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Niles, MI - April 18-19, 2015 Patriot's Day AAR

Started by Oz, April 15, 2015, 08:05:33 PM

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Oz

"You don't know they're all Riflemen.  They might just be people with rifles." - Zazzles, 9/22/12

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

"There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future." - Abraham Lincoln

"My biggest decision this week?  Well...long story short, I went with the mild sauce."

SteelThunder

Holy cow!

What is full of good humor, is enthusiastic, continues to grow in attendance (even when it starts to get soppin' wet?) and is warmed by the Liberty of what our Founding Fathers created for us, their posterity?  Attendees at a Michigan Appleseed on Patriot's Day, THAT'S WHAT!

We started the weekend with 15 people signed up and when all was said and done, we "broke the bank" and had a total of 23 attendees!  I must say, I have NEVER been so impressed...and confident now for the future of our great land...as I was with this group of shooters.  To a person, everyone was helpful, polite, eager and SIGNIFICANTLY improved their marksmanship as well as listened intently to and asked for more history.  Thank you to each and every one of you.  We had "groups of buddies", at least 4 families with parents and kids, husbands and wives.  The more I work on the west side of the state, the more I see old friends and make new ones.

Congratulations to our new Riflemen(women) in Flora, Chris, Jon and Bryan (with a last-AQT-of-the-weekend and a North-Bridge-water-baptism-inducing score of 210) and a multi-time Rifleman Kevin reaffirming he knows what he is about not once, but 3 times.  We had LOTS of people knocking on the door including Nathan, Tom, Darrin and Dave.  And our Redcoat scores showed that EVERYONE improved radically.  And you made our Memorial Volley at 4 pm EDT truly memorable.

My thanks to my awesome crew -- Oz, Hammer Forged, Zazzles, Iceman, MOOOOOOOSE! and Fruit Loops -- who conducted themselves with aplomb and seemed to effortlessly improvise, adapt and overcome every obstacle this Shoot Boss could throw at them.  They truly proved once again that Appleseeders are the best people on Earth.

Now, I was so busy, I didn't get but a few pictures,  so post away!!  Especially a picture of Flora...I missed her on my phone.

:pics:











NRA Patron Member, SAF Life Member
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor, RSO
Warlord of the West

Ultima vox civis
"Learning occurs only after repetitive, demoralizing failures." - Pat Rogers
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart." - Tecumseh
"Never attribute to treachery, that which can adequately be explained by incompetence" - Bonaparte, Hanlon, et al

Merlin33

Thanks for the great time at my first appleseed, looking forward to more in the future.
-Darrin
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true...  ~USMC Rifle Creed

"Happiness is a warm gun..."   ~The Beatles

Zazzles

It was a great weekend! I had a lot of fun and I hope I see you guys back at another event! ..:..

Pitmaster

History!!!! Where's the Shoot Boss?

Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

Mr_O

Another AWESOME weekend at Appleseed.  The weather was beautiful and the rain held off until about 3:00 Sunday afternoon.  The instruction and history telling was nothing less than what we have come to expect - EXCELLENT.  A big welcome to Hammer, Iceman and Moooooose from the east side of the state, thank you for making the trip and helping us to enjoy the weekend.  Thank you to all of our instructors time and dedication. 

:pics:

The smile says it all.



"Young man, what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we always had governed ourselves and we always meant to. They didn't mean we should." - Captain Levi Preston of Danvers

Fischer, David Hackett (1995-04-19). Paul Revere's Ride (Kindle Location 2898). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

Mr_O

 :pics:

Try this.  A lot of hard work and persistence went into that score and that smile.

"Young man, what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we always had governed ourselves and we always meant to. They didn't mean we should." - Captain Levi Preston of Danvers

Fischer, David Hackett (1995-04-19). Paul Revere's Ride (Kindle Location 2898). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

Hammer Forged

#7






















































Who else needs a HUG from the Shoot Boss??  ^:)^





Poet approved  O0
































Tinnitus?    No, its Liberty calling!

"Those who HAMMER their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson

SteelThunder

NRA Patron Member, SAF Life Member
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor, RSO
Warlord of the West

Ultima vox civis
"Learning occurs only after repetitive, demoralizing failures." - Pat Rogers
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart." - Tecumseh
"Never attribute to treachery, that which can adequately be explained by incompetence" - Bonaparte, Hanlon, et al

Merlin33

Thanks for all of the pictures Hammer, I am considering heading over there in December.
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true...  ~USMC Rifle Creed

"Happiness is a warm gun..."   ~The Beatles

EEEE

Thank you to all the instructors and the Applecore volunteers for making this a great weekend!  I had an awesome time. 

I had no idea that a 210 score comes with a shower, though!

SteelThunder, I think that taking that flash hider off the 50th anniversary rifle was the right thing to do; I went from shooting 174 on Saturday with it attached to a 200, then a 202, then the 210 on that final round.  I don't know if that is a concentricity problem or just that the flash hider traps a bunch of crud on the crown of the rifle that affects the way the gas escapes the rifle. 


