Danville, IL, June 4 & 5, 2016 After Action Report

[TheEditor]

No Summer Soldiers or Sunshine Patriots here! 

22 shooters turned up Saturday morning, in a pouring rain that did not let up until after lunch. 

They didn't sit in a building and wait it out.  They shot, listened to instruction, and shot some more. 

Thanks to shade shelters brought by a couple students, several instructors, the host club, and GSL Defense Training, the firing line was covered, as well as behind the line for instruction and rest. 

Thanks to Danville Rifle and Pistol Club for hosting; they were very accommodating and helpful. 

Thanks to Guns Save Life for the promotion of the shoot.

Thanks to GSL Defense Training for canopies and drinks. 

Thanks to Wurstmacher, Shooter 30-06, AK, and Tornado for the excellent help, history, and instruction. 

Most of all thanks to the shooters for showing up, helping construct the range and the target line in the rain, sticking it out to the end, and being true American Patriots. 

We had 22 shooters, including 9 shooters age 15 and under. 

I didn't take many pictures, but hopefully others took some. 

No new riflemen (one requalified) but vast improvements from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. 

The .22's also got to bang steel at 25, 50, and 100 yards, and the centerfires got to bang steel at 300.  And they had a lot of fun doing it. 

What a great weekend. 

Thanks again to everyone!

TheEditor

[Texas T]

One of the first questions on my work toward IIT-1 is "How do you define commitment?" I'd say that, if I were lost for words, this shoot would sum it up. Volunteers, moving forward with an event, when many might rather be somewhere else where it might be drier or warmer, putting forth the effort in order to ensure that the message gets out and is spread. That's commitment in my book. That's Appleseed.

Thanks for providing such a positive model for those that you had the opportunity to interact with.   

[BKKSW]

First, I want to thank all the instructors who spent two very long days helping us shoot better.  How can you show the proper appreciation for such selflessness?

Saturday was a less than ideal day.  The rain coupled with a brand new range area resulted in significant standing water and fine grit.  The rain didn't just happen for 10-15 minutes and then go away, it stayed for the better part of 8 hours!  Everyone was wet, many were shivering, and while I personally think it was an ideal day for seeing what you made of.. it wasn't that great of a day for instruction because the newest shooters were distracted.  It really was that bad.

I have significant disabilities and I want to thank the instructors for bending over backwards to accommodate me.  I always feel self-conscience approaching people with this subject matter, but these instructors made me feel welcome and did everything they could other than pole .22 caliber holes in my target for me..   Thanks guys.  I was 13 points from Rifleman.. next time.

The Danville Rifle and Pistol Club (DRPC) is my home turf and many probably didn't realize the range is in the final stretch of a major overall.  Every berm that surrounded you while shooting was new.  The drainage was new, the ground cover and gravel new, and I want to thank the Executive Range Officer for being out there both days working to make the shooters more comfortable and making the range better.  Thanks Gary!

I'm a shooting instructor and regularly get 5 star reviews, but they don't mean anything.  What means something to me is the less than perfect reviews accompanied by a well reasoned narrative.  I learn the most from these and I know they're not just fluff.  In that respect I'd like to offer the major thing that distracted me and I overheard several others talk about it as well.

To the man doing the safety checks down the line, please consider NOT walking on the mats as you go down the line.  It was very wet and each foot step added more water, mud, and that fine grit present from the new gravel.  More than a few of the mats were really nice and a few were new, and sure.. ground mats are made to take abuse but we don't need to add to it.  Towards the end of the first day my sons rifle started to malfunction.. we tore it apart that night and it was full of the fine grit.  Same but a lesser amount day two.  With the rifles laying there with the actions open it was easy for grit to get inside.    Thank you.

Again, thank you.  You'll see me again, I won't give up..   

[Shooter30-06]

I want to commend and congratulate all of the shooters for their resilience in dealing with tough conditions and showing great improvement while doing so.  You are as tough and determined as the Americans who crossed the Delaware with Washington.  You should all be proud of yourselves.

A big thanks to the Danville Rifle and Pistol Club for hosting the event and doing everything possible to help.  Another big thanks to GSL Defense Training for the line cover.  I finally want to express the pleasure I had in getting to work with some really great instructors who in the tradition and legacy of The Guy willingly got down in the mud with the shooters and gave all they had.   Texas T is right: that is what AS is all about.

[Colt45]

I too wanted to thank the instructors. It was an interesting shoot with a nice scenic lakeside view...

Also, I promise I will finally buy a shooting mat and stop borrowing from Shooter 30-06.    And I will make that AK work. You are all my witnesses.