######NRA Whittington Center Raton, New Mexico Feb. 24-25, 2018#######

[TaosGlock]

While the rest of the Nation and many of it's youth choose to remain mired in the latest political scandals and atrocities,
we had one of the best events to date.

This was New Mexico's first Project Appleseed of the 2018 season at the NRA Whittington Center.
This event was held at the private and prestigious Jeff Cooper Range.


The Second Amendment, like all of the rest of the Bill of Rights, is about limiting governmental power. It is about ensuring that governmental tyranny will ultimately have to contend with the will of the people. The other amendments protect intellectual liberty, procedural rights, legal limits - these are important weapons in the arsenal of freedom. But another important weapon are the actual weapons themselves.

"It is not the gun in the hands of a freeman the tyrant fears, but the spirit of the man who possesses it."  Michael Gaddy


Below are 3 of the most popular centerfire rifles we see today at Project Appleseed in New Mexico:


The warm Jeff Cooper cabin provided a place for breaks, a hot lunch and much of the instruction.

There were cold bitter winds for much of the time and night time temps were in the low teens. There was no snow, but plenty of bright New Mexico sunshine.  It does not get much better. 

  BlueFeather and I are starting of our 10th year of Appleseeding! 
Huzzah! What a fantastic journey it has been.

We had 10 shooters working the AQT and 7 of them made Rifleman! Huzzah!
We had a father and his 2 sons come and 2 of them shot Rifleman. We had a family of 4 and 3 of them shot Rifleman with the youngest not quite making it at 209. These folks had very teachable attitudes!


And finally our youngest Rifleman... shown with his Rifleman Dad in the above pic.


These fine folks came from Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico to attend our event.


And on a high note, we got 2 newly minted Red Hats who have been with the program over 4 years and successfully passed their last PC.
They did all the instructional modules and the history.
Double Huzzah to Jones and desert_diver below framed by me and BlueFeather!


At the 25 yard firing line. Berms with IDPA size steel are at 100,200,300,400,500 yards. Farthest steel target is a 1 MOA square at 1125 yards.
 

And a huge thanks to Taos_Dovahkiin121 and Captwa for helping out huge time on the line!

...just rolling in, so more pics and writing later.

[TaosGlock]

We do not cancel events due to weather unless safety is or will become an issue. If the Founders can suffer such weather extreme conditions/events to birth a new nation such as Valley Forge and Washington crossing the Delaware, we can surely handle the relative, tame in comparison, weather conditions.

After the French and Indian War, King George decided to break his agreement with the colonists and decided to tax them to help pay off the massive debt incurred by the Crown. England was in social and economic shambles but the rebellious colonists were thriving with opportunity. Naturally the colonists revolted with even the smallest tax infraction. War with the Crown was inevitable and the militias started in earnest their training.  The fundamentals they learned have changed but a tiny bit, mostly in regards to modern equipment.



We are the descendants of those fearless men and women who earned our freedom on the battlefield.

Parker's Revenge:


We honor their pursuit of liberty by passing along the skills and knowledge that aided them in securing it.
Today's Rifleman understands that owning and mastering a rifle is part of his/her American heritage.
After all, this country was founded on the principles of effective marksmanship.

It was common everyday folk who turned up on April 19th, 1775. With their principled skill at arms, these embattled farmers", shopkeepers,
and school teachers, successfully repelled the British Army in an embarrassing defeat :



Whether you're a new shooter or a seasoned marksman,
Project Appleseed can help transform you from a person with a rifle into a principled and skilled Rifleman.

Have things in our country changed much from this?:


If you do not know your history, how do know where you came from or where you are or where you are going?

You can't write the story of America without including several chapters about the skill and bravery of our forefathers.


On April 19, 1775, at Lexington Major John Pitcarin yelled, 'Disperse ye rebels and lay down your arms". They stood their ground and many got shot in the back a few moments later as they walked back to their families who were watching the event unfold.

..and at Concord's North Bridge where "The embattled farmers fired the shot heard 'round the world".


....American colonists stood with muskets in hand and faced down the British forces that were trying to seize their arms. The colonists did it with grit, determination, and superior marksmanship. They were real marksmen: nobly and ably putting their skills on the line in pursuit of liberty.

"Unhappy it is...to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brothers breast, and that the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! 
But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?-George Washington


Would you be willing to make a similar choice if the need arose?

...as our Founders handily did, but not without sacrifice, on April 19, 1775.
Below a pic depicts Maj. John Buttrick of the Concord Militia who for the first time in American history told our militia to fire on the British Regulars. He had had enough of their firing without orders that day onto our men when they were merely standing their rightful ground.. His words were: "Fire, for Gods sake fire...fire as fast as you can!'



As always....

[TaosGlock]

Our history/heritage is what makes America unique among other nations.
Our nation was founded on the principles of effective marksmanship.
It was 3% of the population utilizing the cold bore zero.

"Make no mistake, when you cheer for the people of the American Revolution, you are cheering for traitors and criminals.
They broke the law, because liberty is always illegal"- Larken Rose

History will always show that local populations with small arms and decent
marksmanship skills will always be a threat to any tyrannical rulers and their enforcers.



King George III and even our leaders today are now open about wanting complete control of the means of our Liberties.
Each atrocity committed by some deranged individual gives the enemies of freedom more fuel for their fire.
They have been stealing our liberties incrementally for decades thru law and regulation and they are now poised for the finale.

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewell. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever  you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."-Patrick Henry, June 5, 1778.

