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Castro Valley, CA April 20-21, 2013 AAR

Started by Nero, April 21, 2013, 12:45:10 AM

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Nero

April 21, 2013, 12:45:10 AM Last Edit: April 21, 2013, 01:37:34 AM by Nero
Mostly a placeholder, but...

We had 38 shooters turn out for our Patriot's Day shoot on a beautiful California weekend.  It got a little warm, but the breeze helped a bit on that, and never got blustery enough to overturn our canopy.

We found three new Riflemen today.  Chris was first up with 218 - tuber!  Then Jeff with an awesome display of bolt gun artistry on his centerfire CZ turned in a 214 (that includes single loading 5 rounds per transition!).  And Ross came in with a 210, and received his ceremonial shower of North Bridge water - how appropriate to the day!  There were lots of other shooters knocking on the door - more targets in the 180 and 190s, so we expect great things tomorrow, plus even better scores from our Saturday Riflemen, now that they know they can do it!

Oh, and should I mention new orange hat Ken (haleson), working and calling his first line.  Yes, I should.  And how about California's newest shoot boss?  Dennis (BoxesofLiberty) received his well earned green hat.   ^:)^  Guess who gets to write up the IAAR this time?   ;D  ;D

(For those interested in Appleseed-related activities at Chabot Gun Club, including target downloads, follow this link. )
"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

zebadoba

#1
April 21, 2013, 01:17:13 AM
Thank you for hosting Nero, Dennis and the whole crew that made this first time Apple Seed so great.  As a one dayer, the amount of info I took home in my head was immense.  I will be working on my skills and will met back up with another Apple Seed this fall!

Andy

colycat

#2
April 22, 2013, 12:24:23 AM
Nero,

I can tell you that everyone in the Midwest wishes we were a little warm.  Congrats to all the patriots who went to Castro V.  You lucky people, while we are still freezing our patootees off.

coly,
from an area of the Republic that can seem to find spring.
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value."   T Paine

100

Nero

#3
April 22, 2013, 12:36:58 AM
And we're supposed to hit high 80s tomorrow!  We'd send you some of that hot air, colycat, but they've sequestered it all up in Sacramento for state government use.

Meanwhile, 5 more Rifleman were discovered today, and a new California red hat made as well.  I'll let the new shoot boss earn his pay with the full story!   ;D  ~~:)
"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

colycat

#4
April 22, 2013, 12:50:00 AM
The only hot air we get here is from Washington DC,  and our weather seems to come from Canada,  we are surrounded on all sides ;D

Great stuff is happening in CA and congrats for a really good turn out.

Now if you ever need a SB...
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value."   T Paine

100

BoxesOfLiberty

#5
April 22, 2013, 08:48:08 PM Last Edit: April 22, 2013, 08:50:15 PM by BoxesOfLiberty
SATURDAY:

While a little warm, this turned out to be a great event with a good turnout.

We had a slightly late start, waiting to get access to the facility, but we were able to recruit volunteers from the eager shooters, to help us get setup, and we got things rolling right on schedule.

Some of the shooters even took the initiative to help clean up some of the unsightly .40 and 5.56mm brass that was strewn around the range prior to our arrival.

Our turnout on Saturday wound up being 38 shooters. While we had a few familiar faces, the large majority were attending their first Appleseed event, so the pressure was on to give them a good first taste. Experience levels varied dramatically, with six shooters who had never shot a rifle prior to this event and two who had never shot a firearm of any variety. There were also some brand new rifles that had never been shot.

We had a terrific group of shooters. Despite a relatively low overall experience level and a lot of equipment / sling issues to deal with, the morning instruction went smoothly and by the time we broke for lunch everyone was looking pretty squared away. Great work in the morning by our team of instructors including Nero, American Amazon, haleson, Han Solo and guru.

Special thanks to Freeman who rearranged his day to join us in the morning and help us get through the hardest part of the weekend. Also, to snipergoose and Daimian, both of whom were able to join us and provided much needed reinforcements.

We shortened our lunchbreak to only the first strike so we could get to the Memorial Volley on time and then got on to our first AQT. Chris N became the first Rifleman of the day, turning in a score 218. Good job, Chris! O0

On the next AQT, Jeffrey I turned in a respectable 216  O0 and Ross V scored a 210 making them the second and third riflemen of the weekend.  We let Ross know about the tradition of the North Bridge Waters, and it turned out he was doubly motivated now, as he was trying to beat his Dad's 211 from a previous event.

