Castro Valley, CA April 21-22, 2012

[Nero]

37 Americans got off the couch for a toasty Patriot's Day shoot at the beautiful Chabot Gun Club in Castro Valley, CA.  The unseasonably high 90 degree forecast - which we exceeded - kept some at home, but they missed a good one!

Our morning redcoat on Saturday showed promise but lots of room for improvement.  Joined by Camljr and asminuteman from SoCal, the local instructor corps got down to work, laying out those steady hold factors and 6 steps, and overcoming equipment and sling issues for the shooters.  We broke earlier than usual for lunch and heritage, telling the stories of the first two strikes of the match, and then made our contribution to the nation-wide volley for Liberty.

On into a short visit from the time monkey, and then sitting and standing positions, as the thermometer pushed its way upwards.  The instruction plan was changed on the fly to get some more shade time, but that didn't stop the time monkey from returning, as we practiced transitions and shot an instructional AQT stage by stage.  Then the real deal, and our first Rifleman of the weekend came forward:  James K with a no-mistake-about-it 227 (which he backed up multiple times on Sunday).  And Kim W, who had come to observe her son's shooting, gratified us all by stepping to take forward to take one of our spiffy Blue Hats.     (As well as one of our old-style, sure-to-become-a-family-heirloom CA pink hats.)  Of course, we put her right to work!     Our closing Saturday red coat targets showed the 'plank' to be in grave danger - with 25% of the shooters making the Daniel Morgan shot, compared to 0 in the morning!

Sunday brought cooler temperatures, and some returning Appleseeders, determined to make that score this time!  The opening red coat targets showed many of them well on the way - 3 cleared targets and 8 Daniel Morgan candidates!  We got right into it, with a 'safe rifle line dance' to loosen everyone up, and speeding through SHF and 6 step reviews, rechecking sights, and a ball and dummy exercise. 

Sunday also brought out the center fire rifles, and there was some good noise being made on that end of the line.  I want to specifically mention returning rifleman Dave B, who is also a EE extraordinaire, and responsible for building the battery powered PA system that we used to good effect on the firing line all weekend.  Dave had just received a classic M-1 Garand from the CMP, and came out to break it in.  Can't think of a better place than an Appleseed!

Then into the AQTs, and the promise began to be fulfilled.  Blue Hat American Amazon (Pat) had doffed the hat and joined the firing line for the day, and turned in a 230 on her first target.     Then three more shooters, who unknown to themselves were in a 3-way competition for high score.  We gave them back their bad targets and sat on the good ones, just to see what the afternoon would bring.   

Then a break for lunch and some stories of Dangerous Old Men, two of them presented by IITs guru (Rex) and BoxesOfLiberty (Dennis).  And yours truly with the local premier of the story of Col. Jacob Ford Jr. of the New Jersey militia.  As on Saturday, visiting instructors Camljr and asminuteman were our 'special effects' crew, with their period costumes and firearms.  They provided sound effects, generously allowed shooters and IITs to handle and fire their muskets, and got into some serious 7th stepping with shooters who wandered over from the public lines to see what it was all about.

Through the afternoon the Riflemen continued to emerge:
Richard R with a 213
Lin with a 213, and
Sean (Chand) with a 211 - he just missed that cooling North Bridge water.  Well done!

And to the satisfaction and amusement of the instructors, the high score kept rising and changing hands, with the final tally:
Andrew 232
Andy F. 235
Ben 235
All of them amazing scores to be proud of! 

Eight new Rifle(wo)men, folks who know very well what they are about!  Huzzah!   

After our Rifleman presentations, American Amazon stepped forward to take an Orange Hat.  That keeps it in the family, because it was my own, and I'm proud to have her as my wife.

There were several others knocking on the door, with scores in the 190s and 200s, including Alicia - a first time rifle shooter - with a 190.  The worthies above show what practice and perseverance will do for you - dry fire, work on that NPOA, and you'll do it!

