Noblesville, IN, Dec 17-18, 2011 AAR

[AuntieBellum]

Placeholder.  I'll be back to post more when it's daylight, but let's get this party started!

I'm baaaaack!  Where are the pictures?  Let's get this AAR moving!

Noblesville, IN, December 2011 - The Mud/Water/Snow/Wind 'Seed!  In all honestly, I didn't notice the windburn until I got home.  But the snow was pretty evident Saturday morning, and the mud and the streams of water were pretty evident throughout the weekend.  I'm hoping for a good snow soon so I can get my boots outside and cleaned off. 

Despite the unavoidable range conditions, our shooters came prepared to dig into the mud and get the job done.  Every single person brought their teachable attitude along, and I'm certain all learned something from both the marksmanship and the history presentations.  By Sunday afternoon, those AQTs were looking fantastic, and I suspect next time out we'll have a whole bunch of new riflemen!

That said, we absolutely need to recognize Mike for his requal.  There's a lot going on with a bolt-action, but he worked that .17HMR and put together a fantastic last AQT.  I may be a little biased what with my love of Savage .17HMR rifles and all, but I was pretty sure we'd see a repeat performance from him. 

And to our youth - Ben, Payton, and Jared - you all handled yourselves better than some adults I've met.  You obviously are all of strong character and have a desire to learn and do well.  By the end of the weekend, I stood behind Payton and Jared with their mother and commented about how proud I was of them to see them apply all of those lessons we taught all weekend.  It was a true joy to witness.  Come on back in the spring, and we'll put the rest of your family on the line with you!  And Ben - your enthusiasm is great. I see an orange hat in your future someday.  You were answering questions the adults were afraid to try, and you were nearly always first to look at your target.  Great job.

Karen, Anthony, Matt, Keith, and Chad - you have the skills.  Keep practicing, and come back.  You all have the potential to get that 210.

And thank you to HCFG - I'm excited to see the range improvements, and 2012 will be even bigger and more exciting! 

Thank you all, enjoy the holidays, and come back next year with a friend!

[Royal-1]

OK, I figured out how to put the pictures on here.  Maybe we should require some Blue Hats to train us Instructors on this stuff.  Like you told the group, Blue Hats are who make all this work smoothly. 
OK did someone say something about MUD? Well we had it, lots of it but it could have been worse, this is a view of the lane to the 100 yard range on Friday.

One thing maybe we did not tell you, but we proved, us instructors will never ask you to do something that we are unwilling to do.  Here is our SB AuntieBellum demonstration of the seated position, open legs with snow boots and snow pants on.

Shooters learning the positions from AuntieBellum and Rimshot.

Kneeling slightly less painful in all the extra layers.

Modhydro seen in the back warming his hands over the burn barrel.

Time for prone in the mud with modhydro.  A Rifleman will adapt and overcome.

Shooters watching and taking in all the steady hold factors used for all three shooting positions.

Let's shoot a Red Coat.



Let's take a break and learn some more history.

Time for some AQT's on Sunday.  How's it looking Karen? Matt was another of our Bolt-Action .17 HMR shooters.

Jared trying to figure out if he scored more than his sister, Payton.

Everyone learning how to add up their AQT's.  Chad and Keith learning some valuable skills they will use.

How many instructors does it take to load a staple gun? Maybe it was the gloves?

Some more History with AuntieBellum telling about the Dangerous Old Men and Women.

Our youth for this weekend endured and were honored with a patch for their outstanding willingness to learn, adapt, and persist through all the training and shooting.  Each of them will make Rifleman soon.
Payton

Ben

Jared

And Mike, showing off his Savage Bolt-Action .17HMR skills, requalified as a Rifleman on Sunday. I think next time we need to have Mike work a Crickett and really show us up.  Congratulations Mike, well done.


Did I say something about Dangerous Old Men?   

[AuntieBellum]

Also, a range rep emailed me about some gear that was left behind.  So if you forgot your camo bucket full of gear, send me a message and I'll get you in contact with the range!

[ATM]

Ahh, fun in the mud!  Looks like another fine shoot!

Great job and congratulations to everyone.