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Corona, CA, April 20-21, 2013 - AAR

Started by Psych Doc, April 22, 2013, 04:43:08 PM

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Psych Doc

This weekend was awesome! 18 modern patriots assembled, joined ranks as a community, and did the founders proud. We had a mix of men and women of all experience levels and ages. We also had many first-time Appleseeders as well as several returning in the hunt for that Rifleman patch. It was also great to have several groups of family members that came out together on the line. Returning Rifleman, Tony, brought out his son, daughter, and son's girlfriend on Saturday. We also had two father and son teams in Ralph and Evan, and Kevin and Jonathan. As well as the father/daughter combo of Chuck (one of two) and Samantha and the niece/uncle team of Emily and Jim.

We had unusual guests with us on Saturday morning in the form of documentary film makers, Kris and Anita, who are working on a pro second amendment film. They were getting some firing line footage and interviews to finish up their upcoming film "Assaulted". Look for it to debut on June 6th. Good luck with the film; we are all in this together!

After the Saturday safety briefing, it was on to our first redcoat. While the scores overall were not too bad, it was clear we had a long way to go, 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, groups started to shrink. Return 'seeders, Bruce and Phillip, along with Tim and Steve were setting the standard with nearly all of their shots in the black. Good improvement was shown by all. An honorable mention goes out to Ralph, who worked hard to get his vintage bolty on target. By the time we took a break for lunch, everyone was consistently on paper and many were showing solid groups and had learned to dial in their sights and scopes.

The story of the three strikes of the match that began the Revolutionary War was told at lunch. Reminding us of the origins of our nation, the heritage we share and the challenges we face as Americans.

Following lunch, we honored the fallen at Lexington and Concord with our annual Liberty Volley. We then learned how to shoot from sitting and standing positions. Then it was time to test our skills with an AQT. A number of shooters had good results with many scores in the Marksman and Sharpshooter ranges right off the bat. Our final Redcoat target showed much improvement.

On Sunday, we moved steadily through the morning review and group sizes continued to shrink as positions and sling usage were dialed in. Unfortunately, we lost Jim early on, as he had a veterinary emergency at home. Jim says all is well on that front and we will see him again down the trail. I'm glad things turned out okay Jim and we look forward to it.

Lunch brought the history of our country and the sacrifices and choices of the founders into focus with stories of the dangerous old men, daunting dames and courageous kids of the founding generation. One thing that really made this shoot stand out to me was the way that the shooters formed a community. Although we had people of many different ages and backgrounds on the line, in the best tradition of the founding generation, they came together, pulling for one another in a common cause. As we moved in to the AQT grind after lunch I think it was this teamwork that set the stage for the results that followed.

Despite a painfully skinned up support elbow, Steve was our first Rifleman of the weekend, laying down a 223 on the second AQT of the afternoon. He backed that up on the next round with a 226.

Next to earn his patch was Tim who also put up an impressive 223. He proved that this was no fluke with a subsequent 220.

17-year-old Evan was consistently right on the cusp, with a couple of 205's, then, as fatigue set in, his scores dipped into the 185-195 range. But he rebounded with a strong second wind and knocked out a big 221 to earn his patch.

The most improved shooter of the weekend was Daniel, who started out the weekend off-paper with random looking groups. Daniel's enthusiasm shined through though, and he quickly absorbed his drink from the fire hose of instruction, coming within a hair's breadth of clearing his Redcoat on Saturday afternoon. With encouragement, and a loaner rifle, from his friends, Daniel put it all together and shot a 213, becoming our fourth Rifleman.

On our last AQT of the weekend, Chuck (the other one), an accomplished veteran shooter, laid down a solid 215 joining our other new Riflemen in excellence. Simultaneously, Ralph, who had moved from his bolt gun to an LTR, earned his patch with the same score. By doing so, Ralph avoided a substantial ribbing on the long drive home from son Evan.

^:)^ Three cheers for our newest riflemen, Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!  ^:)^

After patch ceremonies recognizing our new riflemen, we acknowledged junior shooters Jonathan and Evan who earned the Luthar Blanchard Award by demonstrating their persistence and maturity. We also awarded well deserved Red Hats to Jen and Joe who were promoted to full instructors (we also earlier congratulated Ken for his progress up the instructor in training ladder). 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.

Out of the ten shooters who were able come out for the full weekend, six earned their patches. This is a record percentage among my shoots. Well done all! Those who are still in the hunt for your patches, I saw big time improvement by all. Practice and persistence are the keys. I saw each of you lay down very respectable groups before fatigue set in and I am confident that you can all reach the goal. O0

As always, I know I missed a bunch of good stuff in this write up, so please post up additions or corrections. Thanks to all for coming out and sharing some heritage and marksmanship with us. I hope you all had as much fun as I did and I hope to see you all again soon!

All the best,
Robert (Psych Doc)

P.S. I'll get my photos up ASAP as well as the outcome of the Liberty Volley challenge, once it is known.

Psych Doc

I forgot to mention that we took a break from the AQT grind to repel an invasion attempt by sinister pumpkins. Following Major Buttrick's immortal advice, we fired as fast as we could.  :~ Let's just say that the results got messy. Those squashes will think twice before they try that again.  ;) Photos will follow soon.

