AAR Dillon Sportsman Center Newark, OH 10/7&8/17

[Corvette]

This was one of the most enjoyable Appleseeds I have ever led.  Saturday morning dawned with 20 motivated shooters.  Almost half of the line was a group from the Columbus and Mt Vernon chapters of The Well Armed Women (TWAW) and the rest of the line was a mix of young and old shooters.

First came the welcome and the Saturday morning safety briefing at which point TWAW started what would be a constant throughout the weekend.  I call it "lets bust the Shoot Boss's chops".  One hole, one little hole in one sock was all it took. They sensed the weakness and went in for the "kill".  But like the house cat with a captured mouse, it was important to drag it out.  No merciful quick death for me, no sir.

Even when I color coordinated Sunday's brand new pair of socks with my cargo pants, there was no letup.  TWAW brought me to my knees (laughing) by Sunday afternoon and much fun was had by all. 

In spite of all the kidding back and forth, we actually found some time to shoot. So we started with the first Red Coat of the weekend. The results were encouraging. We had 7 of 20 (35%) with 3 shots in the 100, 5 of 20 (25%) at 200 and 3 of 20 at 300 (7%).  Instructions on the steady hold factors in prone, the Six Steps and NPOA followed and related drills were shot.

Before we knew it, it was lunch time and the First Strike.

Next, we were back on the line shooting sight adjustment groups and learning IMC.  Sights were adjusted, and confirmation groups were shot. Saturday afternoon continued with steady hold factors and related drills for seated, kneeling and off hand and finished with the afternoon Red Coat.

Progress was made.  For the 20 shooters, we now were up to 11 at 100 (55%), 6 at 200 (30%), and still only 3 at 300 (7%). Not earth moving, but definitely progress. The day ended with a combined Second and Third Strike and the line was then broken down.

It rained Saturday nite/Sunday morning early but it stopped before we got started Sunday morning.  We only had 15 of our original 20 shooters rejoin us for Sunday.  Safety and POI's were reviewed and the morning Red Coat was shot with more improvement. 

Of the 15 returning shooters, 11 were good at 100 (73%), 10 at 200 (50%), 7 at 300 (47%) and our first 400 yard shooter of the weekend.  TWAW Team Leader Connie put three in the 400.  Not bad for a 70 year young WAW. I thanked her for upholding the honor of us "seasoned citizens" with her fine shooting.

The AQT was introduced and shooting them commenced.  Unfortunately, nobody crossed the 210 threshold and we passed out no Rifleman patches nor recorded any requalifications. It seemed like the line was cursed with mechanical problems, loose parts, stuck mags, stovepipes, etc.  I was proud though that everyone stayed positive, focused and persisted like Riflemen/Riflewomen in the making. There are several shooters who could and should take the next step and earn their patch at a future Appleseed event.

Then, the rain returned. The shooters agreed to wrap up a little earlier than planned so the Sunday  afternoon Red Coat was shot with results down slightly due I think to the rain and shooter fatigue.  The line was broken down, good byes were exchanged and one heck of a fun Appleseed came to a close. 

My personal thanks to SirBob, CrazzyDuckHunter, Chevyshooter and LeaneOakley for staffing the event with me and to Dillon Sportsman center for hosting us again.  I would also like to thank TWAW Chapter Leaders and members that joined us as a group.  You all made this a great event.  And a huzzah to all the other shooters for your great learning attitudes and your efforts.

I hope to see all of you at a future event, we have patches waiting for all you.

Corvette

[Corvette]

Couple of picks of TWAW

[Corvette]

Team Purple

[Leannie Oakley]

And I had a blast working my first shoot as an IIT! I do agree, both the group of ladies and the others who came, worked hard throughout the weekend and were very enjoyable to be around!