Stinson, WV - Patriot's Day, April 17-18, 2010

[The Machine]

Before I say anything else, I need to thank 'Len1459' from North Carolina for his last minute trek to Beckley, WV; which made this Stinson shoot possible. This is probably the 12th time he's been thanked for his selfless service, but it is well deserved. Those of us in Appleseed know how the choice of one individual altered the outcome of a piece of history, and if it wasn't for "Len", Stinson would've been history...as in "canceled". Can't thank you enough man!  

The weather this time of year in WV is rather unpredictable and we weren't let down this year. The original threat of severe thunderstorms didn't materialize, but wind gusts of 50 mph destroyed the tarp-covered firing line Fri, relegating Spanner and myself to clean-up detail the night before we had to greet shooters early Sat. morning. To add insult to injury, we had 5 people cancel between Thu. evening and Fri. for various reasons.  

Names and faces of shooters at Stinson changed throughout the weekend almost as frequently as wind direction.  

Overall, we had another memorable Stinson Patriot's Day Appleseed; albeit totally different from last year. A new Rifleman and IIT (Chrome) emerged, and I believe the memories of the Patriots, along with Jacqui Wells (Mlle. Yotnottin), were duly honored.  

Shoot Stats

Instructor Corps
SB- Spanner
IITs- The Machine, wvmmfalcon

Weather Conditions
Sat- Mostly sunny; upper 50s; 10-15 mph wind, gusts to 20-30 mph
Sun- Mostly sunny; low 60s; 10 mph wind, gusts to 15-20 mph

Actual Shooters
Sat- 5...3 others joined us only for the "Volley of Liberty"
Sun- 8

No Shows
Sat- 5
Sun- 5

Walk Ons
Sun- 2

New Riflemen
Sat- 1 (Chrome)

New IITs
Sat- 1 (Chrome)

Aside from the remains of a busted tarp pole lying in the grass, there was little evidence Sat. morning of the wind damage from the previous evening. The rains exited and the sun rose over the hill, making for a nice day...

Except for those blasted wind gusts  ...

Our group of students were too focused on practicing "dry run" transitions under the watchful eyes of our instructors to worry about such trivial things as wind. "Falcon" gently persuades Ken into position...

That practice translated into some nice sitting positions, as Anne demonstrates to her "mentor"...

Chrome finishes up and watches, as his fiance'e Caroline shows good knelling form...

While Caroline was occupied, I asked Chrome if he knew what he was getting into with this marriage thing...  

My esteemed "model" gets slung-up as we walk the students through the offhand demo...

Spanner explained what the next step of the learning process is...administering lead accurately into the AQT!  

Aside from Chrome and Caroline (Carrier), Sunday saw new faces, including my favorite "returning champion"--Hannah! My little buddy can always be relied upon to sport that infectious smile  ...

Her shirt exemplifies Hannah's attitude: "Have A Nice Day"; and we certainly did--Appleseed style!

Hannah's dad George, was the most improved shooter this weekend. He's not an avid shooter and this was his first Appleseed. George went from his first AQT score in the 150s to flirting with Rifleman on his last AQT--198! Why the tremendous progress in only one day? George posses that "teachable attitude", along with the focus, to put into practice what our program instills..."Riflemen are made, not born". "OK George...prep 5 rounds and punch 'em into that 1" square over there"  ...

Now, let's work on that support hand and trigger leg...

A few minor tweaks on his standing position, and I can see a Rifleman patch being awarded to George soon. His boy Jeremiah (3rd from right) has been to 3 Appleseeds--his form shows it--and will join the Riflemen/IIT ranks soon too...

I'll be posting more pics and commentary shortly...

[Spanner]

 
Congratulations Chrome 

[siglite]

Congrats Chrome!

[Chrome]

Thanks guys.  I've read through the Instructor's Manual that Falcon gave me.  As soon as I get access, I'll read the updated version and get signed up to work some shoots.

Later,
Chrome...

Ya know, I scored a 48,46,47,37.  One of those numbers isn't up to snuff, and it's the easy stage.  I'm going to have to do better.  No reason why that score couldn't have been a 225+.

[siglite]

Thanks guys.  I've read through the Instructor's Manual that Falcon gave me.  As soon as I get access, I'll read the updated version and get signed up to work some shoots.

Later,
Chrome...

Ya know, I scored a 48,46,47,37.  One of those numbers isn't up to snuff, and it's the easy stage.  I'm going to have to do better.  No reason why that score couldn't have been a 225+.

When BBKF and NC-17 start doing some IIT stuffs, I'm going to be shooting at some of these events. My scores (and associated skills) are perpetually in need of polishing.

[Chrome]

Hey Machine, how many pictures do you have from the weekend?  I got some new video software I thought I'd throw a slide show together.

Later,
Chrome...

[West]

Always a good show out there at Stinson.

Frank is a terrific host!  And Spanner is one of the finest SBs around, in my humble opinion.

Congrats Chrome, and everyone else.  Terrific Appleseeders make terrific weekends!

West