Hot Springs, AR AAR - April 13-14 2024

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Twenty-Three shooters (16 were first time Appleseeders) aged 12 to 73 came out on the morning of April 12, 2024 at MVSA in Hot Springs, Arkansas to improve their marksmanship skills. The weather was excellent, with blue skies and pleasant temps. Everyone brought an eagerness to learn and positive attitudes.  In addition to the Arkansas instructor crew of Captain, Buddy Love, Guns & Hoses, swiftongal, Comfort and Moto Man, we again had the pleasure of Griffin's presence on the line. He had traveled down from Ohio and was an absolute pleasure to work with!  After hearing Captain's presentation of the First Strike followed by the precursory safety instructions, rifles were brought to the line and the Hits Count target was engaged.  From there, instruction in the foundations of marksmanship was presented to a very attentive group of students that very obviously paid attention to what was being taught as their marksmanship most definitely improved throughout the course of the day.  Guns & Hoses shared the Second Strike during lunch and then we got back to the business of marksmanship.  The day wrapped up with an AQT and the Hits Count target.  Everyone went home to reflect on the day and rest for what was to come on Sunday.
Sunday came with mostly to partly cloudy skies and pleasant temps which made for a very nice day of instruction.  Nineteen shooters returned to hone their skills, hear more history and to chase that Rifleman's score on the AQT's.  Once everyone was checked-in, swiftongal presented the Third Strike, and after a review of the safety rules, rifles were brought to the line and the instruction resumed.  Once again, the shooters were eager to learn and it showed as we put rounds down range.  We were able to shoot an AQT before lunch.  Lunch brought everyone together to listen to swiftongal present the story of Prudence Commings Wright followed by Captain's talk on "7th Stepping".  After lunch, we resumed the AQT grind which was interrupted mid-afternoon for the Memorial Volley.  After the volley, we shot one more AQT followed by a hits count target as everyone was ready to call it a day.  And the results?  Five new Riflemen!  Congratulations to Ladd, Stephen, Tony, Tim & Allan!  Allan was high score of the day at a 233 and Tony & Tim both got to experience some of the cold water from under the North Bridge.
What made me happy was that of the twenty-three shooters that came, eight were under the age of 21 & three more were under 25.  All of them were polite, extremely pleasant to be around and very safe!  All were good shooters and indicated that they would return to future Appleseed events.  More importantly, they seemed to appreciate the history that was told and the importance of becoming involved in the preservation of the liberties we enjoy today.   Thank you to Ward, Addisyn, Emma, Charlotte, Jeremiah, Brianna, Carter, Rhilynn, Ladd, Cody & Dakota for joining us this weekend!
Looking forward to seeing you again at future Appleseed's!
Huzzah!

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And thanks, Tony for breaking out the Garand! It sounded marvelous! Good shooting!