Athens, Ohio 9/11-12

[Gordon]

The Appleseed events at Athens Fish and Game have become legendary, and this one was no exception! It's been said that Athens is "Appleseed Mecca" --- the site you just have to visit, at least once, if you can. It always seems to attract such a great combination of shooters, staff, and amazingly supportive club members. The facilities are superb, and, well, there really is just something special in the air at Athens. Even when RedNekEngr and the rest of the Richardson clan are not there (we missed you all; congrat's again Ishy!)

I don't have my notes with me and I'm a bit short on time, so I'll return to this later. But I wanted to get the ball rolling.

Shooters from this weekend, if you're here, please drop a post, say hello. There are lots of folks I met this weekend whom I'd like to stay in touch with.

Bye for now, -FM

[stagehand steve]

We had a great weekend.  Thanks to all the instructors for all the great training.  Also thanks to our hosts in Athens.  Nurse Ratchett did a great job with the meals.  All in all, it was a great weekend.

-SteveM

[stagehand steve]

Also, is someone going to post the pictures of us getting our rifleman patches?

Thanks,
SteveM

[Louie]

Wow is all I can say...
This was my first "full" AS as I could only attend on Saturday my first two times. I encourage everyone to eat the entire elephant! Thanks to all the staff... Dinkydal, Fuzzy Math, Recharge, Donna, George...who am I forgetting? Probably several others...Oh yes, my good friend Nurse Ratchett. NR without you especially, I might not have come back the second time.  Thank You, may our Heavenly Father Bless You and Your Entire family.
I met some really great people...Fuzzy,Dinky, Jeremy, Roger, John, Randy, Dustin....and more. I was so inpressed with the tenacity displayed by Amanda, and the tender care shown her by her husband. Dustin's excitement and youthful energy were a tonic to me.
Of course, Roger and I showed the rest what Nurse Ratchett meant by "Dangerous Old Men". Teamwork is the secret.
What a wonderful weekend...great weather, great people, great food, new friends...oh yeah...I got my Rifleman on the last AQT of the weekend...213.  Thanks again to a wonderful, wonderful group of patriots. Bill (Louie) Lewis, Chillicothe OHIO

[RedNekEngr]

It sounds like you folks kept the Athens mojo going quite nicely.   I sure missed my compatriots NR, George, Bill, Dinky, Fuzz, Recharge and so on.  I wish you guys could have shared in my joy of watching Ishy give the 2nd and 3rd strikes and then watch The Guy award her the red hat.  Honestly, you all have been so instrumental in her growth as a young lady. 

As awesome as Waterman was, there's nothing like home.  Athens Rocks!!!!! It's the personal touch of you folks that keeps this the best AS out there.  Ohio has the most dedicated, knowledgeable, and caring leadership and it shows.  That's why previous attendees keep coming back, and others want to see what everyone's talking about.  Thanks to you all for your service.

RNE

[Ishy]

I missed you guys SOO BAD!!!     Waterman was awesome, but like Dad said, there's no place like home.  You would have been proud to see Litl Bit (11-year-old Leah) being presented with her orange hat from Guy.  Huzzah!   

See you soon,

Ish

[MeanStreaker]

This sounds like a great event! 

I wish I could have been in two places at once!

Congrats on another successful Athens shoot, everyone!

[Ratchett]

To all of the shooters at the AS in Athens this past week-end--Each of you were just simply amazing. On Saturday the instruction lasted until almost dark and not once did someone say "I have had enough." You all stayed at that proverbial firehose and drank deeply! There are many of you that I did not learn your names and for that I apologize, but I will forever remember your determination and persistence.

Louie, it was such a privilege to be able to give you that Rifleman patch! From our first meeting you made a spot in my heart forever to be yours...I so look forward to meeting "Mrs. Louie" for I truly know she is one special lady!

Roger, you are seriously one "Dangerous Dude" , two shoots in a row you are on the winning team of the NPOA competitions. You sir can really tear those targets up with your teammates! I lost count of the number of AQTs you had above 210

Dustin, wow what can I say...you are simply amazing! I do not believe I have ever seen someone take to handling a rifle as rapidly with such accuracy as you have done. Rifleman at your first Appleseed and you followed it up repeatedly this weekend. You are such an inspiration in so many ways!! Thanks for being you and thank you for introducing me to Jennifer. See you both on the line soon!

