AAR: Kingman, AZ - July 24/25, 2010

[AZRedhawk44]

Over the weekend, 10 stalwart and determined shooters presented themselves to the 110+ degree temperatures of Golden Valley's "Seven Mile Hill" Range just outside of Kingman, Arizona.  They came for paired doses of history and marksmanship, and were given their fill of it.

Saturday saw three of our pre-registered shooters and five walk-ons arrive.  With five instructors to coach them, we persevered through the overcast and strangely muggy heat that can only be provided by Arizona's monsoon season.  Phenomenal amounts of water were imbibed and the determination of all shooters was evident as they struggled to maintain good sight pictures behind sweaty, slipping eyeglasses and while their hands slipped on the rifle stocks.  We embraced our new sling techniques and prone steady hold factors, and progressed through our six steps.  We sighted in using inches/minutes/clicks.  We learned to find our natural point of aim.

Our break at lunch brought us together under the shade for remembrance of the battles of Lexington and Concord.  Some knew the stories, some did not, but all of us after that lunch learned more about the situations and sacrifices that made the success of April 19th, possible. 

More marksmanship drills ensued.  Ball and dummy, carding the sights.  Mag changes, NPOA shifts, standing and seated positions.

We closed the day out officially at about 4:30 after reflecting again on the successes and sacrifices of April 19th, 1775... and then considering our duty to honor those sacrifices by doing so much less than those men and women: merely talking to our fellow countrymen, being active in the governing process, and voting.  So little.

Those that had pressing concerns or too much heat, departed.  A determined handful remained to address the challenge of a Saturday AQT.  We discovered a Rifleman among us!  Josh shot a 219.  He was the first to do so with a new LTR of mine, so I had him carve his name in its stock.  It will be joined in time by other names.

Sunday saw 5 of our 8 Saturday shooters return along with 2 new shooters.  Mudslinger came down from Vegas for a day at Kingman's excellent High Power range, and we were also joined briefly by a young Olympian hopeful in shooting sports, by the name of Brittney.  She was in the bay next-door working with a coach on smallbore rifle, but wanted to come by and give our AQT a go.  With an Anschutz single-shot bolt action, and her full-body shooting suit, having never addressed the AQT course of fire prior, she scored a 172.  At first she was a bit put out that she didn't score the Rifleman's score, but she is determined to return to an Appleseed this fall and bring her dad's M4 to claim ownership over the stiff time constraints of stages 2 and 3.

We sighted in, ran a couple AQT's, broke for lunch and our discussion about shooting at actual distance.  Then it was time for the known-distance session for centerfire shooters.  V took the centerfire crew over there, and I remained with the rimfire shooters on the 25 meter range.

My rimfire folks were getting beat-upon by the sun and we took a leisurely time of another couple AQT's as well as some more carding the sights and ball and dummy to refine our understanding of NPOA.  I think we drank a gallon of water just during those couple hours.  I can't imagine how the centerfire folks did, on that wide-open range with no shade anywhere.  Luca (New American) came back and reported that his thermometer registered over 120 degrees on that range.

A rapid-fire AQT, another standard AQT, close the day out with the Red coat and how we can all 7th-step in our own ways.

A very satisfying Appleseed, thanks to all of you "Iron men (and women!)" that braved the elements to share your weekend with us.

[AZRedhawk44]

A couple of pics:

All of us on Saturday afternoon.

And, our Rifleman for the weekend, Josh.

[AZOpie]

I just wanted to say thanks to all of the wonderful people that came out to brave the heat in Kingman over the weekend. It was blazing hot out there - hot enough to make the firearms hard to handle at times, but still they continued to listen, learn, and apply the knowledge over the course of a long day, or two. It is a testament to the persistance of the people who come to an Appleseed that they willingly endure the extremes to gain knowledge and skill. 

Thanks to all of you for spending the weekend at the range with us!

AZO

[MikeKinAZ]

Yep - 115 degrees according to the thermometer in V's truck; 120 according to Luca's thermometer.  You know what though - in 10 years when I look back on my first Appleseed shoot, it's not going to be the temperature that springs to mind.

I heard about the Appleseed Project on Armed American Radio.  Eric McCabe was the spokesman for the Project and he made it sound interesting.  I tend to lean toward the skeptical side though - I've never heard of these Appleseed people - do these guys really know what they're doing?  So I checked out the web site and found lots more good information there, including the schedule of events.  The next one in my state was in Kingman, AZ - that's in Sonoran Desert - at the end of July ... do these guys really know what they're doing?

Now, one of the things that Mr. McCabe touted on the radio was that no matter where you live in the US you can get to an Appleseed shoot within about 2 1/2 hours of you.  So, maybe they're spreading instructors kind of thin - do these guys really know what they're doing?

Well, as it turns out these guys really DO know what they're doing.  They had an excellent, thought out lesson plan.  They taught the right things in the right order.  They watched us and gave us good feedback on what we were doing, and the mix of 'talk time' vs 'shooting time' seemed about right.

Of course that's the kind of stuff you expect when you plunk down money for a two day rifle class.  What you don't expect is instructors that bring spare slings, mats, eye and ear protection, padded shooting jackets, tools, ammunition, rifles, and even grapes (that's the fruit, not some esoteric gun thing) just in case someone needs them.  You don't expect instructors that drive from as far as California just because they believe in the importance of what they're teaching.  But that's what these guys did.

