Lexington, KY - Oct 6 & 7, 2007

[thughes]

I just got back from my first Appleseed... well, the first day anyway.

I'll let others fill in more of the details, I just need to preach to the choir for a minute and say... wow.

As I sit here in my motel room after a day of Rifleman instruction and history lessons, I am a changed man.

Hearing "The Guy" explain the story and significance of April 19, 1775 was as moving a lesson as I have ever heard. It wasn't a story... it was a Sermon on Liberty. I am in awe. I have never before felt so strong a connection to those who fought and sacrificed to secure the Freedom that we take for granted every day.

From this day forward, I will double my current efforts to educate people on the importance of the Second Amendment, and encourage them as never before to learn the sport of shooting, and to pass those things along to others as I did to them. But most of all, I will remind myself daily that "Freedom isn't Free" as the saying goes, and that I must do my part to help us as a nation return to the simple principles upon which this great Republic was founded, so that we never again have to take to the field and fight for our God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution.

I'm proud -- heck, honored -- to be a member of the RWVA. Thanks to all the Appleseed instructors and to the folks at Blue Grass Sportsman's League for a great day. I'm looking forward to another one tomorrow.

And a special thanks to "The Guy"... buddy, thank you for instilling in me an understanding of Liberty that -- until today -- I thought I understood, but really didn't. I will do my utmost to inspire others as you have inspired me. With luck and determination, we'll get enough Browncoats in the ranks that we'll never have to endure a Battle of Serenity Valley.

[RifleWoman]

See, Appleseed works!!

[Nickle]

Now THAT is an awesome first post.

Good to have you on board, it sounds like you're one of the truly motivated Americans now.

[George T]

Just returned from my second Appleseed, Lexington.  This one was extra special, my son attended.  It was a learning (and fun!)experience and we were shooting much better by the second day.  He is committed to passing on the tradition to his sons.  Appleseed has once again accomplished its purpose. 

How do I begin to thank all that made this happen....Drew, Big John, Little John, Funfaler (thanks for keeping the pressure on regarding my trigger control, dragging wood), Treadcarefully (great command presense for shoot boss on second day), The Guy..(once again, superb instructor and teacher).  The Blue Grass Sportsman League... what a fine club and grounds, and all of the members that worked on this Appleseed.

[funfaler]

Well, since Thughes beat me to the punch, I will add my first "official" AAR posting on to his.

The Lexington Appleseed was a very good success with lots of positives to report.  

We had 34 shooters on Saturday, and 22 on Sunday (3 newbies), probably the first time the Pre-registration numbers worked, though it looks like we had a high number of pre-regs that "no-showed", perhaps 8-10.

There were 4 new Rifleman (3 guys and 1 gal that was more "manly" at heart than some 4 million other Kentuckians that did not show) with some solid scores.  The first being turned in by a Carrollton AS grad that was "this close" there.  He actually turned in Rifleman scores with both an AR15 and AR10 this weekend, and drove 2 hours with no brakes on his truck, while pulling a 5th wheel trailer, just to make the shoot!  He said there was "NO WAY HE WAS GOING TO MISS THIS SHOOT", his brakes went out 30 minutes from home

Several folks really came on and saw some very good improvement and are very close, with Rifleman clearly within grasp.  

Lots of folks really appreciated The Guy's history discussion and there was lots of interest in the remaining history discussions that lead to lots of questions and folks wanting to add to and join in, quite unique.  

Ukpharmd2003 (Mighty Mouse) gave a great history discussion on what the Men on the Lexington green must have felt when they faced the British, to include a demonstration of an actual musket from that era,with a, well done and interesting.

The rest of the "Split KY Instructor Camp" were all on the line for this shoot.  Big John, "the other John that has no screen name yet", and myself, along with UK/Mighty Mouse.  We all enjoyed working with The Guy on Saturday and Tread Carefully on both days.  Stepping into the position of 'administering the Rifleman building AQTs' was enjoyable and powerful.  To be able to see that our input and efforts helped folks improve their marksmanship as well as their understanding of the Great Sacrifice of our Founding Fathers was rewarding and inspirational.

Met many good folks at the Shoot, many of them members of the Blue Grass Sportsman's League, and many of them expressed interest in the NEXT Lexington Appleseed.  All seemed happy and interested when I told them that we have TWO dates in 2008, and many said they can hardly wait for the Spring.  

Special thanks to KY Gungeek and Mike for their efforts to set this shoot up, for their efforts to promote it and set it up.  This venue is very nice and offers lots of possibilities for future events, and would make a very good location for an future DM course as well as a great place for Appleseeds.

I am beat, just wonder on The Guy can keep up, not sure there is enough coffee for me to reach that speed.

