I was an American Doofus.

[dragonfly]

  
     October 2007 I was at range cleanup day at Circus City Sportsmen Baraboo WI. My friend Tyrone and I were working and talking about Camp Perry and maybe going some day. He said we should go to an Appleseed some time. Appleseed, I said what is that ? He said, he read about it in Shotgun News. A marksmanship clinic up in Shiocton WI.
     We finished our work and got our rifle's out to do some shooting. A couple other shooter's should up, one in particular had a Springfield M1a. We introduced ourself's and I asked if I could look at his M1a. He said, sure. We talked in between our 5 or 10 round strings trying to get sighted in. Couple boxes of ammo later I was set and all sighted in. The M1a guy look frustrated and said his scope kept coming loose. He picked up his stuff, said he'd have to try again some other time. I continued to shoot and all of a sudden I wasn't seeing any hole's on my target. The guy next to me said, I think you are shooting my target. I said no, I don't think so. I looked at my rifle and sure enough my scope was loose. I was done for the day. I was an American Doofus.
     Fast forward to Oct.2008 I was at the range in Baraboo, I think it was on a Tuesday, and someone had put out a flyer for Appleseed at Lodi WI for that coming weekend. I called my buddy Tyrone, and asked him if he wanted to go, no he said he had to work. So I thought about it and finally talked myself into it thursday night, and signed up.
      I got all my gear ready to go, and my new M1a, that I had not even shot yet. 500 rnds. what a great opportunity to break in a new rifle. So I got done with work Sat. am, and headed for my first Appleseed. Lodi Oct. 2008.
      I got to the range, signed in, and the guy running it looked familiar, But I couldn't figure out where I had seen this guy. Everyone kept calling him colycat. Don't know any colycat. I know, I know its Tony the m1a guy from Baraboo 2007. He was the guy that put out the flyer's. We meet before either one of us had been to an Appleseed, and now this guy is going to show me how to shoot, and boy did he ever.
      Thanks, colycat, I hope you know how much you have helped me. I am no longer an American Doofus because of Appleseed.  

      So please tell your story how did you find out about Appleseed, and how did you find out about your first Appleseed. Even if all you did was picked up a flyer at a gun show, or a friend or family member dragged you kicking and screaming. Let us know what brought you to Appleseed.

Thanks in advance for sharing.
dragonfly   Keeping the Faith

Edit: It does not matter where you are from please feel free to post. We are one big Appleseed family  .
     

[Taylor]

A friend down in IL told me about Appleseed in 2008 and invited me to go with him but I had something else going on that weekend and took a pass. August 2009 CCKC in SE WI was hosting an Appleseed and since I was a member there it was easy to sign up and would be even easier (ha ha) to shoot tiny groups on those 25m targets. After that wake up call I took the fantastic instruction provided by the likes of Aftermath, Deacon, Garand69 and many dedicated others seriously and finally acheived Rifleman last weekend at Hinckley, MN and was honored to take on the Orange Hat and I now hope to follow some giant footprints.

[sparks1]

 I'd been introduced to rifle (bench/bipod) shooting years ago by a PD shooter. Got really interested in accurate rifles, but never could afford the custom ones. I read about AS in a Dillon magazine I get. Reloading is another hobby I have...can't wring out utmost accuracy without tailoring a load to the rifle.

So I get excited about this Appleseed thing, trouble is it's December 2008 , and I can't see any shoots scheduled til spring. I get in contact with VMT193 and he says there is this IBC in WI. come FEB.2009. I'm stoked, but he says you have to have attended at least 1 AS.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME? now i'm bummed, have to wait til spring.
( Turns out it was in a guy named colycat's garage, I found this out at Marshall a couple weeks ago.)

So April 2009 comes around and I am at Elk River with my nephews and a SB named colycat, nice enough guy, but runs a mean COF. Up and down, Up and down, walk down and check targets (quickly) I have an old leather 1907 sling and am afraid it will break at any time, it's that crusty. Can only use it as a hasty ( tried to do loop with it), nephews are cross shooting at my target as they are on each side of me. Can't seem to get all the stage 2 rounds off.  Uff DA.
Well it seems the instruction is sinking in as I am close to RM , you know that high 190's, low 200's and Coly comes by and says, " Follow through..hold that trigger back,call your shot."  Voila...214 ...hasty and all.

I get the badge, still have the target. I talk to Colycat after the shoot and am intrigued by the history (something in his voice when he tells it says it's personal to him.)and I can see the need to 7th step. He hands me an orange hat and welcomes me aboard. Tells me to get in contact with vmt193, which I do. Go to Leeds , N.D. for my first event as an OH, and had no idea what to expect. Had the best time, and was pumped even through the 6 hr drive home. Personal life interferred with AS in 2009, but attended again this past spring. Not ever gonna look back.

Thanks Colycat for offering the 7th step and taking a chance on an OG. Any idea how many seeds you have planted ? This one's growing.

[EZ3]

The article in the Blue Press (Dillon Precision) a couple years ago was my starting point.  I read the article (No, I don't get it JUST to look at the pictures) and mentioned it to my wife.  As President of our gun club, she was looking for ways to reinvigorate our rifle programs.  She organized the first Beaver Falls Appleseed in July 2009, and registered for the shoot with our oldest daughter, who is an avid rifle shooter.  Me?  I already knew how to shoot a rifle.  I was shooting DCM Service Rifle matches with a 1903A3 when I was in high school, had shot CMP Sporter Rifle matches, and had recently completed the NRA's Smallbore 4-Position Rifle qualification program.  Appleseed had nothing to teach ME.   

As the day of the match approached, our personal schedules changed.  Our daughter had to work Sunday, so she would only be able to shoot on Saturday.  My wife had made an open-ended commitment to an old friend months before, and the IOU got called in on Appleseed weekend, naturally.  She asked me if I wanted to take her slot.  Why not?  Any opportunity to make smoke and noise is a good one.   

Our daughter decided to use her 4-Position rifle, an ancient M44US bought from the CMP years before and modified with a sling rail and an aperture front sight.  Since she was used to loading one shot at a time, we only had one magazine for it, seven round capacity.  She qualified Saturday afternoon.  Today, I use that story when shooters get frustrated with eating rounds on the rapid fire strings.  "I've seen it done with ONE seven round magazine.  It's not HOW MANY  shots you put into the target, it's WHERE you put the rounds that you get off."   

Me?  I wrestled with an old bolt-action Russian .22 cal trainer all weekend before I qualified on the last AQT of the weekend.  Even that was only by the grace of an Ohio Appleseeder who will remain nameless.  My first Appleseed humbled me and inspired me.  Even though it took me until November to soothe my mangled ego enough to go to another Appleseed, I was pretty sure in July that this was an organization I wanted to get involved with.   

