Good job in those last few lines, Bronk!
Getting a Rifleman patch is an event. Being a Rifleman is a process. So a Rifleman is a Rifleman regardless of the caliber of weapon because ultimately it's a matter of heart and mind rather than lead and brass.
There are many Appleseed virtues. Many. Successfully shooting with the large calibers is one of them. But there is one Appleseed virtue that tends to trump them all and that is our united focus on the future. We are the folks who bring the past into the present in order to create a more perfect future. That's the "front sight" in our work that must always remain in focus.
So we don't diss any other shooting disciplines because we share the same future. And in the near term we need access to the ranges they own. This is particularly the case with folks who own the longer ranges and shoot in disciplines such as high power.
And we never, ever suggest that those who shoot in .22LR are somehow less. Many of these folks are women and children. Children are The Future. 'Nuff said on that one. As for the women who work in .22 LR, a wise man once pointed out that the hand that rocks the cradle is quite capable of changing all your future plans without waking up the sleeping baby. 'Nuff said on that one.
Finally, there is the immediate issue of the economy and the cost of bullets in the larger calibers. We do NOT want to make a man chose between his family and his shooting because the only right answer to that dilemma will not contribute to the future we're working toward. If you look around long enough, you will see that there are preliminary plans and discussions for Appleseed in air rifle. And if, God forbid, there were to be a major hiccup in the gun control laws, I fully expect we'd do precisely the same thing with bows and slingshots.
So it's not a matter of caliber, shooting disciplines, clothes, or much of anything else except the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. And what we do is precisely whatever it takes. Welcome aboard.
Mogs