And remember, this isn't just about the scores.  You may have noticed this is an election year - we're trying to get you to notice the stakes.  Being a subject or a citizen is a choice we all have to make.

(Pix coming soon!)

[afrancke]

My thanks to Nero and all the instructors and volunteers who put this shoot on.

Ben and I started off at the April 2011 shoot last year with ambitions of making rifleman by the end of the weekend (surely by the end of Saturday, we thought!), but it was not to be - not by a long shot. It gave us each some things to work on, even so, and we tried a few more times in 2011, though still without making rifleman.

When spring rolled around this year, we thought we'd better have at it one more time - all the better the April event! - and this time with much better results. Not only did we get the 235's, but also a sheaf of other qualifying AQT sheets as well. For the discouraged and dejected who are still looking to make rifleman, don't give up, keep coming back, and keep analyzing the little things that may be holding you back (especially against the clock). I was able to make some adjustments today that really helped, even though they were little things that might seem obvious when not being put through the AQT paces at the expected Sunday afternoon tempo.

Andy

[Nero]

For those looking for information about Appleseed-friendly activities at Castro Valley, including the 'zombie triangle' targets to shoot on the public lines, see:
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=23542.0

I look forward to seeing some of you at the advanced light rifle class, which is very AS-friendly - because I run it!   

[Nero]

Here we go with some Saturday pix:

Instructors are ready and waiting...


...as shooters arrive and begin setting up at the beautiful Chabot Gun Club.  The shadows are rapidly retreating, and someone left the sun set on 'Broil' for the day.  Here I thought it was spring.   


Time to get rolling with the safety briefing.   Get those feet in the circle!


And keep those chicken wings up!


Dennis (BoxesOfLiberty) delivers the 2nd strike


While asminuteman provides SPFX


That's not a space alien on the line


That's our spiffy new sound system as designed and built by Rifleman Dave B, with sophisticated (ahem!) packaging by yours truly.     What a relief to our Line Bosses' voices and arms - we have been using two bullhorns at a time!


Saturday brings us a new Rifleman.  Congrats to James K!


And Kim W steps up to take a Blue Hat and join our merry band.  Welcome!


Posterity is what it's about - our Saturday youth shooters.


The whole album is here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/114208333789247233986/CastroValley412
Sunday's pix to follow soon!

[Nero]

And here's Sunday...

Our new Blue Hat Kim checking in Lin and Kody (we'll see him again later).  American Amazon (Pat) takes off her hat...


...and joins the firing line.


Quickly please!  Walk on through!


The shoot boss takes a turn as demo model while Dennis instructs:


Do you know what time it is?


It's ball & dummy time!


Cam and Ken demonstrate period firearms and costume. 


And generously share with the next generation



Dave B wrings out his new CMP Garand - puts those plastic rifles in their place!


IIT snipergoose calls the line during the afternoon.  Give me 20!


Wendy contributed a target for an afternoon fun shoot.


We gave the rimfires one round's head start


Then the centerfires opened up - punkin' pie!  (The range's deer herd thanks you - that stuffs like candy to them.)


Buddies Andy F and Ben were neck and neck on score through the day - but we kept hiding their targets.


Oh, yeah - we made some riflemen!  Here's Chand (Sean) [if anyone has a better pic, please post.]


...and Lin again.  They both made it on the last AQT of the day.


And Robert R - we'd sandbagged his target as well.


And Pat (American Amazon) makes it look easy with a 230.  She's first RifleWOMAN made at Castro Valley, out of a current total of 64 qualifiers.  The rest of you ladies need to kick it up a notch, she wants company!


Two Andrews from the unofficial high score competition - Andrew B is in with a 232 and Andy F with a 235.


And here's Ben with his own 235.  The buddies go home with a tie - guess they'll have to come back for a shoot off!


I had this slightly used orange hat in the closet, and it looks just fine on American Amazon.  We'll just have to move it over to her shelf, where it'll look good right next to the blue one!


