AAR: Ottawa, IL April 16-17

[Gumballhead]

Welcome to Ottawa, where it's always sunny and dry!   

We had a bit of a wet start to the day on Saturday, and three eager shooters on the line.  Mike at 13 was able to keep up with us all weekend long, and showed the true perseverance of a rifleman.  Aaron, a recent attendee from Bonfield the weekend before (taking FULL advantage of his shiny new Rifleman Opportunity Card) came back for some more punishment...er instruction and honed his skills!  We were also joined by Harry (proud owner of a new ROC), attending his first Appleseed. 

Shortly before we got to our redcoat, the rain and drizzle backed off, and we began to dry up.  However this was short lived, as the winds picked up, and the temperature began to fall.  We quickly moved through our SHF, 6 Steps, and some squares, ending with IMC before lunch.  We all gathered around under the canopy for a telling of the tale of Paul Revere's Ride.  Just as things began to look pretty grim for Mr. Revere in the story, our fates took a similar twist as the winds picked up, the COLD rain fell, then it changed into SNOW!     now I had placed an order specifically for sunshine and warm weather.  I do not know what happened!!    A HUGE thank you to Pappy and his canopy.  Without it, we certainly would have had a much wetter time, and not nearly as much fun!  After lunch, we continued on with the spirit of our forefathers keeping us warm.  We proudly participated in the nationwide volley, and before we knew it, the end of the day was upon us!  We had time for one AQT before the range began to close up shop. 

Bright and early Sunday, we saw everyone return (except Harry, who could only make it for Saturday).  However, Missouri Brigade came up to join us, and in true 7th stepping fashion, brought someone with him!      We welcomed Trenton to our line, and quickly got things rolling again.  Sunday saw significantly improved weather conditions, and some sun.  This really helped raise everyone's spirits, and we began to see the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.  AQT's were posted, and we began the grind.  Although we did not have any riflemen this time, everyone made significant improvement in their skill sets, and learned about our heritage! 

Another shoot in the books at Ottawa.  Thank you to Buffalo Rock Range for hosting our event, and thank you shooters for coming out to see us.  Thank you to my fellow instructors, M1D, Pappy, and Missouri Brigade.  Now I see why shoot bossing is made easy.  Great instructors to help share the burden! 

I hope to see you all again soon!

[Garand69]

Great first shoot GBH  Horizontal rain/sleet/snow with temps in the forties can really dampen spirits... I'm glad you had nearly all return after such fun, it is a testament to how well Saturday went, great work!   

Hopefully the new "Free Membership" for Ottawa Shooters as well as the ROC Program will fill the place up on May 1!!!!!

[hviper]

This was my 1st Appleseed shoot and definitely not my last. I had a great time and would like to thank the instructors for their great instruction on the firing line and their knowledge of our nations history 

See ya soon
Harry

[Gopher Boy]

What....  It rains in Ottawa...  No Never...  Its forbidden...   

Sounds like a great shoot.  Looking forward to working with for you. 

G.B.

[Gumballhead]

I forgot to add one of my favorite moments of this weekend.  At the end of the day, after the last red coat was fired upon, Missouri Brigade approached our young shooter Mike, and asked him a simple question. 

Would he like to shoot an AR15 at that there red coat?  Boy howdy!  He sure did light up at that question.  After a quick conversation with mom to make sure there were no objections, Steve prepped a mag with 20 rounds, and gave Mike a brief safety review of the rifle and its features.  As soon as he was ready, he got slung up, assumed the prone position, remembering to pay attention to his steady hold factors, and found his NPOA.  Then it began:
bang.......................bang.............bang.........bang......bang...bang..bang.bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang click.

The cadence quickly shortened from our practiced rifleman's cadence to that of one enthusiastic young patriot!  I will never forget the look on his face, and the suggestion he had in the parking lot as to what he would ask for for his birthday! 

Thanks again for coming out guys, you're the reason I keep doing this!

[Garand69]

LOL! Great addition to the Story 

Hope we see you all on the line again!!

[Boba Fett]

Are you sure it wasn't bang.......................bang.............bang.........bang......bang...bang..bang.bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick...........  Oh Man! 


Boba

PS. Good Job Gumballhead!  Welcome to the ranks of Shoot Boss and all the extra abuse it entails. 

[Pappy]

Hello Group; This Ottawa shoot was not just another rainy day at the range... It was a true character builder for all involved....
Harry, Aaron, & Mike, all delt with conditions well as they could with the gear they had. Sunday showed some improvement in the weather and we did see the sun once I think.
Gumballhead runs a great shoot.
Mike is a returning Appleseeder, seems his grades kept him away last year--- With better grades many closed doors became open again.... Funny how that works. Pappy