Chesterton, IN Nov. 23-24

[spitfire51]

In a word, "brrrrr."  It was a rather chilly weekend at the North Porter County Conservation Club but the cold didn't stop six fine Americans from joining us on the line to learn some great marksmanship.  Once the shoot got going, the wind picked up and the snow started to fall, but our shooters stuck with it as they started to show off what they were learning.  After some fine work on the morning five-squares, we gathered around the portable heaters provided by IIT Wild Deuce, and learned the story of that fateful day of the battles at Lexington and Concorde.  Saturday culminated with an AQT and the promise of more to come.

Sunday dawned nice and bright as we hit the AQT grind.  After two new Riflemen were minted and stories of Dangerous Old Men told, things finally warmed up and the ground started to thaw just in time for the event to wrap up.  I'd like to thank all of our attendees for joining us this past weekend.  Congratulations to Robert and Byron, both of whom barely managed to avoid getting doused by the water, scoring a 211 and 212 respectively.  We had many others who were knocking on the door and I'm sure once they get to another event they'll break through the 210 barrier no problem.  I hope to see you all on the line again soon.

[brianheeter]

Congrats to the new Rifleman!  Was this a Winterseed?  It's getting to be that time of year when the temperatures drop, the wind blows and your NPOA shakes.  Dress warmly and tough it out!  Huzzah!

brian

[Wild Deuce]

Congrats to the new Rifleman!  Was this a Winterseed?  It's getting to be that time of year when the temperatures drop, the wind blows and your NPOA shakes.  Dress warmly and tough it out!  Huzzah!

brian

I don't know if it was an official Winterseed but I know WS patches were handed out. It was in the teens to start the mornings with gusty winds (single digit and low teen windchills). Warmed up to the low/mid twenties with winds persisting. All I know is that I was feeling actual, serious, "oh boy" pain in my hand when I was demonstrating prone (forgot to leave the gloves on).  I also noticed that the extreme cold seems to amplify every stone and pebble in the frozen ground (BTW, the ground was crushed stone/gravel). Snow was in the air, not enough to carpet the ground but enough to add white accents to everything (man, gear, beast, and ground)

Appleseeders are some of the toughest and most committed people on the planet! Everyone that signed up showed up ... zero no-shows! Six hardy men and one tough young lady. We even had a walk-on on Sunday. Everyone persevered through the cold, the wind, the chill, the numb hands/toes/fingers, malfunctioning ammo, and in the end we had our new Riflemen. Of note ... one of our new Riflemen shed his heavy coat, hat, and gloves to earn his Rifleman score.

The entire bunch was fantastic. All good students and a safe group. There are certainly more (future) Riflemen in this group.

[Byron]

What a great day!  Thank you for the very high level of instruction even though it was bitterly cold. 

[Byron]

Anyone get any pics from this event?