AAR Palmerton, PA Sept. 24-25, 2011

[Chainsaw]

Well, this was the last shoot of the year at the Palmerton Rod and Gun Club.

Twenty-three shooters put on a master class in "how to be good students."  They were safe, wonderfully attentive, and open minded with a good deal of perseverance thrown in.

Six Rifleman!  Dawne and Thomas (237!) snagged the patch on Saturday.  Not wanting to show off, Lili, Dave, Jim (238!) and Ryan waited until Sunday to do the deed. 

Ryan shot two great targets on Sunday, but I opted to use the 210 for the record.  You see, I had one bottle of the vintage North Bridge water left and if it didn't get used quick it would have been able to enter itself in a science fair.

Lili!  You earned that one, way to go.

Jim was a little understated...
"Jim, that's a 238!" 
"Is that good enough?"
"Yeah Jim... that's good enough..."

Dawne's 2nd time with a rifle in her hands, ever.  Rifleman---- shazam!

Tom, the only thing more impressive than your shooting is how Sam handles that S&W!

Repeat junior Appleseeders Sam, Emma, Madison, and Naomi did an excellent job.  There enthusiasm was infectious!  "Please, can we shoot one more AQT?!"

...and boy did we get lucky with the weather.  When I arrived Friday PM it was raining buckets, with a forecast of a few more buckets throughout the weekend.

Not a drop!

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Don't forget to let the fine folks at Palmerton Rod and Gun Club know what you thought about the weekend!

Thanks also to Christina, Joe and Ang for helping out.

-Tom

[Arrigetch]

What a fun weekend, and congratulations not only to our new riflemen, but also to those who greatly improved their shooting and are on their way!

Here are some pictures:

[Arrigetch]

More pictures:

[Arrigetch]

Even more pictures!

[wbs45]

This was my first Appleseed shoot, and I can say wholeheartedly that it was a great experience.  The instructors were all very friendly and welcoming, and each took the time to provide individualized guidance over the two days.  The group of attendees were all friendly and open, further contributing to a fun weekend.

Other than shooting BB guns and a pellet gun as a boy (with no instruction on their use other than "don't shoot your brother, the dog, or the cat!"), I've never handled, much less fired, a rifle.  The safety briefings and the elementary training on shooting positions and the mechanics of making a shot where presented in a straight forward and readily understandable manner.  It's clear that absorbing and integrating all of the information will take me a bit of time, and much additional practice will be required to become proficient and eventually make Rifleman, but I definitely feel like this first session has put me on the right track.

My only suggestion is that it might be helpful for people who are brand new to shooting to have an instructor confirm that their rifle has been properly zero'd.  This would ensure that "what's going wrong" in any given shot isn't the rifle or its sights, but is definitely the shooter and his/her technique.  I found that my groups generally were inconsistent, with some right on and some spread out in various ways, and that it was tough to tell whether the good groups were luck or the result of proper technique (although, to be clear, I'm sure 99% of "what went wrong" was me!).  If I was certain that the rifle was properly sighted in, I would probably have felt more confident in evaluating the groups I was shooting using the information the instructors gave us on how to analyze the patterns to tell us what we were doing wrong.

That being said, I had a great experience and very much look forward to attending additional Appleseed sessions in the future.  I will also be encouraging some of my friends to attend as well.

Thanks again!

Bill

[Livefreeusa]

Hey All, Thanks for the great time!  @ BILL I was not aware of that,,, And That is a good suggestion. If you can make it back up here, You'll always have someone to shoot.... WITH.  I can bring guest to the club. I hope you come back to an Appleseed soon.  BTW  NICE RIFLE!

[wbs45]

After much research and doing every test I could find described on line, I have reached the conclusion that I am in fast right eye dominant.  During event, I shot lefty.  Ooops.  Next time, I'll give it a try shooting right.  It's not easy being a lefty in life, so I'm thrilled to find out at least one thing will be little easier.

[arpjoe]

Thanks to our Shoot Boss Chainsaw for running a great Appleseed Shoot at Palmerton Rod & Gun Club.  It was also great to work with the other instructor volunteers LiveFreeUSA and Arrigetch.  With 23 shooters it was good to have four instructors on the line for Palmerton.  Thank you Arrigetch for posting the pictures.

Thanks to Palmerton Rod & Gun Club for hosting this Appleseed Shoot.  The opportunity to teach and learn the markmenship and history of April 19, 1775 will contribute to the saving of our county.

And as in the other Appleseed Shoots I have attended, you meet the greatest people at Appleseed.  I was impressed with the shooters who attended and it was a privilege to help at Palmerton.

Congratulations to the new Rilfmen/Riflewoman at Palmerton.  If you did not make the the Rifleman score, then practice what you were taught and come to another Appleseed.