Rainbow CA AAR, April 16th &17th 2011

[4Posterity]

What a weekend!  The wonderful folks at the Rainbow Range again hosted us for a sold-out Appleseed event right in time for the start of summer, or at least it felt that way.  Saturday morning dawned clear and breezy and soon turned into a toasty day.  By early afternoon it was right at 100 degrees out, with a warm/dry Santa Ana wind adding to the fun. 

Once again we had a sold-out event, and the line was packed with 19 shooters on Saturday.  In addition to our normal program of Heritage and Marksmanship we celebrated the 236th Anniversary of the Battles at Lexington and Concord, and honored our forefathers with some special history and the student's participation in the Volley for Liberty right at the appointed hour.  There were a few with misty eyes by the end of the Volley, including several members of the instructor corp.

The afternoon went by quickly, and we sent the students home to cool down and re-hydrate sensing that they all left "wanting more" on Sunday.

Sunday morning was bright and clear, but a little less breezy and a tad cooler than the day before.  As has become the norm at Rainbow all of our students returned, and we again had a very full line of eager shooters.  We saw a lot of progress, and a lot of students shooting their personal best throughout the day.   We added to the growing list of California Riflemen, as well as adding a new member to our ever-growing family of Orange Hats.

There is a lot more to tell, and some excellent images to post, but it is late so stay tuned for more tomorrow.

4Posterity

[StormN]

Thanks to all that attended and despite the heat stuck it out and returned Sunday. Congratulations to the new Riflemen and a special Great Job !!! to my son Zach. Your persistence paid off.

[passinthru]

MARK, Congratulations on a great shoot!, 
NORM, Thanks for posting up some good pictures, I see JACKIE in there too.
Welcome to the new Riflemen, and kudos for the PERSISTENT shooters.
I'm still sleep deprived from attending my 50th High School Reunion in L.A., sorry I missed it............................................steve

[V]

Hey Zach,

Great to hear you finally got that patch! Persistence pays off. Look forward to seeing your whole family on the trail again in the future.

Cheers
V

[asahrts]

Thank you again to all of the wonderful instructors that made this shoot so fun.  I greatly appreciate the time, energy, money, etc. that you all dedicate to the program & instruction.  It was a wonderful day & I'm thrilled that I have my patch!     

I look forward to seeing you all at shoots in the future!

Sincerely,
Asa

[Johnnyappleseed]

This Patriots weekend was very special  .
Many Thank's to Debbie and the staff at Rainbow range , You folks are great .

I sure enjoyed meeting all the new Riflemen and every attendee. Each of you has as SB 4 Posterity said
"The Heart of a Rifleman" I expect to see everyone of you at future events . Each of you has a RM designation waiting for you 

Congratulations to Zach , Asa , Aimee and Micheal C .  for achieving  Rifleman.
Welcome aboard Zach as our newest IIT ^5
JA

[22calgal]

Congrats to our new Rifleman and especially to ZACH, our new orange hat.  What a wonderful, caring, persistent, fun and dedicated bunch of people to spend the weekend with.  The shooters were a family for the 2 days, and I am honored to be a part of it.  I know our fore fathers and fore mothers are happy with our work.  Thanks to everyone, shooters and instructors!  I had laryngitis on Saturday and the shooters were kind enough to circle up close enough to hear me anyway.  It was magic and wonderful.  Let's do this again!



22calgal

[Justin]

 Although I was only there for Sunday, it was a great time with some very impressive shooters. Congratulations to all of you for coming out!  I really enjoy seeing some of the repeat attendees, it is becoming very family like. Congratulations to our new Riflemen! Scoring the 210+ is a good step in a very long journey.

Zach! Congratulations on the score and on the hat!


I hope everyone had as great of a Sunday as I did!

[4Posterity]

Last weekend's Appleseed Event at Rainbow was outstanding in many ways.  We had a wide variety of folks on the line, everything from those with extensive military training to those who really had never fired a rifle before.  We had father-daughter, father-son, brothers, husband-wife, uncle-nephew and full-family units at the event, as well as a couple of people who came out solo and just made friends with whoever was there.  We had some students returning for second, third, and even ninth Appleseed Event, and some out for the first time.

The instructor group for this event included JohnnyAppleseed, 22calgal, Stormn and Justin.  Justin wins the prize for the most travel for an event, having left Oceanside Friday to Shoot Boss a one-day event in Santa Barbara, and then driving back home to make it out to Rainbow on Sunday.  This was a strong group of instructors which was reflected in the progress made by the students across the board.

As this was the weekend closest to the 19th of April, we had a special format honoring our forefathers involved in the battles of Lexington and Concord and the Redcoat retreat back to Boston.  After lunch and the story of the Three Strikes we participated in the nation-wide "Volley for Liberty".  I can tell you that we had a lot of well-ventilated RedCoat targets at the end of the Volley.

Saturday afternoon saw a lot of progress by our students, and the Red AQT at the end of the day told us that we had several folks who would be knocking on the rifleman's door Sunday.

In spite of the wind and heat Saturday we had the full crowd return for day two on Sunday.  After some quick review of the basics and some sighting-in work on a couple of rifles, we rolled right into the first AQTs of the day. 

