Piru March 15-16, 2014

[Camljr]

10 fine Americans came out to partake of the heritage and rifle marksmanship instruction on Saturday.

Typically, Saturday Morning redcoats showed they came to the right place and needed what we were giving out. By the end of the day, we had Mark and Jesse hitting the AQT in the 190's, and Glenn shot a 206!

Sunday morning 9 returned and showed they had learned a bit yesterday and did not forget it overnight... We had one family whose Dad, Jermaine, had been to an Appleseed before and now brought his 2 teenage sons out to learn. They did exceptionally well, considering Dad had taken them to the range once before and taught them rifle safety and how to handle the rifles. by Sunday PM they had both qualified as Marksman!  Congrats to Gabe and Donovan!!! you did well for your first appleseed!   

Mark, Jesse, and Sean had traveled down from San Luis Obispo together after meeting a year earlier at an Appleseed. They became good friends and are still today, at least thats what they said!   

We ended the weekend with Glenn almost making Rifleman with a 208!    He says he will be back on April 19th weekend and get his rifleman patch on a RED AQT..

And Congrats go out to MARK, who was our only Rifleman with a 214, and a 210.  Congrats to you Mark!!!
We didn't christen him with the north bridge water because he shot the 214 first, although it was in the low 90's in the afternoon and would have been a welcome relief!   

Every one pitched in to help break down the shade covers and target backers without hesitation, thanks guys!

And thanks go out to all the instructors who helped with running this shoot, Foppish Dandy, Grateful Dog, Rocdale, Two Beagles, you all have heart and the attendees appreciated your help!!!

We had a visit on Sunday at lunchtime from some 6-8 youths from the Lancaster, CA chapter of the CAR (Children of the American Revolution), with their parents who were From the DAR. Judy Hatcher had contacted me to arrange a LibrarySeed, Which I was willing to do at a location of their choice, but when they heard that I had a Musket that they could get behind if they wanted, they tried to arrange a local range in their area, to no avail. It ended up after some thought that they would just come out to the Piru Appleseed during lunch and hear the Stories. I later took them to the lower range and let each and every kid shoot the Musket, and most adults did too!!!

Heard a few say they are coming back to attend and learn to shoot, too!

I met some great folks, as I always do at Appleseeds, and hope to forge some new friendships for the future...
Just like Mark, Jesse, and Sean did last year at an Appleseed.

Hope everyone will post up their experiences at this shoot, and post any pics you may have taken...

Liberty and freedom, forever.... Cam

[readysetgo]

WOW!  Being surrounded by men and women who know what they're about is THE way to spend a weekend.

So many highlights, where to start... oh yeah, Camljr.  This man put some serious smiles on the faces of all the youth at the event and had a keen insight into every aspect of the class.  What an impact he made.  Thank you.

Grateful dog delivers the history with a passion and genuiness that can't be equaled.  He also runs a sharp line.

Foppishdandy, inspired us to master our quarter mile.  So many takeaways from that lesson.  It's a two way street, with that power comes a duty and responsibility to manage that space in a fair and honorable way.

Rocdale and Two Beagles!  Again, WOW!  They were our guidepost of persistence.  Ran a squared away line.  Delivered our briefings and stories like veterans.  It's almost like they've done this several times before! 

The students were a pleasure to shoot with.  The encouragement, keen observations and camaraderie flowed freely all weekend.  Congratulations to all of you guys, gives me something to live up to.  That devil dog did what we know devil dogs do and that is, shoot well among other things.  Special congrats to Mark, seriously, I felt just as proud as he must have.    There's no doubt in mind, the rest of you guys on the left side will score Rifleman.

SOOOO cool to have the Daughters and Children of the American Revolution with us.  I mean if that doesn't bring to life the history, the fact that these were real people, real actions that led us to this point, I don't know what would.  I hope they come back and shoot a seed some time.  Peas in a pod.

Some after hours fun was had, thanks to Camljr and I caught a bit of video here: http://youtu.be/DDO9Elm1Ajk

[twobeagles]

What a wonderful weekend in PIRU participating in the only sport endorsed by the founding fathers-MARKSMANSHIP!!! 
We had 10 wonderful folks on the line Saturday and 9 on Sunday!! One of them was an 8 year old!
It was great to see everyones scores improve throughout the weekend! Even the 8 year old-Specner improved his scores as he absorbed more information. 
Everyone stuck it out through the hot weather, PIRU's dust and wind, and some equipment issues. Remember PERSERVERANCE is the key to getting your RIFLEMAN patch!!
Remember to dry fire practice at home and see you all on the line in the future!! 

Ronnie (twobeagles) and Chris (rocdale)

[Camljr]

Some pics from the event...

[Teufelhunden]

Hey folks - this is Mark.  I just wanted to say thanks for Cam and all the good people who helped put together an awesome weekend of history and shooting in Piru.  It was challenging, educational and fun! 

It was extremely rewarding to recieve my Rifleman patch, but I want to shoot a higher score so i'll be back soon.  I know that Sean and Jeese are itching to get their patches too.  Thanks again to Appleseed and all the wonderful volunteers who make it happen - you're doing something special.