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Practice results on the Road to Rifleman

Started by goodoldfriend, August 08, 2016, 12:35:23 PM

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goodoldfriend

Had more range time yesterday.
I had some operational issues with the rifle. Some failure to feed and failure to fire.

I think it might be magazine related so I will look into that. May also be ammo issues. Time will tell.

Anyway, I shot an untimed AQT (finished it even though I had issues). Looks like my best score was a 207. Still a lot of work to do on both the rifle and self but feeling better.

Oh yeah, my other AQT was worse, partly because of the operational issues. I think fatigue also had an effect, go figure.

I hope others share some of their triumphs and trials on the road too.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

Vicegrips

Keep at it! If you're shooting a 207 yesterday, and you practice good technique, you'll be over 210 in short order (hundreds, not thousands of rounds)

When I have been practicing recently, I will fire a magazine or two in each position, then spend most of the rest of that day's practice on one position. Currently I'm working on offhand, though I know my seated position needs the most work.

I'm shooting a 10/22. I have marked my magazines with some white nail polish on the bottom.  If I experience feeding issues, I make note of which magazine exhibited the problem.   The markings also help with the 2-rnd/8-rnd setup. I always load 2 rounds into the magazine with the lower number marking.  Mags 3 and 5? Two rounds in mag 3, eight in mag 5. That way I don't get confused at the line. As  soon as I find a couple of the clear 10 round Ruger magazines I'll buy them and make the counting problem go away for good.

I was using a stock trigger group in one rifle the other day. I must say I don't care for going back to the "3-handed" bolt release.  I'll be breaking out the rotary tool to modify so I don't need to do more than pull the charging handle back and let go.

Keep up the great practice effort!

Safe travels,
Vicegrips





goodoldfriend

Hey there Vicegrips, nice to hear from you my friend.

I have been reading on rimfirecentral about the issue I am having. Some of the answers point to the magazine so that is not out of the running.

I am going to number or mark my magazines today or tomorrow so I can start to determine if it is magazine related.

Since I built the rifle, it may be that I have tightened the V block screws too much. Apparently, if one tightens them down too much it will induce or encourage barrel droop in the 10/22s and clones. I will probably remove the stock tonight, clean everything, loosen the V block, whack the back of the receiver with a rubber hammer, and put it all back together. I won't tighten the V block very much this time.

I am basing this on the fact that the first 40 or 50 rounds fed and fired fine. With the bolt slamming the breech by design, it may have developed the droop.

I also have some more 10 round magazines coming. I got a 15 round mag but the problem seems worse with it and not as bad with the 10 rounds ones.

Note on the 207 I shot. It was not at all timed. I had some of the issues with feeding and firing. In fact, I think I had issues with all stages.

So, once I get the rifle running right I will have to see how I can do, especially timed sections.

I don't know if you are close to Wilmington but if you ever want to get back out and have some range time together just let me know. I am a member there.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

jmdavis

For the AQT, I always tried to stick with the stock a ruger 10 round mags. They do occasionally need to be cleaned. Another Tip is to use purpose,e, only purple, locktite on your action screws. It only require 12 inch pounds to break, but that is more than enough to keep action screws from loosening.
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

Mutant Texan

#4
If you already have a Ruger 10/22, you are off to a good start.  Equip that Ruger 10/22 with quick detach swing swivels for the sling and a Tech Sight.  I am not sure if you can still find them but I own a Walmart Special Ruger 10/22.  It is stainless steel with a slightly longer barrel ( I think it is 22 " based on my tape measure).  The sight radius of the iron sights is 27"!  This is only 1 inch less than what a M1 Garand will give you.

I will share my experiences with this gun.  I used this rifle to score a Rifleman score last June at Liberty Center.  It ran flawlessly using CCI Mini-mags and Federal Lightning ammo.  Both of these are 40 grain rounds rated at about 1240 fps.  The 40 grain ammo seems to be the most precise of all the different ammo types that I have used in this gun.  I do not have any experimental data to back up this claim but I know you will not go wrong with this ammo. 

I have not used after market magazines.  The Ruger brand 10 round magazines are high quality but cheap (easy on the wallet) and they gave me no problems.  If you decide to use anything besides the Ruger magazines, test them out before you show up to an Appleseed so you don't get any nasty surprises.

