Lobelville, TN AAR - July 24, 2021

[Rustygun]

We had a great one day event at Lobelville, TN on Saturday! We had 13 shooters signed up and 2 walk ons. The shooters were a mix of previous Appleseeders including one returning Rifleman and a lot of first timers. We had a very strong group of Instructors, a great venue, and good weather. Thanks to the Robles for hosting this event!

After the preliminaries, a great First Strike from Army Vet, and the safety briefing we jumped right in to the course of fire. The shooters were attentive and once we had covered the 6 Steps of Firing the Shot, NPOA, and the prone position, we immediately were seeing some good groups. We had quite a few youth shooters and I have to say they were very well behaved, safe, and doing some pretty good shooting too. It was good to see them there. The shooters were a very good group to work with.

The gremlins stayed away from everyone's rifles for a change. We had very few jams, no loose screws or scopes, and after IMC at lunch from Happy Dad had everyone zeroed. We managed two AQTs and several Riflemen emerged!

Several of our other shooters were close to shooting Rifleman and just need some dry fire at home and some NPOA work to break through. Jasmine and Aiden in particular are very close.

Just a really good shoot with a great group of shooters. The high was in the mid 90s with a lot of humidity, and by after lunch I think everyone was feeling the heat a little. I never heard one comment about it though. We did set a new record for water drinking I think.

Getting set up


First Strike courtesy of Army Vet


Army Vet and Happy Dad handle sitting


The shooters putting some shots on target




Lunch in the shade and the Second Strike from TN Beast


Youth shooters get their patch


I have the honor of presenting Black Knight with his 25 event pin. Thanks Dick for doing what you do!


And it didn't take long before some Riflemen and Riflewomen showed they know what they are about

David patches at his first event


Boaz shows he's still got it


Jade gets her patch


Toby patches with his centerfire

[Google]

Looks like a great event.  Well done to the crew and shooters! 

[Corvette]

Outstanding event.  Well done.  Corvette

[Captain]

This looks like it was a LOT of fun! Thanks for sharing all the pictures and congratulation to the new Riflemen!

[DVD]

I enjoyed my first Appleseed event, especially the "Strikes". I thought the shooting instruction was well-articulated and paced for new shooters-- accessible.

A big thank-you to all you instructors who volunteer your time to teach. Thank you for not sitting back, grumbling or hopeless. Thank you for doing what you can to set "brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

David

[DVD]

Also, I did not see a better place for this, so perhaps a moderator will move it from here:

I would like to add that I respectfully object to the "no AR pistols on rifle lines" rule. The AR pistol, especially with brace, has become a popular subversion to the unconstitutional and unethical National Firearms Act of 1934 (10 years in prison for slipping a 14.5"-upper onto a lower with a stock? But if you pay a tax then it's fine? Really?)

In my opinion, the march of small-arms technology has made defining "rifle" vs. "pistol" fairly pointless (a PDW is which?). Let's leave infringement of the right to bear arms to BATFE.

Perhaps I haven't thought of every possible reason behind the rule, but that's where I stand.

[ItsanSKS]

DVD, as individuals, many Appleseed instructors feel much the same as you do, when it comes to the role of the BATFE and or the NFA.  That said, the rule disallowing rifle-caliber 'pistols' on the firing line is in place for at least two reasons:

• The BATFE has been trying to get pistol braces classified as rifle stocks for a while now, and we would rather not provide them with more fuel for that particular fire.
• Pistol braces, as a general rule, suck for getting a proper cheek weld, which makes them rather difficult to use from the field positions that we teach; simply put, they are a compromise necessitated by strict adherence to law, rather than adherence to proper form.

If you own a rifle-caliber 'pistol', try it on an AQT or even a Redcoat target; while it *is* possible to do well, there's no question that it definitely increases the challenge. 

Also, I did not see a better place for this, so perhaps a moderator will move it from here:

I would like to add that I respectfully object to the "no AR pistols on rifle lines" rule. The AR pistol, especially with brace, has become a popular subversion to the unconstitutional and unethical National Firearms Act of 1934 (10 years in prison for slipping a 14.5"-upper onto a lower with a stock? But if you pay a tax then it's fine? Really?)

In my opinion, the march of small-arms technology has made defining "rifle" vs. "pistol" fairly pointless (a PDW is which?). Let's leave infringement of the right to bear arms to BATFE.

Perhaps I haven't thought of every possible reason behind the rule, but that's where I stand.