AAR: Chaplin, CT - June 18-19, 2011

[CortJestir]

Gettin' the party started for this AAR.

Nice weekend for an Appleseed (what weekend isn't?). Fantastic group of shooters, most of whom came as part of a family. And if they didn't, they are now part of the Appleseed Family. And IIRC, we had more students who weren't too familiar with rifles/shooting than those that were - a sure sign that we're reaching out to more than just the firearms enthusiast. Just to give you an idea, the "Skill Level" column on our Registration Check-In Sheet, didn't go above 3, and there were far more 1s and 2s than 3s at that.

A special congrats to our Rifleman this weekend, Bob B. who nailed it with a 210 and got rewarded with the traditional dousing of water from under the Old North Bridge, only to beat his score by 1 with a 211 on his very next AQT. And congrats also to Scott C, with a high of 207 and consistent scores in the Sharpshooter range.

It was great to see so many families and kids on the line. What an energizing and rewarding experience. Especially when one of them, young Erica of only 10 years of age, kept asking to hear more stories. "I really like the stories. Are we going to hear more of them?" - Those are the best words you can hear at an Appleseed. You have some great kids there, John. Thanks for sharing your Father's Day with us on the line. Bigred200e put it best when he said, "This is what it's all about."

Yet another Thank You to the Fin, Fur and Feather Club for hosting their umpteenth Appleseed. And of course, to the intrepid crew who came out to staff this shoot - vernic82, freedomwon, Bigred200e, LymiSeede - thank you for your strong and continued commitment.

Feel free to post your pics and share your experience...

CJ

[LymiSeede]

Great day for us...and the mosquitoes.  We had a fantastic group of shooters.  Thank you, CJ, for allowing me to do some of the yelling...it was a cathartic experience.

[TOMINCT]

 Great job and nice pics! It was a great weekend for an AS at FF&F. And you managed to get it under cover too!

[vernic82]

....And you managed to get it under cover too!

Everyone is undercover - no more baking in the sun at The Fin!

What a great shoot - all the shooters were great - the instructors on the ball - and the weather was perfect!

Best of all was all the junior shooters who will make our shared future history and now they know our shared past history - and can shoot too!

v82