The accuracy & precision were superb with this rifle.  In many of my papers I had clusters of holes that looked like the Disney Mickey Mouse symbol.  You could have covered all three with a dime.  This is shooting at 25 yards in the prone position with the Tech Sights.  I did a cursory internet search and it seems like people are under the mistaken impression that this gun is junk or inferior to the other Ruger 10/22s.  I do not own any other Ruger 10/22 models but I have shot other peoples 10/22s.  I did not notice any difference in quality.  I own two of the Walmart models and both are well built and shoot well.  My other Walmart model has a simple glass on it and it shoots the centers of targets out when I have it on a bench rest.  I will also add that the barrel is free floating from about the 6" mark on the picture forward.  There is no barrel band like the other 10/22s.

The bulk ammo did cause me issues due to the occasional dud round at my first Appleseed.  It is hard to score a 210 when you lose one of your shots during an AQT.  I used the higher quality ammo on Sunday and at my second Appleseed and had no more issues.

I can't find the old receipts for this gun but I think it was less than $200 new from Walmart.  The Tech Sights, quick detach swing swivels and the sling will set you back another $100.  I did see an upgraded trigger system at Bass Pro a few weeks ago and I thought long and hard about buying it.  With a small $300 investment, you can have a rifle that is capable of shooting a 210+ on an AQT.

If you go to install a Tech Sigh on a Ruger 10/22, make sure you follow the instructions for taking off the front sight.  Make sure you have it well supported in a vice grip when you hammer off the front sight (bent barrels probably don't shoot stright) and be easy on the rear sight screws.  The receiver is made of aluminum and you don't want to strip the threads of the holes.  A small amount of blue thread locker is good enough.  Do not use red thread locker unless you know what you are doing.  The red thread locker requires heating to undo.
"Their drills are bloodless battles, and their battles bloody drills."

    Flavius Josephus, Jewish Historian, AD 37--101, on the Roman military

Corvette

Be bold, brave and forthright and the bold, the brave and the forthright will gather around you!

goodoldfriend

OK, I was able to get out to the range Thursday with my daughter. I had to make a few changes to my rifle to help with a failure to feed issue so I only put a few rounds through it. I have to sight it in again....sigh.

But, the good news is how well my daughter shot. I had to use my patience skills with her as she was getting frustrated. First she was saying the rifle is too big. That may be but we will see. Then dad moved the scope toward the muzzle for better eye relief for her. Well, I mounted the scope so that the right side of the front ring wasn't holding the scope base correct. The scope was tilted up and canted to the left. No wonder we could not even hit the paper....DOH.

Once I got the scope mounted correctly we got it sighted in. Attached is her first run at a redcoat. The rounds in the lower left hand corner of the 100 yd redcoat are some that I sent after I remounted the scope. All the rest are hers. She dropped one shot on the 400 yd target but please note the other 2 on the 400 yd target are almost one hole.

We had limited daylight with which to work after I got off work but she was mostly happy with her results.

She will be coming to the October event in Wilmington. We still both have some training to do to get out patches, I hope we both make it.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

NightFisher

Welcome to the club, my Son and my Grandson made Rifleman their first time out and both of them made it before I did.... 

goodoldfriend

Nightfisher, Thank you for your words of encouragement.

My grandson is coming to the event at the end of October too.

Of course I would like to get my patch but if I can help them get theirs I would be delighted. Isn't it funny how we take a backseat to our kids and grandkids? If you are anything like me, and I can tell you are, that is the best feeling in the world.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

More range time yesterday. No target photos to post. I did not clean a redcoat yesterday...sigh. But came close. And, it was a beautiful day to be out having fun.

My daughter was struggling. I don't think she ate anything yesterday but Slim Jims. I tried to tell her that probably had something to do with it. And, we are going to try a couple different rifles next time. Trying to find something that might fit her better.

I have not moved on to trying the AQT timed yet, but I did manage a 217 un-timed.

I have a question about scoring. I may be harder on myself than in event scoring. If the hole touches the higher scoring region, how is it scored? For the most part I am scoring those shots lower.

