Appleseed!

(*Disclaimer - All photos from here on are stolen from the Project Appleseed West Virginia Facebook page.  I was way too busy to take photos.)

Some of us local folks were signed up to go last month, but the heavens opened and it bucketed and bucketed and bucketed.  We could have fished in the Izzak Walton League pond and shot on the rifle range at the same time.  I laid my gear out in preparation, but was not unhappy when the cancellation e-mail came through.

Yesterday was a better.  Colder, and blustery, but nothing layering couldn't deal with.  Although I lost contact with my nose periodically, depending on what the clouds were doing.

I have rifles.  I have shot them.  But not with a great deal of knowledge of what I was doing or of the proper hows.  As a consequence, I haven't been able to shoot worth dooky.  So I needed training.

An aside here.  I'm older.  Murphy's Law has teased me with the title "Granny Oakley."  I kinda like that - I've thought of changing my blog name to that.  But I did start this hobby late in life, and because of that, my muscles are new to shooting positions.  I didn't realize that regular yoga was a prerequisite for proper rifle form.  I'm only sort of kidding.   I suspect I'm not the only one of the older participants who is sore and tired today.  On the other hand, half the class was under 18, and considerably more flexible.  Gumby-girl in the blue and white jacket below is firing while bracing her elbows on the ground instead of on her knees.

It took just one of the position change drills to make it clear that I needed to stay on the ground if I actually wanted time to fire...

Lots of demonstrations -

And personal assistance when needed -

 

And in between, we were given the story of April 19, 1775, the date when we began to truly fight for our freedom, and the date that American marksmen sent the finest army in the world running with their tails tucked between their legs.

Ironically, this training came the day after the horror of Paris.  The completely expected and predictable horror that occurred in a disarmed country whose citizens have placed "diversity" above the lives and well being of of their children.  As have many in the US.  But there is hope here.  This was half the firing line yesterday.

 And some of those kids are doggone good.