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I attended my first “Appleseed” event this past weekend. It was awesome! The Appleseed Program uses marksmanship training as a vehicle for reconnecting Americans with the people and events of the Founding era. It’s an effort to “wake up” Americans, get them off the couch, and have them start taking this country back. Marksmanship is the “hook” to get people to attend the events, in the hopes that once you learn about what Liberty meant to our Founding Fathers, and the price they paid, you will be motivated to do something. Run for office, write letters, post to websites, VOTE, etc.

I’ve always enjoyed shooting, but I’ve never considered myself a really good shot. On the way to the event, my brother told me he was hoping to shoot well enough to earn the “Rifleman” distinction. I told him, I was hoping for the “Most Improved” award.

The first day is a mix of learning about Revolutionary War history, and learning the basics of marksmanship. Some of the marksmanship topics that were covered were “The Six basic steps of Firing the Shot”, how to determine your N.P.O.A (Natural Point of Aim), how to sight in your rifle, Minutes of Accuracy (MOA), and different firing positions. The instructors posed some very thought provoking questions to the class. I’m paraphrasing here, but it was something like “Are Americans today as concerned with Liberty as our Forefathers?” That is something to think about. What politicians do you know that are out there actually lobbying for our liberties?

The second day contained more Revolutionary War History lessons, a review of the first day’s concepts, and more opportunities to practice your shooting.

At the end of the weekend, I shot a score of 207, just shy of the 210 I needed to make “Rifleman”. My brother made rifleman. (Congrats Bro!) I’m looking forward to going back to another one, and I’m sure that if I persist, I’ll be able to make Rifleman. I came away from the clinic with a better grasp of the basics of Marksmanship, and I have concepts that I can work on. Additionally, I not only learned more about our Nation’s history, but I learned the value of Purpose. Do everything with a purpose. Hits count. When you go to the range, have a purpose. Accept nothing less than perfection. When you go to the gym, have a purpose. Same thing at work. Set goals. Have a purpose. Make your time count. Get up off the couch, educate yourself, and make your life mean something. Go to an Appleseed and see for yourself.

For more information on Appleseed events, go to http://appleseedinfo.org/