Buckeye, Arizona - Feb. 4-5

[azmule]

Another great shoot in Buckeye!  I'm still so stoked I'm probably going to have trouble mellowing down enough to fall asleep tonight.   

I had been afraid that this particular weekend might see light or halfhearted attendance, but my fears were unfounded - we began a chilly (for Arizona) but sunny Saturday with 16 enthusiastic shooters.  After introductions and a thorough safety briefing, we retrieved rifles and hit the ground running....

Aaaaand since I've already had to go back to retype an appalling number of mis-thumbings in the text above, I'm going to pause here until I can get home where the computer with the real keyboard lives before I finish the story.  (I'm sure glad I don't have to try and teach the history by typing with my thumbs. )

Buckeye Appleseeders - this is your thread!  Please post here your experience, discussion, impressions, pictures or links to video if you have them.

To be continued....   
--------

That's better - thank you for your patience.

(And I agree that those are good suggestions, Hartley - especially the one about making it easier to find which is the Appleseed line once you're on the range property.  When he ran the Buckeye shoot, AZOpie used to set up an Appleseed banner that could be seen from the main parking lot - as a relatively new Shoot Boss I have yet to acquire one of those, but doing so is now a priority.)

I was pleased to see several centerfire rifles on the line alongside the rimfires - primarily M4 variants and a Mini-14.  While the Saturday AM Redcoats showed room for improvement, I could tell before we were halfway through the morning COF that I would be digging into my supply of Rifleman patches this weekend - it was actually hard to decide which of many excellent groups to choose as a demo when it came time to discuss IMC!  And sure enough - after our lunchtime discussion of the events of April 19th, 1775, after the Carding-the-sights, Ball-&-dummy, and transition exercises of the early afternoon, our first scoring AQT of the weekend presented our first Rifleman.  Ron - who travelled all the way from Iowa - earned his patch on Saturday and continued to shoot consistent Rifleman scores for the remainder of the weekend.

Sunday morning opened to a determined nine shooters - after a quick review, a much improved Redcoat, and some sighter squares, we settled in for some serious AQT work.  Before long, Jerry, Damien, Curt, and Dennis joined Ron on the roster of Riflemen, with several more knocking on the door.   

[Hartley]

Good Evening!

  A few impressions from "day 1"..  Had a great time today - I'm sore in places I had completely forgotten I had, but a nice tall, cool Anchor Steam (plus 400mg of vitamin I) seems to have taken off the edge.

  Nice group of people today, everyone seemed to be having a good time AND wanted to share that fun - not a spoil-sport in the bunch.

  The instructors were working VERY hard to make sure everyone got the most out of the experience - yes, I think a couple more would have been even better with the excellent crowd..    

  Some <<MINOR>> negatives:

1.  I had to stop in two places at the range area before I  found y'all - a ground map would have helped.
2.  The "what to bring" list should have included "target stapler if you have one"
3.  Us (heh-hem) "older" folks could have used a couple more potty breaks..

  Note that these are indeed MINOR..

  I'll see y'all out there tomorrow morning!

Hartley

[PaxxAZ]

Pics comming. As soon as I get home.
Keep the advice comming.  All 4 points where excellent. Only way we can improve.

[Hartley]

  Well, I've recovered (more or less) from the weekend - don't remember much of the game last nite, tho!  Just finished scrubbing out the two rifles I got dirty - not as bad as I thought, that Winchester M855 must be clean, even if it was cheap.

  The biggest thing I, personally, took away from this weekend is that I REALLY need to get back into shape - nice 1" groups at 0900 turned into 4" by 1400 and who knows where at 1630...and it's ALL conditioning - I KNEW what to do, but I was tired, my shoulder was killing me, and even 600 mg of vitamin I didn't cut it    Hitting the "bucket" on the last Redcoat was pure luck...

  BUT -- I'm doing better now that I was 2 weeks ago when I decided I'd better start "assuming the positions" again - so I know I can be improved upon, and I'm really hoping this weekend will be the impetus to git 'er done..   I'm gonna spend at least an hour a week in prone, at least until the pain lets up.  You young whippersnappers can laugh, but olde age and sloth will get to you, too one day.. 

  On an equipment note, the Magpul 20rd magazine that failed me appears to be the only one of the 25 or so I own - I haven't gotten the caliper after it yet, but it's the only one that over-rides the mag retainer and rides up into the path of the BCG.  If I find it's dimensioned improperly, I'll send it back to Magpul - if it's the same, I'll just have to assume I slapped it a LOT harder than I usually do for some reason, and the plastic failed.  Why do I slap the bottom of my AR mags?  -- because Uncle Sam taught me to many long years ago..

  Pablo, you did well, IMHO - I know you were a bit nervous at first (I've been "training the trainer" a long time, I recognize the symptoms ).