The full album is here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/114208333789247233986/CastroValley412

I saw other cameras out there, including one with a honkin' big lens.  Post up those pix!

[LaLa]

lol figures the only pic of me has to be in prone position with my big butt stickin' out...

Awesome weekend, lots and lots of fun. Definitely can't wait for next time. Thanks to all the instructors - every single one of you gave me great advice and guidance. Also, congrats to all the new rifleman, hopefully I'll get it next time!

[American Amazon]

As Nero said, I *am* the first female Rifleman who shot the score at Castro Valley, and I most certainly do want company!  I'd also like to add, we've had 3 father-son Rifleman pairs at Castro Valley, and now we've got our first husband-wife Rifleman pair, but we are definitely still open for the first father-daughter, mother-son, and mother-daughter Rifleman pairs, so please, come on out, and make it into our local Appleseed history book!

Cam (camljr) always likes to ask new Riflemen, "What got you over the top?"  In my case, it's been a long hard road, filled with just dogged persistence, and a lot of attention to detail.  Switching rifles came first.  Then, starting with prone, analyzing each position until I had the very best variation for my body geometry.  Then speed drills, starting *in* the seated (or prone) position, mags still on the mat.  Some mag swap drills - some transition drills - then full stage 2 and 3 speed drills. The last weekend before the Appleseed, we shot the 4 full stages, and I even had Nero's "triangle" targets printed out with red ink, to be sure I could still get a good sight picture on a red target!  (I shot over 230 on both the ones I tried.)  For me, analyzing one thing at a time, and practicing til I had it right, was the way to go.

I have a lot of people to thank, but I have to start with my husband Nero.  I have always been tremendously proud to have him for my husband. He does well at whatever he sets his hand to, and rifle marksmanship (doing it, and teaching it) has been no exception.
He was the one who suggested rifle marksmanship as a new hobby.  He's researched and bought our gear, maintained our rifles, and driven us to the range hundreds of times.  He even gave me a shooting glove for Christmas!  Once he became an Appleseed instructor, and teacher of a class at the Castro Valley range, he patiently worked with me, through all my flaws - impatience being the worst of them...  He also gave me the exclusive use of his semiautomatic .22 for the last half-year, so I could train with it!   

A shout-out for our first rifle teacher, John T, who normally only worked with teens on competition-style shooting, but took a gamble on 2 middle-aged folks.  I'll let him know that gamble has finally paid off.

A big thank-you to our college friend, shoot boss Dangerous Old Woman in New Hampshire, who told us about Project Appleseed during a 4th of July visit in 2010.  We attended our first Castro Valley shoot in October of that year, and the rest is history.

A shout-out for a friend of a friend, Henry S, who gifted me with the amazing canvas shooting jacket that I wore when I made my score.  He was attending pistol competitions when I was just 7 years old (according to the patch he left on it when he gave it to me), so that jacket's got a lot of history behind it.  I've always wanted to accomplish something worthy of that jacket - at last I've done it!

A huge Hoosier thank-you to the Bedford Contingent in Indiana.  We came border-raiding on a Saturday last summer, you gifted us with your special T-shirts, and I wore mine when I made my score!

And I'll absolutely have to thank the surgeons and physical therapists of Stanford Hospital, and our other physical therapy team in Foster City, without whom I wouldn't be able to shoot at all...  I've gone through about half the hand/wrist/elbow problems in their books.

Lastly, a heartfelt thank-you to all the shoot bosses and instructors who have been at the 13 shoots, that were between my first Appleseed as a shooter, and my second - I did AppleCore duty for them, and I learned a lot about instructing by watching them all.  I hope I'll be able to apply the lessons, now that there's an orange hat on the shelf next to my blue one.  I hope to see all of you again, out on the Trail!

(LaLa, don't worry that your butt looks big - *everybody's* butt looks that way in prone!  Remember to come out again, so we can improve on that 190, and get a better photo of you, with a Rifleman patch in it!!)

