Ames, IA AAR: April 22-23 2023

[Ames]

Some folks prefer the comfort of their warm home, comfy couch and a blathering television on a really cold weekend.  And then there are those who prefer to forsake those fleeting and temporal comforts to work on their marksmanship and learn about their heritage as Americans (The shoot boss may have made reference of Valley Forge and the hardships Washington's troops endured through the winter of 1777-1778.  They had far more reasons to quit and seek the comforts of home and hearth than we.)

So, on a freezing, blustery Saturday morning, instructors from the Iowa cadre advanced on the Ames Izaak Walton League to prepare for another Patriot's Weekend Appleseed in Ames, Iowa.  The first dates back to 2009.  The weather was cold at that one, too.  But this year, April's air had far more bite to it.  But instruction and heritage would bite back.

By 8:30, all of the weekend's students had settled in with their gear and had claimed their spot on the firing line.  15 in all â€" 13 rimfire and 2 center fire.  The latter found themselves placed at the far right, either for comradeship or because they are a bit noisier.  Probably mostly the latter.  By 9:00 or so, we were shooting our first target of the day and setting a baseline for the group's raw ability.  After that, the instruction and practice commenced.

Despite the hardships of weather (or was it because of it?), this group of Appleseeders were serious about learning and improving their marksmanship and the results bore this out.  Each successive Redcoat Target (a.k.a. Hits Count) revealed progressive improvement. The Appleseed Qualification Test (AQT) would offer further opportunity to prove progress.  Five new rifleman were minted from this group and two re-qualified!  New rifleman started with Caleb and Stuart, followed by Sadie, Morrison and Dennis.  Congrats also to Brian and Mark for re-qualifying!

Project Appleseed's success depends on the volunteers who work hard to bring marksmanship and heritage to their fellow Americans.  Our Patriot's weekend saw important progress in this regard for the Iowa cadre.  First of all, congratulations to Greg for earning his Red Hat!  He is a very knowledgeable instructor and excellent communicator.  We are very grateful to have him on the team.  Secondly, congratulations to Sadie for taking an Orange Hat!!  Sadie is an experienced marksman, being a member of our local youth air rifle JSSP team.  Her knowledge of marksmanship fundamentals and great attitude will be a tremendous asset to our team. 

And thanks to Mike, Shannon and Greg for bringing their expertise as instructors to our Patriot's Weekend Event!  It's a privilege to serve with you all.

[Ames]

New Rifleman!

[Ames]

New Red Hat and new Orange Hat!

[Burnett]

I enjoyed the weekend, despite the cold.
Sadie was, I think, the most excited to get her patch of anyone I've seen. Congrats again, Sophie,  I mean, Sadie.
Working with Cort and Shannon and Mike is always good.
Shannon and Cort and I seem to have developed a pattern of going to dinner on Saturday evening and ordering the exact same thing to eat and this time it was large plates of corned beef and cabbage,  and it was GOOD.