COVID-19 shut down Appleseed for pretty much all of 2020. There were a smattering of events but they were booked out so far that the first event I could register for ended up being in May of 2021.

Even that event ended up being a fluke. I happened to be looking at the local gun subreddit and saw a post that my local range had 1 open spot - Sunday only - for someone who had already shot an Appleseed and wanted another chance to qualify for Rifleman. I asked to take the open spot and showed up bright and early on Sunday.

I don’t remember much about shooting this Appleseed, only that it was my first post-LASIK Appleseed, and I took the 10/22 rather than a centerfire. These results spoke for themselves:

My first Rifleman-qualified target. Not bad, not great.
Clearing the Redcoat from the same event. Consistent, repeatable marksmanship.

Now that I had earned my Rifleman patch I was eligible to sign up as an instructor. I took an Orange hat from Andy that day, signifying I was an instructor-in-training.

Getting my Orange Hat

This is one of the prouder moments of my life, and one of the first times I stepped up to preserve liberty.