Roswell, NM Nov 15-16

[oladcock]

Wow what a shoot. 13 shooters Saturday who got off the couch, heard the story, with a beautiful fall day, sunshine and low 70's. Americans from all walks of life. The first red coats were in trouble and showed the potential for many rifleman. The Lopez family were a pleasure and all showed great improvement through out the day. Al, Tim, Jerry, Carly, Gideon, and Aaron all were doing well. We had several who'd never shot a rifle before and/or using rifles they were unfamiliar with but we managed to get in one AQT by the end of the day. Jeff lead the way ripping off an impressive 221! His son Glenn (IIT) must have coached him a bit! Or dad has done a good job in Glenn's 17 years. What will Sunday bring?

WINTERSEED! 28 degrees, wind blowing. Snow flakes kicked in about 9:30 and by 11 we could hardly see the targets. A few bailed out but those remaining got a lesson in rifle reliability, focus, and perseverance. Of course Washington's trials at Valley Forge came to mind. Sebastian, Arabella, Cody, and Jeff hammered away, shaking off the snow. Jeff struggling with a balky rifle after his 221 AQT Saturday turned in a 230 earning himself a rare Winterseed patch. Was his position solid because he was frozen in it? Fantastic shooting on everyone's part. My instructor help, you guys are amazing and thank you for your dedication in challenging conditions.

[oladcock]

And then there was Sunday....

[TaosGlock]

Awesome job guys!

[jcunnin]

Great event. Everyone needs refresher training on basic rifle marksmanship skills so that objective was addressed as well as training others with minimal experience.

Recommend that all RSOs be prepared to quickly implement a method to cover weapons in less than ideal conditions (sand, dirt, rain, snow, ice) before the conditions take control and continue to maintain the high safety standards that are used effectively.

It may be a good idea to have about a 30 min window for some maintenance as required also - taking weapons safely off the line after RSO check, do some cleaning and oiling, and not negatively affect the historical instruction or rifle training. 

I like the historical instruction and like that it was done during lunch.  Worked well.

Superb team!

[duc-dog]

Great bunch of students. If we had the perfect weather both days we would have had more students make Rifleman. There were several knocking at the door awaiting that light bulb moment when everything clicks and falls into place. But, (in life there is always a but) the weather provided a great learning experience; anybody can do it under perfect conditions but when you throw in a little adversity you really get  learn your personal  limitations and the capabilities of your equipment.  Congratulations to the shooters that persevered through the conditions.  There were no sunshine patriots on the line Sunday. 

Hold hard and favor center,
  Milt