There was a man building a boat.....(or the Ottowa Appleseed)

[The Guy]

....nay, an Ark, in Ottowa Illinois.

But anyway, more on that latter.

Ottowa Appleseed started off well.

I had 2 ITT's with me, TreadCarefully (who did the leg work) and The Edditor (who did a bunch of leg work for the Bloomington shoot), and 30 students.  We had expected more, but weather held several at home, I do belive.

The three Instructors arived approxamently 0700 to get things planned out administration wise, and our own DWLawson and his lovely wife Colleen voluntered to help do the sign in desk.  Thank you!

The skies were grey all morning, but by 0900, everyone was down on the firing line, listening to history.  It was good to see some familliar faces, 2 from the Wabash shoot (David and Brandon), four from the Bloomington (Kristopher [day 2], Lisa, Brian, and James), and 1 from both Bloomington and Shiocton (Allan).

When we did the POI (points of instruction), you could really tell the ones who had been before, as they still remebered the 4 rules, how to ground and clear, and the 6 steps.  Very GOOD!

We were rainned on quite a bit on saturday, but no (read, not much) lightning, so we shot throught it, finnishing with 2 QDAQT's.

With 2 Riflemen.  236 by James (who missed by a small margin at Bloomington) and Brandon (on the second, the first was a 199!) who made it with a 210 on the dot with an AR.

I was going to find the nearest stream to toss him in (tradition if you shoot the bare minimum), but as wet as we were, I couldn't see him noticing.

Day 2 was wetter, with 6 inches of rain standing in the brass buckets by the time we left, with quite a bit of lightning (read, ALOT) in the skies.

We retired to a pole barn and we discussed IMC, MOA, bullet trajectory, and sight adjustment with a peice of plywood as a black board.  The rain let up a bit, so we went back to the firing line to do a bit more shooting till more lightning came.

Did I mention the line was in a slight depression?

An inch of water stood where we were shooting from.

We did a standing group before the rain came down harder, along with the aforementioned lightning, and we shut 'er down.

Crap.



We had a nice group of shooters, and, like always, I went away feeling a bit better, at least in the hope that I had reached some folks who just might make a diference for future generations, if they try.

I also feel like while having to leave some Instruction behind on the wet grass, that several of the shooters were on the verge of breaking through.  I may not have the satisfaction of being there to see it when they do, but I do know that if they continue, if they persevere on their own, they will make it.

And if they remeber the seventh step, they will become True Riflemen.

The Still Wet Guy

P.S.  About that boat?  That man was loading animals two by two.  Who ever saw such a thing?

[45Ron]

Thanks again for the great, albiet wet weekend.

I look forward to seeing you guys at the next event I get a chance to attend.



Ron

[Fred]

    Nice pic, Ron. Thanks for posting it, big time.

     llinois always looks pretty in the summer.

    I sure as heck wanted to be there, but couldn't get a reasonably-priced ticket.

    I'm especially devastated, once I see the 'weather report'.

    Wouldn't you know it, the one Appleseed - the only one - where there's been rain since I bought all the new rain gear for Long Island (back in March?), where the rain immediately stopped and went away as I walked out of the store with my new rain gear - the one Appleseed with rain - and I'm not there to try out the still-new rain gear?

     Rats!

     Sorry to take this personally, but I've had the gear several months, and never used it...

     Glad you guys got a full day on Saturday, and you prob didn't miss much on Sunday, as I expect that the Guy talked faster the more the lightning flashed, so he prob covered about everything that needed to be covered, even if you didn't shoot as much.

    BTW, how many .22s were on the line?

    In Vermont a weekend ago, it was wall-to-wall .22s, only a couple of centerfires on the line by Sunday.

     We were able to give them some extra drills to make them even better shooters, because ammo costs were minimal.

[Wolfhound]

Brandon (on the second, the first was a 199!) who made it with a 210 on the dot with an AR.

I was going to find the nearest stream to toss him in (tradition if you shoot the bare minimum), but as wet as we were, I couldn't see him noticing.

Here's one proud fifteen year old Rifleman. (Not to mention his Dad.)    Maybe we can find a stream to toss him in at Evansville in October?

Thanks for a great day of shooting and learning!

- David

[Nickle]

Pretty good. Brandon and Dad should be proud, as that is an accomplishment.

[Fred]

     Yes sir, David, something to be proud about.

     Brandon can now outshoot at least 99.999% of rifle owners - and so can you!

     BTW, is that little green thing he's holding in front of the target, in his hand - is that a "Rifleman" Badge?

     OK, you guys are out of the deck chairs. So now we need be working on showing you how to get others out of the deck chairs!

    Ready?

[Junior Birdman]

 Where's my IEF's?   JB

[45Ron]

Congrads to both Brandon and James.

I was set up next to James on the line Saturday. What The Guy didn't mention was that James shot the bottom row (stage 4) of the AQT clean, 100 points!
Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you Fred, your guys did a great job in your stead.

[The Guy]

Coming JB, coming.....



Thanks for the pics Ron.

I hope to see all who were there out there on the Appleseed Trail again.

Preferably soon!



PS, while I saw improvement all over, a perfect stage is always an accomplishment to remember.

[TheEditor]

RE:  # of .22's...

There were several, but a solid majority of centerfires.  Quite a few AR's and lots of Garands (esp. Sunday)!  maybe 6 or 8 .22's out of 30 on Saturday. 

Anyone else notice that Garand ammo is cheaper than .308 (not as economical as .22, but by comparison...)

JN

[Fred]

     Yes. Suddenly, M1 Garands are very competive, ammo-cost-wise.

     You'll soon be able to say, when you see someone firing a Garand - "There must be a frugal Yankee." (Or Southerner, as the case may be. Plenty of cheapskates down south. In fact, I claim we invented them, not the New Englanders...