[The Log]

I was a doofus up until November of 2009, when an acquaintance from another forum mentioned Appleseed. I checked out the website, saw "the real story of April 19th, 1775", and instantly signed up. By the time Shoot Boss ItsanSKS was about half-way through the First Strike, I thought, "Uh-oh! I'm going to be doing that someday. I'd better pay attention!" At the benediction, when ItsanSKS revealed that he came up from Florida to SB a Connecticut shoot, I knew I was in REAL trouble - first, that CT needed to go as far away as FL to get shoots staffed, and that AS inspires instructors to such selfless behavior.

I didn't shoot Rifleman that weekend, so as soon as I got home on Sunday night, I signed up for the next shoot in Colebrook in December. Crak SB'd that one, and although the temperature didn't break 15 degrees in the sun that day, I managed to shoot Rifleman. I 7th-Stepped my neighbor and dragged him to the March shoot in Colebrook, where KDan put the Orange Hat on me. CortJestir has been helping me navigate the Road to Red Hat since then, and I've managed to get my wife to two shoots, her sister and her family to one, and my two older kids and my Dad have signed up for the October shoot at Blue Trail Range in Wallingford. I've been 7th Stepping all over the place, in fact, and have made a nuisance out of myself at work to the point where I have four more potential shooters for the BTR shoot - if they'd only commit!!

So a big "Thank you" to ItsanSKS, CortJestir, crak, KDan, Smithy, TOMINCT, and all the other hats of various colors that I've had the privilege of working with the last year on this Appleseed journey.

[PHenry]

Please forgive the intrusion, but Doofuses come from all states right?

Confessions of a reformed iceberg counter.

I read all the books and I could see all the icebergs that were in America's path. It all began when a certain Congress was considering banning a certain class of rifles. Made me concerned. I had always wanted to get into shooting, but had not got round to it. I figured I'd best get going, as it looked like time was running out for that tradition. I asked around and found a "gun nut", who taught me what to buy and so I set about acquiring some "power tools" of my own.

In the process, I began buying SGNs from a local news stand for cash (not getting my name on any lists right?). I came across Fred's articles. They were right in line with my own thinking at the time (we have both since been healed by Appleseeds) and I was intrigued at the idear of attending a RBC. But, they were only in NC then and I couldn't take a week and a half off, so I just kept counting icebergs and buying tools.

Then one day, I open SGN and see that an event is scheduled for Davenport, FL (Jan of 2007 as I recall) - about 2 hours from me. The time for excuses had passed. I gathered up three buddies and packed up my travel trailer. I brung three rifles and near every accessory I owned (all of which were found to be useless, save an old Vietnam era "silent sling). I learned more about shooting in two days than I had in years of practicing on my own, because practice does NOT make perfect - only perfect practice makes perfect. I can still recall the frustration I experienced at how poorly I was shooting from position (I was pretty good from a bench rest!).

At lunch first day, I dumped an M4 in favor of an AR10 with an Eotech and did a little better, but still not 210. JuniorBirdman was my instructor and he had us run a rapid fire AQT (not done any longer for safety reasons, as it involved trans with a loaded rifle). I was so annoyed that I shot 216, but could not repeat the deed on Sunday.

Fred told the history and he got a little choked up in the process. That was what really caught my attention. I mean JB was truly excellent at instructing and I leanrt a lot, but seeing a growed man get teary talking about a war that ended two centuries ago - that made an impression. I was hoooked.

A second event came to Myakka City (Feb 2008 according to my pictures) and this time, the SB was a woman. She was sharp-eyed and very focused. I brung one buddy with me (all I could drag there) and we arrived early and asked if we could be of any help (silly question). Well, DragonWood put us straight to work on parking lot patrol and on Sunday (after I had once agin scored Rifleman by skin of my teeth) asked me if I would consider instructing. I ate the red pill and never looked back.

Then the mentors lined up to bring me along - Atticus, Fred, DW, DonD, HawkHavn, TC, and the list is still growing. Before long Fred and FunFaler were hammering me to get venues and promote events. Atticus petitioned Fred for a red hat for me (was done by the "nod" system in them days), and Fred relented. Atticus handed me my red hat at the NRA Whittington Center in NM, at the first event there. TaosGlock and BlueFeather were attendees! I still wear that same hat - it's more of a "dusty rose" color now.

I was now the entire Florida chapter and FF was dogging me even harder. I suckered, er I mean, invited ItsanSKS to take over SC duties so I could focus on staffing. He took the red pill too. We eventually added a promo boss - caseyblane and recently an admin man - marrandy.

Florida will hold something like 35 events this year and we now have a great team. The mentoring continues and what was taught to me, is now taught by people I have yet to meet, to others. I knew we were on our way, when I saw the first promotion I had absolutely nothing to do with.  

[dragonfly]

Thanks everyone, and keep them coming. Yes PHenry, we are all one big happy Appleseed family, so it does not matter what state you are from , we want to hear your story.

D-fly   Keeping the Faith

[sparks1]

Thanks everyone, and keep them coming. Yes PHenry, we are all one big happy Appleseed family, so it does not matter what state you are from , we want to hear your story.

D-fly   Keeping the Faith

Whew...After posting I thought that MAYBE D-fly meant for Colycat only to respond,( Now that would be an interesting read ) and that I had jumped in uninvited. ( I'm kinda impetuous...if you haven't noticed )

[Scarecrow]

The curtain rises, deer hunting trip of fall 2008. My best friend and hunt buddy
Don Bell (OkieWino) states with great enthusiasm to Jim W. and me that we need to go to this Appleseed thing he has read about in Shotgun News. He hands the article to me and I read through it with much skepticism. (I understand Scout had a similar reaction to SGN article in the beginning too.) My non-committal response to spare his feelings is, "We will have to see about that."   
Well I did see about it on appleseedinfo.org and some of the links to Fred's blogs.
The website is what got the interest level up. The blogs talking about taking potshots at UN APC's on U.S. soil (?) set me back a bit.
I read about what to expect at an AS, what to bring and how to prepare. Purchased a Ruger 10/22 and set it up in LTR fashion with 1907 sling and Williams peep with Merit aperture.
(BTW, since we do not "train" our attendees, the LTR is referred to as a Liberty Target Rifle now.)  Forward to spring 2009, Don says "Lets go to the Davilla shoot on 09/11/2009". That's quite a drive so I go online and find one closer at Grandfield, Oklahoma same weekend. Don pre-registers for the three of us.
Saturday morning dawns cool with light fog. RWVA red hats, orange hats, oval patches, rifleman patches, boot camp rockers, etc. Hmm? Maybe these guys have something going here for real. A typical quality AS weekend ensues. Could this be what I have been looking for these last twenty years to turn the nation around? Hmmmm.
The next event I can attend close at hand is March 2010 Oklahoma City Gun Club. I am there to "help out" as I am able to. Don hands over the orange hat. The E ticket ride starts now. That was just seven months ago. Sheesh! Where did the time go? Six shoots. Kansas RBC with Guy and Dinky! Waterman300! Still in afterburner, zone-5!
Appleseed is indeed about saving the nation (the world). It saved me first.
Don left the range back in May when his body could not do anymore. Jim W. has a new job that keeps him on the road six days a week. I'm here working on PC's at my doofus pace but getting there. Public speaking is not my gift but persistence, perseverance, patience, right? Right. I would not be here today but for Don, Oldgunt and Henschman and many others setting me on "the Trail". 
The Scarecrow.

