AAR: Hinckley, MN - Dec. 11-12, 2010

[AFTERMATH]

O'Ha!

Where to begin?

It was Friday morning when our sanity began to come into question.
As the winter weather and blizzard warnings began to broadcast, the questions turned into inquisitions.
They begged and pleaded; proposing that it will not be a lesson in marksmanship, but rather a lesson in survival.
With a test none of us wanted to fail.
For me there was no question.  We had an Appleseed on the schedule, and I wasn't about to cancel!
Spending the weekend outside in a winter storm, isn't easy by no means.  But to keep things in perspective, Valley Forge certainly wasn't the highlight of the Continental Army's campaign!  At least we had coats, and boots, and hot coffee!

DewDrinker was our brave shooter, and was as determined to score Rifleman as Adamt was to make him a Rifleman.
Instruction was given in our makeshift shelter, which we managed to keep at about 15 degrees F, all day Saturday.
Then back to the line to clear ice and snow from the rifle and sights, then back inside to thaw and learn.
Extreme cold weather produces many issues for a would be Rifleman to over come.  All the layers make it difficult to get in position.  Gloves if thick enough to fit in the trigger guard; are not anywhere near the required bulk to prevent your fingers from freezing.  Wind coming directly from the target line offers no opportunity to break the windchill factor....  And facial coverings slip on the stock preventing a good cheek weld.
Persevere through all of that, and you find yourself dealing with equipment issues.  Magazines freezing up, FTF's, FTE's, double feeds.  Sunday was so cold, the trigger return spring began to fail, and even resetting the trigger became a manual task.

DewDrinker showed an amazing level of persistence, and though he didn't quite make Rifleman, this time.  He showed he definitely has the heart of a Rifleman.  Given a more hospitable environment; I'm quite sure he'd have have made it this weekend.  In light of the circumstances; I'm of the opinion that a 190 is quite an accomplishment. 
Your chance will come, my friend!

Adam, thanks for braving the long drive up to Hinckley!
And to DewDrinker for coming down from Duluth!

To those that could not make it as a result of the weather; it is most understandable.
Hinckley should be back on the schedule in March, and keep an eye peeled for a possible Duluth event in February;
I hope to see you there!


Still frozen,

Aftermath

[Greg in MO]

Aftermath...

You guys definitely have my respect.  After seeing what happened to the Metrodome, that was a heck of a storm to be shooting in.  Our forefathers would indeed be proud!

You Minnesotans are made of impressive stuff (which I think is white and frozen)...

Greg

[AFTERMATH]

Aftermath...

You guys definitely have my respect.  After seeing what happened to the Metrodome, that was a heck of a storm to be shooting in.  Our forefathers would indeed be proud!

You Minnesotans are made of impressive stuff (which I think is white and frozen)...

Greg

Well thanks, but to tell you the truth; this weekend was easy...
It was convincing everyone that we weren't crazy that was the difficult part.

Adam will have some pictures up...  If he can defrost his phone...

I have indeed been convinced, however, that I need a sleeping bag that's rated better than 40 degrees.

Alex

[adamt]

I suppose the saga began for me on Saturday at 6:30A.M. I had to dig my car out of the 8 inches of snow Minnesota had graced me with overnight. The Drive to Hinckley that would normally take just over an hour lasted just under 2. After arrival at the range and some cold weather setup the Blizzardseed began.

A Picture of DewDrinker eagerly returning from the line..



With 5 degree temps, 20MPH gusts the coverings for the rifle would not stay in place..



As a side note, after returning home to clean and service the rifle I had noticed the take down screw was loose. DewDrinker with a high of 190 was thwarted from his Winterseed patch by faulty equipment and not the weather. I would like to offer a salute to him as he truly does posses the qualities of a rifleman as he did not once waver.

As to the bitterly cold night, unlike AFTERMATH I had acquired a Korea issue cold weather sleeping bag (on Friday) so the night was.... cold.

We must have burned through 4 or 5 small tanks of propane cooking water, coffee and soup. We also used up 1 20lb tank with a sunflower heater. Alas The weekend came to a close, our soles were warm, spirits high, fingers and toes cold. I was back off to minneapolis to dig out my wife's car and the garage.

To anyone that is thinking of attending a Winterseed, please do. Come prepared, come often, and bring a friend.

AdamT.

P.S. here is the runner up for the Winterseed patch..

[Old Glory!]

Oh MERCIE!   

GreginMo is right....but respect may not fully describe it.   

[Taylor]

An awesome display of persistence and dedication that 99.99999999% of America (yours truly included) would be incapable of.

