AAR: Harvard, MA - Aug. 2-3, 2014

[aim]

The forecast called for rain. The forecast called for withering sun. The forecast called for a good event. Let's face it, any Appleseed weekend is a good weekend.

This weekend, however, was particularly successful. We were blessed with very attentive shooters, enough experienced instructors, and perfect weather.

The students (all first or second-timers) soaked up instruction like sponges, and the results were stellar: 4 riflemen (J. K. with a 222, K. B. with a 221, rutilate with a 221, F. R. with a 225!),  dramatic improvement all around (tighter groups, higher scores - up to 230, better Red Coats), and very interesting and thought provoking discussions during the heritage portions.

rutilate became and IIT, and I suspect that if more of the students were repeat customers, more would have stepped forward.

Pictures (and more details in the captions) as I get them from the instructors.

[Uncle Davey]

Wow! 4 Riflemen, way to go!

[Round Trip]

Impressive Appleseed.  In the Blog "Boston 1775" dated 8-4-14 titled  The "Adams" Cannon Relieved from Its Post.  The writer talks about the two brass cannons stolen from the Red Coats armory in Boston and General Gage's possible enthusiasm to retrieve them from the reported location, Colonel Barrett's Farm in Concord.  I'll say no more.

[goodpiper]

Congratulations hbennett, & good work!!

Welcome aboard, welcome to the "family" rutilate.

Thank you aim.

[aim]

Courtesy Round Trip, the pictures - with his comments:

hbennett, on it:


Lima Tango with the fire hose, steady, dependable and productive Shoot Boss:


Highly productive Moose and Squirrel, I mean Ball or Dummy within the simple but effective cardboard blast shields [ed.: note the cardboard brass deflectors! Genius! Luckily, rutilate and Co. aren't planning to patent them]


Father and Daughter, respectfully, very nice:


J. K.,1st to score Rifleman. You want him on your side, he knows what he is about:


hbennett explaining the course of fire.  Well done, a born Red Hat:

[aim]

Lima Tango is talking:


They usually get stuck between the lugs of my boot:


Ball? or Dummy?


Light rain and motivated shooters:


She shoots like a girl, Ms Rifleman who scored higher than her Dad.  :-)


aim, the Shoot Boss:


B.C., fact, history and heritage. Appleseed Project.


Well done rutilate, well done. Rifleman.

[aim]

I usually delight in coming up with multiple adjectives to describe the tiniest of details, but if I had to choose a single one to describe this group of students, it would be STEADY.

They earned the patches, and they made it look almost effortless.

Wow! 4 Riflemen, way to go!

[rutilate]

Ugh. If my daughter weren't so nice, and if it weren't obviously true, I'd be offended at the quip that my daughter shoots better than I!     She shot a 239 compared to my 221.

It was a very good experience. I had been once before and it was so crowded there wasn't time for individual instruction; there was a significant focus on the AQTs and those who weren't keeping up were left behind. The history was read from the cards, making it tedious.

This session, however, was fantastic. The instructor to student ratio was great, there was plenty of time and attention paid to learning and developing proper form; having done so, the scores naturally followed. The history was accurate yet personalized, which made it engaging. I was delighted to see the young women given a bit more attention to ensure they had a good experience and enticed to bring friends when they return. 

I look forward to attending other sessions to learn instructional best practices as I work towards becoming a shoot boss myself. And my daughter is eager to recruit all the girls to subsequent events to show them what they are capable of.

[aim]

Ugh. If my daughter weren't so nice, and if it weren't obviously true, I'd be offended at the quip that my daughter shoots better than I!     She shot a 239 compared to my 221.

...

I look forward to attending other sessions to learn instructional best practices as I work towards becoming a shoot boss myself. And my daughter is eager to recruit all the girls to subsequent events to show them what they are capable of.

Exactly! She may have gotten a higher score*, but you'll have the pleasure of handing out patches to all the people she brings along as part of the "seventh step".

* as per the "once is luck, twice is coincidence, thrice is skill",  K. B.'s ultimate score was no coincidence. Not satisfied with the patch, she kept on working on individual aspects of her skill and her scores (overall, as well as per stage) kept on improving throughout the rest of Sunday.

[Lima Tango]

Great job everyone! I wish I could have been there the entire time.

Remember, you can't pass the torch if there is no flame. Keep up the great work!