Common Sense

So, how do you build a team?

Find some like minded people, and get yourselves shooting. Soon, you’ll be working closely together, as a team. Shooting together, teaching each other and becoming much more than the sum of the parts.

Sounds too simple, but, folks, it’s just that easy. It does take time, and persistence. Yup, you heard it here. Easy, but takes time and persistence. I know some of you are going to say “Isn’t persistence hard?” Well, not really, the only hard part is not giving up. And, persistence comes EASY, if you truly believe in what you’re doing.

I don’t need to ask you what you think about the direction the country is headed or your opinion on our choices in November. If you were happy with either, you wouldn’t be reading this.

I know, you think I’m crazy, that it just CAN’T be that easy. Well, Nickle has been there and done that already, truth be known, many times over. I’ve done it many times with the military, and I’ve even done it with Project Appleseed. The Northeast Instructor crew is a pretty tight knot bunch. Actually there are currently 3 groups of them, a Massachusetts crew, a Vermont crew and a New York crew. They interact closely with each other, overlapping as need be. The whole group can be counted on to get things done, EVERY time.

The Vermont crew started before Project Appleseed even existed as such. GMB74 and I both were regulars over at FAL Files, and with others, got a yearly get together going, with others from FAL Files, like BykerHD and a few others. Both GMB74 and I had been reading Fred’s columns over the years, and he even got a weekly program going at his local club. Over time, we added ripersnifle from AR15.com and a few others.

The Massachusetts crew started from Crak from the Northeastshooters.com forum, which I was also a member. He and I both started down the path of becoming Instructors, and for a while, were the only 2 in the Northeast area. We expanded people, picking up the Vermont crew after a couple of Appleseeds, and arranged for an Instructor Boot Camp. The VT crew went down to Massachusetts for an Appleseed on Patriot’s Day and we ended up with a couple more hooked (Dwarven1 and Martlet). Kind of odd, a bunch of Green Mountain Boys going to Massachusetts to rekindle the spirit down there, but we did exactly that. Of course, none of that would’ve happened without Crak’s persistence and Mini-Appleseed program, which is the true start down there.

The New York crew just happened over time. One man, kDan, started down the path of being an Instructor, and I have had the pleasure of working with him several times. He went from Instructor-In-Training after a Rifleman Boot Camp in Ramseur to Shoot Boss in just ONE season. As he did NY events with me, we got closer and closer. Now, we are just 2 kindred spirits in the world. We have similar beliefs, just different enough so we aren’t clones. We picked up Zercool and Northbridgewater (and his son) along the way, now NY has a completely autonomous crew, they can run their own Appleseeds without needing outside help.

See, it works. It worked for us, it can work for you. The start?

Get some fellow shooters out shooting, and shooting the AQT, to the standard. Get yourselves to the Rifleman level, and then consider becoming Instructors.

Together, you’ll be afraid to let the others down. Separately, you’ll soon retire to the couch, where it’s comfortable. Folks, you just can’t do this alone. It takes a team, and there’s no “I” in Team.

I know, it just CAN’T be THAT easy. Well, it is, and it’s fun to boot. Go figure.

Mentoring is another thing you should be doing, and may already be doing. Ever help a younger one, like a teen along in life?

If your answer is no, then shame on you, for not mentoring anybody. The young are our future, and we need to help them along. The neighbor’s kid may need help from somebody just like YOU.

If your answer is yes, then you’re already there, just expand your reach and carry on.

It doesn’t need to be a teen or anybody younger than you either.

It could be a fellow shooter that is struggling to shoot well. Maybe both of you are struggling. Believe it or not, you have the answer already to fix the last one. Get BOTH of you to an Appleseed, and soon. The only regret you’ll have is why you didn’t do it earlier.

Funny thing is, it doesn’t need to even be about shooting. Sometimes the neighbor kid just needs help finding his way in life, because he isn’t getting guidance at home. Yeah, I’ve seen that before, and done my part.

To mentor, you should be positive as much as possible, but sometimes, the one you are mentoring needs “a little motivation”. Just don’t overdo that part. Don’t turn them away from the goal. Keep it as positive as you can, but, don’t “sugar coat” it either.

Team building and mentoring, so easy anybody can do it.

The hard part is the training once you’ve built that team. And that’s just fun anyways.

This came from the forum, from fepowered, one of our Instructors in the making.

It’s SO GOOD, I figured it beared posting here. So, I’ll post it for him. Just remember, these are his words, not mine, and words worth reading and heeding.

