Talladega, AL, AAR - March 2-3, 2019 KD

[Maximum Ordinate]

Hands down, this is one of the most fun events at which I've had the privilege of serving.

All the shooters were part of a private group who wanted to do an Appleseed weekend.  They came together from as far away as Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia, Indiana, and Maryland!  Massive fun and camaraderie.  In preparation for the event, they set up a message board three months ago to discuss gear, lodging, travel plans, and how to best prepare.  And prepare they did!!

We ran a standard Saturday at 25m, getting in one AQT before our hard-stop at 5pm.  We had a good mix of 22s and centerfire rifles.  The history of April 19th 1775 was shared in the inspiring manner that only Appleseed instructors can do.  The instructors worked hard all weekend... and I'm grateful to Ramblin' Wreck, Google, Roswell, and CKyle... as well as Cleveland and Corgimom (the purple tyrant) who joined us on Saturday!

Dinner at Montana's Saturday evening was great fellowship and food (even if they weren't exactly prepared for 22 of us!)

On Sunday, we ran a one-day KD event.  The weather was sketchy and we had to cease fire for a couple of hours for lightning.  We had plenty to talk about over an extended lunch... marksmanship, Dangerous Old Men, and environmental factors.  The long block of instruction on wind paid.  The winds were sporty in a way only Riflemen can love.  They were gusting to 25 mph shifting from zero to half value.  It was great watching folks using their ACOGs and doping wind on the fly at 600 yards!

Despite the downpours, the winds, and the raw elbows, we had six shooters qualify Riflemen.  Congratulations to:

Matt:  216 (25m), 40 (KD)
John: 40 (KD)
Chris: 42 (KD)
Brandon: 42 (KD)
Bill: 44 (KD)
Rob: 44 (KD)

My thanks to the instructor crew who came out and worked so hard to make this event a success.  A special shout out to Joey, Jason, Lee, Don R, and Big John at CMP Talladega.  Your team is great.

I hope each of you find a nearby Appleseed event to attend with your friends and families!

Liberty, yo!
MO

[Maximum Ordinate]

It was wet.  How wet was it?

Any more water and they'll need to outfit the golf carts with snorkle kits!  See the video!

https://imgur.com/a/AEUyXwB

[zack]

It was a tad damp with a nice light breeze from various directions.

Excellent experience.  I appreciate the time every instructor took to help me learn and improve.  Not only do the instructors know how to be a rifleman, they know how to instruct and help others learning.  They can watch and correct and do so in a manner that allowed me to learn. 

And if I had a question, or a dozen, not an issue.  The instructors found a way to answer it and made sure it was answered.  And this went for all questions asked because others asking questions caused me to often realize I also wanted to know that information as well.

The range is awesome and just amazing.  Not sure what else I can say, just awesome to be able to shoot at 600 yards and see on a screen beside me how I did.

I am still astounded by the amount of information covered and actually put into use in 2 days.  No way would I have expected this much info on so many subjects to be covered so well in 2 days.  By that I mean slings, breathing, natural point of aim, iron sights, scopes, ammo, wind, and so much more.

I thank all the instructors for the help in the start of my foundation of rifle shooting.  I plan to practice and improve and attend more classes. 

I have a lot of work to do, the nice thing is after this class I have a solid direction to head instead of doing small shotgun targets.

[Strikken]

I've been through a few different types of classes; from precision to tactical style rifle shooting. The instruction was amazing; patient yet firm - it really felt like the instructors had our best interest in mind and wanted to see us all succeed. They were extremely attentive to ensure that we left the range without any additional holes in our body. The range hawks were fantastic; although I will have flashbacks for a few weeks (WHOOOOOOOOOS RIFLE IS THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS?!??!?).  This may seem odd to say, but I've seen highly paid instructors not paying attention and people end up getting flagged with loaded rifles.

Frankly I came to this event feeling that I was going to be shooting with friends and having fun. I was very humbled at how much I had to learn.  Before day 2 was over I was already looking for the next event that fits my schedule.

[Cleveland]

Huzzah!

What an amazing group of shooters.  It was a honor and a privilege to work with you guys.

