MYAKKA CITY, FL April 19th Appleseed AAR

[DragonWood]

HI everyone!
I just wanted to be the first to start my "official" AAR!
OK, so I made it to beautiful, sunny FL. I am just about to head out and pick up Atticus and PJEvans at the airport. PHenry will be joining us in no time. Then off to the range to set up the target line and firning line. I think it may require a trip to the official Appleseed store "Walmart" first!

Looking forward to a great weekend and reading all the AAR's as they are posted.
Be safe.....and have a great weekend!
DW

[DragonWood]

Hi everyone,
Quick report here on day one.
33 shooters came out to the Manatee Gun and Archery Club in beautiful, sunny FL today. We had some familar faces come back again from our February Appleseed along with lots of new faces.
The temp got up to around 83 degrees and most of the shooters got to shoot under cover. The day ran well, tightly managed by the line bosses. We shot the red coat first thing and had one shooter clear the target!! (Jack, was that you?)
Followed by one inch squares and CAQT's. We saw groups tighten up as the day wore on.

We did get in an AQT at the end of the day and produced 4 Riflemen!!
Congrats to:
Mike Nelson     213
Walter "Roy" Newbury    218
Jack Chontos     232
Dennis Shaffer    234

We have at least another 6 more shooters knocking at the door! They will get several chances tomorrow.

The AQT was broken up in order to make room for the schedule 1700 Red Coat Shoot. It went off without a hitch, perfectly timed by the instructors and line boss to command "FIRE" at 1700!!!
We had two shooters clear the target!! Congratulations to Michael and Dennis!

My brain is a little fried from the FL sun so I will have more tomorrow. Another beautiful on tap. Hopefully we can add to the list of riflemen!!

DW

[JohnBirch]

Sun burnt,stiff and achy after a day on the Myakka City range I can say I have never ever had a more productive day of shooting!! Even though I did not qualify I believe I will next time. Having zeroed at an indoor range with a bench rest earlier in the week, Saturday was an
EYE OPENER to say the least!
Thank you for a day packed with the highest quality instruction and feedback towards becoming a rifleman I believe exists anywhere in our great nation. More importantly though, invoking the memory of our nation's earliest heros and Founders created a most wonderful cameraderie for the day. I pray we all will take the suffering, commitment and honor of those great men and apply it to our own lives. Certainly the Appleseed instructors have. You guys made it such an incredible day!! Thank you for this exemplary program and for what you are doing.

[Honorbound]

THANK YOU, thank you,  THANK YOU Appleseed instructors!!! 

I am so thrilled with my experience at the Myakka City Appleseed event.  Ya'll did an incredible, professional job in running the shoot and teaching us the fine art of our forefathers. 

The history lesson alone was delivered with passion and detail that warmed my heart and misted my eyes. 

Saturday was an eyeopening, intense day of information, instruction and new skills for me and I was overwhelmed with all that I did NOT know.  Wow, I'm still processing everything and making notes to my notes. 

To  tell you the truth I was a little concerned about safety when I first got there, especially as I brought my 11 year old son with me.  When the shoot boss asked if any of us had medical experience, I found myself wishing I brought my trauma kit with me.......     But, after the safety rules and range rules had been thoroughly discussed I found myself relaxing even whilst getting pellted with AR shells. 

I really was so impressed with the Appleseed staff.  There was alot of quality instruction, patience and even one on one teaching.  There was consistant care and attention given to my son who had only a youth bolt action single shot rifle.  He learned a great deal though and was excited to see his targets with holes in the black!!  He especially enjoyed the redcoat targets.

The highlight of Saturday was the command to fire at exactly 1700 and know that our 13 shots rang out with those all around the country to celebrate the April 19, 1775 Anniversary. When marksmanship met history, and the heritage begun..."

Unfortunately I was only able to do the first day.  Even though we had registered for both, my herniated lumbar disc was not able to keep up with all the prone/standing excersizes.  I'm hoping that by February, it will be sufficently healed to go for both days!!!!

I was only able to achieve a score of 171, so still a COOK ......but I will be practicing my drills at home dryfireing by the numbers, and get out to our range to work on putting holes in the target where *I* want them, and next time I will earn the rank of Rifleman!!!!!!

Thank you again.  The folks at the Manatee Gun and Archery Club were superb hosts and so kind to us campers in letting us use the INDOOR Facilities including the SHOWER!  What a great bunch of people!

I came home, sore but happy.  With new friends made, old friends enjoyed at the campsite, and new skills acquired, it was a completly wonderful weekend.

Looking forward to February!

