Openings still available for Labor Day Appleseed Rifle Clinic

  • Published
  • By Claude Morse, Highland Rim Shooters Club Vice President
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Looking for something different to do on Labor Day weekend? There are still openings at the Appleseed Rifle Clinic.

Three more Project Appleseed Rifle Clinics, hosted by the base's Highland Rim Shooters Club (HRSC), are scheduled to be held at the General Purpose Rifle Range in the Arnold AFB Rifle Range complex this year. The dates for the clinics are Aug. 31 - Sept. 1, Oct. 5-6 and Nov. 9-10.

The clinics are a combination history lesson about the opening day of the American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775, and the American Militia and Minutemen who responded to the call to arms at Concord and Lexington and a rifle safety and marksmanship training course.

The clinic is open to all base personnel and their families, as well as the general public on a first-come, first-served basis until the class is full. The clinics are free to military personnel, including active duty, Reserve, National Guard and Tennessee State Guard with ID. Law enforcement, elected officials and people who show up in Revolutionary war military uniforms also shoot for free.

Other male attendees pay $80 for the two-day course, women pay $40 and youth 18 and under $20. In addition one youth can attend for free with a paying adult parent. Youth 17 and under must have a parent, grandparent or guardian present to attend. All attendees must sign a liability waiver and parents, grandparents or guardians must sign for their children under age 18.

The clinics start each day between 8 - 8:30 a.m. with registration and safety briefings at about 8:30 a.m. Training on the rifle range begins shortly thereafter. On Saturday, the class is expected to last until about 5 p.m. and Sunday 4 p.m.

Attendees need to bring a rifle, shooting mat, hearing protection, shooting glasses and ammunition. Knee and elbow pads are recommended, firing will be from the standing, kneeling, sitting and prone positions. Some loaner rifles and shooting mats are available. A limited amount of .22 ammunition is available from HRSC on site.

There will be a short lunch break each day on site - attendees should bring their lunch as instruction continues while they eat.

The course includes basic safety and handling of rifles and shooting targets at 25 meters. By the second day most participants are hitting inch sized targets at 25 meters that simulate targets at 400-500 yards.

The course of fire includes a version of the Army Qualification Test. Shooters who score a 210 or higher receive an Appleseed Rifleman patch.

The instructors conducting the clinic are members of the Revolutionary War Veterans Association, a non-profit, a Congressionally chartered Civilian Marksmanship Program affiliated organization that conducts Appleseed Rifle Clinics nation-wide. The instructors are dedicated to training youth and adults in rifle safety and marksmanship skills. The August clinic will be the 32nd Appleseed Clinic at Arnold AFB.

To register for a clinic see http://appleseedinfo.org - click on the Appleseed tab, then schedule, then Tennessee then Manchester. For questions send an email to HRSC Vice President and Tennessee Appleseed State Coordinator Claude Morse at TN@appleseedinfo.org.