Manchester, TN May 23&24, 2009

[Big Papa]

Another great weekend at Arnold Engineering Development Center!
TNcolonel had everything arranged as he always does.  It is a wonderful facility.
26 shooters on Saturday. 22 on Sunday.
Several families and groups of friends shooting together.

It was great to finally meet some of the people I've been talking to on the forum. As always, old friendships reinforced and new friendships forged!

The rain held off most of the time.

Did I mention that 7 shooters found the skills of a Rifleman within themselves!  Congratulations to all of them!! Several more are quickly learning the skills. Ran out of Rifleman patches!!  You should have seen Big Mama taking TAZDevil's patch off his jacket to give to a new Rifleman!!   

I was amazed by the willingness of the shooters to press on even after everyone was tired and worn down. Every time we went into our prep time, I noticed a new bandaid somewhere on an elbow, but never heard a complaint! Great attitudes and smiles everywhere I looked. 

[StoneDog]

I brought my son (12), father-in-law and brother-in-law. 

I'm proud to say that Dick, my father-in-law made Rifleman on his first AQT.  I think it bugged him that a year ago he didn't do to well at the Toccoa Appleseed so he came back with a vengeance.

My brother-in-law Bill hasn't been shooting in decades.  With the expert instruction and TAZDevil's 10/22 loaner, he scored in the 190's on his first AQT.  Even better, he's hooked and will be coming to more in the future.

My son, Matt, came into this with very little experience.  He ended the weekend with a 50% improvement in his score.  What's more, he really enjoyed the in-depth history lessons we received during the breaks.  He wants to return and I'm confident he'll make Rifleman after a few more Appleseeds.

I also finally broke the 210 barrier with a 216 so I guess that means I'm no longer a cook?  My next two goals:  1) shoot Rifleman again, this time with my AR, then 2) a perfect 250.  If I can find a way to work it with my better half, I would eventually like to become an instructor.

Any, I think I ended up with one of the Rifleman's patches that came off of a jacket.  It still has bits of the stitching on it!  :-)

Thanks again to TNColonel, Big Papa and all of the instructors for a very productive and worthwhile weekend.

Jon

[Old Navy Doc]

Most excellent event. The venue is superb, the class size perfect, and the instructors were spot on.  Very well organized and good flow with no confusion. Everyone started out with 22's (nice and quiet) but by Sunday, some 223's emerged.

Big Mama did a great imitation of my sheltie, nipping at heels and getting us to scramble down to change our targets so we could get the most out of the 2 days. TazDevil was fantastic at teaching the fundamentals and overcoming some cranky Accutek sights. Big Papa made all feel welcome. The attitude of the group was encouraging for even the kids and the true newbies.  Those of us with more experience found plenty of challenges and new goals to aim for.

Personal responsibility rather that political orientation was the universal theme, particularly meaningful this Memorial Day weekend.

My daughter Heather and her fiance Kyle had a wonderful time and both improved enough to want to come back and learn some more. Hopefully they will be joining RWVA and be on the forum soon.

I was honored to make AQT with my squirrelly Marlin 60 tubey. I think I will try it with my Mini 14 next time. I can't wait to do the week camp at the end of August at Ramseur. I'm stocking up on ammo, band-aids, and Advil.

Thanks to one and all for a wonderful job.

[Big Mama]

We had a very productive weekend.  The attitude of the shooters was great and they soaked up the instruction like a sponge.  What troopers!  As always, we made new friends and were able to visit with several old friends.  It was wonderful to see the faces of returning shooters.  Some of these shooters inched even closer to the goal and some made Rifleman.  We gave out all of the patches that we had and even had to take a Rifleman patch off of a shooting jacket to give to a new Rifleman.  My patch was the next up for grabs and I truly wish I had been able to take it off and present my patch to a new Rifleman.  Oh yeah! And Old Navy Doc, I hope I didn't push too hard, but I love to see us shoot AQT's and the time it takes to go from the firing line to the target line and back is priceless!  Thank you for your perserverance!!!  Hope to see you again at the next shoot!.

Big Mama 

[½Bear½Cat]

Thanks to all the instructors for helping to make this a wonderful weekend.  I was so thrilled to be back and am so glad I had to go back a second time before getting that Rifleman's score.  I really felt like I retained the instruction so much better this time around and was more confident in what I was doing.  Thanks especially to Big Papa and TNcolonel for all the help and encouragement.  I'll definitely be sending friends and family in September!

[Old Glory!]

Good work in Tennessee!  You have a great team going and the most exciting range I have been to.   Welcome to all the new Appleseeders. 

Old Glory! from WI, Tennessee wannabe.   

[TAZDevil]

I continue to be impressed by the quality of people who are attracted to the Appleseed project.
It truly is an honor to be able to act as an instructor.

Star had a great weekend at the range.  Thank you, everyone who threw him sticks.

What a wonderful weekend having to take off your rifleman's patch so that a newly minted rifleman could have a patch.

TAZ