Ottawa, IL July 10-11

[Wurstmacher]

Ottawa in July.  Takes me back 3 summers ago when I took my family to their first Appleseed at this very range over the July 4th. weekend...... 

Coincidently, at about the same spot on the line, where I too had lain, was a father with his son.  He too had a CZ 452 bolt action .22, like I did.  Memories.  Memories of perseverance...... memories of revelation..... memories of drinking from the "firehose".

This past weekend found us under bluebird skies with that beautiful yellow sun, baking 17 prone shooters to an intense chery red, on Saturday.  Then moderated temperatures, constant cloud cover and a nice breeze on Sunday.  According to the weather forecast on Friday, we were to have a rain free weekend.  However, the Ottawa curse remains, as about 3:45 on Sunday, word came from the range office that there was an intense band of thunderstorms coming our way about 4:30.  Luckily, we only got about a 20 minute shower, as the intense storm skirted the range.  During the shower, we had a chance to go over some instruction on longer distance shooting.

We had one young man that shot just above 200.  Then got over the hump to shoot a rifleman's score the next AQT.  Congradulations Tom!  He then proceeded to back it up with 2 or 3 more Rifleman scores on the following AQT's. 

There were 3 others that were shooting consistantly in the 180's and 190's, but something always seemed to come up that prevented them from getting over the hump.  Hopefully, they will persevere and come to another Appleseed soon.

There were fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons, a husband and wife, and buddies, all represented on the line.  All seemed to enjoy themselves.  All were improving.  Hopefully all will get off the couch.

Speaking of couches.  We shot a TV on the Couch target on Saturday to give the students a break.  Divided the students into teams and let them shoot as much as they wanted for 2 minutes.  Two targets were too close to call, so we decided a rematch would be needed on Sunday.  No TV targets remained, so we used a Star Target.  Let's just say there was no doubt this time.  The three man team that won, left a 2" hole in the cardboard where the 1" star used to be. 

Hope you all had fun, learned something, and are out spreading the word to get your family and friends off the couch as you did this past weekend.

Thanks to Buffalo Range Shooting Park for hosting us.  And thanks to the staff that is on the range with us.

Please chime in and share your experiences.

[Gumballhead]

Hi everyone!

I want to thank all of you for coming out and enduring the challenging conditions.    I was proud to see all who returned after the brutal heat on Saturday.  Your perseverance was rewarded with some shielding from the dun, and a bit of a cool off.  I'm sure that made things a tad easier!  Congratulations to Tom, our newest rifleman in IL.    Great job.    

I saw a lot of improvement on the line from ALL of our shooters.  Your first Appleseed has a lot of new information to take in, and old habits to undo.  I urge you to keep at it, and come back to another 'seed in the future.  Our Spetember shoot would be ideal! (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=10933.0).  300 fellow shooters on the line - let's get as many from IL as we possibly can!!  

We have many shooters knocking hard on the door to rifleman, and I'm certain, with some dry fire practice at home, you will make it over the hump soon!  It was a privilege to work with each and everyone of you.

It was also great to reunite with some familiar faces on the trail again.  Thanks to the Fett, Dana, Pappy & DOM.  Wurstmacher - great job on your inaugural shoot as Shoot Boss.  I look forward to working with you again!

Cannot forget to say Happy Birthday to Collin!  Great job, I know i can't think of a better way to spend MY birthday!   

Take care all, and see you on the trail!  

[EEL]

WOW !!     Sounds like a great shoot.  Ahhhh, the Ottawa curse    It lives on.  Does the heart good to see generations represented on the line.  Posterity, regardless of age is what this program and indeed this Nation is all about. 

Great job guys!    Congrats to Tom.  To the rest.....Can you taste it?  Can you feel the excitement?  Can you imagine the feeling of accomplishment?  Persist, persevere, dry fire practice and you will be there. 

EEL

[LoveIs...DodgingHotBrass]

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let everyone know that my wife and I had a great time at the Appleseed this weekend.  We learned a lot about shooting and our heritage.  All of the instructors were great.  Special thanks to Wurstmacher for helping me out when it became apparent that I brought "too much gun".

We picked up some .22's and plan to head back to the range as much as we can.

We came to Appleseed hoping to improve our shooting skills (and we did), now we are both fixated on getting that rifleman patch.  You haven't seen the last of us.

[Wurstmacher]

It was a pleasure having both of you.  You and Amy both had teachable attitudes and kept them all weekend.  As instructors, we really appreciate that.

What kind of .22's did you get?  Main things are to make sure that you get them set up with loop slings (cotton or nylon).  Tech Sites are a good option for iron sights.  They give you a similar sight picture as you would find on a battle rifle.  Low power scopes are good if your eyesight needs a little help.  You may find that you may need a scout type mount to get your scope far enough forward for proper eye relief when you turkey neck and get proper cheek weld.  Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions.

I'll be in Danville in two weeks.  Plenty of room on the line right now.

There is a wealth of information here on the Appleseed Forum.  Enjoy.

[LoveIs...DodgingHotBrass]

We went with 10/22's.  We'll pick them up this afternoon.  We plan to set Amy's up with tech sights and mine with a scope.

I am scouring the web for loop slings as Fred is currently out of stock.

[sully]

Yes you baked us on Saturday and had us running from the line to reload and back to the line on Sunday and Kristo and I enjoyed every minute of it.  After it was all over, I was tired and sore (and missing some skin on my elbows) and I wore that like a badge of honor.  I thought I could shoot when I got there and was looking for more information in order to properly teach my grandson how to shoot.  I found out I am not a rifleman by any stretch but now know what to work on in order to become one.  We both want that patch and will return again to an Appleseed event next year.  All of the instructors were great.  Wurstmacher, Pappy, Gumballhead, Boba, DOM,and Dana we appreciate your volunteering to help this most worthy cause.  I have been promoting this to every gun owner that I know.  Most called me on Monday to find out how it all went.

[Gumballhead]

We went with 10/22's.  We'll pick them up this afternoon.  We plan to set Amy's up with tech sights and mine with a scope.

I am scouring the web for loop slings as Fred is currently out of stock.

Hi Matt -

You can get some slings here

http://www.appleseedstore.flyingcart.com/?p=detail&pid=10&cat_id=0

I've got several, they're nylon, and work well.  Extra clips can be obtained here:

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=408900&filter=sling+hook&catid=0
and
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=537280&filter=sling+hook&catid=0

Glad to hear you've got some new rifles, and I look forward to seeing you and Amy again.

Take care!

[Wurstmacher]

LoveIs....DHB I sent you a PM.  In case you don't know, click on the MyMessages bar at the top of the page.

[LoveIs...DodgingHotBrass]

Thanks for the links and the user ID (I'm pretty sure it was you anyway).

[Gumballhead]

Thanks for the links and the user ID (I'm pretty sure it was you anyway).

Haha - yeah that was me.  Those Mini 14's can really throw it! 

[HS2]

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to say it was a great shoot in spite of the heat and I really learned alot.  I didn't quite make it to Rifleman... maybe next time 

Many thanks to all the instructors.  You guys are great.

[Gumballhead]

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to say it was a great shoot in spite of the heat and I really learned alot.  I didn't quite make it to Rifleman... maybe next time 

Many thanks to all the instructors.  You guys are great.

Keep dry firing, and practicing the positions.  You can get your NPOA in the house using an unloaded rifle, and taking aim at the grounding plug on an outlet - its small enough, and makes a good point to fixate on to get and verify your NPOA!

Thanks for enduring the heat with us, we enjoyed having you there!