This is the cake I made for the shoot (this is written on the back of the older Appleseed T-shirts). :)
I also baked apple pies... (which were gone by the end of the 2nd day!)
Andrew and Alex, setting up...
Signing in....... The canopy didn't stay up long though, as it was too windy and kept falling down.
The shooting line getting in order...
Mother doing the "Carding" for Thaddeaus L...
Instructor/Shoot boss Kyle Johnson (from MN), helping Lauretta L...
Andrew helping our friend Jessica I. get started (she wasn't able to make it right away in the morning, so he got her caught up.)
Oh, and let's not forget about Millie.... She was a source of entertainment during our short breaks, as the guys were feeding her grasshoppers. Ha ha ha...
The pictures here are not in order now. Everyone enjoyed the swings!
Jacob and our Shoot boss, Alex (from Iowa)...
Mother and our good friend, Roxy, when she was getting ready to say goodbye after 1 day of shooting.
This was Saturday evening, eating hot dogs that we'd freshly roasted on the sticks that TJ was kind enough to go find in the tree-rows and to widdle to a point. :)
Our picnic...
We played a LOT of volleyball Saturday evening also, then when it was too cold and dark, some of us set up the tent and others cleaned up a bit, and then made music for a while yet.
This is back to Saturday, while Alex was teaching one of the history lessons...
Getting ready...
"Fire!"
Proceeding down range to post a new target and to retrieve our old ones...
My dad was too sore to shoot this time, but he stuck around and watched and listened.
Alex and Kyle had brought along their shooting-jackets. Nice!
Getting instructions...
Our firing line on Saturday: Left to right: Jacob (not by his gun), Roxy, Mother, Thaddeaus, Sarena, Lauretta, myself, Jessica, Will and TJ (Will and TJ were friends of Kyle's that he brought along.)
Talking...
Lauretta's scope was off, so I borrowed Andrew's Leatherman to adjust it...
Coming back from checking our targets...
Alex, demonstrating the correct way to get your NPOA (natural point of aim)...
Andrew, trying to help get Lauretta's scope set, after what I did didn't work...
Sarena, our left-handed shooter...
Lauretta and I, shooting in our favorite position--prone...
Kyle did some shooting too, as did Alex, later... I was very glad to have ear-plugs, as I was shooting next to him and that gun is loud!
Loading our mags...
Lauretta's scope was still giving her problems... "Help, Kyle!'
He turned some targets around to the back side and we pinned them behind Lauretta's target so we could see where the bullets were actually going...
Checking how we're progressing....
"How is your rifle shooting now, Lauretta? Still off?"
Prepping our magazines, with 2 and 8 or 10.
My shooting buddy and I again... Andrew says we looked like sisters while wearing those baseball caps! We both got sunburns the day before though, from not wearing a hat, so the hats were a big blessing. :)
Alex is getting ready to join in the fun... (Way on the far right.)
Jacob and Thaddeaus...
Lauretta and I again....
Comparing experiences...
Kyle's scratching his head now over Laurettas' scope problem...
They eventually figured out that the clicks on her scope were for about 3 times the amount of how scopes usually are set, so that was throwing everyone off... At long last, her scope got set correctly. :)
Sarena, the cowgirl...
Jacob and Thaddeaus doing the "Ball and Dummy" drill... (loading an empty or full mag while the shooter doesn't know which you loaded, so as to check for any bad habits the shooter may have.)
Here, Lauretta was still seeing where her scope was set, but Sarena is doing the "Ball and Dummy" drill for me and TJ is helping Will...
Brother and sister... (Rifleman and near RifleWOman).
Jacob, watching Thaddeaus...
Andrew, watching everyone...
Thaddeaus (he made Rifleman and it was the first shoot he'd ever been to!)
Posting new targets?
Standing was my least favorite position (I think Lauretta didn't like it either), as I was so wobbly, even with a sling. I think I may have improved over the 2 days times. :) Sarena and Thaddeaus did their best in this position though, as it is how they are used to shooting... That's Kyle shooting on the right.
Brother and sister (Rifleman and RifleWOman)....
Jacob had a lot of mechanical issues with his gun, so was frustrated. He plans to get his gun in tip-top shape before our next shoot in October!
Left to right: Lauretta, Me, Kyle, Will & TJ.
Hooray! Lauretta's scope is on!
Nice shooting, Thaddeaus!
Alex, checking on Will and TJ's progress...
It's strange to think that only 3 months ago, we didn't know this neat group of siblings!
They've already become good friends...
Andrew did a lot of instructing/review on Sunday and ran the line for quite some time. Now he needs to learn the history, so he can move up another level...
We went through a LOT of bullets in 2 days time!
"Proceed QUICKLY down range to check your targets."
ANDREW, with the orange hat...
We shot a lot of AQTs! (Army Qualification Tests)
Bang, bang, bang....
Alex and Andrew running the line...
How do you like Alex's red chair?
Smokey gun, Thaddeaus...
People are smiling....That's a good sign. :)
Jacob was shooting off the tarp, apparently...
Later in the day, I traded places with Sarena and shot on the other side of Lauretta, as the 3 of us kept banging into each others' feet while shooting prone, as Sarena shoots left-handed and consequently, lays at the opposite angle of the rest of us...
Filling mags. yet again...
The 3 musketeers, with rifles?
Mother rejoined us later in the day on Sunday, as she wasn't feeling up to it that morning...
It was a great time!
Although, I do believe most of us were tired by the end of the 2nd day!
Eating lunch on Sunday in the shade of Kyle's pickup...
Nice shooting...
Kyle and Will, discussing targets?
This is the young lady who we are mainly indebted to for taking most of these pictures! :) Thank you again, Tina (a sister of Lauretta, Sarena and Thaddeaus). Do you think she's camera shy?
Cake, pie and ice-cream time after the shooting was over... The next day was Lauretta's birthday, so I'm guessing that's why her folks stopped in with some pie and ice cream to share? :)
I do hope that many more will participate in the next Project Appleseed shoot we'll be hosting October 6th and 7th! So far, we've heard from 3 of the shooters (outside of our family) that said they'll be coming back again to
shoot some more in October. :) I guess that means they enjoyed and were blessed with what they learned too! Praise the Lord! Also, we were so grateful for God's granting safety for everyone while thousands of bullets zipped through the air!