We managed to run two more AQTs before the end of the day, but Vince couldn't improve on his 210, so he wound up getting wet. He was a good sport about it, but then again it was a pretty warm day, so it probably didn't seem so bad.

At the end of the day, along with our three Riflemen (Chris, Jeffrey, and Vince) we had awards for a couple of youth who joined us. Cameron and Tyree both trooped through the whole day ... a couple of serious and very attentive young men. Good job, guys!


SUNDAY:

As expected, the turnout shrank a little on Sunday. We started the day with 25 shooters and and 6 instructors and IITs.

It quickly became apparent that these shooters had been attentive on Saturday as we sailed through the safety and skill review portions of our program. We got a couple of AQTs in before lunch, with Ross V unsuccessfully trying to beat Sean V's 211 ... as the day progressed Jeffrey I backed up his 216 from Saturday with a very respectable 228.

After lunch we got into the grind and the scores started to pour in.

Ross figured some things out and delivered with a 230! Way to go, Ross ... now it was Sean's turn to play catch up.

One of our youth shooters, Cameron scored a 212, but we decided to hang on to it and see if he could do better. He did. Twice. Eventually matching Ross with a 230 to tie for the weekend's high score. Great performance!

Andrew F was the next to earn his rifleman with a 215. Good job!

John Cook turned in a 214 and a 218. Very nice, John!

Eventually Ross V and Sean V swapped rifles, and Ross proved that his 230 was no coincidence, turning in a 228 with Sean's rifle. Something tells me this isn't over and we will see Sean and Ross again.

Toward the end of the day, Brian H and Vince L both turned in 210s and earning their bragging rights and risking those chilly North Bridge waters. On his last AQT of the day, Vince managed to pull off a 214, and Brian had to brave the waters alone. Welcome both of you to the corps of rifleman.

We also had another youth shooter, Steven H join us Sunday only. Good to see you Steven.


NEW RIFLEMEN:

Andrew F - 215
Brian H - 210
Cameron L - 230
Chris N - 218
Jeff I - 228
John C - 218
Ross V - 230
Vince L -214


THE CASTRO VALLEY HAT TRICK:
It was pointed out to me by American Amazon that we pulled off a Hat Trick in Castro Valley this weekend - three new hats of three new colors. Haleson received an orange hat, Guru got a red one, and I got a green one.


Big Thanks to all the instructors and shooters that came out and made this a great event!
"... the liberties of the American people [are] dependent upon the ballot-box, the jury-box, and the cartridge-box; without these no class of people could live and flourish ..."
-- Frederick Douglas

Patriotic & Pro-2a T-shirts: teeliberty.etsy.com (message me about custom apparel needs)

BoxesOfLiberty

#6
April 22, 2013, 08:58:14 PM
FOUND SMALL BLACK RANGE BAG

If anyone came up short a range bag on Sunday, please let me know. I may have it.

"... the liberties of the American people [are] dependent upon the ballot-box, the jury-box, and the cartridge-box; without these no class of people could live and flourish ..."
-- Frederick Douglas

Patriotic & Pro-2a T-shirts: teeliberty.etsy.com (message me about custom apparel needs)

Eljay

#7
April 22, 2013, 10:14:50 PM
Sounds like a productive weekend.  I happened to be hiking around nearby Lake Chabot that weekend and we could definitely hear lots of activity coming from the Chabot Gun Club!

Nero

#8
April 23, 2013, 01:32:58 AM
How about some pix?  We didn't get all that many this time, so hopefully some others will contribute as well - I saw Freeman working with his big DSLR out there.

The target line awaits.  Check out our spiffin' new red, white and blue backers!  Appropriate to the occasion, and helps reduce the number of 'friendly fire' incidents.


Guru down on the line, as we 'pod up' to set up gear and coach steady hold factors.


Whitney gets the 'spiffiest shoes' award for the shoot.  (Did you ever think about what the instructors see the most all day??)   ;D


Dennis (BoxesOfLiberty) receives his well earned shoot boss hat!   ^:)^


...and takes over passing out awards.  Chris was beat out in the spiffy shoes contest, but he'd rather have that patch anyway!  Tuber!


Jeff is a bolt gun runnin' machine!  What do you do if you've only got one mag?  Single load 'em!