[vmt193]

I had been reading Fred's column in SGN for quite a while and seeing reports about this Appleseed thing in far off places east of the Mississippi. Finally one winter day I saw that there was going to be one in Searsboro, IA April 19th, 2008. I got registered on the forums, schooled myself on the LTR, and got a couple rigged up for both myself and my son.

We drove 4 1/2 hours through driving rain to Grinnell on Friday night and continued on to Searsboro in the morning to find most of the ranges under water. The SB for the weekend was Jr. Birdman along with Iowa/Mark, and Alonso1. It was a dark cloudy day with a slight drizzle on and off all day. We were given 2 pistol bays to use but still needed to run double relays on both lines. It was so crowded we were still laying on each others mats with legs tangled everywhere.

Since I had been in the Army and shooting for 40 years already, I knew I wouldn't get much out of it but figured it would be good for my 17 year old son. After all how much harder could it get than shooting prairie dogs at 400-500 yards? Well, you all know the rest of the story.   Boy was I tucking my tail after trying to hit that first Redcoat target.

JB started off the weekend with the safety briefing and I think it was Alonso1 that gave the first strike. I thought, "C'mon, let's shoot!" but by the end of that 1st Strike with JB promising the 2nd at lunch, I couldn't wait to eat. I was hooked! 

We shot till it was too dark to see the targets decent on Saturday and came back to do it again on Sunday. I think I shot a Rifleman score sometime early Sunday morning and my son did it later in the day. I was as proud watching him receive that patch from JB as I was when he graduated from BCT last year.

We both had a great time and I knew I just had to bring the program to Minnesota. I immediately set to work getting one approved by the local sportsman's club and on Labor Day weekend, Iowa/Mark was cracking the whip on Minnesota's first Appleseed firing line, with Colycat, Alex, Savageshooter, and Johnny Appleseed backing him up.

Thanks again guys! 

[Deacon]

I have a little different story from many.
I had never heard of Fred, nor his articles in SGN.  I hadn't seen a SGN for 15 years.
I bought a RRA NM AR15 and wanted to learn how to shoot it with iron sights.  I was talking to my twin brother who lives in Maui, Hawaii (DeaconsEvilTwin on he forum) and he told me I should go to an Appleseed.  I said, a what?  He told me what it was, he had read about it in SGN!  Anyway, I looked it up and almost signed up for fall of '08 in Lodi, but I didn't know if I would have my AR by then.  So I decided to wait until April 19th, 2009. 
I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
You see, I was an American Doofus,  I woud sit on the couch and YELL at the T.V.  My wife had even said that I need to get a hobby and DO SOMETHING!
I went to me first AS on 4/19/09.  Colycat, O.G.!, Trisha, Ahhshoot, JRTurbo, and Griffen was there.  I learned something from everyone of them.
But Colycat's history and Turbo's 7th Step REALLY got to me.  When I was asked to wear the Orange Hat, I was honored.

Ok, maybe I wasn't a "Doofus".  I was just ignorant.  Yes, I has strong feeling about things that were happening, but I didn't DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.  Now today, I am doing something about it!
I think what would make me a Doofus is if I just went back to sitting on the couch and yelling at the T.V. after my first Appleseed!

Deacon

[JoeZ]

Hello all.

My father left me with the idea that I should always be armed and he also left me with a healthy respect for the Founding Fathers. He would assemble his family and read stories of the War of Independence. When I hit 18 I bought a rifle(Ruger mini14) and lots of ammunition and tried off and on for years trying to get good with it. During the late 90's I got a subscription to SGN and started reading Fred's column. By the late 90's I had upgraded to an AR10 and was marginally better at using it. Then Fred was writing about a rifleman's guide and some sort of test. I think it was 2001 that I was shooting rifleman score by following all the advise in this guide thing. By 2003 my nephew and I were taking guys over to the auxiliary range in Hubertus (because "silhouettes" are not allowed) and we were teaching what was gleaned from the guide. By 2004 I asked the board if I could hold what I called the Battlerifle match which was simply the AQT (the 4 page one), and this was really just an excuse to advertise what we were already doing to the general membership and to get the target approved. 2005 was the first year of the match.

Enter Appleseed. By late 2005 Fred was talking about some sort of tour around holding clinics he called Appleseed. In 2006 we contacted several ranges (including Lodi, Hubertus, Racine) to ask if they would host an Appleseed and no one had heard of it and would not commit. Then one was held in West Bend WI in June of 2006 (the tornado Applseed) and I was in along with two nephews. Fred, Believer(from the old forum, I think he's the same Believer but I don't know), Cabin Boy, and Farm Rich were the instructors and I remember The Editor and Smokeyjoe were  there as shooters. I passed the first AQT and got to shoot with Believer for a team shoot as there was an uneven number of shooters. When I saw Farm Rich get his red hat I thought that was the greatest thing. Here's an outfit that qualifies it's instructors by their amount of field experience and not some stupid written test. I wanted to do this. My next Appleseed was in Boulder City NV Jan 2007 and I went to help instruct. There was no IIT status or even orange hats. Fred and Bob 210 were there. From there I went to Ottawa and Shiocton a few times and the instructors were Guy and Ornel and Longshot, jrturbo, and I think Thor's Hammer were there as IIT's. In June of 2008 one of the plants at work burned down and I was in charge of building the new one post haste. That was almost 80 hours a week for 8 months and so it wasn't until Feb of 2009 until I got over to Baraboo for an IBC but had to leave because my Battlerifle match was Sun. Then I went to Ottawa for April as they were understaffed compared to Lodi which is alot closer but again I could only help out Sat only as April 19 weekend was a big part of my Battlerifle match. Then I went to Shiocton again where Colycat handed me a red hat and I handed my son ColinZ (who had just shot riflman) my orange hat. I think I went to Lodi after that and was trained to be a SB there or or in Hubertus. I decided to give up on the Battlerifle match and 2009 was it's last year but now it's come full circle as Hubertus will host 6 Appleseed shoots this year.

Lot's of people to thank on my trail and I hope lot's more to go.

[PHenry]

dragonfly,
This is a great idea - a real morale booster sir - kudos to you for starting it. We need more of this sort of thing around here!

