Orlando, FL Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2026

[codyClemonade]

What a weekend... warmer than most places in the country, but still sub-freezing in the morning makes this Florida event one for the record books. 18 shooters gathered in Orlando to soak in some history and marksmanship. It's always great to see Trail Life on the range, and this was no exception.

Saturday morning's redcoat showed lots of room for improvement, so we got to work. Groups shrank before our eyes, and connections were made to past events before we even taught our talking targets block. It was great to see so many centerfire rifles at a 25m event; an unusual treat. The afternoon AQT revealed our first two Riflemen of the weekend; father and son, Neil and Aedan. Neil turned in a respectable 212, but of course Aedan had to show him up by turning in a 221. I suspect we'll see some friendly competition between these two in the future. On this AQT, we also saw several people knocking on the door- Gavin, JP, and Rane were all over 180. With temperatures dropping and wind gusting near 40mph as a cold front moved in, we packed it up for the evening.

Sunday morning's weather was considerably different from Saturday's comparably balmy temperatures. 27°F as we unpacked the cars was a little uncomfortable and motivated the instructors to deploy our canopies for wind blocks and propane heaters to gather around for warmth. With everyone maintaining feeling in their fingertips (mostly), we set off on our review. The group showed they were really listening the day before, readily jumping in with answers. We got our first AQT underway before lunch and revealed one more Rifleman, Gavin. He finally made it over the hump, showing his fellow Trailmen it's indeed possible with persistence. We continued through the afternoon, unfortunately without minting any further Riflemen, but seeing some great scores. Some to mention are Tyler's top score of 207 and Rane's of 204. I have no doubt we'll see these gentlemen qualify soon. We also had numerous scores upwards of 170- great shooting, especially for a first event.

To all the shooters, well done. I saw tremendous improvement from each and every one of you throughout the weekend. If you didn't earn a patch this time, remember, a Rifleman persists. Dry fire, practice those transitions, study your guidebooks, and come back again.

Thank you to the Central Florida Rifle & Pistol Club for continuing to be incredibly accommodating for all things Appleseed- we truly appreciate the partnership.

Photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/u9jFwZevFNuRJmSe8

A few of my favorites:


Instructors and students alike appreciated the wind break this area provided on Saturday afternoon


We had a visitor just trying to keep warm

[Pirategirl]

Huzzah!  It was one for the books for weather and great shooters.  So glad I was there to witness true greatness with such brave young men.  Battling the cold and the time monkey trying their best to break you down, you persisted!  Kudos to all!

[TheMenace]

Cody's innovation of the walled canopys with a propane heater was a life saver. Very well-run shoot. This  troop of Trailmen is the best I've seen on the line. Congratulations to Ed on taking an Orange Hat. HUZZAH!

[ShooterMagoo]

Nice glamour shot of the Appleseed Tippmann in the album, Mrs. Smith was looking for some of those.

[Ironhorse]

Thanks to the whole Appleseed team! I am excited to start the instructor journey.

[codyClemonade]

Nice glamour shot of the Appleseed Tippmann in the album, Mrs. Smith was looking for some of those.

That may or may not have been intentional based on that thread   
Thanks for reminding me to send it to her

[ShooterMagoo]

That may or may not have been intentional based on that thread   
Thanks for reminding me to send it to her

Thanks for posting the album. I always find myself checking out what people are shooting, starting to suspect I'm some kinda gun nut- 

[MattNH]

Nice job.  Cold is cold, don't care what the latitude is for the event.