Suamico, WI 17-18 April 2010

[Mogget]

What a great weekend!  Bright sunshine and a very brisk wind on Saturday gave fourteen shooters a challenging opportunity to begin their personal path to Rifleman.  Sunday found eight shooters on the line, four of whom had been there Saturday.  Both days the mix of small-bore and centerfire rifles was about half and half, including one Garand each day.  

Good news:  Two Riflemen, one each day.   One was Dave, Nicolet's newest member, and the other was Jerry, a repeat performer who brought along a couple of friends.

Even better news:  Americans who know more about themselves, their rifles, and their heritage as Americans than they did last Friday.  And that goes double for our shooters who originally hailed from somewhere in Eastern Europe and their SKS!  

Since Peter had flown out from Boston to do his Appleseed with us, I waited until Sunday to break it to him that there was an Appleseed at Harvard.  His reply: "I am sure that the Appleseeds in Wisconsin are better than those in Harvard."

Spot on, Peter, but don't tell Fred or he'll want to come to Wisconsin next April!

A special shout-out to my favorite math teacher, who didn't need to sit down on the ground and take her shoes off to do the public math required to zero a rifle.    She's an amazing lady and a great example of the courage to try something new that will inspire folks who are far younger.

Looking forward to seeing Rob and Lauren again, as well.  That 192 was soooooo close!  And ditto for Pat!  Just takes a bit of time to pull it all together.

Alex, keep dry firing and those 170s will start to climb again.  The LTR will do you right if you do your part and the ammo is much, much cheaper.  Just ask Eric and Mark...whom I am sure we'll see again on the KD side of the experience later this summer.  Those were some fine rifles, gentlemen, but I find myself thinking about the time at the reloading bench...

Many thanks to the great Americans at the Nicolet Gun Club who allowed us to use their excellent facilities.  May the call of those turkeys always be a fitting counter-point to the crack of rifles on the firing line.

Finally, thanks to everyone who came out and honored the sacrifices of the earliest Patriots by acknowledging the importance of rifle marksmanship and American heritage for modern Americans.  There is nothing finer than standing among you!

Mogs

[Old Glory!]

If a person could only be in four ten places at one time, of course I would have chosen Suamico as one of them.   Thanks for the GREAT report.  It's ALMOST like being there.    

Congratulations and thanks to all who made this one of four successful WI Patriot's Day 2010 Appleseeds!

[Fox]

Thank you, guys, Mike, Old Glory, Ed, I just forgot the name of another younger instructor who helped me and even more to Peter 'Bond'. I  learned a lot even though I hadn't have that many shooting opportunities to get any nice tight score (as a result I lost a bet to my son 'Sakua' costing me $20 of his allowance) and a promised trip to some Harvard MA appleseed to Peter. 

I guess I must fix my rifle (well, actually both of them) and scope ASAP and get back in line to practice more under your guidance, guys. I cannot afford to show less than 210 at that MA when I fly there.

I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere (without safety compromise though) there.
I actually enjoyed the second day of shooting with iron sights. This is a first time I managed to finish an AQT without a scope. It does make a great sense to focus on the front sight with open sights.

[Fox]

A special thanks to another fellow shooter with a newer AR-15 who recommended to Pete and me to watch the front sight movement as you breathe and get it consistently there.

I mean, we hear those 6 steps, but it doesn't set up in the head immediately. It takes some time and some personal advice to suddenly realize, it must be done this way and if it is done, it really helps to improve!

I think that even if I didn't learn anything else this day, I'd got my money worth right there at that moment.
And I learned more than just that/

[ACP230]

Well, Spooner may have had a bald eagle flyby but at Suamico I heard a wild turkey gobbler sound off several times each day.
As folks probably know, Benjamin Franklin proposed the wild turkey as the national bird.  (He called it an honest bird that didn't steal from others.)  The eagle won out, but I thought it was neat to have a turkey gobbling near during an Appleseed shoot. 

I went to one day (Saturday) of an Appleseed at Shiocton in 2008, a mini near Niagra, WI in 2009, and this one on April 17-18.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay the whole day on Sunday.  I didn't shoot as well as I wanted to this time either but I have some new ideas on how to fix my problems

It was interesting to see a couple of Garands in use, and the mix
of 10/22s and ARs.  My 10/22 worked well as did the Remington Thunderbolt I shot through it.   

I had a good time and was happy to come home with the broadsheet and an Appleseed t-shirt.  Lots of aspirin and rest is required today but it was worth it.       

[Fox]

> hank you, guys, Mike, Old Glory, Ed

I just figured out that the shoot boss was Mogs and not the Old Glory as I thought. Thank you, mam. You 10/22 was a great pleasure to shoot. If only they make apperture sights with 2-3x zoom, I'd get one.

