AAR Washington State Super Shoot, Bickleton, Washington, April 9-10, 2011

[Reformed Redneck]

To all,

First of all, thanks go out to our hosts, Doug and Helen Grabner of Grabner Farms. They are a husband/wife Rifleman team, and a couple of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. They gave very generously of their time and property to make this a very enjoyable shoot.

We had 65 shooters on the line on Saturday morning in fairly modest weather conditions for this time of year. Quite a bit of wind, but the windbreak behind the firing line moderated it's effect quite a bit.

Sunday looked to be windy and rainy, but the rain spent itself before we resumed the program. 37 shooters were on hand for Sunday.

We observed very good progress with nearly every shooter on Sunday. We ended us with 5 new Riflemen and 3 repeats. Congratulations to all who were successful in obtaining the patch. Remember that it is only the first step to becoming a Riflemen. The path to maturing as a Rifleman lies before you.

The AppleCore personnel were are great help to us at this event. Thanks to Joni and winkinnotblinkin for the help as Blue Hats (and Orange Hats).

Everyone is waiting for me to get this going so they can post photos and such, so I'll step aside.

Best regards,
Reformed Redneck

[Sparkss]

Thank you !! that was a lot of fun , My wife Nelle (no "I" but it is  Nelleeeee) and son Andrew and I had a  great time . all of the orange hats went out of their way to  help us new 1st  time gun owners learn the craft . Thank you Nurse for  bending my body  into the proper positions , that was the best way to help me learn exactly where I should be, by showing ... Thank you  Goldfish for being so much  help on Saturday with my many  questions and coming all the way  from Ohio.  Thank you  Vancouver ( name started with a J ...  I must be getting old already )  for all the tech  help  sighting in , and mechanical  help with our  new  Ruger's ...  a very nice  orange hat  helped my  son Andrew a whole bunch, almost all day Sunday , and I am sorry  I didn't  catch  her name.  Thank you  Reformed Redneck, wife, and your  entire family  for  help and support, dedication way beyond what can be expected... you are all  Grade AAA , we were much  work  for your  crew  and needed quite a lot of help... the quality of help and patients was  5 stars all weekend ...  This was an awesome weekend one I will always remember ... oh yes and special thank you goes to Red hat, fellow southpaw, ( or is that  eye ? )  Western Rose , her super smile, great attitude, help and advise not to mention the use of her  gun for the last  3  targets was a great help to me ...    I went from 63 or so score on the AQT with my  rifle to a 171 with her rifle and added advise.  I think  ( of course )  a few more hours I could have made rifleman .. (  lol  can always hope and that  is my story  I will stick with it  lol  )  at least on the last  redcoat I hit with all my shots only missed 2 on the 300 yard .. that was totally exciting to me.. I  am pretty sure I know what I did  wrong ...
    let me also say the  history  was presented with accuracy and care .. and emotion .. its refreshing to  be with people that feel the same as I do about our founders.. and share the deep love of country and appreciation for the sacrifices they made .. so we can live free and be happy too.. thank you all.... we will for  sure come to another Appleseed soon,  I will be glad to help any way I can ..
  I intend to practice , keep trying to get  friends and family interested,  Make  rifleman score next time , and start helping with events when and where I can .. I have 4 more kidlets ages 20 to 9 that I want to rifle up and bring  as well..   paid RWVA member as of last night .. I don't know if I can say  much  more  :-) hehe ... just .... THANK YOU all so  much  and great  job  and  huge  big time thank you to the Grabners. please if this is the wrong  forum for this post   :-) place me where it belongs :-)   

[06en]

I must first echo RR thanks and words of praise of Doug and Helen first and formost for providing us all the space and opportunity to share with others our common Heritage & History as citizens, as well as passing on the skills of marksmanship.

Sparkss...Glad to hear that you and your family had a really good time. Your interest and enthusiasm for our shared History & Heritage and is very rewarding. I was very glad to have met you between the points of instruction. Also a big thanks for your willingness in helping us get the range cleaned up after the weekend's conclusion. I am really looking forward to seeing you back on the line very soon. Keep practicing the skills that you acquired over the past couple of days, it will certainly pay off.

[splaticus]

Great event and very well run!  Especially so considering the number of shooters on the line.  All the girls in my office were really excited and talking about their experiences from the weekend.  One thing they all had in common was they were all sore and sunburned!  However the other commonality was the fun they had!  Great experience for me as well to be part of the shoot as an orange hat, the learning continues!  Thanks to the Idaho crew for making the long trip over, you guys ROCK!  Cool to see instructors coming all the way from Ohio for this one, talk about dedication!

Congrats to all the new riflemen and to those who made the effort to come out and better themselves!

[Western Rose]

Note for the promotions team: Any pictures posted here are able to be used for promotional purposes. Model releases were signed by almost everyone. Those who did not sign it, didn't get in the pictures.

To the Grabners, thanks for hosting us!!!

To the attendees, thanks for coming!!!