[AFTERMATH]

I recall one hot summer afternoon, returning from yet another fruitless gunshow with my cousin.
Let's just say we were discussing the perils of gun control, the degradation of our rights , as well as the need to form a sort of 'club,' to fill the needed role of defending said rights as well as America.  I wasn't yet eighteen years of age, and I had not a rifle.  I did have a BB/pellet gun as a kid; and not a little green plastic armyman ever had a chance against my superior 'sniping' skills...  That is, until the barrel was so worn that it occasionally shot out further than the projectile.  Ultimately, it had to be shelved.  Thus with that, my shooting skills began to decline.  And recent trips to the range with my cousin had prooven that.  Still, I'd heard the stories of riflemen during the Revolutionary War and through out our history of armed conflict.  I understood the value of marksmanship and it's role in Americas heritage.  Thus a debate ensued.  He felt that we should all have AK 47's; because of their steadfast reliability and the ability to lay down a high volume of fire.  I, on the other hand, argued that it wasn't the amount of rounds fired that would measure the effectiveness; but rather the amounts of hits that would ultimately be the deciding factor.  Thus, we should focus on marksmanship with accurate rifles.  The ideal rifle would of course be the M-14.  We then debated over the high cost of the ammunition and the rifle itself.  Though, I too, realized it's expense, I held to my original opinion that it would be the best option.  I then, began to talk about the need to not only improve our marksmanship, but the marksmanship of others as well.  We'd both seen the targets at the range; we weren't the only ones have problems hitting them.  What happend to America being a nation of riflemen?  As the conversation progressed, including at times rants, he said something that kinda broke the rhythm of the conversation.  "You're starting to sound like that guy from the Shotgun News."  "Who?"  I asked.  The response; "What's his name.... Fred!" 
'Well who the heck is this Fred?  And why do I sound like him?'

Fast forward a few years...  The conversation lost to the depths of my mind(there were a few along them lines, so the one regarding SGN didn't really resonate), I picked up one of my recent issues of SGN.  As I was now a subscriber.  I was looking through the adds, I recall I was nearing the end of the magazine.  By now, I believe I had two rifles.  One, a Remington 760(in .308, none other) my father had given me for my eighteenth birthday.  The other being a recently acquired Mosin-Nagant M 38.  Well, I was looking for ammo, accoutrement's and of course more rifles!  Then I noticed a quote by Thomas Jefferson mixed in with the classifieds.  It was a familiar quote...  Probably about the 'Tree of Liberty.'  It suddenly struck me!  This magazine has more than just stuff for sale!  Seriously, before that time; I vaguely even realized they had articles in the front!  Well, I was bored and continued to peruse for more quotes, which I could write down and/or commit to memory.  I'd always appreciated the quotes from our founding fathers.  Then suddenly, I came across this column next to Fred's M14 stocks.  I'd probably seen the advertisement before; but skipped it, as I didn't have an M14 to stock.  I began reading it and although I don't recall it's actual subject, the overtones regarding American's need to learn how to shoot rung a bell with me.  Suddenly, I realized that this was the guy my cousin had been talking about!  Huh, interesting. 

Being that I now began to read back through previous issues; I don't recall whether it was before or after the beginning of the Appleseed Tour.  They all kinda melted together in my mind.  I do recall reading about the 'New RBC's' at some point, and telling my cousin that we should go to one, as a weekend clinic didn't make much sense considering the amount of travel necessary.  If funds and equipment would ever allow.  Heck, I still needed to get myself a semi-auto rifle.  Meanwhile, I kept reading SGN watching as shoots got closer and closer.  I remember MO popping up, and I recall reading about 'Ditchwater.'  I missed a few, when my subscription lapsed.  But I recall reading Fred's description of the range in Shiocton, WI.  Heck, their in Wisconsin now!  But I missed the first one...  Also, I began looking into the possibility of getting one at a range here.  But the only one I found any connection to, was Hinckley....  Surely, that puny range was unworthy of such an exceptional program...So, I thought.  Back when KD was such a huge component that I thought it necessary to hold a shoot.  Centerfires were still center stage.  Hadn't even heard of the possibility of using a .22lr.  And if so, I wasn't willing to show up with boys gun, to a Rifleman's shoot!  The LTR concept, as far as I know, hadn't been developed.  So I needed a center-fire!  I'd been keeping my eyes open for a decently priced SKS, as it would be the only thing in my price range.  Finally, I found one!  Problem was, two weeks later when I went to the next gunshow, to pick up a case of ammo this time; it was gone!  All of it!  I spent months looking for 7.62x39 by the case for less than $150.  Finally, in the spring of 2007 I found one.  Soft-point wolf, but it'll do!  Now all I had to do was order up them targets and Fred's Guide to Becoming a Rifleman!  I went ahead and got the 'Instructor's Package.'  I wanted to be sure that when the time came, and we could finally get to one of these 'Appleseeds' or 'RBC's' we'd be ready to put forth a good representation of MN marksmanship.  That and I was still under the impression that this was literally 'learn to shoot today, learn to teach tomorrow' meaning I'd be returning home to run my own AQT shoots.  Up to that point, I don't think I'd never ordered anything off the internet before.  If so, I was extremely skeptical about the whole 'Security Certificate error' thing.  That and to load up a website at 10 kbps  took a great deal of commitment alone!  Finally, sometime during the summer of '07, I put in an order....  And waited.... And waited....  Meanwhile my cousin and I formulated a plan to set aside the third Saturday of each month as a range day.  It started out great at first.  I went through about 500 rounds in no time.  Though it wasn't well applied as most of the time was still spent BSing.  I still didn't have my dang targets!  Finnally got them in the fall of '07.  At about the same time our schedules got jostled; and the time for 'range day' got eaten away...
I did shoot me one of them Redcoats, only to find I wasn't effective past 200 yards!     Luckily, my SKS had a bayonet.
Though, I had read through Fred's Guide, I couldn't focus on the first portion of the pamphlet.  I kept skipping through and concentrating on the end.
Also, while Christmas shopping that November, I developed the crazy notion that I should get a laptop with WiFi.  So I could steal some high-speed stuff and get all my internet work done in half an hour!  Ha!

Though, I believe I may have paid a visit to the old forum back in the day; as it seems so familiar.  I did not register for it.  Internet was too slow, and I didn't know anything about forums except that they always popped up in my searches, distracting me from relevant information.  In fact, I hated reading through tons of jib-jab just to find someones opinion on an issue; when all I was seeking was straightforward information!  Then again, it was a lot of work with dial-up!  But one day, after getting my new computer; I recalled the website; RWVA.org and went there.  Somehow stumbling upon the registration for the program.  i.e. Forum.  Back then, you still had to be manually approved for registration.  The confirmation email must have been lost in my overflowing In box.  Never did delete all the spam outta that old one, it was too far gone by the time I got away from dial-up, too slow to do so before.  Meanwhile, I put it in my subconscious.  I was too busy arguing with people on facebook's opinion polls.  In some ways I regret getting facebook.  If allowed it'll easily consume way too much of your time.  Oddly enough, the very person who begged and finally convinced me to get a facebook account; de-friended me!   Apparently I became too opinionated.   I don't think I ever got back around to the forum, that is until I saw Shiocton, WI on the schedule!
(You know, back when it was still in that tiny box on the upper right of Fred's advertisement.)  That was less than 500 miles away, on a weekend I could get off, and it wasn't in Iowa!

