Project Appleseed

I took one of my boys to a Project Appleseed event in Buckeye Arizona at the General Joe Foss Shooting Range this past weekend. It coincided with the 1 year anniversary of the opening of the range, so we all took a short break to attend the flag ceremony put on by US Military Veterans which was a nice bonus. While waiting for the flag ceremony to begin, I found my friends from the Arizona Citizens Defense League had set up a table nearby, so I took a quick moment to renew my AZCDL membership early.

Massad Ayoob attended an Appleseed event in Florida the same weekend and did an excellent writeup of what Appleseed is all about. The description of what a rifleman is from the Appleseed website itself is:

What's a rifleman?

In short, a rifleman is an armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty. It's a man [or woman] 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.

There was a great mixture of men, women, and children attending the Appleseed event. I can vouch for the fact that none of the women there felt outnumbered, and some of the best shots at the end of the day ended up being some of the women and young ladies shooting for the first time rifles they had never even fired before.

Steve and KC (known as AZGromit and AZRedhawk44 on the Appleseed forum) were knowledgeable & skilled instructors. They excelled at presenting the training materials in a way easy for all to follow & understand, and did a touching job of retelling the history of the American Rifelman and the people and events that lead up to the American Revolutionary War for the Independence and Freedom we still enjoy today.

There is probably an Appleseed Event coming to a location near you. Sign up, I'm confident that you'll be glad you did.