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AAR Dundee MI July 2-3, 2011

Started by Miki, July 04, 2011, 01:14:20 PM

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Miki

What a great way to start off the long 4th of July weekend! Sharing marksmanship and heritage with 22 persistent shooters (including TEN junior shooters) and 15 instructors from 4 states! Despite the record-breaking temperature (it was 99 degrees Saturday which broke a hundred year old record of 98) no one melted. Everyone present did a great job of keeping an eye out to make sure their 'new friends' were staying hydrated.

The students took well to the instruction and groups made quick improvement. By lunchtime we were all ready for a break in the air-conditioned clubhouse. While we munched (a big thank you to the Dundee Sportsman's Club's kitchen crew, we had a wide variety of tasty choices cooked to order for lunch) we listened to prelims and 1st strike. Then it was back out into the stifling heat for more shooting.

Groups continued to improve all afternoon. We took an afternoon break for 2nd strike and ended the day listening to 3rd strike. This was an attentive group of shooters who listened and asked thoughtful questions.

Overnight some really nasty storms blew through SE Michigan. What do I mean by really nasty...well, TWO inch hail with 64 mph wind gusts with heavy rain that knocked out power to about 150,000 in SE Michigan...where's the range...about 18 miles south of what was 'ground zero' for the nastiest storm cells.

Expecting the worst and wanting time to get things ship shape before the shooters arrived I got to the range EARLY Sunday morning. I was extremely pleased to find we had battened down the hatches well before we left Saturday and we were good to go.

Shooters arrived in good spirits and ready to 'rock and roll'. On the first AQT of the day, Emily, a repeat Appleseeder informed us she was going into the 'Rifleman's bubble'. Not wanting to burst her bubble an IIT (thanks Bill Winkle) had the great idea to make her nametag "Busy Bubbling", so she wouldn't be disturbed. It worked and junior shooter Emily scored 215 on the AQT to earn her rifleman patch!  Huzzah!

Sunday was a mosaic of Red Coats, carding the sights, ball and dummy, AQTs, DOMs, a KD lesson and a fun game of 'Parker's Revenge'. I was sad when our time came to part. There are a number of shooters 'knocking on' that rifleman door. Be persistent, you'll get it! This was a great weekend with a great group of people. It was my honor to meet you and have the opportunity to work with you. I hope to see you all again soon.

Dundee Sportsman's Club is a first class facility and I thank them for hosting Appleseed! Special thanks to Dennis our local BOTG for all the hard work you do to make Appleseed happen at this range!

Please post your thoughts and pics.

Respectfully,

Miki


JDL

This was my first Appleseed. 
I really enjoyed the whole event and am thankful to have taken part.  I was glad to actually get proper instruction on rifle shooting.  Now practicing with a sling in my basement actually means something! 
Thank you to all the instructors who gave of their time and talents to make this happen.

John

techres

What a great weekend!  What a great group of Americans come together for both history and marksmanship.  What a group of troopers who stuck it out in some really impressive heat.

And none quit, and none dropped out.  That is impressive.

Now for a bunch of pictures!
































Appleseed: Bringing the Past into the Present to save our Future.

Evenstar

OK, I just had to say that I LOVE how Tech's cricket fits WR really well. **) ^-^ ;)

Quote from: techres on July 04, 2011, 11:25:10 PM

'Pictures... or it didn't happen!' &)

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Grindstone

A great shoot, because it was a great bunch of shooters and instructors.

I posted my pictures here:
http://s1116.photobucket.com/albums/k576/Qn2m7g4DE/Appleseed/Dundee%202011_07_03/

A few favorites:












JDL

Hey, I didn't know someone brought a Dragunov!   Looks like a real one too....     :'(

techres

Quote from: JDL on July 05, 2011, 09:55:43 AM
Hey, I didn't know someone brought a Dragunov!   Looks like a real one too....     :'(

It is the real deal.  Reporter brought it on day two.  Turns out our visitor was/is "former SpetsNaz soldier Marco Vorobiev, who served in Afghanistan in the 80s. Marco served both in a sniper unit as well as in assault battalion."  I did not know the name until I did some research yesterday.

He said it took him 8 years to get that rifle because he wanted the paratrooper configuration and to his knowledge it is the only one in the country. 

The best part is that he did not want to leave until BeeFree and I sat him down and did all 3 strikes for him.  He gets the point.

Article should come out in November timeframe.

In any event, it proves that you never know who you will meet at a shoot and how kind they always are.

He did not even blink when I plopped it down on my shooting mat for a pic:



;D
Appleseed: Bringing the Past into the Present to save our Future.

TheIronMantis

PEEP PEEP, aren't you a Useful Engine! :)

JDL

Quote from: techres on July 05, 2011, 10:35:22 AM
Quote from: JDL on July 05, 2011, 09:55:43 AM
Hey, I didn't know someone brought a Dragunov!   Looks like a real one too....     :'(

It is the real deal.  Reporter brought it on day two. 

Man O' man I wish I would've seen that when I was there  :wb: .  All I've ever seen in person are the PSL/Romak-3s/whatever-people-are-currently-calling-them.....
Oh well.... perhaps another time....

Gnivag

A big Thank You to all the Red and Orange hats, great instruction, fun atmosphere and very interesting story telling.  The family atmosphere with stories and skill learning reminded me a lot of my time in boyscouts.  Thank you to the range and all the other first timers.  I thought I was a decent shot before I came out.  Now I know what it takes to become a good shot.  I'll be back for my rifleman patch.

Gavin

Swamp Thing

Wow! Thanks Gavin. Your commentary on the weekend sums up exactly what Appleseed is all about. As for that rifleman patch, you're already well on your way. One of the rifleman's biggest assets is persistance, and you've shown it. Best of luck, and hope to see you and all the other shooters back on the firing line sometime soon.


Quote from: Gnivag on July 05, 2011, 09:12:18 PM
A big Thank You to all the Red and Orange hats, great instruction, fun atmosphere and very interesting story telling.  The family atmosphere with stories and skill learning reminded me a lot of my time in boyscouts.  Thank you to the range and all the other first timers.  I thought I was a decent shot before I came out.  Now I know what it takes to become a good shot.  I'll be back for my rifleman patch.

Gavin

Miki

John and Gavin,

Thanks for the kind words. I was a pleasure having you both on the line. I look forward to seeing you with that rifleman patch in your hand!

Miki

Western Rose

A huge thank you to the shooters who came out and braved the heat for this Appleseed.

To the instructors, it was an honor to meet you all and have a chance to work with you. Hopefully I'll see you all on the trail again someday.

And now for some pictures...

During the safety briefing


Group instruction


Green Light teaching the Six Steps



More group instruction


Fixing the wire during Talking Targets



BeeFree telling an Intro


The seated position


Bill Winkle telling the Second Strike


RedNeckEng teaching standing with BeeFree being the super model


Lyberty telling the Third Strike

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Roland

Wow... an SVDS. I didn't know there were ANY in this country. Lucky Techres!

Roland
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