Rifleman Boot Camp Calera, Alabama 1/25 -1/30

[Ramblin' Wreck]

 What a great RBC week! It's hard to know where to start after such a great time with fellow patriots so I guess I'll start with the range.

If you're in the Birmingham area you really need to check out Double Tap Training in Calera, AL. Owners Butch and Kim were as accommodating as any owners I've encountered in my time with Appleseed. They not only have great short ranges but a large well-equipped training room and a bunkhouse that we completely filled for the RBC week. I warned them that they were going to spoil AS instructors with not only heat and AC in the bunkhouse but flush toilets and INDOOR showers.  When someone commented early in the week that there was no cell service inside the building Butch installed a WiFi/cell repeater the next day.  I told them we'd definitely be back and in fact the next Alabama RBC is already on the schedule. It's a Patriots' Day RBC from 17-22 April 2016. Sign up now to avoid the last minute rush for spots on the line.

This was my first opportunity to Shoot Boss an RBC and I was apprehensive but I shouldn't have been. The stellar cast of instructors that turned out made this one a breeze. At one point during the week we had FIVE Senior Instructors on the line, all from the southeast.  Yes, there is some passion for the program down here.  Thanks to PHenry, DrJohn, Engineer Shooting, Morpheus, SureShotSpartan, Rusty, Guardian, Regulator, and Overmountain Man for stepping up and helping make this the best event possible.

All but two of the shooters registered for the RBC were previous Appleseeders which made most of the instruction a review for them. Our only two "new" shooters were the father-son team of Stephen and Nicholas B. who drove all the way from near Kansas City thereby taking the "longest drive" title away from PHenry. Our oldest registered shooter was 70 and the youngest was 13 so we had a wide range of shooting experience.

This was scheduled as a 5 instead of 6 day event which made the time monkey even larger. We took advantage of PHenry's experience at running previous RBC's to catch up.

The highlight of the week for me was the KD. We started the KD classroom on Wednesday afternoon with the 3 tasks of a rifleman, target detection, range estimation and making the shot. We then moved immediately to the 25 meter line to zero center fire rifles in preparation for the KD shooting on Thursday.

The KD range in Calera was about 3 miles from DT on a private grass runway owned by some friends of DT owners. It was magnificent!  Flat as a board with room for twice the number of shooters we had if we needed it.  We started at 100 yards with sighters followed by Stage 1 of the AQT. We repeated this at each distance back to 400 yards.  From there we changed targets and shot straight through from 400 back to 100 without checking holes. We were unable to drive back and forth to the targets so according to Alabama State Coordinator Rusty we logged somewhere just shy of 5 miles walking that day. It was worth it. Although we had several shooters who came close to the magic 40/50 hits count number (39 is VERY close) we didn't mint any new KD riflemen that day.

We then started shooting steel starting with standing at 100 yards on a 20"x40" silhouette with each shooter getting 5 rounds to show his stuff. No problem for anyone on that line.  We then moved back to 200 and shot seated on the same target. Again, no problem. We then moved back and shot from prone at the 200 yard target, 3 rounds, and then shifting NPOA and using BSZ 3 rounds on the 300 yard target. We had a lot of very pleased shooters, like Curtis G.,  who went 6/6 proving how well they knew their rifles.

With daylight fading and still having to take down the range I gave the option of shooting 400 yards or moving back to 500 yards and going for the Rifleman's Quarter Mile. You can guess which one they chose. We moved to 500.  We had instructors shooting with students at this point and as you might imagine it wasn't much trouble for seasoned red hats. However, the highlight of the day for me was seeing younger shooters make hits at that distance.  Once again each shooter got 5 rounds and we went down the line. Nicholas B. put a hit on the silhouette after getting some expert coaching from DrJohn earlier that morning back at Double Tap. He had never shot past 200 yards before and didn't have the benefit of sighters at any of the distances we shot at steel. He did know his come-ups. Young John W., age 13, went 3/5 at 500 yards with iron sights on an A2 style AR. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH! That young man knows very well what he is about. He took a blue hat but I expect to see him and his older brother in orange before long.

By the time we wrapped up Friday afternoon with the mock Appleseed we had added two more new orange hats and three Applecore volunteers to the Appleseed cadre.

I think everyone had a really good time and the fact that all the instructors and nearly all the shooters stayed at the Double Tap "Hilton" every night contributed to some new friendships that will pay dividends for everyone in our quest to maintain liberty. Those potluck suppers weren't half bad either. Thumbs up to Rusty's chili. 

Thanks again to my fellow instructors, especially PHenry, for making this a special event for me and guaranteeing a successful event for the first RBC ever in Alabama.  Y'all plan on joining us next time for the Pat's day event in 2016. It will be EPIC. 

For Liberty,

Ramblin' Wreck

[PHenry]

What a great event - filled my sails with strength and light to go on! To all who attended and instructed - I am prouder'n a game rooster to have rid withya. 

I greatly enjoyed the evening classes. Rusty gave one on a Rifleman's get home bag, with loads of info from keeping your feet under you to steering clear of trouble to get home safely. Guardian offered lessons on basic maintenance as well - all great info for newbie and seasoned Rifleman alike.

It's been a long time since I got to simply serve as an instructor - discovered I don't have a gear list for that function! Great group of people - lots of younger shooters is always good to see. Doesn't matter how well us old timers can shoot and what we know about our storied and uniquely American Heritage - all about passing it on to the next generation! Daniel was right on my heals at KD - soon he will surely overtake me and that offers hope for the future.

Our hosts could not have been more accommodating. I suggest we all go to the trip revue sites and give them five stars! This is by far the best value in a RBC venue I have seen to date. They charged only $15 range fee for the entire week! $30 / night for a comfy bed with all the linens and a fresh towel and wash cloth every day.

In Liberty,
PHenry

[SureShotSpartan]

KD Range Day


John


OverMountainMan


Daniel


DrJohn


Regulator


firebear


PHenry


Jacob


seaturtle


Nicholas


Stephen


OldNavyDoc


CokeGuy


Guardian

[Ramblin' Wreck]

SureShotSpartan's pics below are from the 500 yard line.  Some of these shooters had never shot past 200. A good time was had by all as we say down here. 

I have some video but it may take work to get it uploaded. It's LARGE.

Wreck

[Born Free]

phenry in perfect form

[Born Free]

couple of pics

[Roswell]

I love that picture of Guardian, Ha!

Looks like some great fun with some great Patriots. Huzzah to all!

[Born Free]

Phenry and Lance (I think)

[Guardian]

I love that picture of Guardian, Ha!

Notice it was the last one. Your camera still work, Moonbeam?

Shooters, excellent work throughout the week. All of you made substantial improvements. Thanks to all of you who decided to grab a bucket! We need you in any capacity you're willing to commit.

The opportunity to get to know each other over an extended period was nice and I hope to see each of you on the trail again.

[Wagon]

drool.....    just wish there was a RBC on the west side ....

[PHenry]

Find a venue sir and we will make it happen. 

[Regulator]

This was a truly EPIC week! The level of knowledge and expertise present in the instructor cadre was phenomenal! The facilities at Double Tap are excellent, and Butch and Kim are wonderful hosts!

[Regulator]

Lance taking an orange hat.



Lance re-qualified



John earned his patch!



Overmountain Man



The air strip