Glen Helen, CA - April 28-29, 2012

[Mr Pete]

Just kicking off this AAR and will post more later.

The West End Gun Club (WEGC) welcomed Project Appleseed back with open arms.  They waived range fees for all students which was a very welcome surprise!  Not enough can be said for the way Bruce (President of WEGC) and the staff helped us at every turn.  It was a true example of community as many interested club members were pointed our way to get more information.  I can't thank Bruce and crew enough for their support.

Special thanks to Rick (rrhartley) who was the range member/sponsor for this shoot.  He was there early every morning and the last to leave every day.

Instructors and shooters please comment!

-Pete

[George Hacker]

Mr. Pete,

Glad you had a great shoot at Glen Helen this weekend.  Thank you, personally, for being willing to loan a rifle to a personal friend of mine.  I'm sorry she didn't take advantage of your offer and hospitality.  Perhaps another time.

- ShadowMan

[Mr Pete]

ShadowMan,

You are very welcome.  We're all in it for the long haul and when your friend can come we'll be there!

Sincerely,
-Peter

[Mr Pete]

It was a renewal of sorts at Glen Helen.  Besides the return of Appleseed we had Axiom and MilitaryMom back on the line.  PsychDoc kicked things off with a few very poignent lessons of history.

Many families attended and it was a great time had by all.
Scott had son Owen (9) along.  Owen stuck it through the entire day for his Luther Blanchard.  Even when tired he was always willing to try.

Josie and Briana had impressive natural talent.  Briana who had only previously shot a BB gun put together a 6MOA group on the first target!  Josie kept on going and trying all the way up until Dad (Mr 45) had to cart her away!  Think about the fact that Josie said to her friend Briana, "Hey, lets go shooting today!" as opposed to "Lets just hang out at the mall".  With young people like Josie, Briana and Owen I have hope for the future!

Matthew was always doing well and we see his scores building.  His last time with a lever action he hit a top score of 208.  With Mom and Dad (MilitaryMom and Axiom) there he was getting it from all sides.  The shooting sports require focus and mental toughness and Matthew is on the short track for those skills.

New to Appleseed David opened his mind and worked very hard at everything.  It is very unusual to get a Rifleman patch the first time through and David was hovering in the 200s by the end of Sunday.  Impressive improvement as I remember his second group of the day being a horizontal line of about 12 MOA.  David tried both a ruger and a 795 with stock sights to see which he liked best.  That spirit of experimentation and hard work plays into my confidence that he will eventually shoot his score.

McCall also did well adapting to everything.  From dropping his ching-sling in favor of a GI web sling to switching to iron sights from his scope, McCall was there to learn.  I'm glad that he has his ROC and he would be a welcome addition to any line.

Last but not least we have Jason.  Even though he was a first-timer to Appleseed and a Sat only attendee on the 1st AQT of Saturday he hit a 211.  Psych Doc's excellent Saturday program was able to end on a very high note!

Sunday was the Mr Pete show.  With only 4 scheduled all 4 showed up...cream of the crop.  All except for Ms Elaine came back achy and tired (Matthew, David and McCall), a testement to their will and drive.

Ms Elaine had just hit Azusa the week before and came back with some very serious skills.  How serious you might ask?  In spite of not shooting 7 rounds because of time she still walked away with a score of 204 on one AQT (her stage 4 was flawless!).  Understanding that the time monkey was her biggest enemy she adapted and overcame with a 220.  On the next AQT she backed that up with a 228!

Truely inspirational performances by all!

Thanks to WEGC for a wonderful welcome back.
Thanks to all the instructors:  rrhartley, Mr 45, Axiom, MilitaryMom, WoofDoc
Thanks to our cruise director PsychDoc
Special thanks to all the students who are the reason why we do what we do.

-Peter

ps.  I'll follow up with some pics later

[Scott1600]

A great time, indeed!!
Special thanks to MrPete, Psychdoc, RRHartley, Axiom, MilitaryMom, and the folks at Glen Helen!
Can't think of a better crew to have at the helm for my son's first Appleseed.  I'm sure it will be an event that he'll always remember.  Thank you all for that.
He may have something to say a little later in the thread...
Also, thanks to Psychdoc for the valuable suggestions for fine-tuning my skills, helped alot!
Great folks, great instruction, all around great time!   
Very best regards to all!!!
-Scott (Proud Dad)

[SuperOwen!]

 That was fun!


I got the Luther Blancher award!

:~ :---

[rrhartley]

Thanks to Mr Pete and Psychdoc for leading the charge with a great opener at Glen Helen. I was also pleased to see WEGC Pres. Bruce come to the opening to give a welcome to all. The staff at the range were fantastic, checking on us several times to be sure we were well taken care of. I was impressed by Brianna, starting out shooting the Red Coat with both legs bent at the knees and in the air to a fine looking prone position at the end of the day. Mathew was making huge improvement by the end of the second day. Sunday we were treated by the presence of Woof Doc, with her prestigious orange hat, passed down the ranks by some outstanding IITS and now with another fine IIT under it. Ms Elaine was a real inspiration to me. She has had multiple knee surgeries and struggles to get up and down to a degree so I asked Mr. Pete if it was necessary for her to get up and down. Pete told me not to worry. At the end of the day it was very clear what he meant, a 228 AQT, WOW! I thank Axiom and Dani for coming out to help also. It was great to see SuperOwen out there with his Dad. The weather was fantastic and I love the shaded areas at Glen Helen. Until next time, stay involved an informed.

Rick

[Psych Doc]

Another great shoot at Glen Helen. Hats off to Bruce and the WEGC folks who were so generous with their assistance and support.

Fantastic group of shooters on Saturday! Great to meet all of you. Owen, at nine, you have the heart of a rifleman and earned a well deserved the Luther Blanchard Award. Poppa Scott has plenty to be proud of in such a fine young man! David the improvement that you showed on Saturday sounds like it continued through the rest of the weekend and I hope to see you again soon. McCall recently moved to CA and came to our event an accomplished Winterseed Rifleman, I hope that you enjoy the Golden State as much as we enjoyed having you on the line! James, to shoot your score at your first Appleseed, and on Saturday no less, Well Done! Also Brianna and Josie made huge strides with excellent groups overall, hard to believe that Brianna had only shot a BB gun prior to the event, natural talent. Good to see you again Matt, ongoing improvement is obvious in your heartbreaking 208.

Based on what I hear, I was sorry to have missed Sunday. Elaine congratulations  . Sorry I accidentally referred to you as Eileen in my write up of the last shoot we were at together.

Axiom, Military Mom and Mr. 45, Great to see all of you again. And hope to see you again soon!

All the best,
Robert

[Johnnyappleseed]

That was fun!


I got the Luther Blancher award!

You can bet Luther is looking down with pride seeing you honor his efforts at liberty . Welcome aboard Sir

[Psych Doc]

In my previous post, I forgot to mention Rick's substantial growth as an instructor since I last saw him and thank him for his superb job as range liaison  . Rick, thanks for all you have done for the program at WEGC!

[Mr Pete]

Dug up a few pics