Intro to Appleseed Shoot for Homeschoolers - Davilla, 4-18-14

[Bullet]

Last fall, a homeschooling family inquired about having an introductory shoot for homeschool families. I'd been mulling over such a possibility myself and thought it was a great idea. We decided April 18 would be an appropriate date for the event and scheduled it. I was overwhelmed with the interest and excitement in this shoot and was so glad I got to be a part of it!

Perhaps the best way I can tell the story is to give credit where it is due. The event would not have been nearly such a success without the generous investment of many, including these:

- Jason, who had the idea to begin with and kept asking until I set a date

- scuzzy, who worked with me to get this event set up and helped to plan it, even though he had to be out of town instructing another shoot and couldn't make it to this one

- AlarmList76, who did the bulk of the prep work at the range and ran registration smoothly

- the instructor crew who showed up - many took a day off work and/or drove in from out of town. All of them brought loaner gear....including a total of around 25 loaner rifles. Several scrounged for ammo and brought it for those who couldn't find any. Everyone worked really hard all day, pitched in and helped with instruction, exercised flexibility in running an event that was very different from a normal Appleseed, changed gears on the fly as needed to cover everything, and stayed cheerful and patient and helpful. This event would not have been possible without so many attentive instructors and their generosity in loaning out equipment. Thank you all.

- AJ, a friend of mine who's never been to Appleseed but heard about this shoot and donated bags full of safety glasses

- the many families who passed the word along and got the event posted on homeschool pages and email lists. This was key, since I really didn't have time to promote it and wasn't able to do much more than send an email to my friends. Thankfully, people got excited about it and spread the word even if they couldn't attend themselves.

- Over 60 people who showed up on Good Friday (over 50 shooters; the others were observing family members). Some were more or less local. Others drove from hours away. They all stuck it out.

- the host range at Davilla....families were able to come camp for free and enjoy some of the best hospitality and cheapest range fees you'll ever see anywhere.

- the brave parents who had absolutely no familiarity with rifles but still managed to round up enough ammo for their families to use, and had enough courage to come out to the range all day, get down in the dirt, and learn something brand new. Y'all rock!

- the participants who encouraged each other, loaned each other extra rifles and gear, coached each other, and forgave each other's flying hot brass 

- the attentive kids (almost 40 youth shooters, many of whom were 12 and under) who did a great job of listening and following instructions and being extremely safe

- Chandra, who heard about the event the day before and volunteered to come and take pictures for me.

There are many other ways folks contributed - too many to list without accidentally leaving some off. Thank you all!

Our goals were to stay safe, have fun, and learn, and they were all accomplished!

So, what did we cover at this introductory shoot? During a late afternoon break, I asked everyone to tell me one thing they'd learned. Here are some of the answers, in their own words:

aiming
NPOA
interesting stories about old men
making my rifle safe
getting the bolt to stay back
seems like they had a lot of character back then, and Isaac Davis, and the teamwork they used
slings
how to load a rifle
I didn't know they hid the gunpowder
Minutes of Angle
NPOA
prone position
how to make the bolt go back and forth
slings
Inches, minutes, and clicks
breathe in, breathe out, and then squeeze
1 minute is 1" at 100 yards
a literal hair's width of change makes a difference
NPOA
about the lady who was really brave
hiding the gunpowder
aligning your body up
how to load and unload a gun
circle of fire
how to use a sling in two different ways
loading and unloading a gun
I learned my kids are better at this than I am, and I need glasses!
using a sling interests me
on the last round that I shot, they all made it on the target....so I learned that I'm getting better!
NPOA
making the gun safe
how to load a rifle
about Jonathan and other teenagers who toook part in the Revolutionary War
how to steady the gun with a sling and how to aim
I'm glad I wore a hat
how to aim
the old guys in the war and how they contributed
loop sling
you're never too old or too young to fight for what you believe in
take time to squeeze the trigger
I didn't realize the Minutemen were so young
how to aim a gun
how to adjust
keep the muzzle in a safe direction
how to aim
how to use a gun
history and how to shoot properly

And, my personal absolute favorite answer: "People were cooler back then!"

There you have it....the very first Introduction to Appleseed Shoot for Homeschoolers in Texas!

[Two Wolves]

Great job Rachael!