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AAR: Sacramento, CA 11-12 March 2017

Started by Libertarian777, March 14, 2017, 04:20:56 PM

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Libertarian777

Wow, we couldn't have asked for nicer weather for a weekend shoot in Sacramento, where it either rains or turns into an inferno. Instead it was sunny and 70's, and brought California's best and brightest out for a fun couple days of rifle marksmanship and American heritage.

We had 40 signups, about half of which were from the Bay Area since we don't currently have any shoots there. Those were probably a small fraction of the frustrated Bay Area shooters, but hooray for the motivation to drive to Sacto! We know all about that, as most of the instructor base was "putting the band back together" from the Chabot/Bay Area shoot crew. So we all saw some familiar faces and lots of new ones. With the flu taking down a few, and a couple of walk-ons, we ended up with 34 excellent shooters on Saturday.

We did all the usual teaching, starting with safety then slings, positions, steady hold factors, NPOA, group size and your best friend calling you an idiot, IMC, and all the rest. We spent Saturday methodically going through the basics, only interrupted by the entertainment portion of our program, that began in 1100 AD in England, and ended just a bit after Americans were born on Apr 19th 1775. We all learned why many of those seemingly esoteric bits in the Bill of Rights were included there, and what some of that all meant, and how marksmanship was central to America's founding.

We had 6 Luther Blanchard posterity shooters, 2 of whom had rifles that were a good fraction of their body weights. We put them in sniper mode, and holy cow what snipers they were! Rusty just kept shooting the center out of everything put in front of him! Would not want to be a Regular if Rusty was around. But everyone of those young people put in a solid performance. We all know what an exhausting day Saturday can be, and all the under-18's stuck out the whole day, and we saw a lot of improvement

We only shot 1 AQT on Saturday for score, but that was enough for Christopher B. to get Rifleman with an excellent score of 229, and for Graham H.  to shoot a 231, for high score for the weekend! Huzzah, and congratulations to the new Riflemen!

We came back on Sunday to reinforce all the big points, and really start working on the finer points, as well as how it all flows together. We did one of my favorite torturous speed drills where shooters make a transition to either seated or prone and shoot one round in either 16, 12 or 8 seconds. After that everyone pretty much understood the pace. Often shooters struggle at first to get the shot off, but low and behold, Allison cleaned all 7 shots! I'm sure lot's of people must have done that before, but I've only ever seen it done by one other person (coughcoughmecoughcough).

Between that and a few other drills, and some stories of dangerous individuals of all ages and colors, we understood how marksmanship and hearty individuals formed America, and we were ready to prove we have made good use of it. We managed another 6 AQT's (for 7 total for the weekend), and had 2 more new riflemen and 3 more requals! Chris L. scored a 221, and Santino shot a 214, followed by a 226! Congratulations to these new riflemen! Chris B. reinforced yesterday's good work with a 215, and Graham did the same with a 212. Finally, The Horse rebuilt his rifle, rezeroed it, and dropped in to requal with a 216. There were a lot of other shooters that were very close, and we will be looking for you on the line soon to prove you know very well what you are made of.

Both Riflemen Chris's (Chris Riflemens?) took orange hats, so we will all benefit from having them on the other side of the line sometime soon. Thank you both!

I've included a chart below that shows the shooters collective effective range on the Red Coat targets over the course of the weekend. We want to see more area under the curve and the hump moving to the right as the weekend progresses. That's pretty much what we see, except fatigue is showing on Saturday afternoon, which is pretty normal.

We did also have 2 vehicle rescues (no one was hurt), but despite suggestions from some of the other instructors, I don't think I will be adding that as a drill to the program of instruction.

If you have your own pictures of the weekend please post them here, along with your comments which we would appreciate here and everywhere else. Spread the word!

Thanks to all the great shooters with awesome teachable attitudes, and to our instructor base for the weekend! Hope to see you all again. What did I leave out?

Instructors, followed by forum name:

Hans, Libertarian777
Andy, 700x32
Linda, Ducky
Matt, just.a.guy
Matthew, scoutcamper
Mike, Edheler
Ron, The Horse
Vinnie, Vinnie

At the nearby IBC in case you want to reach them:
Laurie, norcal22gal
Joe, eaglescouter