Thanks to the guys that completed the KY Instructors Boot Camp!  These guys are really geared up to get busy and offer a great opportunity to have an instructor "team" that can work well together.  This can really be a great way to produce many more instructors for the expansion and future of this program.

[grimmjack]

I had a great time.  Dad (GeorgeT) got rifleman.  *congrats!*

I'm already planning a trip to the local range with a few friends to relay on the knowledge I gained. 

Looking forward to the Athens Appleseed in May.

[thughes]

+1 on Funfaler's post. The demo of the British military arms the Colonists were facing -- while it didn't go off entirely as planned (pun intended) -- was awesome; you have to be brave, stupid or frightened to the point of immobility to stare down several thousand 68-caliber musket barrels with 16" triangular bayonets at ~25 yards and stand your ground. Thankfully our Forefathers did that and more.

The instruction -- both the marksmanship and history -- were great. On a personal note... I got WORSE scores on day two, after we figured out that to get to my NPOA, I had to lower/remove my M1A cheekpiece and ditch the Aimpoint. I went back to SOCOM iron (which was NOT battle-zeroed or sighted... long boring story). So, during qualifying rounds I was now trying to figure out where my rifle was hitting. Big, big thanks to Tread Carefully for his help on my new rifle-hold stemming from my NPOA issues. He spent a lot of time helping/harassing me, as did another instructor whose name I've forgotten (sorry, I'm terrible with names!).

So, while I'm still a cook, I'm a more dangerous one, and now that I know what I'm doing wrong, and have some great tips on where to start unlearning/reeducating myself to get back in the black, by God I'm gonna be a Rifleman next year! (I'd love to go to a Boot Camp, but mentioning it to my wife last night got me a pretty icy stare, so I'll have to work on that  ).

Once again, thanks and "howdy" to all the great folks I met there -- all those unforgettable guys whose names I mostly forget    -- for a wonderful weekend.

THUGHES

PS - I would encourage anyone who attended to write -- on their own behalf --  a brief letter of thanks to the Blue Grass Sportsman's League. Some of the club members stated there was a lot of concern in club circles about a "militia" meeting there ("there's already a bias against 'black guns'," was one comment). I think a quick email (or better, snailmail) thanking them for hosting this and telling them that you thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to go there and learn a lot about riflery and history would go a long way towards generating goodwill, changing some opinions about us "radicals", and helping to ensure that we can go there again. For those who haven't seen BGSL, it's a beautiful club.

[funfaler]

THUGHES

PS - I would encourage anyone who attended to write -- on their own behalf --  a brief letter of thanks to the Blue Grass Sportsman's League. Some of the club members stated there was a lot of concern in club circles about a "militia" meeting there ("there's already a bias against 'black guns'," was one comment). I think a quick email (or better, snailmail) thanking them for hosting this and telling them that you thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to go there and learn a lot about riflery and history would go a long way towards generating goodwill, changing some opinions about us "radicals", and helping to ensure that we can go there again. For those who haven't seen BGSL, it's a beautiful club.

This is a fabulous idea!

I spoke to several BGSL members at the shoot and asked them to petition the Board for more Appleseed shoots, but if those that attended express gratitude as well, that would go A LONG WAYS toward making us more welcome.

Very "Appleseed thinking" THUGHES!!

[TreadCarefully]

THUGHES

PS - I would encourage anyone who attended to write -- on their own behalf --  a brief letter of thanks to the Blue Grass Sportsman's League. Some of the club members stated there was a lot of concern in club circles about a "militia" meeting there ("there's already a bias against 'black guns'," was one comment). I think a quick email (or better, snailmail) thanking them for hosting this and telling them that you thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to go there and learn a lot about riflery and history would go a long way towards generating goodwill, changing some opinions about us "radicals", and helping to ensure that we can go there again. For those who haven't seen BGSL, it's a beautiful club.

This is a fabulous idea!

I spoke to several BGSL members at the shoot and asked them to petition the Board for more Appleseed shoots, but if those that attended express gratitude as well, that would go A LONG WAYS toward making us more welcome.

Very "Appleseed thinking" THUGHES!!

Shiny!

[bigjohn]

Greetings,
      The Lexington Appleseed was held at my home range this weekend ,so it was both exciting and worrisome that the shoot was also my first experiene as an instructor in training.
      There was a fine mix of attendees but I was especially happy to see several young people learning to shoot and seeing that history is not just old stories they HAVE to know for school.

  UK/Mighty Mouse brought along examples of period firearms which helped enforce the history presented by the other instructors-16 inches of sharp steel on the end of a barrel can do that.

