Clermont, FL Apr 21-22 Greenswamp Sport Club

[airplanejoe]

This was the inaugural Appleseed Clinic in this venue. Weather forecast was not good, but brave patriotic souls said present and we had a good turnout.  I won't address the exiting things that happened. This posting is just to open the thread until a more official AAR gets posted.
Huzzah!!

[Sly223]

Outstanding start thank you Joe,
I will start by saying as always if you listened to our Yankee forecasters you stayed inside and the weather out was fantastic. Great inaugural event at this venue.
The owners are like minded and loved Appleseed as much as we loved their place we will now be there every second weekend of every month and will soon notify Instructor Sched. to add appropriately, to our Sched.over twenty shooters and ten instructors.This was a fantastic venue that I was glad to be a part of.'til next time!

[Groesbeck]

Had a good time.  Range was great for us and lunch was outstanding.

Had a chance to work on a little KD which was really nice.

Would like to thank all the instructors for coming out.  Was nice to see Roy again and I also really appreciate some great personal instruction by Smoke.

[Son of Summers Middlebrook]

Thank you so much for such a great weekend!!!   There is no finer group of instructors on the planet!!!  I want to thank you all individually:  Eric, Sly223, Smoke, Airplane Joe, Brian, Roy, Doug, and last but not least Corey.  How spoiled are we!!! I only wish I could have gotten it all together and scored higher than a 201!  It was so bitter/sweet meeting Eric and then finding out that he is moving to the Great White North!  He is an OUTSTANDING Shoot Boss. God will surely bless your endeavors Eric!  Jen and I loved the venue so much, we are now official members of the Green Swamp Sport Club!!!  Oh Yeah....One More thing...I got my Garand!!! I Can't wait to shoot a true piece of American history!!!   And Sly, thank you for letting me borrow 36 rounds of 223!  I will surely return that ammo to you! Again, thank you all So very much and God Bless!

[jazcat]

We also had a great time; sorry I had to leave early but my neck was really bothering me. Darn getting old! Thanks to all the instructors and especially to Doug for the loan of the Ruger 10/22's for myself and especially my nephew. He had a great time and now is home in Miami giving a report to my brother-in-law and sister. They might come up for their own Appleseed and bring some of my other nieces and nephews.

I am about 1/3 the way through Paul Revere's Ride and it is a great book. I am really enjoying it. I was at the New Orleans Jazz Fest this past weekend and wore my Appleseed shirt one day. In the line for the shuttle ride back to the hotel and man congratulated me on the shirt. He was from near Concord and new all the places up there. He said they have a reenactment on April 19 every year so we have penciled it in for next year. I would love to see all these places I have been reading about.

Thanks again and see you all on the range again soon.

[Johnnyappleseed]

Thank you so much for such a great weekend!!!   There is no finer group of instructors on the planet!!!  I want to thank you all individually:  Eric, Sly223, Smoke, Airplane Joe, Brian, Roy, Doug, and last but not least Corey.  How spoiled are we!!! I only wish I could have gotten it all together and scored higher than a 201!  It was so bitter/sweet meeting Eric and then finding out that he is moving to the Great White North!  He is an OUTSTANDING Shoot Boss. God will surely bless your endeavors Eric!  Jen and I loved the venue so much, we are now official members of the Green Swamp Sport Club!!!  Oh Yeah....One More thing...I got my Garand!!! I Can't wait to shoot a true piece of American history!!!   And Sly, thank you for letting me borrow 36 rounds of 223!  I will surely return that ammo to you! Again, thank you all So very much and God Bless!

You bought a 'garand ? who0 hoo ,truly the heart of a Rifleman 
201 is a good score ,means only 1 round diiference to the 210 score . We are anxiously awaiting the pics of you accepting the RM patch .

I have had the pleasure of working with some of the Florida Instructor crew and feel the same as you
I was a pleasure and honor to meet each attendee and instructor .

I have a purple Madame yotnottin waiting for "LadyM" in the event you cannot find an original .
Have any SB send me a PM or send me a pm and  I will  send it directly to you ,  any Florida instructor will be honored to present it  and Madame yotnottin will be smiling from above.

Floridians, men and women who truly know what they are about .

[Henrykjr]

Glad to see the Clermont post finally up.

To the instructors: You guys are all top notch! Thanks for all you patience and knowledge!

Smoke!  Thanks for the use of the loaner rifles.  Next time around dinner is on me!

The experience:  Honestly one of the best outdoor experiences I have ever had.  It's great hanging put and talking with like minded people.  Looking forward to shooting at many more of these events and bringing a whole bunch of friends.  I'm really surprised at how under marketed the events are because at the price charged there should be a 3 month wait to get on the firing line!

Next go around: we'll have 2 .22 rifle ready to go but my goal is to shoot rifleman with my HK SL8 using iron sights. Then shoot rifleman again with some type of a bolt action gun (more that likely the new Mossberg MVP).

