News:

We need volunteers in sales, marketing, PR, IT, and general "running of an organization." 
Maximize your Appleseed energy to make this program grow, and help fill the empty spots
on the firing line!  An hour of time spent at this level can have the impact of ten or a
hundred hours on the firing line.  Want to help? Send a PM to Monkey!

Main Menu

Mariposa, CA Nov. 10 & 11 AARON

Started by KP, November 12, 2012, 09:42:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

KP

There's nothing like jumping into the deep end!  My first SBIT turned into my first SB.  The scheduled shoot boss had a family emergency.  He expressed great confidence in my readiness to run the AS.  Two Orange Hats were signed up, and one more, along with a Red Hat answered the call.  Together we instructed 24 shooters!  (Our range capacity is 24).

A huge "Thank You" and "Job well done" to BinaryBro, TowedJumper, Krahnic and MamaNoJama.  Feedback from the shooters was very positive.  They braved snow, rain and hail on Saturday and sunshine on Sunday...  Two shooters scored Rifleman, one on the first AQT of Saturday!  One "veteran" Rifleman re-qualified about four or five times over the weekend.  Seventeen shooters returned on Sunday.  (Two had water pipe issues, and one decided not to push his two new knees, acquired in August, too much.).

The history presentations went O.K.  There is so much to tell that you just can't fit it all in...  I think they all took away a lot to ponder: honor those who took a stand and made the sacrifice on April 19, 1775 and after by remembering them and committing ourselves to action; keep our ancestors and our posterity in view; and exercise the freedoms they preserved, so they are not lost.

We're looking forward to our next AS in Mariposa, April 20 & 21, 2013.

Nero

Brevet SB on your first shoot as a red hat, eh?  That's getting chucked into the deep end with a vengeance!  Congrats on pulling it off in style.  (The information for formatting and submitting the IAAR is, surprisingly enough, on the IAAR board.)
"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters." —Frederick Douglass

Krahnic

You did a good job for you first AS as SB.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan

b_gummer

KP, BinaryBro, TowedJumper, Krahnic and MamaNoJama you did a great job helping make another very successful Appleseed in Mariposa!

Special kudos to you KP for stepping up on such short notice. That truly is "Perseverance".  Thank you!

I am sure all the shooters made great progress, I know I saw all the shooters from my family (my wife, son, daughter and nephew) make progress, and those non family members in attendance from my Boy Scout Troop (four more) make great strides, and have an awesome time. It was a great privilege to be present to see my son earn his Rifleman score on Sunday after hanging out in the 205-209 range much of the weekend.

It was gratifying to see the line totally full, despite the cold and wet.

When my wife and I get the pictures off of our cameras, we'll put up some pictures so everyone can see the fun that was had by all.

We are all already looking forward to April!

Thanks to all our instructors, and to the Appleseed program!  O0

B_gummer
Tolley
Rifleman


Garand56

way to go KP; I never doubted you for a minute!

G56
We're surrounded...that simplfies the problem.

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!"
-Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

bob 210

#5
Great job KP! I knew you had it in you when we met at the IBC! Keep up the good work!
If ye love wealth better than liberty,the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom,go home from us.We ask not your counsels or arms.Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen. SA

mrs_rachel

Hi everyone! I really had a great time at this Appleseed -- I had planned to only attend on Saturday since I had a commitment on Sunday, but I was so determined to do better after struggling with some equipment issues that I maneuvered my schedule around to enable myself to come back on Sunday as well and keep trying. I came within about a half-inch on the 400-meter target of clearing my first Redcoat ever on Sunday morning -- the high point of the weekend for me. I was using a scope for the first time at an Appleseed, thinking that perhaps the reason I'd done poorly at previous shoots had something to do with my poor eyesight, and it really seemed to help both mornings (I haven't shot groups like that since I was in my early 20s) until, as we found out later to my relief, the scope mounts started falling apart both afternoons and my shots started kinda going everywhere. :) So I'm eager for April to get here, to see how I can do on those AQTs if I'm not having scope issues. :)

KP, you were a great shoot boss! Kudos to you for stepping into the breach and taking over on short notice. Your stories were great.

The weather was certainly crazy on Saturday but we persevered through the rain, mud, and hail - some shooters even lying out in the weather without cover because the line was so full.

Our teenagers don't have their own forum profiles so they'll post their commentary here in this post. :)

Our son Tolley (age 16 and brand-new Rifleman!) :
I was knocking on the door of Rifleman getting scores of 207 to 209 all weekend and on the last AQT of Sunday afternoon I finally scored 211. I was really happy, after five or six Appleseeds and a whole lot of practice, that I could finally join the ranks of the Rifleman. I had an awesome time at the event. Everyone else did great. I could see that everyone was improving, and I encourage everyone to continue to practice. Perseverance paid off for me and I'm glad for my dad who encourages me to keep at it.

(Here's a picture of Tolley getting his patch.)

CIMG3729 by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr

Claire, our 13-year-old daughter:
I really love Appleseed. It is an event I look forward to every time. This time I improved a lot.  I still have a lot of room to improve but I was really happy to get out there this weekend and shoot and get my best score so far on an AQT. I am really interested in the blue hat program and would like to know more about it. Could I get a blue hat and then tell stories? I really enjoy reading my family's copy of Paul Revere's Ride and I also really enjoy doing dramatic presentations for 4-H competitions, so I think that would be really fun. I hope to shoot Rifleman next year so I can maybe get an orange hat. I was really glad to see so many people that I know that are my age at this Appleseed! We had a lot of fun together. The weather presented a muddy challenge on Saturday but it was beautiful on Sunday!  KP was a very good shoot boss and and all the other instructors were great. Thanks Towed Jumper for always coming to my rescue with your pocket tool for all my many misfires!

Jordan, our 15-year-old nephew, was with us for his second Appleseed.
I learned a lot. It was really fun and I'm looking forward to next time! I scored my highest so far on an AQT (188) and I hope I can do even better next time.

(Rachel again)

Here are some general pictures that B_Gummer took while the rest of us were shooting. :)


Claire by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


Sunday lineup by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


Instruction time by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


First Rifleman of the shoot on the first AQT of Saturday morning! by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


More solid instruction! by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


Saturday line-up by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


KP, shoot boss extraordinaire by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr


FULL shooting line by Tolley's Charger, on Flickr