Seeing that, sparked the flames up again, and I logged back into the forum.  I wasn't a lurker.  I just misunderstood the rules regarding a 'working forum.'  I figured that meant only instructors, admins, and the like were allowed to post.  So, I watched from time to time, and gathered my relevent information.  And was all but signed up for the coming Shiocton shoot in May of 'o8.  Then I ran into a little car trouble...  In February, it decided to play rolly-polly on me and put itself outta commission...  Well, the next car I could afford had more than a few kinks to work out and well, by now my cousin was as broke as I was.  We would not be able to make it to that shoot!  Disappointed as all heck, I continued to watch the schedule.  And practice here and there.  But most my rifle work was superceded by my need to familiarize myself with my new pistol that I would be carrying as soon as I could afford the class.  At about the same time I found a Carry Class, sometime in July 'o8, I noticed a new location appear.  Winona, MN!  I WOULD NOT, COULD NOT MISS THE FIRST SHOOT IN MINNESOTA!  I blew my budget, on both the carry class and the Winona shoot and of course buying enough ammo to make it through....  Now $200 per case!  As Johnny Appleseed would later point out, I could have set up an LTR for that much....  And began to spend a little more time on the forum, downloading flyers and info for my cousin.  It would probably be good to mentioning that I believe it was Slim, who prompted me to help out, directing me to the MN board and suggesting I get in touch with vmt193.

One week out and I was all set and ready to go.  I told my cousin he'd better hurry and sign up, as there was only about a slot left.  I think he used this as his opportunity to bail.  Oh, well....  So, I would be making the 4.5 hour trip alone.  Never gone that far alone, but oh well.  I wasn't gonna miss the first shoot in Minnesota. 

So, there I was; leaving about 22:00 and driving throughout the middle of the night to go to some shoot, in some place I've never been, taking roads I've never driven, going to meet people I've never met.  Worse of all, what if Fred was there?  Oh, no.... This was gonna hurt!
Never the less, I repressed all notions of my own insanity and continued down that dark road of uncertainly.  Leading me into the unknown.
I arrived sometime around 03:00; and found a cozy spot in the seat of my car, near the edge of a well-lit Walmart parking lot! 
I awoke to a hot beam of light upon my forehead.  And proceeded to the range.

There I was greeted by vmt193, Iowa Mark, Alex, Johnny Appleseed, SavageShootr, Colycat, and of course Old Glory.
Signed in and brought my gear down to the line.  We had our safety briefing, though I was still quite anxious it wasn't long before we were on the line and firing away....

The rest, as they say, is history!


Aftermath

[martin]

  This is my story,,,,,,,but many of you already know it because you were there.I had seen Appleseed mentioned here and there on the web and in SGN. I finally signed up for Schiocton on June 6-7 2009.There were over 50 shooters! I brought the rifle I had, CZ452 American, with a Ruger M77 308 as backup. Well, I didn't shoot Rifleman but I couldn't believe what an incredible time we had.Great people, History,,,,,I had to learn more.Oh, I forgot to mention the rain,,and rain ,,,and more rain. My wife and I had a 4 hour drive back home and I never shut-up for a minute.Colycat had given me a few targets to practice with over the summer and feeling a little more confident, I signed up to shoot at Lodi on October 9 ,2009.
  At Lodi, I shot well enough to get a Rifleman patch from JoeZ. Alot of things really impressed me at Lodi. The History again,,especially Moggets 3rd Strike, JoeZ's 7thStep, Trisha kept giving me tips and reminders even tho I already got the patch, an instructor had completely torn apart and repaired a rifle to get the shooter back in the game. These people were dedicated. Then to top it off, a guy named Deacon asked me if I'd take an orange hat. Well, another 3 hour drive home and I don't shut-up for a minute. I accepted Deacon's offer to take an orange hat 2 months later.
  It's been a great adventure since then,,in February I went with Deacon and Dragonfly to Ramsuer for a week.We a great time,,, 1 full week of shooting and instruction at being an instructor. Went to Bowler for an IBC with some pretty tough RedHats but really learned alot.
  That is pretty much my story,,,my wife JoAnn (RustyRed) and I have been quite a few shoots in both Wisconsin and Minnesota this year and have met alot of great Americans,,,so I guess this is pretty much just the beginning of the story for us.See you on the trail.         

[Hazmatt]

I grew up with enough of an interest in guns. My dad bought me my first 22 and took me hunting at 12 years old and it was great. All that time I thought shooting was something you did a couple times before deer hunting to make sure you were ready if the big one came along. I didn't understand ballistics or anything. Then several years ago my uncle, JoeZ talked me into getting an AR10. I did it because I thought it looked cool, which it does. We would go shooting and I would never do very well. Of course if was the gun. I needed a better trigger, or a better scope, or this or that. It was like I was trying to buy a skill. But but wasn't working.

Then back in June of 2006, JoeZ talked me and my brother(ChrisZ) in going to this shoot in West Bend, Wi. I wanted to learn to shoot and it was only 20 minutes away. It was amazing. One of my favorite parts to this day is the 6 black squares target, after each set of shots they help you find out what you are doing wrong. Comparing the first to the last, the amount of improvement was amazing for me anyway. My only problem was I knew what I had to do to make rifleman now but was to lazy to do it.  So a couple years go by and I went to another in Shiocton. For me it was really cool but yet again I knew what I had to do and wasn't doing it. You can't go to an Appleseed and expect to make rifleman if you do not practice or dry fire. Now I know. So another couple years go by. Then 2010 comes and I here there is a shoot in Hubertus, 8 - 10 min from my house. Well I have to go to this one in April. I took my wife this time. We both had a blast, it was her little vacation from the kids.  Then I went back in August I finally got it, I earned my rifleman patch. Now I can' wait to try KD.

It has been a great ride for me so far and I hope to make it to more. I can't get enough of the history either.

[ahhshoot]

In 2007, my uncle (Johnny Appleseed) came out to Wisconsin from California and started talking about this crazy idea to save the country by teaching people how to shoot.
A year later Colycat was trying his darndest to get me to go, but I had a lot of excuses.

Oct 2008 I attended the Lodi, Wi shoot. Turns out my superior shooting skills were actually quite sub-par (143 might have been the high score of the weekend). Well, that winter I persisted enough to shoot rifleman in the back yard with some instructors present. Got my patch and my orange hat.

[henschman]

Like a lot of kids, I turned into a real radical during my college years, though not in the way most do... It really started after I read Atlas Shrugged.  I started realizing how screwed up this country really is, and how much liberty we are being denied.  I started looking for other people who were actually doing something about the situation, rather than just sitting around complaining, or talking about how things ought to be.  I heard about the Free State Project when I was a senior in college, and I thought they sounded like a group that had the right idea.  So in the summer of '07 -- the summer I graduated college -- I went to the FSP's PorcFest in New Hampshire.  There were lots of pro-liberty events planned, one of which was something called an "Appleseed shoot," which was explained to me as being some sort of military-style marksmanship training.  I thought that sounded pretty good, so on a bright sunny Sunday in July, I hopped in a van with a bunch of free-staters and went to an old rock quarry/dump to learn some marksmanship.

