Montpelier, VA AAR - October 31, 2026 - November 1, 2026

[OldDominionIron]

A beautiful fall weekend welcomed 21 students to the Cavalier Rifle & Pistol Club in Montpelier, Virginia. Temperatures in the 60's, sunny skies, little wind, and no rain made for a perfect atmosphere for learning about our American heritage, introducing some students to basic marksmanship, and allowing other shooters to demonstrate their shooting skills.

I'd like to thank all of the students for their teachable attitudes, the most important thing you can bring to a Project Appleseed event. The improvement in your ability as demonstrated by your progress on the morning and afternoon hits count was more than impressive. From 4 of you hitting the shingle on Saturday morning and then 11 on Sunday afternoon, you absorbed the knowledge we instructors put out there and made it work for you.

Congratulations to Byron and Andrew qualifying as Riflemen, with scores of 217 and 221, respectively.

Todd, Arlen, Alex, John, Joey and Katie all requalified, with Alex shooting a 244 and a pair of 240's to cement his position as a Distinguished Rifleman and the others posting scores in the high 220's and 230's.

All the students displayed great attitudes, persistence, and a willingness to try new things to improve their marksmanship skills.

I'd like to thank Alan, Bob, Justin and Matt for coming out for Liberty and putting on an incredible event.

Thank you, also, to the Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club. Your continued support of Project Appleseed, the shooting sports, and American freedoms are appreciated more than you know, and I look forward to our next event at Cavalier on March 20-21, 2027. Who knows, with the Virginia weather, maybe that event will end up being a Winterseed!

Pictures to follow, please add your own pictures and any comments you might have.

[cmcolfax]

I could not be more happy with how the weekend as my first Appleseed event.

I learned a tremendous amount, not just about Marksmanship but about some of the details of how our fight for Liberty really began. Details that are not taught in schools. And ones that I had not read on my own as a bit of a history nerd.

I can't thank Justin enough for his attention, patience and sternness when I needed it      to break me out of my "tactical" mindset    .

For the time he and Bob spent coaching me thru my repeated awkward, uncoordinated attempts at grasping the use of the USGI sling. I mean how many times can one person put the dayum thing on their arm backwards?

For him and Matt with his humor talking me down when my frustration started to take over. 

First with my struggle to figure out the "seated" firing position, then with what I perceived as "failures" when I had function issues with my rifle (then my freakin' glasses), and when I finally felt like I was starting to "get it"  feeling like I "blew" several stages of the AQT due to a poor grasp of the timeframes and clock management.

A Rifleman Persists and I went from a 97 on my first "scored" AQT Saturday afternoon to a 196 (later revised to a 192) on Sunday afternoon.

That may not sound like much to the people who regularly shoot 220's, 230's, 240's; but for the guy who showed up Saturday morning with his suppressed AR22 sporting a Mag-Pul angled foregrip slung over his shoulder with and Mag-Pul two-point sling I was pretty happy. Not just with the score, but with the understanding of what I am capable of with my rifle no matter what the discipline.

FWIW, I've already registered for the March event AND am bringing a friend as a gift for HIS birthday.

-cmc-

[OldDominionIron]

Great to hear, Chuck!

Have you heard about our gift certificates! I believe they are available starting November 11.

[OldDominionIron]

https://imgur.com/gallery/39wb5G5