Leesburg Ares Range March 16 & 17, 2024

[Pirategirl]

What a weekend!  We had 12 souls attend this weekend's event at the wonderful Ares Training Facility in Leesburg, FL.  The shooters ranged in age from less than 10, to more than 70!  What a great group of Americans we had!  Suffering through tough heat, not a single person quit, nor complained to slow down!  Troopers!  Over the 2 days new Riflemen were revealed.  Karen has been to a few events and she proved she knows very well what she is about.  Her husband Freddie is not going to be far behind!  Determination is the word of the day!  They brought another set of wonderful people.  Jacob (Ricky Bobby) and Eagle Eye Ellie!  IF we can get Jacob to SLOW DOWN he will be patching very, very soon.  Ellie started the weekend a little rough, but ended in all smiles!  She got out of boot camp in 1 day!  OUTSTANDING!  Once she gets her own rifle, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with.  Lincoln was our young shooter.  Less than 10 years old, he showed those big boys how to play!  He turned in some amazing scores and earned high praise from ALL the instructors!  He will be on the line again!  Not to be outdone, his dad Steve turned in a whopping 200 on his first Appleseed!  WOOHOO!!!  That is 1 shot in the 5 ring on stage 4!  Jemma is our resident rock star.  She didn't have a score less than 210 all weekend!  She is on the war path to the distinguished 240 score.  She will get it next time.  I'm confident!  Alex!  Even with a little help from his neighbors, he still managed to knock out a 191!  Next time Alex.  I will put you on the far end, away from the big boomers, and NO CROSSFIRE!  Daniel!  Boy did we have fun!  Even with all the brass raining down from the heavens from Nick, you still cranked out a 197!  HUZZAH!! That right there is proof in the pudding of natural ability.  Dave S.  I know I gave you a hard time being from that team up north (M), but you know how to SHOW UP!!!  212, 212, and a 214?  Come on down!!  Maybe there is hope for you yet as a BUCKEYE!  I'll keep tryin.  NICK!!!!  Whoop, whoop!  We've been trying, and man!  YOU DID IT!!!!  You earned that patch, and you did it with STYLE!  You look good in orange, but RED is your color!  Let's do it!  Welcome to the team.  David H!  Age is definitely not a factor!  First Appleseed event, Never slowed down, never quit, AND got to see your son get his Orange Hat!  I know you are so proud.  You had very respectable scores, and all of us talked about how GREAT you are.  What a legend, what a legacy!  Let's do it again my friend.  All in all, a fantastic weekend.  You all had the instructors so pumped up, we took over 200 pictures!  What?!  Crazy!  I will attach links below to the pictures.  You were the students we will always remember with the greatest attitudes I have ever seen.  The instructors mentioned it over and over again.  Kudos to you all, and PLEASE let's do it again!!!

Pirategirl

https://imgur.com/a/TK1ELK7
https://imgur.com/a/f5HEUeV
https://imgur.com/a/cmkDOT9
https://imgur.com/a/vKVWnSo
https://imgur.com/a/D1LBmx9

[Pirategirl]

What a great looking crew!

[rambo granny]

Every single student in this group went beyond the phrase "exemplified a teachable attitude". What an absolute honor to work with everyone on the line! A great group of instructors plus extremely teachable students is an unbeatable path to success. This showed in students progressing &/or repeating their highest scores.
It is Soooooo much fun to see new IITs gaining skill and confidence throughout the weekend too. Wonderful sponges to learning.😁

[TheMenace]

You guys rock in Leesburg! Congratulations to the students and Instructors for an excellent performance.
Dennis

[JustKim]

HOOZAH!  Way to beat the heat!  Congrats to all of the shooters and all of the promotions!

[floridanick]

Thank you all for running another amazing event. Without your patience and great teaching I wouldn't have made rifleman. Thanks again and I look forward to helping out at the next one now that I have a hat!
Great shooting across the board from everyone who participated!

P.s. my dad had a great time too and spoke very highly of everyone!

P.p.s. Alex is going to try and convince his wife to come along to an event, and dad and I are trying to convince my mom too  😅👍. Haha wish us luck

[9mm4545]

I just received in the mail a certificate recognizing 14 years(!) of service with Project Appleseed. Groups like the one in Leesburg over the weekend are the reason why I keep coming back for more. If our sinking ship is to be saved, it will be due to folks like you. Practice perfectly and all of you will be wearing the Rifleman patch.