Blackfoot, ID - May 18 & 19, 2013

[Critical Mass]

We live in desert country and got rained on both days!  Discouraging to many and some half of the troop didn't want to endure a whole day of laying on soaked range mats.  Still managed to qualify one shooter out of 11 (at the end of the day) with a rifleman patch.  His second event, he scored an admirable 241 !

Second day was a little more productive with maybe 15 dedicated shooters.  Lighter rains kept them at the AQT 'grind', and four more Appleseeders attained their goal of making rifleman (and two requal'd).

For all that want a little humor, I came across this "Reader's Digest condensed version" of an event that also happened on April 19th.

"National guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned
assault weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military
extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72
were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were
compelled to withdraw.

Speaking after the clash Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared
that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links
to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed the extremists
for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices.
The governor, who described the group's organizers as "criminals," issued an
executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has
interfered with the government's efforts to secure law and order. The
military raid on the extremist arsenal followed wide-spread refusal by the
local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons.

Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition
earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early this month
between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the
forcible confiscation of illegal arms.

One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed
out that "none of these people would have been killed had the extremists
obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily." Government troops
initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and
ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in
Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been
tipped off regarding the government's plans.

During a tense standoff in Lexington's town park, National Guard
Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the
armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken
by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing
extremists. Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange. Ironically,
the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for
the civilian deaths. Before order could be restored, armed citizens from
surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding
his forces overmatched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat. Governor Gage
has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in
its effort to restore law and order. The governor also demanded the
surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against
the government troops. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have
been identified as "ringleaders" of the extremist faction, remain at large."

April 20, 1775

[Johnnyappleseed]

Good job Larry^ 5
Thanx for the humorous  ending on the aar

[Stuart McKim]

This was my second Appleseed (first was in September, also at Blackfoot). After practicing all winter, I finally officially scored Rifleman on my Saturday AQT.

That said, I learned a lot this time around. Things to work on, both of which popped up when I transitioned to centerfire: I blink when firing dummy rounds (but for some reason, not on live rounds) and I don't hold my trigger back after firing a shot. The latter created a bit of a surprise on one of my AQTs when I fired two shots at once. That'll wake you up out of an M14! Of course the second shot wasn't even on paper... There's a reason my name is FollowThrough - it's a reminder!

My next stop: IBC and RBC in Wyoming next month!

Photos from Sunday afternoon:
Two generations (grandfather and grandsons) on the line. We actually had all three generations of this family on the line Saturday.


Jen123Rex manning the left end of the line


Andrew helping a junior shooter


Shooting Stage 4





Junior shooter with a Chipmunk


Retrieving an AQT


Posting the final AQT for the day


Rob as Line Boss - Your prep period begins now!


Don helping two shooters on the line


Rob reviewing the course of fire for the next stage


hawkhavn scoring AQTs while eager participants look on


Shooting Stage 2


Happy Appleseeder taking a break


Shooting Stage 1





Tallying Sunday afternoon Redcoat hits



hawkhavn reviewing the weekend


Sunday afternoon cleared Redcoats (FollowThrough/Stuart McKim and Carol)


Full size photos are available here.

[Mark Davis]

Thanks to the Idaho crew for the warm welcome on a cool wet morning. Wish I could of stayed for some drier weather.
Good to meet you Followthrough, l'm looking forward to when you upgrade to a bolt action!
I like the Cedar hills range, nice terrain, good people.