Manheim PA July 17/18 2010

[wvmmfalcon]

Manheim July 17/18-2010

Shooters- 11 sat.,  7/8 for sun.
Red hats-lprgcfrank, Big H, wvmmfalcon
Rifles-1 lever action 22, 3ARs, 7 10-22s
Patches-1 Rifleman Chris,2 youth Jeromy and Adam
Promotions- BeSwift is now an IIT 4
IITs- BeSwift and Jason
Hats-2 orange hats Chris and Jason
Weather was Hot(90s), mostly sunny(bright)
The Good
Lots of teachable attitude. several people knocking in the Rifleman door. Most of the people there I think will be back again. I don't think that anyone got a bad sunburn.
A nice 2 bay range with the option for KD. 7th stepping was happening. Few malfunctions. Safety was very good. good groups from the start. New Target introduced to most (practice AQT).  The new Trifold flier introduced (I had just been to Ramseur and got some before they were sent out). The students and I learned from Frank the retained and low-ready positions. Sun. a nice breakfast and lunch that was served inside the air conditioned clubhouse.

The Bad
It was HOT. 1 levergun which was operated by a smallish boy(Adam) which Frank quickly made into our designated sniper.  Some sight issues. Couldn't bring the AC from the clubhouse to the line with us.

The Ugly
It seemed that everyone plateaued and was having a difficult time increasing their scores after a point(I think that the heat was the biggest problem).



The weather was very hot (90s) but everyone seemed to stay hydrated and not sunburned badly. I saw and used myself a neck covering hat or handkerchief under the back of the hat. We had very few problems with any of the rifles even with a couple people using Rem. ammo in their 10-22s. BeSwift was trying out for IIT 4 He also delivered good 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strikes along with DOM stories. Saturday mid morning we found out that Jason (who was not shooting but rather was 7th stepping and had brought someone else along to shoot) Had attended 2 appleseeds before and was interested in instructing, so we put an orange hat on him and he helped the rest of the day and sun. We got 1 AQT sat. before we shot redcoats in the PM, then everyone who was there wanted to do another ,so we fired a second AQT on Sat. Big H was on the ball the whole time,  He also did an instruction course for  BeSwift and I at the KD range. Sunday was the AQT grind which we broke up with the 3rd strike and shot some zombies for fun. Chris shot multiple Rifleman scores and several others were knocking at the door but I think that the heat was hurting them especially later in the day. During The KD instruction we shot a little and I found the rifle/optics/lay of the ground/my body combination not cooperating together as much as I wanted them to.
I want to thank all of the instructors for their efforts over the weekend and for the help and instruction that you gave me, the students and each other. This was Frank's shoot but it was my responsibility to do and learn as much as possible as an SBIT (I will probably be running a shoot in sept.(New Martinsville W. Va.)  wvmmFalcon

[BeSwift]

Thanks to the SB, SBIT, & instructors. I learned a lot, and was very impressed with the level of organization, knowledge, and professionalism. Wish we could have gotten a few more shooters "over the hump", but am confident that there are some future Riflemen in their ranks.. Thanks to all for allowing me the opportunity to achieve my IIT4 status and look forward to working with y'all again soon...   BeSwift

[walnut]

This was a great experience!!!!!!!

This was my first Appleseed, I am one of the guys "knocking on the door"  The best I could do was 206. 
I came here to shoot rifleman at my first Appleseed.  Well that did not happen, and I am ok with that.
I will be back to shoot again, maybe this month or next.  I learned so much and am grateful to the instructors who spent
some much time and effort to help us learn to be a Rifleman.

Frank was great he answered all of never ending questions and spent alot time with me in my quest for the Riflemans badge.
Thank you very much Frank and I will be back to earn that badge.   

Congratulation's to Chris he shot  great and earn his Riflemans badge and then as if it was easy he shot Rifleman rapid fire and
then again.  Three times in one day.  Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone and I look forward to my next Appleseed.


Paul

[jordanch68]

Thanks! It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot as always. The more you practice and participate the better you get, I'm proof of that. Look forward to seeing everyone next time!

[jordanch68]

Thanks Paul, it was great meeting you and I hope you come back soon, I'll loan you my "FrankenRuger" if you want!    My best score on the AQT at my first Appleseed was 201 so you've got a great shot (lol) next time.

This was a great experience!!!!!!!

This was my first Appleseed, I am one of the guys "knocking on the door"  The best I could do was 206. 
I came here to shoot rifleman at my first Appleseed.  Well that did not happen, and I am ok with that.
I will be back to shoot again, maybe this month or next.  I learned so much and am grateful to the instructors who spent
some much time and effort to help us learn to be a Rifleman.

Frank was great he answered all of never ending questions and spent alot time with me in my quest for the Riflemans badge.
Thank you very much Frank and I will be back to earn that badge.   

Congratulation's to Chris he shot  great and earn his Riflemans badge and then as if it was easy he shot Rifleman rapid fire and
then again.  Three times in one day.  Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone and I look forward to my next Appleseed.


Paul

[lupis42]

Sunday was the AQT grind which we broke up with the 3rd strike and zombies. C

Zombies?  Redcoat zombies?

[lprgcfrank]

just every day zombies - with the heat they were realistic......

The target area was less than 4MOA and we gave them 35 seconds to fire 10 shots - everyone had good hits!

Here are some photo's from the shoot

[oldfudd]

Plateauing --  I've seen several references to this recently, and experienced the same thing as SB in Como, MS a week earlier.  Due to high heat (approaching 100) with accompanying high humidity, we had shooters "hit the wall"     about 1:30 - 2 in the afternoon on Sunday   .  No matter what the instructors did (Red Hats), we weren't able to overcome this problem with several of our best students.  We had a fun shoot to break the tension, plenty of water and shade for hydration, breaks, personalized instruction, but were unable to see improvement with shooters who we were convinced would make Rifleman scores.  Enthusiasm remained at high levels, but AQT scores went flat.

Has anybody in the Appleseed program tried to figure the possible reasons for this, other than perhaps heat and humidity?  Any suggestions how to overcome this?   

Thanks.

[Big H]

We had a welcoming host range, pop-up tents for shade, a solid experienced instructor crew, patriotic shooters who brought persistence and teachable attitudes. Could not ask for anything more. Excellent week-end.

[Big H]

Congratulations to our new Orange Hats Chris and Jason, and to BeSwift on the promotion to IIT4!

If you want to learn how to instruct and walk on Battle Road, there's an Instructor Boot Camp coming up in 3 weeks:
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=14758.msg123155#msg123155