And, I’ll answer his question, in my case. YES, there’s enough evidence to convict Nickle of being a Rifleman. Enough to convict me of being a Patriot, as well. If the King’s troops had caught me in 1775, they would have hung me on the spot. I put action to my words, as does the author of this.

DO YOU?

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If you were arrested today, set in front of a jury of your peers and facing charges of being a Rifleman, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

First you have to ask yourself “What is a Rifleman?”

On the Appleseed front page, it states this:
In short, a rifleman is an armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty. It’s a man 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.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject together with what I agree with that others have already said…

The reality is that scoring a 210 is merely a first step in the initiation process of becoming a true Rifleman. Becoming a Rifleman is a lifestyle and a journey. It is not something you attain, get a shiny trophy for and then sit back to admire past accomplishments. The Appleseed instructors do a fine job of conveying the message of the need for defending freedom, but it takes the mindset of a true Rifleman to act on this message.
To begin to understand the mindset necessary to be a Rifleman you should ask yourself “What am I doing today or am I not doing today that I may have to apologize to my children for in a few years time?” We need to put this in the context of our freedom and liberty.

The things which I feel would cause the greatest inexcusable shame are those things which we failed to do. Riflemen are true Patriots, not Patriots in the popular sense of running around waving the American flag with your head in the sand and going along with whatever your government says or does as long as you are having your sense of entitlement stroked by giving you whatever handout you are looking for this week. This is the mantra of a loyalist. It was Loyalists who were sympathetic to our British oppressors around the time of our fight for independence from them.
Riflemen vigorously support their country and are prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors. This vigorous support includes voting and spreading the message of liberty to other US citizens and to those politicians who need to hear it. Apathy around election time is inexcusable. Allowing a minority of citizens to vote and decide the future of our nation is a gateway to oppression.
True Riflemen need to stand ready to do the same things today that our forefathers did in 1775 and the years following. Fight for our freedoms and unite to keep and safeguard them. Riflemen are independent thinkers who are united in cooperation for a common cause. During the years when the great document we now know as the US Constitution was being discussed and drafted, there was great debate and disagreement. The tension grew to the level of a fist fight over how we should govern our great nation. This showed how passionate they were about their own and future liberties and we now reap the rewards from this grand effort.

Due to the message I have received at the Appleseeds I have attended, I believe these to be some of the measures of a Rifleman.

1. Be able to consistently score a 210 or greater on the AQT.
2. Pass on the skill of shooting at the Rifleman level to others and educate them on the history of the Rifleman which became very exciting on April 19th 1775.
3. Ignite the spirit of the Rifleman in others by speaking and writing the message of freedom and liberty.
4. Become involved in local and national politics and elections (especially voting and encouraging others to do the same) so that OUR government is acting in our best interests and not allowed to waste our country’s great resources and infringe on our Liberties while giving a minority a false sense of comfort and security.

Because there will always be those who threaten our liberties and our freedom, the journey of a Rifleman is a lifetime experience.

I ask again….. If you were charged with being a Rifleman, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

So, a new thing for me, a blog.

So, an introduction is in order. I am Nickle, yup, the same Nickle that’s on the Project Appleseed forum, and many other forums. I live in Vermont, that’s in northern New England for those of you that didn’t know. I actually live on the side of a mountain, and that’s no bull. So far out in the sticks that across the road is the Green Mountain National Forest.

Fred asked to me to join in here, and give some perspective from my point of view.

I’ll be adding to this blog about weekly, so keep watch, come back and check it out.

Those of you that really know me, well, you know I’ll be telling some stories (all true, I swear), and giving you some history and information that hopefully will motivate you to do better as a shooter and a citizen of this fine country.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the USA is slowly sinking. So, grab a bucket and while you’re bailing, I’ll try to enlighten and entertain you. Just remember, I’m not Fred, so my style is going to be different.

I guess where to start is to tell my story and how I got to be involved with Project Appleseed.

My shooting “career” started as a youth, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a gun shop (and ammo manufacturer). I did the usual kid stuff, started out with an air rifle (Dad hated BB guns, said they taught bad habits, I agree).

Dad was a Bench Rest competitor and Highpower competitor. He dragged me along to many Bench Rest matches, where I met some nice people, and made lots of friends. Yes, I actually knew Mike Walker, Harvey Donaldson, Bob and Paul (and Wally) Hart and many others. Eventually, he got me competing myself (at 12-13 years old). Started out in the Heavy Varmint class (NBRSA), and after the IBS was formed, well, Dad and I were Charter Members. Along the way I met more nice people, Myles Hollister and Dave Brennan (when he was starting out shooting), among others.

