Appleseed

 

This past weekend the Bartlett family hosted an Appleseed Shoot at their farm. As you can see in the picture, Andrew Bartlett did a great job mowing the letters into the side of the hill!! :-)

We left Friday afternoon and, after driving for 5 hours, arrived at the Bartlett Farm. They had just moved 4 cabins onto their property from a camp, so we were able to stay in the Guest Cabin (but I forgot to take a picture of it!!). It was nice to see their place in the summertime. They have huge gardens, and lots of animals including goats, pigs, chickens, cats, a cow, a dog and a horse. We especially enjoyed picking and eating fresh raspberries!! Nothing beats those! :-)

Peter milking the goats

 

Ethan taunting the billy goat (thankfully he was tied up!)

 

We were up bright and early the next morning (after a cold night - I think it got into the low forties) and out to the shooting range by 8:30. Some of you may be wondering exactly what and Appleseed Shoot is. I'll paste a couple paragraphs here from their website:

The Appleseed Program is designed to take you from being a simple rifle owner to being a true rifleman. All throughout American history, the rifleman has been defined as a marksman capable of hitting a man-sized target from 500 yards away — no ifs, ands or buts about it. This 500-yard range is traditionally known as "the rifleman's quarter-mile;" a rifleman can hit just about any target he can see. This skill was particularly evident in the birth of our country, and was the difference in winning the Revolutionary War.

What's a rifleman?
In short, a rifleman is an armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty. It's a man who has learned to shoot a rifle accurately — accurate enough to score "expert" on the Army Qualification Course. Until you can do that, you're considered a "Cook," unprepared and unqualified to carry a rifle on the firing line of freedom. But after attending an Appleseed AQT shoot, you'll have the credentials necessary to be a true rifleman, and will understand the critical need for defending freedom in this country.

So, after going over safety rules, we started out Saturday morning shooting at a "redcoat" target, and did several other various targets until lunch. Then the "shoot boss" gave us the first part of our history lesson - the story of April 19, 1775. After that we went back to the range and continued shooting - and learning more history - until 4:30 or so. Throughout the day we learned different positions (standing, sitting, prone) and also the six points you need to follow to do your best at hitting the target. We also learned how to find our natural point of aim.

Our targets on the hill

 

Lined up to shoot (the instructors are wearing the bright hats)

 

The shoot boss and the instructors all made sure that everyone was extremely safe while shooting. They would call out detailed instructions and be watching closely to make sure the muzzles were pointed in the right direction and that when we were finished shooting we had unloaded the mag, put the safety on, and put the flag in the chamber.

Alex - the shoot boss (in the red hat) - telling us what to do next

 

Daniel

 

Me

 

Caleb

 

The most important target we shot at was the AQT - the Army Qualification Test. There are four levels - unqualified, Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert (Rifleman). Or course, your goal is to become Rifleman by the end of the weekend. We shot many times at this target, trying to improve each time. I shot my best on Sunday morning, and made Sharpshooter. The targets were 25 meters away.

On Sunday morning we again gathered by 8:30. We were glad to have a break by the time lunch came - that afternoon the temp was in the upper 80's. It was sweltering!! Our guns and ammo were getting hot, and I could tell I was wearing out a lot quicker than on Saturday. We took an extra break in the shade while Alex finished the history lesson. I sure learned a lot that I hadn't know previously!!

 

 

We had a wonderful time - besides shooting we were able to jam a little and also visit/play with with friends. A big thank you goes to the Bartlett family for hosting this Appleseed Shoot!! We really enjoyed it, and we came away with better marksmanship, more knowledge of our history . . . and a nice sunburn!! :-)