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2010 After Action Reports from other sources

Started by ItsanSKS, February 01, 2010, 11:46:37 PM

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Old Glory!

"My primary objective is to change hearts and minds, for that is where the gaping hole in the hull of the USS America lies. I am looking to make a spark and praying that it will ignite, by their own will, into a bonfire in their hearts and souls."  PHenry

"Folks, this Appleseed thing doesn't work if we get a patch and go home. It doesn't work if we shoot a Rifleman score and remember the good times we had out on the range. It only works if we take that 7th Step and spread the 'seed. HUZZAH!!!"  Slim 


April 18-19, 2009  "The seeds of rifle marksmanship were sown in good ground.  In the end, then, every attendee walked away as an instructor for their friends, family, coworkers.  May you tend your patch in Liberty's garden well and through a long life."  Francis Marion

RF

Celeste, Texas

PHenry

RF,
Can u cut and paste her post for us here - that way, all can view without registering on that forum. Always good to hear positive reviews.  ^:)^
Many thanks,
PH
Para ser Libre, un Hombre debe tener tres cosas. La Tierra, una Educacion, y un Fusil. Siempre, un Fusil!  Emiliano Zapata

RF

http://www.hoodswoods.net/IVB/index.php?showtopic=41733&pid=487248&st=0&#entry487248
By "Kusanagi Motoko"
I recently had the privilege of attending an Appleseed. There was some unpleasantness, but overall I had a great time. My boyfriend and I rolled in the night before, having prepared for actual camping out in rural Kansas, but found ourselves staying in a big cinderblock tent instead. The worst of the "camping" was that I'd forgotten a pillow and there was no hot water the first night. A storm swept down on us that night, which made me glad we weren't in a tent.

I took my Savage Mark II FSS -- with the fiber optic sights that it came with. In retrospect I probably would have scored better if I'd had a semiauto, but I prefer not to use such rude guns. I had to be careful where I put myself on the firing line so I could catch the other guy's brass on my back instead of in my face. The person to my right had no such worries -- which was lucky, because he was eight.

The instruction I received at the Appleseed is hands-down the best firearms training I have ever gotten. They were fanatical about safety. They taught one and only one way of shooting. They watched me while I shot and gave me helpful feedback. They did not wait until I had already done something wrong five times before correcting me. They were, above all, patient with rank amateurs.

(I'd fired a rifle exactly twice before going to the shoot: Once because hey, I had my own rifle! And once to make sure all my new magazines worked.)

They taught position shooting with a sling, which I am told is not practical. It doesn't bother me (I studied Kumdo). Prone, sitting, standing, then with magazine changes, then standing to prone, standing to sitting (this is the worst). We only had a 25 m range to work with, but the targets were tiny. For some reason my groups got bigger as the targets got smaller... I did manage to nail the (simulated) 250 m headshot, though.

I also managed to hurt myself -- not badly, but enough that I spent the rest of the weekend fighting my own reaction the pain. One of the things I learned studying Kumdo (in addition to tolerance for impractical fighting styles) was how to push through pain no matter what. As years have passed and the consequences of that behavior have manifested themselves in my body, I've taught myself to respect pain.

"Respecting pain" does not mean "backing down when men are watching," however. Being the only woman on the firing line got me a lot of attention, some inappropriate manhandling, and expectations that would make a goddess cringe. Our instructor opened with a story about a woman who came to Appleseed as a beginner and earned her rifleman patch by the end of the session. No pressure there.

Another thing that impressed me was how our primary instructor behaved with his assistants. He was clearly training them for his job. He made each of them take a turn lecturing, watching the line, or giving individual instruction. It was egalitarian in the sense that I felt that anyone could step up, work hard, and eventually lead their own Appleseed. I think that's a sign of a healthy organization, and I hope it holds elsewhere in the country.

Appleseed isn't just about marksmanship, of course -- it's also about listening to the instructors tell stories about the American Revolution. Specifically the first few battles, in all kinds of gory detail. It is propaganda of a sort -- they clearly framed the statistics so as to make the colonists look like stupendous badasses. I don't think it's anything sinister -- just guys trying to tell a good story. And they were good stories. I was nearly in tears a couple of times (though that might have been sleep deprivation). I was surprised by how much emphasis they placed on the fact that the colonists were defending community property -- the public ammunition stores, the community flagpole, the town green.

