Noblesville, IN May 25-26 2013

[spitfire51]

Sometimes you just gotta laugh at the weather in the midwest.  One weekend it's 85 degrees and we're all sweating through the day, then the next weekend we're shivering to start the morning.  The latter is what we had this past weekend at Hamilton County Fish and Game in Noblesville, IN.  It was an unseasonably cool start to Saturday, but that didn't stop 10 wonderful Americans from joining us for a weekend of learning important lessons on marksmanship and our heritage.  We had a great mix of shooters, children and adults, experienced shooters and novices, and by the end of the weekend all had greatly improved their rifle marksmanship.  Saturday culminated in an AQT, followed by a great improvement in the hits on our afternoon redcoat targets compared to that morning.

Sunday dawned with the range slightly more muddy after some evening rain, although not nearly enough to satisfy our instructor ATM, who spent most of the day wondering when the rain would really hit.  Unfortunately for him, we got a nice mix of sun and clouds right until the very end, when we departed the range to a light drizzle.  With another shooter joining us for the day, we hammered out the AQTs until it was time to hammer on steel at 100 yards.  We finished with one new rifleman and a couple others knocking on the door.  Thanks to everyone who came and joined us, it was a pleasure working with you all.  Aaron, Brad, Kevin, I loved the enthusiasm you brought to the line.  Bruce and Nikki, thanks for bringing out the young ones and for helping us keep them going through the weekend.  Alex and Jeff, you both made wonderful strides on Saturday, I'm sorry you couldn't come back on Sunday.  John, you were working that bolt-action like a champ, and you were so close to earning that patch I have no doubt you'll get over the hump next time.  Cassie, you did very well for someone who had almost no experience behind a rifle.  Sorry we missed you on Sunday, but I hope you come back and drag some more beginners with you.  Mark, once you figure out how to treat the AQT targets like you do the squares you'll be bumping those scores up quite a bit.  Tedd, congrats on the patch and on backing it up several times.

Thank you all once again for a great weekend.  Grab your friends and neighbors and come back and join us again soon.

[nikkim52]

I'll start by saying......I am without a doubt so very happy I found this organization.  My boys are already planning their next Appleseed.  That is....as long as we can find ammo again...  Thank you so very much Matt and ATM Oh and Maynard.......for a wonderful weekend.  I appreciate the patience you all showed to my two very rambunctious boys.

This is the video I took of ATM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZHUm8MSMu

and you can find our pictures at

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.460845780669196.1073741836.325754547511654&type=1

[spitfire51]

Here are some more pictures:

Maynard teaching everyone about the six steps to firing the shot


Check out those open platform hands!


Time to card those sights, do you really have your NPOA?


So, what are our targets telling us after this latest string of fire?


The sun finally came out Sunday afternoon, shade had to be improvised


The kids always shoot better when Mom is wearing crazy colored socks


Our newest youth shooter Aaron, who stuck with it and made great progress through the weekend


Our newest Rifleman, Tedd, with a 223 which he later backed up with another 223


And he enjoys the tasty treat of Rifleman bacon aftewards

[Rayne]

~

[ATM]

The link says the video doesn't exist.   I was looking forward to hearing ATM singing, or at least that's what I thought it was going to be about.

Probably just another hoax ...nothing to see here, folks... 


What a great weekend!

Other than being a little on the dry side, the weather was nice, the host range was great and the attendees were a wonderful cross-section of America who all came out to learn, practice and share in our unique heritage and the rich history which made it all possible.

Thanks so much for coming out, it was a pleasure to meet you all (and see others of you again) and witness your progress, not just in marksmanship, but in citizenship. You were all looking out for each other in the true spirit of Riflemen. 

I'll be back with more comments later... 

[nikkim52]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZHUm8MSMuw


Try that link.........  ATM must have done something to it...lol

[nikkim52]

And I love my crazy socks......... 

[ATM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZHUm8MSMuw


Try that link.........  ATM must have done something to it...lol

Pray I don't do something to this link as well...  Of all the songs you could have caught, it just had to be clearin' rifles to the Bieber...
  (well played - lol!)

Hope the silliness and repetitions helped to ingrain the lesson.

I guess I forgot to come back and leave more personal comments, so I'll leave them now, but where are our other attendees?
Tell us how we did, what you took away from the weekend, how many folks you plan to tell and bring back to the next event... 

Bruce and Nikki, glad you joined us as active and involved parents with each of your children doing quite well staying focused, attentive, safe, all while making great improvement in their marksmanship. I'm also glad you each got a bit of trigger time and put into practice the lessons presented. Next time bring another rifle or borrow one if needed and join the firing line.

Aaron, Brad and Kevin, well done young men! You were working the fundamentals and shrinking those groups, but more - you were active in embracing your heritage and inheritance. We're counting on you to lay hold of these skills and the spirit of the Rifleman to secure the blessings of Liberty for posterity. I look forward to seeing you guys on the line again to earn the bacon reward.

Jeff and Alex, great to 'seed with you both again! A year later, with far milder weather and different rifles (very nice choices I'd like to add) you both knew exactly what you were doing and continued to fine-tune all through the day on Saturday. Sorry you couldn't make it for Sunday but hope to cross paths again soon.

Cassandra, lots of improvement as you learned your rifle and applied all the lessons and positions to develop a foundation of riflery. Missed you Sunday but hope that you will continue to practice by the numbers and return to continue along the path to Rifleman.

Jon, coming right along on your precision and consistency, you were running that bolt pretty darn smooth.

Mark (SirRealism), great to put a face with the forum name and share the weekend. Manage the pressure of the AQT grind and you will definitely be owning it on every stage.

Tedd, glad you could join us on Sunday and unleash heck on those AQTs. Congrats on the Rifleman scores! I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you'd been practicing by the numbers since your last 'seed. 

Once again, thanks to all for coming out. Think about the character, the actions, the sacrifices which were required to gift us with the freedoms we enjoy at present as citizens.

I hope that you'll each make the most of it.


OK, I'm done
...now go make your rifle safe.