Crawfordsville, IN Oct 13-14, 2012

[ATM]

Another outstanding event at Crawfordsville Gun Club!

I was so glad to spend the weekend with the fine group who came out to brave the weather, improve their rifle skills, and consider the rich history and heritage which we share as Americans.

You all did great! 

I'll have plenty more details to add and pictures to upload in the next couple days so check back, and please, reply with your own comments as well.

I'm off to fix me some bacon... our three new Riflemen depleted my stash. 

[JV]

was a great weekend. was nice to meet a couple of instructors for next door, thenailer and rkbl. the students were great, listened well and applied what was taught. noone seemed bothered by the rain on saturday, or the very annoying wind today. as always, the chance to congratulate some new riflemen is always a welcome treat at any weekend. a big thank you to crawfordsville gun club for having us (and feeding us on sunday  ), to the students who put up with less than perfect weather, and to the other instructors for another awesome appleseed weekend for the history books. the history is that a lot of people came to a range, heard stories and were instructed on how to shoot a rifle, the story is that a group of mostly strangers came together and made themselves not only better shooters, but better people.

[ATM]

 A couple group pics... more tomorrow!

[RBKL]

What a great weekend.   It's always fun in Indiana - they have bacon!!.   

Congrats to the 3 new riflemen.  There were several others who will be there soon. There were a lot of family groups.  It's nice to see a family come out and learn together.  The young shooters were great. 

It was great to see new and familar faces over the weekend.  I can't beieve I forgot my camera both days.  I may have to leave comments on the other photos as they are posted.

Nice mix of weather- rain, sun, wind... what ever you like - we had it.   Luckily the big down pour did not happen until we were picked up and on our way home sunday.


hey - JV - great quote, I may have to steal it!!

the story is that a group of mostly strangers came together and made themselves not only better shooters, but better people.

Looking foward to seeing everyone again - Hey, Danville, IL is OCT 27-27.   Just down the road, closer than you think.  Maybe we will see some of you there!!

[RobbyMaQ]

Hey! I had a GREAT time this past weekend! I'll try to keep my AAR short. Sorry in advance if it's long winded!

A Little background:
I shot rifle and shotgun a little as a kid growing up. No real formal training with exception of a Hunter Safety Course at 14. Tried hunting a few years until I was 17, but it was never really appealing. Haven't shot much since, until this summer. At the ripe age of 43, I decided it would be wise to try an Appleseed. I am glad I did, because this was all new to me.

Day one:
Rainy and wet. Started out slow (as we were warned) with lots of instruction between drills.
I had a shipping blanket for a shooting mat, and jeans (instead of rain pants). It was miserable sitting in the wet (cold wet butt), or standing in it waiting for the next portion. Laying in it didn't seem to bother me as much though lol. While shooting, it bothered me very little, except for rain beads on my front sight.

The adjustable stock on my Ruger 10/22 is way too small for me (More on that later). With the stock fully extended, it was difficult to get a cheekweld on the tube (too low to see sights). Luckily a neighbor loaned me some pipe insulation, which helped a ton! The grip is very small for my long fingers, but I was managing.

The staff made it enjoyable and were very enthusiastic in all aspects, making the wet day a little brighter for us all. ATM's singing is downright worth the money in and of itself! repeat after me... "Mags out, bolts back, safeties on, flags in, rifles grounded, no one touching!" (Yeah, the singing worked)

My drills were good, and I was happy. My first AQT went awry with mistakes, failing to get quite a few rounds off. I was still struggling with grip and trigger control. Halfway into my 2nd AQT, Steve stopped to check my trigger finger, and insisted I try using just the pad despite it's discomfort. Wouldn't you know, I scored rifleman on that AQT on the first day! What I thought was a score of 212, turned out to be a 221 once ATM applied the .30 cal rule. I got to taste the bacon, and life was good! The 212 I thought I had scored would be a good baseline for tomorrow, because a rifleman no longer gets the 30 cal rule.

Driving home on cloud 9, and beginning to realize how cold and wet I really was, I damn near missed my exit! Got home around 7, and after the chores were done, equipment dried out and rifle cleaned, I finally hit the sack around 11 (falling asleep within 5 mins of my head hitting the pillow)

Day Two:
Brought my rain pants, and a blue foam shooting mat. But it barely rained, instead wind blew everything all over the place most of the day!

We shot 6 AQT's. I scored rifleman 3 more times with a 211, 216 & 219 respectively (remember, no .30 cal rule). My first and last two AQT's fell short in the 190's. It will take much more time behind a rifle to overcome 1st shoots and tiredness I think. We got 2 or 3 more riflemen! Congrats to one of the BHausens (I forget which one got it) and Dennis! I forget the 3rd?! Or was that the patch the young ladies got!?

I tried my hand at the 8" plate from 100 yards with my AR (.223). I've less than 100 rounds with it, and was guessing on the initial sight adjustment. ATM Called out my shots, low and right. By round 3 I had elevation figured, but I was baby stepping left without knowing how far off right I was hitting. By 10 rounds I barely grazed the target or chain. I should have moved left half the width of the sight post each time (remembering now that the post is roughly 7moa at that distance). But hindsight is 20/20. I really felt like I let the staff down.

On a 2nd run at the plates, I adjusted my sights again, and managed to hit the smaller 4" plate once for sure. Possibly twice (Everyone was gunning for them at the same time).

Kudos to the young lady who managed to hit the 4" plate 4 times out of maybe 6 or 7 rounds from a sitting position.

