AAR: Antioch, TN - March 24-25, 2018

[BluegrassColonel]

15 shooters were registered and checked in.  On Saturday there were 9 in the instructor cadre and an Applecore member.  Thanks to Woodstock16, Hardbean, Rustygun, Nashville Stage, Palousie, jcluff, StoicPO, JT58, and Little Shine for making this a tremendous event!

The weather forecast included high percentages of rain Saturday.  While there were periods of mist and rain, it largely missed the range.

The shooters came to the event with enthusiasm and a teachable attitude.  They were, both as a group and to a person, a delight to work with.

The instructor cadre pitched in early and got the line in order including pop-up canopies.

The shooters showed up early and we were able to get started a few minutes early.  All of the presentations were met with nods of agreement and engagement.  After the First Strike I was asked where to find more information on April 19, 1775 and the Revolutionary War.

They moved to the line smartly and we were able to get down to business.

The shooters improved consistently during the morning and Ball & Dummy and carding the sights made a marked improvement.

The only unwanted excitement was when some of the canopies became airborne and interrupted activists for a time, but the shooters jumped in to help, and they were taken down and secured.

At lunch Hardbean gave a rousing presentation of the Second Strike.

The shooters and cadre were ready to get back to pursuing marksmanship.  Improvement continued and we were able to get an AQT in before wrapping things up on the line.  James and Jessica had to leave before their targets were scored and had a prior commitment on Sunday, so they did not find out until Monday that James earned his Rifleman badge!

We retired to the classroom and Rustygun gave a great presentation of the Third Strike!  We wrapped up the benediction for the day and returned to the line to break things down.

Unfortunately, we heard late Saturday evening that Woodstock16 took a bit of a tumble when he arrived home and was unable to return Sunday.  His chipper attitude and individual encouragement on the line was missed.

Sunday was noticably cooler with some mist early, but the rain slowly cleared, but clouds stayed with us through the day.

After some great review, with universal shooter participation, we got back to the line, shot the Redcoat, a few sighters, and got down to business pursuing Rifleman scores.

It didn't take long for the shooters' diligence to pay off, and it continued paying off throughout the day.

During lunch Known Distance information was presented by Nashville Stage, Rustygun, and Hardbean, which was followed by Dangerous Old Men presentations by StoicPO, jcluff, Hardbean, and yours truly.

AQT's continued and the good results continued as well.

We concluded with promotions to IIT2 for jcluff and StoicPO, and promotion to Instructor for Hardbean!  Congratulations for those advancements and thank you to each of them for putting in the work to achieve their goals.

Hardbean elected to have the line shoot his Orange Hat, and shoot it they did.

We wrapped up with the Redcoat and some kind words from the shooters.

The final tally was 16 Riflemen scores and one of our 2 diligent youth, Michael, scoring a 207!  Both Michael and Andrew were dedicated to the task at hand and it was a pleasure to see them power through the weekend.

Congratulations to Kevin for requalifying with 3 Rifleman scores!  His son Mitchell shot his first Rifleman score, and followed up with 4 more Rifleman scores!

Clay attended his second event on the hunt for a Rifleman score and achieved it 3 times!

Mike shot Rifleman score twice!

Pike earned his Rifleman badge, as did Mark, who cleaned the standing position with 10 shots in the 5 ring (and it was the only AQT he turned in for scoring)!

The weekend ended with 7 of 15 shooters earning a Rifleman score and several knocking on the door.

Finally, Mitchell stepped up and accepted the challenge to wear an Orange Hat!  Welcome Faramir!

As in every prior experience at this range, our event was welcomed and supported.  I would like to personally thank Officer Tim Turrentine and the Tennesssee Wildlife Resource Agency for being such a great host venue.

In Liberty,
Greg Seneff, Sr.
Bluegrass Colonel
Instructor / Shoot Boss

[Nashville Stage]

Thank you to everyone who came this weekend! You were all a pleasure to teach. Seeing you improve over just two days of instruction made all of us happy; and improve you did! Seven students made Rifleman, and the rest of you made huge improvements with Marksman & Sharpshooter scores. Congrats to you all!

Now that you've got all of this information swimming in your head, go home & practice it. Get into each of the positions. Practice the six steps of firing the shot. Do a little bit of dry firing each day & get into the rhythm of breathing, trigger press, & reset. Make any adjustments that you need to your stock & sights so that your eye naturally lines up correctly and you get a good cheek weld.