So the saga continues...
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

Texas T

If a shot touches a line, the higher score is applied.
"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."  Mark Twain


First Appleseed, September 26-27, 2015;   First Rifleman, September 27, 2015;   First Redcoat, September 27, 2015;   Second Rifleman, September 27, 2015

Thanks Corvette, great instruction!!!

MI IBC, February 2017

goodoldfriend

Well then, I may just have to score them again....

I don't know if it such a bad thing to be a little hard on one's self though. Maybe I should just cut out all the Vs and paint them on a sheet of paper behind the AQT. Then I can start using that as my target...Aim small shoot small...LOL
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

NightFisher

Don't worry about the time, just shoot the 5's.  I have never seen anyone run out of time on the first and last stage, If you can shoot 5's on both of them that's 150 of your 210.  Even if you only get 8 shots off on the 2nd and 3rd stage you only have to average a 3.75 on them to make your 210.

goodoldfriend

#13
I want to shoot the best I can and that's good advice.

My best shooting in terms of accuracy are stage 2 and 4.

That takes a good bit of pressure off of my mind.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

I got out yesterday and shot 3 AQTs. I was not shooting them timed though.

The lowest was 211
The highest was 223.

I think I need to hone in on the fives as NightFisher suggests. I am formulating a training plan for that. Will share it when it comes together.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

OK, I posted a couple target images here:
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=3710.msg336430#msg336430

I hope to get out tomorrow and shoot at these to see how they work for me.

I did an overlay so I can score them.

Wish me well with tomorrow, I am scheduled to work until 3 AM Sunday morning. I probably won't be in bed until 4:15 to 4:30 AM...sigh.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

Shooting yesterday:
I decided to focus on shooting standing. I was shooting the targets I made that have the AQT standing target. 2 on an 11" X 17" sheet.

I shot 8 so that is 160 rounds for the targets. I was using Winchester M-22 bulk ammo. I have heard some negative comments on the M-22. I had some rounds that did not fire. Either light strikes or primer issues. The no fires did give me a chance to practice a couple skills I have not seen talked about in depth.
First. I was keeping better track of my shot count. This leads to the second skill
Second. I used a panic magazine. A panic magazine is an additional magazine which I loaded with 10 rounds. I kept it in my pocket. When I had a problem with a round not firing, I just ejected the round. I would have to do that in order to keep shooting in any case. Since I was keeping count of my rounds I could use my panic magazine to make up any shots I had to eject. This way I was always able to finish the COF of 10 rounds each time.
Since I am right handed I loaded two 10 round magazines before I went to the firing line. When I insert the magazine to begin the COF, it doesn't matter which mag I grab out of my pocket. Also, since the standing COF is 2 minutes, I was able to calmly let the empty magazine drop and place the panic magazine in the rifle to make up the shots.
My scores steadily improved starting in the mid 30s to a high of 49. I also had one 48 with most targets scoring in the 40s.
Both the 48 and 49 were 9 shots in the 5 area with one in the 3 or 4 area. That may have been caused by the magazine change, I'm not sure.
I am going to use the panic magazine strategy no matter what COF I am doing at the time. Even though I plan on using higher quality ammo when I attend my next Appleseed, I think it is a good skill and strategy. Even with quality ammo, one never knows what will happen on the line.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

#17
More range time yesterday.

I shot 24 standing targets. Average score was 41ish. Low of 37, high of 48.

Out of 240 rounds, I had 3 misses.

42 shots were 3 point shots.

Sigh.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

jmdavis

Try to remember, it's not how many shots you shoot. But how many good shots you shoot. "Good" means on call with as good of a hold as you can do at that time. As your hold improves, so will your results. But just "shooting more" won't make you a better shooter. Shooting better shots will make you a better shooter.

This is the benefit of dryfire. You don't see the threes. It is particularly the benefit of blank wall dryfire, you get to focus exclusively on hold and trigger control.

The 4 ring of the AQT is  11 moa wide and 9 or 10 tall, if memory serves.

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

goodoldfriend

Because of the shortening of the days I am going to be "forced" to take up dry fire practice...I won't be able to go to the range after work and have daylight.