   I know that an Appleseed Shoot presents enough information to keep the normal person occupied for a week but many shooters soaked that info up and shrank their groups dramitically . 2 young men (1 who had never fired a rifle before) who were only able to make it for the Sunday session , had 2/3 smaller groups by the end of the day, amazing!

   BGSL has a fine facility and people ;Clay,Mike ,Richard and their families went beyond the norm to set up the range and provide a fine lunch both days-many thanks.

    Big John

[MIGHTY MOUSE]

This is my second appleseed as an instructor in training an it was an awesome experience.  I have attended 4 Appleseeds as a student over the past couple of years and after a lot of practice, a ton of encouragement from instructors such as FRED, LUCKYMAN, THE GUY, SON OF MARTHA and countless others who have all had a hand in the forging of this Rifleman, I am now able to pass on the same tradition of History and Marksmenship that was handed down to me.  I can now tell others of the sacrifice our forefathers have made and why it is our duty to live up to their expectations and carry on the beliefs and traditions that they felt were worth spilling the blood of another mother's son.  I wish I knew how to put in words the satisfaction that one receives from seeing a shooter improve from a piece of advice that was given to you as a student and then in return you have given to a new shooter who is shooting for the first time.  I think it is as fun and rewarding  to watch someone shoot a rifleman score for the first time as it is to shoot the score yourself.  This Lexington Appleseed did not fail to exceed my expectations of having a group with a teachable attitude.  It seems that every Appleseed I have attended has always been better than the prior.  There were seasoned competition shooters there who accepted advice as easily as the youngest shooters.  The important thing is we are all volunteer Americans teaching volunteer Americans, as I learned new things from the shooters as well as the other instructors.   The weather was warm, well no lying it was hot,  but that did not deter this group from persisting as we all took a big gulp from the "firehose" of markemenship.  Clay and the BGSL did an outstanding job in setting up for the shoot and they should be proud of their world class facilities.  All of my "Kentucky home school Boot Camp brothers"    did an awesome job with the instruction and I also got to reinforce the importance of Safety Rule # 1 with a stuborn musket loaded with ball.  Here are some pictures that I had time to take during the weekend event.

[Fred]

     Man, it is hard to miss a good Appleseed - and they're all good!

     I wasn't there (as you can tell), but I believe we should have UKM bring that big cannon with the 16 inches of cold British steel to every Appleseed. If it sounds scary just hearing it second-hand, seeing it has to be really scary...

     Glad to hear George T made Rifleman. I always thought he looked like one - now he is one!

     And glad to hear TC and the new KY instructors not only did a good job, but had a great time!

     Instructing is one of the best-kept secrets around. If drug-abusers ever heard about the "instructor's high", they'd drop those puny drugs and become instructors!

     You can take that to the bank.

[The Landshark]

This was my first Appleseed and I'm hooked!

I'm not sure I learned much about shooting.  I was too busy UNLEARNING a lot of bad habits.  If nothing else, you've challenged me.  One of these days, I will shoot rifleman!

Everyone was very friendly and helpful.  Special thanks to Tread Carefully and UKPharmD2003 for working with me.  I did not find my NPOA on this outing, but I know how to look for it now.

Also, I really appreciated The Guy's storytelling on Saturday.  You could practically smell the gunpowder and hear the hoof beats.  But as I though about it, I realized that the spirit those folks had is not dead yet. We saw bits of it on September 11, 2001; especially aboard United 93.  We've seen it in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Sadly, that spirit is buried and misdirected, but it is still there.  We have a nation full of people who don't realize just how great they can be.  Maybe Appleseed will be part of waking them up.

Still, I mostly want to learn how to shoot.  So, thanks for getting me started down the road to good marksmanship!

--John Conley

[The Guy]

Got off the trail last night too late to post up, so I am doing it now.

Lexington was a PRETTY shoot.  It was a GOOD shoot.

Nothing like 2 good highly populated shoots in 2 weekends to get the blood flowing!

Kinda glad Mighty brought those muzzle loaders.  You can say "...16 inche bayonets..." all day long, but untill you actually see one on the end of a rifle....





It seems that all my AARs are the same.

"Great shoot, greater folks, wanna go back, blahblahblah".

But heck, if it ain't always true!

Every single time I go to an Appleseed or Bootcamp, I feel like a new man.  There is nothing better out there in the world that I can imagine.

It is a Duty to our Fathers.

It is a Sacred Trust that they laid upon Posterity's shoulders.

And, one by one, the efforts of Fred and the other Instructors are getting more of our Father's Children into the understanding of just how Sacred and how Important that Duty and Trust is.



How could anything, anything, be more important?

Than Freedom?

Than Responsiblity?

Than Posterity?



"Take care of the children."

-Issac Davis, 19 Apr, 1775