Rick! Please PM me I have some questions about EMT training.

Eric!  Better get that cheap thermal gilly suit on sale in Florida cause I hear it they carry a premium up in Alaska!   Good luck up there!

Thanks again all!

[willorith]

Sorry about being so tardy with my AAR for Clermont. I had sinus surgery the day after the event and I had thought that I would be able to crank out the AAR in the week I had off to recover. It seems that being on Hydrocodone does not lead to high work output. Thank you to my Appleseed friends who leapt in and filled the gap.

Shootboss: Willorith

Thanks again to the experienced crew who made this event work in spite of my disorganized nature.
2nd RedHat, SBIT: Sly223
Secret RedHat: ItsanSKS, thanks for backing me up again, friend
IITs: Smoakingun, Douglas 34474, Corey, Bill o rites
Blue Hat: Connie, my personal and private administrative assistant. She makes things work smoothly when by my efforts alone they would grind to a smoking catastrophic standstill. Thanks, Sweety.

As has been reported, this was the inaugural event at Greenswamp Sports Club, a new range. There will be an Appleseed event at this range the second weekend of every month starting in June of 2012. Range personnel could not have been more welcoming to Appleseed, and I look forward to many more wonderful experiences at this range.

Weather forecast was close to hurricane conditions for both days. Curiously, the forecast turned out to be incorrect. I've never seen that happen before.  However unusual it was, we benefitted from the erroneous weather predictions.  The brave Appleseeders  ( redundant?) who showed up were blessed with mild Florida spring weather with only a couple of brief showers.

Ray, an experienced appleseeder showed up on Sunday and cranked out 5 Rifleman scores ranging from 214 to 222. Very nice work Ray. Time to start transferring that skill to your fellow patriots on the line, an Orange Hat awaits you.

Paula and Henry picked up a flyer at Ace Hardware and  came out to see what Appleseed was all about. it is always deeply gratifying to see couples shooting together. It cements the bonds of their relationship as it cements their bonds with our nation.

A Shooting line made up of primarily experienced Appleseeders resulted in a quickly moving event with one AQT on Saturday even with the Volley for Liberty.  The Volley for Liberty came off as crisp and sharply as any I have heard. A few instructors lent the thunderous boom of their Garands to the volley for a truly moving moment.

The weather on Sunday proved cooperative and allowed eleven AQTs  with many scores in the 180 plus range.
Good People, come again in June for another swing for the bleachers. Until then, keep dry firing.

[smoakingun]

Finally, I have been waiting for this. This was probably one of the most fun appleseeds I have been to in a while. Not a single bad attitude on the line anywhere. Even with rain, wind, freezing cold, snow, sweltering heat, fog, hail, sweat pouring off their heads, steam rising from red hot muzzles, calf deep mud, misquitos, wasps, hornets, sharks, barb wire, scorpions, leaches, beating from the instructors, and neighboring cows, this group persisted and suffered to become riflemen. I have great expectations for this group of shooters. With some dry fire at home, there is no reason every one of you can't make rifleman in june

[9mm4545]

Uh, Smoak, did you completely forget about the dragons? And how about the lions, tigers, and bears?

[airplanejoe]

I didn't see the nasty zombies on the list!

[smoakingun]

you guys might be exagerating the actual conditions just a bit

[TomM1Thumb]

Smoak,

what's a little recoil therapy, without a little wildlife? No Elephants, no Mules!

Sounds like lots of Fun, Maybe next time I can be there, But I want the Flogging stick!

The Marksmanship will improve!

[LadyMiddlebrook]

Green Swamp Sport Club was the most comfortable venue that we have been to yet.  And the best thing was that there was a combination of red hats and orange hats from both of the previous AS events that we had gone to.  St. Augustine was represented by Smoke - and Brian, Rick, and Corey represented Myakka....wish Johnnie AS and Terry could have been there too!

First, to Johnnie AS - thank you so much for saving the original purple patch for me....I know it is taking me forever to get it, but I am not going to give up and I will be contacting you.  Ed and I are going to Green Swamp in June to try again! 

Next, a huge thank you to all of the representatives of AS that gave me so much instruction and helped me to feel like I am truly improving.  I may not be as close to the patch as I would like after 3 AS event - but, as Doug so wisely told me, I can see my improvement.  I will be ordering a laser for my gun after this post in order to practice in our living room - which was a great suggestion from Rick!  I think seeing the laser on paper will really help me during practice!  Ed is going to practice too!

Thank you all for all of the helpful advice!  Airplane Joe spent so much time with me on Saturday, Corey kept telling me he had confidence in me, and Doug, Smoke, Rick, Eric, and Roy all had a huge part in trying to get me to the patch on Sunday!  I truly appreciate all of you and your suggestions and help!  It was truly a great AS! 

Another cool thing was meeting Scott from Green Swamp who we are going to take a pistol class from and get some training on shooting skeet.  He was very nice to cook lunch both days! 

Looking forward to June at Green Swamp!

