Bloomington Flash Report/AAR

[The Guy]

George and I are sitting in MickyDs getting some caffine and McMuffins....

Looks like we have 30 some pre-regs, plus who knows how many walkons....

Will there be relays in our future?  Only 2 hours will tell.

Even with massive rain last night, the day looks to be quite nice.  So, knocking on wood, I believe we will have a good day weather-wise.

So here is to another good shoot in the land of suck.

GogoIllinois(ucks)!

Guy

[The Guy]

So what is it with Illinois(ucks) and wet anyway?

Rained like the dickens last night.  Was dry today, BUT, there was a creek running through the middle of the firing line this am.  No rain durring the day though, so only residue.  By 1700 it had dried out enough we could move the firing line back up to the orignal spot, and it was no longer 7 or so yards back....

We had 40+ shooters on two lines, one Rifleman score this pm on the only QDAQT.  Several we almost there though, and had the day not been so hot (see, I'm never happy....LOL) and wore out the shooters so badly, I think several of those almosts would have been good.

I am looking forward to see what tommorrow brings us.

I would like to send a special thanks, if I may, to my Wife, step-Daughter and son-in-law who showed up to shoot for the first time ever.  Gals anyway were complete newbs....

Good to see several other husband wife teams out there as well, along with several other father son groups.  I think DeoLexRex brought almost a full squad....

Check in tommorrow night.

Guy

[TheEditor]

While the RWVA Engineers hung the wire, DeoLeoRex's personal squad (his sons) were recruited as RWVA scavenger hunters, and scoured local establishments for cardboard.  Successful in their hunt, the lines were established. 

The newbie line, that I was on, didn't have any water running through it. 

Some of us, who are only used to Great Ottawa Floods, did not come prepared for 87 degrees, all sun and no wind, and ended up extra crispy. 

The newbies persisted, and finally all were on the paper, with a reasonable semblance of a group. 

Lots of Saturday-only shooters, but we have a contingent of Sunday onlies coming in tomorrow. 

DonD had some cool charts to teach IMC.  Our folks were glad to stand in the 22 square feet of shade available and watch the charts unfold. 

Ended the day (for the benefit of the Saturday-only folks) with a reprise of Paul Revere's ride, which we started the day with, relating it to the seventh step.  (Paul Revere was a master at recruiting and communicating.) 

Having doctored myself with aloe vera gel, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, and planning on wearing a long sleeve shirt with a collar. 

The Editor

[deolexrex]

We had a great time!

Thanks to all the Instructors for their hard work.

See y'all in Chillicothe.

http://ironat500.blogspot.com/2008/06/appleseed.html

[deolexrex]

Here is a blog post from one of the young men who attended the Bloomington Appleseed.

http://erbandy.blogspot.com/2008/06/appleseed-bloomington-2008.html

[deolexrex]

I wrote up a little review here - http://ironat500.blogspot.com/2008/06/attended-my-first-appleseed.html

[Sheepdog]

The Bloomington event was fantastic. Many thanks to Guy, Richard, The Editor, and the rest of the staff and to Darnell's for being remarkable hosts and having a great facility. There always seems to be a comment on the weather but this weekend's was perfect. There was some heat but not much humidity, the ground was wet however we overcame. In fact, since "the creek" ran through the firing line on day one we had to move back for the day. This made us better! When we moved forward to 25m the targets were huge and much easier to see. Guy made us shoot sitting at all targets to 400m. That made the sitting stage in rapid fire a piece of cake. This was my 2nd A'seed and I finally hit the goal...no more cooking! Right!
Looking forward to Ramseur in June/July and doing more shooting, learning, honoring our forefathers and mothers, meeting great folks, and enjoying the freedoms we enjoy today.
Thanks to all who make this project a success.
Regards, Mike

[TheEditor]

Pics from Bloomington...

[attachment=1]

The RWVA Engineers (l to r, DonD, The Guy, George) use scavenged local materials to establish the line. 

[attachment=2]

Young & not so young, women and men, Appleseed is family friendly. 

[attachment=3]

One of the two firing lines at Bloomington

[Bobster]

I made it to this Appleseed with my dad this year (he's the one in the forefront with the MAK-90 in the firing line pic).  Though I didn't make Rifleman, it was worth coming for the refresher course on the three shooting positions and how to shift between targets.  Just need to get my Garand's front sight peened in place and with regular practice my cooking days will be over.

Bob

[TheEditor]

More pics...

[attachment=1]Can't wait to walk downrange to see the results. 

[attachment=2]When couples do ball & dummy, who's the dummy? 

[attachment=3]Proud Rifleman, the only survivor of the final charge of the Redcoats on Sunday afternoon. 

[Pappy]

Hello folks

Josh Papineau here. I would just like to say thanks to all the instructors and other appleseeders for your help in teaching me about basic rifle marksmanship. This will really help me in the U.S. Army. As I leave Monday June 9 for basic training. Also i just bought an M1A and shot it today, and with without the appleseed program I would not have been able to make the one ragged hole in the four hundred yard target.
Thanks again, Josh

[Sheepdog]

Good luck Josh. Ottawa's loss is Uncle Sam's gain. Your time in the service will net you an experience that can only be gained there. You'll meet friends that can only be found in a 'band of brothers' and your friendships will be the closest you'll have in life most likely. You will see, hear and experience things for the first time that will help form you into the man you will become. Learn your lessons well, use caution, trust your gut, help convert those soldier boys to right thinking and above all, come back in one piece. God's speed. It was a pleasure shooting with you and your dad.
Best regards, Mike

[The Guy]

Ditto.

Send me some email when you the chance.  I think your dad has it.  Or look up my profile and find it there.

Keep in touch.  Stay alert, always.

And it was a pleasure to make your aquaintance, along with the pops, of course.

Guy