To the instructors, thanks for being there!!! Special thanks to Nurse, Shutterbug and Goldfish for coming out from Ohio! We loved having you three here.

I have so much more I want to say, but I haven't got the time at the moment. I'll try to post again asap. I know Evenstar and Shutterbug have tons of pictures and I look forward to seeing some of them here.

Sparkss, it was a lot of fun to work with you and your family. Theophilus (on the forum) was the one from Vancouver. Winkin not blinkin was the one who came over during Sunday. It was awesome to watch you all improve. Thanks for coming out and bringing your family. We are looking forward to seeing you all again.

[06en]

'Pictures... or it didn't happen!'     -Evenstar


Memory..starting to fade...need...pictures

[Evenstar]

'Pictures... or it didn't happen!'     -Evenstar


Memory..starting to fade...need...pictures

Yeah... once my computer cooperates. Trying to free space on my hard drive so I can get the pictures downloaded. Will try to get to it tonight.

In the meantime, what an INCREDIBLE weekend! We had a great turnout, especially for being out in the middle of nowhere (basically, Nick ). 18 walk-on's Saturday! It was a pleasure working with every one of the students. My job was made easy by the fact that the group I was working with were generally shooting 2-4 MOA almost constantly.

Doug, congratulations on shooting Rifleman your first time out! It was great to work with you. Come on back soon; Brandon will join you as Rifleman in no time. Way to work that bolty!

Tracy, way to keep at it. You'll make it soon. Dick, it was obviously the wind.

Congrats to all the Rifleman, and thanks to EVERYONE for coming out to the largest Washington event!

Congratulations, splaticus, on taking the orange hat! Looking forward to working with you soon.

A very special thanks to Nurse Ratchett for driving out from Ohio to work the line with us. Your history was incredible; you'll make an excellent red hat. It was so wonderful to meet you after all this time.

GoldFish, thanks for tagging along with Ratchett. It was awesome to see you again, this time in the Great Northwest! Your youth patch presentation was inspirational; thank you.

ShutterBug, SO good to see you again too! Thanks for your pointers on photography... and everything! You look great in that blue hat.

06en, Selway, Grabners, thank you all SO MUCH for everything you did to make this work. Let's do it again!

I'll probably have more to say later.


...and Brian... 2 MORE DAYS TILL ANOTHER APPLESEED!!!!

[Earl]

  I have been waiting patiently (this is my post and I can tell it like I want it) for the pictures, got to have pictures. Then I realized that I love the words, there are a few quality people taking the time to write about each shooter, the challenges met, the plans to meet again. I want to hear from the Ohio Appletrekkers! and I know where most of the pictures are. Except for ShutterBug's (today I linked the handle with the young lady behind that Large Lens, old guys just take a while).

I do know that waiting for the pictures, will continue - there are IMPORTANT Appleseeds this coming Weekend, wish y'all well where ever you are going, shooting, supporting and celebrating April 19, 1775!

[Roland]

Glad to here it went, well, and very sorry I couldn't make it. (even if there is one this weekend )

Free up space on a hard drive!?!?! That's gotta be a lot of pictures.

Thanks to the Ohio crew for helping out with a shoot near to us, hope to meet ya'll someday.

Five riflemen... That's a pretty impressive number, even in the "redneck conservative" states. Well done!

Roland

[Evenstar]

Free up space on a hard drive!?!?! That's gotta be a lot of pictures.

Well, that just means I had way too many pictures on my computer in the first place and needed to back them up on an external drive. I actually got several hundred less pictures than I usually do. Someone way better qualified took most of the pics over the weekend (thanks Cri!).

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up tomorrow before I head out to CdA.

PS. Hey Earl, it was SO GREAT to see you again!

[Evenstar]

OK, here are some of the pictures I got. Cristina, I can't wait to see yours!

[Evenstar]

And some more.

[Roland]

Good pics! See ya in about two hours ! Especially like the reflection one, that's awesome.

[Shutterbug]

Absolutely fabulous shoot! I feel so blessed to have been there.

More, including pictures, coming soon.

[06en]

     pics. Is that TruT sleepin'? Why didn't I think of that 

Anyway, Finally got back up to The Grabner Farm to pick up stand, backers and trailer today and was fortunate enough to get to speak with Doug. He was still so very pleased how well the event turned out. We have already started hatching plans for the Bickleton AS II. Sorry folks, my  . Can't wait to see that line filled with excited shooters again.

[GoldFish]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this up, but driving 40 hours to get home and dealing with a host of other things just takes it out of ya.
Anyway, Wow, just wow!!!

Amazing shoot!  Thanks to all who made it such a GREAT success.  To our hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Grabner, your hospitality.  You certainly spoiled us with your generosity both on the line, by running and getting ANYTHING that anybody asked for, as well as after-hours, with just everthing.  I can't express my thanks enough.
To the Reformed Redneck crew, thank you all so much for putting us up for those couple of nights before the shoot.  Meeting those of you that I hadn't yet was great, and seeing you ladies again was a real priviledge.  Those were some of the best (and yes, craziest and funniest) days of my life.  I now know why so many instructors like sneaking out there whenever they can.

