Stinson, WV Sept. 19-20

[The Machine]

The student turnout wasn't big for this one, but we set a new Stinson instructor record...the entire WV IC was in the same place, at the same time! 

We had pretty decent weather, albeit a little on the warm, muggy side, for this time of year. The rain stayed away until everyone was ready to pack it in on Sunday, then we had one of Stinson's infamous "see ya later" showers. The good news this time; nobody got to slide around in the mud and get towed out. We don't even allow that opportunity here anymore...MudSlide was the last of that breed.  

Speaking of MudSlide--with his vehicle safely on terra firma--he was able to keep focus on his PC3 evaluation, which he passed with flying colors. Alex was the recipient of some fine instructing on Sunday, by the "mud man" himself...

And his positions told the story, that he paid attention to the offhand and sitting components of instruction...

A little more work on prone and that nagging "draggin' wood" issue, then the patch will be awarded. You will be dry-firing at home Alex, right? I'll see, when you return in October.  <

Rewinding back to Sat...our youngest shooter ever--6 yr. old Sequoia--blasted the first Redcoats, then lost interest and passed the pink "Cricket" to mom for the rest of the day. I think Sequoia enjoyed drawing pictures on paper, rather than putting holes through it. [Unfortunately the pic of Sequoia got deleted  ] Her mom Cory got "carded" by Spanner during the NPOA drills...

One of my favorite "returning champions"--Margaret--showed her joy of being back in Stinson again  ...

Then, dond stepped in, and the reality of Margaret spending too much time remodeling her house and not enough time practicing, reared it's ugly head  ...

In all sincerity, Margaret is one of the sweetest persons you'll meet. Sweet doesn't make up for the common error that many students make, however...not practicing dry-fire at home. I want to be the one to award you your Rifleman patch Margaret, so can you please wrap-up that remodel job and get back to Appleseed business? 

Kevin was a "first timer" who learned early on, the art of precision rifle shooting requires loosing the habit of "draggin' wood"...among other things...

[BTW, that's a walking stick, not a rifle, that I'm holding. I managed to sprain the tendons in my lower back 2 days before the shoot, so I needed some "props" to get the job done.] Anyhow, Kevin made very good progress, going from 136 on his first AQT, to 186--I think--on his last one Sunday. With some homework and range practice, I can see Kevin getting the patch at his next AS. Kevin was also talking to me about grabbing a bucket...uht oh...

Standing and delivering...

Then doin' the crash-and-burn...

Spanner was going for the RH at this one, and he did a very good job of running the show, as dond supervised. Here, Spanner explains the theory of placing every shot into those little "Vs"...

Then he interjected some history to a memorized audience...

After which, it was time to see what Kevin was up to...

Kevin was up to nothing; he's down in that funky kneeling position that's not often seen in "these here parts". 

As the action rolled on, dond looks on in amazement, while I keep my head from exploding...

Dond decided to give everyone a break from the physical workout and switch gears to a cerebral exercise--"choices" and "Dangerous Old Men"...

After that moving presentation, dond wrapped the history talk up with some short stories of interest; Hezekiah Wyman being one of them...

The wvmmfalcon came to this event as a man with a well defined mission--earning the Rifleman title. He and MudSlide discussed the battle plan Saturday afternoon, under Mother Nature's "heat lamp"...

Mind focused like a laser beam, the "falcon" persisted through Sunday...

Finally, after huge doses of encouragement and dedication to the Cause; the end result speaks for itself--mission accomplished!  ...

As a side note...wvmmfalcon scored a 210 on his first Rifleman AQT, which earned him a nice shot of ice cold water down the neck! He loved every minute of it! 


All-in-all, it was another great Stinson AS. Dond had some Orange Hats on hand, so bbkf, siglite, and wvmmfalcon received the crown of flo-O to cover their domes.  I also took full advantage of having the entire WV IC in one spot; posing for a group pic with "Mr. Celebrity" himself--dond! 

Front: wvmmfalcon, bbkf, Spanner  Back: siglite, dond (SB), The Machine, MudSlide

Some of those Orange Hats will be turning to Red Hat in the very near future. I want to thank Don and his lovely wife Sarah for making the pilgrimage from TN to make this weekend special. A big thanks to our dedicated WV IC for giving our state the tools to create more Rifleman. And it was a pleasure to work with all you students...do your homework...we have a patch and hat waiting for you. 

[dond]

The Machine has done a wonderful summary of the event, complete with great pictures. It was a real joy to finally meet him, and an unexpected pleasure to be with the entire WV Instructor Core. And they all managed to participate in the work at hand. WV is going to be well equipped to expand Appleseed across the state. And of course they will be bolstered in their effort as all the shooters present earn their Rifleman scores and become instructors.

The Machine, Spanner, Mudslide, and I welcomed six shooters Saturday morning. This included a family which consisted of a father, wife, and a very young daughter. It was gratifying to see such a young girl being introduced to shooting. The father was shooting extremely well, but became ill late in the afternoon and did not return Sunday. That is unfortunate, because it seemed certain that he would shoot a Rifleman's score.

Everyone was a pleasure to work with, and their shooting continued to improve. A young shooter, who had been to two Appleseeds earlier, arrived Sunday and his shooting also improved. A few minor showers also appeared Sunday, but they just served to keep things pleasantly cool, instead of dampening spirits.

Everyone except the family mentioned above, and one other shooter, had been to at least one Appleseed previously. They all enjoyed themselves and learned something new. And their scores showed it. One of the shooters shot a Rifleman score fairly early Sunday and each of his succeeding AQTs continued to improve. Eventually he shot a 222 and wanted an orange hat, which I was happy to supply. We can all welcome wvmmfalcon into the IIT ranks. Several more Appleseed events are scheduled in West Virginia, and I expect to see him working at these.

[Mountaineer]

SB Don's "Old Man Stories"  really had an effect on me.  They brought tears to my eyes, and I felt a camaraderie with the other students, and with the Founders that I hadn't often felt before.  My score on the AQT jumped 15 points after his stories.

I want to thank Don, and all the other instructors who were there that day.  Each one gave me some indispensible advice that day, and I learned a lot.  I can't wait until my next Appleseed.  I think I'll have earned that Rifleman's Patch by then.

Thanks again, everyone.  I hope I can do justice to your work and time, and our Founder's message.

Long live the Republic.


In Liberty,
--- Mountaineer
       (Kevin)

[dond]

Thanks Kevin. And you may have noticed that I have a hard time telling some of these stories without the tears welling up.