I was pretty excited, since I was a completely self-taught shooter and had never had any systematic instruction before.  I didn't quite know what to expect from this group with the weird name of "Revolutionary War Veterans Association," with their offbeat T-shirts and brightly-colored hats.  I figured they couldn't be too bad, since the guy who ran the shoot, a guy named Roger from Vermont, loaned Ruger 10/22s to me and 3 other guys who didn't bring rifles.  He had 3 with Tech Sights, and one with an old Weaver 2.5x scope, which he gave to me.  Nobody brought any shooting mats, so we pulled scraps of whatever we could find out of the dump to lie on.  I ended up with a pallet. 

Well, despite my skepticism, I figured out pretty quickly that these funny-shirted gentlemen (Nickle and Crak) knew what they were talking about... I witnessed my groups shrink in size dramatically every time I implemented one of the techniques they taught me.  Every single bit of instruction was a real revelation to me... especially sling use and NPOA.  Even though it was taught at a very fast pace, I soaked it up like a sponge.  We shot 2 AQTs, and on the second one, I shot a score of 245.  I still remember how right everything felt when I was shooting that target.  According to the instructors, that was a pretty good score and I was owed some kind of patch from the RWVA (even though I felt like I had cheated, using a scoped rifle when everybody else was making do with irons).  They didn't have any patches with them, but Roger gave me a website to get on, with strict instructions to get on the new site rather than the old one (there was apparently some kind of e-drama going on at the old site).

After I got back to Oklahoma, I started thinking about how much skill and confidence I had gained from that one little day of instruction and I decided that I would like to help other people have that same experience... and of course I wanted to get that patch I was promised!  I signed up for the forum, but I was quickly booted off before I even posted anything.  I guess I got caught up in some kind of Great Purge of all the scum from the old site or something along those lines.

The first year of law school took up all of my time, but after that, I sort of resumed my normal life and remembered that I had been wanting to get involved in this Appleseed thing.  I registered for the site again, and found out there was a guy by the name of "oldgrunt" who was active in my state.  I made plans to meet him at an indoor range in Oklahoma City.  I didn't quite know what to expect from this guy, either.  He turned out to be a big tatted-up, bearded old former Army sniper in a lifted jeep covered with all kinds of gun and military related stickers, who took his teddy bear everywhere with him.  We hit it right off, and did some shooting.  He asked me if I had given any thought to being an instructor with Appleseed, and I said I would like to.  I went to the next Oklahoma Appleseed, shot Rifleman again, and then started working my way up the ranks on the trail.  A little over a year later, I am now a Shoot Boss and the Oklahoma State Coordinator.  Whoever made the comparison of Appleseed years to dog years was spot on. 

Well, I didn't end up moving to NH and doing the Free State Project thing, but that trip was still life-changing.  I discovered two of the greatest influences on my life during that week -- Appleseed, and an old Texas Congressman who had just decided to run for President.  I now spend a lot less time complaining about the way things are, and a lot more time actually doing something to change them.

Thank you all for your service.  We are doing a great thing.

henschman

[K98Al]

 I had read the articles by Fred in SGN for years, and was really interested in this Appleseed thing. When the first AS was held in Oklahoma, I had to be there! My then 12 year old son Alex rode with me down to Badlands range in the far sw corner of Okla. He was shooting a lever-action Ruger .22 mag, I shot a K98 on Saturday, and a CETME on Sunday. We heard the history from Fred, Scout and Dad, it was awesome! I was aggravated about only scoring a 189 with my K98, and Alex wasn't doing great with his Ruger, either. We promised each other we'd figure this stuff out, and get that patch, I was encouraged by what I heard at AS, and Alex was encouraged to have grown men treat him as an adult, and have high expectations of him. (besides me) We went to another AS, the first one in Arkansas later that summer, and brought another guy along. I got somewhat sidelined with a bad shoulder and surgery, but took my whole family back to Badlands in March 2009. After the shoulder healed I went to Sallisaw and shot Rifleman, but didn't take a hat. I had been committed to driving a bus for our church every Sunday, and didn't want to shirk my responsibilties there. When I changed churches late last year, I knew during this "off time" I wanted to contribute to the RWVA mission, and told my wife what I had planned. She's not a big shooter (she CAN shoot, however!), but she wanted to participate. So now she often accompanies me on the trail, and she will make sure the Instructors have something hot to eat at lunch, coffee, etc.....

I have met so many great folks from being on the trail, it's amazing. So far this year I've been to shoots in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. I was just talking to Daniel this weekend about traveling to AZ to instruct for a weekend there. I know if we do take that road trip, we'll meet other great Appleseeders there, both shooting and instructing.

Alex hasn't shot the Rifleman score yet, but he is a good shot, and a more knowledgable young man for participating in AS, and learning our history and heritage.






   

[PHenry]

It really started after I read Atlas Shrugged.

" I swear by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine".

Should be required reading in high school. 

[dwarven1]

Back in '07, a guy I met through NorthEastShooters.com told me about this Appleseed Shoot thing - said that it was a good and cheap rifle class. Well, I kind of scrambled around trying find enough 30-06 to shoot that weekend - figured it was a good opportunity to learn some more about my M1 - and I told my nephew and niece about it. Loaned them my 10/22 and scrounged another from somewhere (guy named Crak, now that I think about it!) and we met down in CT.

Well, my buddy never did get to take the class. Fred and TheGuy were a little shorthanded and they drafted Nickle into instructing that day.  As for me? Well... Hearing The Guy tell the three strikes ('cept he didn't call the story that back then) and hearing Fred talk just kind of clicked something down deep inside. I decided right then and there that yes, I needed to earn my Rifleman patch because this was a Cause worth joining!!

Took me a year, three AS's and a lot of lead down range but here I am today... with my very own bucket, bailing like crazy.





And I'll be getting two of my Lodge brothers AND their sons to an AS in two weeks time. Gotta pay it forward.

