BURLINGTON FLATS, NY SEPT 15-16 2012

[sgtrock]

quote from Ape Man

And I learned a long time ago that if you want to learn something you don't go to people who are naturally good at the thing you want to learn. They will not be able to explain how they do it and they will not be able to figure out why you can't.

end quote

Ape Man

I think you would be very surprised,,, Let me know if you can get to B-Flats on a weekend such as this one coming up, and I will teach you,,,,   Other than looking thru your eyes, with your equipment,,, I can put you into a military rifle and see what you are looking at, I have a device that will allow me to see what you are seeing,,, With the proper equipment, good things are possible,, I am more than willing to spend time on the line on weekends for any Appleseeder that comes here, my targets, my dime, my time, your willingness to learn,,, its that easy,,,

sgtrock

[microred]

Ed patiently waiting to put "Smooth is Fast" in motion! Bolt gun, single feed, manual cocking,  Amazingly SMOOTH!!!  And the result : Expert score!  OK Ed  I really do have a pic ...but for some reason it is not letting me post it...I will work on it and get back here, with better results, I hope.

[microred]

OK Ed changed format, let's see if this does it

[Ed Lentz]

I cropped that pic a bit.

Good Grief do I ever look impatient in that photo.

[Ape Man]

 sgtrock,

Thanks for the kind offer. I would like to take you up on it sometime. I just don't know that it will be this year.

I picked the worst year possible in terms of free time to learn how to shoot. The only reason I even made the time that I did is that this year is that I went from wanting to learn how to shoot to feeling like I needed to learn how to shoot in the space of a week. So I pushed other things out of the way to make time. But I recently bought a house that needs work and I am trying to work on my parents place at the same time. This means that while I can continue to practice my shooting/dry fire in the evenings, my weekends are pretty much shot with other obligations.

Next year I plan on being different as I don't want to spend my entire life doing home improvements. Hopefully by that time I will have taken care of the major issues and maybe then I can take advantage of your generosity (if the offer still stands). I certainly plan on making it to another Appleseed at the very least.

And I would like to make it clear that I did not mean the instructors at Appleseed when I said you don't learn from people with natural ability. What I was trying to say was that the ability to teach and that ability to shoot well are not the same thing. I know a couple of good shots whose only real advice is a put a lot of bullets down range until you figure it out. I am sure that would work over the long haul, but it is an expensive way to learn. Especially for those of us who are not naturally talented.

But the instruction I got at Appleseed was very helpful. Now I have a much more structured training program with much clearer goals in mind. I know the weak areas I need to work on and I have some good ideas of how to work on them. And all this thanks to instruction I received at Burlington Flats.

Bottom Line: I think it is a lot better to have a plan then to just put rounds down range and hope to get better. And a plan is one of the things that I feel like I gained by going to Appleseed.     

[sgtrock]

{quote from Ape Man}

And I would like to make it clear that I did not mean the instructors at Appleseed when I said you don't learn from people with natural ability. What I was trying to say was that the ability to teach and that ability to shoot well are not the same thing. I know a couple of good shots whose only real advice is a put a lot of bullets down range until you figure it out. I am sure that would work over the long haul, but it is an expensive way to learn. Especially for those of us who are not naturally talented.{end quote}

No worries Ape Man
I knew what you were saying,, I've seen it a lot over the years and I still see it in todays world,,,  Some people in the shooting world, just can't begin to put it into words that makes sense,,, The offer is always there,, Range time with good people is always good for the soul,,, at least in my book anyways,,,, When your schedule frees up give us a call,,, Like you said, you now have enough material to see you thru the winter,,, Thanks for being there,,,

sgtrock

[Ed Lentz]

Apeman,

Don't get down on yourself. You did learn to shoot this past weekend. You know the six steps to taking a shot, you have the basics down. And most importantly you now know how to properly shoot a rifle without any bad habits that need to be unlearned.

What did you score this weekend? Marksman? Sharpshooter? You are a 4moa shooter now. That's pretty impressive.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/practical_accuracy.htm

Have you gone back and shot the stock sights on your 10/22? I think your improvements on Sunday are more you than the sights.

Ed

[Ape Man]

Ed,

I am sure my groups have tightened up even with my old sights. Lately, it has been so dark when I get done with everything else that dry firing is the only thing that is practical for after work. But I may try to slip in some shooting this weekend. Especially if it rains tomorrow (rain is always a good excuse to goof off).

How about yourself? What do you do after you qualify with a bolt action single shot?

Ape Man

[Ed Lentz]

Me? I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks leisurely sighting in my heritage carcano. I'm very curious about its performance using commercial .264 vs my handloaded .268 bullets. (I really need to justify to my self the expense of that reloading press  )

After my first weekend (where you are now) I spent a lot of time dry firing and practicing my natural point of aim. I spend a weekend or two sighing in my old single shot bolt .22 to get it ready for last weekend's appleseed (the sights on that needed to be drifted over quite a bit).

To be honest, right now I'm in a good place. I'm thrilled to have gotten my rifleman patch on my second appleseed (I attribute that to the great instruction I received of course). I feel that I'm a solid 4moa shooter and that's a nice feeling.

I'm looking forward to next year's appleseed. I'm going to gift my father a ticket for his xmas present. I really hope to bring a nice sighted in carcano to the KD range. I can't see any reason not to keep going with my winchester 68 at this point.

Hope to see everyone again in the spring!

Ed

[microred]

I really want to thank everyone involved in the Appleseed Project.  Including not only all the great students but my fellow instructors who I continually learn from.  It is a great solice to meet with like-minded individuals, to learn of our hard fought for Heritage and safely learn to handle firearms, as everyone should.

Ape Man, it was a pleasure to have you and your sister on the line, and remember that a little bit of practice helps tremendously, even to those that already know the six steps to taking the shot.

And Ed thank you for the informative link, it really can help bring it all together.

Can't wait to see you all back at beautiful Burlington Flats, or anywhere else along the Appleseed trail, with all your friends and family.

[Josey Wales]

..Great Job Odin..

.Microred, Gthomas, Vibbit, and Sgtrock thanks for all you do, really good stuff.............JW......................