[AFTERMATH]

As a side note, after returning home to clean and service the rifle I had noticed the take down screw was loose. DewDrinker with a high of 190 was thwarted from his Winterseed patch by faulty equipment and not the weather. I would like to offer a salute to him as he truly does posses the qualities of a rifleman as he did not once waver.

I even checked that, too...  Must have been frozen up in between strings...
But that would definately explain why the targets showed more movement than I saw in his position.
You live you learn, right?


By the way; that frozen patch...
While it looks like slush; that's really solid ice.
And is the result of water spilt on it - INSIDE our shelter!  Froze on contact!

On another note - sunflower heaters:  Worthless!  375 square feet?  Yeah, right!  Fifteen foot radius of heat?  Yeah sure!
Only served as a moral boost.  It only produced about a twenty-four inch bubble of twenty degree warmth.
Forced air!

Even the Mini-Mags weren't up to the challenge!

[DewDrinker]

Well needless to say i had a lot of fun. If given the choice to do it again, I wouldn't even hesitate to say yes to Adam again.  Cant wait for the next one. at this point I don't think anything can stop me bring it on ?

[colycat]

Now I know of what stuff I am made of.  Cotton Candy.  OG and me had to suffer thru all that sun and 80's in Buckeye AZ, while the real riflemen were getting it done in MN.

You guys are nuts,  I would have bailed soo fast on last weekend, it would make your head spin.

I love the reports, though.  Alex, you are really something.         (good)

Coly, the wimp

[SavageShootr]

Congratulations on getting through the weekend.

[Blue Five]

I'm not sure rather to congratulate you all or recommend a mental health professional 

I think I'll go with congratulations on surviving the weekend!


I guarantee that I wouldn't have been able to do it, nor wanted to do it.

You guys are braver than I am, nice work 


B5

[sparks1]

Well needless to say i had a lot of fun. If given the choice to do it again, I wouldn't even hesitate to say yes to Adam again.  Cant wait for the next one. at this point I don't think anything can stop me bring it on ?

Like you could say no to Adam

[DewDrinker]

Well needless to say i had a lot of fun. If given the choice to do it again, I wouldn't even hesitate to say yes to Adam again.  Cant wait for the next one. at this point I don't think anything can stop me bring it on ?

Like you could say no to Adam

no comment ?haha ....

[adamt]

DewDrinker I just noticed that that picture in your avatar was from last year. No chicken wing.....

There is something about us Minnesotans shooting in the winter. I suppose when you have snow 9 months out of the year it's kinda like our summer.

AdamT.

[DewDrinker]

well our winter's are longer. yea actually i think that picture was longer than that ago. like when you first bought the AR.

[AFTERMATH]

If we were to chicken out on Winterseeds; we'd only have July and August.  Off the top of my head; those are the only months I've never seen snow and/or temps below 40.
That would drastically inhibbit our Appleseed progress!

[Puma Mami]

As the winter weather and blizzard warnings began to broadcast, the questions turned into inquisitions.
They begged and pleaded; proposing that it will not be a lesson in marksmanship, but rather a lesson in survival.
With a test none of us wanted to fail.

Yes, it seems like it was a survival test. I'm glad you guys passed that test and came out OK!

I saw the message before the event that two shooters were registered. As I looked out at the snow that Saturday, I wondered if you guys were really up there at the range, shooting in that blizzard! It was probably hard even to dig your way out of the range driveway after all the snowplows came by on the highway all day. Then the wind chill on Sunday was pretty severe.

As a mom myself, I think your moms were probably very concerned about you guys. Is that where some of the "inquisitions" were coming from? 

I visited Valley Forge about 25 years ago, looked at the log huts (small!), and thought about what it must have been like that winter. That area of the country does have milder winters than we do in Minnesota. Here is some information about the actual weather they experienced that winter: http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/weather.html

Didn't you guys say that the gun-confiscating attempts of the British started in the spring because, "no one could do anything in the winter?" We have better technology now for winter clothes (polypropylene etc.), but it sounds like the rifles don't do too well when it's below zero. So maybe that's going to make it hard for anyone to get a rifleman patch at a Minnesota Winterseed.

I admire your courage and determination, though, to actually keep going all of that weekend!

I have indeed been convinced, however, that I need a sleeping bag that's rated better than 40 degrees.
Alex

You didn't actually camp out there with a 40 degree bag, did you? You could add a zero-degree-rated bag inside the 40-degree-bag and put a space blanket or two in there with you, too. I'm glad you didn't freeze!

[Cooper]

I have indeed been convinced, however, that I need a sleeping bag that's rated better than 40 degrees.

Alex

Hey, Alex !!

I have a Christmas present for you, whenever we can make a connection....
I'll bet you'll never guess what it is !   

Coop