Antioch, TN - Stones River HEC 25 meter event - April 23 & 24, 2022

[BluegrassColonel]

April 23 & 24 were very sunny, and somewhat windy, days in Antioch, Tennessee.  Fortunately, it was not as windy as during the March event at the same facility.

As usual, the classroom and range are very good facilities, and the range personnel are more than welcoming to the Project Appleseed shooters and Instructor Cadre.

Though registration was originally low, eventually 8 people registered to shoot for the weekend.  On Sunday 6 of the original shooters returned, but 4 of those had to leave early for family events or to drive home.

The Instructors universally agreed that the shooters all had exemplary "teachable attitudes."  One obviously experienced shooter even commented on his effort to implement our instruction and do it "our" way.

The day started off with the Introduction and First Strike.  The shooters were attentive and engaged.  There was a 10-year-old shooter at this event, and he was energetic and participated in every aspect of the event.  I never saw his energy, enthusiasm, or attention ebb, even though the 83-degree temperatures did sap some energy from this adult.

The popup canopies were very much appreciated, and I believe that every shooter brought water, and they were encouraged to drink often.

The range activities started off with very respectable scores on the Hits Count targets, even though there were several first-timers and a couple repeat shooters who had been away for a number of years.

The shooters did a great job with muzzle control, and I only heard the phrase, "Whose rifle is this?!?" from the RSO's a couple times during the weekend.

Tennessee Beast did a great job with the Second Strike during lunch and it was clear that this group of shooters were very interested in the history being presented.  Nashville Stage made an inspiring presentation of the Third Strike in the afternoon and the shooters responded enthusiastically.  They asked history-oriented questions at various times throughout the weekend.

While we did not get to an AQT on Saturday, the shooters worked hard throughout the day and the shot groups consistently improved.

As we packed up at the end of Saturday, it was very gratifying to hear some very kind compliments on the quality of instruction from the shooters.

Sunday was another sunny day.  With a slightly smaller group we had a great refresher time in the morning.

We worked through the Hits Count targets and on to some warmup strings of fire.  Soon we were shooting AQT's.  Since 4 of the shooters planned on leaving at noon, we also had the memorial volley before lunch.  There was more than one comment about how inspiring it was.

We also had an equipment issue before lunch that resulted in an out of battery discharge.  Fortunately, the situation resulted in a very minor injury and the shooter was quite clear that he wanted to continue shooting.

At lunch Dangerous Old Men stories were presented and there was some further discussion of history.  Nashville Stage and Tennessee Beast presented Known Distance information and the remaining shooters asked questions about Rimfire and regular KD's.

Back on the line the AQT's continued.  Eagle Keeper scored Rifleman on every AQT and cleaned the Hits Count target in the afternoon!  Huzzah, Eagle Keeper!

We went over our planned 4 o'clock quitting time because the shooters wanted to shoot another AQT.  The Hits Count scores improved and there were smiles all around.

When asked for feedback the shooters were very complimentary.  When asked how he liked the event, our youngest shooters said something to the effect of, "It was my favorite thing ever!  It was amazing!  I loved it!"  He also said more than once that he could not wait to be old enough to volunteer.

Thank you to each shooter who attended this event.  You were a joy to meet, and I hope you will return for future events.

My thanks also to the faithful and thoughtful cadre of Instructors in the Tennessee Valley.  I was humbled to lead Nashville Stage, Tennessee Beast, Black Knight, Palouise, and Eagle Keeper at this event.  Each of them exemplifies the quality to which Project Appleseed volunteers should aspire.

[Palousie]

I'm glad I got to attend both Patriot's Day events this weekend. Below are the pictures I took. Feel free to save any you wish, but if you'd like a full-sized version of any, please contact me anytime.

Counting the morning redcoat











Busted!







Nashville Stage pulled out his garand for the memorial volley.


I nearly got hit by this piece of brass!

[Ramblin' Wreck]

What a great looking event. That is a great venue near Nashville for Appleseed, and they're probably the most accommodating hosts we have anywhere in the area.
It's good to see Nashville Stage rocking a battle rifle (at $1.50/round) with a proper leather sling.     Rock on brother.
The old Wreck will try to make it back up there sometime soon.
Wreck

[Cleveland]

Looks like a great event. Glad to see John and Brett back out on the line.

Huzzah,
Cleveland

[Tennessee Beast]

All I have to say is "What a Great bunch of students!"  It made my job easy!