Athena 1775

What a fabulous weekend!  Joe (Gunman Doc) and I had to leave halfway through Saturday's shoot so that Joe could receive his Master's degree (congrats, Joe!)  ^:)^ , and I failed to take any pictures before we left.  We also missed the Liberty Volley, so I guess we'll have something to look forward to next year.  ;)

I missed those of you who didn't return on Saturday!  I even brought a special "Happy Birthday" Redcoat cookie for Samantha on Sunday, not realizing that she wouldn't be back.  It's the thought that counts, right?

As Psych Doc has already pointed out, we had a great group of supportive, positive, attentive shooters... thirsty to drink from the fire hose.  By Sunday afternoon, I was consistently pleased by how great you all looked on the line (fantastic form!) and the results you were getting down range.  I took a TON of pictures.  Brace yourselves!


The "Grand Pavilion"... The 5 EZ-ups that became our respite from the cruel Corona sun




Jim, Chuck, and Kevin in Prone  (JIM - I am so glad to hear that your cat is ok!)




Ralph and Evan in Prone




Prone Position









Bruce, Steve, Daniel, Jonathan, and Kevin prepare for Stage 1 of the AQT




Phillip, Tim, and Evan shooting Stage 1 of the AQT




Chuck, Kevin, and the rest of the Line shooting Stage 1 of the AQT




Jonathan, Daniel, Steve, and Phillip shooting Stage 1 of the AQT




Jonathan, Kevin, and Chuck shooting Stage 1 of the AQT




Ralph and Evan, Stage 2 of the AQT




Bruce, Steve, and Daniel shooting Stage 2 of the AQT




Stage 2 of the AQT




Stage 1 of the AQT




Jonathan and Kevin - Father and Son shoot in the Standing position




Redcoat Cookies!  Our shooters ate valiantly at lunch... these stragglers were picked off by the end of the afternoon




Transitions




Steve, Bruce, and Phillip show off their Seated Positions




Phillip, Evan, and Ralph




Phillip and Tim post new (Red!) AQTs




And then, we were invaded by pirates!  Just kidding... Gunman Doc had a corneal abrasion that needed a little extra TLC in the sun and wind on Sunday afternoon.  He's all better now - no more eye patch.





Without any pirates to fend off, our shooters needed some other way to break up the AQT Grind.  Psych Doc set out these fearsome gourds...

But first, I couldn't resist a quick photo-op.  Hee-hee.  Pumpkin.  On a post.  Har-dee-har.




The Afternoon Gourd Annihilation




The Left Flanking Party




The Main Column  (Three small pumpkins, the center of which USED to be sitting atop the Shasta can that's now halfway up the backstop)




The Right Flanking Party





And then we had a lovely - and lengthy - distribution of awards.  SO MANY RIFLEMEN!!

Psych Doc addresses the shooters at the end of the day




Rifleman # 1 - Steve




Rifleman # 2 - Tim




Rifleman # 3 - Evan




Rifleman # 4 - Daniel




Rifleman # 5 - Chuck




Rifleman # 6 - Ralph




All in the family!  Father (Ralph) and Son (Evan) show off their patches




Jonathan and Evan receive their (well-deserved) Luthar Blanchard patches




Gunman Doc and Athena 1775 get some new headgear




Thanks again, everyone!
"Spirit, that made those spirits dare / To die, and leave their children free..." -Emerson, "Concord Hymn"

"A day can press down all human things, and a day can raise them up." -Athena to Odysseus, Sophocles, "Ajax"

George Hacker

Gunman Doc and Athena 1775,

Red suits you both very well.  Congratulations on earning your red hats.

^:)^ Huzzah! ^:)^ Huzzah! ^:)^ Huzzah!

I look forward to seeing you both on the Appleseed Trail in the future.

Also, congratulations, Joe, on earning your Master's degree.

ShadowMan
Tell your Pacific Northwest facebook friends to "like" and post in the Northwest Region Project Appleseed page.

"You can't miss fast enough..."  "Aim small, miss small."

paulw

Athena 1775 & Gunman Doc,
Nice picture! Good to see your faces again.
Its cool we IBC'd together and went red on the same weekend  O0
Congratulations on the new hats and your degree Joe.  nice shirt jen

paulw

Athena 1775

Thanks, ShadowMan and paulw!

(Paul: I thought you might recognize the shirt!  It's my favorite... I wear it all the time. :)  And congrats right back at ya!)
"Spirit, that made those spirits dare / To die, and leave their children free..." -Emerson, "Concord Hymn"

"A day can press down all human things, and a day can raise them up." -Athena to Odysseus, Sophocles, "Ajax"

Johnnyappleseed

Good job folks !
Congratulation Athena and gunman doc on earning your red hats ^ 5
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge

Elfstone

What a SUCCESSFUL weekend all around.  So many to congratulate.

-Joe and Jen, your color was red since the first time we met!  What a great team.
-As Psych Doc mentioned, the participants really did come together as a community.  Congrats to the group for bringing such an open and alert attitude and being engaged.  They were impressive in echoing the instruction and presentation all weekend. 
-SIX Riflemen!?!?! Are you serious!!!  I am so sad I missed the rest of them.  Daniel, great job on your attitude; Ralph and Evan wow, new shooters digesting the instruction in quick time Kevin for passing the heritage to his great son; Chuck and Steve, it was only a matter of time and well done.   Fantastic job.  I hope to see you all in the Appleseed trail soon.
-letting our volleys be heard across the country. 
-Psych Doc for the results can clearly be traced to his dedication and passion.  I am hoping you are thinking REAL hard on what your victory item is with your bet for the best participants with Rocketman.
Thank you all.