[Son of Summers Middlebrook]

Does anyone know where we can find the bore/muzzle laser?  Is that what you call it?

[9mm4545]

Look for a universal bore sighter. I have seen them at Walmart for cheap or you can spend more and get one that is dedicated to the caliber of whatever firearm you are putting it into. Midwayusa.com, opticsplanet.com, brownells.com are sources. When you can make it go "click" without the laser moving even a little bit, life is good. It is hard however to see both the laser beam and the sights at the same time. I would watch the front sight/crosshairs and let your coach watch the laser. Using the laser to demonstrate NPOA is probably its best use.

[airplanejoe]

SOSM, I agree with 9mm4545 on the uses of the boresighter. What I try to do is to balance a coin on the barrel (as far towards the muzzle as possible). You do need a "coach" for this. If you can drop the trigger without the coin falling you are doing it right.

Start by posting a "target";  and making sure there is no live ammo nearby.
1. get into position (your choice: standing, sitting/kneeling, prone, or whatever else you want to try).
2. find your NPOA.
3. balance the coin.
4. do six steps to firing a shot.
5. coin stays put - good technique; coin falls - you need more practice.

I can almost guarantee that if you had a good sight picture and the coin stayed balanced on the barrel when the trigger dropped, you would have hit whatever you were aiming at.

Hope this helps.

Airplanejoe

[LadyMiddlebrook]

Great advice, Airplane Joe!  We will try it!  Anyone know when the Green Swamp June shoot will post to the schedule?  Don't know why my avatar is always gone!

[Sly223]

I find mine at Wal-Mart and I have had to stay on the manager to keep them in stock.They are both $40 one is red adionized aluminum .22 cal, the other is black and has cal attachments. Secret when you place the black one it will tighten in the bore by design so as not to fall out. I did not know this the first time and ripped the rubber off and rendered it almost useless.

[airplanejoe]

As has been reported, this was the inaugural event at Greenswamp Sports Club, a new range. There will be an Appleseed event at this range the second weekend of every month starting in June of 2012. Range personnel could not have been more welcoming to Appleseed, and I look forward to many more wonderful experiences at this range.

Shooters,

I went today to the Greenswamp Sport Club earlier today to get my new member orientation. I can confirm Willorith's earlier posting to the effect that: "There will be an Appleseed event at this range the second weekend of every month starting in June of 2012." They are in fact expecting us. The problem is that they are MIA from the Appleseed schedule. I don't know how to make this happen.

Airplanejoe

[9mm4545]

It should be on the schedule within days, if not sooner. Watch for it.

[Sly223]

Sched. is up!

[Son of Summers Middlebrook]

I recently received a CMP M1 Garand Stock Set New Manuf in USA w/Metal for my Garand. 

The Front and rear hand guards fit perfectly, however the trigger guard will not close to lock with this buttstock.   The trigger guard closes perfectly with the old buttstock and the new hand guards.  Has anyone had this problem and have any suggestions?

Thank you

[airplanejoe]

SoSM,

Welcome to the world of the "garage gunsmiths". Your situation happens quite frequently in the firearms world. Consider that specific models of military rifles are mass produced by different manufacturers which means that tolerances are not the same. Enter an aftermarket part. In theory it's supposed to fit all which really means that it will probably fit none without a little "fitting" work. If you are not handy with hand tools you would be better off seeking a gunsmith familiar with Garands. If you feel you are up to it, I'll suggest a couple of guidelines which might solve your problem.

Anyway, the first rule I follow is: Do fit the buttsock to the rifle, do not fit the rifle to the buttstock. Meaning, any modifications are done to the wood, not the metal.

Rule 2 is: Take your time, go Slow. Carpenters would say "measure twice and cut once". Meaning, I stay away from Dremels.

I need to do some errands, I'll post part 2 tonight.

Airplanejoe

[douglas34474]

I recently received a CMP M1 Garand Stock Set New Manuf in USA w/Metal for my Garand. 

The Front and rear hand guards fit perfectly, however the trigger guard will not close to lock with this buttstock.   The trigger guard closes perfectly with the old buttstock and the new hand guards.  Has anyone had this problem and have any suggestions?

Thank you

How far does the trigger guard close before it stops? The trigger guard should stop about 3/8" past the tip of the trigger. It will help closing if you put a little grease on the lugs of the trigger guard.

[Son of Summers Middlebrook]

I got it!  Some folks on the CMP forum gave me a few tips, and with some patience and persuasion I managed to get it without even a tool.  I will post a picture when I figure out how.

Thanks all!

[airplanejoe]

SoSM,

Great!!

Airplanejoe

[Son of Summers Middlebrook]

New Garand!

[bill o rites]

just like gettin a new Cadillac  congrats enjoy that piece of history

[Brother_COM]

New Garand!

What do you mean by "New" Is it new to YOU or brand new? It looks G-R-E-A-T!!!! Have you got to shoot it yet???

Thanks,
Brother_COM