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Gun show success

Started by twh731, May 04, 2009, 12:39:44 PM

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twh731

I want to thank Devnull, freefyrefly, and Precisely Advantageous, for helping out at the May 2-3rd gunshow in Alb.  We attracted quite a bit of interest although the show itself did not attract a high attendance.  You guys, (and gal) were great, not afraid to stand up and give the public what it needs and wants.  We should have a pretty good attendance at the upcoming Alq AS June 27-28th.  Kudos! to our NM group of patriots!  We will be ready for the June 6-7th gun show again to remind Albuquerque that we are ready to teach them how to become riflemen.  Tom
Appleseed is history in the re-making!

TaosGlock

Good job guys!  O0
We will be ready for the June 27-28 AS in Alb. :~
89 fantastic Appleseeds since 2008/24 Libertyseeds!
Adventure Camp Director/Current Lead Rifle Instructor: NRA WC Raton,NM
New Mexico's first Rifleman: Sept. 2008 NRAWC
Their walls are filled with cannonballs, their motto is don't tread on me-Grateful Dead
Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. It is a man of war and we are all crew-Boston T. Party
"Make no mistake, when you cheer for the people of the American Revolution, you are cheering for traitors and criminals.
They broke the law, because liberty is always illegal"- Larken Rose

Precisely Advantageous

Its all in a days work for the AppleSeed Project O0
"If the solution has never been to look in yourself, how is it that you expect to find it any where else?"

SamD

Thank you all.
Personal participation is what it's all about.
You have answered the call and we appreciate it more than you know.

I'll tell you that there is NOTHING that any of our instructors like to see more than than you carrying on the message.
Figured that I had success after convincing just 1 person.   

Now it's sort of a high.   

Soon you'll feel it too. Passing on a message about something that is good and right, that gives hope, seeing others awaken and becoming a part of it all. Pretty tall cotton.

O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0

Devnull

It really did feel good to be spreading those appleseeds  O0

I really appreciate twh731 putting the whole thing together and giving us the chance to practice that 7th step. Hopefully the ground we did cast those seeds out upon turn out to be fertile and fill up the abq appleseed! Talking with the people at the gunshow I have a pretty good feeling were going to have our hands full with instructing everyone. Hopefully the "I could hit that target with a rock at 25m" and the "I can do that with my handgun!" people show up and shuck off some of their preconceptions and um dare I say over confidence and learn the skills to be real riflemen.  ::) I told them "Well, come on out and show us how it's done!"  **)

So uh, where do we go next?  ;)
"What the heck. I haven't volunteered for something in oh say 6 hours."

twh731

Yeah, those guys were pretty funny.  I think they are the kind of people who assume that they don't need to come to an AS because 25 years ago they scored "marksman" in the service.  Bench shooters!  But the invitation was offered and we'll see.  I was really impressed with the number of people who actually stopped by.  I don't make a very good circus barker but if anybody just paused for a nano second we were on them like sweet on lilacs.  I had one request to hold an AS near Farmington and I asked the gentleman to get me the particulars.  He seemed pretty excited and had his whole family with him.   We actually had a high school girl ask about the flags we had hanging and I achieved an embarrassed silence as I couldn't remember their history.  I will be more prepared next time!  Tom
Appleseed is history in the re-making!

BlueFeather

Thank you everyone for doing this: you guys are all awesome!  It can seem a daunting task to convince people they need to give up a weekend to practice, and you are right, many shooters have a very high opinion of their abilities... and they don't really want to find out they are wrong!  You all know how much hard work Appleseed is, but as you learned, it is also very rewarding, and of course, you meet incredible people there!  Just to let you know, the pre-registration numbers went up after the weekend, so I know you all had an impact.  O0

So what is next?  More bailing of the great ship --- tell more friends, get more people to the range to practice (show off what you learned!) And for this event, you can come and participate, or you can work, or you can do a bit of both!  Shooting a rifleman score is very satisfying, but its even better to see someone you helped out, make it!  Now there is pride! 

BTW:  if you want to work this event and be all official (so you get credit for time served)  PM me (the shootboss) and nickle, junior birdman and fred. 

WTG  O0 O0

Bluefeather


All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. (not Edmund Burke)

SamD

When you get one of them what says it's too easy and he can do it any ol time, here's what to tell 'em

"Well that's great, come on out and show me a 210 or better and I'll put you to work teaching with us"  O0

You might even get one.

