Corona, CA, July 14-15, 2012 AAR

[Psych Doc]

  This was a Great Shoot! 

We had an exceptional group of patriots both young and old who braved the heat to join us at Raahauge's range in Corona for a weekend of marksmanship and heritage. We had a good mix of new shooters as well as some old hands. Particularly nice to see, were the groups of family members that came out together.

Right off the bat this shoot got downright exciting! A large swarm of bees tried to move into one of our canopies. Luckily no one got stung and Norm and Zach were able to get the canopy moved a safe distance from the line.

After the safety briefing, it was on to our first redcoat. It was clear that we needed to get to work if we were going to match the founders' in marksmanship. As we moved through the steady hold factors and six steps to firing the shot, all the shooters were getting on target and groups started to shrink. By the time that we took a break for lunch, many were showing solid groups and had learned to adjust their sights and zero their rifles.

The story of the three strikes inspired a number of questions from the children present. Cam's period costume and flintlock musket helped set the stage and many of the shooters tried their hand at shooting the way the founders did.

Following lunch, we learned how to shoot from sitting and standing positions. Then it was time to test our skills with an AQT. Shooters started to post qualifying results right away. Jason C got a 160, Jason T a 165 and Aaron a 184. The final Saturday redcoat showed a lot of improvement with 8 shooters hitting the 100 yard target three times, 6 shooters at 200, 3 at 300 and 1 at 400. We also had 4 shooters who hit the bonus box (some fine shooting indeed).

At the end of the day junior shooters Caleb, Reese, Christian, Brandon, Evan, Chad, Colin, Aaron, Isaiah, Conner and Camden were awarded the Luther Blanchard patch for their hard work and perseverance.

On Sunday morning we were joined by AS veteran Garry and the most stalwart of the Saturday shooters. The morning redcoats showed that a lot had changed since the day before.
We had 10 shooters hit the 100 yard target 3 times, 2 at 200, 1 at 300 and 2 at 400. We also had 2 hit the bonus box. Tom, in no mean feat of marksmanship, cleared his redcoat with every shot finding its mark. Well done!

We moved steadily through the morning review and group sizes continued to shrink. Some shooters ran into equipment problems, rifles had to be changed, but all persevered and as we broke for lunch it was clear that we had a lot of shooters who would qualify on their AQT's and some contenders for Rifleman scores.

Lunch brought the history of our country the sacrifices and choices of the founders into focus with stories of the dangerous old men, dangerous dames and courageous kids of the founding generation. Cam again brought out his flintlock musket and pistol for the shooters to try.

After lunch it was AQT time again as the afternoon progressed, many shooters qualified and then continued to move up through the ranks. Tony N. put up a heartbreaking 208, then on the round followed it up with an expert 212 to earn a patch. On the second to the last AQT of the day Lloyd joined him in excellence, putting up a 210. Well done gents!

Three cheers for our newest riflemen, Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! 

By the end of the day we had the following qualifying scores:

Evan (128)
Christian (129)
Isaiah (163)
Aaron (187)
Eric (197)
Paul (146)
Tom (186)
Matt (161)
Shawna (187)
Jason T (188)
Jason C (190)
Phil (146)
Henry (167)
Paul (154)
Tony R. (206)
Lloyd (210)
Tony N. (212)

The weary but willing shooters showed that they had learned their lessons well and put some serious hurt on their final redcoats. 9 shooters hit the 100 yard target three times, 3 shooters at 200, 5 at 300 and 3 at 400. We also had 5 shooters who hit the bonus box! And Jason C. cleared the final redcoat with every shot on target. Way to go!

After patch ceremonies recognizing our new riflemen Tony N. and Lloyd, we acknowledged new Red Hat instructor Rick and new Shoot Boss Robert. We ended the day with reminders about the price paid for our liberty and the need for our generation to preserve it for future Americans.

Thanks to all for coming out to the range and sharing some history and marksmanship with us. Thanks for being safe, and I hope you all had as good a time as I did!

All the best,
Robert (Psych Doc)


PS: My apologies if I got your score wrong, or missed it altogether. I was pretty wiped out by the end of Sunday and I could not read some of my writing where I jotted down scores at the end of the day  . If I made a mistake, or missed you, reply here and I will add you to the AAR.

Also, If you took pictures, please post 'em here!

[rrhartley]

I had a great time as well. It was a lot of fun watching the ladies at the end with the ARs for two days. I wonder how their shoulders feel? I can't say when I saw so many water jugs at a shoot. I know my 5 gallon jug was empty when I took it home Saturday to fill it again. It was great to see Rocket Man again. Cam dressed up in his 1775 dress with him musket and pistol is always a great mood setter at lunch time. The greatest moment for me was to see my friend Psych Doc put on his green hat. Congratulations Robert.

Rick

[Rocket Man]

Hey Rick!

Bet you look good in RED!!!  Congratulations!

Sorry I couldn't stick around for the Changin' o' the Hats, but it was great to see the other instructors and so many fine Americans there to shoot an' talk history an' have a great time. 

One of the folks on our little line was Paul, who was at the very first ever California Appleseed!  And he'd brought Caleb with him, a fine young man who nailed the 100 yd Redcoat and nearly got the 200 by the end of Saturday.  Passing it on to the next generation -- that's what it's all about.

Sherri took lots of pictures.  Can't wait to see 'em.

[StormNSheri]

Thank you all for attending. So we will get to the good stuff - photo's. Here is part 1 of 2

[StormNSheri]

And here we go with part 2. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves! Look forward to seeing you again.

Sheri.

[Psych Doc]

Thanks for all the great pics Sheri.

[UpChuck]

LOST & FOUND:
Someone left a red and white tackle box at the range, containing cleaning equipment.  Please send me a PM so we can get it back to you.
Chuck

[spudger]

This was not only my grandson Caleb's first Appleseed. It was also his first time shooting a firearm. When he got home he told his mom "It was awesome!". His was also excited to receive his Luther Blanchard patch. Thanks to Rocket Man and Kenny for their guidance.

I was tired and sore by the end of Sunday. The words of encouragement and the help i received to improve my shooting skills made all the work worthwhile.

[Rocket Man]

You are more than welcome.

It was a real treat for us to see Caleb go from kinda unsure and not quite tuned in yet, to engaged and slinging up tight and knocking the heck out of the 100 yd Redcoat by the end of Saturday.  I'll bet he did better still on Sunday. 

That's why we do it.  That's what makes it all worthwhile.