Amanda, our sweet "Dangerous Mother-to-Be" you rocked that .223 girl! Never a complaint and always a smile on your face. I apologize as hubby's name eludes me, but not the gentle attentiveness he showed you. You guys are truly an awesome couple and I hope to see you guys on the line again. Please keep in touch and let us know the arrival of the little one...yes Ohio we have another Dangerous Ole Family on the horizon

Mr LaRue--(I apologize as I do not remember your first name, Wayne is what comes to mind but not sure.) Congratulations on that Rifleman patch! I am sorry I did not get to spend much time talking with you, but hope to do so in the future. Thank you for making this Appleseed special. You rank right up there with those dangerous fellows!

Jim and Jody you guys are just flat out great! Another Ohio Dangerous Ole Family. Jim you just kept knocking out those AQTs even if there was some cross shooting from someone going on Jody you handled "Elvis" fantasical! Always laughing and smiling keeping the rest of us going! Promise to have more "sugar" the next time ! Tell Andrew I sure missed him Sunday and hope he comes back soon too!

One wild and crazy guy--oh wait that was the other Steve Martin--the one that does not possess a Rifleman patch. Congratulations Steve, you worked hard and earned that patch! From registration to benediction on Sunday, I believe I never saw you without a smile and always a positive attitude. It was great having you on the line and I hope you will make the trek to Athens again.

OU guy--hehe, yup I forgot your name so guess you gotta come back I will bring my M1A   How did you do on the final redcoat Sunday with the .308? I forgot to check it before I had to rush away. It was really fun having you on the line and that little "engineering" trick with the magazines was nifty. I have never seen it before, but sure made prepping a piece of cake.

Sean, "what can' t do that M1A all weekend?" You realize Recharge is an Ole Sarge right? Just makin' 'em tough You are such a great sport to take our ribbing so kindly! It was a pleasure having you at the shoot, I just wish I had been able to come down to be on the line with you all a little more.

Ryan, thanks for coming out Sunday! I hope I gave you the nitty gritty in the 20 minute rapid fire briefing to get you up to speed. Great to have you on the line, next time I hope to be able to talk more with you! BTW, I really liked your hat and beard/ moustache!

"The Brothers", I apologize for not remembering your names and for not talking more with you. I believe you are friends of Dustin' s and I hope you will return to another Athens AS that I may get to know you both.

Larry and Gary, you guys rank right up there with the rest of those dangerous ole men! You guys were always laughing and had a smile for everyone. What positive attitudes you have!! I hope we made it worth every long mile from western Ohio and Indiana! You will always be welcome in Athens.

Brother John, it was great having you on the line this weekend. It was really a pleasure for me to see you enjoying yourself! Remember all of us instructors were right where you are at one time. Persistence and dryfire, dryfire, dryfire!!!! Thank you for helping out with the meals and grocery shopping, could not have done it without you. Thanks for my shooting jacket too!

To the instructors-- Dangerous D and Recharge, you guys may be 2 of Ohio's newest orange hats on paper, but you guys worked triple time this weekend and worked that line like pros!!! I felt like such a slacker this weekend.  You sure did Ohio proud and it is an honor to share the IIT title with you. Fuzzy, thank you for realizing the need in Athens and stepping up to the plate to help out. It is always great working with you! Dinky you are just amazing and I love ya!!!

GeorgeT, you are the reason I Appleseed, thank you for all you do with a plate that I know is overflowing. Keep the Faith, my brother! Bill without you Athens Appleseeds would not be what they are, you keep us ticking! Vic, thank you for taking the time to come out and help with each event, you will never know how much your help is appreciated! Brother Ralph, thanks for all your help with everything, but especially bringing "Bessie" out and demonstrating her power. It made my DOM delivery more fun too! Last but by no means least, Uncle Eddie and Matthew without your help in the kitchen I could never have pulled off all those meals and kept the kitchen clean! You all are just simply amazing and AF&G are fortunate to have you all on board!!!