So in 10 years from now, I think that before I remember the heat, I'm going to remember the devotion these guys had for what they were teaching.  Of course, I hope that I also remember the lessons they were teaching.  As they point out, both the marksmanship and the history we learned are perishable - both will fade if not maintained.  Over the two day class I saw my groupings drastically improve, but there's a long way to go so I see some range time in the weeks months and years ahead.  I also see some reading - I really need to know more about the names, places, and events that made us Americans.

I hope that when I look back on this past weekend I remember it as the first step in becoming a real rifleman and a real American.  I hope to remember it for the people - the instructors as well as the other students that were there.  Yea - the temperature might come to mind, but it will be low on the list.  Now, how well I did on that first redcoat target - I'm sort of hoping that memory doesn't make it .

Mike K.

[denisebensusan]

I want to thank the "Project Appleseed"  http://www.google.com/ig  for the wonderful Saturday in Kingman AZ this past weekend.  As a parent I would encourage everyone to participate in this safe and functional instruction with your family and friends.   As a mother I had the normal worries going in concerning the day.  Concerns of whether or not the instructors would be truly knowledgeable in all aspects of rifle safety, appropriate use and the implementation of proper attitude towards the utilization of any kind of rifle.  In the first half hour my worries dissolved into utter appreciation for the obvious excellence of training that these instructors displayed.  Their abilities, structure and commitment did not waiver as the sun got hotter and the day grew longer.  There was never a moment where I felt in danger or worried that my son might be the brunt of an accidental discharge by an inexperienced participant such as myself.  Safety, control and positive attitude was the requirement of the day from the moment the program started until everyone walked off that shooting range.  

When Joshua (my son) was asked what he had learned that was helpful and new that day his answer was....EVERYTHING!  He scored a 219 and passed the AQT. I believe this stands for Army Qualification Test? He was given a "RIFLEMAN" patch which he has decided to frame for the time being with his last target.  I believe that he came away with a better understanding of the connection between the right to bear arms and the ability to utilize those arms efficiently, accurately and purposefully.  There was a renewed knowledge that America was formed by human beings like you and I (the common man)  who could not stand by any longer and live under the oppression of a corrupt government.  They fought for the freedoms we are "suppose" to have today in America and won!  I think this is important to remember....they WON!

This is not a MAN thing, its a family thing.  Men, woman, young adults and children participated.  Now, here is the really cool thing about Saturday...it was free to woman and to children under 21.  Yes, I said FREE. There was a $5.00 donation to the Mohave Sportsman Club for utilization of the shooting range and this was for the entire day.  In these tough economic times one can hardly believe that this kind of experienced training is going on out there as a contribution to a cause.  This is reflective of the generosity of spirit that America is suppose to stand for and a bonding of Americans overall.    

We had never participated in an Appleseed program prior to this and we were as raw as they came.  I think it is important that I mention a few more things. I have a physical handicap and I have some limits although I have always tried to ignore those limitations.  These instructors and volunteers did not give up on me  They took the time to assist me in figuring out how to manipulate/position the rifle and my body to accomplish firing it at all.  I even had trouble loading the bullets in the clips and putting the clips in the rifle.  I was a serious challenge to them, for lack of better terms.  Anyone else would have told me to give up and that I simply could not handle learning how to utilize the rifle...but they didn't.  They just kept on patiently assisting me . They didn't give up on me and thus I didn't give up on myself . That kind of positive support is very seldom heard of but it was there none the less.  On top of all of this we also had forgotten eye protection, ear plugs, food, appropriate rifles, not enough water etc.  We could not have been more UNPREPARED!  They didn't make us feel stupid or tell us to go home they just jumped in and between all of them suited us up with what we needed to participate in the program.  The head instructor even shared his peanut butter and jelly and sandwiches with us.  As a matter of fact everyone shared everything that they had brought with them. How AWESOME is that!  

In closing I want to thank these fine folks for what they do as Americans in teaching us the proper and safe use of firearms and the history that goes along with the same.  Cant wait to attend another session.  Thanks again!   

Denise Bensusan
denisebensusan@hughes.net
7-28-2010

[TrebleShooter]

Denise~
I'm glad you had fun.  Perhaps you'll swing up to Boulder City someday for one of our shoots?
I'd like to eventually have an all-ladies shoot here, and you're just down the road. 
I did have a question for you though.. Would you mind if I pulled a few quotes from your post to use as participant testimonial for our table at an upcoming gun show for recruiting families?
It would be greatly appreciated.
Hope to see you on the appleseed trail!
~Trebleshooter

[Mogget]

Hello, Denise Bensusan,

Thanks so much for your kind remarks!  I am very glad that you enjoyed your Appleseed weekend and I hope you will come again!  I am sure it was a pleasure getting to know you and your family.

I just want add a little clarity on one point you made.  Although  I could not agree more that "freedom is not free," it is also true that Appleseed's purpose is to encourage civic participation, that is, fully engagement with all those processes gifted to us by the Founders for the preservation of liberty.  If it should ever come to what you have described as "a real boots on the ground battle" for liberty, Appleseed will have failed.  And we do not intend to fail!

Again, thanks for your message, thanks for your participation, and and a special thanks for the kind regard that motivated you to write.  I wish we had more shooters on our line just like you!

Mogs

[denisebensusan]

No problem on quoting and you guys were just great.