Do a little digging on the events of April 19, 1775. Pick up a copy of Paul Revere's Ride; it's a great read. Look at the Declaration of Independence. Yeah, that one. Actually read it; it's not that long, and you'll be inspired by what's in there. Take a walk through the Bill of Rights. You'll probably recognize some of the protections that are listed from what we talked about during the history presentations.

Remember that a Rifleman is persistent. Practice at home & on the range. Come on back to another Appleseed; they're addictive! Get your Rifleman patch. Already got one? Get your Distinguished patch by scoring at least 230 with irons or 240 with a scope. Want a real challenge? Go for a perfect score & earn the super-exclusive 250 patch. Come out to a Known Distance event & shoot a center-fire rifle out to 400 yards (or more). Everything you learned at 25 meters works at long distance.

Want to hang out with a bunch of the best people on the planet? Take an orange hat or a blue hat & come join us. You'll be an inspiration to others, and you'll learn marksmanship & history down pat. There's an old saying: If you want to really learn something well, teach it. There's something about the act of teaching someone else that enables & forces you to learn at a higher level than just sitting in a classroom or reading a book.

There's no better cause than the cause of Liberty. You won't regret any effort that you put towards it.

Huzzah!

[Faramir]

Thanks to Bluegrass Colonel for running an excellent event that ran smoothly and facilitated highly effective instruction. Thanks also to Nashville Stage and the other instructors who worked as well to make the event an excellent learning experience.

I'm glad to have reached a couple of personal goals (to shoot Rifleman at least once and shoot a certain score, both of which I surpassed) at this shoot and have the opportunity to volunteer my time with Appleseed. I'm looking to further shoots where I can help to pass on the history taught and the marksmanship skills that I have learned at this Appleseed and at previous Appleseeds I have attended.

Here's to the future.

[Nashville Stage]

Here's some video of Hardbean being presented with his well-earned red hat:

https://youtu.be/Z8erSjHrelU


Here's his old orange hat getting its send-off to Valhalla:

https://youtu.be/i_09bklmQlA

[Hardbean]

Thanks to all who have helped me get this far!  I remember being on the line when Bluegrass Colonel qualified and took his orange hat.   It's a privilege to receive the Red Instructor hat from him.

Additionally, I'd like to thank all the other instructors who have inspired me and helped me get this far.  I hope I can successfully pass the torch on many others as well.

To all the shooters from this wonderful weekend at Stones River Hunter Education Center, I look forward to seeing you on the line again soon!

[Leadslinger66]

Congratulations on the red hat Josh!

[woodstock16]

Thanks to all who have helped me get this far!  I remember being on the line when Bluegrass Colonel qualified and took his orange hat.   It's a privilege to receive the Red Instructor hat from him.

Additionally, I'd like to thank all the other instructors who have inspired me and helped me get this far.  I hope I can successfully pass the torch on many others as well.

To all the shooters from this wonderful weekend at Stones River Hunter Education Center, I look forward to seeing you on the line again soon!

It is well deserved!

[Google]

Congratulations, Josh!!  Well deserved! 

[Rustygun]

 A mighty fine Appleseed for sure! It looked a little ominous early with the threatening sky and unfavorable weather report, but the rain didn't really happen.  The shooters were very prepared with guns pretty much zeroed and slings on them for the most part. They were fast learners and persistent. A lot of Riflemen and several other really close. I think we will have some return shooters soon. Thanks to Greg for making it all happen. The Mid-TN instructor cadre continues to expand and develop which is a very good thing. Thanks to all the shooters for coming out.

Congrats to Josh on earning his red hat!

[BluegrassColonel]

Here is a link to photos Holly ("Palousie") took on Saturday.  Thanks to her for a great job!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xjpb8r9nw00yt48/AAD21qvje-KDqeJnNzcZCiLya?dl=0

Greg
"Bluegrass Colonel"

[Nashville Stage]

Here is a link to photos Holly ("Palousie") took on Saturday.  Thanks to her for a great job!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xjpb8r9nw00yt48/AAD21qvje-KDqeJnNzcZCiLya?dl=0

Hrm... looks like those pics are from previous Antioch events. Is there a different link, perhaps?

[Palousie]

Whoops! Looks like I shared the wrong file with him. Here's the correct one.
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Appleseed%20Antioch%2C%20TN%20March%2024-25

Holly

[Palousie]

I'm sorry this has taken so long! It has been one heck of a week. I have worked about 60 hours, been sick, and been working on finals. Here is the CORRECT link to the photos.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y3gzf3kpawc81he/AABLfrOuJIFHsCj57IeMyVqva?dl=0

[Nashville Stage]

Very nice pics! Good job, and good luck with your finals.