[mp345006]

Nurse Ratchet- my name is Matt Proctor and I am the "OU guy" haha. I did pretty good shooting the M1A for the first time i got two in the 100 yard target 1 in the 300 yard and 2 in the 400 yard target. That rifle might be what i ask for as a graduation project at the end of the year. I look forward to attending many more Appleseed events. I agree with Louie and think that being able to shoot on Sat and Sunday makes the event that much better. Thanks  again for all the help and support.

-Matt Proctor

[Ratchett]

Matt,

Thanks for reminding me and your positive attitude! You did do very well indeed! There is a whole lot of eye blinking and flinching when you move up to the 30 cals from the .22 initially. I saw improvement in your trigger control in the 13 shots that you fired and that is usually something that comes much later than a mere 13 rounds! An M1A sounds like the perfect graduation project to me See you on the line again real soon, til then, as always...

In His Grip,
Ratchett

[Gordon]

Wow you guys rock -- this is a great AAR. Nurse Ratchett, thanks for such a detailed review of everyone's experience. I won't try to add to that, but just summarize: Great folks, great shooters, great Americans.

To all of the shooters at the AS in Athens this past week-end--Each of you were just simply amazing. On Saturday the instruction lasted until almost dark and not once did someone say "I have had enough." You all stayed at that proverbial firehose and drank deeply! ...

That's exactly right. I really was impressed with the persistence shown throughout the weekend, by each individual and the group as a whole. Not only did we "stay at the firehose" until early evening on Saturday, but Sunday also, it seemed like there was always time for another AQT and everyone was up for it.

The "Redcoat" numbers are a great reflection on the group as a whole.

	|100 yd	|100 and 200 yd	|1,2,and 300 yd	|1,2,3, and 400yd	|Morgan's Crew	|Cleaned!
Sat AM	|9	|7	|2	|2	|4	|1
Sun AM	|14	|11	|9	|6	|8	|4

Guys, this is amazing. Each of you, whether you're a 100-yard shooter or you cleaned the Redcoat --- everyone persisted, and everyone improved, and I sincrely feel that everyone should be proud to have been part of this excellent weekend.

OK now that's about marksmanship. As for the history, let me also thank everyone for excellent, spontaneous discussion which followed the story of the Battle of Lexington & Concord. Each one of us who wears an RWVA hat, and (I know for a fact) all the club members who work so tirelessly to facilitate these events --- this is why we do it. Recovering, restoring, and enlivening the heritage of American Marksmanship, and the American love of liberty and responsible citizenship. This is Project Appleseed at its best! Again, thank you, everyone. I'm proud to have been there.

--- Gordon

[despree]

Not much more to say; Fuzzy and Nurse Ratchett pretty much covered it all...Dangerous D and Recharge, you guys really worked overtime out there, and kept a short-handed shoot very, very well covered!  Fuzzy, same for you; thanks for being willing to step up and help Dinky!  We had some good conversations, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you on the trail again.

Eric and Jamie (the "Brothers"), I was really glad you guys came out, and hope to wrangle you guys out to another one (if I have to!).  For boys growing up almost exclusively with shotguns, you both stepped up impressively.  I even believe that Eric was one of the 4 to clear his Redcoat on Sunday...nicely done!

Louis, awesome on Rifleman!  You've had it coming for a while (watching you float between 200 and 210 Saturday and Sunday morning), and I'm very happy for you that it finally come through.  I will hold this against you, though; now that I've handled a left-handed stock with a thumb hole for your 10/22, I have to find one for my Marlin 795... Thanks a lot!   Roger, thanks for letting me try out your automatch for that last AQT; I really felt like it made a difference (and my AQT score would agree!).  Looking forward to seeing you on the trail again!  Both of you, I gotta admit, it was pretty cool to see a row of mats angled for righties...and that nice clump of three lefties there on the right side of the line.  Showing those righties how it's done. 