One more suggestion, and I'll stand down:

  Several people were interested in "further reading" on the (non-shooting) subjects covered at lunch and elsewhere, but I didn't find a reading list, either in the materials packet handed out, nor on the web page.  I know Scott recommended two books that he liked, but I wasn't fast enough to write them down.. 

  So - I'll add two books I found fascinating, and maybe we can build a list - and I'm going to add a VERY short review to each title, so you'll know if it might be interesting.

1776  By David McCullough.  While there is a very brief section at the beginning and end of the book outlining the events leading up to and following 1776, this book is about what is probably the most remarkable year in the history of the United States.  An amazing amount of detail and I think it allows the reader to really feel what those days must have been like.

John Adams also by David McCullough.  John Adams was, without a doubt, one of the most influential of the founding fathers,  and a man whose integrity and will never faltered, even in the face of incredible hardship and adversity.  He was not a soldier, but rather a statesman and his work in keeping the political side of the American Revolution on track is likely one big reason we're still a country after 220 years (or so).  If you think today's political wrangling is vicious, wait 'til you read about 1790!


Hartley   (the FOG with the camo hat)

[PaxxAZ]

Picture time,
Sorry for not commenting on them. But these where our Riflemen of the weekend.

A few images are better then others, hope they assist in remembering the weekend. I am sorry I did not take more images of everyone on the line. I only thought of it on Sunday when we where fewer.

[PaxxAZ]

Ok,

Now we can get into the nitty gritty of the weekend...

Well, I thought the shooters where all great. Not all made the asked for score, but I think most improved while there, and all contributed to the sense of community at the event.

As to the Books i know one of the two mentioned...Appleseed takes much of its telling from Paul Revere's Ride, by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Hackett Fischer.

Some of us are or have become period buffs so it gets kind of different for each person.

I personally read quite a bit, but am terrible at remembering what the names where.

His Excellency: George Washington I read a while back and liked it, not as easy of a read as Paul Revere's Ride, as I did put it down for a while a couple of times.

But I was also in an Anti-Washington point of view prior to reading it, and it was forcing me to truly respect and almost love the man.

For those of you with longish commutes or who drive long distances.
Look up 2 cent history http://www.2centhistory.com/podcast-2cent-history or on Itunes and other podcast feeds. He spends about 7 hours on the events of April 19th 1775, and while I don't agree with all his opinions, I do agree with most as well as his delivery.

On my performance, I did OK. The Shooters where kind, they did not pelt me with vegetables.


Thank you all who came and shot, it made it a very fun weekend for me.

It was also a reminder that I too need to get in shape.

PaxxAZ A.K.A Pablo

[azmule]

Yes, Fischer's "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Washington's Crossing" were the two I mentioned, I agree on McCullough's "1776" - also on my personal list of favorites.  I recently finished "Defenders of Liberty - African Americans in the Revolutionary War" by Michael Lee Lanning.  I also really like "The American Revolution 100" by the same author - a collection of short, easy to read in one sitting, sections discussing the author's choice of the 100 most influential people, battles, and events of the Revolutionary war.  I don't agree completely with his rankings, but the format makes it a great reference.

[Hartley]

Hi All,

  OK, I've got six books (and three authors) so far:

1776 By David McCullough.  While there is a very brief section at the beginning and end of the book outlining the events leading up to and following 1776, this book is about what is probably the most remarkable year in the history of the United States.  An amazing amount of detail and I think it allows the reader to really feel what those days must have been like.

John Adams also by David McCullough.  John Adams was, without a doubt, one of the most influential of the founding fathers,  and a man whose integrity and will never faltered, even in the face of incredible hardship and adversity.  He was not a soldier, but rather a statesman and his work in keeping the political side of the American Revolution on track is likely one big reason we're still a country after 220 years (or so).  If you think today's political wrangling is vicious, wait 'til you read about 1790!

Paul Revere's Ride by David Fischer.   <needs concise review>

Washington's Crossing also by David Fischer.  <also needs concise review>

Defenders of Liberty - African Americans in the Revolutionary War  By Michael Lanning.  <also needs concise review>

The American Revolution 100  also by Michael Lanning.  A collection of short, easy to read in one sitting, sections discussing the author's choice of the 100 most influential people, battles, and events of the Revolutionary war.  I don't agree completely with his rankings, but the format makes it a great reference.

  I think this is a great start!   I would welcome additional submissions, and please include the short review (1-3 sentences).  If you want to add to the current reviews, please do!

  If there is a way to make it benefit the site, I could include Amazon links as well.

Hartley

[azmule]

Do you have access to the thread found here?

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=8656.0

This is a thread titled "Good historical reads" that lists both printed and online recommended reads, but I'm not sure what level permissions are set for this section - I only know that I can see it when logged in, but can't when I'm not.