Yes I know, it is a conscious decision to do this practice. I am glad to see the changes that are happening with what I am doing.

And, thank you for taking an interest in my progress. I appreciate the coaching and positive comments.

I have some of the targets that have 4 MOA circles all stages of the AQT from here: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=3710.msg36795#msg36795

Maybe I will try those with life fire to see if I can tighten up the groups a bit.

I am calling the shot or trying to call them. I clearly need to work more on that. I guess dryfire at a target might help.

Thanks!
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

This past Sunday I was able to attend the 2nd day of the event in Newark, Ohio.

I was able to earn my Rifleman patch with a 213 on the first AQT of the day.

The other 2 targets that could be scored were 190 and 192. I had one DQ target because somehow I managed to get 15 rounds into a Ruger 10 round magazine and put them on paper on stage 4...LOL

I will be attending the event in Wilmington at the end of October. My goal for that event will be to clear my Redcoats and score Rifleman on all my AQTs.

I was thinking of taking my "Modern Sporting Rifle" which is chambered in 5.56/223 but I decided I want to develop consistency in my shooting before moving up.

I posted my thanks and a few other thoughts on this goal in the AAR here: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=49724.msg338178#msg338178

Here I want to thank jmdavis, Texas T, Corvette, NightFisher, Mutant Texan and ViceGrips for their support and guidance. I am very grateful for your help and support.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

jmdavis

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

Texas T

It was great to see you finally reach your goal. I won't be at the Wilmington event, but hope that you do well.   O0
"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."  Mark Twain


First Appleseed, September 26-27, 2015;   First Rifleman, September 27, 2015;   First Redcoat, September 27, 2015;   Second Rifleman, September 27, 2015

Thanks Corvette, great instruction!!!

MI IBC, February 2017

Mutant Texan

#23
Quote from: goodoldfriend on October 07, 2016, 09:52:35 PM
I was thinking of taking my "Modern Sporting Rifle" which is chambered in 5.56/223 but I decided I want to develop consistency in my shooting before moving up.


Go for the Modern Sporting style in .22 LR before moving up to the full 5.56x45.  You can buy a nice lower and buy two uppers in both calibers.  Stay away from the S&W Mp15-22 :)

I would get an AR-15 lower of your choice and look at the complete CMMG uppers that are on sale.  I have the CMMG Mk4 T on order from budsgunshop.com for the Gibsonburg Appleseed.  If you buy through budsgunshop and pay with an electronic check, you can save about 3% off the price.  It is also cheaper on budsgunshop than the CMMG website. 

I am not sure where you stand on the Mlok vs Keymod debate.  The CMMG uppers have Keymod on it which is not the most popular standard.  Mlok is ubiquitous now because Magpul is behind it.  This is a minor issue because you can buy the parts direct from CMMG to put a proper .22 LR barrel in an upper of your choice.  You just need the barrel kit.  Going this way will allow you to have two uppers that look alike, weigh about the same, and feel the same.

*Disclaimer*  I have not shot my CMMG .22 LR upper yet.  I do own their Mutant carbine in 7.62x39 and it is a great gun.  I was a bit skeptical over the salt bath nitride treatment when I first saw it, but I am now sold.  The barrel is basically protected from corrosion with a very hard ceramic like material that also reduces the friction between the bullet and barrel.  You could probably spend a life time throwing rounds down range with this barrel and you would see little to no wear on it.  If this .22 LR barrel is as precise as the Mutant, it will be an accurate and precise gun.

-Mutan Texan
"Their drills are bloodless battles, and their battles bloody drills."

    Flavius Josephus, Jewish Historian, AD 37--101, on the Roman military

goodoldfriend

Mutant Texan,

I already have a MSR in 5.56 and have thought of getting a CMMG .22 LR upper for it but time will tell. I am leaning more toward just learning on what I have and work on any upgrades I might like in the future for the MSR.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

goodoldfriend

I attended the Project Appleseed event in Wilmington, Ohio this past weekend, (10/29 & 30). Attending one is always a wonderful experience. The instructor corps at the event were superb as usual.

The reason I call this an addendum is because I know my status as a Rifleman as measured by Project Apppleseed  is a perishable skill. I also have learned that the skill changes from day to day (I know, doh).