By Sunday, I could shoot a score high enough to stay in the Army (if the Army let people qualify with a bolt-action .22 :sweat: ), but not high enough to earn that rifleman patch. I can't wear the shirt they gave me in good conscience, because it has rude things about cooks printed on it. Some of my good friends are cooks, and besides, It's shortsighted -- you can't be much of a rifleman if you're shaky from hunger.

I want new sights now. And I want to go back -- I adore shooting rifles and I want to see if I can do better.
Celeste, Texas

PHenry

Para ser Libre, un Hombre debe tener tres cosas. La Tierra, una Educacion, y un Fusil. Siempre, un Fusil!  Emiliano Zapata

Cooper

Awesome!
A woman from outside of "rifle culture" that had a very positive experience and wants to learn more!  ..:..
Could you ask for anything more?  ^:)^
"This Appleseed thing doesn't look like it would be for everyone, but it really is." Zac, age 7  كافر
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." ~ Thomas Paine    "Cooper, you're an a**hole!" - recent Shoot Boss's compliment
"I don't know where "brave" leaves off and "foolish" picks up, but you've certainly got your share of courage." - FuzzyMath
"For the Rifle!, the Rifle!, in our hands will prove no trifle!" ~from the lyrics of "The Bennington Riflemen"
Understand the urgency of our mission; no amount of bailing can raise a sunken ship.
I don't want to be forced back into the darkness.
 

"Shut up and color." - slim

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

Old Glory!

Not quite after action yet ::), but there's gonna be some action after this!    ..:..

Calverton/Long Island Article in the Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/events-in-long-island/appleseed-comes-to-calverton-and-reminds-us-of-our-revolutionary-roots
"My primary objective is to change hearts and minds, for that is where the gaping hole in the hull of the USS America lies. I am looking to make a spark and praying that it will ignite, by their own will, into a bonfire in their hearts and souls."  PHenry

"Folks, this Appleseed thing doesn't work if we get a patch and go home. It doesn't work if we shoot a Rifleman score and remember the good times we had out on the range. It only works if we take that 7th Step and spread the 'seed. HUZZAH!!!"  Slim 


April 18-19, 2009  "The seeds of rifle marksmanship were sown in good ground.  In the end, then, every attendee walked away as an instructor for their friends, family, coworkers.  May you tend your patch in Liberty's garden well and through a long life."  Francis Marion

RF

$20 a day range fee? I would find another range if my current range "supported" Appleseed like that!
Obviously they don't need Appleseed participants to join the range or they don't understand how many shooters join a range somewhere after shooting an Appleseed.
Celeste, Texas

cmidkiff

The Pitch, a Kansas City paper that generally emphasizes music and art stories, sent a reporter to Missouri's first LadySeed last month:

http://www.pitch.com/2010-09-30/news/appleseed-comes-to-missouri/

Greybeard

PHenry

Not so bad. Could have been worse. Hard to divorce my feelings when reading some of the subtle, yet intended digs. I posted the following comment:

I am a student of history and I can say with great conviction, that the ideals of the Founding generation resulted in the freest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known - likely ever will know. The Founders believed in self-reliance, public virtue, frugality, personal Liberty, marksmanship, and the smallest government possible. As we have drifted from these simple ideals, we are losing our Freedom and our prosperity. Appleseeds exists to maintain these ideals - to keep them alive in the hearts and minds of modern Americans and yet they are painted as "controversial"?? I would say that when a strong belief in the ideals of the Founders is considered to be controversial, something is clearly wrong in America. I am the descendant of determined New England farmers and shop keepers and I feel strongly that I owe them a debt - a debt that I cannot repay (they are long dead). I can only hope to pay it forward by working to maintain the traditions that they created and the Liberty they secured in my stead at great cost, through active participation in the system of government handed down to me. I am an American and I am proud of my unique heritage.

Hopefully the saying "no such thing as bad press" is true.  O0
Para ser Libre, un Hombre debe tener tres cosas. La Tierra, una Educacion, y un Fusil. Siempre, un Fusil!  Emiliano Zapata

Faitmaker

Quote from: Son of Martha on February 06, 2010, 04:48:09 PM
Great job guys and ma'am!  I have read Mas' articles in BWH for a while, wishing Appleseed would pop up.  We will see a difference from this.

SoM

This is what got me to my first.  I saw it, having never heard of it, asked Massad some questions... Mentioned it to some co-workers who went with me in April to New Phillie, Oh and we just finished Gibsonburg 50 with 7 of us from the Dayton area... because of this Massad article.  In April, we will have 10-12 from our little Dayton pack, I assure you.


