AAR: NASHVILLE, IN - Mar 26/27, 2011

[techres]

Wow!  Another great shoot!

Saturday Morning

It was a cold dark morning when we started out setup.  PT6 suggested we use headlights to see what we were doing and before you knew it the line was up and running:




As soon as the bluehats had check-in done, it was time to get instruction going and SPQR was ready to take our students through the course of instruction:




Soon it was time to get to shooting!  Our line was a full range of average Americans of all ages and kinds.  It was great, oh, and LOUD:




We even had a couple of great youth shooters.  "K" was a real trooper and proved that dedication can carry you through a full weekend, even if you are 7!




All of the students stuck with the hose and stuck through the heavy volume of information given them.

Saturday Afternoon

Before we knew it, lunch was on us and while we ate, SPQR took us through First Strike:




Then it was time to get moving, heat back up, and get some more shooting done, this time with ball & dummy drills:




Young Mr. "K" got some time running a suppressor in the afternoon before switching back to his .22 break open rifle.




SPQR and HQ make quite the team, here doing standing position:




Come end of day and we were able to just squeeze in one AQT before third strike and closing out the day.  AppleCore was there to help score those targets:

Sunday Morning

It was a cold morning.  And the SB "might" have been running a tad late and ended up with a special opportunity to 7th step even before getting to the range!




As soon as we were onsite and checked back in, a hearty band of students was back on the line and working to zero rifles and begin hammering AQT's:

Sunday Afternoon

With the help of our Orange Hats, lunch was full of the stories of Dangerous Old Men.  And with the help of one of our students, it was also full of spicey venison!  MMMmmm....

Soon it was time to go and do some KD on some steel.  Several of our shooters had started the weekend with apprehensions and concerns.  There was even some concern that they might be in the wrong place and not be right for what we had to teach.  By Sunday afternoon, there was no more fear and only steel and centerfire rounds hitting it!





KD Video


After KD it was time to get back to the orange line and a few more AQT's.






Come end of day we had hammered away and pushed many of our shooters to the limit.  The smart ones took short times to rest and get expert one on one training with our red hats:

Final Comments

I want to thank all of our shooters this weekend.  It was cold, it was hard, it was a lot to learn in two days.  Many of you were newish to this level of instruction and a couple of you even had the challenges of uncertainty and fear.  The fact that you stood up, faced it all, worked hard, listened well was the reason that each of you moved from large groups to small.  "K"'s mom was a great example moving from 12+ MOA groups to the smallest 2 MOA group I have ever seen at an Appleseed!

You all worked through great physical and mental hardship and did so with determination and smiles.  I want to thank each and every one of you and share my hopes that I will see you each again on the trail before long.

Thank you,
Techres

[SPQR]

HERE WE ARE AT NASHVILLE!  How do we measure ourselves in a world where possessions of such fleeting influence are so easy to come by and sincerity and substance are valued so lowly by so many?  We go out there and get to know each other.  We share our strengths and help others develop their weaknesses into not so weak 2MOA groups.  Wowza!  I am not in possession of a fingernail smaller than that group! 

Who knew that that little valley, really just a hollar back into the woods, would be so windy?  We overcame it.  Who knew the cold would bite with such vicious intent?  We overcame it.  Wasn't it great to see families out and together?  Wasn't it great to see so many young shooters having such a good time?  Wasn't it great to watch DHolder and Kathy team up to go from minute of paper to drilling squares?  Wasn't it?  WASN'T IT?!

I am always a little nervous at the beginning of a shoot, i always seem to have this weird sensation that we may not get this thing hammered out, we might not be able to get enough water back over the side.  Then, when we post that first Red Coat and people start trying to hide how WIDE their eyes get when they see that little Daniel Morgan square and that these silly people in orange and red hats EXPECT them to hit it, I get down.  I seem to think, "Here is another batch of Americans that are scared to death by something little.  We are never going to get enough water over the side."  I swear to you, I don't know why I always have that thought!  IT IS SUCH A STUPID THOUGHT!  It is stupid because every time we do this, EVERY TIME, they change.  They change.  After a couple courses I realize that their eyes were so big simply because they hadn't found their NPOA yet.  That's all.  They just hadn't found it but now they have.  Okay, disaster narrowly averted, more Americans are in touch with themselves and their marksmanship and their heritage.  Its all okay. 

Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal.  Everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?

           

[SPQR]

TBE giving cof instruction

KD!

perfect position for AQT!

Techres giving instruction

preparing to learn the seated position

don't tread on me

the Nashville range

all bundled up for ball and dummy

the line Saturday afternoon

more ball and dummy

SPQR giving a point of instruction

look at these great shooters!

Our Women of Appleseed with a proud Techres!

SB standing proud with the youth shooters!

Cade getting his patch

Crystal at the AR!

TBE and Cade behind the AR!

Kathy behind the AR!

The team of Cade and SPQR for Parker's Revenge

Look at that Group! [bottom right square]

Sunday showed HUGE improvement!

Lendon getting his youth patch!

TBE giving points of instruction to Cade

[stschil]

Wow!!!      What a great bunch of shooters we had at Nashville this past weekend.     I can't say enough about the dedication and perseverance of all of these would be Riflemen and Riflewomen that stepped up, grabbed a bucket and started bailing. 

  Though the weather was cold and the wind threatened to bite deep into our core, our hearts were warm and our spirits resolute.  Smiles were plentiful as our minds set about the task at hand.

So, without further ado.  Let the posting of pictures begin!


Added:  OK, I am not sure why the pictures did not post as the others.  For this, I offer my sincere apologies.  I hope, that someone out there more tech savy than I can guide me to the proper procedure. 

[brianheeter]

Thanks to Techres, SPQR, TBE, HQ, STSCHIL, Abby, Sarah and the others working the shoot for making it run so smoothly.  You are all a credit to the Appleseed organization.  Thanks also go to my fellow students for being a friendly, fun and attentive group.  It was a pleasure to be on the line with you all.  It was great to have 3 generations of a family on one side of me (Terry (?), Jennifer and Lendon) and a little bit down the other way there was father, mother and son.  I'd love to see more of that in the future.

Take care, be safe, spread the Appleseed message.

C ya,

brian

[HQ]

It was cold, I think my fingers are finally starting to relax back into a normal [not gripping the hand warmers] position!  But even with the cold, people stayed on the line!  We had to bully them into taking blankets or a break! 

Excellent job across the board!  I can't wait to see faces back on the line earning patches!!! So many were SO close!!!  I can not give enough praise to our shooters this weekend.  The wind did not make this an easy shoot, yet everyone hit steel at 100 yards!  Great job shooters!

[TBE]

Good, safe shoot.

With the weather we got Saturday, it would have been understandable if I had faced a line of whining, short tempered shooters all weekend. 

Instead, I had the extreme pleasure of spending the weekend with a fine bunch of my fellow citizens.
I saw much shivering, but no complaining.   
You were all safe, attentive, courteous and open to instruction. 
You all made real progress as marksmen and I hope you took away an improved understanding of our heritage. 
I'm proud of your progress this weekend and I'm proud to call you my countrymen.