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Rochester, MN -- Apr. 20-21, 2013

Started by gmw, April 25, 2013, 01:48:59 AM

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gmw

Well, we have something of an AAR thread started on the MN state board, but here are a few extra comments on the AAR board for posterity.

An Appleseed was conducted at Southern Minnesota Sportsman's Club (SMSC) near Rochester, MN on April 20th and 21st, 2013.  The weather was typically unpredictable, with sunny, blustery weather on Saturday and snow in the morning on Sunday that later turned to warmer temperatures.

The "instruction team" consisted of:
Shoot Boss(es): Whisker (Sat.), Brad76 (Sun.)
Red Hat: Cully
IITs: FreedomV, 36g, Woody35, ColonialIron, Wally, AllMovingParts, Marta, gmw
AppleCore: Judy222

We were expecting 40 or so on the line for Saturday, as the event was sold out, but in the end I think we ended up with 33 shooters (someone correct me if I'm wrong).  With a few stragglers and the volume of folks to get registered and on the line, we didn't start until after 09:00.  The entire line of folks had a very teachable attitude, and did a good job of maintaining the safety rules.  The IITs brought food to pass, although most of the shooters seemed to have brought their own lunches.  In the end, we only shot one AQT on Saturday, yet we got one Rifleman out of it: Alex.  The afternoon Redcoat target showed marked improvement over the initial morning benchmark--betterment of marksmanship was achieved!  With the somewhat chilly wind, I managed to get a little sunburn on my face from trying to stand in the sun to stay warm...was I the only one?
 
There were a number of Saturday-only shooters, so we only had around 19 people on the line on Sunday.  It was snowing big snowflakes in the morning, which was something of an ill omen.  Then the phone in the clubhouse rang: Whisker had a vehicle issue and ended up stranded en route.  Brad76 ended up filling in as shoot boss.  However--the targets were in Whisker's truck!  Luckily, FreedomV, Cully, and I had enough AQTs between us to last the day.  While I was going to get targets from home, the students spent about an hour in the clubhouse doing NPOA drills with the neat laser-pointer trainers that 36g brought.  That may've been even more effective than doing it live-fire, and there was discussion about making it part of the curriculum.  The interlude also afforded time for the snow to let up and melt.  Ironically, it was warmer on Sunday afternoon than it was on Saturday.  Three shooters joined the ranks of Riflemen: Rory, Chris, and Hiromi.  Back in December, Hiromi was shooting well, but due to equipment issues didn't quite make qualify.  This time, qualify she did; and with not just one but three qualifying scores, including the highest score of the day!  There were several shooters like Mike and Steve who were close--just a little more practice and you'll be there!

As usual, apologies for not being able to mention everyone, but thanks to all the shooters for taking the time to spend your weekend learning heritage and marksmanship.

Post-Script: Whisker made it home and revived his truck, so all's well that ends well.

gmw

Pictures from Saturday:

gmw

Pictures from Sunday:

AFTERMATH

From Chris, via our FB page:

QuoteHello, I attended an Appleseed even in Rochester, MN over the weekend and loved it, you really do a great job with the program. I just wanted to let you know that I have done a little write up, feel free to share it if you'd like.

Thank you for the hospitality, history, education, and making me a better Rifleman.

As most of you know, over the weekend I attended my first Appleseed event. I had asked some questions before attending about the program to those who had gone, and read several threads about the event, but nothing short of attending could prepare me for the experience itself.

Everyone I know, and most who I don't, highly recommend this and I now understand completely why it's so popular, and why people attend not once, but sometimes several times, it's a blast! (No pun intended.)


Day 1
I showed up about an hour early, the instructors (red hats) and instructors in training (orange hats) were already setting up, after a friendly greeting and a little chat it was time to get checked in, which went smoothly and without a hitch, the assistants on hand were very friendly, (I believe wives and their children). Since I got there early I opted to bring my gear down and setup my spot before the event started (this was encouraged by the volunteers), you are allowed to bring down all of your gear, with the exception of your rifle.

After the check-in/registration there was an orientation session which included an overview of the program, some history, range rules and safety procedures - without question, safety is their number 1 priority, and they do a great job in both instruction and follow through. If something isn't right, everything stops, no questions, no second guesses.

Once the orientation was complete, it was time to settle in on the range - those that got there later brought their gear down, which was followed by instructions on the procedure for bringing your rifle to the firing line. Several instructors and instructors in training helped the process and answered any questions people had, while also tending to forgotten items, loose mounts, etc.

Now that everyone is set up, it's time to fire a 'Redcoat target', this is what they do at the beginning and end of each day to judge how you're coming along. To my surprise I did pretty well, my groups were tight but my sights were a little off. Luckily that was the next piece of the training, learning what MOA actually means, and how it pertains to sighting in your rifle. Everyone fired 3 rounds at a zeroing target and those with a decent group were able to adjust their sights based on what they had learned.

I won't go into all the various activities in detail, but this is the baseline that everyone works off of the rest of the day/weekend. There are several drills they run you through throughout the day, and at the end of day one there is an AQT (qualification test) to see if you're good enough to make Rifleman, the ultimate goal of the program (besides leaving with the same amount of holes in your body as you came there with, learning the history, and continuing tradition of course).

Throughout the day there are a few 'breaks' where they go over the history of the battle of Lexington and Concord, and how much they sacrificed for freedom, how the war played out, and how good marksmanship helped make this country what it is today.

Day 2:
For us, day 2 started out with going over the safety and range procedures (if you don't recite these in your sleep after day one I'd be surprised), followed by more history and finally going over the various shooting positions and answering any questions. I'll admit, I was a little unprepared for what was next.

With the exception of lunch, and our final history lesson, the rest of the day was spent doing various firing drills, from our Redcoats to timed AQT's, team shoots and even a speed AQT (which I must say, I got Rifleman score on).

Day 2 is pretty exhausting, especially in rainy/snowy weather gear - but nobody complained, it was hard to. Picturing the people fighting for our freedom with little to eat and not knowing the future, or if there was one, made it pretty hard to find anything worth moaning about, if anything, it made you want to do better and work through any challenges you experienced, at least that's how it was for me.

I left at the end of day two with even more respect for our founders, our country, and the principles in which this country was based upon. It's kind of strange really, you go there wanting to leave a Rifleman, but that's only the beginning...
"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship Instructors on the planet." - Son of Martha

"Tyrants rise and fall, but tyranny lasts forever." -Me

[What kind of megalomaniac quotes himself?]