Ross earns his patch - and some North Bridge water - with a 210.  Once the pressure was off on Sunday, he raised that up to a 230!


Posterity!  Our youth shooters from Saturday.  Cameron (right) still wanted another patch...


We're glad to see the families on the line


The left side of the line on Sunday


Didn't I say Cameron would be back?  230!


The evil shoot boss and instructors had stashed some qualifying targets.   >:D I think we surprised Andrew!


John actually shot 3 qualifiers - but he only has two hands!


Going into the final AQT, we had two shooters in line for a baptism in North Bridge water, but Vince kicked it up to a 214 on the last target!


But Brian doesn't look all that unhappy with the dunking and a patch!



Steven was our Sunday-only youth shooter (does anyone have a better pic?)


And last, but not least, it's time for Rex to change his hat color...



There are more photos in the full album.
"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

American Amazon

#9
April 24, 2013, 02:23:49 PM Last Edit: March 18, 2015, 09:53:52 PM by American Amazon
That small black range bag was actually mine.  Oops.

I might add that we now have our 4th father-son pair of Riflemen at Castro Valley, Sean and Ross - and the first family to have *three* Riflemen, since Chris is Sean's son-in-law.  Congratulations to all 3, and we look forward to seeing more members of this talented family out on the line!

A shout-out to our friend Frank, the first friend we've gotten to the Appleseed firing line, and his very impressive 186 - he only just handled a rifle for the first time a few weeks ago.  We expect him to be the next Rifleman to come out of our regular Saturday class at Chabot Gun Club.

Here's a challenge for all other locations - Can anyone top our "hat trick" and produce a 4-hat day? - either "hit for the cycle" and add a blue hat too, or produce more hats of any colors in one day?  The gauntlet is thrown down!

-American Amazon
"We are no ways dispirited here, we possess a spirit that will not be conquered. If our men are all drawn off and we should be attacked, you would find a race of Amazons in America." -Abigail Adams (letter to husband John dated 9/20/1776)

Johnyrifleman

#10
April 24, 2013, 02:51:27 PM
Thanks so much for posting these! I had a blast and was surprised that I was able get three qualifiers, thanks to the good instruction that was given out.
"Lawful violence must sometimes be employed to deter and stop criminal violence. Consequently, the citizenry must continue in its ability to keep and bear arms, including arms that adequately protect them from all types of illegality"

– Utah Sheriffs' Association in a letter sent to President Obama

Johnyrifleman

#11
April 25, 2013, 02:08:34 PM
I accidentally left my tool kit at the repair table :slap:, does anyone know what may have happened to it? it has a bunch of screw driver bits and sockets with a screw driver. The case is red and black with a clear lid.
"Lawful violence must sometimes be employed to deter and stop criminal violence. Consequently, the citizenry must continue in its ability to keep and bear arms, including arms that adequately protect them from all types of illegality"

– Utah Sheriffs' Association in a letter sent to President Obama

Nero

#12
April 25, 2013, 06:30:17 PM
Quote from: Johnyrifleman on April 25, 2013, 02:08:34 PM
I accidentally left my tool kit at the repair table :slap:, does anyone know what may have happened to it? it has a bunch of screw driver bits and sockets with a screw driver. The case is red and black with a clear lid.

It was noticed and picked up.  Checking now to see who ended up with it.
"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

guru

#13
April 25, 2013, 10:27:38 PM
Hi, I have the toolkit, p.m me and we can figure out how to get it back in your hands.

Guru

Miki

#14
April 25, 2013, 11:01:27 PM
Quote from: American Amazon on April 25, 2013, 04:58:27 PM
I'd like to honor the Appleseeders of Fenton, Michigan, who met my challenge, and "hit for the cycle" (one hat of each color) before I'd even laid the challenge down!  (We did get 8 Riflemen to go with our 3 hats, so I think we still should get a little credit for that.)   ;D

-American Amazon

Thank you American Amazon. (I was going to see your hat trick and raise you a blue hat, but you beat me to it.) EIGHT riflemen WOW! You win. Gracefully conceded.  :bow:

I will point out that Fenton, MI got off to a great start with the first AS there being Shoot Bossed by CA's very own JohnnyAppleseed. Without that start what happened last weekend would not have happened. Thank you JA and CA! We're all in this together and you helped us a LOT!  ^:)^

Respectfully,
Miki
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