FreeCelt

Quote from: PHenry on September 29, 2010, 12:17:34 PMHopefully the saying "no such thing as bad press" is true.  O0

Provided people can think for them selves, it is. I know of other organizations that it has helped grow.  :)
Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

hawkhavn

Oleg Volk made another Appleseed and blogged on it here with photos:
Day 1: http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/885914.html
Day 2: http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/886389.html
Oleg getting his Rifleman patch: http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/886271.html

Congratulations Oleg!

HH
Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

gglovesguns

I wrote about Day 1 of the 10/30-31/10 Gardnerville, NV Appleseed shoot on my blog:http://www.girlsheartguns.com/?p=630
Eventually I'll find time to write about Day 2.  ;)

Pictures of both days are up on our Northern Nevada Appleseed Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33995&id=160980397257401. You don't have to have a Facebook account to see the pictures.

B9

"It's very hard to engineer another countries liberation...people have to liberate themselves. Unfortunately in history, many people get killed..."
Medea Benjamin

PHenry

Para ser Libre, un Hombre debe tener tres cosas. La Tierra, una Educacion, y un Fusil. Siempre, un Fusil!  Emiliano Zapata

Camljr



E-mail from an Attendee at Bakersfield, CA shoot on November 6-7, 2010. posted to www.Calguns.net

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=362464&highlight=Appleseed


Hey Cam, Its Paul from the shoot last weekend. Just wanted to thank you guys for the great time. I had a blast. I'm going to try and make the next one at 5Dogs in Feb.

Here is a copy of a post i just made on CALGUNS: 

Hey all! Just wanted to jump on here and give out a big ""THANK YOU"" to the Appleseed intructors that where at the shoot on Nov 6th and 7th at 5 Dogs in Bakersfield. You guys "ROCKED"
I am a former Marine and a former Infantry Guardsman and I found this training not just fun but also challenging and very helpful. We shot a bunch of AQT's and Redcoat's and each time there was nothing but positive feedback from these guys. No matter what your skill level ,you can't go wrong by going back to the basics . Not only that, but the History and stories where outstanding and entertaining. If you havnt gone to an Appleseed shoot you are truely missing out on great info and a great time putting rounds down range.

So, to the instructors, Cameron (aka Camljr), Steve-O (aka Cal 7.62) Allen (aka "Long Rifle") and "Moose" Thank you.


Paul

SEMPER FI!!


96 SHOOTS SO FAR!

WSMR Instructor 03/10  -  SAPPER STEEL!

�The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection�   Thomas Paine

Proverbs 22:3  -  A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even when checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy, nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat".
Theodore Roosevelt

ID_Hezekiah

I posted this thread on a diesel forum (firearms and outdoors section) after my first AS in Blackfoot, ID:

http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?25215-Appleseed-Project-Who-s-Done-One
The British learned to dread the frequent appearances of this dire rider at unexpected points along the route of their passage, for his aim was true, and the economical principles in which he was trained forbade his wasting powder and ball.

RF

#54
Here is another from Rimfire Central. I am highmasterRF over there.
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365470
Celeste, Texas

CharlieHotel

"A good plan executed perfectly is better than a perfect plan executed poorly"

"As steel sharpens steel, so one man sharpens another"

"It's not the dope 'ON' the rifle, but the one behind it!" - Unknown PMI, Parris Island, SC 1984

So speak and so act as those who will be judged by the law of Liberty.
For Judgement comes without mercy for those who have shown no mercy, Mercy shall triumph over judgement.
James 2:12-13

JustJeff

#56
Quote from: CharlieHotel on November 19, 2010, 11:33:09 AM
Here it is, nice write up.... http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob123.html

WOW!!!  That is some very fine 7th Stepping by a "Rifleman" with the right contacts!!!  I see this as becoming a part of our promotional package, in the same way the S.W.A.T article did, with one of the most respected shooters in the country being the author.  APPLESEED WORKS!  I'm impressed with the way Mass presents us.

Edit:  another Wow.....this was actually from the May/June issue, and we were featured on the COVER of the magazine.  I'm surprised this is the first I've heard of it.  http://www.backwoodshome.com/previssues/issue123.html
Your version of "ineffective" does not necessarily reflect the truth....
Having been "ineffectively" taught to the Rifleman Standard and having been "ineffectively" taught to teach others to the Rifleman Standard, I believe I prefer the "ineffective" over the other choice.

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

Earl

The original post was interesting, but the comments are really worth study. &)
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com