-Pat*/American Amazon

[YTDoug]

Thanks to all the shooters who came out and congrats to all the new Riflemen. Ben and Andy definitely put a lot of work and ammo into getting theirs. I know there were a few 190's knocking on the door. Rob, Cat and Nelson, I hope to see you guys back and getting patched in the near future.

[Cowboy Accountant]

Another great Castro Valley Appleseed!  I want to thank all of the instructors for their help and patience.  I especially want to thank Camljr for taking time out to help me work out some little flaws I wasn't even aware of.  Goose, it was awesome to see you wearing the orange hat and bringing a little USMC discipline to the firing line!  Congrats to all of the new Rifle(wo)men!!!  I shot another 205 this weekend, but I'm not giving up!  Next time I will get my Rifleman patch!!!!!  Nero, I'll see you at the intermediate light rifle course soon.  Huzzah!!!

[Cowboy Accountant]

Oops, I mean to thank Ken for helping with the little flaws.  Camljr, you're still awesome!!!

[Chilidog]

Way to go American Amazon! Congratulations from the Bedford Contingent!
Chilidog

[Nero]

Just a heads-up:  We have made more tickets available for the June (and later) shoots at Castro Valley.  Pass the word!

[franklinfarmer]

Way to go American Amazon!  Congratulations from Dixie.  I'd forgotten that hat was blue instead of orange.

FF

Way to go American Amazon! Congratulations from the Bedford Contingent!
Chilidog

[asminuteman]

quote "Cam and Ken demonstrate period firearms and costume."

please forgive the 18th century persona

EXCUSE ME SIR!
These are my clothes!........not some "costume"as you say from a Shakespearean play!
This is the Commonwealth, not England.......

and what odd manner of of clothing are you wearing?
is this the newest rage from Europe?
or are your French?...........which explains a great deal

Mind yer tounge,  costume indeed

[Nero]

My dear sir:  'Costume', as in 'a custom of dress' has been known at least to the year of Our Lord 1705.  I dare say Dr. Johnson himself may have remarked upon it.  Were you not chasing about your benighted wilderness after squirrels and those creatures you call - turkeys - perhaps you might have heard of the word as well!

quote "Cam and Ken demonstrate period firearms and costume."

please forgive the 18th century persona

EXCUSE ME SIR!
These are my clothes!........not some "costume"as you say from a Shakespearean play!
This is the Commonwealth, not England.......

and what odd manner of of clothing are you wearing?
is this the newest rage from Europe?
or are your French?...........which explains a great deal

Mind yer tounge,  costume indeed

[CSHR]

Great shoot and pics!

Nero... seems like only yesterday the hat was brandy new orange and now you put on a show to match anyone's 
Wish I'd of had that sound system!

American Amazon/Pat.....Congratulations!...doesn't sound like enough of a word to use for the accomplishment...I remember when.....
it was a bolt gun and bad wrists....and a 'Pink Hat' to help us with admin before the 'Blue Hat' was started...       

Also congrats to the newest members of the Rifleman Patch, job well done.....now show others how to do it!!

asminuteman/r2g2....good to see you doing so well for a Morgan's Rifleman 

I got to assist at Raton this time around.

CSHR

[asminuteman]

Nero (Tim)....hope you got a laugh....I could do that uppity backwoods scum all day!

and we could go round about....enjoying ourselves.....I'm afraid those folks who do not know us or our love of history may not understand, nor be pleased, wist our High jinx..
Although I do have a "cleaver" retort.....I shall be graciously be bowing out at this time.
(*note* I did not say gracefully!)....until we can "fence" again.....
you and Pat be well...."Honored" enemy....*L*

AND as for you R1G1........I do miss the hell out of you!    *ya ol coot!*
I shall see our Pal in Gville, by midnight tonight...........hope to bend yer ear on Saturday, via the devils can~n~string! Hope to be out @ Terry's for an hour or so......as I ring thee ole steel, I shall giggle for you....

I'd like to hear about Raton!