Thanks to all the shooters for coming out to this one-of-a-kind event!  I'm pretty sure there will be nothing like it again. 
Congrats to all the Riflemen.
To those who just aren't quite at that 210 mark, PERSIST!  You can and will get there if you try...and try again.
Sparkss, it was a real pleasure meeting you and helpig you improve your shooting...LEFT-HANDED!!!   You know, you'd look real snazzy in an orange hat with the letters "RWVA" on the front; better yet, you'd look REALLY snazzy in a RED hat.   Just sayin'...

It was absolutely fabulous meeting some of the fantastic instructors from the Great Northwest.  Brian, Washington is in good hands; based on what I saw this weekend, you'll do great job. 
Earl, it was great meeting and talking with you; I truly hope to do it again.  You're a man with valuable thoughts and insight that I would love to tap into.  Oh, and thanks for the advice with regard to two Idaho instructors: (Yes, Heather , yes Leslie )
Western Rose, thanks for showing me the ropes and prepping me for that crimson cap.

Nurse Ratchett, I can't say thank you enough to you for putting up with me for 2 whole weeks and dragging me along with you; if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten to experience any of this.  'Thank you' just isn't enough...


Wow, seems like a lot longer than a week ago that I left the West; so uh, Nurse, since you just your RH, don't you need to go BACK out there and show it off?   I'm pretty sure they going to need you out there again soon...isn't that right instructors?

So many amazing memories.

I don't think leaving any place was ever so hard...

...sooooo, let's do it again next week!



---GF


 

[Shutterbug]

I had the privilege of attending this Appleseed, and all I can say is, wow!

Huge thank you's to everyone involved--Grabners, instructors, shooters--for making this such a terrific shoot, and special thanks to Nurse Ratchett for letting me come along and to the Reformed Redneck family for an absolutely wonderful time "out West." 

~Shutterbug

[TruTenacity]

Who could ever sleep on the job at an Appleseed!  I was just posing.     Really.

What an event!  What a line!  What a great bunch of shooters!

Tim, thanks for filling up the right side of the line with your employees.  They sure looked snazzy in the hats you gave them.  They were a great group of folks to instruct.

Tony and Nora, wonderful couple, good listeners, and persistent at applying what they were taught.  I hope to see you on the line again to see how much your dry-firing has helped.

Amy, you and your sisters are always a hoot to have on the line.

Ken, you're almost there.

Youth, thank you for taking your heritage seriously and understanding the need to become Rifleman.  Remember, it isn't just about the score; it is about character and waking America up.  Blaze the way for your generation and make our Founding Fathers proud.

All attendees, thanks for giving us your weekend to instruct you on rifle marksmanship and to remind you of our heritage.  It looks like 06en and the Grabner's have something up their sleeves for a future event.  Keep your eye on the schedule and sign up again once the event is posted.

All instructors, job well done.

Doug and Helen, thank you for all the time and energy you put into making our stay comfortable and the event a success.  Your generosity is to be applauded and exemplified.

Ohio friends, I can't thank you enough for making the trek out to the Redneck Manor.  Your stay with us was timely, your support a great help, your laughter a balm to our souls, and your friendship a blessing.  Our home is always open to you.

Julia, are you sure you didn't leave something behind that you can't live without and thus you need to come back and retrieve it?  If not, well then ...  I think your Red Hat needs a bit of Idaho and Washington Appleseed trail dirt on it.  Don't you?  When you return make sure you convince Goldfish and Shutterbug to come on out with you ya' hear?

[Shutterbug]

More pictures...

[Shutterbug]

Last few...

If you want to see more, I uploaded all the pictures I took to a photobucket album that you're more than welcome to view.  The link is http://photobucket.com/bickleton4-11 and the album password (if you need it) is bickleton.  Enjoy! 

[GoldFish]

Thanks for all those pics, Shutterbug!

Julia, are you sure you didn't leave something behind that you can't live without and thus you need to come back and retrieve it?  If not, well then ...  I think your Red Hat needs a bit of Idaho and Washington Appleseed trail dirt on it.  Don't you?  When you return make sure you convince Goldfish and Shutterbug to come on out with you ya' hear?

Yeah, exactly, what you said!  I'm pretty sure she did leave something back in Idaho.  And uh, I could probably, just maybe, get something that she really DOES need and can't be without, and ship it out to Idaho with instructions to NOT SHIP IT BACK.  Nurse would HAVE to go out there and get it in person...with a stow-away or two traveling with her.

[Roland]

Let me know if that happens. Cause there's one Idaho junior instructor not in that pic .

[GoldFish]

Let me know if that happens. Cause there's one Idaho junior instructor not in that pic .

Will do, Roland.   I wish you could've been in this one.  Oh well, I guess I've gotta get back out there for yet another reason.  Like I mind that...