St. Augustine, FL April 16-17, 2016

[9mm4545]

Sometimes it all just works out. The weekend's weather promised rain and wind. We had wind but the rain considerately waited until after the day was done. We had a wide range of shooters and skill levels and our first Redcoat target was an eye opener. As each element of marksmanship was taught the group sizes began to shrink. Sling use, Steady Hold Factors, Natural Point of Aim, the always important Six Steps, Rifleman's Cadence, Inches-minutes-clicks, Talking targets--and this was all before lunch! During our lunch break Cable_Guy did an outstanding job of taking us back 241 years to a troubled time in Massachusetts on the verge of rebellion. Later the story was brought home by 9mm4545 and Prof. CJ. Seated positions, transitions, and reloads were introduced and the time monkey was on our busy line of shooters. The already wobbly position of standing was "enhanced" by the gusty wind but most folks did remarkably well in the conditions. At 1600 hours we paused for solemn reflection as we delivered a Remembrance Volley for those patriots of so long ago. I believe that they would be looking down with pride.

After intermittent rain all night the range was a little soggy but not for long as the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the wind howled. Our location was shielded to a degree by the berms and trees so we never actually had rifles taking flight. It did dry everything out and kept the temperature agreeable. The morning passed quickly with sighters, rifle modifications, ball and dummy drill, and a review of the essentials. At lunch there were stories of dangerous old men and brave women, then it was onto AQT's. A known distance presentation by Saltwater Shooter introduced the concepts involved in shooting beyond 25 meters and the infamous Redcoat Team Challenge gave our shooters a chance to work in teams to win valuable prizes, well, prizes anyway. With a score of only negative 7, Team B bested Team A and Team B. The losing teams had learned all too well that it does not pay to miss! By the end of the day we had several shooters who were getting very close to a Rifleman score but Kevin, Charles, and Jeff are men who "know what they are about" qualifying as Riflemen. To everyone, practice perfectly and persist and you will become a Rifleman. Thanks to all for letting me have such a great time celebrating Patriots Day in St. Augustine. Anyone take any pictures?

[B.C.]

Good times indeed! Congratulations to our three riflemen and thanks to everyone else who came out to learn about our shared history and a lot of marksmanship. We hope you had a great time, I know I did. Special thanks to our new blue hat Erica; she worked diligently during check in and scored almost all the weekend's AQT's - good job! Thanks also to our instructors. As I've said many times before - it's always an honor to be in the company of such fine individuals. I'm already counting down the days to our next event. Happy birthday liberty! Enjoy some pictures below. Until next time my friends.........

[B.C.]

Wow! Even more pictures below: