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AAR Roswell, NM Dec 10-11-2011

Started by oladcock, December 12, 2011, 04:36:43 PM

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oladcock

It was cold...It was wet....It was icy....But they risked life and limb on the slick roads to uphold our heritage. 9 on Saturday and 9 on Sunday with 6 braving both days. Attitudes were great with instructors telling the tales of Valley Forge and bloody foot prints in the snow.

In between shivers Saturday rolled along some very good shooting was developeing. Kara at her second Appleseed was leading the way, after getting her patch back in October came loaded for bear to show us how it was done, ripping out a 220 something on our only AQT of the day. But we had some knocking at the door. The weather man promised Sunday would be better and it was slightly, it got up to 38 instead of 36! :) Wet freezing fog with 3 Sunday only attendees who had been to 2 previous seeds. David Kara's husband soon had a 212 after the morning review, made more impressive that he did so with a bolt gun. Kara kept stringing out one expert score after another with a 244 being her highest! Way to go Kara! O0 Being her second seed she was offered and accepted the Orange Hat, no doubt her talent will help the nation and keep a Rifleman behind every yucca in New Mexico.

Joseph M. was next to step up with a 220 something to earn his patch. This young man will do well but his dad Reynaldo and brother Lucas are not far behind.

Jasper who is 11 years old today showed great progress really tightening his groups over the 2 days.  Heidi, David, Kyle, and Jack with a bit of practice will join the Rifleman ranks.

A huge thank you to all who attended and the great instructor core.  It was a pleasure to be the SB and the one with the honor to present the Red Hat to Appleseed Widow, good job Margie and well deserved. Thank's Kara for taking the Orange Hat and all our IIT's for the great job they did. Photos to follow.....O.L.
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato 400BC

President Roswell Gun Club
AQT 246
WSMR 03-10 ... Sapper Steel
IBC 2018
KD Ft. Bliss Tx. 214  2019
IBC 2021

Roswell, NM
Carlsbad NM
El Paso Tx
Lubbock Tx
New Deal Tx
Levelland Tx
Alamogordo NM
Alburquerque NM
41 Lead Farm Tx

oladcock

The frosty bunch...O.L.

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato 400BC

President Roswell Gun Club
AQT 246
WSMR 03-10 ... Sapper Steel
IBC 2018
KD Ft. Bliss Tx. 214  2019
IBC 2021

Roswell, NM
Carlsbad NM
El Paso Tx
Lubbock Tx
New Deal Tx
Levelland Tx
Alamogordo NM
Alburquerque NM
41 Lead Farm Tx

Jerry Hall

#2
Sounds like another fine Roswell event.
Congratulations to our newest Riflemen: Joseph and David.
Thanks for stepppin up Kara!

MOST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS MARGIE!!!
                   :--- ~~:) :--- ~~:) :---



Thanks to all the Instructors and Shooters for braving the elements in defense of LIBERTY O0  O0  O0

Jerry
"The significant problems we face today cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that we were at when we created them. Albert Einstein."

"One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

DieslPwrd

Thanks O.L. for bossing a great shoot, and for all the learning from example I took in from my red and orange (and orange turned red)-hatted mentors.

Seeing Kara clean the bottom row of the AQT with a perfect score was pretty awesome.  So was seeing Dave show up on day 2 and shoot one silver dollar-size group after another with a bolt gun on his "weak" side.  It seems the dime-sized groups he was shooting Sat. got boring. Always great to be around folks who challenge themselves to be better...that's part of why I love Appleseed.

It was great fun seeing everyone's progress on the line.  It's especially impressive to have seen so many parents get their young ones out to the range in the early morning--er, all day--chill to learn about shooting and the selfless and brave deeds on the part of those Colonists who won the freedom we enjoy today.
Being born free is a privilege. Living free is an honor. Dying free is a responsibility. - LTC David Grossman

Justin

#4
Incredible! I have been saying this to myself for the last 5 minutes as I read this AAR. A mid 240's Rifleman score! Incredible! I want to drive out from California and attend a shootT to shake your hand!

Showing up Sunday and deciding to shoot weak side. I feel a kinship! Always taking the next step, always challenging yourself, always looking for what is next. And all the other rifleman.

If this is representative of New Mexico, I NEED to come to New Mexico. All of this while shivering in the freezing temps. The spirit of America and the founders lives in your hearts, and it makes me proud to know such individuals are out there. I am convinced every person who showed up to this event has the heart of a Rifleman!
"Le médiocrité est l'ennemi de la parfaite." -

"We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them" - Abigail Adams

California Appleseed
http://www.facebook.com/pages/California-Appleseed/203137793037851

Jimi

Morning folks, well, as some know, unless I am starting the AAR I like to wait a couple of days and see what others are saying before I post.

Awesome would be an understatement. Here in the southern part of NM we are blessed to have all extreams of weather. From single digit temps shoots, to triple digit temps, rare calm wind days to those that the target line is hard to see due to the dirt and dust blowing across, (those where the riflemans dance becomes a jitter bug competition). No matter the conditions, we here in the instructor Cadre are bless to see "Rifleman and Riflewomen" emerge. Not with squeaky 210/ 211 scores, but hammering the AQT.

