I hit Backwoods Home’s turf – Gold Beach, Oregon – feeling like I had one foot on bronchial pneumonia and the other on a banana peel. Thanks to some powerful antibiotics, Lenie Duffy’s incomparable Jewish Mother’s Chicken Soup, and a bunch of good people, I left feeling a whole lot better.
The weekend saw Backwoods Home host what I’m told is the largest Appleseed event in the history of Oregon, and one of the largest ever on the west coast. Many thanks to Ted Fitzgerald, who graciously donated the use of the range where it took place. In between shooting relays and Revolutionary War history lessons, shooters could just face away from the firing line and enjoy the awesome view from about 1500 feet.
Attendees ranged in age from seven to seventy-seven. It was pleasing to see many women, and many youngsters, on the line. Appleseed had sent a strong contingent of instructors, many of whom drove hundreds of miles to get there. Shoot Boss Carol Wylie flew in from Illinois to ramrod the long firing line, with the usual Appleseed emphasis on safety. Her husband Philip, a longtime Appleseed stalwart, reminded attendees of the statement attributed to Yamamoto during World War II: that it would have been insane to invade the mainland United States because there would be a rifleman behind every blade of grass. Appleseed is dedicated to restoring America’s status as A Nation of Riflemen.
Dave Duffy shot the event, along with all his kids. Son Robbie was one of nine who shot well enough to win the coveted Rifleman’s Patch. Good show, kid!
For many, it was their first Appleseed. They appreciated being with like-minded people from across our nation’s generations, expressing a core element of American freedom. Rifles ranged from a bolt-action Mossberg .22 match gun from yesteryear, in the hands of a determined eighteen year old, to a 7.62mm NATO HK 91 or clone thereof. The predominant rifle at the event was the .22 autoloader, with the Ruger 10/22 by far the most popular, but with Marlins and Remingtons also in evidence, along with some AR15 platforms in .22 LR. The single top score was shot by a young man who had bought his AR15 format Smith & Wesson M&P15 .22 just a few weeks before. He nailed a fine tally of 244 out of 250 possible points.
Seeing this sort of thing refreshes the soul of any member of the gun culture. Heck, for me, it was almost as restorative as Lenie’s chicken soup! For more information on Appleseed, go to: http://appleseedinfo.org/
Dang, sounds like a blast! I gotta get myself and the wife to one of those events…
Wonderful column Massad. We need more Appleseeds in this country, to put a young and wholesome face on shooting.
Since the Colorado massacre I’ve been reading Stephen Halbrook’s articles on Swiss gun culture (e.g. stephenhalbrook.com/articles/guns-crime-swiss.html). If Appleseeds could catch on here like Schuetzenfest in Switzerland it would do more to stem the anti-gun drift of our culture than anything we are currently trying.
Soccer moms and teenagers, out in the country, shooting rifles. That’s the picture we need the public to see. Otherwise demographics of an urbanizing culture will overwhelm the 2nd amendment.
Thanks!
Sounds like fun. Can’t wait, future XO and I are looking to go to one in October by BC michigan.
Ohhh man I wish I had known about the shoot in Gold Beach, I’m only about two hours from there! I would have been there. Glad you enjoyed our beautiful Oregon coast, great people and great salmon fishing! Lots of elk too… if you can find them.
Mas,
Glad to hear you are feeling better. In the spirit of Appleseed, I’m sure you will be pleased to hear that I took my 19 year old son, Mike, to the Washtenaw County Sportsman’s Club, where he shot a qualifying score on their 600 yard range. The guys he was shooting with were very helpful and encouraging, as gun people usually are. While most of the shooters had match grade barrels and bipods, Mike held his own shooting his hunting rifle, a Remington 700 7 mm mag, using his backpack for support.
If I sound like a proud dad, it is because I am. 🙂
Great report. Hope you are feeling better!
Any chance of getting one of these here on the east coast? Delaware, Pennsylvania, maybe VA?
Mike Sweeney, ain’t that what’s it’s all about? Thanks for taking him.
Chuck, thanks for the heads up on Stephen Halbrook’s site. I’m going to check it out. Mike, you’ve got good reason to be proud.
I’m looking forward and preparing to attend an Appleseed event in the near future. Getting to the range is always therapeutic (if you don’t consider the heat here in Texas). The presentation of revolutionary war history should be icing on the cake. Has anyone else noticed that civil war history has totally eclipsed revolutionary war history in popularity? Check the history section in a local book store and its obvious.
To Delmarksman,
Please check out http://appleseedinfo.org/- we have shoots in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia. We’d love to have you.
Delmarksman,
Check out the websight, “www.appleseedinfo.org”, there are Appleseeds all over the country, every weekend.
For that matter, if you really want an Appleseed close to home, find a range with at least 25 meters (82 feet) from firing line to targets, a GOOD backstop, an additional 20 feet behind firing line for equipment, etc. Contact the State Co-ordinator listed in the State Child Board on the forum and they’ll happily help you set up an Appleseed at your location.
I really like Appleseed. I went to my 2nd one this last weekend, and finally got my badge-woohoo! I’m looking forward to attending my first one as an IIT0 (or is that “IIT minus 10”?) next month! As shooter or helper, these are great events.
It was a real pleasure for us to have attended this shoot. The attendees were marvelous. Nine riflemen plus five re-qualifiers were forged during this momentous weekend at Brookings, Or. It is anticipated there will be more future events. We are most thankful to the the folks at Backwoods Home Magazine, Massad Ayoob a great celebrity guest for making the trip out for this special event and to those ‘key people’ from the Brookings and Gold Beach communities who made this event possible. And a special thanks to the Duffy family for making our stay so special. You are the most wonderful, gracious, hospitable people we know, and your magazine staff are special. We so enjoyed meeting them. Thank you again one and all.
For future Appleseed events in Oregon do check with Oregon’s state Coordinator Prescott on the Appleseed forum .
The next Oregon shoots are as follows:
Eagle Creek, OR – Sep 8-9
Springfield, OR – Sep 22-23
Vale, OR – Sep 29-30
October 2012
Springfield, OR – Oct 27-28
November 2012
Eagle Creek, OR – Nov 10-11
For further information and to register go to: http://www.appleseedusa.org/search-states.html
Don’t miss out on the regular Appleseed RIFLEMAN RADIO BLOG each Thursday evening for great tips, history and remarkable guests. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/appleseedradio
And don’t forget the Backwoods Home Magazine Radio show on the Preparedness Radio Network http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper
Best regards,
Philip & Carol Wylie
And if I may call Massad my brother from another mother. You sir are a great American! Thanks for the great book tip TARGET SWITZERLAND we ordered the book immediately and I have devoured it. How far we have drifted from the ideals this great nation one held. How noble the Swiss nation is. This is a must read for every American IMHO http://www.amazon.com/Target-Switzerland-Swiss-Armed-Neutrality/dp/1885119534
I can’t thank you enough for this book referral. Powerful stuff.
Great Article!! I was not aware of the Appleseed organization. Today is a cold, rainy day and luckily I found your blog while checking out the Backwoods Home Mag for the first time… my lucky day!!! I have most of your books and am an avid gun owner and CCW holder… Thank You for all the informative articles and I hope to one day attend an Appleseed event and one of your classes!!! Be Safe & Be Well!!!