I would be remiss if I didn't take the time to toot the Appleseed horn here, but I have had the opportunity to take a few folks out and show them the Appleseed Way over the past few months, and it is here that I will pat them on the back in anticipation of them being at the next Samuel Whittemore shoot in May.
One of the guys took his new found knowledge to Alaska this fall where he shot a full-curl Dahl Sheep at a little over 360 yards with his 300 Win Short Mag. He thanked me with maybe the best burger I've ever had......and the promise of coming to an Appleseed. He followed that hunt up this fall with a cow elk at over 300 yards that he said he never would have taken without his brief training. And, even tho' he/she was in a precarious position ( which resulted in 4 scope bites) he was confident he would bring her to the freezer.....which he did.
Another friend of mine drew an elusive/rare moose tag around here this fall. Knowing I'd been through the Appleseed Boot Camp, he asked if I would give him some pointers, which I was glad to do......duh. Well, he just called me, questioning the techniques that Appleseed offers, based on something he'd just read from "gunsite". (ya gotta know this guy to understand his methodology). Anywho..... after working with him for just half a day on the range, his groups went from about 8 inches at 25 meters to under an inch, wikki-wikki. Boy was he surprised at his ability to hit stuff a little further out, thanks to 6 simple steps and a little NPOA. Anyway, I patiently listened to him tell me about the difference between "their" technique and ours, and when he finished, simply asked "how big was that moose you shot a few weeks back, and how comfortable were you taking the shot"? There was a pause......and then he said " yeah.....'yer right".
Now, I'm not one to shop around much.....'specially if I'm already a fan of what it is I've already got. I'm what you would call a dedicated shopper.......take care of me....I take care of you. Well, by the end of the conversation, my good friend was once again seeing the glaring light that had been causing him to squint since our time together back in those hot days in July on the range, and he is looking forward to the next Boot Camp in May.
Don't much plan on doing any research on "Gunsite".....not too sure if they offer the important stuff along with the skills they teach.....I do, however, plan on spreading more of the Appleseed Message. Matter of fact, I just came back from Malta, Montana (not really a destination location here) where I took a couple of our Hunters Safety kids pheasant hunting on a National Wildlife Refuge. Cost me a couple of vacation days, but I got a chance to stay with a guy who writes a weekly syndicated outdoor column that appears in our local rag. Great guy, and potential Appleseeder.
Drive to Malta: little over 350 miles (5 and half hours in a blizzard on the way back)
Gas: $100
Pheasants: 150
Hunters Safety kids/pheasants: 1
Number of Potential Appleseeders: Who Knows
keep up the good work all,
kb