Lunch meant a break from the sun, plus stories of a few Dangerous Old Men, Liberties Daughters, and 22calgal's rendition of the Wedding that Never Was.  JohnnyAppleseed had his deck of storytelling playing cards, and he managed to convince most everyone to take their turn in front of the crowd reading the story of one of the heroes of April 19th, 1775.

We saw a lot of progress Sunday afternoon with several students steadily improving and clearly headed towards their Rifleman's Qualification. 

A special thanks to Mike, the recruiting champ for this event.  Mike was out for his third Rainbow Event with John and Jessica, and this time he brought his extended family including Chuy, Anthony and Andrew.  What a great family.  Andrew soaked up the instruction and was showing nearly perfect body position by the end of the weekend.  Anthony had equally good form, and appears to be a natural teacher and future Orange-Hat as we often saw him coaching his fellow students.  Jessica had the perpetual smile and soaked up every bit of instruction given.  Hope to see you all back at the next event.

Stephan brought Christine out for her first Appleseed, and by all appearances she learned a great deal, made great progress, and had an equally good time.

Joe and Brandon quietly persisted through the weekend, overcoming some new-equipment issues and starting to find their groove by Sunday afternoon.  Joe is looking to improve their rifles to true "LTR" status, and said that they would be back for another go at a future event.  I hope I am working that event as I very much enjoyed their quiet enthusiasm and persistence.

Jeff brought daughters Lilah and Daphne out on Saturday and Sunday respectively, and looked to have had a great time coaching and assisting them on the line.  Some day he might even actually come out and shoot an event himself, but it sure is great to see a dad devoting so much attention to his daughters.

Deby was back and ready to go, shooting consistent 3 MOA groups by Saturday afternoon and clearly headed for qualification.  Then, the dreaded equipment gremlins struck, and in spite of the best efforts of everyone present we could not get her scope to hold alignment.  Sigh.  A rifleman persists and Deby is already planning her new rifle set-up and will be back to exorcise the gremlins at another event.  And a very special thanks to Deby and her brother Tom, co-owners of the Rainbow Range.  In addition to providing their range facilities to the Appleseed Project on a bi-monthly basis, Saturday morning Deby told us that she and Tom had decided to mirror the Appleseed Program and waive range fees for military, law enforcement, women/girls and all youth participants for events at their facility.  This was more than just a nice gesture as Deby and Tom clearly have the Appleseed Project in their hearts, and see this as a way to honor their father and his legacy as well (a story for another time, but one well worth telling and one that every rifleman and every American should hear).

Stormn's son Zac and wife Sheri were back for another Appleseed with Sheri working the registration table while Zac did his usual excellent job of setting up the firing line, assembling target backers, laying out shooting mats and generally getting everything ready for the event.  We had an Orange Hat reserved for him, and with his Rifleman's Qualification Zac joins his dad and is now our newest California Instructor in Training.  A rifleman persists!

We had the entire Charney family out for their first event.  Michael is a natural and obviously an experienced instructor.  After the first presentation of each round of instruction he could and would recite back verbatim the safety rules, the steady hold factors, or the six-steps when asked.  Lauren was a champ, enduring the heat and sticking it out on the line for the entire weekend.  And then there was Amie.  I don't think I'd ever seen someone so excited at an Appleseed as she was when she shot a perfect score on the last RedCoat of the weekend (yep, one of THREE of our students who cleaned the target!).  But I was wrong, because she was even more excited when we announced that she had scored a 213 and had qualified as a rifleman at her first Appleseed!  Look at the photos and notice that she was still proudly wearing her perfect redcoat as a vest when she sprang up to receive her rifleman's patch (and I do mean sprang).  Michael shot a 216 to qualify as well, and I'm working on him to return for another Appleseed where my plan is to plunk an Orange hat on his head.  Maybe his & hers Orange Hats if we can strong-arm Amie into coming back!

Congratulations to our newest California Riflemen, Asa, Zac, and the husband & wife team of Michael and Amie. 

Another great Appleseed Event, and one that I will never forget.  Thanks to all who participated, especially Deby and Tom for their dedication to the Appleseed Project, and their father Louis.  Semper Fi

[Legacy]

On behalf of L. E. Duncan's Rainbow Shooting Club, thanks to 4Posterity, JohnnyAppleseed, 22calgal, Stormn and Justin for making this past very special Appleseed weekend an awesome success. We are proud to be partnered with the Appleseed Project. Our Dad would love it and I know he was there this past weekend. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't him who was messing with my scope on Sunday... that was his kind of humor...

Looking forward to the first weekend in June!

[Camljr]

WOW!!!  Sounds like a great shoot, and I missed being there... But I had to run the Sunland shoot.

BUT, I know the shooters were in good hands with Mark at the helm and Jackie, Norman, and Justin backing him up. AND they got to have J.A. there too!   

Deb, I bet your dad was the one messing with your scope... Remember...

"That which we attain too easily, we esteem too lightly."

When you get your rifleman score, it will be a meaningful accomplishment you wil not soon forget!

CONGRATS to Zach, who will follow in his Father Norman's footsteps as an instructor...

WOW, what a place.... Somewhere, over the Rainbow.... Range, that is!!!

[Johnnyappleseed]

Welcome to the AS cadre "Mary Poppins"

[SavageShootr]

Sorry I missed it. Had to work. 

Welcome to the Instructor Corps Zach! Congratulations on the score!

The rest will persist. Looking forward to making it out there for an event. Great job Mark!