Ifn we can get together up there for the June show I'll show you the Carnival barker schtik.

"That right folks,
Step right up,
one thin dime,
one tenth part of a dollar bill
will gain you admission to see JoJo the DogfaceBoy, he walks, he talks, he crawls on his belly like a reptiiiile ......
;D

Sam


Devnull

twh731, (Don't know if you want your first name used so I'll refer to you by your screen name  ;))

I was trying to PM you this question but for some reason your screen name doesn't come up as being present in the To: box...

Has anyone talked to local gunstores to see if they would allow us to have some fliers at there shop? I don't know if there are other IITs or redhats in albuquerque so I figured I had better check before repeating someone elses efforts.

I looked into putting a flier up at a couple of community centers and lets just say I got a really frosty reply from them. I need to come up with a few more places to canvas so we can hopefully sell out on the abq AS.

Chris
"What the heck. I haven't volunteered for something in oh say 6 hours."

SamD

Go ahead and try the shops.
Petersons let us last time.
Shooters Den did too, Say hi to Ponz and tell him I said to get out there no excuses.
try anybody that has guns or ammo, Wally World, Sportsmans Whse. All of 'em
You are literally the only ones in town.

Sam
 

BlueFeather

Great Chris, take the initiative!  What Sam said:  print up some flyers as cheaply as possible and go into every appropriate shop... ask them if it is OK to leave some flyers and then chat them up about what we are doing, and invite them to come too.  Its a lot of work, but it pays off... people see our name around so we become more legitimate. The stores should be getting more accustomed to our name by this time.

Thanks for doing this, this being in two or three places at one time is getting difficult.  %)



All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. (not Edmund Burke)

SamD

Remind them that it's good for business too.

Every business man or woman has to make a buck or die. 
If putting a couple flyers on Petersons door will sell guns, they;ll do it
Same at calibers and Shooters Den.

We aren't in competition with them we are business for them.

Sam

BaldDragn

Quote from: SamD on May 06, 2009, 11:18:10 PM
When you get one of them what says it's too easy and he can do it any ol time, here's what to tell 'em

"Well that's great, come on out and show me a 210 or better and I'll put you to work teaching with us"  O0

You might even get one.

I don't know who started it but LayLowPro suggested to me to offer the Texas Challenge.

When I have a "Pro" standing at the table telling me how good he is, I pull the $100 bill out of my wallet and slap it down. If he comes to my Appleseed and shoots a 210 or better on his first AQT he walks away with the money. If he doesn't he has to keep coming back until he gets 210.

I've offered this gentlemen's bet over a dozen times, no takers so far, but I've had three people show up at an Appleseed that were standing at the table when I made the challenge.

I guess confidence works.
"Anxiety and stress are the children of apathy and ignorance." - Jack Spirko

Saving the USS America - Good work if you can get it: Group Consensus, Sac 06/09 Instructors Meeting.

SAPPER STEEL!

Precisely Advantageous

Quote from: Devnull on May 07, 2009, 12:39:31 PM
twh731, (Don't know if you want your first name used so I'll refer to you by your screen name  ;))

I was trying to PM you this question but for some reason your screen name doesn't come up as being present in the To: box...

Has anyone talked to local gunstores to see if they would allow us to have some fliers at there shop? I don't know if there are other IITs or redhats in albuquerque so I figured I had better check before repeating someone elses efforts.

I looked into putting a flier up at a couple of community centers and lets just say I got a really frosty reply from them. I need to come up with a few more places to canvas so we can hopefully sell out on the abq AS.

Chris


Devnull, any gunstore, outdoors store, camping supply store and even I have had some of the auto parts stores allow posting of the AS flyers.  Farm supply stores and feed stores are good also.  Walmart has been letting me post a flyer on their gun counter until this last time and they told me they could post it in the breakroom but not on the counter for some reason now.  Also BLM and National Forest stations will normally allow you to post.  I actually dropped some on the counter at our local BLM and got a couple of responses from that.  County extension or agriculture offices are yet another.  Sorry about the communal center response.  Some people have no sense of humor and also lack sense of community spirit.  Tom
"If the solution has never been to look in yourself, how is it that you expect to find it any where else?"