Searsboro 9-08

[IOWA-mark]

Searsboro, Iowa
Brownell's Big Spring Range
9-08

Beautiful weather greeted Appleseeders Saturday morning as we met at Brownell's Big Spring range east of Searsboro, Iowa.  Instructor corp made up of Iowa-mark, The Raven, Azel, Cousin Ron, and backed up by the Amazing Kayse.  Twelve shooters took on the Red Coats then dove into the Rifleman's pool of knowledge, heritage, and history.  After breaking for the day, instructors reopened the line and the die hards shot till dusk before heading for camp.   Camping was fun and allowed for some good camaraderie time as nine of the days twelve were camped up and around the five hundred yard firing line cover.

Sunday brought us two one day attendees and we were happy to see Rick, alumni of 4/19, return and again present a worthy example to follow as he again brought a new shooter with him.
Red Coats, AQTs, Stars, Captain Parker!, AQTs and more!  Rick shattered the Rifleman Barrier with his first rifleman score of 230! As the shooting portion of the day ended many more were knocking on the door.

Closing with seventh step & a rousing Huzzah!

Some firsts to note:

This was the first ALL IOWA Appleseed.
a: all the instructors were from Iowa, no outside staff support!
b: all the Appleseeders were from Iowa.

Most (twelve of the fourteen) heard of Appleseed form sources other than SGN!

I will try and post some more pics later in the week when I have more time. (I'm on dial up!)

You meet the best people at an Appleseed. Like Chris, Dan, Zach, Randy, Rick, John, Joe, Louise, Sylvia, John, James, Andrew, Carl and Bryce.

Thanks to everyone involved.


Mark
Iowa-mark

Ps.  -  Remember those thank you notes!

Brownells Inc.
200 South Front Street
Montezuma, Iowa  50171
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[Appleseed Dad]

My first appleseed and what a great weekend it was!

The revolutionary war history, the camaraderie, and of course the shooting all combined to provide what I have been calling a "real breath of fresh air"!

After getting checked in and moving equipment to the line, we all gathered to learn the first portion of the history we didn't learn in school, ending with of course the first of several cliff-hangers.  Then, the shooting instruction began which was of course preceded by line safety instruction.  I was quite impressed and comforted by the strict adherence to the safety rules the entire weekend.

Before the weekend began, I thought I was a pretty good shot.  The first Red Coat showed me otherwise.  Fueled by the stories of the ordinary men that were extraordinary riflemen, I found it impossible to not work as hard as I could to learn to shoot by the numbers.  Even if it meant burning through over five-hundred rounds of .223 by the end of the day Sunday.  I just could not pull myself away from the firing line when given the chance to keep shooting into the early evenings.  There's something that happens in your mind when you learn about the importance that true rifleman skills played in our country's heritage.  You feel a conviction to not let those "old guys" of yesteryear down.

My best QDAQT was a 200.  I've got work to do.  I've got a plan to get there thanks to this truly unique experience.  I've got friends to awaken.  I've got children to teach.  I've got a very large family (as you might guess from my screen name) and what often feels like a zillion responsibilities.  But, I will do what I can.  I will sacrifice comforts to get the word out about this perspective changing experience called Appleseed.

Next year, I will be bringing two of my children with me.  I've made a decision -- no child of mine will be allowed to move out of my house before attending an Appleseed event.  My offspring will be Riflemen.

To Mark: Thanks for organizing this thing and working so hard to keep it up.  You truly did an outstanding job in all areas.

To all the instructors: Thanks for your professionalism, teaching, and patience.  Thanks for the one-on-one attention, it's rare these days.  Thanks for running a safe line.  Thanks for awakening a sleeping Patriot in me.

To all the participants: Thanks for the camaraderie, the friendships forged, and the experience shared.  You were a great group to be part of.  Remember the feeling and pass that on to another American who is asleep.  The program cannot grow without our help.

God bless you all,
Chris

[subvet1]

This was my third Appleseed and I was ready. After much practice and much more relearning I was able with the help of the appleseed crew to transform myself from cook to Rifleman. It was a good experience, one that I would not trade for anything. I know that this will go on and there will be many more appleseed shoots across this great land. Thanks be to Fred and to all of the appleseed instructors.

   Rick Marlar a Rifleman at last