[Mogget]

Heheh.  It is a great compliment to be mistaken for the inimitable Old Glory!.

And yes, I need Tech Sights with x1.5 magnification, as well.

[bronk]

Good time and goodweather.I think I burned up over 250 rounds shooting all day throughmy M4, but it was worth it. Final count was 3 rifleman level scores for the day.could have been 4 if I remembered to keep all my shots on my targetAm thinking about the whole orange hat thing now too.....
Jerry

[Mogget]

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it!  And do keep thinking about the Orange Hat...I have a spare right here by my desk, you know.

Mogs

[dragonfly]

Looks like another great Appleseed up in Suamico WI ,home of the Frozen Tundra seed.

Great job all

D-fly Keeping the Faith

[mikes]

Hi Everyone,

Fantastic weekend. Good weather , rounds down range, and everyone learned.

This was my fourth AS, but the first behind the line. It was a very good experience. I now can pass the knowledge that I recieved to the shooters that I come in contact with.

The six steps do work. Shooting is a sport that requires skills. Like any sport you must practice those skills to become good at the sport. Practice those skills and the 210 score will come to you.

Mogget did a great history presentation and the rifle salute was very inspiring.

Fox, I am gathering some information to get your SKS more user friendly. I will PM you later.

Thanks to all the patriot shooters, ChrisZ and Mogget. It was a very memorable weekend. 

May the turkey continue to gobble!!!

[Old Glory!]

Heheh.  It is a great compliment to be mistaken for the inimitable Old Glory!.

Back at you Mogs 

Great news Bronk!  You'll look good in that Orange Hat.    You were at the Shiocton Monsoon Appleseed last year, right?

Looking forward to seeing you all on the trail this summer.

[bronk]

  I just may accept the orange hat. I feel like I could contribute a little bit from some military training I received. Yes, I was in fact at the Shiocton match last year, and although I made rifleman while there......I never really felt right about it. I had to fall back on to the .30 cal rule to get it. This time around I wanted to make sure there was NO doubt I won it. Just made me fel better knowing I hit 220 on my first, 217 on 2nd, and 211 on the third.It was a good time, and what really surprised me is that I did not use a sling at all(I forgot it at home on my DPMS .308) Too funny!
  One other point. After the match and hearing of some of the stories presented that day, I decided to do a little reading that night. I read the Declaration of Independence, thought about the words written, and reread it again. All I can say is that I wish our current form of government would mirror those men more in their thought processes.
  And on a side note, I have 5 students who may attend an unofficial Appleseed shoot at the Abrams the weekend after fishing opener. Looking at a Saturday afternoon, and then wrap it up with some handgun, and maybe bring out my .50 BMG rifle out to play for a bit:)

[Mogget]

Some pictures, thanks to Lee!

[fepowered]

Here are a few from Rob.......

[fepowered]

Good time and goodweather.I think I burned up over 250 rounds shooting all day throughmy M4, but it was worth it.

How large is the dot (MOA) in your scope?

[fepowered]

And on a side note, I have 5 students who may attend an unofficial Appleseed shoot at the Abrams the weekend after fishing opener. Looking at a Saturday afternoon, and then wrap it up with some handgun, and maybe bring out my .50 BMG rifle out to play for a bit

Saturday May 8th at the Machickanee Range off of Garrity Road?  I am off and likely available.   In case you didn't know, you can get a 2010 year pass for $30.  The daily fee is $5.

[bronk]

Vortex Strikefire. Has a 4 MOA dot(red or green) I did have the 2x magnification add on installed when I shot. With a standard A2 front sight post I just would not have been able to see any of the prone size targets. They run 149.00 each, and are a good red dot for the money. I am getting the yearly membership for Abrams, as I go at least 6 times a year, and most of the time my son is with me.
  Keep the date in the back of your mind, and let's see if we can throw a match together!!!!

[bronk]

Looks like you have a link that indicates you may be a C3? If so, we should talk as I am looking to possibly getting a can for my M4, as well as my 308. Have you ever done any business with Griffin Enterprises? They offer a 5.56 can for less that 350.00. I have an SBR right now, but am thinking of getting rid of it to fund some suppressors, as they would be more of a functional thing than a short barrel MP5 clone:)

[fepowered]

Looks like you have a link that indicates you may be a C3?

Unfortunately I am not, but I have several friends who are.  Henry Rahr is the Arms part of Performance Archery and Arms (the web site in my profile).
Terry at Terry's Gun & Ammo in Oconto Falls  (920-848-7900)  would be the closest for you and is also a good guy to deal with.  

You can IM or E-Mail me for more info on either Henry or Terry.