Then I graduated from high school, and joined the Army (not much choice, it was enlist or get drafted, yeah, it shows my age). Uncle Sam taught me the fine points of “position shooting” that my father hadn’t (Dad did teach me plenty). Truth be known, the Army didn’t teach us all that much, though I did qualify (M16A1). Remember, I was used to a “Top Fuel Dragster”, and then got stuck with a “Stock Car”. Yeah, there’s that much difference.

After 10+ years, I had enough. I knew I could continue my military career through the Army Guard, and still collect a pension. Of course, had I stayed, I would’ve retired 16 years ago. I don’t regret it, though.

I went back to Bench Rest shooting, though I got into the muzzle loader thing for a bit (it wasn’t me). Met more nice people, like Seeley Masker and the Euber brothers. I mention all of these names, because each one of them has had an impact on my life and my shooting (including my Dad). Seeley was undoubtedly the BEST bolt action gunsmith in the country. Lots of records fell to his work.

After a while, I figured out getting competitive and staying there was a LOT of time and money to invest. Being a responsible father, I realized I lacked both, having other priorities (the kids). I did make a short foray into Skeet Shooting, and found again, too much time to invest, though this time, my son got interested (daughter didn’t). I also dabbled some in Smallbore (now there’s a challenge).

Things tapered down for a while, though I did some work all this time, helping my father with his business. He became quite ill during this time (he also recovered), and I ended up helping still more. My then wife even helped, and by now, the kids were adults, and they even helped sometimes, too. Ten came the ‘94 AWB, and I figured if I was ever going to own some of the rifles I had wanted for years, I’d better start buying them NOW. The wife got somewhat shocked and worried, until I told her how long I had wanted some of this stuff. Somewhere in here, Fred started up his famous Shotgun News (SGN) column, and I became an avid reader. I did a modest amount of business with Fred, started with books, bandolier repack kits and targets, and after buying the M14 I had always wanted (and figured I’d never see reasonably priced), started buying a few stocks as well. Sold most of them at gun shows, and ordered more.

Things snowballed, and I got more and more into Battle Rifles. Now, here was something that was still a challenge, but money and time were more flexible, and I found I enjoyed them more. Besides, they’re more practical than most target rifles (though I still have 2 of them). I got on a few forums, started with AK Files (SKS owner) and FAL Files (L1A1 owner, substitute for the M14 for a while). At FAL Files, I bumped into GMB74, a local, and we became friends. Now, GMB74 has been doing a local “Rifleman” program for about 5 years now, before Fred branched the program out from Ramseur. I also got onto a regional forum, Northeastshooters. Met a couple of gentlemen there (crak and Dwarven1), and also became friends with them. Crak was a rifle shooter at the time, and Dwarven1 was only into handguns. We corrupted Dwarven1 in short order. First we got him into Battle Rifles, then into Appleseed. He’s an IIT now, soon to be an Instructor.

Along the way, I had been noticing Fred branching the program out, and joined the new RWVA forum, back in 2005. I saw there wasn’t an Appleseed anywhere remotely close to me, so, lo and behold, I figured I’d better find a range near me. Fool that I was, I held out to get what is now the premier range in the Northeast, Jericho. 600 yards, beautiful range, and about a year and a half to get it locked in, after the 6 month wait to even start the process. During all this, I started building my skills, rolled up my sleeves and got involved in Project Appleseed. I had found EXACTLY what I was looking for. The relationship with the wife got strained during this time ( a son and brother being deployed one right after the other has a way of doing that) and she and I separated. (The good news is that we are back to at least friends again.)

So, I got “reborn”, so to say, restarted my life with a new lady I met along the way, and got even more involved in the program (yeah, Fred roped me in HARD). Did an Appleseed at Hartford, CT, and was helping, and Fred saw something in me, and let me become an IIT (he waivered the 2nd Appleseed, based on my background). Things started happening in a rapid manner (and I started working Appleseeds), and next thing you know, I was running my own events as a Shoot Boss, the only one for over 500 miles.

And, seeing that the program means so much to me, I got even more involved, and am now helping run it on the upper level.

See, the moral of the story here, is to tell you that Nickle isn’t really anything special. I’m just a “hick from the sticks”, and got around some.

Any of you could do the same, if you really wanted to.

And, there’s plenty of buckets to start bailing with.

Somebody has got to do it, why not YOU?