Las Vegas, NV - Clark County Shooting Range - 21/22 Apr 2012

[RangeRat]

The weekend started with the ever present Las Vegas fireball rising in the east.  The weather guessers were projecting record high temps and Mother Nature didn't disappoint.  We hit a high of 99 and though it set a record for us, the AZ folks had temps in excess of 100 degrees for Patriot's Day weekend.

We had 7 shooters total; 3 returnees and 4 new shooters.  Mathieu - a 4th time returnee, Ken who last attended in 2008, and Steve from St George, UT who was looking to patch at this, his second AS.  We were also joined by first timers Angelica, Jeremy, and Nathan and his father Vince, who came in from OH.  I can't say the last time I saw a son bring his father to an Appleseed.  The camaraderie (and ribbing) between them was fun to watch.

I can say without a doubt this was the smoothest AS I've ever led as a Shoot Boss; a safe bet since it was my first!

The shooters showed up well prepared and we blitzed the Redcoats promptly at 0945.  Of the 7 shooters, Matt cleared the RC, and we had 2 shooters @ 400, 1 shooter @ 300, 2 shooters @ 200, 1 shooter @ 100 and even with such fine shooting the SB got bayonetted by the one RC that got away.  Three shooters even joined the revered Morgan's Rifle Company!

The shooters came extremely well prepared (I'll say it again....) and we only had to shoot one sheet of squares to confirm zeroes.  The shooters picked up the instruction quickly and we moved right thru the second sheet.  One of Mathieu's targets was singled out to demonstrate NPOA - tough to dispute a 5 shot, single ragged hole in the black.  The Greenies were dispatched without hesitation and we got into AQTs very early.  Typically we are hard pressed to get thru more than a single AQT on Saturday afternoon; today we got thru 3!  The final Redcoat numbers showed 3 MRC, 2 @ 400 and 2 @ 200 with 2 shooters not participating and the SB getting bayonetted once again.

The Liberty RC was shot at the appointed time and we included a local serviceman who'd lost his life in Afghanistan in 2011.  We were proud to be part of a simultaneous event with over 70 ranges and 1300 shooters nationwide. 

Steve and Angelica couldn't return on Sunday so the reduced band of shooters participated in reviewing the skills they'd learned on Saturday.  We shot AQTs and more AQTs and even some Liberty AQTs.... And then the dreaded TV target and more AQTs.  As the afternoon wore on we had a collection of centerfires come to the line: a Mini-14, a Garand, AK's, and even a VZ-58. 

Nathan got his patch with a high score of 226 and shot 210's and 220's all afternoon.  Jeremy also got his patch with a 216 (?) and then tried to "patch" with several other rifles - such enthusiasm!   And Mathieu was, well.... Mathieu.  Solid 220's all weekend long with open sights.  Ken was oh so close with 180's and finding that even when the mind commands sometimes the body just does what it wants.  Vince was POUNDING on the door with 190's and a high of 198; hang in there - it'll come soon.  That scope problem sure didn't help...  Angelica was a first time shooter and made significant progress.  She's already committed to the next event so we'll see you there.

And finally .... drum roll please...

Nathan and Jeremy took the Orange Hat.  They're going to be welcome additions to the Southern Nevada AS crew.  Mathieu's giving serious consideration to taking the Hat; we'd sure like to see you up in front with us.... There's not much that compares to passing on the tradition...

RangeRat

[RockBridge]

If you hadn't mentioned that it was your first time as shoot boss, none of us would have known. You did  a great job RangeRat!

I'm looking forward to passing on what I've learned and have several friends who are planning on attending soon!

I've even applied some of what I learned to match shooting. This week there was a rifle stage with black 10" plates at 200yd in a shady area of the range that the lights were not reaching in the darkness. I was able to get to my rifle, and nail both plates from a supported kneeling position in 22 seconds...using iron sights! 

[RangeRat]

W00T!  and you were wearing your AS shirt right?  Keep up the practice and you might have half a chance from the standing position at that range.

Glad you and your dad had a great time.  Let me know when he's coming back out and we'll do something special.

RR

[LayloPro]

Very well done, Range Rat!!
And I know your back up crew was as awesome as well! 

Good shoot, by all standards.....keep 'em rolling!!

LLP