Finally, Nurse Ratchett, Wildcat was the one to get me to AS in the first place; but you pretty much embody why I keep coming back, and keep brow-beating others to come along.  Thank you for your kindness, your cooking, your attitude, and your spirit; all are greatly appreciated, and (for me) have made AS something highly addictive.

Man, met a bunch of other great guys (Recharge, Steve, Sean...could keep going on)...but I'll end there.  Good weekend all!

[Shooterwolf]

I learned a lot and have already passed on what a great experience this event was to a few interested friends.  I was impressed and genuinely touched by the effort, time, energy and most important to me- PATIENCE with my newbie status.  Recharge and Dinky were willing to help me find a way around my limitations.  I feel I now have the ability to improve my rifle skills with the information taught in only two days!
Nurse Ratchett kept spirits up with encouragement and good food. Fellow shooters up and down the line were wonderful.  Really, the people are what made the entire event so much fun.

Mrs. Shooterwolf, aka Jodie

[Shooterwolf]

 What good weather for a great weekend of shooting. Drew, Jodie, and I had a really good time.

I now know the Devil is kevlar coated animal crackers posing as targets. 


    Thanks everyone,


    Wolf.

[randyvk]

Great weekend for shooting.  Thanks to the club and club members who spent their time so the shoot could go on. Many thanks to DD, Dinky, Recharge, Fuzzymath, Nurse Ratchett, and the other instructors.  You spent time watching me shoot and correcting my faults.  Your knowledge and teaching abilities are impressive.  Met some great people Roger, Louie, Dustin, and others whose names I forget.  Learned much and we will be practicing what we learned.  We all had a great time and will attend more Appleseed shoots.  Thanks again!!

[Dangerous D]

It was another great event in Athens!  Even the cookie targets!  I'll get photos from my Dads camera and get them posted next week if possible. 

[MacMcM]

Are all of our Athens Brothers and Sisters OK after the tornado last night? The news here is showing massive, but concentrated damage.

Hope Ratchett and the rest are doing well... let us know!!

[Ratchett]

Hi Mac!!

To my knowledge all Athens AS are safe and doing fine. Do not know know of anyone with property damage, but those people that were effected by the storms lost a lot of material possessions. Praise God no loss of life. Unfortunately, there was a death near Belleville in Wood Co., WVa.

Thank you sooooo much for asking about our safety! Your expression of concern is what I love about AS brothers and sisters, no matter the distance between us their is concern and caring for each other. Another foundational block our country was founded on that is most times forgotten.

Job well done to you, the WVa AS crew, and the PCGC on a super successful shoot! Hope to see you soon on the trail, my best to you and family. Stay strong and keep the Faith, til we meet again...as always
In His Grip,
Ratchett

[GoldFish]

Are all of our Athens Brothers and Sisters OK after the tornado last night? The news here is showing massive, but concentrated damage.

My family and I are doing fine; the Plains (less than 5 miles away) got hit pretty hard, though.  All we experienced was heavy rain, thunder/lighting, and some wind.  No damage at all to property or family.  As the Nurse said, thank you very much for caring enough to ask about us, Mac.

I missed being at this Appleseed in Athens.  It's the first one since May of '09 that I wasn't either shooting or instructing in, but I plan on being there in October!

---GF

[despree]

Glad to hear you guys are all okay! 

[waynel]

I too would like to thank everyone for a great weekend.  The dedication and professionalism of staff continues to amaze me.   Athens Fish and Game is the host with the most.

Shooterwolf, if we ever are paired up again on those blasted kevlar animal crackers, were going to have to change tactics.   Had there been a prize for greatest suppressive fire on kevlar crackers, I think we would have won hands down.
Wayne

[Dangerous D]

Sorry for the delay here are some photos including that now famous cookie targets!

[Dangerous D]

More photos

[Dangerous D]

Even more photos! Thanks to my dad Don the photographer who now thinks he's going to participate in an AS.  Thanks for showing him how its done!

[Ratchett]

Dangerous D,

Thanks for posting the pictures, they are ggggggrrrrreeeeaaaaattt ! Thank your Dad again for being our personal photographer Love the pictures of those "kelvar" animal crackers

See you in a few weeks
Ratchett