[Mark Davis]

I first head of Appleseed when a local who had been to a shoot in Wyoming came to the shooting club meeting to pitch the Appleseed program.
With 20 years of range building, silhouette match director, competitive shooting in handgun silhouette and smallbore rifle silhouette a couple of year of highpower service rifle, 8 years or so instructing Jaycees BB gunners, and 4H shooting sports, appleseed sounded like a good program, but for other people I did not need it.
Just so happened my brother  decided he would do more shooting. I called him two states away and told him to go to one of these appleseeds and learn some good habits. He attended one in Nevada within two months.  In a couple more months there would be one in Jackson Hole just 200 miles for me and 300 for him.
We met there. I showed up with a garand and 100 rounds, a Hbar AR (the ammo was still at home)and a scoped,10-22.
Never shot the 10-22 prone before and the scope was mounted to far back. when eye fatigue set in I moved the scope forward during the prep and fireing periods. The scope was bent ( another story) and needed the bases shimmed to get a windage zero so I missed most the instruction getting shims cut and installed, and the rifle sighted in.
Transitions, mag changes were all familiar and I got sighted in just before our instructor, Junior Birdman handed out qualification targets.
Managed to squeeze out a 211 but could not break into rifleman territory again.
Next day JB had me work with three kids in the next bay. I did not get to shoot on Sunday.
The season of my first appleseed I had dropped my smallbore rifle program so I could shoot. And here these guys from back east thought they were going to rope me into more standing on the fireing line watching some one else shoot. I was reluctant.
I attended a few more appleseed shoots, next one was at my home range, set up by a non club member who refused to join the club and did not even show up for the shoot he set up, my thoughts were these guys are are pretty flaky.
Finally  I started to listen to the instruction and my shooting did improve.
National events of the fall of 2008 and Jan 2009 convinced me that something had to be done and I agreed to help out because Appleseed was getting nowhere in my area.
Given the choice I would be shooting, rather than yelling my self hoarse. But this is important.
No fear of public address here, real sloth when it comes to paper work, and proud of it.
Appleseed has made me a better person and improved my shooting skills.
Never read shotgun news. With a smooth bore,only one sight and a wad of shot with very poor ballistics you are just kidding yourself!

[dragonfly]

Bump to top ; http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=17338.0

D-fly   Keeping the Faith

[Super Dave]

Boy, where to start...

My dad grew up kind of poor on the family farm in the Dirty Thirties.  Sometime, he started to trap and shoot some of the animals around the farm, wild ones, and sell the pelts.  They didn't really know how to do up the pelts, but my dad, at a really young age, was pulling in more money than his dad was with eggs and cream.

When I was about five, we found out that I was so far sighted that I was pretty much partially blind in my right eye.  So, to train my eye, Dad pulled out his old Navy manual showing what a sight looked like (I was really lost) and then a BB gun appeared.  Later that year, a rifle appeared in my dad's hands one day when we went "up home" to the old farm.  So, I kind of grew up shooting.  I always really enjoyed it a whole lot. 

I had planned a military career, but, as the course of events would drag me, I ended up racing motorcycles at all kinds of different levels from 1987 on.  Also managed to go to college and work on my masters.  And spend eight years with the Nebraska Army National Guard.  I always enjoyed shooting when I could find time to go with friends on some very, very rare opportunities before racing.  At least the National Guard allowed me the opportunity to play with M2's, M60's, and the M203.  Wasn't terribly fond of the M16. 

So, fast forward to 2008 when I decided to close down some of my racing business.  I felt the election was pretty predetermined.  I didn't feel my "modern" education from college really gave me anything substantial to deal with the changes other than accepting them even though I felt deep down inside that the changes that were constantly coming were immoral.  I had a minor in philosophy, and all that seem to equip me with was irritation at the "circle speak".  In November, I had a couple of projects that I needed to take care of.  One, those "predetermined election results" got me to get up and just "go buy a rifle".  I inherited the my father's after he passed away in 2005, but I felt that I needed another one that was mine.  I had purchased a Ruger 1022 for myself back in the early 80's, but it was time for something a bit more modern with more range.  With so much experience with the AR style rifle, I bought a used AR15 the day before the election.  Price was reasonable and it came with a number of nice parts.  Shot much better than anything I had been issued. 

So, the second project was a book.  Back to being an irritated philosophy student with a feeling that something was wrong, I took the advice of a random meeting at work some ten years prior.  I was told that I should read Atlas Shrugged.  Reading that huge book sent me off in all directions seeking more information in addition to having a real recognition of what the foundational principles of these united States actually are.  The author, Ayn Rand, recognized that what happened then was really a unique event in the history of man.  It's something worth standing for.

My renewed enjoyment of shooting sports was shared with my two boys, and my wife, although my son's and I do most of the shooting.  All four of us went to one of the Waukesha gun shows, and, while showing my boys examples of real militarily historical rifles that are portrayed in so many video games, I ran across a vendor that had a little color flier that had a man and his boy shooting.  With slings!  Slings for shooing?  Yeah, the shooting part was the hook, but the history hit home for me.  Continually tied into Rand, the Founding Fathers, and how things were and have been changing over my life time let alone the lives of my father and his father.  I attended my first Appleseed with my 1022 with stock sights in late 2009.  I think I scored around 200 my first day, but then lost focus and had some rifle problems.  I was exhausted but enjoyed myself completely.  I bought Paul Revere's Ride and read that along with my other books that I was loading up on.  For 2010, I bought my boys individually to Appleseed's, and then we all attended the Waterman 300 where I finally scored my Rifleman.  A proud moment for me, and I believe my kids too, but it's a goal to build upon, right?  Still, I was happy to score over 210 two more times.  For that, I can't thank everyone enough.   

So, the next step follows...  Fred spent some time with our group at Waterman, and we were talking.  He was asking some good questions, and, basically, it came down to this:  is this important to you?  Given how I have a better understanding of real liberty, yes, this is important to me.  It might be a little more intimidating to me than shooting for my own score or tearing up a race track with my knee on the ground with the rear wheel spinning on the pavement at over 100MPH, but I accepted my orange hat Sunday to start a new challenge and to help others to rationally understand their freedom. 

I hope that I will be an asset to our mutual cause of liberty.

[fepowered]

I have been shooting my whole life and the Marine Corps turned me on to the M16/AR15.  I had never figured that black rifles were as accurate as my bolt guns and never paid them much attention before that point.   When I found out that I could consistently score 10s at 500M with iron sights and that it didn't take a Sub-MOA rifle to do it, I was hooked for life.  Although I did a lot of window shopping and shooting friends' rifles, I did not purchase my own AR15 until early 2005 when Sportsman's Warehouse was getting rid of the "ban" configuration rifles to make room for the new models with flash hiders and bayonet lugs.  I got a crazy good deal on my stainless Bushmaster.  Right away I joined the local rifle club and hooked up with the High Power guys to start shooting.  I did the occasional High Power shoot and even got to use one of the State Club's M14s for a year before they were recalled by the CMP. 
Back in 2007 and before, I had never heard of Appleseed.   Although I occasionally got Shotgun News, I never paid any attention to Fred's Column.  I got SG for the gun reviews and for the advertisements of gun parts and accessories.  It sounds like the opposite of someone making an excuse for buying Playboy.  Instead of getting it for the articles, I got it for the pictures.... 
I was searching the internet for shooting events in WI and I tripped over the Appleseed shoot at Shiocton.   My work schedule did not allow for me to attend in 2007.  By early 2008, I was thinking ahead and started making plans.     I picked up a jacket and targets from Fred's along with a few copies of Fred's Guide.  I ordered a set of tech sights and made sure my rifle was zeroed.  I was all set for a fun weekend of shooting.  I was the perfect example of being lured in by the shooting.  Once I got there and heard Guy give the Strikes, I was hooked and anxious to make my next Appleseed.  Because of work, I didn't make the September Long Lake Appleseed until the second day, but I am glad I made it.  After demonstrating that my Rifleman score at Shiocton was no fluke, Colycat, Johnny Appleseed and SavageShootr started me on my path as an  IIT and the rest of the story and my journey to Instructor and beyond just keeps going on....

