Toccoa GA Nov. 2-3, 2013

[Morpheus]

Once again, a large group of fine shooters and a great Instructor cadre gathered at the GMSA range in Toccoa GA. And once again, this instructor left the range Sunday evening with a large smile on his face.

I was smiling because each event that I am able to partake in seems like the best Appleseed event ever! We had a total of 34 shooters Saturday morning and we also had 6 or 7 observers throughout the day. It was a great crowd and I was very encouraged by all of the positive and teachable attitudes that were brought to the range.

Saturday morning's forecast was 0% chance of rain and we were indeed greeted with perfectly clear skies which quickly granted us some warming rays from the sun that reduced the chill of the morning. After our safety briefing we confronted the first Redcoat targets of the day and proceeded down the path of rifle marksmanship instruction. At lunch we heard the 1st and 2nd Strikes of the Match by DrJohn and Red Niva, respectively. The firehose of instruction continued into the afternoon when the clouds rolled in. The afternoon break brought us the 3rd Strike of the Match by Goose, which also brought the rain. (I guess 0% means something other than 0%) The showers were brief so after the 3rd Strike it was back to the line for the first AQT. There were two new Riflemen discovered and one who reconfirmed that his patch was well earned. Congratulations to Will H. with a 210 and Jim M. with a 217! John F. re-confirmed with a 231!! Huzzah to you all!!

Sunday morning was a bit more brisk than the previous day but the extra hour of sleep meant that the sun would make its presence felt that much sooner and it was welcome. After a full morning of review of the previous days' materials we heard a known distance presentation from DrJohn. Because we cannot put rounds downrange on Sundays at GSMA until noon, we took an early lunch and we were treated to a great rendition of some Dangerous Old Men and some Gallant Women and Children from Jambo, who happened to be sporting his new Red Hat! Congratulations Jambo!! Your journey as an Appleseed Instructor is only just beginning! It was an honor to present that hat to you. Well deserved, indeed!
In the midst of the AQT Grind, we opened up the long distance rifle range and saw most of the shooters opt for that component. Wow! 75% of the shooters went to the long distance? That was a new one for this instructor at this range. A pleasant surprise it was. Many shooters were knocking at the door of that elusive 210 or greater score but it was not to be on this day. But a rifleman persists! Take the information home with you that you gleaned over the weekend and, I assure you, you will see that rifleman score soon!

My thanks goes out to all who got off of the couch this weekend to participate in this great Appleseed. It is because of you that we instructors take the time away from family, work, church and the myriad of other items of daily life. Your attendance is why we do what we do. Thank you.

We do hope to see everyone again, and soon, at another Appleseed in the very near future. And we hope to see you with those others that you know should be there with you! Remember the 7th step! Bring the message of Appleseed to them and help awaken the sleepy Americans that you see everyday.

May Liberty Increase!!

Morpheus

[Warp]

[DrJohn]

Totally agree with Morpheus above, that this was "the best Appleseed ever". Gallant students, highly motivated and professional instructors,  and best of all, a wonderful receptivity to the lessons of Liberty and marksmanship. The beautiful fall weather and grand mountain views were just the icing on the cake. My deepest appreciation to all the wonderful people who made this such a fine event. Take the message of Liberty home, dry fire on a regular basis, and I hope to see all of you again soon. Huzza!

[Roswell]

Jambo gave an excellent presentation of Talking Targets and IMC on Saturday

Still has that orange hat on. We will see what we can do about that later...

Morpheus presented transition to seated for the group with Fabricator modeling


I'm sorry I was eating during the first and second strike and neglected to get pictures. DrJohn and Red Niva did great jobs though. I did manage to get some pics of Goose's excellent rendition of the Third Strike.




Here is our great group of students shooting stage 1 of the AQT 

We had a nice crop of future shoot bosses!

Congrats to Jim M. who is a man who knows well what he is about

Congratulations to Will H. who got his patch at his first AS Event! That is a remarkable achievement.    He also received a well earned baptism in the water of the North Bridge. 


So... what happened to that darn orange hat Jambo had on? Well, we all came together and decided we didn't like the way it was looking at us. So... 

Jambo seems happier in this red hat anyway. It fits him MUCH better!

[Guardian]

Jambo, Congrats on the Red Hat!

Congrats to those who earned their Rifleman patch!

Sounds like y'all had a wonderful shoot.