Liberty
Cleveland

[Ramblin' Wreck]

This was a fantastic event, weather notwithstanding, with a great bunch of shooters with teachable attitudes. I hope we can do that again sometime with the same group.


It was good seeing some of my fellow instructors for the first time in a few months. HUZZAH!


Wreck.

[CorgiMom]

Gentlemen, it was a pleasure working with you. Hope to see you all again at future events!

Liberty!
CorgiMom

[Roswell]

What a great weekend and group of people! It was a pleasure to work with everyone. Remember the fundamentals of the tripod (position, NPOA and 6steps) will aid you even more than that sweet new deal on a piece of gear you haven't gotten yet and I'm already jealous of.  Dry Fire! Dry fire reinforces those skills we taught you at 25 meters and you proved work at 600 yards and beyond! 

[undefined]

First off, I want to thank CorgiMom. Her "WHOSE RIFLE IS THIIIIIISSSSSSS?" call will haunt me for years to come. She was not there on Sunday, and the rest of us were enforcing the rules and using that same phrase in her honor. Perhaps this is a side effect of having a bunch of gun guys, most of which are happily married men, who are accustomed to being accountable for their mistakes at home. Change the word "RIFLE" to "plate" or "shoes" or "jacket" and it was a familiar tune for many.

Seriously, CorgiMom should change her name to "RiflemanMom" as she ran a tight ship to the point of most, if not all, of the guys putting more effort into their range safety and compliance than they likely do in most other endeavors. This was much appreciated and for whomever reads this, please understand I post it as a thank you and out of respect - and nothing but respect. It's not easy to break grown men of bad habits in a single range session. Not at all easy.

Beyond that.... if you are reading this and have not attended an Appleseed event, all I can say is that you can go ahead and stop reading right now, go book an event, and then come back. Honestly, whether you are an expert marksman who has put rounds on target in combat or you are so new to marksmanship that you can only recognize a rifle two times out of five, just book the event. I assure you, to the extent possible given the fact that you are most likely reading a random strangers rantings on an online forum, that you cannot possibly attend two days at an Appleseed event without learning something unless you are in a coma, have a neurological defect that prevents retention of short term memory, or are both deaf and blind. For those that are both deaf and blind, while I support your second amendment rights, I apologize in advance... you are less likely to enjoy the full benefits of an Appleseed.

Our group was comprised of individuals that were already very familiar with firearms. We had shooters that traveled from CT, PA, VA, KY, TN, GA, AL, MS, IN, and AZ. We may not have set any records in terms of number of rounds fired or number of riflemen created, but we absolutely placed on the leaderboard in terms of number of miles traveled. Some sported iron sights, whereas others had scopes or ACOGs. ALL LEARNED SOMETHING

I find it difficult to put in words how profound this training can be. What I can express is that absolutely everyone found it to be valuable. Everyone had a good time. Everyone was surprised by how valuable and impactful it was. Our group included members that have served with distinction in the armed forces, and others that have or continue to serve as sworn law enforcement officers, and yet others that are citizens whose daily lives have never mandated the use of duty pistols or rifles. Across the board, the response was unanimously positive.

I cannot thank Maximum Ordinate and each of the other instructors enough for everything they did. He made this possible and brought in the best cadre of instructors we could have wished for. For those that have the privilege and honor of training with the same instructors, I offer you my guide to the Appleseed instructors:

Maximum Ordinate - He is the man. His passion for training shooters, sharing history, and learning new skills and information, is boundless. I don't know where he draws his energy from, but that well is seemingly endless.

Google (the person, not the search engine/company) really is smarter than you - listen to her. She's subtle and reserved, and brilliant.

Cleveland - I didn't get much opportunity to interact with Cleveland, as he was maintaining the other side of the line. Even so, he was professional and made sure all of the guys that knew what they were doing didn't accidentally shoot each other (not a joke... the hardest students are the ones that are experienced in the subject matter).

CorgiMom - I'm sure I'll stop flinching at "WHOSE RIFLE IS THIS?" at some point. I'm not there yet. My hat is off to CorgiMom, she is the ultimate range safety officer. Not threatening. Not demeaning. In an alternate universe, she is a marine drill sergeant. I've never seen someone who is capable of making so many proud men step up their game and play by the rules so quickly. If only she did corporate events...