[Nickle]

     Yes. Suddenly, M1 Garands are very competive, ammo-cost-wise.

     You'll soon be able to say, when you see someone firing a Garand - "There must be a frugal Yankee." (Or Southerner, as the case may be. Plenty of cheapskates down south. In fact, I claim we invented them, not the New Englanders...

Most of them moved from New England years ago, because they were too cheap to pay for heat.

Besides, New Englanders are so tight, we prefer the .22's as they're SO CHEAP to shoot.

[Emmpress Oakley]

Hi folks!! Brian and I had a great time on Saturday regardless of the damn rain!  We all had about 18 x-tra lbs of clay on our feet wouldn't you say?  None the less - super class, funny bunch, great range, excellent instruction and VERY informative. Did I mention a "blast" .....ha had to.... I learned even more this round and looking forward yet again to the next Appleseed event to absorb even more.  (Like a sponge to rain   ) Thank you for having the class, loved it loved it loved it!  Thanks to Buffalo Range too.

What would it take to get an instructor to make a house call for a neighborhood shoot??  Is that perhaps doable?  Brian and I were discussing on the way home about how neat it would be to hold an "Appleseed class" here.  We have both the burm, the space and attendees.  Besides, I'm a great cook, no pun intended by the way Let us know thx!  

Congratulations to the new Riflemen.  Well done!  

Till next time...... follow thru, follow thru, follow thru!

[cannonman61]

Great Pictures and a great time!

I hope ours goes offf as well but w/o all the rain. Clouds are nice though. Cuts down on the heat!

One special consideration down here in the swampy SE Georgia region, dont throw the bare minimum riflemen in the ponds that surround our range. We have gators in a few of them! That would not look good in the papers!

"Teenager eaten by an Alligator at Local Rifle club"

Bad press all around, plus not to good for the initiate! 

CM61

[Fred]

     Cannonman, read that headline three times, and still couldn't find anything wrong with it, unless it's the word "My" left out of in front of teenager!

What would it take to get an instructor to make a house call for a neighborhood shoot??  Is that perhaps doable?  Brian and I were discussing on the way home about how neat it would be to hold an "Appleseed class" here.  We have both the burm, the space and attendees.  Besides, I'm a great cook, no pun intended by the way  Let us know thx! 

     Empress, at this stage in the program, we'll go anywhere, about anytime, as long as there's the expectation of a reasonable turnout - which depends on how far an instructor has to travel.

     So, I'll let you and The Guy work this out - but keep me in the loop, as I am in IL often, and - if in town that weekend - will be glad to come and help out.

[The Guy]

Emmperess O.,

Just let me know.  If I'm not on the Trail, I shall do what I can to get there, maybe even with some help.

PM me the particulars when you're ready to start getting things set....

The Guy

[Emmpress Oakley]

Can do Guy  -  Thank you (all) so very much again for having a clue and teaching Appleseed (Fred inclusive) we cannot express it enough.  Brian and I are figuring out where we can expand "outback" to accomodate as the backstop installed at this point only fits 4 ppl....hmmm perhaps a new Appleseed twist on the semi annual ATF bash we have?? hmmm I'm already planning a menu lol.
More info (pm) on when this can come to fruition.  Thank you for your interest and quick reply.  Take care

L

[Garand69]

The Guy, TreadCarefully, and The Editor,

Great job considering conditions! Professional and Informative.We missed out on Saturday due to work but had a great time despite the weather on Sunday. It is not too often that you get to see a man like The Guy in the pouring rain show proper sling use in both the standing and prone positions with the grass atleast an inch deep in water!!! Then when the lightning got unruly it didn't take long for this team to improvise and continue class with a piece of plywood and a sharpie under cover !

With the small amount of time you had you did great with my 11 year and his 10/22 and later when I took him down to the plinking pit to work on his standing position while we waited for the weather, he really put the info to work and was doing well.  All I heard on the way home is him asking if we can build a range in the basement  BTW his nickname is Wetfoot do to the fact that regardless of weather, everytime we go camping, fishing, etc. he manages to step in a puddle, He didn't have any trouble finding puddles Sunday 

We both look forward to the next chance we get to make an Appleseed

P.S. We picked up what was left on the range when we left, if you forgot your folding chair on Sunday, give me a yell, we have it.

[The Guy]

Ha, my only bit of luck sunday was that we called the thing before I had to demo sitting.  So at least the backside was just moist, instead of soaking, like the rest of me.

And he looked like a Wetfoot!  I think he saw the rain as an opritunity to pretend he was on Seal Team Six or something.  One thing is for sure, the rain didn't bother him a bit.

Glad to have you and all the others who came.  And while I was feeling overcast on the inside going home for having to stop early, I get a bit of hope knowing that we did get a few things done.

I hope to see everyone from the Great Range Flood on the Trail again sometime!

The Guy

[Rotor]

Though the weather was what we call Chicago style the shooters tried to keep in mind the reason they were there.
I learned a lot and especialy what I need to work on. I'll be back for another though I'm fairly sure I'll be wearing some gore tex drawers.

O dark 30




The Guy telling us about 4/19/1775



Then it started raining.



NPD's spot overlooking my waterfront property



The Guy maken em sit down.



Rons Puddle




Silas




Did we have fun anyway??? I think so.





Displaced Yankee

JR

[The Guy]

Note, I moved the rain gear bits to the General Board, so more will find it.  Not everyone reads all AAR's (I hope I'm wrong....), but EVERYONE gets rained on.

Carry on with AAR here, rain gear in General

Link

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=695.msg6869;topicseen#msg6869

The Still Wet Guy

[Garand69]

Here are some Sunday Ottawa pics, a little late, but I finally got the film developed (my digital is broke    )