life,,, I Would Like To Introduce,,, Austin J.,,, a fine young man with shooting in his blood and the heart of a rifleman,, Austin started reloading at the young age of 4, He also shoots on our Junior Rifle League, he also shoots F-Class at our club, and get this,,,, also shoots Service Rifle as well,,, The very essence of a true Rifleman,,, Yes I was choked up when he asked about becoming an instructor,,, and even more choked up when I presented the Orange Hat to him,,,  If you are ever in town please stop by for a range day or event at our club to meet this fine young man,,, Fine Job Austin,,  Ladies And Gentlemen,,,,,,,,, Our Posterity



So many great things happened at this event that I do not know where to begin,,, But I think That I will introduce all the Fine Americans that came and learned,, That listened intently to our history, and did an outstanding job on the line,

First we have our new riflemen

Austin   pictured above

Zach P.



John G.




Our Re-Qualifiying Rilemen, First up;

Tom V. 3rd time Appleseeder, 4.5 hr drive to get here from New Jersey, he is a dedicated young man, I am sure you folks in New Jersey will have another Orange Hat in the very near future,,, He will be back at Burlington Flats in August,,, Stay tuned,,,,



Eric J.,,, Austin's Grandfather and his 2nd Appleseed and our Biggest 7th stepper in this neck of the woods,, His gun shop The Shootin' Shed, Gun Shop and Range in West Winfield, NY, thru his efforts we can attribute a min of 70% of people on this line at any given time came thru his shop,, On behalf of Project Appleseed I Thank You My Friend



And Alan,, this a VERY Dedicated Man he does not even know many seeds he has been to,, 11 to 13 maybe
I think that number is lost to history,,, But he always will shoot a rifleman score before he goes home to Vermont,,,, People travel some long distantences to come to Burlington Flats, (must be the water here)



It is late, more to follow tommorrow

sgtrock

[sgtrock]

Now to continue with our shoot,

The group picture on Saturday afternoon



Our young patriots on the line this weekend







Known Distance Shooting,,, All 3 are very accomplished shooters,,,

from left to right, repeat rifleman Tom V., Austin J. (newest Orange Hat for NY.), and his Grandfather Eric J.



Other shots from this shoot counting redcoat hits





Ball and Dummy



another angle shot of Ball and dummy



TravelPatriot explaining Steady Hold Factors with CountryBoy243 as demo



Odin Presenting history

[sgtrock]

Early Sunday Morning

Xena's pup Buddy trying to get TravelPatriot to play tug of war, (grab the bottle if you can)



Buddy,,, Guarding his toy



Saturday night at the Flats

[Xena]

Very nice photos sgrock ! I am surprised you got Buddy on camera ... seeing that he stood still for all of  2 seconds 

[Son of Isaac]

This was a great shoot!  Thanks to everyone for having me!

~TravelPatriot

[Dakota]

Great Job again everyone!
I've got to get up there and see BFlats during the day when it's above 10 degrees, it looks pretty nice
I'm sure you guys wouldn't mind a Calverton guy for a weekend would you?

[sgtrock]

Dakota,,, you are welcome here anytime,, we still have 2 shoots left for this year, pick one and come on up,,,

The door is always open

sgtrock

[Josey Wales]

..Odin, SgtRock & Burlington Flats Family,

..I must say, when I sit back and look at these pictures I can feel just for a moment like I was there too..  ..I feel most comfortable at Burlington Flats..  ..The shoot looks like it was a wonderful time and another "Glorious Day to save a Country".. ..Great Job.........You are making a difference!!

......Strength & Honor................Josey Wales.............................

[LittleMo]

Another great event at B-Flats! The shooters were outstanding students! Great instructors, and nice weather! Fortunately I had just enough voice to work one-on-one with some of the shooters.

Congratulations to the new Riflemen, and to Austin!

Gary

[Mph_VT]

I must again beg pardon.  I'm always slow writing and such, but the measure of the weekend had left my mind a might agog, altho it was so much a perfect weekend. 

I wasn't sure I had come to Burlington Flats this weekend; the weather was so astounding and the wind wasn't blowing. I was sure I had roamed into a place I'd never been before.

I had 'really' met, spent time, with my nephew Russell for the first time that weekend. My sister had told me he had an interest, both in shooting and history. After an aborted attempt for the May Appleseed, we got him out for this weekend.  Considering the weather it was a God send (TYJ).

Russell had not done any shooting before Saturday, but having seen the Burlington Flats instructors working with young people I was ever so assured it would be fine. The support he received from the instructors was outstanding. I was a bit anxious going into this, not knowing Russell well and having never really worked with younger people, but my confidence in the Appleseed program and the work I've seen done allayed my apprehensions. As the day unfolded I found this confidence to be realized.

Russell is a most determined individual. While he had a bit of trouble finding the target he was working diligently, following the instruction and showing good form.  He obviously enjoyed enjoyed being in a company of riflemen, when I told him I thought he shouldn't shoot on Sunday he chose to come and observe.  With his dedication, determination and  some personal work, Russell will soon be back for another Appleseed and will be getting scores.

Kudos to all the instructors,  Odin, Xena, TheMrs, Little Mo, Travel Patriot, Countryboy, and of course SgtRock,   you really have my highest regard.

As usual I did some shooting when I wasn't shooting so here we are:

[sgtrock]

Nice pictures there Alan, hope to see you back on the line soon,

sgtrock