Every modern infringement on our rights is a an abridgement of our de jour and de facto right to preserve what precious remaining liberties we have left.
And everyone of these today would have been an adequate causus belli to violently separate from a tyrannical overlord resulting in the birth of our Nation on April 19th, 1775. All modern infringements violate the spirit of liberty as defined in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property...Horrid mischief would ensue were the law abiding deprived of the use of them."-Thomas Paine

It is time to figure out what kind of country you are comfortable leaving to your children and grandchildren, because with today's lackadaisical attitudes, they will be able to bury us without firing a shot.
We have been spoiled by our own affluence and material success.
Without Liberty, all of our material success and easy lifestyles means nothing.

Ask yourself, how will you preserve your liberty?


"Better a sovereign in squalor than a slave in splendor".-Dresden James

Unless you have learned about the world of sacrifice, depredation, and concrete threats to our nation,  you can not understand how bad it can really get. So ask yourself, what kind of Nation do you want to live in? Our Founders knew the answer before the Revolutionary War began and later John Adams answered this question again when he succinctly defined the American Revolution.

If we have the "hearts and minds" of the American people, we will never need our arms.  Likewise if we don't have the "hearts and minds'' of our countrymen, then all the arms in the world won't help.

Our leaders have not learned from history and are content to criminalize anything that interferes with their presumed right to rule:
"The desire for patriotism is considered an enemy doctrine. The U.S. armed forces must be prepared to fight against all those who are holding out for nationalism. These patriots cannot be bargained with nor will they compromise. Our military needs more training and we need an active campaign to win over the populace. They must be coupled with irresistible violence."- Major Ralph Peters, 1994 Pentagon Deputy chief of staff

Below pic:
LOL!
Hear that folks? Law abiding Patriotic gun owners are the number one threat and since we can't be bargained with expect "irresistible violence!"

There has never been a tyrannical government that banned it's own ARMED FORCES from "Keeping and Bearing" ARMS.


"Hear ye, hear ye, our fearless leaders just yesterday wanted to re-enact a 2018 version of the 1994 AWB. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!"

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."- Thomas Jefferson


Oh, and remember:



To empower the people of the United States with the ability to resist any tyranny that might threaten them in the future was the sole reason our founding fathers gave all Americans the right to bear arms guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment. Period.

[AdobeWalls]

Good job at Whittington Center! TaosGlock has it exactly right, our liberty was won on the battlefield.
"Who takes a field from me tastes his own blood on it." -- the poem Launcelot in Hell, Ciardi
But then we have always been outnumbered. So what?
AdobeWalls

[TaosGlock]

Jones and desert_diver did nearly all of the instruction as part of their Red Hat test.
We got nearly 70% Riflemen!  Great job guys!
Note that warm Danish surplus coat that desert-diver dons. It was super cold with the wind.


The AQT explained by desert-diver:


Students run the reviews. Young Bryson shows nearly perfect seated position while and Ken explains. 
Later, both scored over 210 on the AQT!

[Mrs. Smith]

someday, when I grow up, I wanna learn how to do AARs just like TaosGlock   

You guys rock!

[TaosGlock]

"It's a trade to be learnt!" 
Come on up with your crew sometime and work with us!

[Mrs. Smith]

"It's a trade to be learnt!" 
Come on up with your crew sometime and work with us!

I promise you it's on our bucket list!  It's tricky for Mr. Smith and I to travel together, what with the livestock and all, but we really want to come see you guys! 

[TaosGlock]

More pics from our instructor crew on the Cooper Range.
The team of Jones and desert_diver:

[TaosGlock]

During a well needed break from the wind chill, Taos_Dovahkiin121 explains the CMP program and it's relationship with Project Appleseed.

[TaosGlock]

Liberty is not for the faint of heart.
America's founding ideas of freedom and liberty are ultimately unable to serve their intended telos without also emphasizing the value of personal responsibility. When we reflexively assign blame for the occurrence of almost every event, we implicitly relinquish the capacity to take control of our individual and collective futures.

Homeland Security is a Nation of Riflemen.
A free and independent nation should be well trained, well armed and have plenty of ammo to repel either terrorists, criminals
and most predominately, a tyrannical government.
Thus the purpose of the Second Amendment.

[sleepy]

Thanks again, guys! The shoot was a blast, and more importantly, a great educational experience.

In an awesome lab like this, you get to learn from the environment, your instructors, your fellow participants, your equipment, and your mistakes. Everyone shares their knowledge, and has a chance to laugh at mistakes as we work together towards becoming better riflemen. New shooter or old, we all have things to learn and room for improvement.

BTW, those who haven't spent time in northern NM should really plan on coming. Not only is the scenery incredible and the people at the shoot great, but Whittington Center is a dream destination in itself.

I plan on being back a couple more times this year.

[Ramblin' Wreck]

Beautiful scenery. Looking forward to seeing it soon. 


Wreck

[BlueFeather]

What a fabulous event! It was awesome to have four kids and their families. It was also a great idea to bring warm foodâ€" it was surprisingly cold, and a warm meal helped keep everyone excited to get back out there.

Thank you so much for everyone's hard work and a special congratulations to our two new red hats a Kaleb and a Jon!

[TaosGlock]

A huge thanks to all the shooters who took time off from their daily lives to get re-acquainted with
their heritage and learn/refresh the fundamentals of precision marksmanship.

A big thanks to my all volunteer instructor crew who worked tirelessly to assist this event.
Thanks!

Thanks to ALL you awesome shooters who showed up and to this event.

A big thanks to the NRA Whittington Staff for the use of the prestigious Cooper Range!

And a huge thanks to the Founders who shed blood and sacrificed their fame and fortunes so we could be free men and women.
May their flags fly proud and remind us always of this fact.
We will never forget!

The sun sets on another  Project Appleseed event at the NRA Whittington Center.


Join us for our special April 21-22 Patriot's Day Shoot-learn where the "shot heard 'round the world" was located!