Boulder City, NV - Dec 6-7

[armaborealis]

On a beautiful December weekend just south of Las Vegas, a band of dedicated instructors and eager students linked up for a great few days of marksmanship, history, and fellowship.  I was honored to have the chance to join RangeRat and his awesome crew of instructors.

We started off on Saturday with RangeRat's brief intro on the day's events and the pledge.  Following that we jumped into the first Red Coat -- youch, there was some work to be done before we'd be ready to try out for Morgan's Crew!  Saturday morning went smoothly with the crew teaching the "three pillars of Appleseed marksmanship:"  Steady Hold Factors, NPOA, and the Six Steps.  At mid-day, we mixed it up with the first two strikes of the match (thanks SniperCat!).  By the afternoon, we tackled two AQTs, and TrebleShooter wowed us with he third strike of the match.  XEyed pulled out his awesome 18th century equipments to show us the threat faced by brave colonials, which was an extra treat.  The last Red Coat of the day had TONS of improvement.

The next day we all met up again and had a chance to review the fundamentals.  Our students did a great job of helping each other out.  TrebleShooter had us all reflecting on the "wedding that never was" as we considered the price paid for Liberty.  We had the chance to knock out another AQT and a bunch of shooters were knocking on the door.

Sunday afternoon, the Boulder City Rifle/Pistol Club was kind enough to let us move to a 100 yard bay.  After RangeRat taught the fundamentals of known distance shooting, we applied the lesson out to 100 yards.  Students had the chance to work back and apply "inches-minutes-clicks," seeing the rimfire rounds fall and the centerfire rounds rise over 100 yards.  Shooters left with Invaluable information about the come-ups for their rifles, ammunition, and sighting systems.  It was great to have Sarah and Heath thumping away at the end of the line with their centerfire rifles, especially out at range!

Of course, we worked some more history in and told tales of Dangerous Old Men, Patriots in Petticoats, and a brief flag tour.

They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about...
Wrapping up the day, we had a few more swings at the bat for the AQT.  We were happy to see that there were indeed some Riflemen amongst us!  Dann stepped up and volunteered to take an orange hat, and we are honored to have him on the team.   

"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value."
In addition to our three riflemen, we had many shooters in the hunt getting very close to that 210.  I'd like to give a special shoutout to Ian and Chris who were knocking at the door and will burst past that 210 very soon.  By the end of the day, the Red Coats looked dramatically better:  From few hits at 300/400 yards to most consistently shacking the 300-400 yard silhouettes -- ol' Dan Morgan needed some more shingles, too!  We had some cross-shooting going on, but there were six holes in that 400 yard silhouette with no misses so I guess I'd call that "good teamwork!"  WOW!   

All in all, this was a great shoot.  I think everyone -- students and instructors alike -- learned something and enjoyed the fellowship out at the range.  I was thrilled to meet the NV team and see what a class act they put on.  The Boulder Rifle/Pistol Club were great hosts for us and they have a beautiful range facility.

We are hoping to see folks out again in April for our next event as well as in nearby Kingman for KD shoots!