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Sunland, CA - Dec 17-18, 2011

Started by Mr Pete, December 19, 2011, 01:20:34 AM

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Mr Pete

In spite of the ominous threatening clouds we had 3 show ups on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Bizarre weather; cold, drizzly, sunny, cold, drizzly.  I'll kick this off and hope that Savage and our students post.

SavageShootr and I tag teamed this one welcoming BuckleNose, fouber and Jon to the line.  BuckleNose and fouber are persistent ones.  Veterans of the Corona210 I remember them well and was glad to see them.  Jon was new and basically unboxing his rifle.

Savage did Saturday so I'll let her post before I finish up with the Sunday report...intentional cliffhanger!

-Peter
"You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need." – Jerry Gillies

SavageShootr

Thank You MrPete!

I arrived Saturday morning to plenty of wind (the rain held off for the most part until much later).

BuckleNose and Fouber arrived and helped get the line set up. Thank You both for all the help. Appleseeders are fabulous people! We had a new Appleseeder, Jon, arrive shortly after that. Thanks to all of you for coming out and spending your Saturday with me. I know you all had something else you could have been doing, yet you chose to get off the couch and come to Appleseed.

Thank You to Angeles Shooting Range for hosting us and all you do to help.

MrPete arrived from San Diego to help out just as we were wrapping up lunch. This allowed us to mix things up a bit. Thank You, again, MrPete!

"Listen to everyone, read everything, and don't believe anything unless you can prove it."' B.C.
"It isn't like it is life or death...it is more important than that." MrPete

Mr Pete

...When last we left our heroes it was Sunday in Sunland.

Sunday AM Redcoats =
one at 200

With only two it was clinic day.  Jon's first Appleseed was definitely drinking from the firehose!  BuckleNose was hot on the heels of that patch and shooting that 4MOA.  I can't say rare form since he was always shooting well.  Even after a 3 month break previous Appleseeds had pounded in those good habits.

At lunch we saw friends gratefuldog and SavageShootr.  Because the group was so small it was just a round table discussion of Liberty, our history and what makes a hero.

I hope Jon doesn't mind me saying he had quite a bit of trouble.  New rifle with many options led to many different issues.  Groups ranged from 20MOA to 8MOA back to 20...up and down all day.  We pulled out every trick in the book.  In a fantastic show of teamwork BuckleNose set aside his rifle (with that patch almost within grasp) and helped me double team Jon for a good part of the day.  In the final shots of the day Jon had a 2MOA ball and dummy then shot a 3MOA group on his own.  Congratulations to Jon on all that hard work!

On a stage of the AQT BuckleNose shanked two shots (two complete misses).  At first he was frustrated, but I quoted fouber (his wife) "A rifleman only worries about the shot he is about to make".  BuckleNose shook it off, relaxed and got back down to business.  On that AQT he shot a 223 earning him his patch.

Final Redcoats =
one at 100
one cleared!

I don't usually get choked up but at the presentation I did.  I told BuckleNose, sure it is just a patch but while earning it I saw his character.  Someone who was willing to help others in spite of his personal goals.  Someone who shakes off personal disappointment and persisted without looking back.  A loving husband and a good man, a Rifleman in every sense. 

Thanks to SavageShootr for asking me to help out.  I enjoyed working with friends and meeting new people.

I can't think of a better way to end my Appleseed year and no I still can't believe I get to do this.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
-Peter
"You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need." – Jerry Gillies

SavageShootr

Gosh MrPete I don't normally get choked up reading these things but I sure did just now.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! BuckleNose!!! Fouber must be so proud of you. We instructors all knew it was a matter of when, not if, with your scoring Rifleman. Way to go. Thanks for helping out Jon too. Got those instructor ways about you.

Congratualtions John for persisting through all your equipment issues to have a better day. We look forward to seeing you again at another event.
"Listen to everyone, read everything, and don't believe anything unless you can prove it."' B.C.
"It isn't like it is life or death...it is more important than that." MrPete

BuckleNose

Thank you both for the kind words and the invaluable instruction and encouragement.  Yes I finally 'made it' and received  my patch.  It's been a long and enjoyable 6 months since June and our first Appleseed and lucky #4 was the Appleseed for me.  We still need to help my wife (Fouber) and son, Mac to get their patches.
I guess the question is now where do I go from here?
BuckleNose

Rocket Man

Hey David!  I knew you'd make it!   ..:..  Nice score, too...

Sometimes when you talk to a fellow, you see a certain look in the eye...  the look that says "I'm going to get this done, period.  This is important."  And you know it may not come easily, but it will get done.  Congratulations!
... if ever a mistaken complaisance leads them to sacrifice their privileges, or the well-meaning assertors of them, they will deserve bondage, and soon will find themselves in chains. -- Joseph Warren (anon)

Mr Pete

Quote from: BuckleNose on December 20, 2011, 02:59:04 AM
I guess the question is now where do I go from here?

I sent you a PM, but just in case...

There are always more challenges for a Rifleman.

1)  Apprenticeship - after your work with Jon I can confirm that you have the qualities of an Appleseed instructor.  It is self-paced in that you can go as fast or slow as you want.  There is a terrific amount of support amongst instructors and we've all been there first as a shooter then making the transition to instructor.  We are all volunteers and could always use more help.
2)  Volunteering - If you don't want to be a shooting instructor we are always looking for help in non-marksmanship areas such as IT, promotions, marketing, logistics, etc.
3)  Now that you've proven you have a level of mastery over internal factors (steady hold factors, 6 steps, NPOA) there is shooting the AQT at full distance (100, 200, 300 and 400 yards) which is called Known Distance (KD) shooting.  To do that well you'll need to master external factors (distance, wind, ballistics, etc).  Appleseed hosts KD events occasionally.  KD is usually held in conjunction with a Rifleman's Boot Camp (RBC) which is 8 days of Appleseed.  RBCs pack in a normal Appleseed, KD and a Teach-the-Teacher class.  Hopefully soon we'll have a rimfire version of KD where you can practice all of these things locally.

Or combinations of all the above.

We teach in schools, on the range, in the rain, snow and heat.  We'll go anywhere and do what we must to spread the history and heritage to our fellow Americans.

Feel free to contact me anytime (714) 390-3043.

Congratulations again,
-Peter
"You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need." – Jerry Gillies