Corona, CA September 12-13, 2015 After Action Report

[caseten]

It was an epic Appleseed weekend in Corona California.  The men who attended, "know very well what they are about".

We had 18 shooters the first day (12 the second), some came from as far away as San Diego (over 100 miles away). Quite a muster.

We had at least two shooters that were knocking on the door of their riflemans patch.

Eric returned to Appleseed to score a 200 on Sunday, and was shooting nice 1 inch groups right before we started grinding AQTs. I expect him to be making rifleman at his next shoot.

Eric also brought his nephew Joe who turned out to be a natural and posted some amazing groups himself. I hope to see both of them at the next shoot.

Steve and his brother Richard were back again. They are persistent on their riflemans journey.  I know they won't stop until they have a riflemans patch. I hope to pass out a riflemans patch to Steve in December. Steve shot a 190 and is on his way to becoming a rifleman.

Todd should get an award for brining the most people.  I suppose his reward is seeing the smiles on their faces, as their marksmanship improves. He encouraged Chris, Justin, Blake and Attila to come. We missed them on Day 2 and hope all is well with each of them. Todd is great at 7th stepping, so we need to make him a rifleman. Chris, PLEASE make sure that all of these guys log into the forum and comment on their experience.

Marty was out at Appleseed for his first time. A novice shooter, Marty made great strides over the weekend. With a little more work, we'll get him shooting better than his sons who are currently in the military.

Eddy and Dave drove up from San Diego (Santee). Both made great improvement over the weekend.  You'll remember Eddy, because he always wore that straw Cowboy hat he "rescued". I think it fits him and he should start wearing it as a fashion statement.

Tim was another San Diegan, that drove up for the shoot.  A Navy man, Tim posted a great clover leaf (three rounds touching).  It's clear that the instruction was working for Tim, and that he found his NPOA and riflemans bubble to create that clover leaf. I hope to see him make rifleman next time.

We had another Chris who was already a rifleman.  It was a treat for the other shooters to see him shoot his M1 Garand and PTR.  Chris got to the shoot early each morning and was quite a help brining a extra pop up and table.  He helped us set up and tear down. More hands make light work.

Mike D. was also a great help... and get gets respect. He brought a pop up and a claw hammer to help get those stakes out of the ground. Mike was great to have around. His words at the end of the weekend were uplifting. He said this was the best group of guys he ever had the privilege of shooting with. A military man, Mike testified to the fact that the Appleseed curriculum is top notch.  Much more difficult than the shooting he did in the military, and he was an instructor.

Daniel always seemed to have a big smile on his face. Shooting an AR-15 all weekend will have that effect on you.

We missed Dalton on day 2. Hope all is well with him.

Please chime in and let us know what you thought of the weekend (good or bad).  I hope to see each an every one of you again in the future. Please keep practicing. Keep those rifles dialed in, lubed, reliable and zeroed.

For those of you that don't own a USGI Sling, go get one from TechSights.

I hope some of the people you met this weekend will get in contact with you so you can go shooting outside of Appleseed with some new friends.  I'd be happy to take the San Diego guys out shooting any time.

Finally, I want to share this quote with you, regarding the performance of the riflemen on April 19, 1775.  Actions change minds.

"During the whole affair, the rebels attacked us in a very scattered, irregular manner, but with perseverance and resolution, nor did they ever dare to form into a regular body. Indeed they knew too well what was proper, to do so. Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself very much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as rangers against the Indians and Canadians, and this country being very much covered with wood, and hilly, is very advantageous for their method of fighting." - Lord Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland

P.S. Special thanks to John and Dan. We were short instructors for a shoot of this size. Dan (whangdoodle) drove down from up north and provided some amazing instruction and ran the line in the afternoon.  He was a huge help. John we deputized as a orange hat.  John would normally have come to Appleseed to shoot, but knew I needed help. So, he came up from San Diego to help keep the line safe.  With out these men it would have been extremely difficult to provide the normal high quality program that is expected of our attendees.

[crobjones2]

I want to thank Mike for putting this event on, and especially thank the two outstanding individuals that made this happen, Dan and John. I don't think that Mike would have survived all of us without their help.

I came to the event expecting way more of myself, but I learned how to stay in the bubble with equipment failures and hot .223 brass hitting me.

I was a little concerned with the weather, as we originally were forecast to be over 100. Saturday ended up in the mid 90's with a couple of light rain showers (that were not originally forecast). Sunday was a little milder in the high 90's, until the wind picked up around lunch. I have never been much of one for heat, and wearing a shooting jacket put my tolerance to the limit. Some of you may ask why I was wearing a shooting jacket... I have a bony shoulder and the M1 does not sit in the "pocket" without being against my collarbone!!!

