Azusa CA, 23-24 August 2014

[Rocket Man]

One more in the books on a not-too-hot Summer weekend at Burro Canyon.  This is my first turn back at the helm since my son was born in May, and it was a beauty.   

Those afraid of the heat missed out.  We had a nice breeze and temperatures in the high 80's, making for quite a nice day in the foothills.  So nice that Bambi came by to visit while we were setting up, and the range workers even caught an ol' Northern Mojave rattler at the bay next door...    

But we had four fine folks turn out on Saturday and start treading the Way of the Rifleman.  Everybody came with a plan, and a teachable attitude, and we made some serious progress.  Our targets seemed to appreciate being listened to, and rewarded us with nice groupings!   

On the multicolored Hat side of the ledger, I was joined by incorrible range rats Jacob and David, and allllll the way from muggy Huntsville AL the intrepid Andy.  Also one of our shooters, Dan, has already reached for a Blue Hat, and with just a little more work that Hat will magically turn into an Orange.      Between us, it all ran like a top.  Andy delivered a precision Second Strike and fit our crew like a custom stock, you'd think he grew up here.  (I mean that with love!   )  Oh, by the way, Dan also turned in the best AQT of Saturday with a 193 I think, well within striking distance.   

Sunday it was back to work, and we were joined by two others, one of 'em serial Appleseeder Del, the other being Gloria.  Now, Gloria was on a real mission.  She's a uniformed member of the US Army, and she was looking to improve her skills on the M-16, so naturally we were more than happy to help.  But she's well on her way, especially with the backing of her family, shooting right up there with the rest of the class with a borrowed centerfire, using a helmet and everything.   

By the end of Sunday the sun and relentless hygroscopic breeze was starting to beat us down, but they hung in there.  All even rose to the capricious Shoot Boss's challenge with a final AQT shot RAPID FIRE -- and this gave us the best scores of the weekend.  Del requaled with a precise 210. First-timer Dewey printed in the high 190's, and first-timer Allen printed a 47 in Stage 1 and 42 on Stage 2.     That's not too shabby.

So it is with some parting words, and thanks to those who bled and suffered on April 19th so that we don't have to, that we secured from the crucible of instruction until next time.  Next month!  Who's game?   

[Archon]

Hi guys, Duy here.  I just want to say thanks to all the instructors and fellow students for the terrific instruction and guidance this weekend.  I never thought of marksmanship as a martial art and thinking of it as one changes how I approach it.  Allen and I have a lot of work to do but we plan on coming back.

A couple of things:
1) I tried shooting with irons unsuccessfully which was very frustrating.  I realize now that I had the sights set to the big aperture when I probably should have been using the small aperture.
2) I forgot to extend my stock at the beginning of the second day which had me chasing stability problems. 

These things could have been avoided had I known my equipment better.  I should have known there was a length of pull issue as soon as I shouldered the rifle but didn't and should have compared the gigantic aperture on this rifle to my other ones to know I was shooting with the wrong setting.

With what I learned at Appleseed, I have a focused plan on what to do the next time I'm at the range.

[Rocket Man]

Hi guys, Duy here.  I just want to say thanks to all the instructors and fellow students for the terrific instruction and guidance this weekend.  I never thought of marksmanship as a martial art and thinking of it as one changes how I approach it.  Allen and I have a lot of work to do but we plan on coming back.

You're very welcome, of course.  It was a pleasure having you guys on our line.

A couple of things:
1) I tried shooting with irons unsuccessfully which was very frustrating.  I realize now that I had the sights set to the big aperture when I probably should have been using the small aperture.
2) I forgot to extend my stock at the beginning of the second day which had me chasing stability problems. 

Because of the way aperture sights work, you might find the difference with the larger "night" AR-15 ring isn't as much as you think, so try it...  The peep sight is really designed to put your eye in the proper place.  It does its job better as your eye gets closer to the ring (hence, "nose to charging handle" as recommended by many AR-15 experts). 

As a system it's actually pretty insensitive to placing the post exactly in the center of the ring.  A smaller aperture does make a difference, and for target shooting you do want the smallest aperture that lets you see the target clearly, but it's not night and day.  Just as an example, my M1917 has a huge aperture and a fat front post, but it's still plenty accurate for 4 MOA targets.

Stock fitment, on the other hand, makes a big difference.  A rifle that fits makes consistent NPOA much easier.  You can wear just any ol' shoes to shuffle around the house, but if you plan to run a marathon, you'd better be sure they fit!

See y'all at the next one!

[Rocket Man]

I did manage to get a few photos.  There was also a GoPro somewhere near the line, so maybe we'll see some video?  Who knows?


Here we are on Saturday morning...  I'll bet when you think of a classroom, it doesn't quite look like this


Dan and Aaron working together on ball 'n dummy drills


Over at the other end of the line, Duy and Allen also do ball 'n dummy, under the benevolent gaze of instructors Andy and Jacob


Looking down the line on Sunday, and you can tell it's getting serious...


Gloria squeezes off a round on Stage 4 -- never would have guessed lavender Appleseed t-shirts would work with ACU, but there you go


Everybody lines up for standing position on Stage 1

Send me a PM if you want a copy in high def!  And post up your own if you've got 'em!

[Larepus]

Hey All,

I had a blast at my first Appleseed and will definitely be back for more!  Excited to work on the skills/techniques you guys taught us and can't wait to come back to improve my scores and eventually get a rifleman patch.

Even though, I did not do well in prone on the rapid AQT,  I was really happy with the results in the first 2 stages like you mentioned.  I just need to find a sling setup that I feel comfortable with on all 3 shooting positions

Thanks to all the instructors that came out to teach us this past weekend.  You guys ran a great class and I also enjoyed learning about our history.  Very eye opening.

I wish I had some better angles for the video and forgot to turn on the GoPro for Sunday  , but here is a timelapse of our first day shooting.

http://youtu.be/B59Ugsw29So


-Allen

[GTEngineer]

Allen and Duy:

You guys were showing some serious improvement towards the end of the day.  Keep it up!  A Rifleman persists!  Dry firing practice at home helps tremendously.  There are even scaled down targets that simulate what your 25 meter target would look like if you only had a hallway that is 6 feet long, search the forums for it, I came across it sometime ago.  Just make completely sure that the ammo is put away (preferably in another room) when you are doing dry firing exercises.

Allen, you can shave off a few more precious seconds by practicing changing out magazines with your trigger hand only in prone (remember your support elbow in prone must not shift).

Remember to stay active in your communities, participate!  Tell your friends, neighbors, and family about Appleseed!

[Rocket Man]

I wish I had some better angles for the video and forgot to turn on the GoPro for Sunday  , but here is a timelapse of our first day shooting.

http://youtu.be/B59Ugsw29So

That sped-up video is hysterical!  Good thing the class isn't quite that fast...  Talk about drinking from the firehose...  that's more like a laser cannon!   

[Larepus]

Allen and Duy:

Allen, you can shave off a few more precious seconds by practicing changing out magazines with your trigger hand only in prone (remember your support elbow in prone must not shift).

Remember to stay active in your communities, participate!  Tell your friends, neighbors, and family about Appleseed!

Thanks for the advice.  I will have to break a lot of bad habits like my support hand death grip, trigger finger, and much more haha.  Appreciate you taking the time to come out and teach.

I will definitely spread the word about Appleseed!

[Larepus]

That sped-up video is hysterical!  Good thing the class isn't quite that fast...  Talk about drinking from the firehose...  that's more like a laser cannon!   

lol, a whole day condensed into ~20sec

[cesarnono13]

So we've been busy for the past couple of weeks, but I wanted to take the time to thank as_rocketman, pennys dad, and Bucklenose for all the instruction and guidance at this event. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that Gloria qualified at last weeks drill and wouldn't you know, she actually had FUN shooting. She was sick with the Flu, and still is, but she was able to hold her own and get those rounds on the targets. In any case, expect to see us around a bit more often and hopefully we can spread the good word for Project Appleseed.

-cesarnono13

[Rocket Man]

 

That's awesome.  Not surprised, really -- she knew what to do, just needed to get into the Rifleman's Bubble. 

With a rifle that actually fits her, she'd be shooting quite well.

See you at the range!