HB

[PHenry]

John Birch and Honorbound,
Some very kind words, and very much appreciated. Truth be told - it really was our pleasure, as I know I speak for all the instructors present when I say that it was our pleasure to work with such a fine group of Americans. As instructors we put forth a significant effort both at these events and "behind the scenes" as well, and working with such great folks makes all the "work" just dissolve away. I too am sore this morning, and also quite horse, but I am filled with a sense of satisfaction that cannot be properly described. During the "Shot heard round the nation" shoot, I could barely contain myself. To see all of the attendees in near perfect prone position form, all firing in unison was a sight to behold. The smell of powder in the air and the splash of the rounds on the berm - Wow! For a moment, I felt as if I was floating and you could not have pried the grin off of my mug with a crowbar! To know that 500 rifles nationwide rang the "Liberty Bell" all at once filled me hope and pride. The men, women, and children that I met at Myakka last weekend stand as irrefutable evidence that the honored traditions of our Forefathers have not been forgotten. To see all of you listen so intently to the story of April 19th.,1775 would surely have made them proud. I stand in awed respect for every one of you and I am proud to call you my fellow countrymen. I hope that Lady Liberty smiles upon you every where you travel for the rest of your days and I pray that each and every one of you lives a long and healthy life.
If every American in the country were like the ones that I met at Myakka on April 19th.,2008, there would be little need for Project Appleseeds. Until then, I will invest every minute that I can into this project if for no other reason than to spend as much time as I am able to surrounded by people like you - people who know very well what they are about.
Sincerely,
PHenry

[RickB]

Once again, a big "Thank You" to all of the instructors who volunteered their time to make the Appleseed program great!

This was the second Appleseed for my 15-year-old son and me.  We brought along a couple of new shooters--a mom and her daughter (also 15).  They have occasionally joined us at the range--mostly to shoot pistols.  Shooting a rifle off a bench (club rules) gets old pretty quickly.  They were very enthusistic about what they learned and are now talking about buying their own rifle.

Dragonwood and Atticus put on an even better event than last time (hard to believe).  PHenry and PJEvans exibited enthusiasm, humor, and good teaching skills.  Except for the hat color you couldn't tell that they were new instructors.  A grand time was had by all!

[DragonWood]

Finally I can finish up this AAR and include day two! Sorry all, but DW had to get back to work and that meant flying around and not much time for much of anything. Here I am on a Houston layover with a little time on my hands.

Day two started off with the red coats targets. We had some imporvement from day one but not enough to skip any instruction. The rain gods decided that if we were in FL we had to experience at least one tropical downpour! I had to improvise and adapt and the adapt the POI.....so we covered all the refresher instruction on positons, IMC, and NPOA during the "shower". Phil hung in there, steady in his prone position with the rain beating down in his face but he did not falter. The rain let up after a half hour and we were back to shooting!
We managed to get in an AQT before lunch and produced two new riflemen!!
Congrats to....
Michael Burek   219
Steven Yaw   215
We had two more repeat, Jack and Dennis.
Great job gentlemen!!
We also mangaed to get in some ball and dummy before lunch which the shooters found helpful with some uncovering some problems they didn't know they had.

After lunch we took on JB with his Minute Man Challenge. Dennis, I have some good news and bad news for you...... you did indeed clear the target!!(that's the good news)  BUT, I misunderstood (as did some folks out in IA  ) all three rounds had to be in the red, not touching the red.  So you did clear the target according to how I explained it but it appears that JB still has a chance to be the first to clear it according the rules! (after all, HE did make up the challenge along with the rules!)

Although we did shoot another AQT we did not produce any new riflemen. I guess that wasn't a bad thing since Fred figured I would have only six and sent me six rifleman patches!    We really tried to put him to shame for not sending enough. There is always next time.....after all, we had several shooters knocking on the door!!

Most folks had to leave around 4pm but we stayed to help out about 6 shooters who wanted one more try on the AQT.

It was a great weekend! Thanks to my great group of instructors, you guys were fantastic! To the shooters, another thank you as well. You all did great...hanging in there listening and learning and getting closer to that patch!  Next time, bring a friend or three!!

DW

[Bladerunner33]

I had a nice time myself although i did not make riflemen..AGAIN!! i did tighten up my group and outshoot my bestfriend nothing like making high-paid computer expert eat crow..and thanks to the little-guy who ran my side of the line where there was NO COVER(GOOD TRAINING)though i and my buddy were over charged..dragoonwood refunded us our money on the spot( )because of the GAS i was only able to attend 1-day but it was still worth the trip to see how another group runs they're shoot.

BUT THOSE UGLY ORANGE INSTRUCTOR HATS GOTTA GO..UGH!!

[PJEVANS]

I LIKE THOSE HATS!!!!
As a Firearms Instructor for the Great State of Oklahoma, that hat is our official color, just so we can quickly find each other on a long line and so students will know who to ask questions of.  And it works double time during deer season and for birds.  But I must confess, I cannot wait till I can trade it in for a RED one!
Thanks to each of you who showed up for the Appleseed, I always learn things from the students.  Thank you for having the courage to show up and the will to learn something new.  Keep at it and you will find yourself American Riflemen before you know it. 
As JB says, 'hammering out Riflemen on the anvil of the AQT' which is confirmed by:
"Hammer the Americans hard enough, and you forge the best weapon in the world."  - Captain Simeon Ecuyer...in a letter written to Colonel Bouquet during the siege of Fort Pitt

 
On a side note, the Sheriff from down in Grandville is still investigating the fisticuffs at the Prairie Rose, but the preliminary report indicates that partial liability for the incident may have been significantly influenced by the number of orange hats in the vicinity....