Columbiana, AL October 10-11, 2015

[76Patriot]

I just wanted to get this page started and encourage anyone with comments or pictures to post them.  More to come soon.

76

[Roswell]

Wow! What a great event! Saturday morning at Shelby County Sheriff's Training Center in Columbiana, Alabama could not have began more beautifully. The range itself was amazingly accommodating, the weather perfect and although we had a small group of shooters, all were very attentive and one of the safest groups I've ever had the pleasure of working with.





Our SBit kicked things off with his opening speech.



After Safety briefing, it was off to the firing line and the firehose of instruction began.

Our great group of shooters:

Jim:



Dirk:



Kyle:



Downrange checking targets.



NPOA with TJ8 instructing and 4merUSMC1803





Your preparation period begins now!





Sunday began, just as beautiful as the day before. 76Patriot again kicked things off with a great opening speech.



TJ8 did a great job reviewing Talking Targets and IMC



After a quick but solid review it was off to the firing line again.



Jim was unable to join us on Sunday, but our numbers stayed the same as John joined our ranks:



Everything moved so efficiently we even had time to work in Rifleman's Dance and Rifleman's Bubble - delivered by 4merUSMC1803



4merUSMC1803 brought his M1A out and let young Kyle have some time behind it



At the end of the day, 76Patriot presented Kyle with 2 well earned patches, Luther Blanchard AND a Rifleman patch! At his first Appleseed! Huzzah!





Congratulations Kyle! Dirk, you are knocking on the door with a 205! So close!  Remember though that a Rifleman persists. Jim, I am confident that you too can get that patch. John, the same goes for you. I admire your persistence and ability to not waiver. All of you have the ability to be incredible Riflemen. Just remember that a Rifleman shoots every shot by the numbers. Even when dry-firing. I hope to see each of you again on the trail. ( Hopefully with more friends and family )

[85Eagle]

Kyle and I had a great weekend of shooting and learning on our first Appleseed!  Thanks to all the great instructors for their time and talent.  Thanks to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office for a great venue.  Special thanks to Tracy and Darrell for loaning us some great rifles to shoot 

[85Eagle]

One more thing.  We didn't really know what to expect but this event far exceeded my expectations.  Well done.  Thanks for the pictures Roswell.

[Maximum Ordinate]

 

[76Patriot]

As Roswell indicated with the pictures and captions above, we had a fantastic event, even if we only had three shooters on any given day.  We were blessed with great weather for the entire weekend. 

After an introductory speech and all the safety information was given, we brought our rifles to the line and shot a Red Coat.  We proceeded to learn about the Prone Position and the Six Steps of Firing the Shot.  After taking a little time to make sure the rifles fit us and we checked for eye dominance, we continued with a trigger exercise and a module on Natural Point of Aim.  We then tested our understanding of NPOA by having our sights carded.  We then heard about Talking Targets, Inches Minutes & Clicks, and Rifleman's Cadence.  We shot plenty of squares throughout the morning, between instruction modules, for a total of about 15 squares before taking lunch.

During lunch we heard the First Strike; following lunch we did the Ball and Dummy drill then learned the Sitting/Kneeling Position.  We then practiced transitions and did an NPOA/mag change drill before taking an afternoon break and hearing the Second Strike.  After the break we learned about the Standing Position and shot two AQTs, followed by another Red Coat.  Amazingly, we had gone from a single 100 yard shooter to a 300 and two 400 yard shooters.  Additionally two of the shooters were accepted into Captain Morgan's Company by shooting the shingle.  We ended the day with the Third Strike and a reading of Patrick Henry's speech.

Sunday began with more good weather.  One of Saturday's shooters could not return, but his spot on the line was taken by John on Sunday.  We began with an opening speech, followed by a safety review. 

We then reviewed Prone Position, Six Steps, NPOA, Talking Targets, Inches Minutes & Clicks, Sitting/Kneeling Position, and Standing Position.  Then we brought our rifles to the line and shot a Red Coat, followed by a couple of sighting squares and an AQT.  We did the Ball and Dummy Drill and then repeated our NPOA/mag change drill from the day before.  Following this we shot another AQT and took our lunch, where we were treated to some stories about dangerous old men and brave women.  After lunch we learned about the Rifleman's Bubble and the Rifleman's Dance; then we shot two more AQTs.  One of these yielded a 211 for Kyle, our youngest shooter.  Huzzah!  We then learned about Known Distance Shooting and shot two final AQTs.  Kyle's dad Dirk almost earned rifleman with a best of (I believe) 205.  We then shot a final Red Coat before seeing Kyle presented with his Rifleman Patch.

Kyle, congrats on shooting Rifleman!   It is very rare indeed to qualify on your first appleseed.  Keep working on the fundamentals and you will be an amazing shooter.

Dirk, great job!  I know you might be disappointed that you did not earn a patch, but I assure you that a 205 on your first event is very good!  I hope to see you again, along with your entire family.

Jim, keep on plugging away.  You had some of the best standing groups I've ever seen!  I know you can do it.

John, same to you my friend.  You have what it takes to become a rifleman too.  Keep persisting, and above all, relax.

[Pop Revere]

Good Job
Sorry I couldn't make it. Hope to see everyone soon.

AR-Mike