How about a first AQT with a 239 from a tube fed lever gun? A 208 with an 11 YO and a Cricket? We here are blessed in Southern NM and West Texas with a high caliber group of Americans willing to listen, learn and repeat new skills without complaint in any weather.

As Eve said, Kara and David show not only dedication to skill, but as a husband and wife team, could you imagine the additions to the instructor corp as a team? Strong side, weak side, makes no difference, just do it with style and dedication.

Josh refused to let up and get discourage with a slow start due to equipment problems, then simply buckled down and did it. We had a young lady named Heidie that started off Saturday with a rifle that refused to coperate and was the poster child of frustration. She held out with the cold damp conditions, kept a smile on her face and continued to not only improve, but excel in her efforts. I suspect the next seed she attends she will hammer the AQT as well.

It is always a great pleasure for me to spend a weekend with such folks, watch them digest the information from the 3 strikes and DOM and occasionally get those tears and contemplative looks that show that they not only are listening, but understanding the price paid so long ago.

Again, great weekend, great folks, and a fantastic instructor Cadre that I would put up against ANY challenge made.

Thanks to everyone for standing tall through interesting weather and prevailing against adversity and stepping up ti the challenge.

Always in your service,
Jimi
Jimi AKA Desert Eagle
100% USCG Vet ITWPATWT

Strawberry Roan

Whoohoo! ^:)^  Congratulations Margie!  A red hat earned long ago, yet accepted only at your high standards for yourself!  Congratulations to Kara for her orange hat and showing us how it's done on the firing line, truly "shoot like a girl if you can"!  :)  Awesome job for our new riflemen and those knocking on that door in winterseed conditions.  Brings back fond memories of my Rifleman seed! lol  Hated that I couldn't be there, but enjoying the vicarious living through the posts.  Shoot some more for me!  ;)

TaosGlock

89 fantastic Appleseeds since 2008/24 Libertyseeds!
Adventure Camp Director/Current Lead Rifle Instructor: NRA WC Raton,NM
New Mexico's first Rifleman: Sept. 2008 NRAWC
Their walls are filled with cannonballs, their motto is don't tread on me-Grateful Dead
Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. It is a man of war and we are all crew-Boston T. Party
"Make no mistake, when you cheer for the people of the American Revolution, you are cheering for traitors and criminals.
They broke the law, because liberty is always illegal"- Larken Rose

5sfsniper

OL,

Thanks to you and your staff.  I want to compliment your Instructors.  First I would like to give a little background to validate my comments.  I am a senior firearms instructor in an advanced firearms programs branch, and have taught military and civilian students and instructors to teach in marksmanship, tactics, close quarters battle, and advanced level sniper training in the civilian world and in Special Forces for a number of years.  I worked on two different military training centers totaling 11 years and one civilian gov training center for 10 years.  I said that to validate my comments coming from my experience, and to compliment your staff as being well qualified and impressive professionals.

Your staff (please forgive me if I botch the spelling of a name or forget one)...Milt, Margie, Jimi, Eve, and Archie did an excellent job.

One of the things I want to compliment everyone on is the ability to assess a shooter both from the perspective of target feedback and the shooter from the angle of the shooter's application of fundamental shooting principles...combining the two and having the ability to meet the shooter in his or her method of learning.  That is impressive.  I teach that and it can be said that it is both a science of practical application and an art of having really good people skills...Good job

I would like to comment on safety.  Everyone seemed very safety oriented.  I watched as instructors were asked to watch the line for a minute while the boss engaged momentarily in something.  For example Eve centered herself on the range on more than one occasion where she could see all guns across the line with the chamber flags and would not take her eyes off of them and continued to scan the line aggressively.  I also observed her shoot and very well which is the mark of a great instructor...You have to be able to do what you teach...or the troops won't follow you. 

Milt spent a lot of time working with my two kids.  He demonstrated in depth technical knowledge and had a unique way of presenting it with the needed encouragement for the shooter to make their correction and improve. I mentioned to him that my kids had decided the sling was not really helping them.  I spent some time reinforcing the instruction you gave by telling them stories where as a sniper I used slings in a lot of ways to steady the shot.  Then I told Milt and he really did an excellent job of reiterating the need for the sling and the fundamentals of its use.  Between Milt and OL I saw my kids come back in alignment with fundamental sling employment.  You know sometimes unless they see it in a heated situation, and clearly see it work; they have to hear it from someone other than Dad...

Archie seemed like the quiet professional who was busily moving around fixing the doctor's boy's guns, and taking much care and heart to ensure they were fixed, safe, and having a great time.  Hats off to you brother.

Jimi and Margie not only showed excellent expertise in coaching teaching and mentoring the shooters, but seemed to have vast knowledge of our history as a nation.  The stories were captivating even in the cold and seemed to keep everyone on the edge of their seat in anticipation.

Lastly I will compliment OL on leadership during the event and organizational skills to handle pulling the staff together and leading through with the distraction of the elements.

I know my kids will have a lasting impression of what a good time that had.  They also will remember the heart that you all put into the program and into them as an individual shooter.  I feel this is truly a great program.  My kids do pistol shooting and tactical rifle and pistol shooting as a hobby, and they hunt.  I know they will want to come spend time with you all again.

Thank you,

Matt Wade

"The two new Lieutenants will keep their mouth shut except to ask questions of the Platoon Sergeant..."LTC Hal Moore