This was another Appleseed in which I was asked if I wanted to become an orange hat, I declined as I am still on the fence. While discussing teachings of other instructors, the idea was put forth to try and obtain recordings of instructors telling the 3 strikes and the dangerous men stories. I plan on posing this request to the national group on the forum. I think this could be an incredible teaching tool for all of the new instructors to hear what their counterparts believe to be significant parts of the story.
attached are two pics I took, one is of the range the first day and the other is the second day

Mike - here is the libertyseed I mentioned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k6zq_Y_IzA

see you guys next time -hopefully the PTR will be ready for the show
Marty - thanks for the shower    of brass

Phil- thank you- you have me coming back. Your personal story proves that anyone can become an American, not just a citizen. In your honor, I proudly fly my Bennington. I hope to cross paths with you again.

[VII XI]

I met some great men.  Mike D, I am honored to have been showered by hot brass.     Your comment is powerful.  For your posterity...that impresses upon me that you are truly one to stand shoulder to shoulder.  Your daughters shall be as proud of you as you are of them.

[mtm]

My first Appleseed event last weekend in Corona. My friend who convinced me to go, had some family issues so I went alone. Best decision I've made. Mike made everyone feel comfortable which created an environment to learn marksmanship and American history. Dan also spent extra time with me on my sling issues. Great group of men, who showed genuine kindness and respect to each other.
My two sons in the Navy and my wife were "very happy" I went. To Daniel on the left and Chris on the right of me (with the cannon) on the shooting line, thanks for your support.

Thanks again to Mike, Dan and John. I will like to do it again.

[DC Wooly]

I had a great time with everyone in Corona. This was my second Appleseed and other than the heat I enjoyed this one the best so far. It's funny because my first Appleseed was 50° and raining. So I've been lucky enough to experience both extremes. My next one will be in hopefully better conditions.

Mike and Dan thank you for all the instructions. The two of you are fantastic instructors you taught the coarse loud and clear with no way for misunderstanding. I think Dan would make a good Shoot Boss. Thank you John for taking time from your weekend to help Mike out.

Chris thanks for letting us use your pop up and table. I also liked your pictures.

I can't wait to go to the range to completely zero in my sights and practice everything I was taught. At times I was getting overwhelmed with the amount of info running through my head. Also my knees and elbows were rubbed raw. It's going to be nice to take my time becoming familiar with all the techniques so I can come back and concentrate on getting the scores I need for the patch.

Again, thank you all for making my experience there great.

P.S. The cowboy hat has to go. Haha.
 
Dave. (DcWooly)


 

[chronoknight]

This is Tim.  First off, thanks so much to Mike, Dan and John for putting on a great Appleseed shoot for us!  I'm very glad that I went.  I had a lot of fun, learned a lot about rifle marksmanship, and listened to some great American history lessons to boot!  This was my first Appleseed, but I can guarantee it won't be my last.

I definitely saw a lot of improvement from my first redcoat to my last.  I was pretty happy to get a clover once, but as Mike said "Once is an accident, three times is skill", I'll report back when I can get three clovers in a row. 

Rain on the first day is always an annoyance to us Californians!  The wind and dust on the second day were no joke and definitely added a new factor into our marksmanship.

The only negative thing I would put out is that the sound of the rapid rifle volleys from whatever class was next door was a distraction and detraction from the superb marksmanship and history instruction given by our class leaders.  It's no fault of the event organizers of course, and I don't think there's any realistic ways around it other than maybe to give us a different shooting area away from that class.

Things for me to work on:
- Practice smoothly getting into a firing position, adjusting my sling, and reloading.  Gotta get that muscle memory down!
- Practice quickly establishing and verifying my NPOA.  I felt like it always took me way too long and too many adjustments to align my NPOA with the target.  My frustration inevitably wasted time and threw off my aim.  I think it'll come with practice.
- Practice dry firing to rehearse my breathing and trigger pull

In short: practice practice practice!

Lessons Learned for Next Time:
- Wear long sleeves: Our corpsman looked at some of my blisters and said I had a second degree burn from a casing that sat against my skin for too long while I was trying to stay focused and in the "bubble"!
- Buy and install Tech Sights.  I thought the Mini-14 ghost ring sights on my 10/22 collector series would do the job, but they were small and difficult to adjust.
- Buy more guns.  An AR-15 and a M-1 Garand at the least are definitely in my future!

