All righty.....
Another great event at the Winchester Gun Club....if you haven't been able to shoot here yet, you -owe- it to yourself to make it out there!! Wonderful location!! Great range...I simply can't say enough good things about the place!!
We finally have our pix done that we took....not quite as many as usual, it was a tad "busy" this weekend.....but.... "enough".....
The folks that came out this weekend were a real blessing....some truly surprising "rifle heroes", folks who knew well what they were about, and a bunch that are one more step along on that path of discovery.......
Overall,
really good Americans!!We had father/daughters, fathers/sons, fathers, moms, and kids, and couples with friends, everyone who came out seemed to have a really good time, and at this range, I can't say as I blame them....gorgeous Santa Barbara weather, a covered
concrete line, friendly, happy folks to hang out with, and rifle marksmanship improvement.....what more could they ask for?
Well, there's that little thing we do at lunch time.....the story of April 19, 1775, and a few small towns in Massachusetts....and the Americans who singly, and as groups, changed the course of not only their lives, but of their country, and the
world....
I think everybody liked it too....
We got started on time with 25 shooters coming to the line, and after safety briefing and separate orientation for folks who needed it, found we had a
very diverse group of shooters...some were very effective already (1 had previously shoot Rifleman before), and some had almost no previous rifle experience....Cool!! We can work with this!!
Fire hose
on!! 
Forward into SHF's, and the 6 steps....moving as quickly as the group let us, we pushed forward....
We quickly had many equipment problems with some of the rifles folks had brought (I had 10 LTRs' out almost the entire weekend), and were able to get everyone up to speed on the $10 GI sling.....some worked better with loop, some preferred the Hasty, but they
all got slung up....
Working thru the shooters, trigger control & follow thru seemed to be their biggest gremlin.....but we kept 'em going! Firing line classroom....teach, show, shoot, check targets.....rinse & repeat.....
Lunch time approaching, the shooters are starting to jell with it all.....groups are shrinking, accuracy is increasing.....lunch, we told them of the 3 strikes, and the costs to that previous generation for us, and how Jefferson said: "We are but one generation away from losing our Liberty..." Are we going to lose it on
our watch? Tell our grandchildren we were too busy watching TV to get involved? That we failed to "make good use of it?" When ever I talk about this part, I can hear Patrick Henry in my head, thundering: "I know not what course other men may take, but as for me, give me Liberty, or give me death....."
That pretty much says it all......
We went thru the rest of the day, and folks just seemed to be "getting it"....more control, better groups, more understanding of it all....I did a few NPOA laser blaster seminars with a few folks off to the side, and as always, it helps immensely....Too quickly, the sun was setting behind the hill on our West, and we shot our 2nd Redcoat for the day....the numbers were a definite improvement.....over half the shooters added at least another 100 yds to their effective range!! In one short day of learning!! Gee, this stuff really works, doesn't it!
Returning Sunday we had 19 shooters, and it appeared most had taken my aspirin advice, and didn't look too terribly "beat up"....We were down an instructor from a stomach flu bug that got him during the night, but we still had enough to do it....shifting things around to make sure everything was covered, we got started with another redcoat......Scores were down just a bit from the night before, but hey....in 66 degree weather, ya gotta warm up first, you know??
One sheet of squares, then into the QDAQT march, soon to become a grind......"Shooters, prep 2 & 8".....we watched the shooters continue, and improve, and now we were in tune mode, watching for the "little things" that can throw off the shot.....
A break for lunch, and then the stories of the "folks who -did- make a difference", even if they were by themselves, helped by others, or just plain fighting mad......Our story tellers did an
awesome job of getting these points across, and I applaud them heartily!!
Lunch over, back to the AQTs'.....
We started noticing the shooters hitting the "wall", and had prepared by bringing cookies.....Halloween Oreo cookies.....and pins....not to get the shooters blood sugar up for a brief moment, but as targets.....
2 cookies each, one mag, 10 rounds.....happy shooters again....since that wasn't enough, and we were still trying to get the NPOA shifts happening, Nina provided a couple of rolls of Ritz crackers.....now it was: 3 crackers per shooter, volley command shift & fire, 20 rounds.....
Lots of fun, and wouldn't you know it? The next AQT showed their improvement.....
Continuing on, we had a RM score pop up in one of our "sets of targets to score".....keeping quiet about it, we watched the shooter (who had come in place of his sister who had gotten sick) continue to improve....good deal.....
Our previous Rifleman, Goodland, kept his scores climbing as well....I think his highest that I saw was a 234 or there abouts....good form = good shooting....who knew?
We had our final AQT, then Redcoat, and again, improvements were obvious....some true surprises....the quiet "house moms" who were handily out shooting the kids.....Duncan, our "Designated Sniper", who quickly set the pace for the weekend by qualifying @ 300 yds with a really pretty cluster of shots, then continued to "get it dun", until a loosening scope mount started messing with his concentration.....Eric, who brought out his .50 Beuwolf, which makes really humorously large holes in the AQT (you can score it from the firing line, no glass needed)....Tim & his daughter, on her first time ever shooting a rifle, and getting better as the day went on, and she gained the confidence with herself & the rifle.....
If I missed you, I apologize, you were
all standouts in my world...that's what makes it so worthwhile for me to go to these.....
We finished by handing a very surprised Matt his RM patch, and rockers, and welcoming Goodland into the ranks of the IIT's....both of them good men, and I expect to see great things from them in their lives....
As seems to be the usual, I was the last one out, casting about in the moonlight for any gear left behind anywhere.....and I am always sad that the Appleseed is finished there for the weekend, but I know in my heart, we'll be back, and dealing with good Americans again.....
So with that final thought, lemme ask you.....
How was your weekend?
LayloPro