Scott

[PaxxAZ]

I doubt Hartley, can see it. But I can....
Sooooo, We need to get him to shoot Rifleman. (He is real close, I think it was more of an issue of flexibility then ability.)
Then we gently persuade him to take an Orange Hat. Then he will have access to the reading list 

I mean really, he has the Coaching spirit, he was doing it Saturday morning at the targets with his fellow shooter. He likes History... I see it as a perfect fit.

Really, all Hartly needs to learn is our methodology, that shooting is not from a bench, and more on the April 19th 1775, and he seems well on his way to doing that.

Hartley, I owe you an apology. The Answer that everyone has their own Safety Rules was not a complete enough answer, nor was my (well that's just the way it is) attitude, while I was doing parking lot duty.

The correct answer is, these Rules work very well for us and our course.
I was a bit punchy that morning, and I took the question more as a statement then as a question.

I am Sorry. However I will not post the sacred reading list or other great tidbits of more info unless you seriously consider the Orange hat, or perhaps the Blue Hat.

The Blue Hat you can take now, and trade it in for Orange later 

[Hartley]

Pablo, you are correct, I can't see that page..   But maybe one day..  Meanwhile, I will maintain the list that I have, which everyone can see.

I appreciate your candor regarding the "rules" - I have no doubt they work for Appleseed, and there is really nothing wrong with them, they're just different from what I (and a gazillion others) are using..

  When I was in the Army, the "rules" as such hadn't yet become known, at least not where I was, though we had a number of principles that closely parallel both Appleseed's and Col. Cooper's.  Col. Cooper's first rule ("All guns are loaded") was taught me as a child - even before I got my first .22.  When I started shooting in the civilian world in the early 80's. Col. Cooper's 'four rules' were what seemingly everyone was using - and they've kept me out of trouble ever since.

  So, no, I'm not going to challenge Appleseed's rules - but I probably won't use them much outside of Appleseed..

  Regarding hats (of whatever color) let's talk at the next one - as I told Scott, I won't be in AZ for April 21 & 22 as I will be in New Hampshire helping my dad celebrate his 90th birthday.  He lives in Exeter, by the way - which should be a familiar place name for y'all..

  So I will be either in Sierra Vista on 3 & 4 March or Kingman on the 24th and 25th -  right now I'm leaning toward Kingman, but I haven't been cleared by the dept. of labor management here yet.
  In the meantime, I have acquired a set of Tech sights (no more fiber-optic flaming balls of fire out on the end of the barrel - and click-adjustments!).  I'm also experimenting with a scope - I hate to admit it, but my eyesight is NOT what it used to be.  One way or the other, I WILL find something that works.  Thanks to Scott, I have taped up an AQT target on my house and staked out a 25-yard line so I can 1) practice stretching, transitions, etc; and b) check out my sight work. 

Thanks!

Hartley

[PaxxAZ]

On the rules thing, not wanting to  but, it works well on our line. I think it works well for group instruction.

For Home Gun safety...
The Gun is always Loaded
Never let the Muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy
Finger off the trigger until you Sights are on the target
Be sure of your target and what is beyond.

I also like the Canadians ACTS, as that is easy to remember the Acronym for.
Assume every firearm is loaded
Control the Muzzle at all times
Trigger finger off trigger and out of trigger guard
See that the firearm is unloaded. PROVE it safe.

But the Canadians are less aggressive, and talking about a "safe" gun.

As to Books.
David Hackett Fischer is a very good writer and his books are usually 50% or more of footnotes and such. But they read like novels.
Personally i am very happy with the current Batch of historian writers, they are willing to make people human and not glorify or gloss over people.

But the internet and Podcasts Really needs to be looked into we have access to High end universality lectures for free, ignoring this as "new media" does everyone a disservice, this stuff is great, we have more access to info and good things then ever before. 

[azmule]

Speaking of which...

http://oyc.yale.edu/history/the-american-revolution/content/class-sessions

I love this series!   

[Hartley]

  Very interesting indeed!  I tried one of the videos (sort of at random) - while the lecture was interesting, I found the professor's mannerisms distracting, so I read the transcript instead - which was fascinating.  I will have to allocate more time to reading these, and in order.

Thanks!

Hartley

[Woof Doc]

Azmule, thanks for the link. I started watching them several days ago. I am finding them really interesting. Dr. Freeman is good lecturer, knows her material and tries to make her lectures engaging. Pat

[PaxxAZ]

Get them on audio, and listen while you do other things that don't require full auditory attention (I have a long commute). Not as distracting as watching her, but it is nice to put a face and such to the voice.

This was a really fun series to listen to. There are others out there, perhaps not on the same topic but they are there.

Again, 2 cent History is fun and more focused on April 19th if you listen to that set.

[azmule]

After playing the first couple of segments in the series I switched to reading the transcripts myself, but only because I'm one of those folks that retain more from reading than listening.   

[Patriot Gal]

Thanks for the info!

Patriot Gal

Speaking of which...

http://oyc.yale.edu/history/the-american-revolution/content/class-sessions

I love this series!