Potshot


what a great weekend!! always a let down to have to return to work on monday and not the range!
i was again impressed with the story/ history telling!  it is always told from memory, and often so well, you wonder if the story teller was actually there!!!
special kudos to Oz.
my girls both had a wonderful time.  they are already talking about going again soon!
my girls say;
(saloma) "thank you for the great instruction!"
(bailey) "i had an enjoyable time of learning.  i really liked the shooting games!  i look forward to coming back.  thank you to the instructors and volunteers...and to redman's wife for the cookies!!"
fyi...those cookies were amazing!!!
thanks to steel thunder, hammer, oz, redman and the whole crew!!!!!!!!!!!

potshot
aka andy
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin

tomahawk

Thank you to all of the Instructors and other volunteers. This was my first Appleseed Patriots' Day. It was an incredible experience. The next time that I participate, I plan to make a bit more noise, and larger holes in the target. The sounds of the volleys was incredible.

EEEE it is better off that you did not know. It is a better surprise that way.

Potshot, it was an honor for me to shoot with Soloma on team Redcoat Slayers.

It was great to see some old friends, and make some new one. I always meet the nicest people at Appleseeds.

Mr_O

Great photo series Hammer, thank you for doing that.

Now, how about we talk about "Licensing" the screen idea, for a small fee of course  ;)

Thank you again to you and your sons!
"Young man, what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we always had governed ourselves and we always meant to. They didn't mean we should." - Captain Levi Preston of Danvers

Fischer, David Hackett (1995-04-19). Paul Revere's Ride (Kindle Location 2898). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

Oz

#14

Could I interest Monsieur or Madame in a mint?  Or a chamber flag?




"See?  Self-evident!"




Hammer Whittemore




Added level of difficulty for the shooters on the left.  "Come on, shooters!  I-A-O!!"




SB at work.
"You don't know they're all Riflemen.  They might just be people with rifles." - Zazzles, 9/22/12

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

"There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future." - Abraham Lincoln

"My biggest decision this week?  Well...long story short, I went with the mild sauce."

Oz

It was an amazing weekend.  Shooters!  Thank you all for coming out and sharing it with us.  It was great to see old friends from on the line and also to meet new friends.  I hope you all had a similar experience.  It was fantastic to see students looking out for each other not only on safety and marksmanship but on neighborly things--loaning equipment, offering hand wipes, sharing food.  It was an honor to work with you and to see you become a community for the weekend.

Coming to the event (awesome though it is) isn't the end of your journey--it's the beginning.  Practice your marksmanship at home.  Many of you came as groups of friends or family--you can work with each other.  If you came by yourself--teach a friend or family member, then work with each other!  (Or bring them to an Appleseed!)  And think about what you can do to be informed and involved in your community--is there one little thing you can do every day?

Congratulations to our Riflemen!  Huzzah!  And I saw improvement from everyone throughout the weekend.  Stick with it--persistence pays off!

A special thank you to our youth shooters.  The way the weekend shook out, I did not get to work with Jenna, Danae, or David much but I could see the effort you were putting in and that you were improving and enjoying yourselves (and it was a hoot to see Jenna skipping to and from the line!)  Saloma and Bailey, it was great working with you on Sunday.  You were both focused and asked good questions during the instruction--and you improved!  I was very proud of each of you.

Although it is not commemorated in pixels, let's not forget The Dynamic Duo's triumph in the south bay Sunday Fun Shoot!

It was a privilege to work with the instructor crew.  You folks are awesome!

I hope to see each of you again! 

Oz
"You don't know they're all Riflemen.  They might just be people with rifles." - Zazzles, 9/22/12

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

"There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future." - Abraham Lincoln

"My biggest decision this week?  Well...long story short, I went with the mild sauce."

EEEE

Quote from: tomahawk on April 20, 2015, 09:28:07 PM

EEEE it is better off that you did not know. It is a better surprise that way.


It was a really cool - almost a cold - surprise!  I knew I was shooting better on Sunday than on Saturday and I was tickled that I had broken 200 with the previous two targets; Oz certainly seemed to be enjoying torturing me while he was scoring the last one.

Flying Dutchman

What a great event. The instructors were awesome. The weather held out (almost) to the end and on top of it all it was a Patriots day weekend. This was my first Appleseed and will not be my last.


Hammer Forged

Here is the link to re-live the Memorial Volley.  Well done Shoot Boss, I could not have made it through the entire list.....  :bow:

https://youtu.be/YkLHDQoMm0c
https://youtu.be/iRwsDp4pH2M
Tinnitus?    No, its Liberty calling!

"Those who HAMMER their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson

Oz

Answering a couple shopping questions from students at the event:

1.  Where did you get those awesome shooting jackets?

If you can't find USMC issue shooting jackets, see the following site.  She does great work.  And it's custom, so if you want anything special...maybe a trigger side pocket to hold a mag when you're in prep for standing position...  ::)   That's where mine is from.

https://sites.google.com/site/madebymcron/home

2.  Where do you get those shooting mats?

MidwayUSA.com.  And don't pay full price, they go on sale several times each year.  In fact, they're on sale now!  Big mats $49.99, regular mats $39.99.  My memory is that shipping is expensive, but they are big items.  I do like the big mats for shooting all day at an Appleseed but they are a lot more to lug--if I'm just going out for a little practice I bring the regular one.  I'll probably lay on the grass anyway, it's more to keep the rifle a little cleaner.   ;)
"You don't know they're all Riflemen.  They might just be people with rifles." - Zazzles, 9/22/12

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

"There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future." - Abraham Lincoln

"My biggest decision this week?  Well...long story short, I went with the mild sauce."