Roswell - Humble, quiet, and deadly. Unassuming and disarming in nature, yet a few moments of sneaking a peek at his target and it's clear he knows what he is about. He also delivers a heck of a history lesson. I'd shoot with him any day.

CKyle - A good friend before the shoot, and one I am glad to know even better as a result of the event. The world needs more people like him, but given my obvious bias as a friend, I'll leave it at that.

Wreck - Wreck is the living embodiment of the film "RED" ("Retired Extremely Dangerous"). Imagine a robust male version of Helen Mirren from RED 2. Wreck delivers a retelling of revolutionary war history as though he had been on the battlefield taking notes and filming it. He's not only an exceptional marksman ("Distinguished Rifleman", I believe is the term), he's also someone who is truly passionate about American history and about the future of the country. He was patient and attentive in instruction, and passionate and expressive in retelling history.

The bottom line is simple.... no one in my group regretted going to the shoot, and everyone is now discussing doing another one. If you've already spent thousands of dollars on tactical run and gun courses, or have just bought a rifle for the first time, you're going to learn some exceptional skills. For those that happen to be divers, I'd equate this to giving DIR a try. It is different, and it is good.

One final thought.... if you've ever been honest with yourself and thought "I'm not good with a rifle after a few shots because the **** thing is heavy" (even if you built an ultralight gun).... this course will blow your mind. Regardless of how heavy your rifle is, by the end of this course you will be putting rounds on target at 600 yards. Seriously. NOT A JOKE. Assuming you have full use of your limbs (I honestly don't know if or how they train amputees), you WILL, not MIGHT, be putting rounds on target at 100, 200, 300, and 600 rounds.*


* If you are blind, an amputee, or lack adequate appendages to activate the trigger, I'm not sure how it works. If you have original factory equipment  of the average person, this training will be worth your time.

[mekeng]

Wow, what a weekend!  This was the most fun I've had in a long time. I would like to thank the instructor crew because they are the real reason this event will remain a fond memory for me.  Their dedication and authenticity is humbling.  The commitment and sacrifice of an all volunteer crew will continue to leave a profound impact on me.

I would like to specifically thank CorgiMom for her patience and willingness to get "down in the dirt" on Saturday to provide direction and feedback on technique.  For a while, I'm almost certain she thought I was broken . But in the end, her persistence paid off.  I was able to do something I never imagined possible by consistently hitting the target at 100, 200, 300 and 600 yards.  While the weather was less than ideal, I feel that it added additional confirmation that the instructions taught in this class really do work.

I plan to attend another Appleseed event in the future and I WILL hit that shingle!

Thank you all.

[Google]

What a great event!  It was a pleasure and an honor to work with each and every one of you.  HUZZAH!

Google

[Edge]

Undefined has really put into words what we all were thinking. I think as a group of 14 shooters that were already friends before this event it could have been like herding cats. Despite going back to CT without a Rifleman patch I had tons of fun, learned a lot and made some new friends. CorgiMom has given me PTSD and I am shake when I hear those words.

Before this event I had no clue what an Appleseed was. I had heard about Appleseed but never knew the details. Now I want to talk my club into hosting an event.

Thanks to all the instructors for making an awesome weekend. I am a better shooter and I will get my Rifleman patch next time.

[way_tex]

just came across this post...
awesome group!
amazing cadre!

the range itself was stellar... although somewhat wet....


looking forward to round 2 in April 2020...

[Bill the Cat]

Excellent group of shooters, excellent staff, excellent facility (and I'm jealous one isn't closer to me), and an all around excellent cause - AppleSeed.

I've got plenty of time shooting in the USMC, but this course literally reinforces EVERYTHING AND MORE that we were taught. Don't walk into it "knowing everything" and expecting to shoot perfect because "it's only 25 yds". You'll embarrass yourself.

I managed to patch twice on the KD section, but the staff knew I wasn't "the new guy" with my groups. With that said, I had lots of room for improvement. And still do.

Thanks to everyone for a very memorable weekend.

Cheers.