Blind Squirrel

Pics from this weekend

Blind Squirrel

Can't say enough about how much fun my niece and i had this weekend even though we put in a lot of work.
We really had no idea what to expect for the small cost of a two day instruction class.
The instructor team was very knowledgeable and made practicing basic rifle skills fun, while learning the history of marksmanship in our great country.
We had a big group but everyone was so helpful and supportive as we all honed our skills.
Seeing so many under 18 attendees was very encouraging to me and my niece really enjoyed seeing so many lady shooters including Ducky, one of our very patient instructors.
Thanks to this class I finally understand how to run my scope correctly for different distances.  No more guessing holdovers or setting one distance and hoping for the best.  That info alone was worth the price of admission.
The class was tough on us, with all the up and down and it felt foreign and uncomfortable at first.
We did our best to keep listening to our instructors drill in the basics especially finding your NPOI.
In the end we learned far more than either of us expected and still cannot believe this class is not twice the price.
My niece cannot stop talking about it and looks forward to coming back again and earning her patch.
You can see my personally disappointing Saturday score of 90, increased on Sunday as the teachings came together for me, to score a 214 and then a 226.  Could not have made this improvement on my own, that's for sure.
If I would have quit after the fist day (like my body said I should) I would not have shot those scores . 
I needed to keep trying to find what was comfortable for me while building my confidence using my new skills. 
Thank you from both Morgan and I, to all the instructors who volunteered their time to come out and help us learn and have fun.
Looking forward to coming back after we have practiced up a bit and hopefully bring a few more members of our family.



Rapier

Thank you, wonderful Appleseed team, for a great weekend!!!  This was my second Appleseed and I can't wait for the next one.  I improved tremendously from the first time, and then again from Saturday to Sunday, and have set for myself the goal of persevering until I earn the Rifleman patch.

It is inspiring how you volunteer so much of your time without making yourselves the centers of attention, but rather focusing entirely on teaching us how to shoot (for peanuts) and our country's history.   I appreciate this very much.

The Horse

Can't think of a better way to spend a weekend! You guys were the best @).
Special thanks to Carbo for the donuts on Sunday O0. Matt didn't find out they were fair game until the end of the day and then proceeded to polished off the left overs.
I don't know if we mentioned that there is a Known Distance (KD) shoot coming up in May. It is a bit of a drive up to Hat Creek but trust me, it is well worth it. The range is incredible, almost like your own private range, and you will be able to shoot out to the full distances (out to 400 yards or more) on Sunday. ;D
There is also a one day KD shoot in November. This one is in Mariposa with range out to 200 yards. I shot it last year and it was a hoot. Think I'll go back this year too. You can shoot your rimfire rifle at this event out to 100 yards or you can bring a center fire rifle to shoot the 200 yard half distance KD. The drive from the Bay Area isn't that bad, so just do it.

Randymossberg

Hey yo, 1st appleseed - tremendous weekend. Although  I didn't make rifleman (195) , I definitely will be back.
     Big props to Rhett who shot 209 on Saturday,  and then had malfunctions on Sunday.  Graceful shooter.  Coming back April 8th .

Randymossberg


Randymossberg



Libertarian777

Randymossberg - That's some nice shooting! With just a little tweeking of finer points and a little practice, you'll get there. I hope everyone else who was close, but also those who were not, will have the determination to come on back and try again. It usually takes shooters multiple Appleseeds.

Rapier -  Thank you for the kind words. We are all in it for the joy of watching students challenge themselves and improve. Practice your positions doing "rifleman's yoga" in the living room between now and the next shoot, and you'll see a big improvement.


HeyApple

Well this was my 4th Appleseed.  I am back after about 1 1/2 years off.  It was the first time my wife came out to and event and she had a great time.  It was only her 3rd time shooting.  I thought her 167 score with irons was quite respectable.  I was a little disappointed  in my performance my high score was a 204, I had hoped to better my 214 score from the last event I attended.  Its really hard to see that last line without magnification.  I guess I will just have to try again.  My wife has told me that we are attending in April so we will be back.  I will also be bringing my daughter Izzy back out, she attended 3 events previously with me.  She likes to shoot but loves the history portion of the events.

Thank you to all of the instructors, you really make these events great.  I always come away with something to improve my shooting, and always have a good time.  Maybe we will even get to pull a car out of the ditch again.  Thanks again!

:F

700x32

My favorite part of any Appleseed is seeing things "click" with people. When someone appreciates and enjoys the program we put on, that puts a big grin on my face. Thank you all for making the time and putting in the effort to spend two full days outside learning about the history of our incredible nation.

Here are my photos:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5vwJAARuB9fUHFyWDRrZmtYc0U?usp=sharing

-Andy

NorCal22Gal

HeyApple, glad you came back out and brought your wife.  I'm really glad she enjoyed herself and wants to come again.  We look forward to seeing the whole family next month!!

Dipstick

Just wanted to say thanks to the shoot boss and instructors for their time and effort.  I figured out what it is that I enjoy so much at these events: the people.  Both the Appleseed instructors and the students are consistently some of the nicest people I could hope to meet, and that alone is enough to keep me coming back for more.  Even if it is a 225 mile round trip from home.  And to The Horse: you're welcome!

NorCal22Gal

Dipstick...We look forward to having you out with us!