Castle Rock WA July 2nd / 3rd

[Wade]

Well how did it go ? I did not ( once again ) get to be home for a shoot there  but I was with you in spirt on the firing line in CO with another Instructor .

Wade

[Joni]

Hey Wade, we sure did miss you!!
The weather was so fine! both days even! and there was a great group, all prepared to come and just get it done! Three people, one being a 17 yr. old who had never been to an Appleseed, shot their scores and got their patches!
Congratulations to Anonymous, Carey and George, you were great! and Congratulations to all of you who got so close! we will see you in a month or two!
I will get a few pics of the event posted soon.

[Joni]

Here are a few pics, please feel free to take any of them you would like.

[Joni]

Oops, lets try that again!

[Joni]

OK, just need to know why I am not able to post more then one pic at a time!

[Joni]

One more time! lol

[Joni]

More pics!

[teamnoir]

It was a bit warm on Saturday but much nicer Sunday morning.  I had to leave around lunch to catch my flight home so I only got in 1 aqt on Saturday, (to be expected), and 1 more on Sunday, but overall it was pretty good.

Nice to meet you all!

And thanks, Wade, for sculpting the range.  My greener thanks is in the can on the counter.

My personal takeaways this time, (my second appleseed):

* I suck with Ruger 10/22 factory sights, (I have a set of Tech, need to get them installed), scored 77 on first aqt with it.

* I _will_ be able to shoot rifleman with a bolt gun with a little more practice on bolt and mags.  (scored 156 with a scoped Marlin 917, .17 HMR bolt gun).

* I currently shoot better prone if I ignore about half of the recommendations.  But I'm weird.

[lumberjack55]

Yep, a good shoot, and we actually got a FOURTH! rifleman late in the day sunday, on the very last AQT!  So 4 out of a total of 31-ish, ain't too bad, and several folks who had never really shot much gained a tremendous amount of skill and will be back in the future.

[Fish Slayer]

Thanks for posting the photo's Joni and Thanks Wade and your family for hosting the shoot and camping.  My son and I had a great time and learned a lot about shooting and our heritage. 

I have to brag a little on my son.  He was the 17 year old that earned his Rifleman patch.  Not only was it his first Appleseed, it was the first time he had shot with a sling AND he was shooting a bolt action gun!  I did not score nearly as well as he did.

My "lessons learned" are that I should have listened to the on line advice and stretched out more and practiced getting into the positions, especially prone.  My prone groupings started out OK, but got worse and worse as it got more uncomfortable to hold the prone position... I have something to work on before my next Appleseed. 

Things that I got right are that I got my new rifle set up with peep sights and shot it a few times to make sure it functioned and got it sighted in (fairly close) before the clinic.  Brought plenty of water, snacks, a pad to shoot from, elbow pads,  proper sling and proper clothing and sunscreen.

I also knew that my son and I would be at a disadvantage shooting bolt guns ( I even bought one of these guns for this event), but that is what I wanted so that is what I bought.  We went with the attitude that we were there to learn, not win some kind of contest and that is what we did.  I guess my son is a faster learner than I am though....

And thanks to the entire staff for a great weekend.

[Scramblin]

Wade -ya missed a good one. Weather was beautiful for the shoot ( and the 4th).    thanks for the hospitality.

Shooters- you all performed well and with no real saftey issues. Thanks. You Ll brought teachable attitudes and were willing to try new things. You got the basics, now dry fire dry fire dry fire. Practiced positions get perfect.  The average Rifleman is completed at the 3rd Appleseed. Persistence.

See you all on the trail.

Brian

[George Hacker]

Thank you RL and orange hats for a great weekend.  I am the fellow who shot all my prone positions sitting because of muscle spasms in my back.  You guys (and gal) were great!

Scramblin, it was a treat shooting next to your parents.  Your mother was a complete novice on Saturday morning but had progressed so much by Saturday evening.  She was an inspiration to watch and I can honestly say I felt safe around her because of the Appleseed emphasis on safety and her willingness to apply what she learned.  Best wishes on your library presentation in the People's Republic of King County. ;-)

Perhaps we will meet again.  I'd like to help carry on the rifleman legacy by teaching others (in time of course).

- George