[dragonfly]

Anyone else want to share their story on how Appleseed got them off the couch 


D-fly  Keeping the Faith

[Blue Five]

Well, I guess I can go... 

I have been an avid shooter since I was about 5 or 6 years old, thanks to my dad, Dennis (professor gun) who got both me and my brother Lucas (browningman) started young.  To that note, I have always been in awe of our founding fathers and their work, and very active in politics since I could form my own opinions.

I was 18 at the time, and Professor Gun told me about the Appleseed program; basically it was a rifle marksmanship clinic.  I myself have been more of a handgunner with some mediocre rifle shooting on the side, so I shrugged at the idea.  Yeah, a rifle clinic.  Now what about a handgun clinic?

My Dad began work on bringing the Appleseed program to the La Crosse Rifle Club, and a date was set up for the shoot: June 26 and 27 of 2010.  Since it was at my primary range, I thought "What the heck, I'll give it a try.  If I don't like it, I won't do it again."

The afternoon before the weekend, on that Friday, Colycat and Old Glory showed up to take a look at the range.  Professor Gun introduced them to me, and they went on to look at the range.  The next morning, my family came out to the range and put our stuff in place.

Little did I know that this so called "Rifle only clinic" had a HUGE history part embedded in it, something that I can get into: our Founding Fathers and the Revolution, and the Constitution. 

I was fascinated at how Mogget, and a couple other instructors told the story of the Three Strikes.  Between my rifle marksmanship improving GREATLY over the course of the two days and the Three Strikes, I was hooked.

Two Appleseeds later, I am now looking forward to attending two more Appleseeds in the coming three months, and hopefully an additional three over the course of late spring and summer. 

Many thanks to Professor Gun for bringing Appleseed to my attention and thanks to Colycat, Old Glory, Mogget, Dragonfly, vmt, and all the other instructors who helped run the first ever Appleseed at the La Crosse Rifle Club last June.

And that is my story...

Edit: It has now passed the weekend of my third Appelseed (March 5-6) here in La Crosse, and I was blessed with earning a Rifleman patch.  To my surprise, Martin presented me with an orange hat so that I can take the instructor path for seventh stepping.  I am honored to be a part of the Instructor Corps, and plan to do what I can to continue bailing and restoring in American's minds the experiment we have...the experiment in liberty.

B5

[dragonfly]

BTT

[Nickle]

Well, I started out shooting at a young age, having grown up in my father's gun shop (literally). Started shooting competition (Benchrest, Heavy Varmint class, with a .222 Rem, later remade to .223) at the ripe age of 13. Learned a lot from my Dad (Ira), who also shot Benchrest AND Highpower (he was on the state Army Guard Rifle Team for over 10 years). Went into the Army at 17 (1972), first experience with a semi-auto Battle Rifle, the M16A1 (for those that don't know the specifics, an AR with a 1-12" twist and 20" barrel). Got out of the Regular Army in '83, joined right into the Guard. Started back up shooting Benchrest with dad. Was shooting more classes, though, Heavy Varmint, Light Varmint and Hunter class. Bought and built a few rifle to use, and picked up an interest in military rifles. Even shot Smallbore with my Guard unit, in postal matches.

Had been reading SGN since the 60's, and somewhere around the late '90's to '00 this guy from NC starts this ad near the middle of the magazine. Selling M14 stocks, ammo bandolier repack kits, slings and targets. Well, I ordered some bandolier kits so I could put some of my FN-FAL ammo intoi bandoliers. Bought some targets 9and a Guide) from him, and some books too. Loved his articles. I did notice a couple of things that made me think. Now, he mentioned the same nylon sling I knew as an M16A1 sling (original issue, circa Vietnam), calling it an M14 sling. I made a point of sending him an e-mail and letting him know it also worked real nice on the 20" AR's, and that was the sling I knew as an M16A1 sling (unlike the crap sling issued with the M16A2). Told him I wasn't picking a point, just saying he might want to say it worked on the AR's too, unlike the canvas M1/M14 sling (which wsa too short). I also negotiated the sitting position with him. At the time, sitting was out for me, due to Arthritis, but I could do kneeling. He said sure. I put the info and targets to use (took 4 targets to shoot a full AQT, 1 per stage), and improved my annual weapons qual scores. The club he was affiliated with had some internal issues, so they founded a new organization, RWVA. Soon, I noticed he mentioned a forum. So, I checked them out real well, and then joined the forum. Wanted to get to an Appleseed, but they were all a LONG ways for me to go. So, I figured I would bring Appleseed to me. Started working on getting the local Army Guard KD range for one of these (KD was a given back in the early days). Took me a year and a half to get through the hurdles to book the range. In that year and a half, I had some personal issues come up (separated from the wife, found a good girlfriend, still with her), but also set up another range locally, and lo and behold, the program managed to come to Connecticut (April '07). Talked a good friend of mine (Dwarven1) into going, and was intending on shooting too, but Fred and Guylet me know they were short handed on the line. So, OK, I went down to the event (I register for free anyways, being military) and worked as an RSO, on the same side of the line with Fred. We talked, and I mentioned my last weapons Qual score (KD, 36 for 40). He mentioned that was a Rifleman as faar as he was concerned, so I took up being an IIT.

Signed up to work Van Etten, NY (was already pre-reg'ed as a shooter) as my first official debut as an IIT. Well, the 2 Red Hats I was supposed to owrk with couldn't make it, it was on me to run the event. Good thing I had worked with Fred (to know the RWVA way of teaching) as well as my experience coaching shooters with the military and Smallbore shooting. I knew the materials, positions and methods well enough to pull off being Shoot Boss successfully (we even did 100 yard KD). Next event is Proctor, VT, and again, I'm the SB. Fred comes up to help me and give me the final dose of training and sign off. First thing Sat AM, he hands me a red sweatshirt and red hat and says "put them on" (in August up here, it's still a little cool in the morning). Next event I work is the very same event that took me a year and a half to get booked. A beautiful range, 600 yards, and a long 25 meter line, had 35 shooters, just me and an IIT (crak, and this was where he earned his red hat).

Somewhere in all of these 2007 events, the program had some turmoil, and we changed forums and domains. In the process of that, I ended up on the Steering Committee, and became active in the program during "the other 28 days of the month". Might as well, as I was very active on the forum then.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Me being in Appleseed? It's ALL Fred's fault. And, I don't regret a momnent of it.

[AFTERMATH]

Me being in Appleseed? It's ALL Fred's fault. And, I don't regret a momnent of it.

On a completely separate note, D-Fly;

The longer I'm with the program, the more I realize I'm STILL an American Doofus.....  But I'm tryin'.
So, perhaps the thread lacks the proper title...  Just sayin'!

Keep it going!


Aftermath