Thanks to JV who let us try his M1 Garand! This was my first time shooting any caliber larger than .223 and I have a newfound respect for the veterans that carried this mule of a rifle into battle!

Some notes:
Anyone who was looking at my rifle wondering about it? Please DON'T. It's a 1973 ruger 10/22, hand me down from my father who'd used it for small game hunting. If I tore it open, and showed you how bad the bolt is, you'd laugh at how banged up it is. I have tried to polish it, to smooth out the action, but it is seriously beat up. I bent the guide rod once and had to rebend it back into shape. The trigger is probably a 9lb trigger (despite my best effort to polish the sear). Until I recently replaced the extractor, I was getting FTE's and FTF's about 1x each mag. Thankfully, this weekend I did not have a single failure (Thank you extractor).
The stock is a blackhawk axiom. And they are cool looking, great little adjustable stocks, if you happen to be a little kid! Which is why I had purchased it. I wanted my son and 5' tall wife to be able to shoot it. I could not get a consistent cheekweld, because the stock was fully extended, leaving me just the tube to rest my cheek onto. This is far too low imo. If it wasnt for the pipe insulation, I would not have been able to shoot as accurately. The tech sights are the only real nice thing about the rifle (being able to adjust easily with just a click)

I want to thank the staff again. You all were fairly enthusiastic, and made the shoot very enjoyable. You pushed us 'just enough'. I will be back again! I can't wait to bring my son to an event (hopefully next spring)! Until then, I have lots of practice ahead of me, only now it's with a clear and defined structure!

[JV]

thank you for the kind words robby, glad you had a great time. look forward to seeing you on the line again.

[ATM]

Wow, thanks RobbyMaQ, that was quite an AAR!


And now for some more pics...



RBKL watches the firing line as the shooters learn Inches, Minutes Clicks at the target line




Friends and families sharing a slightly soggy but awesome day on Saturday!
















Rifleman RobbyMaQ

[ATM]

I didn't get as many pics Sunday, but it was another fine day with just a bit of wind. 

Rifleman cbhausen




Rifleman Dennis F.




And our two youth shooters that made it back on Sunday, Kayti and Taylin.

[stagehand steve]

It was a great weekend and I really enjoyed getting to know everyone.  You all showed wonderful perseverance through out the wind and rain.  I hope to see you all again at a future Appleseed.

= stagehand steve =

[RobbyMaQ]

Yeah. I tried to condense it, but it still ended up long. Sorry for the lengthy AAR. Guess I'm used to reading INGO AAR's!

I spoke with a gent today, who recently spent a buttload of money on a gun, only to find he never shoots them. He admitted to collecting them, and pulling them from the safe 3 times a year to admire them. To each his own I suppose.

But it made me reflect on my poor little rifle, and all of the shooting and abuse it has likely seen throughout the years. It made me appreciate that even though it's not an expensive, new, or high quality rifle, it did get me through an Appleseed with no malfunctions, and helped me earn rifleman. 

I am slow and not so good with words, but thanks to you guys I've begun to recognize what I am about!

[The Nailer]

What an impressive bunch of brave soles who ventured out on a weekend when bad weather was predicted.  It impressed me even more  when it started raining and everyone just kept shooting not even seeming to notice.  I would like to thank everyone who came out and shared the weekend with us and learn about our heritage and learn some marksmanship along the way.

The Nailer

[stagehand steve]

What an impressive bunch of brave soles who ventured out on a weekend when bad weather was predicted.  It impressed me even more  when it started raining and everyone just kept shooting not even seeming to notice.  I would like to thank everyone who came out and shared the weekend with us and learn about our heritage and learn some marksmanship along the way.

The Nailer

I have to disagree about no one whining when it started to rain.  The 2 instructors (me and JV) who were doing re-quals at the end of the line whined a bunch.   

= stagehand steve =

[RobbyMaQ]

When we'd prep for stage 2, something about that wet cold, hitting my butt went right up my spine. But once we were given the 'GO' on that stage, I didn't notice the wet at all.

I was really impressed with the kids. They were troopers for sure!

[ATM]

The rain is great, quit all that whining down there!

...But it made me reflect on my poor little rifle, and all of the shooting and abuse it has likely seen throughout the years. It made me appreciate that even though it's not an expensive, new, or high quality rifle, it did get me through an Appleseed with no malfunctions, and helped me earn rifleman. 

Yep, in your hands, your "poor little rifle" is obviously still quite capable.

May she find another generation of use in just the right sort of hands. 

[TA]

I had a great time and want to thank all the instructors for taking time out of their lives to come out with us and pass on their knowledge. 
  I went in with an open mind expecting to learn and improve my skills. Mission accomplished. What I didn't expect was in the days after, as you wrap your head around the weekend, the impact the stories of April 19th, 1775 have on your way of thinking. When you ask yourself if you're honoring everything those men, women, and children achieved with their sacrifice.
  Although I didn't make rifleman this time, I'm determined to taste the bacon and plan to return as my schedule allows.

[ginseng]

I had a great time...was the best hurt of my life. A big thank you to the instructors and boss and to all the new brothers and sisters I met.  Congrads to BC Hausen and Robby MaQ.  That was the best tasting bacon I've ever had.. I would do it again, but, with a different rifle..does anybody else have baby smooth elbows that didn't wear a long sleeve shirt..OUCH!!!!!  Learned alot and still practicing at night. Enjoyed the history lesson,  I still shake my head at the fact I got a patch.. Loving the Appleseed and proudly wearing the shirt and talking about the program with fellows friends..Hope to have some of them inlisted..   Dennis Furr.