I was able to re-qualify Saturday evening on the AQT that was done before the Saturday evening redcoat. I had been doing a good job of hitting everything through the day and was in the proper frame of mind and body so it happened.

Sunday, on the other hand, was a challenge. I like to think I can stay focused and do what is needed but I learned a little more about myself that day.

I did well on the NPOA change drills from prone but found myself NOT engaging the safety on my rifle 2 or 3 times. I think I even had one time when I did not insert the chamber flag. The first time it happened it didn't bother me too much, but I thought to myself, "I know this stuff." When the little omissions of procedure (Mag out, bolt back, safety on, flag in) kept happening it started to get to me. The mental self punching started.

My body was also not playing nice. I was struggling for elevation in the seated position and just could not get my feet under me enough. More mental punching because, "I know this stuff."

I should add that there were a couple other things on my mind. My daughter was shooting with me just on my right. I wanted her to do well as any dad does. Let us call this distraction number 3.

Distraction number 4 was the fact that I wanted to do well to impress my daughter. I had been training her for the event and she knew I had shot 210+ twice.

Distraction number 5 was that I brought a buddy to the event.  We camped the weekend and he decided not to shoot. Since I brought him I felt some responsibility for him even though he is an adult.

Distraction number 6 was that I wanted to impress the instructors. Three of them were instructors at the July Project Appleseed event in Wilmington and I wanted to shoot well for them....yes I know, I had the patch and that should be enough. But....

I probably had other distractions and stuff on my mind but that is enough.

A couple instructors through the day Sunday mentioned that I might relax, or something of that sort.

All of this flew over my head until AQT 5. I think we did 6 AQTs in total on Sunday. Sometime during the 5th AQT I heard an instructor say to another participant, "Relax into your sling." When I heard that I realized that my support arm was tense and had been all day. The support hand was fine but I was not relying on the sling. It was then that it sunk in that I was all tensed up because I allowed myself to become distracted.

On the 6th AQT I was able to embrace the fundamentals and finally place another 210+ in the past.

Overall I learned two things but I am sure more will come as a result of this experience.

The easiest thing I realized was how the distractions and tension affected and eroded my ability to perform.

(If my daughter reads this I want her to understand that she is not a distraction but that I allowed myself to be distracted. I should have relied on the instructors to monitor and help her. They did this but I was not able to realize it.)

The other thing was, and is, the hubris that I allowed myself to have. It took me until today to have the teachable attitude and learn that about myself.

I am waking up to the fact that being a Rifleman (or highly skilled at anything that is scored) is a one time event. It can be repeated given the right circumstances. The patch means I put holes in paper at least one time. It is an honor to be recognized by others as having a skill. I want it to mean more. That will be defined by what I do with the skill and what I have learned about myself as a result of attending Project Appleseed events.

I thought this thread might end for me when I got the patch and I may or may not write more here. I think my real "Road to Rifleman" is just getting started.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

jmdavis

My experience and the experience of many I have worked with is that it gets easier every time. Don't over think it. If you focus on the process you will have better results. I know that it can be hard to just focus on the process, but try it.

When you have learned your position and you have a repeatable way to deliver a shot, things are MUCH easier. You can read Bassham's "With Winning in Mind" for some examples of how top performers perform. But failing that some good advice is tio focus on how you feel when you fire a good shot. That thought and feeling should be what is in your mind when you have a mastery of the mechanics. The results will pleasantly surprise you.
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

goodoldfriend

Very nice.

I am glad I wrote what I wrote. I remember what it felt like to shoot the 210+ AQTs on Saturday and Sunday. While I don't recall individual shots now, I do know what the overall feeling was.

Thank you. I get what you are saying.
1st Appleseed 11/23/2012, Crittenden, KY
2nd Appleseed 7/16/2016, Wilmington, OH
3rd Appleseed 10/2/2016, Newark, OH
Rifleman (213) 10/2/2016

Agrivere

As one of my good friends frequently says...

Shooting is 90% mental, and the other 10% is in your head.

"The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world... The first step � in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come � is to teach men to shoot." -Theodore Roosevelt