I'll leave you all with a more modern quote, Article VI of the Code of Conduct:
"I will never forget that I am an American: fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.  I will trust in my God and in the United States of America." (emphasis mine)

[crobjones2]

Tim, Marty, Mike, Dave
one suggestion I can make for your practicing. Pick up a bore sighting laser. the inexpensive ones work well.
pick a spot somewhere
relax, close your eyes, breathe a couple of times( nice relaxed breathing)
adjust yourself
repeat

as once described to me - you should be able to fall asleep on your rifle and stay on target

consistently finding NPOA will only come with practice

[Chriscoyote]

Hi everyone. This is Chris(Todd's buddy). This was my first of many Appleseed events. I want to say I Had A Blast! I had to unlearn allot of what I thought I knew, and learn with an open mind. I've never fired with a sling wrapped around a bisept before. Now I'm practicing. Also practicing closing my eyes and repositioning my body. Very cool. Thank you Mike for the inspiring thoughts. I now display a revolutionary flag in front of my house. I have a whole new attitude. My 10-22 is going to be returned to Ruger for repair/replace. I hope to be able to focus next time. Again, thank you all for a great weekend. I've never been so proud to be surrounded by revolutionaries   

[caseten]

To Mike D, Chris(#1), Richard, Marty, Dave, Tim and Chris (#2),

Thanks for taking the time to log in and provide your feedback regarding this weekends shoot.

I can't tell you how much it means for the guys that put on an Appleseed, for you to take the extra few minutes to get online and provide that feedback.  It really boosts our spirits, and keeps us from burning out, and setting our attentions on other things.

Chris, make sure you get Todd and the boys online to provide their feedback. We really missed them on day #2, and I'm hoping we'll see them again in December.

If you guys need any help prepping for the next Appleseed let me know. I'd be happy to answer any questions via Private Message, or meet you at the Iron Sights range in Oceanside to help get your rifles dialed in.

Thanks again for your attendance. You all made this a very special event.

[OSA]

Thanks to my country - for without it I would not be here today and because of it; I am here today
Thanks to my wife and children - for they are my reason for living and the reason I am here today
Thanks to the instructors - for they walk the path that I too will follow and the reason I am here today
Thanks to all participants - for one day we may need you and your marksmanship, however I truly hope it's never needed; thus the reason we are here today. Also, for sharing your personal thought and stories!
Thanks to my brothers - for I've never had brothers like you, I hope I always will and thus the reason I am beside you today
Thanks to myself - for I've been knocked down, then knocked down again, I still got up and I will again; thus I am here today

I was pleased that I was able to organize a group of like minded individuals to attend this Appleseed event.
I find it challenging, in our current time, to group individuals together for such an event.
It's not because these individual don't believe in The Appleseed Project and what it stands for.
It's because a large part of society does not understand that freedom, liberty and bearing arms (to ensure liberty and freedom) is being taken away from us; and there is no plan to get them back!
So the social norm of an event like is it to shun it; without understanding it.
This is where I view the challenge comes into play, bring people together to "give liberty and freedom a chance" to show you what you are having taken from you.
Tyranny doesn't recognize it's actions against our freedoms, doesn't concede to correct it's mistakes, and will progress to take more away from you unless you draw a line-of-demarcation and hold your ground.

This was my second Appleseed event. My first event I shot a Savage 64FXP. It was a new rifle, that I was unfamiliar with. I had mechanical issues including failure-to-feed, failure-to-eject, unable to lock the bolt back, to limitations of iron sight adjustments.
As you can imagine how frustrating all this is while trying to pass the AQT on-time. I have high expectations of my performance, Appleseed quickly humbled me!
NONE OF THIS MATTERS - I needed to run what I brung! Let's just say it wasn't a moment I was proud of. I wanted to stomp on gun and break it in half. I got rid of that rifle.
I came back to this event with a new rifle and a new attitude. My goal was to focus on my bubble and rifle and nothing else mattered. Although, I was never truly able to get my rifle sighted in correctly, I did get some great and consistent groupings...staying in my bubble with hot brass hitting me was more fun this go around.
Unlike my first event, I never felt rushed, I felt more in control of my sling and body position, and I was consistently getting my rounds on papers within the time limit.
Coming back is the key! If I hadn't come back I would not have improved. I learn something technically and personally from the instructors each time I return.
I apologize to the instructors for not coming back the second day, I do not tolerate the heat very well. If I enroll then I have a duty to show up, I need to hold myself to that higher standard. I wish someone had called me out on that (maybe that's just how I operate, room for improvement there too).

I'm looking forward to December(?)
I've already have two people lined up ready to go.

[crobjones2]

I am contemplating coming out again! with a high-power!
another preparation event for a KD and to enjoy the company of like minded individuals!!

[crobjones2]

you should try the KD in burro canyon - 100yds with a .22lr.
it is an excellent primer to the full distance
the lessons are very similar and having to adjust for windage and elevation makes the long shots a lot more challenging -  there is just a lot less walking
I think I passed well over 5 miles of walking during the three days in AZ